Like rummaging through celebrity trash for the latest gossip, it often makes us chuckle as to where new video game news emerges, something only reinforced by last weekend's New York Comic Con. Buried beneath action figures, cosplayers, and that Super Girl Barbie we absolutely must have, came word of an upcoming sequel to last year's comic-inspired FPS The Darkness.

The news was unleashed during a discussion panel with American comic company and The Darkness publisher TOP COW, during which (according to comic blog The Quarter Bin) it was said: "We can't say Darkness and video game sequel in the same sentence. So, Darkness. Wink. Sequel." While hardly an absolute confirmation, the news is enough to make our stomach rumble with a hunger that only hearts will quell.

[Via WorthPlaying]

According to Mortal Kombat Online, we don't have to wait for the big Noob.com reveal as they say a Midway source has confirmed to them that the next game in the series would be Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, a game originally rumored back in September.

Normally we'd be skeptical without a press release from Midway in our inbox, but MKO also nabbed the above image which we have to admit looks pretty darn authentic. Hopefully we'll get some more details later in the day about character rosters, but for now, you may be permitted to rabidly fantasize: What's your dream crossover battle?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]

Whether its capturing New York in a room to promote it or breaking out the wallet for a Barry Pepper-caliber talent, it's clear that Sierra is counting on Prototype being a hit. Now, the company has found a new avenue for the game's story of "a genetically mutated shape-shifter with no memory of his past hell-bent on solving the mystery of his existence," with a Prototype comic series coming from DC in August on the Wildstorm imprint.

Since the game itself isn't due until fall, we're hoping that it will offer some early insight into the game's plot. We're also hoping it comes out the same weeks as Buffy: Season Eight, or we may just forget to pick it up entirely.

We've known of EA's collaboration with Image for a comic book miniseries based on Dead Space for some time, though like the game itself any news beyond knowledge that something is coming has been scarce. Now EA has confirmed new details surrounding the project, noting that the six-part comic series will be penned by Wasteland's Antony Johnston and feature the unmistakable art of Ben Templesmith, best known for his work on Image Comics' own Fell.

As noted earlier, the comics will serve as a prequel to EA's nonstop scare-a-thon, which is expected to keep us playing from beneath the safety of our blankets when it drops this fall for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. We're unsure if the comics will have a similar effect on our psyche, though the above image taken from a limited edition version of the first issue creeps us right out. Just look at his eyes. He knows something. This special edition of the first issue will be given away at this week's WonderCon in San Francisco, while the series will begin showing up at your comic store of choice this March. In the meantime, if you need us, we'll be under the couch where it's safe.

We are so excited for Dead Space. It's going to be so awesome that we're sure when it's released, even our strongest hyperbole will fail to describe its greatness, even though we don't technically know anything much about it. So, how are we so sure it will be great? Well, for starters, Mr. Smarty Pants, we've seen a trailer that made the game look amazing. How would that be possible if the game itself wasn't amazing? It wouldn't, that's how. Also, EA said it was "brilliant, bold and often bloody." They're making the game! Don't you think they'd know?

Finally we have Exhibit C: Image Comics is going to be turning Dead Space into a six-part comic miniseries. It's coming in March and it's a prequel, which means that there's so much good story, they couldn't even fit it all into the game! Awesome! Well, that's all for now, we'll be sure to keep updating you on why Dead Space is awesome as soon as we ... you know, learn something about it.

Sony Online Entertainment has announced a collaboration with Virgin Comics intended to transform the Ramayan 3392. A.D. comic book series into an MMO, "initially" bound for the PC. Based on the Indian Ramayana story and set in a post-apocalyptic humans vs. demons world (obviously), the Deepak Chopra-developed comic franchise would seem to lend itself well to the genre without resorting to Western swords and sorcery shenanigans.

The multi-year, worldwide licence agreement sees SOE developing and publishing the game with creative consultation provided by Virgin Comics. The company's chief creative officer, Gotham Chopra, noted the prominence of "duty, honor, sacrifice, and fraternity" in the story, as well as "uniquely Indian ideas like karma (how action and consequence are linked) and the malleability of time itself." Delving deeper, he concluded that working on the game with SOE is "just awesome."

With no release date announced, we likely have quite a wait ahead of us before learning about online duty, honor, sacrifice, fraternity and awesomeness.

It's a point that comes up a lot in arguments about the cultural import of video games. "The medium is still young," defenders argue. "Games may not have reached total mainstream acceptance yet, but just give it some more time. You'll see."

We hate to break it to you guys, but video games aren't that young anymore. This month marks 40 years since Ralph Baer's Brown Box effectively created the idea of interactive screen-based games (and the industry is even older if you count Willy Higinbotham's 1958 experiment Tennis for Two).

This important milestone got us wondering: how do the first 40 years of gaming compare to the first 40 years of other forms of mass entertainment? Continue reading for a quick historical comparison:

Announced this past February at New York Comic Con, Halo: Uprising is an ongoing series for the man from Killimanjaro and the follow-up project to last years incredible Halo Graphic Novel. Newsarama has got the details in a July solicitation from Marvel.

The first issue will be coming in at 40 pages and will fill in the blanks between the Master Chief joyriding a Forerunner spaceship at the end of Halo 2 to, well, whenever the heck Halo 3 picks it up. The Chief won't be the only star of the show as Uprising will tell the saga of "a great American city's rebellion and downfall." If it's anything like HGN's "Sunrise Over New Mombasa," lore-nuts will really have something to freak out about.

Halo: Uprising is written by Marvel's marathon man, Brian Michael Bendis (Mighty Avengers, New Avengers and roughly 1,000 other books) and illustrated by Alex Maleev (New Avengers, Spider-Woman).

Today's The Boondocks comic by Aaron McGruder deals with the trend of politicians going after video game developers and publishers. It's a great summary of the problem, simply rendered in comic strip form. Perhaps Jack Thompson will read this strip and it will change his life. We can hope, can't we?

Let's hope they get tired of this soon, because the next step will be coming after parents for buying the games, and gamers for having the audacity to play 'em. Later, if you even look at a game, it could be a possible fine of up to $250 and one week of mandatory congressional aide duty.

Stop the insanity before it goes too far.

[Thanks, Ethan]

With the release of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy being close enough for us to start using words like "imminent" and "impending," it's hard not to "imagine" the possibilities brought on by the next franchise selected for LEGO-fication. CVG reports that the world's greatest detective has been chosen by Traveller's Tales to star in the next instalment of the lighthearted series. Following in the square footsteps of the Star Wars games, Batman's blocky adventure is sure to be an amusing parody of everything we've come to know about the caped crusader, Gotham City and its noticeably deranged inhabitants. "Where does he get those wonderful toys?"

If you'll recall, it was just last month that Jonathan Smith of Traveller's Tales confirmed that more LEGO games were in the works. Congratulations to Joystiq commenter 32_Footsteps for correctly pinning Batman as the next victim of geometric simplification. We'd dole out some sort of prize, but we think having Batman busting blockheads and battling a juxtaposed Joker is reward enough.

We're regular readers of Superhero Hype!, a fact rendered unsurprising given our unhealthy obsession with gravity-defying men and women in brightly colored garb. The site recently posted a drab interview with Matthew Paul, producer of the upcoming altruistic all-stars adventure, Marvel: Ulltimate Alliance. Little did we know that the article would contain such a high volume of fluff, reading it would be akin to getting smothered by a pillow in your sleep. Locking an Activision PR person in a room and having them read a press release aloud would likely have resulted in a more intriguing investigation into the game's features. Features like unbelievable, hyper-real graphics!

When queried about the game's graphics on next-generation systems, Mr. Paul points out the "life-like" textures on Captain America and The Thing, commenting that there are times when "you feel more like you're watching a blockbuster Super Hero movie as opposed to a video game because it looks so real." Right. Ignoring the fact that the official PS3 screenshot above flamboyantly contradicts such a claim (and such acclaim), it's unbelievable that the interview doesn't change course when it suddenly finds itself covering the "real" nature of comic book characters and movies. It looks so real it's like watching a movie? That must be the one directed by Hyper Boll -- we've seen it far too many times already.

Marvel is offering a sneak peak at the upcoming Halo Graphic Novel (that's HGN for those of us in the know). They're teasing the Halo-faithful with some panels from each of the four main stories -- "The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor," "Armor Testing," "Breaking Quarantine," and "Second Sunrise Over New Mombasa" -- as well as a short strip titled "Shore Leave: Master Chief on Holiday."

It also has the release date emblazoned on the back page: oh seven-twelve-oh six. That's less than a month away, fanboy. You can make it. We believe in you. Master Chief believes in you.

*Registration is required so try user/pass: gimmewallpaper/gimmewpaper (Bugmenot).

[Update: Forget Marvel's obnoxious, interactive, reg-required site. Check out Bungie.org for some regular, plain-ole JPGs and a little background on the preview. Thanks, supersloth!]

Gabe and Tycho (that's Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins to you insiders), the brains behind (Weekly Webcomic Wrapup mainstays) Penny Arcade, get the third degree in Computer Gaming World's May issue. Don't have the mag, then check out the "Director's Cut" version at their website. So, what is revealed in this tell-all, gut-spilling, interview?

They talk about their spat with Harlan Ellison ("... his audience there erupted and he glared at me like he wanted to choke me onstage."); their feud with Scott McCloud ("We're best friends. He came to my birthday party."); games they're playing ("... what I've been doing at night lately is playing Marble Blast Ultra."); their secret fantasies ("You had to punch guys until their clothes came off. Every time you'd punch them, like, their pants would fly off."); their Bioware module; their favorite comic ("They Hail From Canidon"); PAX ("We wanted to make a show where gamers could get the same kind of experience we got at E3."); and Child's Play.

If this is the stuff that didn't make it into the magazine, that means the rest of the interview must have encompassed the sum total of their collective life experiences; a dump of their consciousness, ready and waiting for a post-human existence.

'Tis a time for celebration! This week, both Press Start to Play and Bob and George hit milestones, accomplishing 50 posts and 6 years (respectively) -- congratulations, guys! That said, we were a tad disappointed not to have found any webcomics pertaining to windows gaming on a Mac. Major props to VG Cats for a hilarious (yet not game-related) strip. Here are our favorite game-related webcomics for the week:

	A political puppet of his father.
	Oh sweet Miss Liberty! (thanks, Eliot)
	Pause.
	The size of your head
	Boooooeeeooww!!
	Welcome to the "Total Moron's School of Business"

[Update: Sorry it took so long to make an update on this: the first choice (Digital Unrest), as Chris has pointed out in the comments below, has gone down becuase of server traffic. We are both sorry to Chris for him having to upgrade his server unexpectedly, and elated that the Joystiq community would support a comic by clicking on the link en masse. Thanks, guys!]

Lifemeter is a new site "intended to showcase illustrated tributes [to video games] in a vast range of unique art styles, while maintaining respect for the characters and their gameworlds."

Dave Roman's comic, "Adventures in Adventure", is hysterical: what if the protagonist from Adventure had gotten drunk and was trying to track down his keys? They are currently seeking submissions, so if you have an idea for a "day in the life" of a favorite video game icon, stop by their page for details.

(Image is from KC Green's "Frog Suit.")

[Via GSW]