I got into comics in the mid-’90s reading X-Men and I recall the day I bought my first comic (of that era). It was in the autumn of 1995 now that I check and it was X-Men #45. Later that week I snatched up Uncanny X-Men #325 and I was exposed to the utterly-spectacular art of Joe Madureira. Comics had come a long way from the ones I’d read in the ’80s as a kid and the art was incredible. While I read several comics over the next few years, Joe Madureira style has always been my all-time favorite.
Joe Mad’s run on the X-Men didn’t last too much longer and I anxiously awaited his new creation, Battle Chasers in 1998. Issue #1 was all I had hoped for. It seemed that Madureira (who is just one year my senior) had the very same tastes as me. The fantasy sword & sorcery tone was mixed with a steampunk futuristic mech deal and his penciling was leagues beyond his peers (IMHO). Issues 2 and 3 came soon but the delay between them only grew. The publication history of my new favorite comic was chronicled everywhere. It’s great, but waiting 2-3 months or more kind of ruined any momentum.
Canceling issue #10 in 2001 meant merely nine issues over more than three years. Not a very good track record. I followed Mad through his cover work for other comics and whatever else he did but my interest in comics waned. I played both Darksiders games, never finishing the second. I even met him in 2003!
Me & Mad – 2003
So, now, 2015…the remnants of Vigil Games and we have not only a three-issue arc completing the original Battle Chasers storyline but also a potential Battle Chasers Game?!?! My excitement is evident but let’s just say one thing here…I’ll believe it when I see it. Two issues a year he was going at a decade+ ago.
However, I shouldn’t be so jaded! This is fantastic news and while I don’t know how many die-hard BC/Joe Madureira fans there are after all this time but I’m on board with the comics and the game! In fact, I don’t think I’ve purchased a comic since 2001 or so – but hell yeah I’m getting BC #10 or whatever they call it.
I’ve actually been thinking about the X-Men lately and picked up an issue and flipped through it. Not entirely sure if I care to start up that affair with comics again. If it’s a Madureira series though? You won’t be able to keep me away! Now…we wait. Hmm…feels awfully familiar! :)
Excessive? Nah!
Wargolem
Classic Mad!
BA!
It’s been a few weeks and my journey through Ivalice is hardly complete. At more than 40 hours, I’d wager I’m maybe halfway through. But while my recent ventures have been way off the story’s path, the tale itself is an epic and grand one, much as one might expect from any good FF. The trusty screenshot button is one of my favorite additions to this generation of gaming and so I thought I’d share some of the stunning vistas, group shots (I love these) and unique art style that is FFXII. I’m absolutely loving it. Here you go.
