Funny Business: NUELOW Games introduces Professor Fiend

When choosing which comics to repackage or base ROLF! supplements around, we generally go for the obscure and neglected--the characters who haven't been thought of since they first appeared in the pages of magazines from long-gone publishers some 50 to 75 years ago.

Art by Fred Schwab

The latest character we've retrieved from the ash-heap of pop-culture history is Professor Fiend. This character was featured in an eponymous series that ran in the early issues of Fantastic Comics, published by Fox Feature Syndicate during 1939 and 1940. It relies to a large extend on nonsense humor, but at the same time is pretty dark, since it makes a running gag out of the fact that the Professor is suicidal.

The NUELOW Games comics/rpg hybrid product contains five of the original Professor Fiend tales by writer/artist Fred Schwab (working under the house name Boris Plaster). We've brought the character into the 21st century in a two-player battle scenario that's equally compatible with our ROLF! and You vs. Me rollplaying games. In addition, the book contains five feats for d20 System games that will let you bring a little Professor Fiend flavor to a genius player character (mad or otherwise),

Click here to see previews of Professor Fiend at DriveThruRPG, or to get your very own copy.

OTHER HUMOR COMICS FROM NUELOW GAMES

Art by Dave Tendlar

While the majority of our pure roleplaying game products are comedic in nature, most of the comics-related releases are not. However, Professor Fiend isn't our only comics release intended to tickle the funnybone. Here are a few others:

Ginger and Snap collects (for the first time, anywhere) the complete run of this series about a pair of fraternal twins who solve problems by cross-dressing and disguising themselves as each other. It contains a complete ROLF! battle scenario.

By Ralph Mayo

Kathy collects several teen humor stories that were collaborations between NUELOW Games favorite Ralph Mayo and the legendary artist Frank Frazetta, whom was given some of his most important breaks at the start of career by Mayo. While there are some rough patches here and there, due to Frazetta's inexperience, the energy that crackles on each page more than makes up for it, as does the sweet nature of these romantic comedy of errors tales. In addition to the comics, the book features a ROLF! battle scenario which brings Kathy together with NUELOW's mascot the Black Cat.

Art by Tony Di Preta

Sherry Flippe is another NUELOW release that brings back an obscure humor series, collecting for the first time anywhere the best it had to offer. It's a screwball spoof of detective and mystery stories that morphs into a send-up of movie making and celebrity culture as it evolves. In addition to the classic comics, it features an RPG scenario that can be played either with ROLF! or Lester Smith's D6xD6 Core Roleplaying Game.

Art pack featuring work by Paul Gattuso available now

If you purchased a copy of The Black Dwarf by Paul Gattuso (with Dana Dutch, Steve Miller & Rob Garrita) before 1800 PST on 9/9/2015, you should have gotten an email from NUELOW Games inviting you to download a copy of NUELOW Games Stock Art Collection: Paul Gattuso.

Rocketgirl vs Roc, by Paul Gattuso,
on the cover of NUELOW's latest art pack

However, roughly one-quarter of the purchasers have set their Onebookshelf accounts to disallow email. If you bought a copy of the book before the time mentioned above, and would like to claim your free art pack, contact us. We will try to work something out with you.

If you like, you can click here to learn more about the set. You can see previews under the "Quick Preview" and "Full-Size Preview" links.

It only comes once a year! Get your Bill Clinton Birthday Box!

August 19th is Bill Clinton's birthday, and YOU get the present! And this is an extra special birthday... because he's turning 69! SCHWIING!

Celebrate the birthday of America's 42nd president with a bundle of ROLF! scenarios detailing his amazing adventures with his wife Hilary and his arch-nemesis Anthony Weiner! Sitting US president Barack Obama also makes a special guest appearance -- meaning you can use this material to create battle scenarios starring both of America's First Black Presidents!

Click here to get your copy of the Bill Clinton Birthday Box! It won''t be around for long, so don't hesitate! If you don't get it now, you'll have to wait another year for the deal!

As a special treat, we're adding two of Clinton's pals which have been left out of the official products in this post. (Maybe we'll get around to adding them to an official ROLF! release by Bill's next birthday!)

AL GORE (Male)
Brawn 27, Body 12, Brains 5
  Traits: Egomaniac, Holier Than Thou, Limousine Liberal
  Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Debate Philosophy, Dodge, Double Strike, Run Away!
Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Global Warming Report (Melee Weapon, deals 2 points of damage).

MONICA LEWINSKY (Female)
Brawn 19, Body 15, Brains 4
  Traits: Nimble
  Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Castrate, Seduce, Strike Pose
Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Bottle of Mouthwash (Melee Weapon, deals 1 point of damage).

Join us for the last ride with Robert E. Howard

When NUELOW Games came back to full life in 2011, one of the long-term projects we formulated involved a series of anthologies throwing the spotlight on the under-appreciated and widely ignored non-fantasy writings of Robert E. Howard. Initially, it was just going to be his historical fiction and the best of his horror stories. However, as we dug deeper into his body of work, we decided to add collections of the Sailor Steve Costigan and Breckinridge Elkins stories to line-up.

The final entry in our series of anthologies was always planned to be The Last Ride, a collection of two novellas that saw print in the months after Howard's suicide in June of 1936. They, together with the El Borak stories we collected in Oriental Stories Vol 3: A Texan in Afghanistan, and the horror stories in Shadows over Texas, show readers the direction in which he was headed creatively. All signs point to Howard moving in a direction of more mainstream literature, a direction that would have seen him leave the pulps behind. If he had lived, maybe we'd be discussing Howard as one of the great Regional or Southern Gothic writers instead of "the creator of Conan." Heck, maybe we'd be talking about the Southwestern Gothic literary subgenre?

Art by Rocco Mastroserio 

Regardless of what could have been, The Last Ride represents the end for Howard, and the end of our anthology series. It brings our project to an end on a high note, with stories that Howard probably would have far preferred to be remembered for than the Conan and Solomon Kane tales. We hope that some of you reading this found some new favorite Howard stories over the past few years... and we hope you'll come with us as we reach the end of the trail.

Click here to see previews of The Last Ride, or to get your own copy.

By the way, while this may be the end of the Robert E. Howard Collection Project, it doesn't mean that NUELOW Games is completely done with Howard's writings and characters; we love them too much for that. There are numerous smaller projects (similar to, for example, The Sheik, The Conquests of Wild Bill Clanton, and the Talk Like a Pirate Day Special) that we are planning to do. Our hope to call attention to the fact that Robert E. Howard's body of work is so much greater than Conan doesn't end just because the project has.

NUELOW Stock Art Collection #8 is now available!

Art by Bob Forgione

If you're looking for high-quality, horror-themed artwork for your website or publishing project, you might find something to fill that need in NUELOW Stock Art Collection #8: Killers and Cultists. The set features blood-chilling illustrations from Lee Elias, Jack Sparling, Matt Baker, Steve Ditko and many other great talents!

As with most of our art packs, the included illustrations have been adapted from the covers and interiors of comics from the 1940s and 1950s that have slipped into the public domain. The license included with your purchase grants you nearly completely unfettered use of these derivative works.

Click here to see a preview of the index booklet included with the set (under quick preview) and to read the text of the license (under full preview). As always, if you use any of the artwork we provide in a project, be sure to let us know! We'll give you a plug either here on the blog or on our Facebook page.

NUELOW Stock Art Collection #8: Killers and Cultists is available at DriveThruComics, DriveThruRPG, and RPGNow.

Now Available--'Complete Golden Age Oddballs: Major Victory & Yankee Girl'!

Leave it to us geniuses at NUELOW Games forget to mention our Fourth of July release on our very own blog!

Art by Charles Sultan & Ralph Mayo

Just in time for America's Independence Day, we published the completely patriotic Complete Golden Age Oddballs: Major Victory & Yankee Girl.

This fifth entry in the Complete Golden Age Oddballs puts the spotlight on two great characters from the production studio of comic book industry pioneer Harry "A" Chesler. It includes every one of the original stories (illustrated by great talents like Ralph Mayo, Al Plastino, Ralph Mayo, and Charles Sultan) and covers featuring the characters. It also includes all-new material for ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game of Big, Dumb Fighters and OGL d20 Modern.

Click here to see previews, or to purchase your own copy, of this totally patriotic collection of classic comics at DriveThruComics. You can also get it at RPGNow or DriveThruRPG.

For additional previews of the book, click here to visit our sister blog Shades of Gray.

A fundraiser for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

On June 11, 1936, short-story author and poet Robert E. Howard took a gun from the glove box of his car and shot himself to death. His suicide came as he was reaching new creative heights, and his career was shifting in a more literary-oriented direction. We'll never know what great stories and characters evaporated at that tragic moment. Roy Thomas and Sandy Plunkett dramatized the tragedy in this illustrated story.

NUELOW Games is currently engaged in an effort to raise funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention by offering all of the Robert E. Howard-related products in a single discounted package--that also includes a great Howard-inspired RPG from Bedrock Games--and donating all of its proceeds. Click here to check out the bundle, or read on for more information.

A page from Shadows of Dream, featuring poetry by Robert E. Howard.
It's one of 25 different books in the Suicide Prevention Fundraiser bundle.

THE WHY & THE WHAT
If you've been paying even the slightest bit of attention to NUELOW Games in recent years, you've noticed that the works of Robert E. Howard have been an important part of many of our releases. Steve Miller loves Howard mostly for his action/adventure and horror fiction, and L.L. Hundal loves Howard primarily for his comedy stories. Both think his non-fantasy work is his best work.

But the vast majority of readers only know him for being the creator of Conan, and many never move beyond those stories--if they even get that far, given all the comic books and movies and pastiches by other authors that are most likely encountered first. To share our love for Howard's other writings--writings he himself stated he wanted to be remembered for rather than Conan or even Kull and Kane--we produced a number of anthologies collecting his non-fantasy short stories. Given that NUELOW Games is, well, a game publisher, we've also released a number of ROLF! battle scenarios making use of characters that Howard created (even Conan)--battle scenarios that are compatible with "The Violent Worlds of Robert E. Howard," a complete RPG which was included in the Fists of Foolishness short story collection.

Every year, we've one a special sales event to mark the anniversary of the tragic end to Howard's life, hoping to attract more attention to the fantastic stories he left us. This year, we have gone a step further.

The 24 Howard-related books and game products featured in this large bundle are the majority of the Howard-related releases we've produced over the few years. They can be had for just $20-- a savings of over 50 percent off the cost of purchasing them individually. You can get dozens of great short stories and more battle scenarios than you can shake a bucket of dice at for every little money. What makes this deal even more attractive is that NUELOW Games (in conjunction with partner Bedrock Games) will donate all of its proceeds [$13.50 after distributors and contributors have gotten their cut] to the American Suicide Prevention Foundation.

The Suicide Prevention Fundraiser bundle will be available until the end of June, and NUELOW will makes its donation to the AFSP by the middle of July. Click here to see what is in the bundle, or to get your copy right now. Be a small part in helping modern-day Robert E. Howards get the support and help they need before it's too late.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BUNDLE
* The complete Sertorius rolelaying game

* Stories and novellas Howard wrote that he would have been preferred to be remembered for, collection in Oriental Stories, Oriental Stories Vol. 2, and Oriental Stories Vol 3: A Texan in Afghanistan. These books feature some of his best writing.
* Samplings of Howard's "Southern Gothic" horror/action tales in Shadows of Texas and Names in the Black Book.
* The complete collection of Howard's comedic tales of boxer Steve Costigan in Fists of Foolishness and Shanghaied Mitts.
* The complete collection of Howard's comedic western tales featuring dimwitted mountain man Breckinridge Elkins in Bath-time on Bear Creek, The Misadventures of Breckinridge Elkins, and Breckinridge Elkins Rides Again.
* A sampling of Howard's poetry in Shadows of Dreams.
* NUELOW Games designer favorite ROLF! battle scenarios based on Howard's writings, such as ROLF!: The Hopping Vampires of Yao Ping, ROLF!: The Tornado vs. Steve Costigan, and ROLF!: The Sheik.

And ten more short story collections and game products that celebrate the creations of Robert E. Howard--all at a steep discount, and all currently on sale to support a great cause.

Get your copy of the Suicide Prevention Fundraiser from NUELOW Games from DriveThruFiction, DriveThruRPG, or RPGNow.

On sale now: 'The Curse of Egypt'

The Curse of Egypt offers up more OGL d20 feats designed with the goal of incorporating the supernatural and magic into settings without having full-fledged spell-casting classes or magic items on the shelves of the local Wal-Mart or in the police department's armory.

Cover for The Curse of Egypt

The 14 or so included OGL d20 feats give PCs and NPCs access to limited spellcasting abilities, and other supernatural powers, that are treated like special gifts from the Egyptian gods, earned either through service to them or through ancient bloodlines reaching back to antiquity.

The book also contains three classic horror comics shorts that tell tales of mystical forces of Egypt colliding with the people of the modern age. Guess who wins? One of the stories features art by the great Steve Ditko, while the other two are by creators whose identities are lost to history. (We think the work resembles that of either Don Heck or Don Perlin, but neither appear to have done work for Ace Comics, the original publisher of the stories in question. Whoever drew them, they can serve as inspiration for your own RPG scenarios... as well as simply being great reading.

Click here to see previews of The Curse of Egypt, or to get your own copy.

ROLF!: The Original Feminist RPG?

We're not exactly marketing geniuses here at NUELOW Games. If anything shows that, it's the fact that we never did brag about the fact that ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters included rules for playing homosexual characters until certain big names in the RPG field were being patted on the back for being cutting-edge and inclusive. (Never mind we were there YEARS before they were.)

So it occurs to us... maybe we should start bragging about how ROLF! was the FIRST RADICAL FEMINIST RPG EVER PUBLISHED before someone else stakes out that position. Even if we weren't the first, we're certainly the only Feminism Friendly RPG with more than 100 supplements available for it. There's no question we're the only Feminism Friendly rollplaying game available!

After all, ROLF! is the only game where Female characters can generally turn out to be more capable than Male characters... and it's been that way since the very first version in 1995! (When making a Female character, the player 2d6 to determine the Brains Attribute, which in turn decides how many Combat Maneuvers the character has. Male characters only get a roll of 2d4 to determine Brains.)

How's this for a marketing effort that highlights our trail-blazing feminism-friendly game?:

If you haven't checked out the ORIGINAL Radical Feminist RPG, you need to do so now... before someone decides you're a woman-hating gynophobe!!

ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game -- Promoting Kick-ass Feminism for 20 Years!

On sale for just $0.50 through the end of May!

 

Five tales of one of comicdom's original androids... and OGL Modern rules!

Androids are a mainstay of comics, and in our new comics/rpg hybrid book, Dynamic Man, NUELOW Games presents the adventures of one of comicdom's earliest androids--before he was ret-conned into a high school basketball coach named Bert. As far as we know, this is the first time these stories have ever been collected in one place.

Art by Bill Madden & Charles Sultan

Dynamic Man features five tales of superhero action straight from the Golden Age of Comics. In addition, it contains rules for creating your own super-powered android player characters for OGL Modern and other d20 System-powered games that use feats and talent trees. (This system is fully compatible with other NUELOW Games OGL supplements, such as Feats of Mysticism and Magic and the superpower rules in Madden's Boys.)

Click here to get your copy of Dynamic Man, or to see previews.

I'm Steve Miller, and today's my birthday!

And I'm hoping that we can give each other gifts!

I'm putting some of the most noteworthy NUELOW Games titles on sale, as well as some of my favorites and/or ones that have fiction in them that I wrote. Several of these titles mark the first (and, as far as I know, still the ONLY time) that the stories within have been reprinted and collected in one place.

My gift to you is savings on great comics, roleplaying game material, and fiction. Your gift to me is the royalties I get on the sales AND the warm-and-fuzzy feeling I get whenever one of the NUELOW Games titles makes it to a general top-seller list.

Here are the titles that are discounted through May 10, 2015; click on the links beneath the cover images to see previews, prices, and to get your copy. (And while you're shopping, check our Sci-Fi Sale!)

The only compete collection of the
Kismet and the Penny Parker series.
Includes OGL d20 System rules.

The only complete collection of the
Miss Espionage and the Angela series.
Includes fiction by Steve Miller, and rules for,
the OGL d20 System and ROLF! game.

The only complete collection of the
Iron Lady series. With fiction by Steve Miller
and a full ROLF! supplement.

Horror comics and fiction from
Saul Rosen, Robert E. Howard, and Steve Miller

An innovative magic system  for d20 Games.
It is expanded upon in many NUELOW releases.

The only full collection of Ralph Mayo & Ann Adams' Starlight series.
Contains a Native American OGL d20 setting.

Golden Age teen superheroes from Bill Madden.
With game rules for OGL d20, ROLF!,
and Hideots & Hoodlums

 

The only complete collection of the Ginger & Snap series.
Light gender-swapping comedy, with a complete
ROLF! supplement included.

NUELOW's flagship game!
(We gave options for gay characters before it was cool!)

NUELOW Games titles are on sale at the usual outlets!

In observation of April Fools Day, all NUELOW Games releases are on sale at the usual outlets. Now is the perfect day to get that book or game supplement you've been on the fence about.

At RPGNow -- all of our listings are on sale!

Just one of the titles that are available!

At Wargame Vault -- all of our listings are on sale!

Just one of the titles that are available!

At DriveThru Comics -- all of our listings are on sale!

Just one of the titles that are available!

At DriveThru Fiction -- all of our listings are on sale!

Just one of the titles that are available!

At DriveThruRPG -- all of our listings are on sale!

Just one of the titles that are available!

After Midnight tonight, it won't be April 1st anymore, so don't delay! Get your NUELOW Games purchases now!

It's World Book Day!

It's World Book Day today, March 5. To celebrate, NUELOW Games is has reduced the prices on all our comics/rpg hybrid books and fiction collections 20, 30, or 50 percent, depending on the title -- with the majority being 30 or 50 percent off.



For example, Oriental Tales Vol. 1, which contains some of Robert E. Howard's finest writing, is 50 percent off its regular price.

Art by Margaret Brundage

And then there's The Werewolf Hunter #1, which contains never-before-reprinted comics starring Prof. Armand Broussard--the titular werewolf hunter--and fiction by Steve Miller that tells the never-before-revealed story behind how Nazi hunter Lady Satan became a powerful mystic and set out to hunt werewolves... not to mention fiction from Robert E. Howard and even more comics by the great Lee Elias.

Art by Margaret Brundage

There's also Complete Golden Age Oddballs: Angela & Miss Espionage. This book collects for the first time ever, all published Angela and Miss Espionage stories. The two characters are woven together in a short story by Steve Miller that expands Miss Espionage's background and makes Angela more than just another smart teenager.

Art by Ruth Atkinson

Click to check out the full selection of titles on sale at DriveThruComics and/or DriveThruFiction.

Please donate to the Hero Initiative!

For the past two years, our release schedule has been dominated by collections of comics that L.L. Hundal and Steve Miller have unearthed from the dusty, forgotten corners of the Golden Age of Comics. Many of them were written, drawn, and published by men and women who,mostly labored in anonymity and faded into obscurity even more total than that which befell their creations. Some died impoverished and alone.

The Hero Initiative is a charity devoted to providing a safety net to comics creators and put an end to the tragic tales of brilliantly creative people ending up in squalor and misery due to health issues. When we were asked to contribute a book to a fundraising bundle being produced by DriveThruComics, we naturally jumped at the chance. We have derived endless pleasure and inspiration (and even a little gas money, through the collections we publish) off the comics from yesteryear that we should do our part to give back to the comic book creators who find themselves in need.

The We Love Comic Creators Bundle contains comics from more than 50 publishers, including Science Sleuths #3 from NUELOW Games. You get over $125 worth of fantastic comics for a donation of $20. It's a fantastic deal and to the benefit of a fantastic charity.

Click here to see everything that the We Love Comic Creators has to offer. and to get it all for a donation of just $20.

Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes!

Among the projects we have in the works is a collection of "Tara" sci-fi adventure stories, retrieved from the pages of Wonder Comics. The book will include an all new "origin story" (as one has never before been published) and RPG character and equipment stats for use with ROLF! and d20 OGL Modern.

By way of a preview, here's the art by Alex "Xela" Schomburg that will appear on the cover (before masthead and text is applied). Tara is shown rescuing her friend Robin... because it's not always the damsel that gets tied up. Also, below are ROLF! stats for Robin and Tara, so you can start using them in your Battle Scenarios even before our comics/rpg hybrid book is out!

ROBIN (Male)
Brawn 28, Body 17, Brains 5
   Traits: Driver, Too Sexy For My Shirt, Honorable
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Disarm, Dodge, Signature Move, Strike Pose
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Space Pirate Boots (Armor AND Leggings, absorbs 1 point of damage). Atomic Sword (Melee AND Ranged Weapon, deals 3 points of damage).

TARA (Female)
Brawn 25, Body 18, Brains 11
   Traits: Driver, Honorable, Nimble
   Combat Maneuvers: Backflip, Basic Attack, Bitchslap, Disarm, Disembowel, Dodge, Double Strike, Hypnotize, Murderous Mitts, Seduce, The Look
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Space Dress (Clothes/Armor, absorbs 1 point of damage). Space Pirate Boots (Armor AND Leggings, absorbs 1 point of damage). Atomic Sword (Melee AND Ranged Weapon, deals 3 points of damage),

(Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes will be NUELOW Games' second collection of classic sci-fi comics. The first was Spacehawk: Lone Wolf of the Void. Click here to see previews of that book.)

Valentine's Day Deals for a Special Few!

If you're coming to the NUELOW Games blog, we assume you love us... that you really, really love us! (And don't say you're just here because of a false Google hit. Don't shatter our illusions!)

We're offering a lucky few of our most loyal fans a Valentine's Day deal on two of our most romantic releases! The links below are good for the first seven people who use them. They allow you to get downloads of the respective comics/rpg hybrid books for half off the usual price ($0.99 each).

NUELOW Valentine's Day Special: Romantic tales from the minds and pens of Joe Kubert, Steve Ditko, Alex Toth, Samm Schwartz, Dan DeCarlo, and more! Also includes an all-new Battle Scenario where six great lovers must duke it out after being trapped in a maze by Cupid.

NUELOW Summer Special: Fun and romance in the sun, as Kathy tries to keep boyfriend's attention; Corliss tries to score with a hunky lifeguard and grease the wheels of romance for a librarian; and Candy tries to improve a friend's love-life by helping her lose weight. The book is rounded out by Kathy's return in another ROLF! battle scenario in which a romantic rendezvous in a scenic graveyard ends up pitting her against a necromancer and his ghostly minions.


As mentioned above, the discounts available through those links are good only for the first SEVEN of our most beloved fans who get copies of the books. After thatm they links will stop working. So...don't hesitate. Just admit you love us and that you'll be our Valentine.

In addition to those limited offers, we're also offering the Romantic ROLF! bundle. It contains seven of our most heartwarming ROLF! battle scenarios, as well as the collection of Kathy comics by Frank Frazetta & Ralph Mayo (which also includes a ROLF! scenario by Hundal & Miller. We also threw in ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters for those who as of yet haven't checked out the best rollplaying game ever published. When getting these books bundled together , you'll save 50% off the cost of getting them separately. This bundle will be available through Monday, 2/16, and you can check it out by clicking here. (BTW, the ROLF! battle scenario in the Summer Special book was inspired by the cover of the Kathy book. Yet that's not where we published it, because... well. we wouldn't be NUELOW Games if we had.

Thank you all for being loyal readers and players of our whacky releases. We love you all, whether you get lucky with our discount links or not!

If you've enjoyed "Marvel's Agent Carter," you'll like these NUELOW Games offerings!

People have been loving the latest Marvel Comics-inspired series on ABC, Agent Carter, for its female lead and 1940s setting.

If you're liking the televised pastiche, we think you'll enjoy the REAL 1940s Fighting Females that are at the heart of NUELOW Games' line of comics/rpg hybrid books.

The characters are perhaps have the most in common with Agent Carter are probably Jill Trent and Veiled Avenger.

Cover of Science Sleuths #2

Jill Trent is a scientist and inventor who puts her gadgets to use in fighting crime. She is assisted by her loyal gal pal Daisy, and their adventures were the lead feature in NUELOW's Science Sleuths 1-3. We're offering those first three issues in a discounted bundle, here. Also featured in those issues was the Spider Queen, another woman scientist who put her scientific knowledge into action for justice. (Click here to read more about Spider Queen and her amazing similarity to another spider-themed hero... who debuted some 20 years after she made her first appearance.)

Cover of Lady Satan

The Veiled Avenger is a legal secretary who puts her circus background to use in crime-fighting, driven in equal amounts by a thirst for justice and frustration with the men around her. She is also one of more brutal heroines of the 1940s, more often than not causing the death of the villains she battles. NUELOW collected the entirety of her published adventures in Lady Satan, another brutal female superhero who leaves bodies in her wake. You can get a copy of the book, or see previews by clicking here. (The book also contains a complete ROLF! battle scenario.)

Cover of ROLF!: Zero vs. One

Another character who we have retrieved from the Golden Age of Comics and collected in a new book is the mysterious secret agent Madam Zero. The entirety of her recorded adventures are included in ROLF!: Zero vs. One, together with a complete battle scenario. Click here to see previews or to get your very own copy of this complete collection of rarely reprinted comics. (Madam Zero's original publisher is noted for its many series featuring strong female leads, and she was one of the final characters they introduced to the public.)

Cover for CGAB #4

Even more obscure than Madam Zero is Miss Espionage, the daughter of Mata Hari and a spy herself. We featured her complete adventures, as well as those of the precocious teenaged hell-raiser Angela in the fourth installment of our Complete Golden Age Oddballs series. In addition to the great classic comics, this book features fiction by Steve Miller, which reveals the "secret origins" of both Miss Espionage and Angela with twists that those who appreciate Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter will love. There's also RPG rules for use with ROLF! and OGL d20 Modern. Click here for more information, or to get your own copy.

Cover for Pat Patriot

Finally, we have collected the greatest adventures of an early star-spangled superheroine--predating even the more famous Wonder Woman--in the pages of Pat Patriot. Debuting in 1941, this series focuses on a immigrant's daughter who becomes a symbol of the American spirit and devotes life to being a rallying point during a time of increased uncertainty and global war. You can see previews of the book, or get your own copy here.



These characters are but a sampling of the Golden Age female characters that we've thrown a spotlight on over the past couple of years. Among the others are the daring Black Cat, the man-hating Judy of the Jungle, the adventuring animal tamer Princess Pantha, the mysterious Fantomah, the ditzy detective Sherry Flippe, the trouble-making teenager Kathy, and more!

We intend to add several more books spotlighting forgotten female stars from the Golden Age during 2015, beginning with the Iron Lady. Look for her soon!

Friday Freebie: Meet Kismet, the original Muslim Superhero

This weekend, Jan 9 - Jan. 11, everyone can download Complete Golden Age Oddballs: Kismet & Penny Parker for free. The book collects for the first time every single appearance of the first Muslim comic book superhero... a figure who is closer to what little would-be Jihadists to aspire to than any real-world role-models they have. It's too bad the character only appeared in an obscure comic book, from an obscure imprint that was barely around for a year.

Maybe, if Kismet had become an international figure like Superman, Batman, or Tintin, maybe psychopaths wouldn't find easy justification in their religious beliefs for acting out, nor would others be so quick to defend their actions or offer broad condemnations that indict truly devout and peaceful Muslims.

Read the stories. See if you can pick up on what I mean. Yes, this is a simple comic book... but Kismet is a far better exemplar of a Warrior of Islam than any member of al Qaida, Boko Haram, Hamas, or any other front-man for a club for psychos has ever been.

Click here to get your free copy of the book at DriveThruComics. (FYI, we also use Kismet, Man of Fate, in our forthcoming Complete Golden Age Oddballs: Iron Lady & Electric Ray.)

You can see some previews of Complete Golden Age Oddballs: Kismet & Penny Parker by visiting the Shades of Gray blog. There are also previews on the listings page at DriveThruComics.