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Comic Books: Where to Start?

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I’ve often been critical of how difficult it can be for new readers to get into comics, as with so much history it is often very intimidating. These are the steps that I took to get into comics so that it was a less daunting task.

 

Step One: Identify Your Interests

What are you interested in? Once you’ve identified what you like in stories you may have a better idea of where to start. Or alternatively, pick a popular comic that you want to start reading,; Batman and Spider-Man are where most people I know started with comics (I certainly started with Spider-Man).

If you’re into the dark and bleak, comics by Vertigo are always a good place to go. If you’re more into high flying action and adventure you can never go wrong with Marvel comics, and superhero comics in general.

Just don’t think that comics aren’t for you if you read something that was popular that didn’t do anything for you. Not everyone will like superheroes, and there is far more to comics than that.

 

Step Two: Read One Shots and collected stories

I have never been one to dive completely into a series from the beginning. This is because comics early issues are often very rarely like how they are later in their run, as the writers get more comfortable with the characters, or even if the series changes hands and is completely revolutionised (like The Uncanny X-Men with Chris Claremont and Daredevil with Frank Miller).

I’m a big advocate of reading collected stories first before getting more heavily invested into a franchise. Say you want to start reading Batman, but you have no idea of where to start? The obvious choice would be Year One by Frank Miller which tells of the first year that Batman spent on the job, however there are many other great stories like The Dark Knight Returns. Personally, the first Batman comic I read was Joker by Brian Azarello which was released in 2008, which is starting to look longer and longer ago all the time.

I tend to find the best way to start is by reading these confined stories like Joker or The Killing Joke, where you don’t need to have a huge understanding of the pre-existing law to get by. Alternatively find a highly recommended story arc like Kraven’s Last Hunt for Spider-Man, that can give the series a good showing.

This is particularly easy to do with manga which tends not to have the same amount of baggage as usually one writer will helm an entire series that won’t last for nearly as long as a lot of American comics do.

This is the best way to start reading in my opinion.

Step Three: Look Up the History of Comics/Your Chosen Comic

The history of comics is something that’ll be hugely important if you’re really looking to get into. The details of the Golden, Silver, Bronze and Modern/Dark Ages of comic books are things that you’ll probably want to know about, especially if you’re looking for work with a certain tone.

Also if you particularly liked one particular comic book that you’ve read you’ll probably either want to learn more about the history of the character to find cool and interesting stories that have been recommended or that you otherwise just think sound good or just start from the first issue and work your way through.

The second option, however, is not one that I would necessarily recommend as series like Spider-Man would have entire story arcs running across multiple different comics such as: The Amazing Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man and The Web of Spider-Man. This can make it very difficult to follow a story because of the awful way writers would continue stories across series to get you buying them all. This is why it’s particularly important to me to really know the history and stories of the characters, although this can completely depend on if you’re okay with happening across accidental spoilers. I don’t tend to mind too much with long ongoing comics but with shorter series such as Sandman and Preacher I may be bothered a little more.

Most of all though just enjoy reading them, it can be very daunting to first get into comics but that is no reason not to try, it is complicated but it’s nothing that should really hamper your enjoyment of a book series… just… don’t start straight away with Grant Morrison. You need time before you dance with the devil.

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Thank you for joining me for comic book month! It’s been an absolute blast and I hope you’re looking forward to next month as much as I am!

 

 

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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