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News from the Four-Color Era
Aug. 8th, 2009 08:54 amCrazy headlines from Dateline: Silver Age.
Friday Findings (29 May, 2009 Edition)
May. 29th, 2009 02:18 pmFrom around the web!
PLAN B!, a tale of love, revenge and supervillany (warning: lots of cursing in the dialog).
Hypercities, a project by the MacArthur foundation that allows you to layer historical maps to see how cities developed. (Which I learned about from this article which show some of the thing you can do with it and discusses other similar projects.)
And in a similar theme, find out what lurks beneath the waters of NYC's harbor, quite fascinating.
Short but interesting Spiegel interview with Michael Palin (the former member of Monty Python). Best line: "Generally speaking, comedy thrives in times of despair."
PLAN B!, a tale of love, revenge and supervillany (warning: lots of cursing in the dialog).
Hypercities, a project by the MacArthur foundation that allows you to layer historical maps to see how cities developed. (Which I learned about from this article which show some of the thing you can do with it and discusses other similar projects.)
And in a similar theme, find out what lurks beneath the waters of NYC's harbor, quite fascinating.
Short but interesting Spiegel interview with Michael Palin (the former member of Monty Python). Best line: "Generally speaking, comedy thrives in times of despair."
Friday Findings (10 April, 2009 Edition)
Apr. 10th, 2009 01:52 pmMake your own 3D 'Printer' that builds up levels of plastic in three dimensions. There is RepRap and MakerBot available with new improved versions coming along soon. Fascinating. It will be great when they come down in price.
Our first session of the new AEON Mall Game is written up by the GM.
Good news on the writing front, I am writing for the next Legends of the Five Rings RPG book. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you anything more than that due to the non-disclosure agreement I have signed, but I will tell you more when I can.
Our first session of the new AEON Mall Game is written up by the GM.
Good news on the writing front, I am writing for the next Legends of the Five Rings RPG book. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you anything more than that due to the non-disclosure agreement I have signed, but I will tell you more when I can.
Scenes from a Mall (fiction)
Apr. 5th, 2009 10:21 amWe are getting back to the AEON Mall setting in gaming, which is a very post-modern take on superheroes. The Ultimates by way of The Office and reality programming. Most of the characters are new, but one, mine, is returning.
( Scenes from a Mall )
( Scenes from a Mall )
No Heroics
Sep. 17th, 2008 12:08 pmIs a new ITV sitcom about a group of superheroes, sad, unsuccessful superheroes who hang out at the local pub for supers "The Fortress" whose sign states: No Masks - No Powers - No Heroics
The No Heroics site, unfortunately you cannot watch the video unless you are in England but visit the Geek Detail section. But luckily you can find a preview on YouTube.
The No Heroics site, unfortunately you cannot watch the video unless you are in England but visit the Geek Detail section. But luckily you can find a preview on YouTube.
L. A. Stars
May. 16th, 2006 10:55 pmWe played our first session of the new Champions of the 1960s campaign using Mutants and Masterminds rules last night.
You can read the actual play on RPGNet or on the Heroes Inc Wiki
You can read the actual play on RPGNet or on the Heroes Inc Wiki
Paranormals of the West Coast, c. 1966
Apr. 16th, 2006 05:49 pmSome additional information for the Champions of the 60s/M&M game.
Heroes
Blue Archer, master bowman with trick arrows, and his sidekick, Quiver.
Nagimaki, martial arts vigilante, involved in a running war with the Triads.
Rebel, media celebrity and superhero. Spokesman for Black Label Cigarettes.
Villains
Doctor Zero, mysterious master of robotics and computer. The Doctor has never been seen, only his agents, the ZeroBots and a silhouette on television broadcasts.
Obsidian Shark, super-strong, super-tough thug with razor sharp claws and teeth.
Red Dragon, Chinese superspy working in the LA-Area.
The Reel Gang, dress and talk like gangsters from the 1930s. Hit and vanish after their attacks.
Rocket Robber, using outdated, but still effective technology: flight suit, rocket pack and jet gun.
Seven Thousand Fists, San Francisco based martial arts gang, primarily Chinese-Americans.
Taking suggestions for both sides . . .
Heroes
Blue Archer, master bowman with trick arrows, and his sidekick, Quiver.
Nagimaki, martial arts vigilante, involved in a running war with the Triads.
Rebel, media celebrity and superhero. Spokesman for Black Label Cigarettes.
Villains
Doctor Zero, mysterious master of robotics and computer. The Doctor has never been seen, only his agents, the ZeroBots and a silhouette on television broadcasts.
Obsidian Shark, super-strong, super-tough thug with razor sharp claws and teeth.
Red Dragon, Chinese superspy working in the LA-Area.
The Reel Gang, dress and talk like gangsters from the 1930s. Hit and vanish after their attacks.
Rocket Robber, using outdated, but still effective technology: flight suit, rocket pack and jet gun.
Seven Thousand Fists, San Francisco based martial arts gang, primarily Chinese-Americans.
Taking suggestions for both sides . . .
Four Color Thoughts
Apr. 11th, 2006 09:44 pmIn the 1960s of Earth-H:
Technology is still big! Massive motors, big systems, lots of integrated circuits. The only things miniaturized are spy gadgets (and radios). Battery and computer technology is leaping forward at a rapid pace. Electric powered cars are starting to appear in Europe.
Superheroes and media are becoming increasingly intertwined. Rebel hosts the Black Label Variety Hour with Reggie the Talking Gorilla as his sidekick. Movies are increasingly turning to paranormals to provide special effects. Jack Diamond is the media spokesman for Diamond Industries and Plasma-Man is marketed as proof of DI's mastery of science.
The space race is ever accelerating, the US and the USSR are the big players, but even the UK and France getting involved in minor ways. The discovery that they (as in real aliens) are out there has spurred the discussion of space based defenses for Earth, possibly under the control of the UN.
The fear of a Hero Gap has receded as the Free World seems to produce paranormals (both heroes and villains) as a much greater rate then the Soviet Bloc.
Rumors of a secret US project deploying paranormals to Vietnam abound. It is known that the cyborg Sgt. Steele has been deployed to Vietnam on a "morale building" tour.
Technology is still big! Massive motors, big systems, lots of integrated circuits. The only things miniaturized are spy gadgets (and radios). Battery and computer technology is leaping forward at a rapid pace. Electric powered cars are starting to appear in Europe.
Superheroes and media are becoming increasingly intertwined. Rebel hosts the Black Label Variety Hour with Reggie the Talking Gorilla as his sidekick. Movies are increasingly turning to paranormals to provide special effects. Jack Diamond is the media spokesman for Diamond Industries and Plasma-Man is marketed as proof of DI's mastery of science.
The space race is ever accelerating, the US and the USSR are the big players, but even the UK and France getting involved in minor ways. The discovery that they (as in real aliens) are out there has spurred the discussion of space based defenses for Earth, possibly under the control of the UN.
The fear of a Hero Gap has receded as the Free World seems to produce paranormals (both heroes and villains) as a much greater rate then the Soviet Bloc.
Rumors of a secret US project deploying paranormals to Vietnam abound. It is known that the cyborg Sgt. Steele has been deployed to Vietnam on a "morale building" tour.
Fashion for Supervillains!
Mar. 5th, 2006 06:08 pmInspired by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
weetanya's If you could attend the Oscars, what would you wear? post. I discovered the Supervillain Fashion of Alexander McQueen:
( Some Examples )
weetanya's If you could attend the Oscars, what would you wear? post. I discovered the Supervillain Fashion of Alexander McQueen:( Some Examples )
Silver Age thoughts
Feb. 28th, 2006 09:59 am"I know what it is but I cannot explain it." That sums it up for me and as the Wikipedia entry does not provide much help . . .
I will try all the same:
The Silver Age of comics was the time when comic books shifted to being more about the people with super-powers rather then the super-powers themselves. It was also the era of pseudo-scientific explanations for how characters gained their powers, most of the super-powers of the Golden Age of comics were mystical in origin (i.e., Wonder Woman's equipment, the 'magic word' SHAZAM that transforms Billy Batson into Captain Marvel, the Specter and Dr Fate) but the Silver Age sees science and especially radiation --radioactive spiders, cosmic ray, gamma radiation-- as the source of new super-powers.
The Silver Age is still, essentially, optimistic about people and what they can, and will, do. Science will solve all our problems. The US is the greatest force for good on the planet. Those foreign powers (communism had receded but not vanished as a threat in the comic books) would see the light and become happy mixed economy democracies, just like us. Supervillains tended to be money-grubbing, just plain crazy or dictatorial, very few had political agendas beyond personal power, and fewer still were painted in shades of grey. The world was still very black and white (and four color).
But clouds were gathering on the horizon of the Silver Age, the war in Vietnam, the upswing of drug use in the US, the fracturing of American society as the new anti-war, anti-capitalist left emerged among the college students. It was a time of change and transition.
All of the above are what make it such a fun period to play Superhero RPGs in.
I will try all the same:
The Silver Age of comics was the time when comic books shifted to being more about the people with super-powers rather then the super-powers themselves. It was also the era of pseudo-scientific explanations for how characters gained their powers, most of the super-powers of the Golden Age of comics were mystical in origin (i.e., Wonder Woman's equipment, the 'magic word' SHAZAM that transforms Billy Batson into Captain Marvel, the Specter and Dr Fate) but the Silver Age sees science and especially radiation --radioactive spiders, cosmic ray, gamma radiation-- as the source of new super-powers.
The Silver Age is still, essentially, optimistic about people and what they can, and will, do. Science will solve all our problems. The US is the greatest force for good on the planet. Those foreign powers (communism had receded but not vanished as a threat in the comic books) would see the light and become happy mixed economy democracies, just like us. Supervillains tended to be money-grubbing, just plain crazy or dictatorial, very few had political agendas beyond personal power, and fewer still were painted in shades of grey. The world was still very black and white (and four color).
But clouds were gathering on the horizon of the Silver Age, the war in Vietnam, the upswing of drug use in the US, the fracturing of American society as the new anti-war, anti-capitalist left emerged among the college students. It was a time of change and transition.
All of the above are what make it such a fun period to play Superhero RPGs in.
Coastal City
Jul. 22nd, 2005 02:39 pmA nifty short story about superheroes, Coastal City.
Yes, I know I should be writing, not reading . . .
Yes, I know I should be writing, not reading . . .
Newflash from EARTH-H!
May. 2nd, 2005 04:11 pmDateline: The Playboy Mansion, Los Angles (August, 1965).
One of Hugh Hefner’s famous parties was almost ruined by the notorious thief, the Party Crasher, with his ability to walk through walls. The Party Crasher has stolen jewellery and cash worth hundreds of thousands of dollar from high class parties up and down the West Coast using his ability to pass through solid objects to obtain access and escape capture.
This time things were different, Jack Diamond, leader of Heroes Inc, was one of the guests. Jack Diamond –nicknamed the Playboy– used a borrowed pair of handcuffs to prevent the Party Crasher from leaving without him. In a dramatic fight literally through the Playboy Mansion, Jack Diamond defeated the Party Crasher.
“Maybe I should open a branch office of Heroes Inc here in LA,” quipped Jack Diamond afterward. “It looks like the Golden State needs its own super-powered protectors.”
Heroes Inc and Diamond Industries are cooperating with the LAPD to produce a cell that will hold the Party Crasher.
One of Hugh Hefner’s famous parties was almost ruined by the notorious thief, the Party Crasher, with his ability to walk through walls. The Party Crasher has stolen jewellery and cash worth hundreds of thousands of dollar from high class parties up and down the West Coast using his ability to pass through solid objects to obtain access and escape capture.
This time things were different, Jack Diamond, leader of Heroes Inc, was one of the guests. Jack Diamond –nicknamed the Playboy– used a borrowed pair of handcuffs to prevent the Party Crasher from leaving without him. In a dramatic fight literally through the Playboy Mansion, Jack Diamond defeated the Party Crasher.
“Maybe I should open a branch office of Heroes Inc here in LA,” quipped Jack Diamond afterward. “It looks like the Golden State needs its own super-powered protectors.”
Heroes Inc and Diamond Industries are cooperating with the LAPD to produce a cell that will hold the Party Crasher.
Fluff for the AEON Defenders game
Jan. 9th, 2005 12:47 pm
AEON DefendersTMRecruitment DVD Opening
{Dramatic music}
[Fade into a beautiful sunrise over the Rockies, suddenly, the sun glints off a massive glass dome.]
{voice over} Have you -superhero name- ever considered a rewarding job helping people under the world’s largest ParaglassTM dome?
[Cut to panning shot of a huge multi-level mall]
A place where you can help to guard the Earth Best Shopping ExperienceTM?
[Cut to five silhouettes against the ABCP Award logo]
A job where you can work with America’s Best Corporate ParateamTM (2004)?
[Silhouettes resolve into the AEON Defenders team.]
Then working for the AEON DefendersTM is the job for you!
Contact the AEON MallTM Employment Office Today. Positions for all paratalents available.
[Dissolve to AEON Mall Symbol]
The AEON MallTM is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
[Text Only Version]
Have you -superhero name- ever considered a rewarding job helping people under the world’s largest ParaglassTM dome? A place where you can help to guard the Earth Best Shopping ExperienceTM? A job where you can work with America’s Best Corporate ParateamTM (2004)?
Then working for the AEON DefendersTM is the job for you!
Contact the AEON MallTM Employment Office Today. Positions for all paratalents available.
The AEON MallTM is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
