I used to play the hell out of City of Heroes (CoH) and City of Villains (CoV). To the point where it probably affected my parenting and my marital status. Sadly for me, the game shut down in November 2012. But I still see people online talking about the game quite a bit, as it was very unlike any other MMORPG out there. Even the similarly-themed Champions Online (CO) and DC Universe Online (DCUO) played so differently that I personally never enjoyed them enough to stick around (although I paid for lifetime subscriptions to both prior to launch in hopes either would replace CoH/CoV for me). My most recent spotting of CoH/CoV talk is this Massively Overpowered article on some of the history of the games, including launch, the Marvel lawsuit, going free-to-play, and issue roll-outs.
One of the perks of this subscription was the delivery of a monthly City of Heroes comic book. That was a neat idea, but gradually this deal changed, with NCsoft charging an additional fee for the comic and then scrapping the physical book entirelly and making them available only on the website. The first issue came out in June 2004 and the 32nd and last arrived in August 2007.
I joined City of Heroes just 2 days after Issue #1 (“Through the Looking Glass”) launched. I was living in an apartment at the time, and had no internet when City of Heroes launched in April, 2004. Once I started playing, I put in typically 30-40 hours per week until I found a job in the same city my wife lived in and we bought a house to share again. Even then, I was playing more than 20 hours a week almost every week. I never tired of the game, and was truly saddened when it shut down.
I have all the comics. I have both of the CoH/CoV-based novels. I still have my Prima strategy guides for the games (yes, I should get rid of them, and no, I’m not likely to any time soon, because yes, I’m a hoarder). I miss this game so much, and wish any of the efforts to save or revive it had been successful. If CoH and CoV ever relaunch, I’ll subscribe again for at least 2 accounts. Best. MMO. eVar!