Before Overwatch and Marvel Rivals, there was another zany, character-based hero shooter that gamers adored: Valve’s Team Fortress 2. Team Fortress 2 is still a relevant game, and has retained a fanbase since its release in 2007. In fact, the surprise release of a Team Fortress 2 comic, a full seven years after the last issue, shocked and delighted fans online.
Issue #7 of the ongoing Team Fortress comic is called “The Days Have Worn Away” and it opens with a tribute to Rick May, the voice actor for the Soldier, who tragically passed in 2020. The art is done by Heather Campbell, an artist at Valve who does an excellent job at humanizing the ridiculous figures that make up the TF2 cast. There’s a Scout with a boisterous family, a newly-married Soldier who refers to his wife as a roommate, and a terrifying body horror scene with the Administrator. There’s truly something for everyone here.
If you haven’t read the comics, I’d suggest going and starting from the beginning. The series started in 2013, with “Ring of Fired”, and delves deep into the backstory of the main cast and side characters like Miss Pauling. As Valve itself puts it on the Comics page of TeamFortress.com, “Over the years, the comics have spawned ancillary characters, then assistants to the ancillary characters. Companies mentioned in passing became global empires three generations old. The game that started as a handful of guys in a desert shooting at each other slowly blossomed into the most labyrinthine story in Valve history.”
That’s actually good news, because it means you don’t have to play much of the game itself to understand this new and exciting story. Between the comics and the Meet the Team videos, Team Fortress 2 has managed to stick around in the gaming zeitgeist well past its prime. It’s great to see some of these characters get a happy ending after waiting in limbo, and it doesn’t seem as though we’ll be getting any more comics.
