Something totally gross is afoot on the intergalactic mining vessel USG Ishimura. The latest issue of the animated Dead Space comic is now available for your viewing pleasure, complete with subtle pans, focus pulls, and just enough squishy sound effects to get the whole thing across.

As far as video game advertising goes, we've gotta say these comics/videos are pretty effective. Watching these chumps try and kill the space-baddies is pretty frustrating when we all know that you need to strategically dismember them. You can't just shoot willy-nilly! And seriously, how do you expect to do any damage without a badass spacesuit and accompanying laser triton? You know what, forget it! We'll just do it ourselves ... drat, advertising!

We hope you're in the mood for some illustrated dismemberment -- the fourth installment of EA's Dead Space animated comic dropped last night, bringing the origin story of the title's unsettling setting (the mining station USG Ishimura) a bit closer to completion. This chapter's all about life lessons, really -- for instance, when your space station is being besieged by an aggressive alien organism, perhaps the morgue isn't the best place to hang out. Also, while serving as an intergalactic janitor on said station, perhaps peering down darkened, infested air ducts isn't the best course of action.

Life lessons, swearing (NSFW, BTW), and halved torsos, all posted after the break.

After the break, you'll find the second of six animated "issues" of the Dead Space comic. The hefty backstory to EA's survival horror continues, with the mysterious "marker" potentially causing a colony of miners to all catch a bad case of the crazies. At the rate we're going, it looks like EA will drop one of these a month all the way through September, at which point we'll be treated to the one-two punch of the animated prequel and the game's release this Haloween.

In case you're behind, here are the previous issues:
Dead Space Animated Comic: Issue 1

In case you didn't get a chance to pick up the first issue of the Dead Space comic (or maybe you can't read ... in which case, what are you doing here?), they've just released an animated version and, we've got to say, it's got our attention. While it's a known fact that the entire staff of Joystiq suffers from a rare disease whose only symptom is intense concentration when presented with a combination of foul language and severed torsos – both present in the first installment tucked away safely after the break – we think we'd be interested regardless, disease be damned.

It's got that creepy space horror aesthetic they've been promising, along with a healthy dose of creepy space zealots and creepy space obelisks. We're sure the next five issues will add appropriate amounts of creepy space paranoia and, of course, creepy space monsters. After all that, we'll get the feature-length fully animated Dead Space prequel which picks up right where the comic lets off. After that? We presume the actual video game. EA better hope there's enough meat on these bones.

We'd like to make a note of David Hadju's new book, The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America. It takes a look at how the federal government's involvement in censoring comics damaged the comic book industry. There are quite a few parallels to draw from this and what video games have to face. Since this is a highlight of video game webcomics, we thought it'd be dually poignant.

Here are our picks for the week's best game-related webcomics. Be sure to vote for your favorite! (Voting after the break)

• A Price Cut (RPG-TV)
• Dongs Are Everywhere (Penny Arcade)
• Cut Above the Rest (Dueling Analogs)
• Going Online (VG Cats)
• Deja Vu (2P Start)
• Dots (The Librarianist)
• Causing Violence (Cectic)
• Oh, Why the Hell Not (Scout Rush)

We've recently finished our first play-through Bioware's gargantuan space opera, and while we walked away from the experience with great satisfaction, we humbly suggest they change the title of the game from Mass Effect to "The Galactic Adventures of Chatty Cathy." Seriously, you'll exchange more words with your enemies than you will bullets. It's like a 12 Angry Men simulator, only in space, and sans Tony Danza.

One of the goons at Something Awful recently made a parody of the lengthy conversation system in Mass Effect. Don't judge the comic by it's corny title (Ass Effect? Really?), as it actually has a few nuggets of comedy gold. However, if you haven't played the game yet, you might not get some of the jokes -- in which case, we present an alternate comic: Marmaduke!

He's a dog who thinks he's a person!

If the first few pages of the first issue of the World of Warcraft comic tickled your proverbial fancy, then you might want to check out the online-only issue #0 that MTV Multiplayer recently put up. The series, which is being published by Wildstorm (a branch of DC Comics) and written by former Hawkgirl author Walter Simonson, seems to pay more attention to lore than most comic book adaptations of popular franchises. For instance, on page three, a level 6 human rogue runs up to a level 70 blood elf warlock, calls him a H0M0L0RD, and /spits on him twenty times.

You should be able to find issue #1 in your nearest Cheetos-scented comic book retailer this Wednesday.

Today's video pick, an overview of the NES classic, Batman, is the top-watched segment at GameTrailers. The game follows parts of the Tim Burton movie, and we agree with GameTrailers that it's among the best movie-IP games of all time. The batarang rocks.

Top off your nostalgia-meter -- and hope for a Virtual Console release -- after the break.

We plunge GameTrailers for today's video pick, a Hellboy trailer that makes us tentatively look forward to comic franchises again since the Neversoft Ghost Rider game that never was. Of course it's still just a trailer, and a lot can change before the game is released this summer. But Hellboy looks good, with its 3D engine rendering in a style that fits its comic history.

Judge for yourself after the break.

Today's Frazz got us thinking about how the existence of video games and the Internet would have affected the career paths of some of history's greatest figures. Just picture it: Isaac Asimov as the world's most prolific "PS3 vs. Wii" message board poster; Mozart as a world-famous Guitar Hero virtuoso on YouTube; Homer's Odyssey as a mildly sucessful ancient greek Grand Theft Auto clone. How do you think the lives of other historical figures would be affected by video games?

[Update: Fixed typo in Guitar Hero title. Whoops!]

Bill Amend, creator of the überpopular comic strip Foxtrot, is going to be dropping to Sunday-only strips at the end of the month. Wonder what he'll be doing with his free time? This strip from the series drops a hint. We'll be sad to see the strip only once a week, but at least he's still doing it all himself.

The Arte Luise Kunsthotel has to be one of the coolest hotels on the planet. Each room was designed by a different artist, and the prices won't require you to sell your PS3 for an overnight stay.

The room "Comic" looks like something out of Jet Set Radio Future, or maybe an A-Ha video. That's an actual photo of the room above. You can just imagine losing your depth perception and sense of realism there, and we can't think of a more perfect place to set up a game console. Preferably a Wii, because anything with more horsepower would overpower the room.

Check out some of the other rooms in the place, it's a real trip. Next time we're in Berlin, Joystiq calls dibs on this room and "Future Comfort". That shower looks like something out of Terry Gilliam's Brazil.

[Via Boing Boing]

This summer lull for games bores us immensely -- thank the Nine we have webcomics. Be sure to vote for your favorite!

	Well ... someone made the Tingle joke.
	For the record, it's a talking couch.
	We're pretty sure he's playing Uno. Probably against us.
	Wait 'til you see how they market the Dreamcast controller as chic.
	Silly little Combine sympathizer.

Ever wonder why profanity is censored with shift-key symbols (e.g. $&%#)? So do we. Honorable mentions go to Fanboys Online, The Ultrageeks, and Sunday at Ten; here are our highlights for game-related webcomics this week, be sure to vote for your favorite!

	What's your weakness?
	Let's burn things, little buddy.
	You want to run (N, S, E, W)
	Mmm ... morphball.
	I love the sound when sword hits pot.
	"It's showtime!"

Thanks to figmentPez we're adding Dragon Tails to this week's edition. We've already given props to Ctrl+Alt+Del this week, so barring that here are some of our favorite game-related webcomics for the week -- be sure to vote for your favorite!

	As we often say, keep on shroomin'
	I saved a penny, once.
	So dark the Contra of Man
	O, Nintendo
	Hmm, it really IS a pickle!

[update 1: our cms server thought it'd be fun to add http:// twice to the beginning of a few links -- the server has been properly reprimanded and the links are now fixed.]

[update 2: too funny not to use -- thanks for Da Vinci pun, bob!]