Did Anyone Ever Get Past The First Level In Comix Zone?
In the '90s, I was a die-hard SNES guy. There weren't many games on the rival Genesis that I was envious of, but among the few was Comix Zone. Developed by the Sega Technical Institute—a weirdly university-like name for Sega's North American development division—this side-scrolling brawler was set within the panels of a comic book. Smack an enemy and an onomatopoeic "Pow!" appears over their head. Reach the end of a screen and hero Sketch literally jumps from one panel to the next. Speech bubbles appear above the characters to relay the story. It was a neat idea, and brilliantly, memorably executed.
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Sketch, incidentally, is the most '90s video game character ever conceived. He's a comic book artist and a member of a grunge band. He wears jorts, tiny round sunglasses, and fingerless gloves. He also sports a ponytail, combat boots and spouts one-liners like "See ya!" He's the 1990s personified—as is Comix Zone in general. The North American release of the game came bundled with a CD featuring edgy rock music by the likes of Danzig, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Love and Rockets. It's one of those games that captures the spirit of a particular time in history, which makes it fun to revisit in the space year 2022.
Well, I say fun. I eventually got my hands on a Genesis and a copy of Comix Zone, borrowed from a Sega-loving friend for a weekend. Immediately, the intro sequence grabbed me. As a storm rages in New York City, our hero is working late into the night on one of his comics. Then a lightning bolt strikes him and he's magically transported into the very page he was drawing. He finds himself in the post-apocalyptic ruins of NYC, punching aliens with
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