There’s a reason Scorpion can fight Superman in “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe,” but game’s scribe (and veteran comic author) Jimmy Palmiotti says it doesn’t really matter.

“Why is that guy fighting that guy?” said Palmiotti during a brief interview at Comic-Con. “Well, ha! Why? Because it’s fun, that’s why.”

Comic fans up in arms about the unrealistic nature of the fighting mash-ups weren’t the only ones with concerns, though. When Palmiotti and fellow comics veteran Justin Gray were brought in to work with Midway and DC, they found the two sides didn’t see eye-to-eye.

“The ‘Mortal Kombat’ people and the DC people were like ‘No, no! You can’t do that! Those guys don’t meet, they’re in different dimensions!’ Blah blah blah!” he said. “We came in to fix that.”

It hasn’t yet been revealed what that fix is, however, as “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe”’s storyline remains a secret. Palmiotti promised we’d learn the answers to everything as we get closer to the game’s release.

Related Posts:
Beating Up The Dark Knight — ‘Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe’ Impressions
‘Mortal Kombat’ Creator Wants To Make ‘MK vs. Street Fighter vs. Tekken vs. Virtua Fighter’

One of geekiest moments at Comic-Con 2008 was having a brief 10 minutes to spend talking with legendary comic artist Jim Lee. Given the excitement over “The Dark Knight” lately, you may best know Lee’s work from the “Batman Hush” series. But I was there to discuss “DC Universe Online” with him.

At the end of our talk, I asked him to sign an autograph for my comic-loving girlfriend. Turns out that Jim Lee doesn’t do autographs. Instead, he asked what my girlfriend’s favorite character was (Joker) and drew it for her.

Amazing, right? You can scope out the entire drawing by reading on.

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Around these parts, we blog about video games. MTV Movies Blog blogs about “Twilight” (and, occasionally, other movies.) MTV Newsroom blogs about mostly music news. All good and well, but who is blogging about comic books around here?

As of today, some of our colleagues are doing just that, launching the spiffy-looking Splash Page blog which will focus on the crossovers between comics and movies (Check out the cool Watchmen and Batman posts already up there).

With the Splash Page team arriving at the San Diego Comic-Con today, I know they’re going to have a ton to post about. Do give it a look and let the team there know what you think. Want more “Dark Knight” news? (Of course!) Demanding a weekly Grant Morrison interview? (Not happening! Boo!)  Wondering if they have any scoop on the “Plastic Man” movie? (They do.)

If they’re lucky, I’ll write them a post about the great old Jimmy Olsen comics. Only if they’re lucky.

So please bookmark, RSS, or tattoo this URL to your favorite body part: splashpage.mtv.com

On the eve of America’s 232 birthday, there’s no better of a way to celebrate than to enjoy the first ‘120 Seconds‘ of a game starring the man that stands for everything that is great about this country, Captain America. “Captain America and The Avengers” was released for the NES in 1992, and was, unfortunately, nothing like the arcade game of the same name. Watch the video and see how Cap collects gems to unlock the exit to the level as he uses his trusty shield to take out the enemies in the level.

(Videos not viewable by users logging in from Canada or the U.K.)

Whether you think of video game-based comics as crass marketing tools or welcome extensions to existing IP, they’re here to stay. From WWII action-shooter “Brothers in Arms” to space-based, survival horror title “Dead Space” to the elf and-orc-filled MMORPG “World of Warcraft,” comic books are being made for every kind of game.

We decided to list all the game-inspired comics we could think of, including random one-shots, old classics, ongoing series and upcoming ones you might want to ask for at a comics shop near you.

ARMY OF TWO
The “Army of Two: Dirty Money” graphic novel follows game protagonists Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem, operatives for a private military contractor, in an original storyline that depicts their early mercenary missions that occurred before the start of the game.
Publisher: Prima Games
Writer/Artist: Written by John Ney Rieber, art by Brandon McKinney
Release Date: January 2008
Sound Effect We’d Like to See: “Hooah!” accompanied by chest bump.
Something We Hope Will Be Addressed in the Comic: How the pair actually does mid-mission shopping.

Many, many more comics listed after the jump…

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I may have a problem. Every time I go to the movies, I’m seeing video games.

This happened by accident when I saw “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” but that wasn’t the case last night with “The Incredible Hulk.”

I watched the movie with the connection in mind. It didn’t take long to start connecting the dots.

By the second act, I had already identified “The Incredible Hulk”’s boss pattern.

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The new “World of Warcraft” comic debuted last November, and we learned that writing it isn’t so easy.

But for the comic’s penciller Ludo Lullabi, drawing “World of Warcraft” was a dream come true. The 29 year-old French artist (”Eternal Midnight,” “Kookaburra Universe,” “Lilian Cortez,” “Lanfeust Quest”) was such a huge fan of the game, he submitted original “Warcraft”-inspired illustrations to Blizzard, who eventually offered him the project. Here’s an excerpt from my e-mail exchange with Lullabi, translated from French:

“The fact that I am really familiar with ‘WoW’ helped me capture the essence of the universe so I could translate it to the comic. Often, I am even doing in-game location reconnaissance. I am riding my sabertooth tiger or I am traveling in Azeroth to do some screen captures or I am simply sitting down in a quiet spot to draw.”

Read on to see how Lullabi works with Blizzard and if he’s worried at all about appeasing the millions of players. (You can also check out his work firsthand in our previews of Issue #0, Issue #1, Issue #2 and most recently Issue #3.)

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We just can’t seem to get enough of the “World of Warcraft” comic.

First, we brought you the entire, online-only Issue #0 of the new “World of Warcraft” comic that debuted last year, as well as a preview of Issue #1. Last month, we also gave you a taste of Issue #2.

And now we’ve got the first few pages of the third book (or is it the fourth?). Written by Walter Simonson (”Orion,” “Thor”), with pencils by Ludo Lullabi and ink by Sandra Hope, Issue #3 continues the story of an amnesic human named Lo’Gosh.

Check out the first five pages to see what’s in store for Lo’Gosh as well as Rehgar Earthfury and Broll Bearmantle…
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Last month, we posted the entire, online-only Issue #0 of the new “World of Warcraft” comic.

Prior to that, we also previewed the first five pages of the first issue.

The series is written by veteran scribe Walter Simonson (”Orion,” “Thor”) with art by Ludo Lullabi and Sandra Hope.

If you’ve been following the comic and want to see more of the expanded adventures in Azeroth, Multiplayer now has an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming second issue, in stores on December 19th. It will come in two covers: one by Jim Lee and the other, shown here, by Blizzard Art Director Samwise Didier.

Make the jump to see the cover and the first five pages.

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Sure you could play “Magic the Gathering” and re-enact every battle that takes place, but that’s too much work.

That’s where “The Eye of Judgment” comes in. The first-ever game for the PlayStation Eye camera recently hit stores, and while we know some PS3 gamers would be interested, what about the hardcore card players?

We had video game host Blair Herter take the game to Jim Hanley’s Universe, a local comic book shop, to have real card players pass judgment on the “Eye of Judgment”:

Last month, we posted the first five pages of the brand-new “World of Warcraft” comic, which will be out in stores next week.

The first storyline follows a human who has no memory of his past and becomes enslaved by an orc shaman named Rehgar Earthfury. Writer Walter Simonson told me last month that the book will remain true to the game and appease both longtime “Warcraft” fans as well as newcomers:

“If you’re a longtime player, I think the comic is a revelation about some of the mysteries. There are mysteries from the past that have never been totally addressed within the game, or at least we’re able to address them in the comic in a way that the game hasn’t been able to. … If you know ‘Warcraft,’ I’m hoping it will be really cool to find this stuff out. At the same time, as complex as the world is, if you haven’t really played the game, you’ll learn as much as you need to know to enjoy the story on its own level.”

Not convinced? See for yourself with the entire six pages of the online-only “World of Warcraft” Issue #0, exclusive to Multiplayer. You’ll also get a little more backstory on the roots of Rehgar Earthfury…

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The lore of “World of Warcraft” is freakin’ huge.

So if you’re writing a comic book about it, where do you start?

When comics publishing imprint Wildstorm asked veteran comic book scribe and artist Walter Simonson (”Thor,” “Orion”) to write the new “World of Warcraft” comic, he thought it “sounded fun.” But it also turned out to be a lot of work. To prepare for writing the comic (in addition to going directly to game developer Blizzard Entertainment), Simonson pored over the novels and the manga comics, and he and his wife Louise conducted extensive research on the web (on comprehensive sites such as WoWWiki).

Though he hadn’t logged on to the “World of Warcraft” until he started writing the book, several of his friends and his grandson are big enthusiasts of the game; he’s even asked his grandson for some help. “I’ve actually used him as a resource,” Simonson told me in a phone interview last week. “There are occasional visual moments, often surrounding the use of magic or magical stuff, where I needed to know how the visuals in the game worked when certain things happened. And I have a friend who lives nearby who is a ‘Warcraft’ player. He has played the game almost from the conception, and he seems pretty cool with what we’re doing so far.”

And what have they been doing so far? MTV Multiplayer has an exclusive look at the first five pages of the new “World of Warcraft” comic book, with art by Ludo Lullabi and inker Sandra Hope, hitting stores next month.

Image: “World of Warcraft” Issue #1 Cover by Jim Lee

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