Good issue, enough to keep me collecting even after the crossover which I had doubts about.
Yeah I was surprised how dark it was for a Mega Man story. Really enjoyed it.
MM25 Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works HC hits comic book stores next week!
A bit late to the party since I just read this in Comic Shop news. Congratulations to Mega Man artist Ryan Jampole for receiving a Harvey Award nomination for Most Promising New Talent!
STREET FIGHTER ORIGINS AKUMA HC HITS COMIC BOOK STORES NEXT WEEK!!!
(Sano passed out.)
- hey guys: how should I get into Street Fighter II?
a/. Ultimate Collection part 2($75?!)
b/. hunt for singles since I have 0 and 4 of II and ALL of Street Fighter the original first run
c/. start the volumes
C.
LOVED the Akuma book! Gotta say I like this format better than the SF3 book. One artist and one story without off topic mini stories in between. Even though it probably takes longer to create I wish theyād continue this way.
Chris Sarracini did an amazing job with the story. I hope he gets more SF comic book work.
Also really loved all of the new characters Joe NG added to the book. All of them look like they can fit in a Street Fighter video game. Great job!
Mega Man #29 drops next week!
Nice, canāt wait to get my copy.
Street Fighter Origins: Akuma
http://img169.imagevenue.com/loc1075/th_72915_image_122_1075lo.jpg
Amateur Short Review
I enjoyed the legend series, because (better or worse) it gave an introspection on one sole character in the street fighter universe. It showed how the main character's actions and the people in the character's life help DEFINE him/her. And The legend (no origin) of Akuma did not disappoint.
[details=Spoiler]Story
As the story unfolds, Akuma starts out from beginnings as the son of a rice farmer. However this innocent life is quickly changed to a tragic event that starts his journey for strength and power.
Now I tried really hard NOT to read this book as a street fighter fan, because this book would inferior to the fanfics of Akuma that are āepicā in length. In this book, there are characters that arenāt 2 dimensional. How Akuma evolves from a weak boy seeking strength, to someone who understands the value of power. His moral code, his brotherās path and his connection with Ryu. As a reader, you will care more about these characters than you thought before.
The only con in this I wish the book was longer. Although, when I read it I was satisfied, and yet I felt that it could gone farther. The cause maybe the fact most of characterization was done through second-hand dialogue and barely show itās actions. (Ex. Goukenās mother death from depression.)
Artwork
Some people may think that since this is AKUMAās story, the expectation of content would be of violent gore at the level of āFirst Of North Starā which is not the case. Oh there is plenty of blood in these fights, but nothing too extreme.
Trivial crap
Crap that only a fan would gripe about.
1.Akuma, written with his North American localize name as a child. Honestly, I thought UDON would put āgoukiā as his real name and āAkumaā as his alias or new name after his enlightenment.[/details]
Bottom line
Is it worth the price? Yes! Wether you care about street fighter or not, this dark story is truly a good read.
I bought it since Akuma/Gouki is my favorite SF character. Itās why I own SF Alpha Generations. I liked it but they could have done better. The first issues of the comics had great fight scenes.
-Akuma vs Ryu/Ken
-Nash vs Bison
-Prologue Ryu vs Evil Ryu
The second even had good Super Arts setup like Sagat punishing Ryuās whiffed overhead with a Tiger Raid. And the last of the SFII tourney was great especially Akuma vs Bison and Ryu. The fights feel like the fighters were just throwing things out there. It really doesnāt come close to Ryu/Ken vs Akuma. The legends surrounding Akumaās reputation was a nice touch. I donāt like that they used to wrong move in Goutetsu vs Gouki. And they didnāt go into the SNH more. Even SFA Generations handled that a lot better and had at least a decent explanation for it. And is also the only animated version of the Shun Goku Satsu that captured itās destructive nature perfectly.
Iāve always been a fan of seeing Gouki grow up but I would have preferred if they used the look he sported in Ryuās flashback. That was the best Young Gouki. And honestly Goutestuās final test is pretty fucked up but understandable as a test of character. And I found it funny who they present as who could have been Ryuās father. Itās overall enjoyable(funny seeing Gouki in casual wear) but none of the fights touch vs Ryu/Ken and the rematch vs Ryu and vs Bison.
Copy came today, good story, but too much sidestepping of the essentials or the expected/craved details IMHO. Continues and maintains the flawed stance for Goutetsu that the first few Udon issues depicted unfortunately.
Picked up Street Fighter Origins: Akuma, and it was relatively entertaining. It suffers from a lack of tension because we know what ultimately becomes of Akuma and Gouken. Honestly, the first time I heard about this project I was a little wary. It kind of demystifies Akuma, and thatās not necessarily a bad thing, but it didnāt feel like a story that āneededā to be told.
I also wonder this - what took so long? This book was first announced for release in āSpring 2011ā when Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki #4 came out, almost exactly 3 years ago! Street Fighter: New Generations hadnāt even been announced yet and it came out first? What happened?
Udon should really hold back from announcing projects/release dates unless theyāre absolutely sure they can meet them. 2 years off the mark is a little crazy.
By the way, the DmC Vergil Chronicles hard cover should be in comic book stores today. Sorry I didnāt mention it last week, it keeps falling below my radar lol!
Same material as the two single issues though, no extra content unfortunately.
I enjoyed Akuma Origins. What Iād like to see is a Part 2. Something that explores his time during Ryu/Kenās upbringing/training. Shows his original clashes with Gen and then leads to an epic fight between him and Gouken culminating in Goukenās death in the dojo.
This could be an origin book that, perhaps, explores Ryu, Ken, a little bit of Dan, and what went on during their trainings and interactions with Akuma prior to him killing Gouken. I think that would be awesome.
Udonās working on a Mighty No. 9 art / strategy book.
http://www.udonentertainment.com/blog/udon/udon-to-create-publish-mighty-no-9-art-book/
Would be nice, but not holding my breath for such a thing to materialize, given that Udonās mainstream comic series has already touched on pretty much all of those.
The Hello Kitty Here We Go manga volume 1 drops next week! Mentioning this because you could get Hello Kitty constumes in the the Japan only Monster Hunter Felyne game and they had that whole figure line with SF characters as Hello Kitty characters last year ROFL! I wonāt mention this again passed the first volume though. 
Picked up the Hello Kitty Here We Go! book. Even though Midtown Comics on their site put it as a manga lol it isnāt really. But thereās hardly any dialog and they got some really good comic book talent behind it.
No Capcom nods lol but Hello Kitty does charm a sasquatch by hugging him. Not the Sasquatch from Darkstalkers but he is all white and the shape of a big soft square ehā¦ As close as we can get.
Oh and big up to Kaneda from the manga Akira making a cameo as a cat person ROFL! So some manga flavor I guess.
Hitting up New York Comic Con tomorrow! No Udon but Shifty Look is coming. Alvin Lee too but not sure if heāll be doing sketches or if Iāll have time to hang out for one. Capcom has no panels scheduled but they will have a booth. No info on what games the booth will have so far, which is a bad sign (means they might be a no-show).
Archie will be there and I will be attending their Mega Man / Sonic panel.
Just like every year keep an eye on the sticky convention thread for everything I see and do! At the very least Iāll take lots of pictures of Capcom cosplayers! 