Ah, the video game tie-in book… They really vary in quality, most of them can be called, well, not great. When DC Comics solicited a comic book version of the hit PS3 game inFamous, I was understandable skeptical at first. Then I gave it some thought. inFamous the game wore its comic influences on its sleeve. It was in my opinion, well written and I am eagerly anticipating the sequel. Long story short, I am glad I did, for a few reasons, and I am happy to share them with you.
First off, the game shares the same storytelling style as the game, probably due to the fact that the writer, William Harms was the writer for both. Consistency is always a good thing when it comes to cross-media adaptation. Another strength the book has is that you don’t have to have played the game to follow the story of the comic. Everything is laid out for you, even the game’s major twist. You can come in fresh and know everything you need to know about Cole, the electricity-based protagonist, Empire City, and all of that good stuff.
The art by Eric Nguyen is ok. It isn’t bad by any means, but the gritty style that’s used is not my usual cup of tea. I would have much preferred the interiors to have been done by Doug Mahnke and Jorge Gonzales, who furnished the cover. The onlt real complaint I had about the book was while this issue does a great job in getting you up to speed, it doesn’t offer much for people who already know all of this due to playing the game. In all honesty, that is a really minor point, and there is a tidbit revealed in this issue that shows someone game players are used to as being on the forces of “good” may not be now or in fact may never have been so.
If you aren’t familiar with the story, here is a brief synopsis: Cole is a courier/delivery guy. He is given a package by the mysteriously Kessler who does shadowy genetic work for the government. He sends Cole a package to deliver to himself (in more ways than one). Cole does so and it turns out it is a bomb-like device called the RaySphere and Cole is at ground zero. After the explosion, Empire City is quarantined by the government, and there are many conspiracy theories as to why. Cole recovers from a coma to find he has lightning/electricity based powers. From there, Cole uses his newfound gifts to uncover the conspiracy behind the quarantine, and finds him face to face with Kessler, who has orchestrated all of this to make Cole a stronger hero for what lies ahead. What exactly lies ahead? Well friends, it isn’t pretty.
Of course there is more to it than that, but you’ll have to pick the book up to find out the details. It is definitely worth your time and money to do so!
inFamous #1 retails for $2.99 and is available now at your local comic shop.