PILGRIMSFALK for STALWART '85!

 Here's one of my original heroes from my "Shockwave" Universe, written up in my favorite superhero RPG to write things up in: Dr. Mike Desing's STALWART '85!  The game is super-rad, and you can buy it here: Stalwart '85 on DrivethruRPG!  You can also avail yourself of a cornucopia of resources for the game at Mike's blog right here: The Splintered Realm blog! Mike has been making awesome games for a long time, and all of them are more than worth your time, folks!

Okay, without further ado, behold the character sheet and HeroForge picture for: Pilgrimsfalk!

(I tried to make the sheet informative enough to stand on its own without dumping a bunch of expository paragraphs about here up here)

Blue Moon Rises Again: Diversions #21!

 Okay...back to some COMICS on this blog, eh?

The newest issue of "Diversions" from Blue Moon Comics is available in Digital Format, and since I am a member of Blue Moon's Ko-Fi Fan Group, I received my copy a little while ago, and I'll also receive a print copy as soon as that's available, since I contribute at the required level for that sort of perk.

Now, if I received it a while ago...why haven't I posted about it yet?

Well, a trip to Iceland happened, and then a case of the plane crud from the trip home from Iceland happened. Also: I do what I want.

However, the time has come to post about the latest issue of the flagship title from my longtime favorite TRULY "independent" comic book publisher.

Short version: this issue was great!  For the long version, scroll down past this awesome cover by Dana Black..after you savor its coolness, of course:

 

As you may have guessed, the opening tale in this issue is written and drawn by Mr. Black himself, and it is a 19 page rollicking epic of action and creativity.  Yes, very much the same terms could be used to describe his "Night Spider" story from Diversions #19, but this story has several key differences from that effort, too.

First of all, unlike the cover above, the story itself is delivered in black and white. This is a deliberate creative choice, of course, and one that adds to the tone of the story. Dana Black is proving to be a very thoughtful and purposeful auteur in my opinion, and he does it all without losing the sense of FUN that should come along with reading a superhero comic book story.

The choice of coloring evokes the 1940s era of the tale, and even borrows iconography from the classic "news reels" of that era. Furthermore, the story of protagonist US Flag's adventure is realted directly to the reader by Flag's sidekick "Liberty Lad," who was deemed "too young to go on this particular mission."

And what a story it is! Without spoiling much, you are treated to secret experiments in a secluded Nazi fortress, Monsters of the experimental, mysterious, and cursed nature, as well as a bittersweet ending that simply begs for a follow-up, while leaving you perfectly satisfied at the same time.

It's a banger, and uses its generous 19-page allotment extremely well. Dana Black has a been a favorite "under the radar" artist for years, and now he's becoming one of my favorite all around storytellers in comics. Recalibrate that radar, people!

Oh, and right before this story, we get a "U.S. Flag" pin-up by Blue Moon artist extraordinaire JW Erwin (and founder Lloyd Smith on colors) that has a soupcon of classic Mignola flavor in the mix, just to kick things off.

I need this pin-up to be made available as a Blue Moon Comics T-Shirt.  Ahem.

Okay, moving on!  Because there IS a second story in this issue. It's an anthology series, after all!

"Mercury: The Hero Falls" is a 7-page tale that has a long history with the "OG" incarnation of Blue Moon Comics, and it is presented here in color for the first time, with the promise of a direct follow-up on the not-too-distant (right?) horizon.

It's a story that's been done before, especially since the late-1980s "post Watchmen" days, but it's done really well here, and it had me fully invested in what's to happen next by the end of its brief but satisfying read-through. 

Basically, an old-school "Silver Age" style hero, Mercury, finds himself facing a harsher, more violent breed of criminal...and heroes to match. You'll find no spoilers here, but as I said, you may have "heard this one before," but you'll want to see where Lloyd and company take this one next.

As an aside: Mr. Smith casually creates an entire superhero "universe" in these 7 pages, too. And he does it not by backing up a dump truck of exposition, but by implying details organically in the script and the action itself.  This is the real stuff, kids.

So, there you have it: yet another kick-ass issue of Diversions!

What's next for this crew? Well, I hope Lloyd won't mind if I post his excellent "Blue Moon Madness" news page from the end of this issue right here so you can have a look for yourself:

 

Again, I am NOT interested in this blog turning into anyone's "unofficial press outlet" as some folks seemed to think my old "Max Reads Comics" blog would be for them, but I can unreservedly say that I think LOTS more people should get on the Blue Moon Comics train. Buy the books, join the Ko-Fi, whatever works for ya.

Later!

-Max

The Elemental Archetype (Draft) for S3 Lite!

 Keeping with the theme of "reading rules for games I'll never actually get to play," here's a new Archetype for a really cool superhero game that I found on itch.io!

The game in question is "The Simple Super System - Lite Edition" or "S3 Lite," or, moving forward in this post, "S3L."

You can find the game here: Simple Super System Lite on itch.io!

And you can watch a video about the game by its creator here: S3L on YouTube!

Now, given the "simple" nature of this game, the "Archetypes" provided in the rulebook don't cover EVERY type of superhero you could ever want to play, but the rules for creating your own archetype/character are pretty wide open.

So, I decided to try my hand at creating an "Elemental" Archetype, given that you can't really pick a "Human Torch" or "Iceman" or "Storm" out of the Archetypes in the book.

Now, I'm no game designer, and this system is perhaps a little TOO "open" for the likes of me to be dabbling in, but here's my first draft:

The "Flexible" Descriptor of The main Elemental Control power is inspired by the Sorcerer Archetype (a Third Party addition to the game, also on itch.io). It's there to allow for all the various ways a player can get creative with the power, going as crazy as the GM will let them. 

A hero with Light Control could, for example, create illusions, or even multiple holographic duplicates of themselves, etc.

Speaking of "Light" Control, the various "Elements" a hero could control might include that. or also Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Weather, Darkness, Magnetism, etc.  "Elemental" is used here in the comic-book-catch-all sense, including "energies" as well as "elements."

Anyway, I'm gonna share this post with the game's creator and see how badly I've missed the mark!

Later,

-Max