Famous Funnies #60

Eagle Scout Roy Powers reminds me that, whenever Heroes travel by sea, they almost always run into some storm, or hurricane. The 2nd edition Hideouts & Hoodlums basic book won't have room to talk about sea voyages, but if I ever get to the Advanced H&H Editor's Guide, I'll have to make sure to give a high chance of encountering inclement weather on any nautical, wandering encounter charts.

Something's not kosher about this, Skyroads...Speed says the canoe can go twice as fast as him. Okay, downstream, I could buy that, but upstream? Those are some strong oarsmen!

I'm sharing this because, not only does this educated Mayan school Sally on her cultural bias, but he then teaches her about fatalism. That is one cool character...

Not only is this gag from Life's Like That pretty funny, but it gives us a rare glimpse of a 1930s-era camper.

As if it even needed to be said -- why you don't want to get into a fight with a whale in H&H (this is from Dickie Dare).

(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus)

Famous Funnies #59

After a string of DC titles we're back to Eastern's one title.

Map!  It's not much more than a map of Cuba, but it stands out for me because a) this is in (or near) Guantanamo Bay, and b) my home campaign was just there at the beginning of this summer.

Is $100 a day reasonably representative of how much bit players made in movies?

The amphibious plane, or seaplane, is so commonly featured in these early comics that I'm half-wondering if it shouldn't be on the starting equipment list instead of as a trophy. But it also begs the question: do some planes need to be on the starting equipment list?

Also -- what does this storyline have to do with aviation??

This joke's kind of clever; I had to think about it for a moment.

It takes Pooch a week to heal back to normal after being critically injured. What's unusual about that is, I can't imagine a dog that size having more than 3 hit points.

I don't plan on introducing negative hit points into Hideouts & Hoodlums, but I could track how far into negative hit points someone goes after losing consciousness and come up with a chart that increases length of healing time for how deep into negative numbers you go. Like:
-1 to -3 hp: 4 hours to heal back 1 hp
-4 to -6 hp: 8 hours to heal back 1 hp
and so on...

More great King Cedric banter in Oaky Doaks.

Ugh -- another goat joke!

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum.)

Famous Funnies #58

Here's a good example of game play. There's three non-Heroes controlled by the Editor and one player-controlled Hero in the boat, with a gun under the seats. The Editor knows it's there, but has his characters stay quiet, so the player can solve the problem and remember about the gun.

Also worth discussing is the term "high-powered". In the basic rules, that could be code for a Gun +1. Or, if using the optional damage rules, it means the difference between 1-10 points of damage and 1-12 points of damage.

It's also worth pointing out that, unless that's one sickly shark, 12 points of damage is not going to kill it. More likely, the shark failed a morale save afer being injured.

Is it ever just an octopus? It's almost always a giant octopus, isn't it?

This is from the gag filler page Life's Like That. I think this one is pretty funny.

Oaky Doaks has nothing to contribute this month to Hideouts & Hoodlums, but I'm sure digging King Cedric's snappy patter.

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)

Famous Funnies #57

Map!

More evidence of improvised weapons -- like coconuts -- being able to do real damage.

If you put yourself at risk to save your comrades, is that a good deed (worth 100 xp) or just you being a good teammate?  It's a decision each Editor will have to make, either as a blanket judgment or on a case by case basis.

Speaking of things the Editor will have to make decisions on....Should he bother rolling random encounter rolls for supporting cast members, or just assume that nothing interesting is happening to them except when a Hero is around?  It could be a good source for plot hooks; if you're out of ideas, have a SCM ask for help with some mobster they encountered...

After what I considered a weak start, Oaky Doaks has developed into a strong strip.

There has been a surprising dearth of wolves as bad guys in the comic books so far, but here we see a particularly menacing one.

Speaking of coconut weapons -- monkeys are apparently vicious with coconuts. Maybe they should be able to throw 2 per turn, for 1-4 damage?

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)

Famous Funnies #56 - pt. 1

This is Eagle Scout Roy Powers, though a fellow scout seems to be the star from this page.  

Players will often have to actively search the scene to find clues, but sometimes the Editor will just throw a clue into your lap -- or under your butt -- if you really need to have it.

This page also gives you some perspective between a schooner and a dinghy. It might help to know the difference between the two for a nautical adventure -- which I've surprisingly never done yet in any of my Hideouts & Hoodlums campaigns, despite how prevalent they were in the Golden Age.

We also learn that a schooner only needs a crew of five (six counting the cook), so if you're going to do a mutiny story for a really weak team of heroes (like maybe two or three 1st-level heroes), then a schooner might be the way to go.

Of course, depending on which weapon damage mechanic you use for H&H, automatic firearms might be too much for 1st-level heroes to handle if you plan to use the expanded weapon damage tables (from Supplement I or The Trophy Case).

Speaking of low-level scenarios, I like how the villains aren't interested in killing the heroes here, but maroon them on a deserted island instead (capturing heroes happens a lot more in low-level scenarios).  And I love how happy Roy is to be plunged into a non-combat scenario involving finding fresh water and foraging for food. Now that's the kind of flexibility I like in a player!

This is from SkyRoads.  I can't always follow what's going on in SkyRoads, as it seemed to try to juggle too large an ensemble cast without a strong lead character, but here it follows a G-Man wrongly imprisoned in a Mexican jail. I share it here for the ethical dilemma of the lawful hero given the option to choose to bust out of jail, or trust in the system. I did something similar in one of my H&H games just last night when a hero was offered a huge bribe by a rich corrupt politician. It's a fun way to force the player to think in character.

According to War on Crime, even a simple cottage can serve as a hideout.

The first mention of Browning automatic rifles in comics. First edition H&H names specific brands of guns, including Browning, on the starting equipment list for historical context, but I will probably move away from that in 2nd ed.  These would be lumped into a broader category of military rifles (which is more consistent, since I don't never broken down by types of other weapons, like swords).

Random chance is an excellent way to explain how Dickie Dare managed to spot a man dressed in bright colors, on a white horse, and the others missed him.  I also like the metafiction of the bandit describing how his own story is going...

(Scans courtesy of Comic Book Plus)

Famous Funnies #47

The theme of the day is maps! This is from a page of Roy Powers, Eagle Scout. The scenario is about whose property the scout cabin sits on and, while I'm hard pressed at the moment to think of a good idea for one, I'm sure there's something exciting you could do with a cabin by a remote lake!

This is from Life's Like That, a gag filler page, with a particularly still-relevant today gag here.

This map is slightly better, though still not as detailed as most RPGs require for careful exploration. It would be interesting, though, to see someone flesh out this map and stock it with Dr. Sting's Indian watchmen!

For Lawful Heroes, taking trophies from bad guys is harder (by the book, requiring a save vs. plot to do so). The flip side is that Lawful Heroes should be the ones most likely to get to stick around afterwards and receive rewards for their good deeds. Here, Patsy, Thimble, and the Phantom Magician get $20,000 for solving a mystery from a generous railroad tycoon.That's a huge chunk of XP.
To keep this from leveling up Heroes too quickly, there needs to be an official leveling cap in place (either what you need for the next level, or halfway to the level past that), which H&H does not have now (only discussion of the need in The Trophy Case).

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)

Famous Funnies #46 - pt. 1

Good question!

According to Eagle Scout Roy Powers, land was dirt cheap in the 1930s. While it is not clear how much land is in the "strip of land" being sold here, $300 for a half-acre would be a very good deal.  Also note the importance of paying in cash to bank-shy people of the 1930s.

Skyroads doesn't mean "a natural dungeon-like canyon" in the sense we might be thinking of a dungeon...but that doesn't mean the idea doesn't bear merit and discussion. Could a canyon be set up so one could wander through a maze-like construct to isolated locations with pre-set encounters in them? Yes...though not as it's drawn here. Although the deep crevice and the dark corners are intriguing, there's just too much empty space here to be more than 3-4 encounter areas. At the least, this canyon would be a simple wilderness encounter and, at best, could serve as a tiny "sandbox" campaign setting (pre-mapped areas, but no schedule or agenda for the Heroes to visit them in any particular order).

I'm sharing this just for some interesting slang that I'm guessing was in common usage in the 1930s, as the character doesn't seem to be the sort to spout unusual things. So, "jack" was apparently another way of saying "spending money", and "blow yourself to a" meant "get a".

We revisit Hairbreadth Harry during his planet-hopping phase. Here's an unusual world populated by ostriches and giant creatures that look like a cross between bull, a triceratops, and a stegosaurus. What a shame this page suggests no name for these creatures! Note also how plants grow at a fantastic rate on this world (or at least Earth plants do), reminding us that we can ignore natural laws if we wish to when using alien worlds in a Hideouts & Hoodlums campaign.

Dickie Dare is looking even more like a Terry and the Pirates rip-off than usual here (and just as racist), but there's an interesting lesson in keeping an envelope in your wallet and a pencil stub somewhere on your person.

Arminus -- inspiration for Marvel's Thor?

According to Holly of Hollywood, you could buy a parrot for $5.

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)

Famous Funnies #38

We all know how injuries work for Heroes in Hideouts & Hoodlums -- you lose hit points until, if you're not lucky, you run out -- and that's it, with no complications. But that doesn't mean that non-Heroes can't have complications, like broken legs that need special attention, as we see here in the new feature Roy Powers, Eagle Scout.

This one has nothing to do with H&H; I include it only because I think it's the funniest gag filler I've read in a long time.

It's worth noting here that "lottery joints" used to be a thing. That's right, instead of playing the lottery at your local gas station, you'd have to sneak into the dingy backroom of some disreputable saloon.

Speaking of disreputable...I find reading War on Crime particularly enjoyable because so much of it happened in Chicagoland. I know Chicagoland. In fact, I know where the Ontarioville used to be that is referred to here!

Here's a low-powered magic item: the magic torch. Touch the end of it and it bursts into flame on its own. It's easily blown out, but can be re-lit with just another touch, and is never hot to the touch when not lit.

And I included this page of Jane Arden because that's a pretty clever trick for avoiding being caught following someone in a taxi. That Jane is a quick thinker!

Goat joke!

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)