PixlBit

I have a Maltese. Prepare for one of the most loyal and human friendly dogs there is.  Follows us everywhere, always wants to be in close proximity to a human being.

Shin Megami Tensei came out on Super Famicom. It's got demons and the occult. That's horror RPG enough for me.

Legacy of the Wizard was the shit.  Amazing music and ambiance for a NES game. Dat nostalgia.

I don't know which I had more of a problem with when it came to Bastion: the simplistic combat or the cramped level design. Probably the latter, seeing as how I can still enjoy old Legend of Zelda and Diablo.  Transistor looks way better.

I can just hear an announcer saying "epic fail" as this plays.

I see them laying around every time I go to a Best Buy or Target. Different regions or populations might get different suppy.

Title of blog is pretty much THE most appropriate response to this news.  Were Juni and Juli really that popular that we needed another one of them?

It's funny, but I read an article about how there was fan outrage because Alex Ross depicted a male heroes "bulge" in one of his illustrations.  People want a veneer of sexuality, but they don't want the gritty bits under the surface.

Batman depends on the writer, as does The Punisher. I think these are inherently silly characters though, so I like a writer who can straddle the line between seriousness and absurdity.  Paul Dini (Animated Series, Arkham games) comes to mind.

I have to admit that I used to think Jack Kirby was lame. But he really brought a whole new sensibility to hero comics, based on science and mythology. I think his work had the ties to Greek art that you brought up, but I don't see it in the work of Jason Scott Campbell or Adam Hughes.

Personally, I don't like in-your-face titillation. I like subtlety. Drawing fit people is enough, I don't need them to contort their bodies in an effort to show off their main assets. "Naturalness" is sexier to me, as seen in the work of Milo Manara (who draws explicit sex comics) and Frank Frazetta (more PG-rated, but his sexy, endowed women look real and touchable).

Those female poses are ridiculous. No one engaging in any kind of physical toil is going to stand just right so that both their chests and buttocks are both visible to the viewer at the same time.  It's hack work, pure and simple. You see this pose over and over again. Nothing worse than being obvious about your hackery.

And the males have always been ridiculous. Bodybuilders aren't known for their combat or acrobatic prowess. Batman looks like a roid-head now, yet he's supposed to be a gymnast, acrobat, escape artist, and stealthy prowler.

Your White Queen example holds for the White Queen. But then why is every other character put into such physical context regardless of their role?  Let's not lie to ourselves, this is all about appealing to the lowest common denominator, and has been since the 90s and Image comics. So females are sexpots, males are pro-wrestlers.

What neither the HI people or their detractors seem to understand is that superhero comics are lowbrow entertainment, for the most part, drawn by people who don't understand the historical context of artistic anatomy.  They are in no way comparable to classical Greek sculpture or Renaissance figurative works, which were steeped in humanistic and religious philosophy, and a rigorous observation of anatomy for the end goal of better conveying the subject's pathos. There is no kinship between the Laocoon sculpture and modern day hero comics. Maybe in the Jack Kirby days, and those that followed him, but not now, not anymore. There is a galaxy wide gulf of artistry, maturity and intellect between the hero rags and the classics.  So these self-styled intellectuals and progressives should maybe stop occupying their time with such low culture. You don't see elite literature or film critics/enthusiasts spending any more time with Twilight or Michael Bay movies than their jobs require. But the video gamers and hero comic audience wallow in crudity whilst complaining about how crude it all is. SMH.

Besides, the Japanese and French have been blowing American comics out of the water for decades. They really explore sexuality and violence, while Americans like to pose.  All that so called "sexuality" in hero comics, yet never showing actual sex.  Think we'll ever see Clark's penis or Emma's vulva?

I'd say the action-RPG elements are necessary to qualify a Metroid-like game as a 'Metroidvania.' Because those elements -stats, the way equipment and inventory are handled- are what SoTN brought to the mix.  I'm a stickler for terms and their origins and definitions, so I feel people use "metroidvania" too loosely.  Rogue Legacy qualifies, Shadow Complex does not.

And I have and always will consider Metroid an action-adventure game, as much as Zelda.  Action = arcade combat/movement, adventure = progress through the environment depends on acquiring "keys" (whether literal keys or ablilities, items, puzzles)