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Honourable Mentions | 8 Comic Book Writers You Should Be Reading

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I’m at the end of the list once again and this time there’s honourable mentions to get through. This list was actually quite difficult because I was repeatedly confronted with comic book writers that I’d already talked about a fair few times, and I had to look at each author from a different perspective: talking about their work as a whole and aspects of their style, as opposed to going in depth into one particular book like I would usually do.

There are quite a few writers that I could have spoke about but didn’t for various reasons. The first was Scott Snyder, who was actually cut from the list after writing one paragraph and then realising I just didn’t have enough to say, so I suppose I’ll just have to give you the paragraph:

Scott Snyder is on this list largely for his stellar writing on Batman since the creation of the New 52. The New 52 was another reboot/streamlining of DC’s continuity which pissed off more than a few fans, despite the fact that DC had already done this before with their Post-Crisis continuity. However Scott Snyder was put into the very difficult place of writing for DC’s most popular character after one of the most controversial decisions that the company had ever made, and he certainly delivered.

Aside from that though, I didn’t really have much to say about him, he’s wrote some very good material but I just wasn’t able to collect my thoughts to write about him the same way I could Chris Claremont and Neil Gaiman.

The second was Katsuhiro Otomo who I was actually going to put on the list before removing him to avoid me writing a third article on Akira with nothing new to add. I am aware of his other popular work Domu: A Child’s Dream, however I know very little about it other than it has a character with similar powers to Tetsuo and Akira.

The third and final honourable mention goes to Stan Lee. The reason he doesn’t make this list is actually quite simple. While Stan Lee created a huge amount of Marvel’s popular characters, he actually shaped very few of them into what they are today. Stan Lee came up with the X-Men, but it was the work of Chris Claremont that really made them what they are today, the same goes for Daredevil who may have been created by Stan Lee, but Frank Miller is the one that truly made the comic what it’s known as today.

Stan Lee still gets an honourable mention however because no one can deny the huge amount of work he put into the Marvel Universe, and also for his interesting post 2000 work with DC which surprised even me. His work on Spider-Man is also up there with some of my favourite comic book work ever. Stan Lee is the man, don’t get me wrong, however I just didn’t feel there was enough to make me recommend him over many of the others on this list.

So those are my three who didn’t make the final cut. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading and I’ll see you next time!

 

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I'm a writer based somewhere in the UK, I like fiction, dinosaurs, martial arts, holding hands and long walks on the beach.

Artificial Intelligence

Gaming models are created by Auctoria using generative AI

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Aleksander Caban, co-founder of Polish VR game developer Carbon Studio, noticed a major problem in modern game design several years ago. He manually created rocks, hills, paths, and other video game environment elements, which was time-consuming and laborious.

Caban created tech to automate the process.

In collaboration with Michal Bugała, Joanna Zając, Karolina Koszuta, and Błażej Szaflik, he founded Auctoria, an AI-powered platform for creating 3D game assets. Auctoria, from Gliwice, Poland, is in Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt 2023.

Auctoria was founded on a passion for limitless creativity, according to Zając in an email interview. It was designed to help game developers, but anyone can use it. Few advanced tools exist for professionals; most are for hobbyists and amateurs. We want to change that.”

Using generative AI, Auctoria creates various video game models. One feature generates basic 3D game levels with pathways, while another converts uploaded images and textures of walls, floors, and columns into 3D versions.

Like DALL-E 2 and Midjourney, Auctoria can generate assets from text prompts. Or they can submit a sketch, which the platform will try to turn into a digital model.

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All AI algorithms and training data for Auctoria were developed in-house, according to Zając.

She said “Auctoria is based 100% on our content, so we’re not dependent on any other provider.” It’s independent—Auctoria doesn’t use open source or external engines.

In the emerging market for AI game asset generation tools, Auctoria isn’t alone. The 3DFY, Scenario, Kaedim, Mirage, and Hypothetic startups create 3D models. Even Nvidia and Autodesk are entering the space with apps like Get3D, which converts images to 3D models, and ClipForge, which generates models from text descriptions.

Meta also tried tech to create 3D assets from prompts. In December, OpenAI released Point-E, an AI that synthesizes 3D models for 3D printing, game design, and animation.

Given the size of the opportunity, the race to market new solutions isn’t surprising. According to Proficient Market Insights, 3D models could be worth $3.57 billion by 2028.

According to Zając, Auctoria’s two-year R&D cycle has led to a more robust and comprehensive toolset than rivals.

“Currently, AI-based software is lacking for creating complete 3D world models,” Zając stated. “3D editors and plugins offer only a fraction of Auctoria’s capabilities. Our team started developing the tool two years ago, giving us a ready-to-use product.”

Auctoria, like all generative AI startups, must deal with AI-generated media legal issues. Not yet clear how AI-generated works can be copyrighted in the U.S.

However, the Auctoria team of seven employees and five co-founders is delaying answering those questions. Instead, they’re piloting the tooling with game development studios like Caban’s Carbon Studio.

Before releasing Auctoria in the coming months, the company hopes to raise $5 million to “speed up the process” of creating back-end cloud services to scale the platform.

Zając stated that the funding would reduce the computing time required for creating worlds or 3D models with Auctoria. Achieving a software-as-a-service model requires both infrastructure and user experience enhancements, such as a simple UI, excellent customer service, and effective marketing. We’ll keep our core team small, but we’ll hire more by year’s end.”

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Comics

Syphon Filter on PlayStation Plus Premium: Dark Mirror and Ape Academy 2 Have Awards

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Even though trophy support for older games on PS Plus Premium isn’t always great, you can always count on Sony’s first-party games to have it.If you like collecting these digital trinkets, you’re in luck, because today’s big PlayStation Plus update includes two classic games that can now be used to earn Trophies.

Each trophy list for Ape Academy 2 and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror includes the platinum cherry on top. You can look at their respective listings here and here if you’re interested.

The list for Dark Mirror appears to be quite simple—you can basically earn them all by finishing the game. The trophies in Ape Academy 2 appear to be a little more complicated, requiring you to complete particular objectives in card battles and advance to specified rankings. Nonetheless, it doesn’t seem too difficult, so we’re looking at a couple of quite simple platinums.

Ridge Racer: Type 4 is this month’s other premium classic game; sadly, it does not offer trophies. But it makes up for it by being a complete banger.

However, will you be obtaining some of these trophies with a nostalgic flavor?

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Comics

Beautiful New Book Teaches About the Art of Horizon Forbidden West

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This year, Sony produced some truly outstanding work, releasing four high-profile games on the PS5 and PS4 (not to mention the numerous PC ports). The earliest of these, Horizon Forbidden West, arrived in February of 2022 and got the year off to a strong start. One of Aloy’s sophomore journey’s greatest strengths, among the many other things we like about it, is its excellent art direction. The Art of Horizon Forbidden West allows you to now delve deeply into the game’s visuals.

This coffee table book, which was published by Dark Horse Books, contains 200 pages of concept art and developer commentary. It provides an inside look at the process used to develop engaging characters and settings, and Forbidden West is certainly not lacking in either.

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There will be two editions of the book: standard and deluxe. Both are hardback books, with the deluxe edition having pages with metallic edges and a unique slipcase. These are now up for pre-order and will go on sale on April 25, 2023.

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