City of Heroes: The Comic Book Company: NC Soft Product: City of Heroes In a co-venture with NCsoft and Cryptic Studios, Top Cow Productions will launch ?City of Heroes? as a new comic book series that will link together gamers and comic book fans alike. Celebrated writer Mark Waid (?X-Men,? ?Hunter-Killer,? ?Flash,? ?JLA,? ?Ruse,? ?Fantastic Four,? ?Kingdom Come,? ?Empire?) teams up with David Nakayama (?Proximity Effect,? a graduate of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, and a Wizard art contest winner), to bring to life the action and the adventure of the super-powered heroes and villains that make up the City of Heroes massively multiplayer online world. With an audience of more than 100,000 subscribers, City of Heroes has received mass market and critical acclaim in the gaming industry since its launch in April 2004. The game was awarded PC or Console Game of the Year and Multiplayer Game of the Year by Billboard Magazine. It also received MMORPG of the year honors from Spike TV and Computer Gaming World. The new series of comics will launch in May 2005 and City of Heroes players will continue to get the new comic book as part of their game subscription. ?The most exciting part for me is the fact that we?ll be sending this out to both the City of Heroes subscribers and the comic book retailers every month,? says Top Cow Editor in Chief, Jim McLauchlin. ?There is a legion of fans out there who love comic books as an idea and as a genre, but may have forgotten that they love comic books in and of themselves. This is our chance to remind them. It?s a great day for the comic business.? ?We?re thrilled to be working with the Top Cow team,? said City of Heroes Lead Designer Jack Emmert. ?Top Cow is putting together a lineup of artists and writers who are tops in this business. This is an experienced team that has a strong track record for making quality comics. The big winners will be our players, who are really going to enjoy this new experience.? As the official comic book for City of Heroes, the ongoing series will focus on the signature heroes from the online game: The Freedom Phalanx: Statesman, Manticore, Positron, Sister Psyche, and Synapse. ?Our goal is to bridge the gap between game players and comics readers with something that appeals to both and conjures the best elements of both media,? says Top Cow Productions President Matt Hawkins. ?I?ve been playing the game since it came out and met with game creator Jack Emmert and NCsoft product marketing manager Kevin Sullivan. Our discussions eventually let to this deal and announcement.? -Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications AKA Alex Redmann Related Links: NCsoft