Wednesday Comics: DC, January (week 5)/February 1986

My mission: to read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis. This week, I'm looking at the comics that were on stands in the week of October 31, 1985. 

Legionnaires Three #1: This issue is one of three this week that have February 1986 cover dates, rather than January. Giffen/Newell and Colon/Kesel begin the Time Trapper's evolution to a major villain status. The Time Trapper on Takron-Galtos (i.e. the one we've seen in previous issues) was just a lackey who is killed by his boss for failure this issue. The real Time Trapper hatches a plot to defeat the Legion (specifically the 3 original Legionnaires) by kidnapping Lighting Lad's and Saturn Girl's infant son. He succeeds in doing that through trickery, but the three legionnaires know he's responsible and are coming after him.

The Colon/Kesel art looks great on this issue, though I think I see a hint of Giffen at times. Assuming it isn't my imagination, I think Colon is aping his style slightly on some character designs.

Crisis on Infinite Earths #11: Another February dated issue. Creation re-occurs and a single universe is born. In the modern day, Clark Kent of Earth-Two wakes to find himself on an Earth not his own and gradually, with his fellow superheroes, he discovers his Earth doesn't even exist anymore. In various places, other heroes gather and this same truth is discovered. Wolfman's dialogue lampshades the fact they don't have this merged universe quite worked out yet: Why are Huntress and the Earth-Two Robin completely forgotten by the world, but Power Girl remembered? How can Power Girl and Earth-Two Superman be remembered but not their Krypton? While we don't have long to linger on this, the grief the characters feel at erasure or the erasure of their world is addressed to a degree I didn't remember. 

It's addressed but not allowed any emotional resolution. The heroes discover to their dismay that the single Earth has been shifted into the Anti-Matter Universe. The Anti-Monitor still lives and makes one last play for vengeance!

DC Challenge #3: Moench and Infantino/Smith take the baton. We find out part of the Viking Prince's soul was trapped in the tablet Batman has been puzzling over. He gets the help of the archeologists Carter and Sheira Hall. Their attempt to investigate the truth leads Hawkman and Adam Strange back to Rann, while Batman and Hawkgirl face peril on Earth. Jonah Hex manages to get the speeding car from crashing and gets returned to his own time. Meanwhile, Aquaman is saved from dying in the desert by what he believes to be his fellow JLAers, but turn out the be aliens in disguise.

With all the twists and turns, I can't say with any confidence I know what's going on in all of the scenes. I would say this probably rewards reading in a collection, but I think while it would be easier to follow, I'm not sure it's going anywhere in the end. 

MASK #3: Chaykin's second cover this month here. Well, in the release month of October; This issue carries a February cover date, though. The team escapes being entombed alive as a traitor in their midst intended and calls in to their supervisors to complain about the vetting of that guy. The reader knows what they do not: their command structure has been compromised by VENOM. With a couple of new operatives taking over for some others, the team heads to England where most male characters sport elaborate 19th century or older facial hair and wear bowlers. VENOM breaks a guy who believes he's Guy Fawkes out of an asylum and appears to be going after Parliament, but it's a ruse. Instead, the Crown Jewels are their ultimate goal. Good thing MASK is on hand.

Nathaniel Dusk II #4: McGregor and Colan bring the second and final Nathaniel Dusk limited series to a close. At the start, Dusk must escape from a locked steam room in a scene that has definitely showed up in some fashion in detective media before. After tracking down one of the goons that nearly killed him before, Dusk lays out the solution to the mystery: It was Valentine that made the first attempt on Clement's life and tried to frame an employee, and Valentine who got Rothberg to send his goons. The guy with the tommy gun shows up, and after a struggle that ends with both goons dead, Dusk is off to Coney Island to try to stop Valentine from killing his wife, Amanda. He succeeds, though only after climbing up a rollercoaster to shoot at Valentine who's riding in an on-rushing car. The climatic fight is on Valentine's seaplane as he attempts to take off.

This serious was a well-done detective story like the first, differing from its literary models only in how over-the-top the action is at times. It's more reminiscent, in that regard, of contemporary film than older detective fiction.

V #12: Bates and Infantino/DeZuniga continue the story from last issue. In the wake of the rash Visitor assault Lydia ordered on the ranch the Resistance was using as a base, she's called to account by Diana. Meanwhile, Donovan and Juliet escape with Prince Bron, all of them disguised as farm folk. Bron's inhuman comes in handy saving some trapped miners. In the Visitor ship, Diana interrogates Willie and sends another Visitor wearing Willie's human face to infiltrate the Resistance.

The Obligatory Greyhawk Catchup Post

For those of you late or those who might have missed a post or two, I provide this post collating the post on my series extrapolating some meat for the bones of the Greyhawk Folio.

The project idea. It's drifted a bit since, but it showed you where I started and this post on inspirations will show you where I'm at.

The Bone March

The Horned Society

The Iron League

Onnwal

Ket

Keoland

Veluna

The Holy See of Medegia

North Province

South Province

The Pale

Rel Astra

The Duchy of Tenh

The Wild Coast

The Aerdian Church of Law

Some gods of the Suel and Oeridians.

And some real-world images for terrain inspiration.

[Greyhawk] Four Suloise Deities

In my last Greyhawk post, I presented some Oeridian gods. This time, a sampling of deities from the Suel.

Kord

One the most popular Suloise deities, at least in terms of folklore and tales he appears in, Kord is the hero god of strength and personal combat. He is said to have given mankind the art of wrestling and is credited with slaying numerous monsters.

Lendor

Lendor was perhaps seen by ancient Suel as the personification of time, but by the later Imperium he is the god of infinite space as well as time and the first cause that proceeded all existence. As such, Lendor is understood in some traditions as the supreme deity of Law or Divine Law's personification, though the Oeridian Church of Law (when it recognizes him at all) views him as the embodiment of the strictly mechanistic law of the material world, a flawed demiurge subordinate to higher, spiritual law. In folk belief he is again just the long-bearded Father Time.

Phaulkan

Phaulkan is a god of sky and storms among the ancient Suel, in latter times he is primarily invoked as a god of wind and weather, and of interest to sailors and travelers. Depictions in the current age more often show him as youthful and clean-shaven.

Wee Jas

Wee Jas is the goddess of magic and death. As a deity of Law, she was a frequently present but minor figure in Suloise religion, but as the patron of magic, she is frequently invoked at the start of magical rituals and shows up in the iconography of classic arcane works.

Wednesday Comics: DC, January 1986 (week 4)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis! This week, I read the comics on sale on October 24, 1985.

World's Finest #323: Metropolis is engulfed in perpetual darkness (these events are presumably after Crisis) that Superman figures must be magical. He's correct in that assumption, and soon he falls prey to the eldritch wolves employed by the villain Nightwolf. Nightwolf is really doing the bidding of the mysterious Powerbroker and his cronies (who question their boss's methods in this case), but our heroes never find out about that connection. Batman, meanwhile, is on the case and finds out Nightwolf's origin (an archeologist on a grant from Wayne Enterprises) and the Mesoamerican artifact that gives him his power. Before Nightwolf can have Superman torn apart by his wolves in front of an audience, Batman takes him down using tricks from his utility belt. In the aftermath, Bats is angry with Superman and lectures him about taking unnecessary risks and flying in without planning. In an abrupt turn, Batman suggests he can't work with Superman anymore unless he changes his ways, and the two part company.

The rupture between them, which honestly seems a mere plot point (and a sort of random one), becomes more permanent because this story by Cavalieri and Delbo/Alcala unexpectedly is the last issue of this 41 year-old title. In the editorial, this is announced as a "hiatus," and we're told they are working on retooling the title for a comeback, but that doesn't happen. The heroes' relationship will be different in the early years post-Crisis. 

The Oz-Wonderland Wars #1: The Zoo Crew is back courtesy of Bridwell/Cavalieri and Lay. The Chesire Cat shows up in Roger (Captain Carrot) Rabbit's office to enlist the help of his team. Despite the title, Oz and Wonderland aren't at war. Rather, Roquat the Nome King, has taken over Oz, imprisoning a number of prominent Ozites, and now threatens Wonderland. Bridwell wasn't allowed to use any Oz characters not in public domain (so up to Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz), though in the delay between when this was written and when it was published, another Oz book came up for grabs. The story is impressive in regard to depth of the Oz lore employed. Even so, the real star is Lay who mimics Tennel, Denslow, and Neill quite effectively, given she's also putting them with Shaw's character designs.

I do wonder why this series came out in the time of Crisis. My theory (related to my feelings on all the Silver Age-y one-shots in Superman titles) is that DC is clearing their files, getting old stuff that has been completed or paid for out that might not fit with the post-Crisis universe.

Action Comics #575: While Batman and the Earth-Two characters have multi-issue (and multi-title) arcs relating to Crisis, the Superman books seem to spend most of their time in pre-Crisis one-offs. Case in point, this first story here by Cavalieri and Schaffenberger/Hunt that brings back the villain Intellex from Superman #396. He steals the brain of Einstein to employ it to develop a plan to capture and harness Superman's Kryptonian brain power, all while a meteor threatens Metropolis.

The second story by Boldman and Bender/Hunt has Superman dealing with a runaway rodent he plans to add to his interplanetary zoo, who turns out to be a sophont space-traveler. That should teach Superman to stop grabbing beings and throwing them in a zoo, but it probably won't. 

All-Star Squadron #53: Another Crisis crossover and a companion to this month's Infinity, Inc., as we get the Golden Age Earth-Two heroes' perspective on the meetup at the Monitor's satellite. First though, the Monster Society of Evil breaks up. Superman isn't able to defeat them, but they turn on each other, kicking out Mr. Mind who accidentally goes back to Earth-S. Oom takes over, however, and will still be trouble. 

Detective Comics #558: Even with Nocturna gone and Night-Slayer in custody, Moench and Colan/Smith have the melodrama under red skies claim one more victim. The night watchman, recruited and beguiled by Nocturna, tries in vain to find the woman he has fallen in love with. He gets in conflict with Robin and is pursued by the Dynamic Duo as he goes to the top of a skyscraper where the remnants of Nocturna's balloon have snagged on its spire. Finding the basket empty and blood inside, the man decides to commit suicide. Batman and Robin try to dissuade him and get him to return to his wife, but the storm sweeps him from the tower. His body, like Nocturna's, isn't found; they both disappear into the pre-Crisis storm. Batman is notified that the Joker escaped and heads off to his scenes in COIE #2. Bullock has the unenviable task of giving the watchman's wife the bad news.

In the Green Arrow backup by Travern and von Eeden/Barras, Green Arrow runs into trouble when an informant is struck down before he can tell the hero about an impending big drug deal. The only words he gets out seem to be "sure...bet". After some hassle, GA figures out that the clue is actually "sherbet," which leads him to a cargo of imported ice cream with the drugs concealed inside. Ollie gets the best line of the month with: "Does Ambush Bug ever have days like this?"

The Old World of Greyhammer

Despite their differences, the Old World of Warhammer Fantasy (at least as presented in WFRP 1e, which is the extent of my knowledge of it) and the World of Greyhawk have enough similarities, I think, to make a mashup both easy and interesting. Both have Andersonian/Moorcockian Law and Chaos alignments as a feature with Neutral a reasonable position, though it's not generally as militant a stance in the Old World as it can be in Greyhawk. Both have the Tolkienian compliment of races without the Tolkien-inspired epic. Both have an Empire that seems to take some inspiration from the historical Holy Roman Empire. 

The way history would go would be something like this: The technologically and perhaps magically advanced Old Slann open warp gates on Oerth, letting Chaos in and ultimately destroying their civilization. Their degenerate descendants are the scattered tribes of bullywugs. Human civilization arises relatively quickly through the rediscovered learning of this elder race, but the Baklunish and Suel eventually use that knowledge in mutual destruction.

Some centuries later, Oeridian tribes establish the Empire (combining the particulars or the Empire of Warhammer and the Overkingdom of the Flanaess). It persists to the present day, but it is a shadow of its former glory. Both all too human failings and the taint of Chaos have a hand in this decline.

I'm not sure what to do with the Chaos Gods, but I'd be inclined to replace them with Greyhawk deities, though I don't know exactly which ones.

I feel like this is a scene that could happen in both settings

The Old World has fewer countries, and they are more obviously analogous to earthly nations, but I don't think it would be particularly hard to map any particular aspect of the setting one wanted to a Greyhawkian surrogate. The default technological era is more advanced, too, but I don't really think gunpowder would spoil Greyhawk in any way. To honor the war game focus of Warhammer, one could also set the campaign during the Greyhawk Wars.

Neither setting is a stranger to punning humor, so there's that. Warhammer is grimmer than Greyhawk at standard, but I think the tones of both can sort of meet in the middle. 

Take a Trip to Gnydron

In an abandoned fragment by Clark Ashton Smith Gnydron is "a continent of the far future, in the South Atlantic, which is more subject to incursions of 'outsideness' than any former terrene realm; and more liable to the visitation of beings from galaxies not yet visible; also, to shifting admixtures and interchanges with other dimensions or planes of entity." Smith's Gnydron eventually became his Zothique. 

Lester B. Portly has picked up the name Gnydron in the same way he's salvaged some gaming ideas of yore for a series of publications that aim to inject a bit of "outsideness" into the terrene realms of your standard OSE or other B/X-derived gaming. 

I have known Lester for a number of years. He did the layout on several of my gaming publications (in addition to the likely better paying work he did for Goodman Games), and I played in a pulp campaign he ran set in his interpretation of my Weird Adventures setting. Lester has also been a fan of true old school gaming with its incursions and visitations from other genres, based on fiction that was not so firmly and definitely categorized as fantasy is today. Each of these Gyndron supplements focuses on another subgenre of fantastic fiction (and gaming) that was once a part of the old school domain these days is often trimmed or shunted off to works dedicated to it in modern old school-derived systems. 

Supplement 1 is subtitled "Mystic Fantasy" and offers an AD&D-styled Monk class and a cool system of martial arts. It also provides a system of Psionics that again reminds one of AD&D's but this one is more streamlined and appears imminently usable. There's a bestiary of old school psionic-based monsters that have either been left out of or de-psionicized in OSE and other modern interpretations. Rounding out the supplement are some optional rules and a Saurid (lizard man) race-as-class.

"Science Fantasy" gets its due in Supplement 2. There is a star-farer class for playing those high tech individuals stranded on a fantasy world and the Vat-Born, a synthetic mutant class. To support these two, there's a chapter on high-tech equipment and one on mutations with an appearance table. Again, there is a menagerie of science fantasy monsters, many derived/adapted from classic modules like Expedition to Barrier Peaks. 

"Weird Fantasy" rises in Supplement 3. Lester gives us the Initiate class, practitioners of ceremonial magic, and adherents to strange deities, and the Formican race-class of eusocial, hive-dwelling humanoids. There's a system of ritual magic to support the Initiate, as well as a chapter on deities where you'll recognize some Lovecraftian Elder Gods and Old Ones, among others. Finally, there's a chapter on Monsters from Appendix N. Lester really did a deep dive here, and I confess I didn't catch all the derivations, but I see creatures from multiple Burroughs series, works of Jack Vance, and the Gondwane tales of Lin Carter, among others.

All of this is presented in the nice, clean layout style Lester does so well and enlivened by the always flavorful artwork of Zhu Baije.

If you play OSE or other B/X inspired rulesets and dig Appendix N fiction, then these are a must. Even if you play a bit more variant old school ruleset and like those sorts of inspirations, they are worth your money to have all this content for easy adaptation.

If drivethru isn't your preferred shopping site or if you want POD, you can also find the Gyndron supplements on Lulu and RPG Trader.

Wednesday Comics: DC, January 1986 (week 3)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis! This week, I read the comics on sale on October 17, 1985.

Green Lantern #196: Nice Chaykin cover here. I think this issue is the real beginning of the jerk version of Guy Gardner as Englehart and Staton/Patterson have his first official act as Green Lantern be returning to his hometown of Baltimore and telling the people there how much he hates the city and how all it ever did was keep him down. Then, he goes to resurrect the Shark as commanded by the Guardians and winds up being beaten by the villain. Meanwhile, Hal returns to Earth and goes to offer his help to John Stewart should his replacement ever need it (his magnanimous characterization here is particularly notable after his portrayal in HBO's Lanterns). 

While Stewart and Jordan are talking, with Stewart telling Jordan the Crisis is ended, the Shark attacks. Stewart defeats him owing to the experience he has gained.  Guy Gardner shows up and reveals that his mission is to assemble a supervillain assault on the Anti-Monitor's base on Qward. The two Lanterns don't see eye to eye and appear ready to fight.

Batman and the Outsiders #29: Barr and Davis continue the story with a rather pulpy turn, as the team finds an entrance to an underground world. They are attacked by the mind-controlled Metamorpho, and Halo and Geo-Force wind up captured by a Princess Tamira, while Batman, Katana, and taken by her rival Prince Mardo of Abyssia. Davis gives us some very fanciful costume designs for the Abyssians, in some ways reminiscent of work he'll do later on Excalibur. They also meet Emily Briggs again and we see now that Looker's costume is a variant on the standard Abyssian outfit.

Blue Devil #20: Mishkin/Cohn and Kupperberg/Collins present what is apparently in-continuity Blue Devil's first post-Crisis appearance. Dan is looking at houses to rent when, checking out a closet, he accidentally opens a portal to the House of Weirdness and lets out a powerful demon that looks like pinkish Cousin It. Cain of House of Mystery and Blue Devil have to work together to track the creature who (after trick or treating with Kid Devil) is drawn to a concert where an undead rock star plans to stage a ritual and make his comeback in more ways than one. With the bad guy defeated and the demon banished, Cain offers Blue Devil the room in the House of Weirdness.

Infinity, Inc. #22: The Thomases and McFarlane/Montano/DeZuniga serve up another Crisis crossover. In South Carolina, Hourman II and the new Dr. Midnight battle Union deserters/renegades from the Civil War and a dinosaur. Meanwhile, we get an expanded view of events on the Monitor's satellite as the other Infinitors join the heroes there. 

It's interesting comparing these crossovers with those for events that will follow. In the future, it feels like writers of various books try to dispense with the crossover as quickly as possible. Here, there is a variety of approaches. Some writers have expanded the lead up, others detailed and elaborated events that got only a few panels or part of an issue in the event, while others have told stories adjacent to it. It really seems like all hands are on deck in a way we won't see later.

New Teen Titans #15: Wolfman and Patton/Tanghal pick up right after last week's Omega Men with the two teams manipulated by Auron into fighting each other. Jericho senses something amiss, and he's able to give Kalista a chance to use her power on Auron. Once he's distracted, both groups are able to cool down and quickly discover how they have been fooled. Auron gets away, but they learn he has a hidden confederate in whatever is going on. As prep continues for the wedding, Nightwing is pushing Starfire away, refusing to see the position that she's in. Out in the forest with Jericho and Ryand'r the three happen upon Blackfire and her advancing army and are captured.

Saga of Swamp Thing #44: Moore and Bissette/Randal bring Crisis to the book as Constantine meets with Steve "Mento" Dayton in a Gotham under red skies. Constantine is recruiting Dayton for something which will come after the Crisis. We get a brief Batman cameo with him acting oddly like a police officer. 

Meanwhile, in Louisiana, a serial killer who calls himself the Bogeyman makes the mistake of killing his last victim in the swamp and getting the justice coming to him courtesy of the Swamp Thing. At her home, Abby gets a call from Constantine telling her to send Swamp Thing to San Miguel, California, for the "last stop before the finale."

Warlord #101: Another Grell cover on this issue. I reviewed it here.

Who's Who #11: I's and J's are covered this issue. Immortal Man and Infinite Man are covered, just in time for their appearances this month. Both of the Legion's Invisible Kids are here, the latest courtesy of Arthur Adams. "I...Vampire" who with last saw in May 1983 rises again courtesy of Tom Sutton. Ironwolf is presented by creator Howard Chaykin. Jennifer Morgan from Warlord is here with art by Dan Jurgens. Jemm appears, and it turns out he's also in this weeks Infinity, Inc. Jonah Hex appears in his new Hex duds with art by Texeira/DeZuniga. Jonni Thunder also shows up and she's also in this week's Infinity, Inc. The biggest character this issue is likely the Joker who is rendered by Marshall Rogers.