From Polygon to Paper: Resident Evil

The modern father of survival horror videogames receives a comic book dream
team.
by Richard George
US, December 4, 2006 - We like to experiment at IGN Comics. We've found some
of the greatest articles through our own tinkering (C-Note) as well as the
recommendations of readers (Use Your Delusion). From Polygon to Paper is our
latest endeavor. We read a ton of comics and we play a ton of videogames.
Over the past several years we've noticed more and more game-based comics
hitting the shelves. Currently Metal Gear and Street Fighter are enjoying
their runs. We've seen Devil May Cry and Mega Man in the past. A discussion
of videogame comics wouldn't be complete without mentioning Marvel's Halo
endeavors through the graphic novel released last summer and the upcoming
ongoing series.

So what does this feature have in store for you? Simply put, we're going to
conjure up the best teams to tackle the greatest gaming properties. Each
entry will highlight the game or property in question by providing basic
information about the game, our picks for a creative team and our ideas for
how to manage the series. We'll note if we think the book should be an
ongoing, limited or graphic novel series as well.

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Nintendo
Age Group: Mature

Synopsis: It's hard to believe Resident Evil (RE) is already 10 years old.
The title introduced gamers to a new style of game: survival horror.
Originally released for the Playstation, the first Resident Evil game
centers around an elite task force known as S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics And
Rescue Squad) and its attempt to determine the cause of a viral outbreak.
Team "Alpha" is sent in when "Bravo" fails to report back to base. The
agents begin to investigate and find a mansion full of zombies and other
horrific monsters (the fifth game in the series, Resident Evil Zero explores
the origin of this initial outbreak). Through the course of the game,
players uncover a plot involving a massive corporation, Umbrella, and its
bizarre attempts to create biological weaponry.
--
Subsequent RE games stem from the original's plot. The second of the six
major releases deals with the aftermath of the mansion incident. The
surviving S.T.A.R.S. team members aren't able to produce enough evidence to
shut down Umbrella's operation. The company's subsequent attempt to retrieve
samples from their former mansion lab results in an outbreak in the nearby
Raccoon City. The third game, subtitled Nemesis, features a creature of the
same name that is programmed/brainwashed to kill the surviving members of
the task force. The fourth game, Code Veronica continues the adventures of
some of the original Alpha team while revealing more details about Umbrella
and a competing corporation. This rival, which is never given an official
name, employs Albert Wesker, former leader of the Alpha S.T.A.R.S. team.

Resident Evil 4 is the sixth game in the series and jumps ahead in time.
Leon Kennedy, one of the heroes of Resident Evil 2, must rescue the
President's daughter from a cult known as "Los Illuminados." This cult uses
creatures known as "Las Plagas" to control beings and plan to assassinate
the President by infecting and controlling his daughter. The seventh game in
the series, which is Resident Evil 5 is currently under development for the
Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Though details are relatively scarce, Capcom is
also developing a version of Resident Evil for the Nintendo Wii. It is not
known if this game could be considered an eighth entry or is more of a
spin-off title.

RE games are largely action-oriented with simple puzzle elements built into
the environments. Typically players must find keys or pieces of objects to
gain access to new areas of the larger area. Players are forced to survive
on limited resources and in some games are only able to save a limited
number of times (depending on how many ink ribbons they have to log their
progress at a typewriter). Ammo is scarce, forcing careful deliberation
between shooting a creature or running from it. Likewise health is also a
commodity; enemies are typically far stronger than the main characters and
can inflict massive damage in a short amount of time. Resident Evil 4 does
change this formula a bit as there is more ammo and health available. The
developers at Capcom focused more on the environment and enemy power levels
to elevate the survival aspects of the title rather than relying on
inventory management.

Resident Evil: The Next Chapter

a.. Concept: In-continuity story that fills in gaps of RE storyline
b.. Writer: Mark Millar
c.. Artist: Greg Land
d.. Book Frequency/Format: Monthly
Creative Vision: We have this feeling we're going see the words "Robert
Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard, Sean Chen" or "Arthur Suydam" in our
inbox. Don't worry, we're going to explain why we have chosen our particular
all-star duo; hold off on that send button for a few more minutes. Before we
get to that though, we wanted to explore what would make this series tick
and succeed where other Resident Evil books have failed.

There have been several prose adaptations and Code: Veronica received a
mini-series of comics published by DC. In our opinion there is no reason to
retread past titles. While we think a series like Zelda benefits from having
its "lore" republished in independent collections, Resident Evil can just
have its story built into this new series. The previous installments'
revelations can be incorporated as necessary, but for the most part you only
need to know so much. RE games do have an extensive storyline but the games
progressively build upon each other and only add so much new information.
Saying a viral outbreak killed thousands and led to the downfall of a
weapons manufacturer sums the story up in a nutshell. We admit we're
glossing over a lot but the fact remains that it doesn't take much to get a
new reader hooked. The rest can be picked up over time.

So how would our story play out? We feel that an original story is
absolutely crucial to the success of this "dream team" comic book. Resident
Evil fans are going to want to see the latest developments of Umbrella, its
rivals and possibly any S.T.A.R.S. members involved. Because Resident Evil 5
seems to involve Chris Redfield, we're opting to stay away from him and his
sister, Claire. Instead we would like to see Leon S. Kennedy, working for
the government, begin to investigate Albert Wesker and his plans to reform
the Umbrella Corporation. Crafting too much of a storyline is difficult
because Resident Evil 5 could completely undermine it, but that's the
direction we'd like to see. In addition to the typical dark and morbid tones
that are standard for Resident Evil, we'd like to see a mixture of the
typical "survival horror" along with the many action-packed moments that
were featured in Resident Evil 4.

So back now to the "big questions" - why Mark Millar and Greg Land?

Throughout his career, Millar has proven that he can craft any type of
story. In his Ultimates runs he has blown the roof off with massive action
sequences. In the same title he has carefully orchestrated conspiracies and
deceived the reader. In Ultimate Fantastic Four we are introduced to the
"Zombie-verse" and in a variety of situations witness some truly tense
moments. We think that Mark Millar would be able to hit all of the beats
that a Resident Evil title would require. We've also seen his skill with
unique ideas in books like Superman: Red Son, which recreates the Man of
Steel as Russian-raised during the Cold War.

Millar knows no bounds when it comes to comic book stories. His work on
Authority and Ultimates proves that. It will take a writer capable of
pushing the envelope to deliver a good Resident Evil story. Though the games
are often times subdued, we want a comic book that is going to keep pace
with its electronic counterparts.

When talking about zombie comic books, one has to mention Robert Kirkman. He
is currently writing the premiere zombie book in Walking Dead. So why not
Robert Kirkman? We'd rather have someone that can unleash vast amounts of
action when it is called for. We're not interested in someone who can simply
write zombies; we want a specific tone for Resident Evil and Millar is a
better fit for that. Play Resident Evil 4, arguably the best game in the
series and tell us Millar isn't born to write RE. One quick note before we
move to Greg Land: if this book is not rated Mature, we're not buying it.

So we move on to Greg Land. We considered a wide range of artists for our
dream team and again chose to play against the current industry standards.
Tony Moore, the co-creator of Walking Dead (with Robert Kirkman), wouldn't
fit because his style is very light-hearted and has an animated feel to it.
That's not quite what we're looking for. Charlie Adlard, current artist on
Walking Dead, along with artists like David Aja, Alex Maleev or Michael
Lark, would be brilliant, but we really want the action to be clear and
crisp. All four of those artists have incredible styles, but all four have
more abstract sensibilities that we don't want for an
action-survival-thriller. Take the action out of Resident Evil and our dream
team would completely change.

Greg Land has proven that he can move along with slower, more intense
moments, but whips up action scenes like few others. Check out Ultimate
Power or Ultimate Fantastic Four for examples of his superb layout skills.
In Ultimate Power #2, the battle between the two teams (virtually all of the
Ultimate heroes and the Squadron Supreme for those keeping track) is
absolute chaos, but it feels like you're watching a movie. We want Land's
cinematic flair, his realistic portrayals, his penchant for superb action
and his brilliant design skills. If an artist can take on Reed Richard's
(Mr. Fantastic) tech designs, he can handle any of the gadgetry and insanity
of Resident Evil.

We think it's about time Resident Evil made a proper transition to comic
books. No offense to what has come before, but we want original stories that
continue to develop the lore laid down by the six main games that have been
released. While we can see many creative teams handling the franchise well,
we think Mark Millar and Greg Land's handling of the Fantastic Four hit the
creative notes that it would take to work with the Evil series. Again we are
looking for something that mixes survival-horror with action-thriller. It's
a very different type of feel than something that is strictly trying to
creep you out (Land's art isn't the type to really scare anyone). Millar's
knack for action and Land's stunning art (with the proper dark twists) will
make Resident Evil fans across the globe happy.

So there's our scheme for bringing yet another series to the comic book
page. Do you think we're crazy? Should we just stick with the tried-and-true
Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard? Is Resident Evil too glorious to be
cursed with comics? Write in and let us know - we read every single e-mail
that hits our inbox and publish quite a few of them (complete with the
requisite sarcastic answers that some of you deserve).


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