The Invincible Iron Man #524 Review

Tony Stark has a long history of fighting to stop his armor designs from being stolen and exploited by various villains. But as the third Armor Wars conflict kicks off in the latest issue of Invincible Iron Man, Tony finds himself with some unlikely allies. And that's where Future is at its most appealing. Matt Fraction focuses a great deal of attention on Tony and Ezekiel Stane, showing the odd progression their relationship has taken since their first showdown at the very beginning of the series. Throw a few more classic Iron man villains into the mix and you've got the recipe for one memorable team-up.

Fraction connects a few more pieces of the puzzle in issue #524, revealing more about the role Justine Hammer is filling and just what is going on with JARVIS lately. This latter reveal is interesting, though it comes across as a bit random and unnecessary in the context of the larger conflicts of the series. Also troubling is that we still don't have much of an idea about what Rhodey is up to with his Iron Man masquerade and how he factors into Tony's ultimate plan. There are a lot of fun character moments in this issue, but not necessarily a great deal of plot progression.

The artwork doesn't shine that well in this issue, mostly because Frank D'Armata's colors tend to overpower the pencils even more than usual. There are a handful of panels where Salvador Larroca's line-work gains a greater level of detail and precision, but that isn't the case nearly enough. As usual, Larroca's action scenes and armored characters look great. This issue stands out because there's now a small army of Iron Men creating havoc. It's the human characters that have looked and continue to look unnatural.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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The Dark Knight Rises Makes $1 billion

The Dark Knight Rises reached a series of box office landmarks over the weekend, outgrossing its predecessor The Dark Knight while at the same time becoming only the 13th film in history to pass the $1bn mark.

The Dark Knight grossed $1.003bn worldwide, and as of Sunday, The Dark Knight Rises has made 1.005bn.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, however, TDK did bigger business domestically than internationally, whereas TDKR made more money internationally. The Reporter suggests that may be down to the Aurora theatre shootings.

Whatever the case, The Dark Knight Rises now has Alice in Wonderland in its sites in the all-time box office list, while it will have to surpass The Phantom Menace to make the top 10.

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN and still can't quite believe that many people went to see Alice in Wonderland. His idle chit-chat can be found on both Twitter and MyIGN.

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PAX: Tim Schafer and The Making of Double Fine Adventure

Double Fine Productions has a problem. Well, more like 3.3 million of them.

Since launching arguably the most well-known and successful video game campaign in Kickstarter history, the quirky developers of beloved games like Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, and Brutal Legend, are on the hook to make Double Fine Adventure (DFA), quite possibly the most talked about adventure game in the last decade. The real trick will be making it the most played, and Double Fine briantrust Tim Schafer knows it.

Discussing the making of DFA at the Double Fine Adventure Adventure panel at PAX 2012, the President and CEO, alongside Double Fine producer Greg Rice, laid his process bare, making a hall-full of friends in the process.

That's a 834% fund rate right there, folks.

If you've ever put something off, changed your idea in the middle of a thought (because you lost it), or considered tossing out plans wholesale for fear that no one will like them, you probably have a lot in common with the self-deprecating developer. Turns out the studio didn't have everything ready to go when the seconds counted down to zero and corks popped. $3.3 million dollars funded, now it was time to make a game. That's actually when that process began - by design - explained Schafer, onstage and throughout the 25-minute showing of the Double Fine Adventure Documentary that filmakers 2 Player Productions have begun shooting for their throng of Kickstaer backers.

His process is as fascinating as it is overwhelming. Thumbing a stack of notebooks evoking John Doe's journals from Se7en, Schafer shows how his games spend their infancy slow-cooking in the deep pages of his scrawled manuscripts, alongside non-sequitur ramblings and complaints about his poor memory and girls he'd loved and lost from the sixth grade. This is not a senselessly scatter-brained man, just proof that extremely-functional attention deficit disorder pairs well with game design. Once his ideas take form, Schafer talks himself into doing what sounds like the part of the process he likes least: telling someone about the idea for the first time.

Pitching his good friend and partner in Double Fine crime, Ron Gilbert (best known for Maniac Mansion and the first two Monkey Island games), the industry vet speaks in adorable fits and starts, flush like a boy talking himself into asking a girl for a first dance. Schafer's not wanting for confidence, he wants to hear that his ideas are good, naturally. And if they're not, he wants to find better ideas. Because he cares so much, nothing matters to him more than getting it right.

And getting it right means uncertainty, and not having all the answers all at once. But he's okay with that. Walls pasted with sticky notes, "art jams" - long sessions that bring all the artists together to concept the art direction - and asking hard questions about story continuity alongside Rice; each is an inexchangeable part of a vulnerable but self-assured process. That and the pizza orgies.

Once a Double Fine game is playable, Schafer traditionally gathers a group of people to a marathon game testing and super-noshing by the slice. If the art jam is how the team finds out how the game should look, the pizza orgies are how they find out how the game should play.

By the end of their PAX panel, Rice simplifies all of this with a rosy-scheeked Cheshire aside, affirming the core "how-to" of good game making. "Look for good ideas, ignore bad ideas." Ricean megascience.

If Double Fine Adventure Adventure doesn't work out, perhaps they'll create  Pizza Orgy: The Game, one attendee offered, during a lively question and answer session as the panel wrapped.

When asked if Pizza Orgy: The Game would be a "party game" in genre by another guest, Schafer simply said, "That depends on who you invite. Sometimes its really sad."

Casey Lynch is Editor-in-Chief of IGN.com. Hear about his love for PAX , metal, and Dark Souls on IGN and Twitter.

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The Expendables 2 vs Toy Story: Action Heroes vs Action Figures

Pixar's Toy Story series is beloved by children of all ages and contains some of the most human and heartwarming moments in the history of CGI animation. You already knew that. But did you also realise that the trilogy of big screen outings for Buzz and Woody contains enough balls-out action set pieces to recreate the trailer for The Expendables 2, shot for armour-piercing shot? Check the two trailers out below and find out what happens when action heroes are replaced by action figures. Spoiler alert: Jean-Claude Van Damme is just a cuddly teddy bear either way.

The Original Expendables 2 Trailer

Pixar's The Expendables 2 Parody Trailer

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Comic Book Reviews for 8/22/12

It's a big week in comic book history, as the beloved wall-crawler celebrates fifty years of thwipping and thwarting bad guys all across the Marvel Universe. To celebrate, Marvel has unleashed an over-sized (and double-priced) issue of The Amazing Spider-Man. Also this week, one of our favorites, The Rocketeer, returns in a new standalone adventure by the acclaimed Daredevil team of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee.

Over at DC, Batman goes incognito (and Bat-Cow returns), the game changes in I, Vampire #12, and Doc Manhattan makes his Before Watchmen debut.

DC COMICS

All-Star Western #12

Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti | Art by Moritat

"Apparently no one told Jonah Hex that the Night of the Owls crossover is done and he doesn't have to deal with the Court of Owls anymore. All-Star Western #12 sees Hex and his buddy Dr. Arkham in the clutches of the Owls, with only the foul-mouthed Tallulah Black still free to save the day. I worried about how well Tallulah could carry the issue given how obnoxious her dialogue can sometimes be, but she fares better this month than she has in the past. Hex still manages a fair amount of screen time thanks to a lengthy flashback sequence. For the most part, this issue offers a fun wrap-up to the current conflict, with ample doses of violence, humor, and scarred bounty hunters getting frisky." -Jesse

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

6.5

Batman Incorporated #3

Written by Grant Morrison | Art by Chris Burnham

"It should be no surprise that Batman Incorporated #3 is a really good comic book. Every issue before it was pretty awesome. Sure, it's easy to drown in the deep, deep waters of Grant Morrison's Batman opus, but this issue stands on its own as a really great Batman tale even if it's drenched in the bizarre pathos of Morrison's Dark Knight saga. Oh yeah, and Bat-Cow is back and living in the Batcave. That alone should make this issue a must-buy." -Benjamin

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

8.5

Batman: The Dark Knight #12

Written by Gregg Hurwitz | Art by David Finch

"There is not much new ground being covered in Batman: The Dark Knight #12. It feels like a story that has been done before. It promises new, shocking insight into Batman's past, but it's really just the same old stuff. Nothing exciting, nothing new. If you have read a Scarecrow story before, then most of what you'll read in here will feel like a retread. Because it is." -Benjamin

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

6.5

Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #1

Written by J. Michael Straczynski | Art by Adam Hughes

"Of the various Watchmen protagonists, Doctor Manhattan might just be the most difficult nut to crack as far as writing a spinoff series goes. For one thing, the character exists on a fundamentally different plane, not perceiving time the same way as a normal human and thus isn't well suited to the traditional flashback approach. For another, Watchmen #4 casts a looming shadow. That was the chapter which featured Jon on Mars, reflecting back on his life's journey in a very fractured but wholly engrossing narrative. Can even a writer of J. Michael Straczynski's caliber compete with that?" -Jesse

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

8.0

The Flash #12

Written by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato | Art by Francis Manapul

"A year’s worth of Flash villains have all come together to make Hell for the Scarlet Speedster, but the lines in the battlefield aren’t as clearly drawn as you’d think. There are three different sides. Maybe four. It’s hard to tell because this issue’s plot moves at breakneck speed to set up a dire situation for The Flash Annual #1 and thus sacrifices any compelling motive behind the six villains’ actions. That said, the art looks spectacular from beginning to end. This issue reminds me of a bag of popcorn: it tastes great but it's all empty calories." -Joshua

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

6.5

Green Lantern: The New Guardians #12

Written by Tony Bedard | Art by Tyler Kirkham

"As a Green Lantern fan, this title has held a special place in my heart, but it’s hard to ignore the lack of grace in its storytelling. For a year’s worth of issues, the characters have talked and fought their way through each story development without reaching that next level of depth and intrigue that we often seek out in today’s comics. The story bends at the whim of which spectacle it wants to show off next, and while it attempts to find a heart in Kyle Rayner, it never gives the reader a compelling reason to truly invest emotions in him." -Joshua

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

6.0

I, Vampire #12

Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov | Art by Andrea Sorrentino

"Joshua Hale Fialkov has somehow topped the jaw-dropping events of I, Vampire #6 to once again devastate the status quo with a surprise conclusion. Yet no matter how outrageous his plot twists, he seems incapable of doing wrong. If you’re not reading I, Vampire, then make this the next comic you sink your teeth into." -Joshua

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

9.5

Justice League Dark #12

Written by Jeff Lemire | Art by Mikel Janin

"Not too long ago, DC had a very strict rule about letting characters from the Vertigo universe interact with the regular DCU. But now that there is no distinction between the two universes, certain books are taking advantage of the new freedom to mingle. Case in point -- Justice League Dark is quickly turning into fanboy heaven for anyone who adores DC's various horror and magically tinged properties." -Jesse

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

8.5

Scalped #60

Written by Jason Aaron | Art by R.M. Guera

"It’s hard to believe, but we’ve reached the end of one of the most engaging works to come out of Vertigo in the last decade: Scalped. It’s been a long, hard road paved with blood (lots of blood) and a fair share of misery to boot. If, for some misguided reason, you were expecting a happy ending, well, you’ve got another thing coming. To his credit though, Jason Aaron manages to subvert expectations and concludes this series in a fitting, if not entirely definitive, manner." -Joey

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

8.5

Teen Titans #12

Written by Scott Lobdell | Art by Brett Booth

"Did we skip an issue? Did something happen in another comic? How did we end up in a cabin in the woods? It seemed, for two issues, as though Teen Titans was getting better. Maybe not great, but better than it had been. Now, it's the same old crap. This comic, for lack of a better word, sucks. It's horribly paced, over written, and so convoluted that it's nearly impossible to care about any of these characters." -Benjamin

Click to read the entire review!

Final Score:

3.0

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