All-American Comics #9-10

Continuing #9...

In Hop Harrigan...we have to talk about Gerry. Because either a retcon has made her older, or there was a lot less stigma on relationships with underaged girls back in 1940. We've already seen Gerry making out with Hop, but Hop seems to be 17 and Gerry seems to be 14, so that's not quite so bad. But in this installment, an older poet starts hitting on Gerry.  Hop doesn't like it -- but only because Hop doesn't like poets, not because the man is clearly over 18.

Gerry also gives a sick patient iodoform to drink. Today, you only give a patient iodoform for minor skin diseases, and this man is bandaged like he was hurt in accident -- but circa 1940, iodoform would have been used for more forms of treatment.

And, really, who doesn't like poets?

A page of Believe It or Not about Rob Roy McGregor claims that the term blackmail was coined because of the black armor McGregor's clan wore -- which sounds pretty cool, but isn't true; "mail" in this sense means "payment agreed on," with "black" being used a negative connotation.

Adventures in the Unknown has an interesting take on time travel; as it feels like physical motion to those experiencing it, and going back in time feels like falling downwards (of course, actual time travel over the span of 1 million years would also have to involve space travel, because the Earth has moved a considerable distance during that time). And it is not instantaneous or near-instantaneous travel; it is a process that moves them through 1,000 years a minute, so traveling 1 million will take them approximately "36 hours" (though I think Ted's math is off; by my count it would be 16 hours).

Once in the past, the strip falls into the fallacies of many time travel adventures, mixing dinosaurs (from the late Jurassic no less, which was a whole 144 million years earlier) with humans. The first things they spot are a pterodactyl and a brontosaur, though to be fair they also hear a non-anachronistic saber-tooth tiger. In a scene that makes little sense, they shoot and kill the brontosaur for getting too close to Ted. Lastly, they meet a group of nine early humans with spears. Knowing these guys, these early humans are toast.

The strip takes pains to detail what equipment they brought on their expedition -- rifles, automatic pistols, field glasses, matches, axes, knives, cans of food (revealed later) and a movie camera -- but no mention of drinkable water. They also bring a large square of white canvas which they wisely use to mark where they left the time machine.

And, finally, catching us up to the "present" of January 1940. Issue #10...

Red, White, and Blue finally confront their first mad scientist in an adventure that takes place a few months earlier, in the Fall of 1939. It even takes us away from exotic locations to New York City, which will shortly become the hub of all superhero activities, and features the Empire State Building. The Master has created an electrical forcefield around the entire city of Manhattan. Cars are destroyed when they try to leave and the Master threatens to destroy the city if anyone tries to come in.

We also learn that, although "Blooey" and "Whitey" are nicknames, Red is not a nickname; his real name is Red Dugan and his nickname is actually "Smarty."  We learn that Doris West has the hots for Red and cries when she manipulates him into what seems to be a suicide mission to save New York.

Doris claims New York City has 7 million citizens; it actually had 7.5 million, but the 1940 Census would not have come out yet so Doris would not know that. It is also possible that the electrical field failed to extend around all five boroughs.

Red beats the forcefield by flying through on a parachute with no metal parts, but he's not done yet. The Master has an army of over a thousand Nazis and Nazi sympathizers working for him to control the populace. Further, the Master's electric fields can roast an entire city block -- and he has, killing men, women, and children to prove his power. Doris, Blooey, and Whitey join him by using a rowboat with no metal parts.

Red is SO Lawful that, when a clerk tells him he can't see the mayor, he just leaves.

(Read at fullcomic.pro)

Popular Comics #6 - pt. 2

Popular Comics always seems to give me a lot to talk about!

Today we start off with a page of The Gumps. I'm not sure if anyone is ever going to run an arctic-based Hideouts & Hoodlums campaign, but it could happen, so I better talk real quick about movement through snow and dogsled speed.

Thick snow slows a man on foot down, from a Move of 60 ft./turn down to, most likely 30 ft./turn (depending on conditions).  A dogsled can, initially, haul at a speed of 65 ft./turn and keep this rate of speed up for 1d6 hours (with an "exploding die" -- on a 6, the dogs can be kept going another 1d6 hours at the same speed).  Eventually, a dogsled is going to slow down to a speed of 40 ft./turn.

But, the real advantage of the dogsled isn't speed; it's avoiding fatigue. A man on foot, walking at speed through heavy snow, is going to be constantly fatigued. A man riding on a dogsled is always fresh and vital.

Bear in mind that the revised version of H&H is going to have slightly different Movement rules and may or may not have a fatigue rule...

Long before Daredevil, Moon Mullins here introduces us to the first boomerang in comic books. The boomerang is going to be a standard equipment weapon in the next edition of H&H.

Don Winslow U.S.N. goes diving in this installment, wearing an antique diving suit (or, by the 1940s, is already an antique) and carrying an electric lamp. The flashlight is standard equipment in H&H, but how the electric light is carried should be mere flavor text.

No, the more interesting thing here is the natural trap of the undertow.  An Editor could go one of two ways here: either making the diver make a save vs. science each turn (exploration turns) underwater to avoid being swept off in the undertow, or make an item save vs. non-Superhero wrecking (as found in the back of Book II: Mobsters & Trophies) each turn until the line is broken.

Captain Nimbo is not a very impressive villain name, but that suit of diving armor Nimbo is wearing certainly is.  I would probably treat that as a flak jacket, or Armor Class 5.

Water moccasins are rare in comics, but one of the more dangerous snakes one is likely to run into in a realistic scenario. Although they only have 1 hit point (1/6 HD), their bite requires a save vs. poison or the victim will be stunned by pain for 1d6 turns.

A giant water moccasin, though, would be up to 24 ft. long, have 1+1 HD, and a potentially lethal bite. Wait to see if that makes it into the next edition!

And, lastly, in the horrendously named White Boy in Skull Valley, we see more environmental affects on characters in the game, this time in a dust storm. Each turn spent in a dust storm without adequate shelter or protection, a Hero should have to save vs. science for each of these conditions: blinded for 1d6 turns, deafened for 1d6 turns, or choking for 1d4 points of damage!

It is also worth pointing out that, under normal conditions, wind does not affect one's chance to hit with missile weapons at all.  Particularly strong gusts, however, like before a dust storm, may confer some penalty at the Editor's discretion.

Popular Comics #6 - pt. 1

Though I'm not a fan of the original Little Orphan Annie, here I do owe it a small debt of gratitude for showing me what a small group of slick hoodlums -- here called mountebanks -- could do to whip up a frenzied crowd against some Hideouts & Hoodlums Heroes. I did consider making mountebanks a new mobster type, but the charm ability of slick hoodlums seems like such a good match.

This page raises the issue of how to handle morale saves. Do you roll once for the whole group, or roll separately for each individual attacker? The rules do not specify, leaving this up to the preference of each Editor.



In Dick Tracy, we see trick shoes with concealed compartments in the bottom, and a miniature gun disguised as a fountain pen. Good additions to a minor hi-tech trophies list!

Believe it or not, but Believe It or Not will not turn up here often.  This time, though, the Bowl of Wisdom sounds so much like a magic trophy that I had to add it. Drinking from it should add +1 to the imbiber's Wisdom score!

Ah, the old "bucket of pitch falls on the head, then you step into a rope snare that pulls you off your feet" trick! It's a complicated trap: it must involve an attack roll for the bucket, then a saving throw to avoid stepping into the snare, which must be pretty easy to miss without the distraction of the bucket on the head (maybe a +4 to save without the bucket?).

Ah, the conundrum of being knocked unconscious!  In the game H&H emulates, recovering from being at 0 hit points requires a full day of rest. It sure doesn't seem like Pat has been out that long here.

In the next edition, there will be expanded rules for what may happen when a Hero reaches zero hp.  Some of the results are better than being out for a day -- but some will be much worse.

Smilin' Jack gets to ride in a hi-tech transport -- a stratosphere balloon, supporting a "gondola" that looks an awful lot like a bathysphere. Being able to ascend quietly to 60,000 feet might come in handy for Heroes some day.

That's quite a weight the grizzled prospector is pulling.  Grizzled prospectors do appear to be tough critters as a cliche, but I hesitate to stat them as Superheroes to get them that strong. Maybe they need to be a new mobster type?  Maybe one with the No Encumbrance power of Superheroes, but without all the rest?

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum at http://www.digitalcomicmuseum.org/index.php?dlid=2961)