The NYCC announcement of DC Comics' 2015 Mortal Kombat X weekly continues to dominate the news as writer Shawn Kittelsen talks up his first major series. Kittelsen has already shared a great deal of pre-release info, and continues to speak with major outlets, including Comic Book Resources and Comic Vine [video below].

Mortal Kombat is coming back to comic books! DC Entertainment announced the video game tie-in at New York Comic Con - introducing comics newcomer Shawn Kittelsen as writer of the digital-first series.

Kittelsen transitions from his video game role as DC Entertainment Creative Executive -- which included liaison work on Injustice: Gods Among Us -- to assume the writer's chair in his first major work. DC All Access talked to Kittelsen on the floor, revealing unseen artwork from the 2015 series.

Mortal Kombat Online has espoused the importance of comics to Mortal Kombat for quite some time - all the while knowing there may just be something in the pipeline. The long wait finally ends with DC Comics announcing a brand new Mortal Kombat X series at this weekend's New York Comic Con!

In June, the first trailer for Mortal Kombat X left us with an inquisitive tagline: Who's next? Fans hardly needed prompting to ask. After more than twenty years as a franchise - Mortal Kombat's ever-increasing cast of characters has made this a prevalent question ahead of any new installment!

The aggressive turnover of ideas, designs and playable characters has made Mortal Kombat a unique series to follow. Fans typically hold on to favourites with zealous fervour, but are just as inclined to seek untapped obscurities to keep the final cut fresh.

Thanks to the breadth of Mortal Kombat's reach as a pop culture icon - obscurity comes in many shapes and forms! There's the tradition of in-game easter eggs, hoaxes & rumors, and forgotten cult favourites from side-projects, like Tremor (Special Forces). Then there's the entire world of cross-media licensed adaptations - which brings us to today's feature question!

Many fans within the MKOmmunity have asked and speculated: Could Hydro appear in the next Mortal Kombat? The simple, odds-on answer is: No. The reason: A bit more complicated... Read on for the full story:

When you consider the importance of comic books to the history of Mortal Kombat -- it's a wonder there haven't been more of them!

Beginning in 1994; now defunct publisher Malibu Comics served a catalogue of interconnecting mini-series inspired by the hit games. Since then, the pickings have been slim. There have been official comic book tie-ins related to key game releases, but even a crossover with DC Comics -- and subsequent acquisition by DC parent company: Warner Brothers -- has failed to turn up any significant progress.

The success of Injustice: Gods Among Us and its comic book tie-in has led to a flood of requests for Kombat comics. News of an impending new Mortal Kombat game [full story] may be the catalyst fans have been waiting for -- but in the mean time, those hungry for four-colour Kombat may find refuge in an obscurity published back in 1998.

Our substantial South American readership may already know the material well, but for a vast majority of fans, the mere existence of a 4-issue mini-series based on Mortal Kombat 4 has gone completely unknown!

The subject was raised by MKOmmunity User GusLan back in 2009 -- and since that time, Mortal Kombat Online affiliate and former staffer ]{0MBAT has been on a grail quest to uncover the mysteries of the little known series. At the end of last year, he completed the series, and with the help of User Zentile, has translated it into MK's native language of English [read more]. Published in Brazil in 1998 by Trama Editorial; the series is primarily written by Rogério Saladino [of Panini's localized Marvel Comics] and drawn by Eduardo Francisco.

It's a testament to the staying power of the 90s juggernaut that -- despite having very little to do with the DC Comics Universe -- Spawn remains a popular fan choice for Injustice: Gods Among Us.

Never one to shy away from a fight with corporate powerhouses; Spawn creator Todd McFarlane quipped, "Get him in there!", when asked about the game at the recent Toy Fair.

On the hypothetical unlockable appearance, McFarlane joked with GamerFitNation: "And then he takes down everybody! ... Becomes the baddest ass in the whole bunch there."

There's certainly precedent for Spawn taking on the world of fighting games. In 2003, he was the Xbox exclusive character in Namco's Soulcalibur II. The comic book icon has also been the subject of his own exploits, fighting in games like: Spawn: The Eternal and Spawn: In The Demon's Hand.

Despite being one of comics' most famous independent creations, there have been two meetings between Spawn and the DC Universe. In 1994; Spawn/Batman [pictured top] brought the infernal anti-hero into conflict with The Dark Knight under the all-star creative team of Frank Miller and Todd McFarlane. If nothing else, the infamous crossover provided a knock-down, drag-out example of what might happen in a DLC Injustice meet-up. A second one-shot: Batman/Spawn: War Devil was also published by DC Comics.

Comic books have always been important to Mortal Kombat.

The energetic, visual world of American superheroes helped inspire some of the most iconic qualities associated with the long running series. Co-creators Ed Boon and John Tobias have never been shy about their inspirations - frequently citing a pop culture melting pot as crucial education that informed the original games. The association runs deep.

Tobias dabbled in comics as a writer and artist; ultimately utilizing the medium to expand and embellish the saga of the original Mortal Kombat games. His comic styled designs and branching story techniques were a natural fit in the four colour medium, and proved crucial to making Mortal Kombat the complete pop culture phenomenon it became. As he discussed in a 2012 interview with Mortal Kombat Online [read more], his comics fed the growing MK multimedia machine, providing valuable source for the blockbuster 1995 feature film.

Before the movie; Malibu Comics launched an extensive line of licensed mini-series starring characters from Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II. The 1994 series Mortal Kombat: Blood & Thunder started with a version of Tobias' iconic tournament-centric plot, but quickly spun the publications into a variety of original manifestations. Though remembered in infamy, the rapid expansion into comics remains one of Malibu's most lasting legacies, and a fond but guilty pleasure for many MK fans.

When it comes to the Injusice: Gods Among Us tie-in series from DC Comics, there are a few inescapable truths.

For one; this is a tie-in product for a video game, which invariably means there's some consideration given to the new audience it will hopefully attract. By extension, it's impossible to ignore the word-of-mouth success the series has already claimed in just a few short months. Gamers are flocking to digital chapters to learn more about the playable characters; while comics readers are intrigued by a corporate comic dwelling on the fall of its greatest hero.

Injustice: God Among Us #2 [released February 27] is written by Tom Taylor, with shared art chores by Mike S. Miller & Bruno Redondo. Mortal Kombat Online is reviewing the digital version of this issue, which encompasses weekly Chapters 4 through 6 [read more]. Much moreso than #1, this is an episodic collection, each chapter much more readily isolated as a stand-alone read.

The issue picks up immediately where the last issue ended -- following the fall-out of a bombshell twist that saw Superman - acting under the influence of Scarecrow's fear toxin - inadvertently kill Lois Lane and trigger a nuclear bomb in Metropolis. Anyone who has been following promotion for the game knows that this is the pivotal moment that sets up the Gods Among Us beat 'em up universe.

The murder plot is the work of The Joker: not traditionally a Superman opponent, but certainly no more partial to The Man of Steel than he is The Dark Knight Detective.

You get a sense that there is - or should be - more to this story than we know. Joker's reasons for being in Metropolis -- a trip that includes the casual, quickly forgotten murder of Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen [see; Issue #1] -- aren't explained. To think a comic focused on backstory would gloss over this catalytic detail seems like a discredit to the creators involved. Joker may have a reputation for being a wildcard, but his actions are rarely so incongruous or shallow, particularly in a story that derives from them. There are enough masterminds in play to suspect manipulations by someone more motivated, like Lex Luthor, but doubt lingers. Depth, detail, and causality certainly weren't strengths of the first issue.

Even with the benefit of a grander conspiracy, there are those inescapable truths about the series. It's difficult to ignore the sense of reverse-engineering that is the plot of a tie-in. The high concept of the lead product is a world where Superman has turned tyrant, leading to superhero civil war. Without the fundamental alterations of a story like Red Son, it takes the death of Lois Lane (and Metropolis) to turn Superman heel and no more than that. It's the ends that are most important here, not the means. It feels that way throughout.

If obligations to a conclusion have robbed the story of any of its own complexity, then it becomes troublesome that there is an obvious eye for a new reader, as well.

Rather than sell the virtues of enduring characters and their developed history, the popular wisdom of the day is to pitch lobbed soft balls. Deft writers can weave layers that satisfy new and old readers with the right sense of familiarity beneath a scene, but that isn't the case in Injustice #1 or #2.

At times, the script rings untrue, offering shadow versions of scenes you'll recognize from other stories, without any real sense of referencial wisdom. They depict characters as slightly unfamiliar with each other, presumably to the expectation of an unfamiliar reader. This is evident in a bizarrely restrained interrogation scene between Batman and arch-nemesis Joker. Set immediately after the total annihilation of one of DCU America's biggest and brightest cities - Metropolis - it's all a bit shallow.

Joker, like the first issue, meanders through frustratingly uncomplicated observations of what is about to occur. Batman is surly, but accomodating and ineffective. They'd be cartoon versions of themselves, if the cartoons hadn't already set that bar higher.

The counter-culture appeal of both characters makes them easy targets for a gaming audience, but these heavyhitters usually demand more on their home turf. With a structure built around bombastic reveals, it all becomes killing time, rather than Killing Joke. It must be said that this is undeniably valid and successful for attracting unfamiliar eyes, but even they will notice everything feels a little inconsequential as things develop and the game arrives.

When you consider the instant success Injustice: Gods Among Us has had through digital-first release [full story], you have to think this is a comic already fulfilling its primary objective(s).

Print copies of #1 (released January 30) contain the first three chapters of the digital counterpart. Mortal Kombat Online is reviewing based on both, but if you asked for preference, the paper copy takes it. The printed page -- which is cut roughly in half for digital release -- is not only more forgiving to the empty space of panels and the quality of linework, but also the overall pacing of the read.

The natural format of a modern comic lends itself to page-to-page scene breaks, but it could be speculated writer Tom Taylor is more aware of his obligations to digital chapters than is normal. Important story beats segment well, but this doesn't entirely playout in the artwork, which feels hyper-extended in the digital version.

Jheremy Raapack in particular seems much more at home in a traditional 7x11 comic page, with layouts a little less obviously accounting for a page split. When Mike S. Miller and Axel Gimenez take over, the equator becomes more obvious. These panels feel better filled in digital chunks, but compound the unexpected interruption of mid-story style changes. There's a lot to like about Raapack's stylized chunkiness; Miller is crisp and clean.

External forces weighing on the series make it an unusual comic to review, but also speaks to the varied audiences it will inevitably reach. If you aren't looking for the metatext, you won't be too distracted. There are a lot of ways to enjoy this comic, and if anecdotal evidence is anything to go by, plenty of people already are! This is the tie-in's tie-in -- perfect for introducing an interested new audience to the DC superhero medium.

By his own admission, the John Tobias of twenty years ago had no idea he was creating one of the most successful franchises to come out of American gaming. As a young artist in Chicago, Tobias had big ideas, envisioning a fiction that endures to this day (in some shape or form), but the journey to 1992's breakout hit -- Mortal Kombat -- would take more than ideas.

Together with Ed Boon, Tobias holds the credit of co-creator of Mortal Kombat -- an acknowledgment that goes beyond the arcade and home consoles, to result in a massive multi-media phenomenon spawned from ideas and characters!

In Part 1 of our conversation with John Tobias, he took us through some of the early influences that helped shape the series to follow. From abandoned name choices, props and influences, to movie references and guest stars, the games origins are there to scrutinize.

In this second part of our twentieth anniversary retrospective, we continue the conversation, entering the explosion of Mortal Kombat into other mediums, and addressing the final chapter of Tobias' time with the series before his departure in 1999.

Modern Prometheus: John Tobias confronts Goro - brought to life for the 1995 film.