Monster Hunter

A huge hit in Japan with a fervent American fanbase, the Capcom JRPG franchise Monster Hunter is exactly what it sounds like; in a world full of giant monsters, players known as Hunters team up in Guilds to kill them for fun and profit. Capcom is pushing Monster Hunter hard in the West. An anime based on the franchise airs this year, and Capcom has partnered with Viz to translate Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter for American audiences. A 2011 manga by Shin Yamamoto, it's based on Keiichi Hikami's Monster Hunter Episode light novels (illustrated short novels aimed at young adults), which tell short stories of different hunters.

Video games and comics have enjoyed a pretty tight relationship over the past 30-some years. From wacky Super Mario comics from Valiant to WildStorm's popular World of Warcraft comic, to the fact that Sonic the Hedgehog is the longest-running American comic book, the two mediums seem to bring out the best in one another. No other video game developer, it seems, has doubled down on comics more than Capcom. From the recently ended, astonishingly sophisticated Mega Man comic of the last few years to just about everything put out by Udon Entertaiment, the Japanese game developer has used comics for a number of its properties. Next month will see another one of those works come stateside with Viz Media's translation of Monster Hunter: Flash Hunter, launching digitally and in print on April 12.

The days of Sonic the Hedgehog being confined to his own, Sega-centric universe are long over --- he's met Mega Man in comics and done Olympic events with Mario in games --- but the speedy blue guy has quite possibly never been to a world as expansive as the one he's going to experience in August's Sonic the Hedgehog #275 from Archie. Not only is Mega Man involved in part eleven of the huge "Worlds Unite" event, but lots of other Capcom and Sega worlds will be part of the story, too. Street Fighter, Billy Hatcher, NiGHTS into Dreams and Monster Hunter are among the other franchises in the mix. Check out our exclusive reveal of covers by artists Patrick "Spaz" Spaziante, Edwin Haung, Lamar Wells, Tracy Yardley, and Rafa Knight!

TV: The Huntress is set to return to Arrow in the upcoming "Birds of Prey" episode on March 26.   Video: Man At Arms turns to Fullmetal Alchemist for his latest creation, Edward Elric's spear.   Statues: Iron Studios' upcoming diorama recreates the battle for New York City (and, I guess Earth) in The Avengers movie.   ...