Amazing Mystery Funnies v. 3 #1 - pt. 3

This is Don Dixon, in a rather exciting but hard-to-follow installment. What I do know is that a dam breaks and an enemy army is wiped out by the ensuing flood. The question for me to ponder today is: is there a way to work out how much damage being hit by water should do?

Yes, there should be a way to work out a formula for how much a certain volume of water weighs, factor in the speed it hits you, and assign it a number of dice of damage. I think it would be high. But there are other things harder to factor for, like the chance of drowning, or the chance of being slammed into a solid object. For attacks this unpredictable, that's why we have a saving throw system. So this should be a save vs. science to avoid death for everyone caught in the path of the floodwaters.

I suspect this will be a stand-alone story and, judging by the crude artwork, its cancellation would be a mercy killing.

We've seen lots of trophy planes by January 1940 already, most of them being faster, but none of them have had silent running yet. It seems like that would be really hard to do with a plane, but I certainly see the value of it, when wanting to fly up to a hideout unannounced.

Sorry, I'm going to make you look at the amateur artwork on this page just for the last panel and the assertion that "they have no chance to use their guns." Should that be true in Hideouts & Hoodlums? Well, it sort of is, if the other side won initiative and rushed into melee before you could get off your missile fire. This is why it's good to let an entire side go before the other side in order of combat.

Not always is "hideout" an analog for "dungeon" -- sometimes it really is a dungeon! And this is another example of why I had to break down and open up wrecking things to all classes in 2nd edition.

Note panel 6 and, if you can follow this narrative, a pilot's plane is missed by anti-aircraft shells, but the shrapnel from the explosion still pierces the cockpit and knocks out the pilot. This is evidence that cover does not protect you from area of effect attacks.

This is Jon Linton, and he's pretty lucky because before he goes on an expedition he gets a map of the whole place from a handy non-Hero character. Most Heroes don't get a map to work with at the start of the scenario, but are asked to draw their own -- and, indeed, this exploration component is a vital part of what makes a RPG Old School.  I also think this is a great page of building suspense. 

Wow -- not only do we get to see the map, but we get the scale for the map too!

This is why you put bosses at the end of hideouts, because the Heroes need to gather XP and level up before they can face them.

The iota-ray tube is not unlike a magic wand that combines Hold Person with wrecking things.

Speed Centaur is still in his medieval lost world. We see lots of lances on display here, but also a "mace" being used by his supporting cast member Reel -- though it looks like it would more properly be called a flail, making it one of the earliest, if not the first, flails in comic books.

(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus.)

Amazing Mystery Funnies v. 2 #12 - pt. 2

We return to Space Patrol to find the space bandit (which is like a normal bandit, only encountered in space and with a spaceship instead of a horse) Kosterman has already failed a morale save despite not having even entered combat yet.

A shock gun seems an odd name for a weapon used to wreck spaceships, but perhaps the blue flame somehow delivers a violent shock that shakes ships apart. Here, the ship is only partially wrecked.

Right now, wrecking things is an all-or-nothing mechanic. One would have to revise it to three categories to include a "partially wrecked" column.

I think this is our first scenic view of Venus in all of comic books. We get a good sense of the flora and fauna. Of course, the only detail Basil gets right is that the air isn't breathable.

Venus got a write-up in Supplement III: Better Quality, where I tried to compromise between the factual Venus and the comic book Venus, while keeping to the side where it was inhabitable enough a place to go and have adventures. The comic book version I was working from was the Fawcett comics' version; next time I write a gazeteer for Venus, it will have to include a lot more details from Basil's vision of it.

The Venusian Spider-Men will definitely need to get statted for the upcoming Mobster Manual. They are only vaguely spider-shaped, with their legs being more like tentacles that they use to grapple tree branches and victims. They seem to travel only via brachiation.

We will have to wait and see what all Kosterman's flame gun can do; it could be statted as nothing other than an acetylene torch with some space-age flavor text added.

Here we see that spider-men prefer caves to jungle dwelling when it comes to lairs, that they strew bones around their lairs, that they eat humans (though I don't agree that makes them cannibals), and we see that they use simple stone age technology.

This is a page (likely a Sunday page) of Don Dixon. You have to read carefully to pick out which character is the merman because this merman looks just like an ordinary human, but simply can't handle the air pressure above water without a breathing helmet.

This is one of the more obscure strips by Harry Francis Campbell. I love his John Law, Scientective, and thought John's prototype, Dean Denton, still had a lot of potential. Which makes it sad to see Jon Linton is so goofy. Though, to be fair, most attempts to depict the future in comic books tend to have looked pretty goofy.

Here, we learn that, by 2009 AD, we're going to have intercontinental rocket planes that can go 1,000 MPH (which sounds really impressive, but was possible by 1956), hooded robes are going to be stylish, and televisions (which already existed in 1939) will be called "visigrams."

It seems like Jon has performed some kind of aviator stunt here, but I think by now we know what the answer to aviator stunts are in most comic books; by 2nd edition Hideouts & Hoodlums rules, they must be simply the use of a piloting skill (and a successful roll).

As for thermite shells, one could make a case that they ignore armor and cover when attacking (all targets are AC 9, though still subject to other modifiers like the Dexterity bonus of Mysterymen).

Tibet? Green mist? Someone was reading Bill Everett's Amazing Man...

The Wall of Green Mist is actually a Wall of Force spell (or the power equivalent).

Tracking mundane resources like rations should only matter when Heroes are trapped in the wilderness, or spending long periods of time in hideouts. In an urban environment where food is plentiful, players and Editors can skip over detailing the mundane tasks of every day life like stopping to eat and drink periodically.

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum.)

Amazing Mystery Funnies v. 2 #11 - pt. 1

Well, this story jumps right into the action, doesn't it?  The "electro-robot" (introduced months before Timely's robot Electro) looks to be about 10' tall, making it a huge robot. The narrator claims it has electrified hands, but that makes it odd that it needs the dynamo to attack The Fantom with, then.

That the spear crumbles on contact suggests that the robot is so electrified that ordinary (non-trophy) weapons touching it will shatter.

That the "million volts of electricity crackle above The Fantom" suggests that it missed. Normally, an attack like a lightning bolt would get a saving throw for half damage, not a save to be missed.

When The Fantom says he "won't be able to hold this robot back forever," he means that he's grappling the robot and the robot may, with a lucky dice roll, the robot might eventually escape or even reverse the hold.

Which brings up the question, why doesn't The Fantom just wreck it? He's surely strong enough to. But, in this scenario, this robot doesn't belong to hoodlums; it's someone's legal property and he's trying to stop it without harming it. It certainly makes the scenario more challenging.

Now, why there's a chandelier in a science exhibit hall, is even more questionable...

This is how big the remote control device for a huge robot is.

Narrative voices can often be forgiven for exaggeration, but I wonder if there's more to this one about The Fantom striking with the force of a meteor. It's not likely because he fell 20' or so before hitting the robot, though that would have added to his damage, as indicated in previous posts. Now, he could also have buffed himself with Get Even Tougher, or a similar power, and that would be cumulative with his falling damage bonus. That would be enough to put some serious hurt in a robot!

The robot is using a bear hug, a maneuver possible in 2nd edition's grappling system.

Finally, when all else fails, The Fantom wrecks the robot --- though he seems to have a hard time of it! Unlucky dice rolls? Maybe this robot was hardier than usual?

This is Daredevil Barry Finn, and this is a very combustible car!  Usually, when a crash happens, the Heroes inside only have a small chance of being killed. If there's a chance of complications after a crash, full immolation must be a small percentage chance.

The boys of The Inner Circle have a sound tactic here -- arrange a meeting with the enemy, then have someone else follow the enemy back to their hideout to find out where it is. Just be wary of successful evasion checks!

Here's more good tactics. If you can't find a secret or concealed door, but you know there must be one about -- keep searching! Even come back the next day.

If you don't want to go through the trapdoor at the end of an underground passage to find out where it goes, mark how long it is and then go try to find on a map where that passage would come out at. Warning: in higher level hideouts, expect magical teleport traps and the like!

The giant snake with the whale tail is not the bogvetch in this picture, which is a shame because that seems like an appropriately cool name for this creature. It likes to coil around trees and can use its tail smack to paralyze foes.

(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus)

Amazing Mystery Funnies v.2 #9

We rejoin the Fantom of the Fair as he's chillin', just watching a circus act, when ...well, let's think about what's happening here.

The Fantom somehow senses that something is amiss, but we don't know how. Perhaps he was using Super-Hearing for some reason and overheard the man at the tank, far below, over the din of the crowd. Perhaps the Fantom just has a really good sense of volume and figured out that the water was low from looking at it. Or maybe he was using some kind of heretofore unknown Detect Danger power/spell (or would Find Traps duplicate that?).

Then The Fantom defies physics by leaping after Jane, and less aerodynamically than Jane (and with the drag of the cape no less), and still manages to hit the water before her. Some new power called Fall Faster?

There's more going on, unsaid, here too. The Fantom claims this man looked suspicious because he was standing around nearby. But this is the 1939 World's Fair -- there should be hundreds of people standing around nearby! So this has to be The Fantom using Detect Evil to sense the wrongdoer.

And then there's The Fantom throwing the guy and him landing dead. In Hideouts & Hoodlums you cannot kill in one hit, no matter how much damage it does. I could change that rule -- say, adding an amendment where if you do 10 or 20 points of damage more than what would drop you to zero hit points, then it can be an instant kill, but this is a throw attack that shouldn't possibly do that much damage. Unless The Fantom is using some new power called Super-Throw (with increased grappling damage), or Killing Blow (that gets around the not killed at "zero hp" rule).

This page I include for trivia. From Jane's comments at the end, coupled with the clear outline of a face on The Fantom -- I'm beginning to suspect that The Fantom isn't wearing a mask at all. Rather, his face is always masked in shadow, thanks to magic, and we're just seeing him in silhouette.

A prototype for Marvel Comics' High Evolutionary. More proof that Carl Burgos invented the Silver Age of Marvel Comics back in 1939...?

Now I'm trying to decide if rocket cars needs to be a trophy item. A commonplace rocket car might seem futuristic, but a rocket car held the land speed record (345 MPH) as of 1938. Maybe the Thunderbolt (#7 on this list) will get a stat.

I think I've just solved my problem of how to justify keeping the acetylene torch on the trophy list. A "blue ray" acetylene torch makes it seem more exotic, and could maybe justify boosting the damage it causes a little.

A note to myself that a large transport plane can be a trophy item. A large transport plane has several benefits for a group of Heroes -- it can easily transport them all in one trip, as well as storing all the supplies they might need on adventures (you can see how the interior side of this plane is set up like an armory).

This is Don Dixon. Don't drink was apparently drugged with a Potion of Madness. It makes him gibber and sound like an egomaniac.  Hmm...did someone slip this to Donald Trump?

Oh, Speed Centaur, you goofy feature! I guess Speed cut off his arms in order to fit his torso into that fake horse head? The lesson here is that you don't have to think too hard about disguise for it to work in H&H.

(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus)

Amazing Mystery Funnies v. 2 #8 - pt. 1

This is the first appearance of Speed Centaur, the first and one of the only centaurs to ever appear in comic books. It's like the editors at Centaur Publishing said, "How can we make a superhero like Superman without getting sued by DC? I know, let's make him half-horse!"

Speed comes from a futuristic city at the North Pole that explodes, leaving him the lone survivor. Sound familiar? I didn't share that page, but this one, that shows that centaurs should maybe have some kind of cold resistance.

I don't think centaurs are generally known for their leaping ability. Seems a lot like the alien race, though. Or would could make an argument for a centaur being a half-alien/half-human character.

Kicking the bear could be the Get Tough power in use. Or it could be the natural hoof attack of a centaur, depending on how one stats Speed.

Okay, we've been told that Speed leaps, but this sure looks like flying to me. That would make Speed Centaur the first flying superhero.

Speed appears to be attacking five hoodlums at once here. Is this the first recorded instance of the power Flurry of Blows?

This is a curious map. "Corubia" is almost surely Colombia. "Martique" looks like Ecuador. "Belcade" could be the Brazilian State of Roraima. Which would make Strath...part of the Amazon? And it's supposed to be mountainous too!  It's an interesting mix of real and fictional geography.

A little known benefit of riding around in a motorcycle and sidecar -- the sidecar can have a machine gun mounted on it. Who knew?

So, The Inner Circle stops this South American war, but with a pretty dodgy plan. It required two agents to slip into a foreign country, then kidnap a minister without getting caught or even detected. The minister had to go along with writing a letter asking the leader of his country to come meet him at a remote cabin with minimal guards, and the leader being stupid enough to comply with it. This was a very generous Editor.

This was a big catch for Centaur, picking up the license for Don Dixon and the Hidden Empire. And this looks to be a pretty exciting installment! This woman is like a will-o-wisp, luring Don out into the swamp so he'll drown, then vanishing. But as the story unfolds, it turns out she's not supernatural at all; she's the queen of the marsh monsters. It isn't explained, but she probably just sinks into the water because she can breathe underwater.

Marsh monsters -- or marsh folk, as they call themselves -- appear to be ugly, hairless humans with small fins on top of their heads and can breathe underwater, except for a small, elite segment of the population that look like ordinary humans (but can still breathe underwater). It is also implied here that marsh monsters are really good at camouflage and ambush.

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)

The Funnies #18

The importance of communicating by telegram cannot be overstated. Telephones were not reliably private and depended on the operator, or a series of operators, being able to make the right connections. Important messages were still sent by telegram, which cost about 75 cents on average, according to this page of Dan Dunn.

Ten cents for a beer. Bear in mind that you could get a hot dog for only five cents.

A good playing tip from G-Men: dressing in a mail carrier's uniform is a good way to get close to a hideout, and also an excuse to check their mail. Also note the tropes of secret writing, and the secret marijuana trade.

The text here in Don Dixon doesn't specify what "Ogi" is, but given the name and his height, it seems a fair guess that Ogi is an ogre, possibly the first one in comic books.

Tad of the Tanbark is suddenly my source for new spells!  Smoke Image is like the spell Projected Image, except that it can only be projected through pre-existing smoke closest to where you want to project to. This has to be a 3rd or 4th level spell.

There are some good tips here from Captain Easy about always checking up on new people you meet, and what to look for in identifying a fake twin, but the real find here is what Spain was, allegedly, paying foreigners to come and man their air force during the Spanish Civil War. Any Heroes down on their luck might want to consider fighting in a war, even in a pre-WWII campaign.

Tailspin Tommy reminds us that pirates, even modern-day ones, can't resist acting out the tropes of their genre, and would have to save vs. plot to resist doing things like making their prisoners walk the plank.

The Four Aces remind us why some villains use deathtraps -- it's to hide the evidence of the murder from police. Of course, why they don't shoot them first and then burn the building down, isn't explained...

According to Scribbly (yay! I get to post Scribbly!), a newspaper's weekly payroll was only about $7,000.


(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)