New comics time.



A few months ago I was approached by Steve Pierce, fashionista and Grand Vizier of all things PS2, about comics. Redesigning Official Playstation 2, and inspired by the page pieces of games theory in comics form Scott McLeod is doing in one of the american rags, he wanted something vaguely similar in OPM2. If, ideally, a little less theory.

Of course, Steve knows nothing about comics, so came to me to ask about comics, how they're done, how they work and my thoughts on doing a comic. I came away from the lunch saying that I'll give a shot at something like I think he wants, but believed that a straight gag strip may be a better and safer bet.

After a few weeks, Jamie McKelvie and me came up with a piece which seemed to satisfy what Steve was looking for. It appears in the next issue of Official Playstation 2, out December 26th, and a monthly basis until it runs out of steam. Which will be - according to my watch - by mid-spring.

The concept was that each half-page strip deals with a different aspect in videogame culture which everyone deals with every day and completely familar, but isn't ever touched on in games magazines. Like - say - looking at your mate's screen on a split-screen videogame. Or someone dominating Beat 'Em Ups by only knowing one combo. Or - as the first one - inversing your Y-axis controls, or not.

It's part theory, part opinion column, part observational comedy, speaking to gamers about the shared experience - and possibly trying to remind them that there IS a shared experience.

At the least, it throws McKelvie's lovely art up in front of 200,000 people.