Jianghu Dungeoncrawl

A few weeks ago over on Twitter, Erik Jensen of Wampus Country fame had the idea to run Temple of Elemental Evil in Shaw Brothers kung fu style. I think this is a very good idea So good, I'm going to do it myself. Well, maybe not the Temple of Elemental Evil, but some classic D&D module I'm going to reskin as a sort of wuxia adventure.

While I think you could use D&D for this, it does give me an excuse to try out another system. Perhaps Osprey's Righteous Blood, Ruthless Blades? If not that, one of the other wuxia games I've got, but haven't played.

The only question is: what adventure to run?

Wednesday Comics: DC, March 1982 (week 2)

My goal: read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm looking at the comics at newsstands around December 10, 1981.

Batman #345: This one has a pulpy feel. It reminds me a bit of a Shadow or Doc Savage adventure. It begins with the mysterious Dr. Death killing a would-be betrayer with poison. Later, Robin is covered in dust by a mysterious flying figure. Batman discovers it's a toxin, and it's a race against time to save his partner. In the morgue, they discover the henchman killed earlier died of the same thing, but now they are caught and put into a death trap by Dr. Death! I'm sure it's just a coincidence that Karl Hellfern, homeopathic practitioner to the wealthy, has just come to prominence in Gotham.

There's a Catwoman backup here by Jones and von Eeden. Selina is hired to solve the mystery of some disappearing trains. She discovers the trains are apparently being diverted by ghosts!

Flash #307: Bates and Infantino/Smith are back. The Pied Piper returns with a scheme to both defeat the Flash and get revenge on his wealthy parents who have disowned him (and used their money and influence to hide the Piper's true identity). In the Dr. Fate backup from Pasko and Giffen and Mahlstedt, Totec sends Fate to a realm of the dead where his undead followers attack. Meanwhile, Totec begins a plan to usher in the Fifth Sun and return himself to godhood. Fate escapes from the undead, but then has to face a monster created from Inza's jealousy.

G.I. Combat #239: In Kanigher's and Glanzman's first Haunted Tank story, a maverick general who his superiors feel is reckless sort of proves them right by losing his son's life and then his own in a daring tank assault on a German fuel depot. In the O.S.S. story, Kana the Ninja is again dealing with anti-Japanese prejudice while trying to fight the Japanese. Next up, Boltinoff and Patricio have a woman inventor rescuing a squad of G.I.'s sent to destroy the cannon she made, which had fallen into German hands. Drake and Matucenio tell the story of a wastrel Balkan Prince who is forced to join the army by his father. He dies attempting to surrender to the Germans but his father is told he died a hero to spar his feelings.

In the last Haunted Tank story, Jeb and crew find a small Dutch doll with the mysterious message attached to it - "Aidez Vous! Denise." He leads them to a village being held captive by a German Panzer and associated troops. After defeating the Germans, they return the doll to the little girl who saved her town.

Jonah Hex #58: Jonah befriends a burly but simple-minded guy with a beloved dog who may be the only one that knows the location of a treasure. The only problem is the bad guys would like to get ahold of that information, and contrive a plan to kill them both.

The El Diablo backup continues to be good. This time El Diablo and his creator most face a renegade medicine man and his creation who looks a bit like Marvel's cowboy Ghost Rider. In the end, it's revealed that this white clad specter was sort of the original El Diablo.

New Teen Titans #17: Wolfman and Perez come up with a pretty good one here. One of the best so far of this run, to me. Wally's friend Francis Kane is dealing with a mother so overcome with grief for her dead husband and son that she spends all her time doing seances trying to contact them and blaming Francis for living, and weird manifestations of poltergeist type activity. Francis' mother believes she's possessed. Wally enlists Raven and later the rest of the Titans for help. The activity threatens large swathes of the city, and it looks like Francis may indeed be possessed but Cyborg realizes its magnetism, not magic. The reader finds out at the end that the silhouette of a devil has actually be Dr. Polaris with his horns, trapped in some other dimension and trying to use Francis to get out.

Secrets of Haunted House #47: This the last issue. It has a cover by Denys Cowan. They saved a few decent stories for end, I guess. Timmons and Carillo have a man planning to marry a woman then kill her for money. His plan is complicated by the boogey man he's had trapped in his closet with a light since his childhood. His would-be victim innocently releases the little man with predictable results. Sciacca and Estrada present a sort of Dorian Gray riff where a curse mirror turns a guy into a serial killer and reflects his moral decay. Kelley and Bisette present an atmospheric vignette about a ghostly woman cycling from girl to old woman while pursuing her animated, possessed teddy endlessly through the rooms of a haunted house. Kupperberg and Vicatan have an immortal witch undone when she mistakes two little people for children and tries to feed on their youthful life force. Finally, Cavalieri and La Roque present an unusual violent tale of a disturbed woman whose childhood trauma causes her to go into a dissociative state and attack when she holds a knife. Her son is killed and her husband soon to follow after a set of kitchen knives is delivered to their home as the result of a contest.

Superman #369: Superman learns the true meaning of Christmas. Not really, instead he fights the Parasite who has being using the actions of the unwitting FBI agent Cory Renwald (the kid raised by the Kents before Kal-El's crash as we saw a couple of months ago in Superboy) to set a trap. Superman overcomes the villain and gets a nice holiday moment with his almost-brother.

The Entertainment Industry in Yai

 Our Land of Azurth game continued with the party awaiting the archivist in the ancient, abandoned lounge in the depths of the city of Yai. Unfortunately, the Archivist returns in the custody of young guards of Yai who arrest the party. The leader would have summarily executed them had not one of his juniors named Irwin-37 recognized them as the characters from a popular entertainment. In an attempt to prove who they were he asked trivia questions about their adventures, but they barely remember the details and didn't do so well.

Still, it was good enough to so doubt and they were escorted to the city so that the Elders could decide what to do with them. They find out on the way that the show about them is the creation of the reclusive celebrity producer, Cory-01.

In the more vibrant areas of the domed city they are imprisoned while awaiting an audience with the Elders. Irwin-37 reveals that the city is indeed a ship, an ark, sent into space in a long, elliptical orbit to return to Earth after the planet had sufficiently recovered from a cataclysm and could be repopulated by the people for the ark. Apparently, though, something went wrong as they arrived to a world still dangerous and overrun with mutants (which he assumes the party to be). Irwin-37 tells them it has been generations since they landed, but the Elders feel the outside is full of contagion.

After Irwin leaves, a weird, unicycle vehicle brings a mysterious visitor and his body guards. He somehow is able to free Kully and beckons him to come forward. Kully is reluctant, but the visitor reveals himself to be Kory Keenstep, his father! Kully goes with him.

Kory reveals himself to be the producer Cory-01. He connived his way into Yai society using tech from the Toad Temple. He noticed they had read the Azurth book, so he sold them on further adventures of our heroes. He later revealed that he had come by these tales by spying on the party using a device of Yai.

Unfortunately, his production has been shut down due to the Elders' concerns that it was corrupting the morals of the youth. Kory has an idea to convince them using a "ghost trick" he got from an old book he read in Yai. He claims to have a way to send Kully back in time to haunt the Elders and somehow change their minds. He offers Kully a disguise that looks like the outfit warn by the mysterious stranger the party meet in the future.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party got an audience with the Elders. Well, not in person with the giant images of the three Elder's heads. They don't want to listen to the party's concerns about the Wizard and the shadows. They are aware of the Wizard's menace, but dismiss his ability to effect them. The party does get through to them sufficiently that they at least agree to consider their words.

The group is moved from the jail, at least, to better quarters, but they are still prisoners. Kully returns and tells them what his father said. Later, Kory comes to visit and they try to convince him to help, but predictably he is unwilling to stick his neck out--until they mention the Shadows. He's heard them talk about what they saw in the future when he was spying on them, but didn't see any of the events they were describing. He tells them he can send them to the future again, and they can get the images he needs to make a special--essentially a propaganda film to convince Yai to join the fight against the Wizard. The party doesn't trust him, but they agree.

Convincing Irwin-37 to give them a visit with Kory the next day, they are surprised to see the time machine he promised isn't a machine at all but more like a magic ritual. This is why he couldn't send any Yai folk through time: they don't have the talent for it. He explains it won't be their bodies but their "thoughtforms" or something. 

The party prepares. Kully is to go to the location of their other selves and film them--becoming the mysterious stranger the others always suspected he was. The rest of the party will stay hidden and film the Gloom Elves and their Shadow allies outside.

The ritual begins, but it doesn't go as smoothly for Shade as for the others...

To be continued.

Can Willow be Redeemed by Moebius? Let's Take A Look

The original version of this post appeared in 2017. Then, I was criticized by a couple of people for being unduly harsh to the film Willow. On reconsideration, I suppose that is fair, though I still maintain it doesn't quite come together with anything like the same magic as Star Wars. There is now a new Willow series on Disney Plus and the comments I've heard haven't been great, but I'll reserve judgement for now.

Moebius's concept work, which I first glimpse in a magazine around the time of the movie's release is as great as ever. Perhaps it doesn't suggest a weird fantasy Willow or anything that radical, but it does at least suggest to me a decent Studio Ghibli-esque film might have come from the material. Let's take a look and (re-)imagine:

Here's the titular hero and (I believe) one of his Nelwyn fellows. Nothing of the pastoral gentility of a Baggins, nor the too literal "small folk" of the film. These guys make me think of Howard's diminutive and declining Picts in "The Lost Race," but also aboriginal peoples like the Emishi (in Princess Mononoke) or Ainu. A sense of the Nelwyn threatened by humanity (or Daikini) would have been nice. I like the long earlobes, too.

Madmartigan is the rogue with the heart of gold Han Solo type, but with a bit more wastrelness, he could have been a wuxia sort of character or Sanjuro from Yojimbo or Mugen from Samurai Champloo--both of which are great swordsman, too. Moebius gives us a design that completely fits with those characters, suggests a world of ronin or wandering swordsmen of some sort.

So at this point, you might be thinking, "basically he's just going to say Willow should have been more Asian?" So now I'm going to throw you off:

King Kael here (General Kael in the film) is described as "bestial" in the third draft of the script, which he obviously is here. Perhaps he is a lover of Bavmorda transferred by her magic? A reverse Beauty and the Beast (there's maybe a bit of Cocteau's beast about him. Maybe?) Or is he the captain of the flying monkeys, so to speak? Anyway, he fulfills a bit of a Witch-King of Angmar role, so fleshing out his badass villainy would have been good.

Now, it's back to the Asian stylings. The mask suggests (to me) childhood mindwarping courtesy of Bavmorda for the warrior woman Sorsha. Maybe she's just go a slight blemish, but has been convinced its a horrible disfigurement a la (some accounts of) Doctor Doom? Maybe her inhuman beauty as a daughter of the Tuatha de Danaan-esque folk of Tir Asleen is her disfigurement to her witch queen mother? Note that the mask isn't just a human mask, it's go that single Oni horn. Probably means something.

Lastly, I believe this is one of two fairly divergent designs Moebius did for the brownies--but in an earlier script draft Willow and baby get captured by elves who are described as wearing "samurai-type outfits and angry little haircuts." These are guys who (in the script) collect baby tears as part of their gig. Now think of these sinister little guys, like a mashup of the Indian in the Cupboard and the evil faerie of del Toro's Don't be Afraid of the Dark remake. I think we could do without the French accent Lucas specifies for their leader, though.

Weird Revisited: Sin's Queen

The Phlegethon is a river of blood, formed from the runoff from infernal slaughterhouses and soul-rendering plants. Where it snakes through the city of Dis, one finds dens of depravity and vice run by the crime family that bears its name.  Belial is the boss here, and despite what you may have heard, Belial is a woman.

Or least, Belial is now.  Like all hell lords (ladies), Belial can take many forms. These days, Belial appears as a beautiful, dark-eyed woman, usually dressed in black. Her shadow is a deep red and tangible, like velvet.

The Phlegethon family runs brothels catering to unusual, often violent tastes, torture clubs, and brutal fight club gambling houses. Phlegethon’s entertainments draw hell denizens--both devil and damned--as well as visiting debauchees from all over the multiverse.

Combat: Belial uses a cat o’ nine tails when when she wishes to draw out the encounter.  She bleeds her foe tauntingly before the final kill. She carries a silver-plated infernal pocket pistol for those occasions when she can’t be bothered. It fires bullets specially crafted from truly depraved souls that cause lingering pain and disturbing nightmares even after they’re removed unless a their curse is removed.

Diabolical Abilities: Belial can know a mortal’s secret sins or secret desires of a carnal or violent nature at a glance. Her breath can cause an intoxicated delirium. Her slightest touch can cause intense pain or pleasure.

Pacts: Belial may be summoned with a drop of blood shed by a willing victim in either fear or ecstasy, caught in a silver chalice, and then boiled away over a small flame. Belial can reveal secret sins or desires of anyone (for a price) or provide instruction in techniques to prolong pain or pleasure.

Wednesday Comics: DC, March 1982 (week 1)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! Today, I'm looking at the comics at newsstands on the week of December 3, 1981. 

Arak Son of Thunder #7: Thomas apparently wasn't up to writing chores this month as he's "plotter," and Conway and Barr are "scripters." Colon/Rodriquez still do the art. Arak and Valda end up in Rome seeking help from Pope Hadrian. He doesn't know much and suggests they go to Byzantium. They also meet the Wandering Jew and discover a subterranean people, the descendants of the followers of Pope Ursilus (presumably a standin for Antipope Ursinus give the years. Maybe just a typo?) who are followers of the mad, Black Pope. Arak is like someone's pseudohistorical D&D campaign.

DC Comics Presents #43: This is a fun issue by Levitz and Swan. Mongul takes Superman captive as he menaces Earth with the Sun-Eater, and Jimmy Olsen summons the Legion of Super-Heroes to help--the issue reminds us of Jimmy's history with the Legion. It also creates so tension in that the last time the Legion tangled with the Sun-Eater, Ferro Lad had to sacrifice himself to do it. Wildfire does here, but "sacrifice" is much less permanent for a guy made of energy, in fact it's turned into an end of the issue joke. Swan's stiff, more normally proportioned Mongul leaves a lot to be desired.

Ghosts #110: There isn't much worthwhile in this issue. There's a weird intro that promises "The Shattering Secret of Squire Shade" and then doesn't deliver. Unless the secret is that his carriage turns into a sleigh and his horses into reindeer at midnight on (presumably) Christmas? Anyway, Levitz and Gonzales present a vaguely Christmas story where toys commanded by an electronic device take revenge on a mean store owner. Then Kelly and Trinidad expect us to side with TV Network execs (I guess) as they plot and carry out the murders of every critic in the country after one of their fellows commits suicide following bad reviews. In Kelly's second attempt he's aided by a Paris Cullins who hasn't yet developed his distinct style for the story of a family plagued over the generations by the spirit of a cruel ancestor who is given a chance to walk the Earth again by replacing his doppelganger descendants.

Justice League #200: This is an issue fondly thought of by many, and I see why, but it's not my favorite of this Conway run. It does have an all-star cast of artists, though: Perez, Broderick, Kane, Infantino, Bolland, and Kubert. It riffs off the Appellaxian invasion from the origins of the JLA but adds the twist of a portion of the story where the newer League members must fight the original ones. It's got that hero vs. hero action, teams splitting up--all the classic superhero tropes.

Weird War Tales #109: This issue has a great cover to me. Kanigher replaces DeMatteis on the Creature Commandos and his characterization and dialogue is more consistent with the teams' origins, but at least this first part of the story has a bit less of the "war is hell" aspect of Dematteis' yarns, and he uses a lot more bombastic, Marvel style alliteration. Spiegle's art is probably more consistent with better visual storytelling than what we've got previously, but he doesn't really have a flair for monsters. Kashdan and Zamora follow-up the Commandos with the story of robots used as weapons in futuristic war, who wind up manipulating humans into staying in a continuous state of war to prolong their existence.

Kanigher and Hall/Celardo present an unusual War That Time Forgot tale by moving Circe to Dinosaur Island and having her turn hapless G.I.s into dinosaurs. Finally, Kanigher and Randall present a short, and obvious story about WWI soldiers fighting in a graveyard and dying in the same open grave.

Wonder Woman #289: True to form for Thomas, this issue re-introduces the Golden Age villain Dr. Psycho (though maybe we saw him briefly the issue before). This creates a bit of a continuity glitch, as Psycho had a few appearances in the 60s, starting in the nebulous period between the Golden Age and Silver Age continuity. These have been retroactively deemed appearances of this Dr. Psycho, but the original Who's Who lists this as his modern first appearance. Anyway, Psycho siphons ectoplasm from Steve Trevor and becomes Captain Wonder. The misogynist villain who is literally kind of a mental parasite is rife for modern use, and I think Grant Morrison made good use of him in this context in Wonder Woman Earth-One. Anyway, Silver Swan also makes an appearance at the end of this issue, promising an even bigger conflict next month.

The Huntress backup by Levitz and Staton sees her battling the Crime Lord, who's a crime boss really into the SCA--or at least wearing armor and carrying Medieval weapons.

Solar Wars: The Hutt Crime Family

The Hutt crime family was one of the most powerful criminal organizations of the Imperial era. Based on Mars, its reach extended throughout the system, owing to its connections to Nar Shadaa in the Jovian Trojans. It's most famous boss was Jaba, often called "Jaba the Hutt," who took control after a gang war in 3244. During Jaba's reign, the Hutt family was involved in smuggling, piracy, drug and weapons trafficking, and the slave trade, and well as various forms of cybercrime. 

Jaba's base of operations, his so-called Palace, was a former monastery of the Bomar sect, located in the Martian desert. Jaba's palace was in really a fortress, guarded by a compliment of his soldiers and any number of bounty hunters and contract killers vying for employment. Jaba was rumored to keep a unique, genetically engineered creature called "the Rancor" in a pit beneath the palace that he used to dispose of those that had displeased him.

This is a follow-up to this post.