Electronic Arts Inc. has that it has signed a deal with IDW Publishing to expand two of its intellectual properties, Army of Two and Dragon Age, into comics under a new EA Comics imprint with IDW beginning in January - and one will be written by top British creator Peter Milligan.
EA and IDW will launch monthly, ongoing series for both Army of Two and Dragon Age, both in print and as digital versions released for iPhone and iPod Touch and other emerging digital platforms.
Written by veteran comic book writer Peter Milligan (whose credits include 2000AD, X-Men, Batman and Hellblazer), Army of Two is being published as a comic starting in January 2010.
Rising star Chester Ocampo is the cover artist while the interior artist/penciler, Dexter Soy, is described as a ‘hot newcomer’ on the comic scene. Soy’s work suggests influences from well-known comic artists such as Whilce Portacio and Leinil Francis Yu.
The first story arc, “Across the Border,” follows ex-Army Rangers Salem and Rios as they form their own Private Military Corporation: Trans World Operations. The story of the comic follow the events of the first Army of Two game but takes place before the deadly invasion of Shanghai by The 40th Day initiative in the videogame sequel. In the comic, Salem and Rios get more than they bargained for as they are unexpectedly caught in a brewing war between the Mexican Army, drug cartels, and The Maras – one of the most powerful street gangs in Mexico.
Inspired by the highly-anticipated BioWare RPG, Dragon Age: Origins, the Dragon Age comic book series will be written by award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer Orson Scott Card (creator of Ender’s Game and the Seventh Son saga). The cover artist is the critically acclaimed Humberto Ramos. Story details and the interior artist are expected to be announced shortly.
“We’ve seen an increasing number of video game tie-ins with comics over the last few years, explained said Mike Quigley, Group Vice President, Global Marketing, EA Games Label, no doubt referring to titles such as Gears of War, drawn by another top British talent, Liam Sharp. "This marks another step in our strategy for extending EA’s wholly-owned game properties to new media.
It's exhilarating to be working with the comic book creators directly,”
Under terms of the agreement, EA will fund and manage the creative aspect of the comic book series, while IDW will be responsible for printing and distribution. IDW is the leader in digital comic book distribution and the nation’s third largest comic book publisher overall.
“This is a great opportunity for IDW to work with a worldwide leader in video games,” said Greg Goldstein, chief operating officer for IDW. “We look forward to bringing a tremendous amount of great content into the comics market.”
• To sign up for the EA Comics mailing list, register at: www.eacomics.com. The site will feature complete information on all the EA comic book series, as well as unique “behind the scenes” content, news, blogs and artwork, plus weekly content updates to keep audiences apprised of the latest developments on current and upcoming projects.
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