1. Amish OtakuAnd other oddities of Central Pennsylvania
October 2007
Much like Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend
or Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire,
30 Days of Night’s reimagined vampire is
primed to both frighten and intrigue you.
Sure, David Slade hasn’t directed anything like this in his life. You’ll most
likely remember his work from either the critically acclaimed Hard Candy or
his Stone Temple Pilots video “Sour Girl” starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. But
Slade would have to sink to the level of Uwe Boll to botch a film based on
such rich source material.
The writer of the comic, Steve Niles, was responsible for the first draft of the
film script, and the entire visual style of the film is based upon Ben Temple-
smith’s Francis Bacon–inspired art.
Josh Hartnet (Sin City, Pearl Harbor) and Melissa George (Alias, Charmed)
lead this horror flick that’s sure to give you a few frights. 30 Days of Night
opens in theatres on October 19.
Interview with Steve Niles
Visit www.AmishOtaku.com for the full interview.
Inside
October Previews
All the best games
coming out in the next
month, including
Manhunt 2 and Jericho
Fall Conventions
Diplocon and the
Video Game Expo
Halo 3
With the return of
Master Chief, Micro-
soft’s flagship FPS is
back in the spotlight
Q: Early in your career you adapted a fair number of books into the
comic medium. What’s it been like to now take your original work
and adapt it into books and movies like the upcoming 30 Days of Night?
A: I feel bad that I practiced on guys like Matheson, Barker and El-
lison! But seriously, all those adaptations taught me a lot about
breaking down and/or expanding a story from one medium to another and
I certainly utilized those lessons while writing 30 Days in all its various
forms. Learning to be true to source material can be tricky, but as the better
comics-to-films have proven, the more accurate to the original material, the
better the films seem to be. I mean, there are very good reasons why people
have loved Spiderman all these years, but it took Raimi following the com-
ics to prove it.
Online
Villain’s Exposition
Full Steve Niles
Interview
Bubonic Comics

2. After missing its planned June
release, Manhunt 2 is back and
is now set for a Halloween release.
An AO rating here in the US set the release date
back over four months while Rockstar changed
their game content for resubmission to the ESRB.
The fact that the Wii is the only “next-gen” con-
sole with Manhunt 2 is notable for two reasons.
First, Nintendo is known for their family-friendly,
all-ages games. Second (and the source of much
of the game’s controversy), the Wii’s motion con-
trols promise some gruesome and very interactive
executions.
O c t o b er Prev i e w s
Clive Barker serves up some FPS/horror good-
ness set in the undead-infested biblical city of
Jericho [October 23].
While the concept is intriguing, I haven’t been
scared by an FPS since Doom first came out and
I’m skeptical about the fright factor of Jericho.
What will be cool is the squad combat and the
variety of squad members at your disposal.
We’ll see if Clive Barker can follow Tom Clancy
and establish a successful franchise.
October Previews
www.AmishOtaku.com
Not only does this revamped PSP title give you the
unreleased-in-America Castlevania classic – Rondo
of Blood – but it also comes with an updated version
of the PS1 hit Symphony of the Night.
While the original Rondo of Blood will be unlock-
able, the primary game will be an updated 3D ver-
sion with new character designs from SotN character
designer Ayami Kojima as well as updated game-
play. And I can’t forget to mention the return of a
Belmont in a lead role with Richter Belmont.
This is nothing but classic sidescrolling goodness
in a beautiful new Castlevania package
Jericho
Dracula X Chronicles
Ratchet & Clank
Guitar Hero III
Besides Clive Barker’s Jericho and 30 Days of Night from Seve Niles and Ben Templesmith, there’s
a slew of sequels coming our way this month. As for these new franchises, I think we can expect big
things from them.
Manhunt 2
Dragons of
Spring Dawning
In their first foray on the new-
est Playstation, Ratchet and his
robot buddy Clank explore the origins
of his lost Lombax heritage.
Of course the game looks beautiful
on the PS3 and we can expect a fun
game with Insomniac in charge of the
title.
Even though this
is the third game
in the series, there are plenty of fresh
new features to look forward to.
Consider that over 70% of the
tracks are taken from their original
masters and you have one of the big-
gest musical hits of the year.
Devil’s Due is
known for giving
unimagined depth to popular proper-
ties.
Their foray into the world of Drag-
onlance concludes this month with
Dragons of Spring Dawning.
30 Days of
Night Trilogy
These are the
stories that inspired
the movie to be released this month.
To really get inside the world of
Steve Niles’ and Ben Templesmith’s
30 Days of Night, start with this tome
and you won’t be disappointed.
Wii, PS2, PSP
Rockstar Games
PC, PS3, 360
Codemasters
PSP
Konami
PS3
Sony
PS3, PS2, 360, Wii
Activision
Trade Paperback
Devil’s Due
Trade Hardcover
IDW

3. Diplocon
Nov. 2-4, 2007
Lancaster
While Diplocon might not be as large as
some other area conventions, like Katsu-
con or Otakon, you won’t have to drive to
Baltimore or D.C. to get your otaku fix.
Details haven’t been finalized yet you
can be sure to find screenings and game
tournaments, panels and plenty of swag
and cosplay. Plus Michael Poe and Hill-
ary Hatch from the webcomic Errant Story
will be on hand to answer questions.
Check back with their website – www.
fandm.edu/gaming.xml – for updated in-
formation as the convention approaches.
Zenkaikon — October 13
Valley Forge, Anime and Cosplay
Shikkaricon — October 27
Berks County Community College,
Anime and Gaming
Tandokucon — November 9-11
Philadelphia, Anime
This year’s Video Game Expo in Phila-
delphia promises to be one of the biggest
events to come to our area all year.
Attendees can expect two major pro
gaming tours to be on hand – Extreme
Gaming Tour and Underground Gaming
Series – so if you think you’ve got skills
there’s a chance to make some big money.
Did I mention the PMS Clan, cosplay
competition, over 100 free arcade ma-
chines, the museum, the Battle of the
Bands or the largest video game job fair on
the east coast???
Check www.vgxpo.com for more infor-
mation.
www.AmishOtaku.com
Con Report
Video Game Expo
Nov. 2-4, 2007
Philadelphia
Marvel

4. www.AmishOtaku.com
Halo 3 If you didn’t make the midnight launch at Park City
on Tuesday, you missed more than 200 Halo fanatics
eagerly awaiting their chance to pick up the game, take
it home and dive head-long into campaign mode. But
don’t worry, there’s still plenty of copies left if you didn’t
reserve one.
For those of you who played through the second game,
you’ll be completely up to speed on the story. For the rest
of us, there might be a few holes in the story that someone
will need to fill in.
Sometimes the game can take itself a little too seri-
ously. Luckily, they lighten this up with plenty of humor
throughout the campaign.
The controls are spot on and handle just like the previ-
ous two games, with the exception of the movement of the
reload button to the bumpers.
Throw in some new weap-
ons, new maps and new vehi-
cles plus the four-player co-op,
and the best console-based
shooter ever just gets better.
Expect this title to dominate
Xbox Live for at least the next
year.
Master Chief is back in the biggest
Halo yet from Bungie Studios
Amish Otaku
Edited and Written by
Dan Allen
Special Thanks to
April Johns
© 2007Microsoft