HEY KIDS, COMICS!- The New Crusaders
NEW CRUSADERS
Red Circle Comics (Archie)
w Ian Flynn
a Alitha Martinez
The NEW CRUSADERS comic is the latest attempt to revive the classic Red Circle/Archie superheroes, including such characters as the Shield, the Web, the Comet, etc...
You may be unfamiliar with these characters, as they seem to have always been "second tier" superheroes, but nonetheless they do have a publishing history going back to the 1940s, including being published by DC Comics in the 1980s and again just a few years ago. Despite being relaunched by writer J. Michael Straczynski, that version of the Red Circle heroes only lasted about a year at DC.
The newest version of the Red Circle heroes acknowledges their long history by making the main characters the children and heirs of the original characters. Long retired, the original heroes are all killed when their greatest enemy - The Brain Emperor - returns to seek vengeance upon them. The only survivor of that original generation of heroes must take the new generation under his wing and teach them their parent's secrets.
The series is currently on issue #4 (as of mid December).
Personally, I feel the series started rather weak, and I was prepared to quit reading, but by issue 4 the characters are getting well developed and I am now enjoying the book enough to have it added to my pull file. The artwork is definitely towards the cartoony side of the spectrum, resembling DC's animated series comics such as Young Justice or Batman Beyond. Mostly the art is well suited to this book, though some individual panels are still a bit rough. Similarly, the writing and dialogue left me a bit cold at first but has improved as the book rolls along.
I would rate this book a solid B list title, equal to many a Marvel or DC series with better name recognition.
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As a set up for a teen superhero game, New Crusaders works wonderfully. You have a whole group of heroes who your players are probably unfamiliar with. Pass them out and let your players generate legacy characters based on these new-to-them heroes. They inherit the heroic mantle, a tragic origin, and an ultra powerful nemesis all in one fell swoop.
If you don't want to play the teen heroes, than the New Crusaders also work wonderfully as NPCs. If you have the time, establish the parent heroes first, then kill them off and have their offspring appear asking the PCs for help, or perhaps causing problems due to their inexperience.
Showing posts with label Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comics. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
HEY KIDS, COMICS! - Green Lantern
I'm trying to get into a steady writing habit, and reviewing the comics I read - and attempting to use them for gaming purposes - seems like a quick and easy way to get some words flowing.
GREEN LANTERN #13
Green Lantern continues to be one of the stronger series in the DC New 52, which is ironic since it's major continuity was barely touched by the reboot. Sure, some origins were tweaked and the timeline was condensed here and there, but for the most part everything from the SInestro War onward appears to still be in continuity.
The current - controversial - story arc deals with a new human green Lantern named Simon Baz, an American Muslim car thief suspected of terrorism and on the run from the federal government. Some folks are offended by certain parts of the character design - the 'ski mask' like facemask, and the pistol prominently featured on the cover of issue #0 that the character never has in the actual book seems to play into the 'scary Muslim' stereotype.
Simon is an American Muslim, and so far is portrayed as a beleiver in his faith, but not neccessarily a strict adherent to its rules. I'm not sure if this is a cop out (he can be a hero 'cause he's not a devout muslim) or a good change of pace (most Muslims are depicted as being very fervent in their beliefs, but there must be a spectrum of belief and behavior in the Muslim community, just as there is in the Christian and other religious communities). Simon is also out of work, like many middle class Americans, and turns to car theft to help support his family. Criminal behavior, but certainly understandable in a cinematic fashion. In the course of his thefts, he getting involved with a bomb and a federal investigation, and ends up accused of terrorism.
Simon receieves a Green lantern ring empowered not by the Guardians of Oa, but by Hal Jordan and Sinestro. Simon has also been warned not to trust the Guardians, as they have turned on the Lanterns and are trying to destroy them. Perhaps this is a metaphor for the distrust we have of our own governemnt, fearing our own leaders are betraying us for their own ends. Perhaps not. One supporting character is a federal agent assigned to track down Baz, who almost loses his cool and goes too far, possibly a good man doing bad due to his fear of terrorism. Perhaps another metaphor, maybe just another stock character.
All in all, an interesting new development in the Green Lantern story arc.
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For gaming, the Green Lantern Corps and mythos presents an easy way to structure a campaign, whether superhero or otherwise. Whereas most genre stories center on a singular hero, the Green Lantern Corps presents an organization of heroes - space cops in this instance - whose powers and superheroic identity are all tied into one central orgamization.
For most campaigns, choose a group or being that could benefit from having agents, figure out how these agents are granted power, how they are chosen and what their duties are, and this will answer many campaign questions. Some genres work better than others, though.
Example: In the Marvel Universe, the Vishanti are a distant and obscure group of extra-dimensional beings who usually interact solely with the universe's Sorcerer Supreme. For reasons of their own (not neccesarily altruistic ones), the Vishanti wish to keep humanity alive and thriving. Using alien logic, they reach out and empower a small number of agents, granting magical powers in return for service. Their strictures are few, the duties they demand are sometimes confusing and often extremely dangerous, but the power they grant is real and they pretty much let their agents do what ever they want unless it threatens world destruction.
Example: In a typical cyberpunk world, a group of disparate rogue computer hackers are contacted by a mysterious patron that seems to know all their secrets. The patron is willing to hook them up with cutting edge computer code and hardware, in return for secrecy and services rendered. Unknown to the PCs, their patron is a hidden emergent AI manipulating the world-net for its own security.
EDIT: I was remiss in not mentioning ION GUARD by Radioactive Ape Games, a great little supplement that covers the same Green Lantern homage ground I was going for above. Available in both BASH and ICONS versions, and well worth the US $4.99 price tag.
I'm trying to get into a steady writing habit, and reviewing the comics I read - and attempting to use them for gaming purposes - seems like a quick and easy way to get some words flowing.
GREEN LANTERN #13
Green Lantern continues to be one of the stronger series in the DC New 52, which is ironic since it's major continuity was barely touched by the reboot. Sure, some origins were tweaked and the timeline was condensed here and there, but for the most part everything from the SInestro War onward appears to still be in continuity.
The current - controversial - story arc deals with a new human green Lantern named Simon Baz, an American Muslim car thief suspected of terrorism and on the run from the federal government. Some folks are offended by certain parts of the character design - the 'ski mask' like facemask, and the pistol prominently featured on the cover of issue #0 that the character never has in the actual book seems to play into the 'scary Muslim' stereotype.
Simon is an American Muslim, and so far is portrayed as a beleiver in his faith, but not neccessarily a strict adherent to its rules. I'm not sure if this is a cop out (he can be a hero 'cause he's not a devout muslim) or a good change of pace (most Muslims are depicted as being very fervent in their beliefs, but there must be a spectrum of belief and behavior in the Muslim community, just as there is in the Christian and other religious communities). Simon is also out of work, like many middle class Americans, and turns to car theft to help support his family. Criminal behavior, but certainly understandable in a cinematic fashion. In the course of his thefts, he getting involved with a bomb and a federal investigation, and ends up accused of terrorism.
Simon receieves a Green lantern ring empowered not by the Guardians of Oa, but by Hal Jordan and Sinestro. Simon has also been warned not to trust the Guardians, as they have turned on the Lanterns and are trying to destroy them. Perhaps this is a metaphor for the distrust we have of our own governemnt, fearing our own leaders are betraying us for their own ends. Perhaps not. One supporting character is a federal agent assigned to track down Baz, who almost loses his cool and goes too far, possibly a good man doing bad due to his fear of terrorism. Perhaps another metaphor, maybe just another stock character.
All in all, an interesting new development in the Green Lantern story arc.
################
For gaming, the Green Lantern Corps and mythos presents an easy way to structure a campaign, whether superhero or otherwise. Whereas most genre stories center on a singular hero, the Green Lantern Corps presents an organization of heroes - space cops in this instance - whose powers and superheroic identity are all tied into one central orgamization.
For most campaigns, choose a group or being that could benefit from having agents, figure out how these agents are granted power, how they are chosen and what their duties are, and this will answer many campaign questions. Some genres work better than others, though.
Example: In the Marvel Universe, the Vishanti are a distant and obscure group of extra-dimensional beings who usually interact solely with the universe's Sorcerer Supreme. For reasons of their own (not neccesarily altruistic ones), the Vishanti wish to keep humanity alive and thriving. Using alien logic, they reach out and empower a small number of agents, granting magical powers in return for service. Their strictures are few, the duties they demand are sometimes confusing and often extremely dangerous, but the power they grant is real and they pretty much let their agents do what ever they want unless it threatens world destruction.
Example: In a typical cyberpunk world, a group of disparate rogue computer hackers are contacted by a mysterious patron that seems to know all their secrets. The patron is willing to hook them up with cutting edge computer code and hardware, in return for secrecy and services rendered. Unknown to the PCs, their patron is a hidden emergent AI manipulating the world-net for its own security.
EDIT: I was remiss in not mentioning ION GUARD by Radioactive Ape Games, a great little supplement that covers the same Green Lantern homage ground I was going for above. Available in both BASH and ICONS versions, and well worth the US $4.99 price tag.
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