Top-Notch Comics #4 - pt. 2

We're back and, if you've been waiting on me to finish the Wizard's story, here it is -- the Wizard defeats the "Bundonian" sub by lifting it out of the water. That's right, he can lift at least 750 tons over his head, without even firm ground underneath him. As unlikely as that is, I have to wonder if he's not actually using some form of levitation -- contra-gravity discs attached to the hull -- and then is pretending to hold it up just for the showmanship of it? Or, hey, I'd even be willing to accept some combination of the two. 

This ending brings up the issue of what to do in your Hideouts & Hoodlums campaigns when it's well before 1945, but your heroes have already forced Germany, or your German-analog country, to surrender. One possibility is to just keep replacing them with German-analog countries ("Bundonia surrenders...but the next day their neighbors Caledonia declares war on Europe!"). Or the country reneges on their surrender, finding some excuse to invalidate it and then continues the war effort. Or, you and your players agree to a campaign where nothing the Heroes do has an impact on continuity between sessions, as if the world resets each session (very much like many golden age comic books, though I don't recommend this so much for fun campaign play). 

But you didn't come back to hear more about the Wizard, you came back for Dick Storm. Because who can resist Dick Storm? 

Here we find an unimaginatively named Chile analog called Chilan, with an unusual history. It's not too surprising that, 22 years after the 1918 pandemic, people were still worried about plagues, but Chile had not had its own plague during the intervening years. 

I wonder what the president thinks Dick Storm is going to be able to do about a plague. Shouldn't he talking to a doctor instead?

Here is a great example of Hideouts & Hoodlums' abstract combat system, and at the same time an argument against specific hit locations. At point blank range, the assassin could probably hit Dick Storm anywhere, but panel 2 seems to make it appear the bullet is going to land in his right arm or stomach. In panel 3, the bullet lands in his left arm. 

That is the worst outfit for an assassin ever. Maybe not; I suppose pink pajamas would make him stand out even more.

Rana is surprised to see how quickly Dick Storm stands erect.

Pruvians is almost certainly an analogue for Peruvians. In reality, Chile and Peru had been at peace since 1883.

"I have a plan but you need to turn your army over to me for a few days."

"Sure, what could go wrong?"

"I'll also need access to all your bank accounts. And -- heeyyy...if you're Chileans, why is your daughter blonde?"

"Rana! Despite parading around in a cocktail dress, you've managed to sneak past my entire air force and reached that plane!"

Dick swings into action! Honestly, I can't even make fun of this stuff anymore because now I think the author is in on all the jokes.

To their credit, these soldiers have had about five minutes of uninterrupted stare-up-a-dress-time as the parachutists descend, but their thoughts are entirely on Dick Storm when they reach the ground. 

The fact that the general is still standing there unarmed in panel 7 as Dick Storm is attacking him seems to suggest Dick is enjoying a surprise round, but I don't think the circumstances here would have warranted a surprise roll. Rather, I think Dick won initiative and the Editor had made no statement yet of the general's intentions. It's also possible that the general is holding his gun in the shadows of his uniform; his whole right hand seems malformed, as if hastily drawn.

In a chase sequence, the desk in the way would be considered a complication to overcome, but in a combat sequence, this panel is correct; in H&H, you can ignore obstacles in your way during melee, unless you choose to incorporate them into your flavor text (or, obviously, if you plan to pick it up and use it as a weapon!).

I remember this scene from the first Indiana Jones movie. Plane propellers are nasty weapons; I'd put this at least in the range of 3-12 damage, so no wonder the soldiers are running. 

You might have guessed that Dick Storm's plan turns out perfectly and Chile surrenders after Dick arranges for a lot of them to die. So we're going to jump way ahead towards the end of the next story featuring Moore of the Mounted. Here we see an example of a trap as a wandering encounter. This page also shows us a good example of Lawful and Chaotic Alignments and how they differ in this scenario.

Technically Sgt. Moore is right; an Olympic skier can achieve downhill speeds of ten times someone running on foot, but the average speed of the average skier is more like 2 1/2 times faster (Movement rate 30 as opposed to 12).

And now we're going to make one last jump into the next story, Streak Chandler of Mars. I think from just this one page you can tell the backstory borrows heavily from Flash Gordon, with the wrinkle of the gangsters forcing them all to leave. Streak's problems are a frequent staple of the sports genre. The art isn't very good, but doesn't Streak look awful old to be a college football player?

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum.)
 

 

 

Popular Comics #49 - pt. 2

I believe I had given the Power Dive stunt a bonus to hit when I made the Aviator class, but I've since learned in playing Dawn Patrol that power dives are for gaining speed, as done here. I don't presently have a rule to cover this, other than how a piloting skill check allows you to go a little faster than normal.

Once again, we're given a teasing clue that the Masked Pilot is either someone very famous or very influential, or both. Or he's carrying Doctor Who's psychic papers.

Penguin Pete, which is really a better adventure strip than it has any business being, reminds us that a "miss" in combat doesn't necessarily mean you missed your target, it's just that you caused no damage. Although I could have arrows do less damage to alligators...?

Don't forget that mobsters can wreck things, just like any non-superhero Heroes, with just two dice instead of three. That should be enough to smash a rowboat...though I could give them a +1 bonus when wrecking with their tails, or just mention that alligators can wreck things behind them with their tails.

We're going to spend the rest of this blog post spending more time looking at Captain Tornado than it probably deserves, but maybe we'll learn something about creating fictional civilizations.

Rule #1: Dress the natives exotically. Don't be afraid to make your Heroes confront a male guide wearing a thong-backed banana hammock.

Rule #2:  Rather than try to imagine new technologies, you can recreate modern conveniences through different means and still make a society look advanced. Here is a mechanical elevator. Also note the locals live in a place that resembles the courtyard of a fancy hotel.

Phosphorescence is a real thing, of course, but some unknown process must amplify it so it operates as sunlight. Of course, it's also possible that all the grass in this cave is astroturf, and the trees are fake sculptures, just to give them the feel of being aboveground. 

That the door "mysteriously opens" feels somewhat laughable today when every store has automatic sliding doors, but while the concept of automatic sliding doors is very old, the way to make this work electronically was not invented until 1954 -- so this is actually "futuristic" tech in 1940!

Note the trope of how visitors always get to visit rulers directly, instead of being made to interact with some underling who reports back to the ruler (which seems like it would keep the ruler much safer).  

Holy cow, this page is pretty terrible. "I'm free, white, and 18 and he can't boss me"? Really Jane? 

And while that's pretty overtly racist, that's nothing to how terrible this alien caste system is, with its two slave castes who either get their tongues cut out or aren't allowed to ever see light. 

If I didn't already hate this evil alien race enough, now we find out that they rip the wings off of giant butterflies and wear them. I guess we also find out from this that these aliens are hollow-boned, allowing them to fly.

The concept of species degenerating to the point where they no longer understand their ancestors' technology can be traced at least as far back as H.G. Well's Morlocks.

And we learn from this page that water pressure, instead of electricity, is how they work their technology. I wonder if water pressure could run a plane...?

(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus.)

Planet Comics #3 - pt. 2

We're back and still looking at the debut of Amazona the Mighty Woman. Looking at this bottom panel, I was initially bothered by the fact that I couldn't tell which mobsters had been taken down by Amazona and which by Blake. Then I realized, it not only didn't matter, but this, in a nutshell, is the heart of what makes Hideouts & Hoodlums special. It's a game where fighters and superheroes can fight side by side and both feel important in the combat.

Interestingly, one power Amazona conspicuously doesn't display here is Outrun Train, needing to hop a ride to keep up with the fleeing car. Or maybe female superheroes suffer some sort of movement penalty while wearing heels?

We're going to jump ahead to the next feature, Red Comet. I don't particularly care for Red Comet, and this installment certainly didn't change my mind. The King of the Giants of Jupiter looks about as dangerous as your dad when company comes over but he doesn't feel like getting dressed. Red Comet himself isn't much better, remembering to put on his mask and cape, but forgetting the rest of his clothes other than his matching underwear. It's like a nightmare a superhero would have that ends in everybody laughing at him.

Perhaps most frustrating about this page is Red Comet's size-changing power. If he shrinks before climbing on the giant's knee, does that mean that the giant isn't really that big? Or did Red Comet just shrink down a little?

Whoa - things just took a super dark turn! Bear in mind, Golo hasn't done anything at this point other than threaten to invade other planets. Not a soul has actually been hurt yet; his threat has been less harmful than the average Trump tweet. Yet, Red Comet has slaughtered a whole squadron -- at least 15 giants, given my count from the top panel -- just to teach Golo a lesson.

Red Comet is using the Imperviousness power in this last panel, the only power that would protect him from all rayguns.

And lastly we're going to look at Spurt Hammond today. For once, I can say I'm glad to do so! There's some unexpected history with H&H here...

Way back before Comic Book Plus and the Digital Comic Museum were things, scanned comic books were still hard to come by. Some people, like Steve Rogers, made their own websites for them. Some people posted them to the files sections of various Yahoo!Clubs. And some people posted them on this new thing called blogs. I had chanced upon this story on somebody's blog around the time I was writing the second issue of The Trophy Case...wow, way back in 2010! So I wrote up the robots from this issue as vampiric robots from Mercury.

That third panel is swiped from a famous painting...but I can't remember what it is.

I'm actually not sure where I got the "vampiric" part from; it is described as "invincible" and "super" here.

This is not the only nudity you're going to see in this story...

The only thing more intimidating than a giant must be a nude giant. Anticipating Return of the Jedi, the giant is killed by the portcullis. The portcullis does a lot of damage, but then, it stabs him five times in addition to the crushing damage. It would likely have done less harm to a man-sized foe.

Let me see if I get this straight -- Spurt has the drop on them with a ray gun, then sits down his raygun so he can go in punching instead?

It "ought to," Spurt? So you're willing to experiment on bad guys with their own mad science machines, just to see what happens? I would make any Hero save vs. plot before doing this, as it reeks of being no better than the bad guys...

Although I was very generous with Hit Dice when statting this robot, a single shot from a raygun finishes it off. How super and invincible was it supposed to be again?

Ten years later, and I've still never used a vampiric robot from Mercury in one of my games...

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum.)

Science Comics #1 - pt. 2

It's likely that Electro is expending the new power, Light, again. The light generated by the power can be set motionless and does not need to follow the superhero. Plus, in rest turns, the light spell will likely last for many hours.

Restoring power to the power plant, though...that might be a different power entirely. The 5th-level power Control Electricity (from Supplement I: National) might be able to cause this effect, at the Editor's discretion. Or maybe it's some lower level power, like "Recharge."

Then he hits five spies with a lightning bolt. Note the lightning bolt does not appear to need to emerge in a straight line from him, but strikes in a straight line perpendicular to him, passing through the conveniently lined up spies.

There's that Recharge power again? We also need a power that duplicates the effect of those rayguns we keep seeing that stall all mechanical engines. Maybe Stall Motor can affect one plane per level of the superhero?

===
It should come as no shock that there is no town of Summerville within 20 miles of Washington, D.C., though there is a Springfield, Virginia, and a Silver Spring, Maryland, both representing a close season.

===

Electro uses wrecking things on the door. He does not need to use the Wreck at Range power to shoot electricity at the door; since there would be nothing stopping him from stepping up to the door, the ray emanating from his forehead is pure flavor text.

===
Since it is unlikely that a "little cottage" has a "huge, central hall" in it, it seems to be implied that Electro is exploring an underground hideout, which is very much in keeping with our game.

I'm not sure how this switch is going to cripple five dams in different locations all at the same time. Maybe it will signal saboteurs in each area?

===
Electro uses Hold Person and then Protection from Missiles, followed by what appears to be a higher-level version of Hold Person (Hold Person II?) that can paralyze up to six people -- although, since he's able to compel them to answer questions, this is more like the spell Hypnotic Pattern.

And here Electro seems to be casting Cure Light Wounds -- Electro is actually a Magic-User/Superhero (which explains how he had Light prepared before).

This power was something I already needed to work on for my upcoming high-level campaign, because Green Lantern also uses this Mass Flight power (by 1950, anyway). Bonus content follows:

Spells

Seventh Level

Mass Flight: The magic-user can move in any direction through the air at a movement speed of 192 (93 through water), and can by the same power move up to 1,100 lbs. of cargo with at the same speed, or up to six other people if they remain motionless (either willingly or forced into motionless, say by a Hold Person spell). Anyone else can try to opt out of being transported by making a saving throw vs. spells, but any modified saving roll still less than 20 results in the victim being moved 10-40’ per number of the result below 20 (falling damage may ensue). Duration: 1 turn per 2 levels. Examples: Science Comics #1, All-Star Comics #52.

So now the last issue is, how many brevet ranks is Electro boosted? Because he's clearly not a 1st level Hero. He must be an 8th level Superhero/15th level Magic-User (that's some lop-sided XP distribution!).  So, not as ridiculously powerful as Stardust, but still brokenly powerful, and not one campaign friendly.

===

Moving on quickly now, we check in on the next feature, Cosmic Carson.

And I share this page, not because the idea of aliens populating our solar system is that new -- and definitely not because "Fang Men of Jupiter" are so new they deserve statting -- but I did want to point out another staple of the early science fiction genre, that imagined there would be unique elements on other

worlds -- unique elements which can serve as treasure, or power trophy devices.

Although visually exciting to see rocket ships blasting out of the roof of a building, one has to wonder about the grasp of science that would lead someone to think this would not blast the whole building into scrap.

Coupled with this is either the inability or the patience to deal with the vast size of space. Even if the ship traveling from Mars to Earth was passing by at the upper edge of the atmosphere, it would take these rocket ships so long to reach it that it would probably pass them by -- unless we imagine some fantasy propellant that is not only non-destructive, but faster than any modern mode of travel known to us.

And I haven't even brought up yet -- where is this pirate base?

surely not on Jupiter, or it wouldn't be anywhere near the shipping lane between Earth and Mars. Maybe it's based on an asteroid...?

I share this page mainly for the overhead map showing us the layout of the pirate base, as well as demonstrating the VTOL capabilities of the pirate rockets.

Also, that these reinforcements are able to reach the battle in the span of combat turns just reinforces how fantastically fast they must be.

(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus.)

Tip Top Comics #22, 23

Or, v. 2, no. 10 and 11, from Feb. and Mar. 1938.

And we'll start with The Captain and the Kids, one of, if not the oldest, comic strip to be republished in comic book form, having begun back in 1914 (though called Hans und Fritz until 1918). For such a superficially Germanic feature, it's odd how long the strip was based in various parts of Africa.

===

Game notes: Well...um...still trying to wrap my head around gluing pants to a tree. Would it really be easier to climb out of the pants rather than rip the pants? Climbing out of your pants is normally too easy to roll for, but under these

conditions, I would treat it as an expert skill check just to not tear them accidentally. And wrecking a pair of pants would be much easier than wrecking a door -- same mechanic, but with a +1 or +2 bonus.

Then there's the other issue of running with a barrel over your head and not falling over. Save vs. science to keep your balance? But how often to force rolls? I guess that depends on terrain - maybe once every 360' on level terrain, but every 180' on lightly wooded, flat terrain?

On to Jim Hardy. I'm not interesting in game mechanics for torture, as I've said here before, but I share this page because of the efforts to use a tool to break down the door, which begs the question, should that plank of wood give him some kind of bonus? If Jim had a big sledge hammer in his hands, I'd consider a +1, but awkwardly hitting the door with a wooden

plank in his hands? I think he's more likely to give himself a splinter than to knock that door down.

And then there's the other issue, of how he sees the rocks piled behind the door, even though he couldn't budge the door an inch just a panel earlier. I can't explain that one, but I can explain that the rocks would make it much harder to wreck through the door. Essentially, it is not a door anymore, but a stone wall, much harder to wreck.

In the debut of Frankie Doodle on this blog, we see some new prices -- 98 cents for boys sweaters (gosh!), boys overcoats for ...is that $4.98? And, of course, the joke is that Frankie fails to see sodas are 5 cents.

Chris Crusty learns the advantage - and disadvantage - of wearing a fake deputy badge. I suspect Heroes would not object to this disadvantage, though, and would welcome the chance for danger that it brings. Lawful Heroes would need to save vs. plot to carry badges they know are phonies.

 ===

No real game content here, but I never knew the origin of the word tuxedo before. Remarkable!


And now, we return to Peter Pat, which I had initially enjoyed for its dramatic story, but it really strains credulity for the amount of stuff this little boy can do. I mean, he's like an Olympic-level athlete sometimes.

===

Here we have a different kind of ape man. Usually, ape men are just men drawn to look more like apes, and is sometimes dangerously close to just looking like a racist caricature. This ape man is most definitely a gorilla, yet one with human intelligence (and modesty).

We know Peter was at least 10' high in the tree, because you need to fall at least 10' to take falling damage.

Here, our little Olympian uses a trip attack, and then gets tripped, all on the same page, making this the first time I've seen tripping happen twice in the same combat.

Peter also establishes that you can pick up two dropped items in the same melee turn.

And we learn this ape man can talk!

I shared this page because boxing a kangaroo for $5 seems like it would be a fun first scenario for 1st-level Heroes, and give them a good sense for how vulnerable they are at the beginning of their careers.

I have room enough for one page from the next issue I have access to, and it brings us back around to The Captain and the Kids again, this time giving me two ideas for a trap. One is, someone opens the door, and the log swings down and hits the person in the doorway. The other idea -- and it's more in line with what you see in this page -- is that the log swings down, hits a cutout in the door, and the cutout comes out and strikes the person in front of the door. The first version could do a lot of damage, depending on how heavy the log is. The second version would do less damage, as a lot of kinetic energy would get lost in the transference to the cutout, and I'd have that do maybe 1-4 points of damage.

(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus.)

Tip Top Comics #6

Today we're going to go way, way back to catch something we missed before -- that comicbookplus.com actually has a pretty good collection of Tip Top Comics, from United Features.  Now we're going to be taking a detour backwards for a while and catch up.

And we'll be starting all the way back to Oct. 1936 for this blast from the past (if some of this gives you deja vu, it's because most of these features were also published in Comics on Parade). And first, I'm just going to show you this page of gag filler because I think half of it (all the left half too) is really funny.

In the middle of this silly page is some interesting problem-solving when it comes to crossing a chasm, or preventing others from crossing a chasm behind you.

I thought I should include this because it's so hard for people today to wrap their minds around how difficult cross-country communication used to be. "Six bits" is 75 cents -- almost the cost of a meal back then -- to make one long distance phone call.

I think I've written before about using "punk" as another name for wimpy hoodlums, the mobstertype at the absolute bottom of that particular hierarchy.

But I'm interested in this notion behind wedding feasts. A spell that would allow you to control someone once you have access to their table scraps? What would you even call that? Charm through Leftovers? But it does bear more thought...

Hideouts & Hoodlums players who come from a D&D tradition often know to listen at doors, but how many of them also sniff at doors? The chances of detecting something would be the same (= basic skill check), but the question here is, should it apply to a smell check coming from two rooms away? Depending on the strength of the odor, I might upgrade it to an expert skill check, or make it ineligible for a check at all.

Price check: $10 dresses.

This is an interesting point. Normally, there is no restriction on movement in combat, but should that always be true while grappling? As a general rule, I like encouraging movement in combat; it keeps things interesting to not be standing in one place the whole battle. So I would say that your opponent has to have at least a partial hold on you to curtail your movement.

We see a surprisingly few giant squids in comic books; most artists seemed to prefer making giant octopi instead.

I really like that design of a diving bell with mechanical arms. Half-robot maybe?

The mushroom is a Consumable of Diminution.

This also makes me want to run the classic D&D module Dungeonland, but for H&H...

(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus.)