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From the black-and-white glut of the '80s, the collector-speculation boom of the '90s, and the Hollywood-driven scramble we've seen since 2000, Rick and the cast have continuously reinvented themselves in order to best appeal to the current market. Needless to say, he's grown pretty salty over the years… IGN Comics: Here's the old chicken and egg question – which was conceived first? The game or the comic? Have the two projects influenced each other during the course of development? Kennedy: Well, the fictional history is that Unbound Saga (the comic book Rick Ajax lives in) has been in print, on-and-off, since the 70s, riding the roller coaster of pop culture and comic book trends that has occurred since then. So he resigns himself to sucking it up and dealing with whatever unexpected trouble is thrown his way.
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Granted, no one else in town believes in The Maker, so most people just take Rick's ranting as conspiratorial paranoia. The twist, however, is that Rick knows he's a comic book character, subject to the juvenile whims and sadistic brainstorms of The Maker, the pencil-wielding guy-in-the-sky who created the world and steers the events around him. To him, it ain't a full day if something doesn't turn into a knock-down-drag-out fight.
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In the middle of all of this is our hero, Rick Ajax, a world-weary comic book tough-guy trapped in perpetual cycle of seemingly random, unrelated adventures.
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Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, Ecco Jr.IGN Comics: First and foremost, can you describe the premise behind Unbound Saga? Mike Kennedy: You bet! Unbound Saga is an over-the-top, madcap action title set in a satirical urban wasteland called Toxopolis, populated by all sorts of fantastic personalities and character types, from apocalyptic mutants and militant street gangs to deluded superheroes and talking animals. Includes 55 items: Comix Zone, Crack Down, Ecco the Dolphin, Gain Ground, Golden Axe, Shinobi 3, Sonic 3D Blast, Space Harrier II, VectorMan™, Altered Beast, Shadow Dancer, Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Bonanza Bros, Columns, Dr.
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