America's Army Gets an Online Comic
America's Army [http://www.americasarmy.com/], the long-running videogame franchise that's also an Army recruiting tool, is now available in an all-new form: An online comic book.
The digital comic book, or "graphic novel" as the snooty muckety-mucks like to say, spins the tale of a U.S. Army humanitarian mission to the Democratic Republic of the Ostregals, which is being overrun by the genocidal forces of Czervenia. To monitor the unfolding situation the Army sends in a Long Range Surveillance team, but the secret they stumble upon is deadlier than anyone could imagine!
It's pure propaganda, of course, touching on all the requisite bases: The new guy being ribbed (affectionately) by the other members of the squad, an quick-but-inspiring talk with Sarge on the way into battle, a heroic moment under fire and ultimately, a clap on the back and hearty acceptance as one of the team. There's even a Gears of War [http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/] joke to remind everyone that today's Army is hip.
What I'm looking forward to is the reaction of groups who have strongly criticized America's Army for suckering dim-witted kids into thinking that military service is like a videogame. In March, be cut [http://www.kucinich.house.gov/], saying it gives kids "as young as 13 years old a naive and unrealistic glimpse into the world of soldiering." Can we expect a similar reaction about a comic book or are videogames a uniquely threatening menace?
One more surprising point: The rah-rah recruitment angle notwithstanding, America's Army: The Graphic Novel is actually pretty good. The art is solid and the script is no worse than anything certain other game-based digital comics I could mention [http://www.marvel.com/].
via: GamePolitics [http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/06/05/america039s-army-gets-graphic-novel-0]
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America's Army [http://www.americasarmy.com/], the long-running videogame franchise that's also an Army recruiting tool, is now available in an all-new form: An online comic book.
The digital comic book, or "graphic novel" as the snooty muckety-mucks like to say, spins the tale of a U.S. Army humanitarian mission to the Democratic Republic of the Ostregals, which is being overrun by the genocidal forces of Czervenia. To monitor the unfolding situation the Army sends in a Long Range Surveillance team, but the secret they stumble upon is deadlier than anyone could imagine!
It's pure propaganda, of course, touching on all the requisite bases: The new guy being ribbed (affectionately) by the other members of the squad, an quick-but-inspiring talk with Sarge on the way into battle, a heroic moment under fire and ultimately, a clap on the back and hearty acceptance as one of the team. There's even a Gears of War [http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/] joke to remind everyone that today's Army is hip.
What I'm looking forward to is the reaction of groups who have strongly criticized America's Army for suckering dim-witted kids into thinking that military service is like a videogame. In March, be cut [http://www.kucinich.house.gov/], saying it gives kids "as young as 13 years old a naive and unrealistic glimpse into the world of soldiering." Can we expect a similar reaction about a comic book or are videogames a uniquely threatening menace?
One more surprising point: The rah-rah recruitment angle notwithstanding, America's Army: The Graphic Novel is actually pretty good. The art is solid and the script is no worse than anything certain other game-based digital comics I could mention [http://www.marvel.com/].
via: GamePolitics [http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/06/05/america039s-army-gets-graphic-novel-0]
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