Batman: Arkham City Prequel Comics

Batman: Arkham City is, without a doubt, one of the most anticipated games of 2011. The first game was so spectacular and the gameplay trailers are looking so good that it's pretty easy to see why. To increase the hype even more, DC has been releasing prequel comics written by Paul Dini to set-up the many story arcs that will be present in Arkham City.

I read all of these comics, including the digitally exclusive ones, both for my enjoyment and for you to see whether they were good or not for anticipators of Arkham City. Well, I'm happy to report that they are well-worth the small price that you'll pay to read each one.

Many video game comic tie-ins suck or just don't do much to get you excited for their game. This is an exception with storytelling that sucks you in and will get you even more excited for Arkham City.

By the time of the first issue of the series, Quincy Sharp, the warden of Arkham in the first game, has become mayor after taking credit for the events of Arkham Asylum. A criminal duo, who have been attacking Two-Face's crime organization, perform a suicide bombing on the new Gotham City Hall under the orders of a mysterious figure.

This drives the mayor to green light the creation of Arkham City, a portion of Gotham cut off from the rest that will house the most dangerous criminals. The prisoners will have complete freedom in Arkham City, barring escape attempts.

The story is split between setting up the main arc with the conflict between Batman and the mysterious Dr. Hugo Strange and setting up the sideplots and motivations for the other villains. This is why it works. It gives a strong set-up for everything imaginable in Arkham City.

Among the characters it sets up are of course the Joker and Harley Quinn, the Riddler, Catwoman, Bane (digital exclusive), etc. It gives us a look at what drives them as they enter Arkham City, including what drives characters who don't have to be in Arkham City, into going there.

CONCLUSION

This was a short recommendation about why you should pick up the Arkham City comics. This is what video game tie-in comics should strive to be. Not only are they well-written but also give proper marketing to the game with carefully timed releases that make perfect sense rather than having them come out at the same time as the game.

These are all available here for digital download at a low price. $3 at the most for the main comics in the series and $1 for the digital exclusive. Those anticipating Arkham City should totally check them out as they are awesome.


PS: I'll be putting up quite a few posts tomorrow about TGS with trailers and my personal thoughts on them. Keep an eye open for them.