Normally, we are too busy to be able to come back and do reviews on DLC for game,s but as you saw in my recent review of the Deadpool game, I really enjoyed it and was looking for a reason to go back. That reason came from a download code for the Merc with a Mouth map pack.

For $2.99 on the PlayStation 3 or 240 Microsoft Points on the XBox 360, players can download two additional maps for the game’s challenge mode along with two new costumes. Spoiler alert: This DLC pack was actually a preorder bonus from Gamestop upon the original Deadpool release so if you already did that, then you probably don’t need to make this purchase… or read this review… so… sorry!

So first off, let’s talk about costumes. For some reason which isn’t ever really discussed, the costume options are only available in the Infinite mode which is a wave based level of the challenge modes. Still not entirely sure why these special outfits are only available in the challenge mode when it is just a skin swap over the character so keep that in mind if you didn’t go through (or like me just didn’t spend a lot of time) in the Challenge mode. The D-Pooly costume resembles Deadpool’s selfstyled MC look while the X-Force outfit represents the grey and black from when Deadpool joined up on Wolverine’s black ops team… but they are only available to the challenge mode.

Last year, the Deadpool shinanigans began on preview night of San Diego Comic-Con. A “leak” and fake website hinted that Activision’s next Marvel property was going to be Hit-Monkey. This red herring was quickly proven wrong the next day when Deadpool took Comic Con by storm, announcing himself that he would be starring in a game developed by the team behind Transformers: War for Cybertron and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron from High Moon Studios.

From there, Deadpool wrote his own press releases promoting his single player adventure that would have appearances from Wolverine and a few of the more scantily clad X-Men. And what came from Deadpool was something not many would expect, a good game.

The Long

Deadpool has a lot to overcome as a game. First, it has to take on the stigma of being a licensed title which is something that can still sadly go either way right now. For every Wolverine: Origins or Batman: Arkham Asylum, there is still a X-Men Destiny or Thor: God of Thunder. Deadpool also faces a problem that games like X-Men Destiny and Thor did not have to deal with: Name Recognition.

As much as the comics community knows who Deadpool is, he isn’t known by the mainstream community at large. Right off the bat, there is an uphill battle on sales that Deadpool must deal with. But, for those who either recognize the Merc with the Mouth or have someone turn their attention towards the schizophrenic red and black clad, potty mouthed lunatic, there is a very pleasant surprise waiting for them.

After the recent sad news with layoffs happening at High Moon Studios following the completion of the Deadpool game which is set for June 25th release for the XBox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, there was a PR blip that went out late yesterday getting into detail with the Deadpool preorder incentives. Obviously, the team behind the Deadpool PR is still working hard at keeping Deadpool at bay when he gets his hands on their press releases.

Below, you’ll be able to check out the list of presale incentives from GameSpot and Amazon for those who are picking up this Marvel merc at the budget price of $49.99. Make sure to check out all the new screens below as well!

intimidated invited Activision Publishing, Inc. and High Moon Studios to make a video game starring Marvel’s most Marvel-ous character, me. And you being a gamer of unquestionable good taste wish to pre-order that game. Well I say bravo – you deserve some awesome rewards for putting your trust in Deadpool.

As of this moment, the PR on Deadpool may be the most fun of any comic book game for any journalist to cover. Instead of the same standard PR blips from developers or agencies, Deadpool (or someone who is doing a heck of a job impersonating him) is doing his own promotions for the game. With the Deadpool movie in development hell, it only makes sense that the poor guy would have the free time to handle gaming PR.

Most recently, Deadpool announced that he would be including Domino of X-Force fame in his upcoming Mature rated game. The two characters are quite familiar with each other, both being long time associates to both Wolverine and Cable, as well as both being members of recent incarnations of X-Force together at one time. And with Deadpool being (a self described) ladies man, it only makes sense that he would invite one of the finest pieces of Marvel comic booty into his game.

At Comic-Con in San Diego, we got the news that Deadpool would finally be getting his own game. After making cameos and having supporting roles in titles like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 or Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the cult favorite is on the verge of mainstream success (if the movie ever gets made). Now, Deadpool is getting the opportunity to further break his way into the average American household.

High Moon Studios, most recently gaining recognition working on the Transformers franchise, have shown an understanding for licensed properties both in visual style and in capturing the voice of a character. While Deadpool’s visuals may be pretty standard comics action, his voice is anything but. Having to work with a character that has a voice separate from an inner dialogue that he communicates with all while breaking the 4th wall is no short challenge. Only some of the best comics writers have been able to nail this but hearing that Daniel Way is going to be working with High Moon on the game gives us tons of faith.

Now normally, we’d never just copy and paste a fact sheet but when the PR company makes this much effort to make it entertaining, it’d be a shame not to share it with the Flickcast audience.

Check out the screens just released from Gamescom and the full fact sheet after the break. Keep tuned to The Flickcast for more on Deadpool and his upcoming release from Activision and High Moon Studios.

Even with all the cool ways to be entertained these days, sometimes its just nice to sit down and read a few new comics. Speaking of new comics, as usual, this week sees the release of a bunch of new ones from our friends at Marvel.

Let’s take a look at what they have for us. Among the new ones coming out, we’re most interested in Astonishing X-Men #36, Avengers #10, Iron Man 2.0 #1, X-Men #8 and Secret Avengers #10.

As with most weeks, new comics arrive on Wednesday, so hit your nearest comics book store early for best selection.

Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:
AGE OF X ALPHA #1 AOX 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
AGE OF X ALPHA #1 CONRAD 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #655
ASTONISHING X-MEN #36
ASTONISHING X-MEN #36 KALUTA VARIANT
AVENGERS #10
CAPTAIN AMERICA #615
DEADPOOL #33
DEADPOOL CORPS #11
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #884
FANTASTIC FOUR #587 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
FANTASTIC FOUR #588
HALO: FALL OF REACH – BOOT CAMP #4

New week, new comics from our friends at Marvel. This time around there’s some very cool and interesting titles hitting stores tomorrow. Among the ones we’re looking forward to are S.W.O.R.D #4, Dark X-Men #4, Punishermax #4 and the debut of Hit-Monkey, the monkey hit man. Yes, that’s right, a monkey hit man. How can you possibly not read that one?

As always, check out covers from some of these books after the break. New comics hit stores tomorrow. If you don’t know where to get comics in your area, use this handy guide to find a store near you. Check out all the comics below.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #620 (GNTLT)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #620 DEADPOOL VARIANT
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS: JACKPOT #2
ANITA BLAKE, THE LAUGHING CORPSE – EXECUTIONER #4
DARK AVENGERS POSTER BOOK
DARK TOWER: THE BATTLE OF JERICHO HILL #3
DARK TOWER: THE BATTLE OF JERICHO HILL #3 ZIRCHER VARIANT
DARK X-MEN #4
ENDER’S GAME: COMMAND SCHOOL #5
HIT-MONKEY #1
MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES #20
MARVEL BOY: THE URANIAN #2
NEW MUTANTS #10
NEW MUTANTS #10 DEADPOOL VARIANT
PUNISHERMAX #4

Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! The fall of the Hulks begins, Mogo dishes out his brand of justice and both Geo-Force and the Sentry lose their marbles. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Dark Avengers #13
Marvel Comics – $3.99 US
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mike Deodato
Score: 8.5/10

The Marvel Universe has seen better days. While the disassembling of Earth’s mightiest heroes led to the breakout of a civil war, a secret invasion became the catalyst to Norman Osborn’s dark reign, and with the siege of Asgard on the horizon, surely things couldn’t get worse (see what I did there?), could it? The Sentry’s true origin is revealed, answering once and for all that, yes, things can get worse…much worse.

Just when I thought all the pieces were on the table, Brian Michael Bendis takes the much-maligned Sentry and turns him loose. With this latest revelation of how the Sentry came to be – not to mention how he’s more unstable than anyone thought – Bendis has taken a tragic figure and made him the definitive x-factor for the Siege event. Whether or not the character winds up saving the day or becoming the most dangerous player is still up in the air, and that’s just a tad frightening.

This issue is all about the eyes. Artist Mike Deodato nailed every beat of this issue by letting the eyes of the characters tell the story, which really focused on the horror of what resides within the Sentry’s mind. From the Sentry, the Sentry’s wife, Lindy and even Osborn himself, the eyes served notice that something wicked this way comes. For even more justification, take a gander at that last page.

Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! The latest mutant milestone issue gets top billing, Spidey winds up in the wrong sandbox and Guy Gardner sees a whole lot more than just red. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

X-Factor #200
Marvel Comics – $4.99 US
Writer: Peter David
Artists: Bing Cansino, Marco Santucci, Karl Moline
Score: 9.5/10

X-Factor Investigations makes the move from Detroit to New York in hopes of wrangling some new clients of the super-hero variety, but when their first client winds up being Franklin and Valeria Richards – the children to Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four – the team realizes that all is not what it seems.

Long-time X-Factor scribe Peter David continues to mix jaw-dropping plot bombs with great characterizations and intelligent humor in this over-sized anniversary special. The mystery of the missing Invisible Woman, on it’s own, is a great story, but throw in Monet’s father being abducted by terrorists, Siryn’s shocking rendezvous with an old flame (hint: he’s nuts) and Layla Miller’s surprising allegiance to Latveria, and you’ve got one hell of a jump-on issue.

The art team of Bing Cansino and Marco Santucci do a great job of pacing this mammoth story, and their takes on the characters are both familiar and fresh. With a title that relies heavily on many speaking scenes, which should come as no surprise to current readers, their art is right on the money, but they also flex their proverbial muscle in the action scenes, especially where the Thing is involved.

Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! This week we have a shorter list, but as you know, it’s about quality, not quantity. Besides, all of your favorites are here, including a couple of surprises. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Wolverine: Under The Boardwalk one-shot
Marvel Comics – $3.99 US
Writer: Stuart Morre
Artist: Tomm Coker
Score: 8.5

About to board a plane for Alaska, Wolverine receives a mysterious text message asking him to go to Atlantic City instead. Stranger still is the reference to a man Logan hasn’t seen in 40 years, Phil De Blasio, a mafia underboss who tried to kill him last time they met. What transpired on that boardwalk all those years ago has found a way to catch up to him, much to Logan’s chagrin.

In this latest one-shot focusing on Wolverine, writer Stuart Moore crafts a mystery that takes the character from Atlantic City to Coney Island, searching for answers while being reminded that most of his memories contain violence for a reason. Where Moore differed from other recent writers of Wolverine-centric one-shots, however, is what made this issue work, and that is the fact that the writer never lost sight of how a haunted character like Wolverine really shouldn’t experience peace and closure.

Complimenting this wonderful story is the art by Tomm Coker. The artist, hands down, drew the nicest issue I’ve seen this week. A noir vibe that pulsates throughout, the art is every bit as scratchy and slashy as the character’s past has shown, and while the story centers more on inner reflections and whatnot, there’s still the occasional action shot that mirrors Wolverine’s famous savagery. Beautiful in every way, the art within this issue should not be passed up.