playin' it cool

Note: This interview can be found in video game stuff, Wizard #115.

Wizard recently caught up with Top Cow penciler, Michael Turner, who's not only an amazing artist but also an avid video gamer. We pried him away from his drawing board just long enough to get the 411 on his passion for gaming.

ON BACK IN THE DAY: "Pong. My dad's bar actually had a Pong arcade machine. We used to beat all my dad's drunk friends all the time. Then we'd make them sign dollar bills to hang on the wall."

ON FAVORITE FRANCHISES: "It's got to be the Crash Bandicoot series. Whenever there's a new Crash out, I grab it. I also like the Oddworld series; those are always fun and really well done."

ON HIS FAVORITE GENRE: "I don't actually think I have a favorite genre. I definitely have a wide variety of tastes, everything from racing to action to platform games."

ON SKILLS THAT PAY THE BILLS: "I've got everything in SSX. I've unlocked all the characters, opened up all the tracks and found all the short cuts. I've been unlocked the 'Untrack!'"

ON THE LADIES: "Girlfriends always regret buying their boyfriends gaming systems."

ON WHAT HE'D RECOMMEND: "MDK2. I highly recommend that game. Also, you should check out the original Banjo Kazooie. It's such a good game on so many levels."

ON HIS LONGEST VIDEO MARATHON: "Man, we played San Francisco Rush at Tim Townsend's wedding for like 10 hours or something."

ON HIS CURRENT FAVORITES: "At the moment, my favorite system is probably PlayStation2. My favorite game right now is definitely SSX. It's a phenomenal game."

ON WHAT HE LOOKING FORWARD TO: "There's so much stuff headed our way. I'm really looking forward to Munch's Oddysee and I can't wait to see Grand Torismo 3. We also have the Xbox coming soon!"