It's a Party in the CIA with Madam Zero!

Some parody songs are more amusing and entertaining than the source they are based on. A perfect example of that is Weird Al's "Party in the CIA." It's got better lyrics than the original and its video even makes more sense.



It's a favorite of the NUELOW Gang, even if L.L. Hundal's Significant Other has banned it from their home, because Hundal would play it over and over while singing along as she searched through comics for us to republish.

I'm bringing it up here, because it also seems like a perfect theme song for the most recent release for ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters...

ROLF!: Zero vs. One is a full-fledged ROLF! supplement with two battle scenarios, four pre-generated characters, and a number of new Battle Maneuvers and Traits. In addition, it features the complete run of Madam Zero, an obscure back-up series from Fiction House's Fight Comics that featured one of comicdom's most mysterious heroines. And Madam Zero is exactly the sort of character that "Party in the CIA" is about.

Click here to see previews of ROLF!: Zero vs. One, or to get your own copy.

It's the First Day of Summer AND Free RPG Day!

To celebrate the first day of summer and Free RPG Day, we're offering three of our roleplaying games for free!

Until Midnight when June 21st turns into June 22nd, you can download Fists of Foolishness, which contains The Violent Worlds of Robert E. Howard RPG and a dozen short stories to get you the proper mood to run adventures with it; You vs. Me, a  crazy two-player, GM-less RPG by L.L. Hundal;; and Dyvil: First Edition by the legendary game designer and author Jeff Grubb, free of charge!

Additionally, the NUELOW Games Summer Special is still on sale at a reduced price. In addition to half a dozen summer-themed comics, it features a scenario compatible with both The Violent Worlds of Robert E. Howard and You vs. Me.

Check out the free games and summer deals before they are gone!

Planning a trip to the Underdark?

You're going to need some maps... and the NUELOW Map Pack #2: Underdark has just what you need!

Cover by Andrew Pavlides & Lee Elias

This new set of maps by Andrew Pavlides includes six different maps of tunnels and cavern systems. They can be used individually or joined at the edges as player characters move through the monster-infested underground. All the maps are indexed in an easy-to-reference PDF booklet and presented in both color and printer-friendly black-and-white formats.

As a special treat, we've included some drawings next to the maps in the index book to help give you some inspiration about what players may encounter in that area.

Click here to see previews or NUELOW Map Pack #2: Underdark, or do download your own copy (And, as always, we invite your feedback!)

Now Available: Character Portraits for Your Home Game or Publication!

The latest in NUELOW Games' series of stock art collections is the NUELOW Fantasy Character Stock Art #1: Spellcasters & Sorcerers. As with past stock art releases, your purchase and download of this product grants you a generous license to use the artwork in any personal or commercial product you choose. The only real restrictions are that may not resell the stand-alone illos individually or as part of a clip-art package, and when you use the art in products or public websites, you need to acknowledge the copyright of the artist in a way spelled out in the license.

Cover art by Darrel Miller (compiled using illos in the set)

 NUELOW Fantasy Character Stock Art #1: Spellcasters & Sorcerers contains 14 different character portraits (12 by artist Darrell Miller), 12 of which are presented both in color and grayscale. As always, individual jpg files are included, but this time around they're at 300dpi so you can use them in print products if you like.

Click here to check out previews of the set, or to download your own copy. (Be sure to let us know if you use the art in any publications or websites... we will give you a link here on the blog!)

Available Now: NUELOW Games Summer Special!

The NUELOW Games Summer Special continues our ongoing project of unearthing interesting material from the Golden Age of Comics and bringing them to modern audiences. This book documents entries in the teen comedy comics genre which thrived from the early 1940s until the mid-1970s, tracking roughly with the rise and fall of romance comics. In fact, there is much overlap between the two, with the teen comedies often involving romantic entanglements of some sort or another.

Artwork by Harry Sahle

The NUELOW Games Summer Special presents half-a-dozen summer themed stories, in which comic book teens hit the beach, and Black Cat hits the bad guys. It features work from such industry legends as Harry Sahle (one of the artists who established the look of Archie, the sole surviving teen comics character from those days), Al Feldstein (who went on to be a celebrated satirist and editor of MAD Magazine), Lee Elias (one of the Kings of Good Girl Art), and others.

In addition to classic comics, the book features a full-blown ROLF! supplement... although if you are a regular visitor to this blog, you've already seen much of it, since it's an expanded version of the "Kathy" battle scenario that was presented here earlier this month.

Click here to check out previews of the NUELOW Games Summer Special. It's currently on sale for half of its regular price. The sale price will remain in effect through June 21, the first day of summer.

Coming Soon: Warrior Maiden Starlight

We're currently putting the final touches on our biggest book yet -- a color collection of the complete "Starlight" series by writer Ann Adams and artist Ralph Mayo. Mayo was also the primary artist on NUELOW's Judy of the Jungle books, as well as being a collaborator of Frank Frazetta on Kathy.

Warrior Maiden Starlight collects all six Starlight episodes for the first time between two covers. The series debuted in Indians #2 and lasted through Indians #8, appearing and disappearing during the second half of 1951. Set during the mid-16th century, in a time prior to contact with European settlers, the series follows the adventures of a a rebellious Huron girl who is out to prove that she can out-hunt, out-fight and outsmart any warrior, any day. She was the last of the strong female lead characters that were a staple among Fiction House's anthology titles, with the premiere among them being Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.

A number of critics have said that the only reason Fiction House published comics with female leads was so they had an excuse to present page after page of T-and-A, as their "strong female characters" usually appeared in very skimpy outfits. However, Starlight puts a lie to that theory in every way. She is always fully clothed, even in scenes that provide a perfect opportunity for her to strip down and provide some "fan service," so there's no question that this character exists to be a strong and positive leading lady figure. In Mayo's drawings, she's always beautiful but never turned into a sex object... something contemporary comic book artists should try. If they really were interested in presenting "strong female characters" (as the claim so often goes) they'd draw their female characters more like Starlight and less like Hustler Magazine centerfolds.

Warrior Maiden Starlight will be the biggest RPG/comics hybrid product from NUELOW Games so far, with a pagecount clocking in around 70. We hope you'll decide to check it out when it becomes available. In the meantime, here are ROLF! stats for Starlight, and a draft of the cover. The final cover will feature the full logo, as well as slightly different artwork.

STARLIGHT (Female)
Brawn 20, Body 17, Brains 7
Traits: Dead Eye, Nimble
Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Castrate, Dodge, Double Strike, Sure Shot, Run Away
Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Bow (Medium Ranged Weapon, deals 2 points of damage). Knife (Small Melee Weapon, deals 1 point of damage).

Where NOT to 'Tangle With Romance'.... A Battle Scenario starring Kathy and her Boyfriend Hank

NUELOW's lead editor and creator of the ROLF! game, L.L. Hundal, has been on a Golden Age teen comedy kick since we produced the Ginger and Snap book earlier this year. In recent weeks, she's sent me about two dozen teen humor stories that we're going to be doing collections of. Some will be along the lines of the Ginger and Snap collection, others will end up as part of an entry in the Complete Golden Age Oddballs series (like we've already done with Martin Filchock's "Teen Toons").

One book that we're set on is a collection of the "Kathy" stories drawn by Ralph Mayo and Frank Frazetta from the pages of Thrilling Comics. And even if all the stories were badly drawn and unfunny--which the Mayo/Frazetta ones aren't--we would at the very least be doing SOMETHING with this splash page:

That picture and the blurb that states that Kathy "tangles with romance" immediately made me think "choosing a graveyard as a place for that wasn't very smart"... and then a ROLF! battle scenario came to mind. A couple, actually...

Since it's been a while, here's a complete ROLF! battle scenario, with everything you need to play but rules. It's one of the ones inspired by that splash page, but drawing upon the "Kathy" series in general.

KATHY TANGLES WITH ROMANCE AND NECROMANCY

A ROLF! Battle Scenarios for 2-3 Players

By Steve Miller

BACK STORY 

On a balmy summer eve, as the full moon beams from a clear sky, Kathy suggests to her boyfriend Hank that they leave the soda shop and head for the picturesque cemetery off Old Church Road. 

   "It's such a beautiful place, and the full moon... it's so romantic," she says. "It's a perfect night for something I've been wanting do with with you for a long time.".

    Hank, barely able to contain his excitement, immediately agrees. The teens steal into the cemetery, and Kathy heads of a bench on a slight rise that is bathed in moonlight. The two sit, and she squeezes Hank's hand, smiling and looking into his eyes. "This is going to be something special," she tells him. "I've never done this with anyone else before."

   "Of course not!" Hank says emphatically.

   "This is going to be something very special." Kathy turns away to get something from her purse. She feels his hand on her shoulder, and she turns to smile at him... but her smile freezes on her lips, her eyes grow wide and her mouth drops open. During the brief seconds was reaching into her purse, Hank had managed to take off all his clothes! She gasped, she gulped, her gaze slid down his torso and then snapped back to his face as she shouted: "What are you doing?!"

   "Getting ready... I've wanted to--"

   "I wanted to read poetry with you!" She holds up a book. "I come out here some nights and read poetry. Oh my Gosh! You thought--"

   "Oh my Gosh," Hank says at the same time as her. He is mortified, horrified, at his mistake, and he reaches for his clothes--and find them floating in midair, suspended in what appears to be a wisp of fog. A skull-like face takes form in the mist and a hollw-sounding voice, that seems to make Hank and Kathy's very bones vibrate, says, "You care disturb this place with your carnal activities?!"

   "Jeepers!" Kathy says.

   The ghost throws Hank's clothes at him, and then attacks.

PRE-GENERATED CHARACTERS

These characters are used in the battle scenarios above. Kathy and Hank The traits and combat maneuvers not in the ROLF! core game are drawn from ROLF!: Bullets to the Head or ROLF!: Creature Feature. If this were an actual published products, they would be repeated here for each of reference.

ANGRY GHOST (Spooky!)

Brawn 20, Body 5, Brains 3

Traits: Dead, Natural Weapons (Claws)

Combat Maneuvers:: Basic Attack, Hypnotize, Slime (S

Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Claws (Small Natural Weapon, deals 1 point of damage. Cannot be disarmed).

KATHY CRANE (Female)

Brawn 16, Body 18, Brains 5

   Traits: Comic Relief, Improv Master, Irrepressible Optimist

   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Dance Move, Dodge, Strike Pose, Walking Disaster Area

   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Cute blouse and skirt (clothes), Book of poetry titled Romantic Verse for Moonlit Nights (Small Melee Weapon, deals 1 point of damage OR One-shot ranged weapon that deals 2 points of damage). Purse (Small Melee Weapon, deals 1 point of damage)..

HANK DANIELS (Male)

Brawn 17, Body 18, Brains 5

   Traits: Nimble

   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Dance Move, Disarm, Dodge, Murderous Mitts

   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Literally nothing... he's in his "birthday suit."

HARUMON THE NECROMANCER (Male?)

Brawn 7, Body 6, Brains 7

   Traits: Coldhearted, Dour, Too Sexy for My Shirt

   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Debate Philosophy, Disembowel, Spellings (After Me, Die Die Die!, You'll Only Hurt Yourself), Strategic Bleeding

   Important Stuff Worn/ Wielded:  Necromancer Robes (Armor, Absorbs up to 1 point of damage). Ceremonial Knife (Small Melee Weapon, deals 1 point of damage).

THE BATTLE SCENARIOS

These scenarios can be played by two or three players, with one player controlling Kathy and Hank, and the other controlling the ghost and Haruman the Necromancer. If three gamers are player, Kathy and Hank are each controlled by a different player, while the third plays Haruman and the ghost.

Battle Scenario One

Kathy and Hank must defeat the angry ghost attacking them in the cemetery. The battle continues until either both Kathy and Hank are defeated, or the ghost is. If the teens win, they are restored up to one-half their starting health (if applicable), including if one should have been defeated, at the start of Part Two. If the Ghost wins, see "Aftermath" below.

Interlude

How did this ghost come to be in the cemetery? Well, Haruman the Necromancer was also enjoying the full moon while practicing a little black magic. Attracted by the shrieks and screams of the teens vs. ghost fight, he finds Kathy and Hank over the dissolving remains of his latest summoning.

   "Meddling kids," he cries. "It was made clear that I have the cemetery on the full moons in months with 31 days--you damn druids need to keep your naked moon-dancing to your own time!"

   "Wait," Kathy says. "This isn't what it looks like. At all."

  "Yes," Hank says. "We're not doing naked dancing!"

  "You want me to believe you came all the way out here just to fornicate?" Harumon snarls.

  "Yes!" Hank exclaims.

  "No!" Kathy shouts, smacking him on the head with her book of verse.

  "You will not make the fool of me," Harumon says, the black energy of evil magic crackling on his finger tips. "You will be taught respect and the meaning of keeping to an agreed-upon schedule."

   With that, he attacks.

Battle Scenario Two

Kathy and Hank must defeat Haruman. The battle continues until one side is defeated.

Aftermath

If Hank and Kathy are defeated in either scenario, they wake up on the ground in front of the bench as dawn is breaking, cold and sore and confused. Hank is still naked.

   Hank quickly gets dressed. He says, "Let's never mention this to anyone, okay? And I'm really sorry."

  "You should be," Kathy says coldly, remaining turned away as Hank dresses, but still stealing a glance. "I can't believe you thought--"

  "I'm really, really sorry!" Hank wails.

  "This place is great for reading poetry, but that other sturff? Too creepy."

   "What?"

   "You need a car, Hank Daniels. Don't you know anything? Now, how are we going to keep from getting grounded for life?"

In Memory of the Great Lee Elias

On this day in 1920, May 21, Lee Elias, one of the great Good Girl artists of the Golden Age of Comics was born. He was the primary artist on the original Black Cat, and he was the first to give form to amnesiac Indian Princess Firehair... and as adept as he was at drawing beauty, he drew horror just as well, as shown by the man horror covers he drew.

In memory of Lee Elias, we are offering Black Cat Shows You How to Do Judo Tricks at half of the usual price. It's a book showcasing both Elias' Good Girl art, as well as his faithfulness to realism when it came to drawing martial arts moves in the Black Cat comics.

And even bigger treat is the fact that we're giving away NUELOW Stock Art Collect #1: The Black Cat in Action for free. This package of art adapted primarily from Elias's art is a treasure trove of Black Cat illos that you are able to use for whatever purpose you like, so long as you follow a few simple licensing restrictions.

These special prices are good through the end of Memorial Day, May 26, 2014.

Free stock art (through Memorial Day)!

Black Cat and RPG martial arts rules!

More Golden Age Oddballs Unearthed... and In Color!

We've just released Complete Golden Age Oddballs: Fire-Man & Buzzard through all the usual outlets. Unlike previous entries in the series, the book consists entirely of comics written and drawn by a single creator--Martin Filchock, who, when he passed away at the age of 100 in 2012 was still working as a professional cartoonist.

By way of a preview, here are a couple of splash-pages from the book. (You can see more previews, or get your own copy, at DriveThruComics. If do decide to download Complete Golden Age Oddballs: Fire-Man & Buzzard, which in addition to the Filchock comics contains a small expansion for NUELOW's OGL d20 Modern superhero rules and a publication history for all the comics in the book.)

Second Judy of the Jungle book now available

The next installment in NUELOW's Judy of the Jungle series has just been released through all the usual outlets.

Judy of the Jungle: Warriors of the Laughing Hyena features three comics illustrated by Judy's creator Ralph Mayo, and one by the legendary Frank Frazetta, as well as two short stories by Charles S. Strong. The book also contains all-new OGL d20 Modern game material geared for use with jungle adventures.

 Click here to see previews of the book, or to get your own copy.

Mother's Day Sale!

All NUELOW Games fiction collections (and some of our comics collections as well, since they have fiction in them) are 50% off through Mother's Day! See if Mom has a DriveThruFiction or DriveThruRPG wish-list and if a NUELOW Games release is on it!

Here's a link to the the titles are are on sale! Get Mom something fun to read while she is relaxing or serving lunch. to your little sister!

It's Free Comic Book Day!

While we dont;' have anything made specifically for Free Comic Book Day, we are offering those poor souls who can't make it to a comic book shop (or who got there after all the good stuff was one), our two color comics/rpg hybrid products for FREE until Midnight May 3rd, 2014.

The free offerings are New Adventures of Frankenstein (by Dick Briefer and Lily Renee, with additional material by L.L. Hundal & Steve Miller) and The Unholy Three & OGL Trickery (by Bill Madden and Al Plastino, with additional material by L.L. Hundal & Steve Miller). Click on the titles to see previews and to download your very own copies. Enjoy! (And if you have the time,  let us know what you thought of the books!)

Art by Dick Briefer

Art by Bill Madden

Z is for Zaza the Mystic

I'm closing out A to Z April with a character who I love the idea of, but whose series left a lot to be desired in its execution.

Zaza the Mystic graced the pages of two issues of her self-titled series, starring in six short stories between them. She was a type of character who is the villain in hundreds of pulp fiction and comic book stories--a gypsy con artist tricking people into believing she has the ability to foretell the future. Zaza, however, uses her  highly honed powers of observation, deductive reasoning skills, and talents in delivering cold readings in pursuit of stopping crime rather than committing it. Together with her police detective boyfriend, she stops jewel heists, stock swindles, murders, and more.

The image that introduced Zaza the Mystic. Artist Unknown

The series was written by the great Jerry Seigel and illustrated by a rotating roster of interchangeable artists with bland, mid-1950s romance comics art style. It's a shame publisher Charlton didn't have more unique talent on the strip, as I think the concept deserved a far better presentation than it got.

I also wish the strip had a bit more of an edge to it. However, in 1954, Zaza the Mystic #10 and #11 were among the first publications to sport the Comics Code Authority logo, so you can bet every eggshell was left intact as these stories unfolded. Zaza was a completely "domesticated" gypsy, living in a completely white world where even the bad guys had good manners. As much as I like the concept of the character, I couldn't help but think of Dick Briefer's fantastic Bronze Terror strip (the best of which I compiled in Real American #1). Here was a character who was a modern-day Native American, whose ethnicity was part of who the character was and how the stories unfolded. Racism and bigotry came up several times in the course of the Bronze Terror series... because, well, racists exist and they made great villains even in the 1940s. But, with the self-censorship brought on by the Comics Code. even if Siegel had considered including bigotry against Zaza because of her heritage, it probably wouldn't have passed muster. (And what about the lesson it would teach kids--reminding them that the blondhaired, blue-eyed police officer was dating outside his race?)

We planning to put out a collection of the four best Zaza stories, along with the usual game material in support of it. When exactly we'll do that remains to be seen... there are soooo many great characters that we think need to be brought to the public again, and that we want to play with and create new material for--however meager some of our creations end up being. We hope some of you will want to get to know.these characters and that you'll choose to pick up some of our comics/rpg hybrid e-books.

And with that plug and bit of hopeful thinking. A to Z April comes to a close. I hope some of you out there had as much fun with as I did.

See you in a funny pages!

(PS: Due to foolishness on my part.. R (Rex the Seeing Eye Dog) and W (White Princess of the Jungle) well through the cracks. Look fo rthem soon!)

Y is for Yankee Girl

Among the obscure superheroes that came out of Harry "A" Chesler's production studios perhaps Yankee Girl is the most obscure--but also among the most well-known. She had two appearances, none of which were in titles Chesler himself was involved with publishing and one of these sat undistributed in a warehouse from around 1947 until 1964. However, she was revived by AC Comics in the 1990s, and she was most recently seen in a 2012 graphic novel titled Stars and Stripes Forever. I don't know anything about the AC version, other than they seem to have explained where her magic powers came from.

Yankee Girl takes flight. Artist ID uncertain, but maybe Ralph Mayo

Yankee Girl is secretly socialite Lauren Mason, who, when she utters "three magic words" of Yankee Doodle Dandy, is transformed into a flying, super-strong defender of truth and justice. The source of the magic she draws upon, and the extend of her powers are unknown, but it is established that she is not invulnerable, as she knocked unconscious by bad guys in her first appearance. Or maybe she is invulnerable in some cases, as she seems sturdier (perhaps even bullet proof) in her second appearance.

Yankee Girl first took flight in Dynamic Comics #23 (from Superior), with her second adventure showing up in Danger #16 from I.W. Publishing where she was featured on an excellent cover by Ross Andru and Mike Espostio.

The writer and artist on the Yankee Girl stories is (are?) unknown. Ralph Mayo is credited as the writer and aritst on both her appearances by some sources, but I think someone else whas doing the inking when I compare the on Yankee Girl to his many Judy of the Jungle stories, especially the ones we're including in Judy of the Jungle: Warriors of the Laughing Hyena..

Our discovery of Yankee Girl was the final piece we needed to firm up our plans for volume of Complete Golden Age Oddballs to coincide with the Fourth of July this year. She'll be joined by Major Victory, and we'll be revealing the REAL source of her magic (at least in the NUELOW Heroes and Villains universe.)

And, just for fun, here's a totally off-the-cuff Talent Tree for use with the OGL d20 Modern superpowers system featured introduced on this blog, and expanded upon in Madden's Boys and the Complete Golden Age Oddballs series. This hasn't been play-tested and it amounts to little more than me typing thoughts as they occur. If someone DOES have an opinion on this talent tree and its playability (or lack thereof), please speak up; That's what we have a comments section for! (The rest of the post is Open Game Content and may be reproduced in accordance with this license.)

NEW SUPER TALENT TREE: MAGICAL TRANSFORMATION
You have transformative powers!
   Prerequisite: Any one Minor Power Feat.
   Simple Transformation: When you utter a magic phrase, your clothes become your superhero costume. The transformation lasts until you say the magic word again.
   Minor Transformation: Same as above, but you gain +1 increase to two stats of your choice (determined when this talent is chosen).
   Prerequisite: Simple Transformation
   Major Transformation: Same as above, except you gain an additional +1 increase to your chosen stats, as well as two Minor Power feats (determined when this talent is chosen).
   Prerequisite: Minor Transformation.
  Total Transformation: Same as above, but all attributes are increased by +2, you gain 2 bonus talents, and two bonus feats, Minor Power feats or any others available in the campaign).

X is for X of the Underground

"X of the Underground" was a short-lived series that ran in Military Comics 8 - 13 from Golden Age giant Quality Comics. Edited by Will Eisner and created by Vern Henkel (who wrote and illustrated the first 3 episodes), the series was about a mysterious femme fatale who roamed Nazi occupied Europe, building a network of women underground resistance fighters and helping Allied agents when she could. She frequently operated in disguise, often cross-dressing as a German military officer to accomplish her mission.

X swings into action. Art by Lee Ames.

The "X of the Underground" series consists of fast-paced war-time espionage stories, with X inspiring the oppressed to fight back and engineering poetic (or just plain lethal) justice for loathsome Nazis. She also spends her time dodging an American war correspondent who has identified her and who wants to write her story, help in her efforts, and probably get her naked in a hayloft somewhere. The series is of high quality throughout, with the best episodes being drawn by the aforementioned Henkel, and by Lee Ames and Bob Hebberd. We will be publishing five or six of the "X of the Underground" stories in an upcoming book... we just need to decide on the presentation.

In our minds here at NUELOW Games, X is the same person as Lady Satan, even if X may be a little less coldblooded. We imagine that after she became too well-known around Paris, she gave up the red mask and cloak, honed her disguise skills, and widened her activity base. The "X of the Underground" serve as a nice bridge between the Lady Satan stories in this book, and the Lady Satan fiction and comic story we published here.

V is for Vapo-Man!

Another weird creation from the comic book production studios run by Harry "A" Chesler was Vapo-Man! He by-product of a lab accident caused by enemies spies, he had the ability to turn into a gas, become large or tiny, fly, disintegrate matter (living or otherwise), and probably anything else the writers might have dreamed up. He spent the first three published stories running around in his skivvies, but by his fourth appearance, he was given a proper superhero costume.

Vapo-Man appeared in Liberty Scouts #2 and #3, and here he battled a corrupt official, the "Director of Defence" and the enemy spy ring he secretly headed up. At the end of each story, he promised that he would be taking ot the Director next issue.. but he never did.

Or maybe he dispatched the Director and his spies between issues, because when Vapo-Man next coalesced in Man of War #1, he was fighting Nazis and the Director and his agents were nowhere to be found. With Man of War #2, Vapo-Man, freshly outfitted with one of the goofiest looking outfits any superhero ever dared to wear in public, fought his last. With the cancellation of his second home, he was never seen again.

All four Vapo-Man stores were drawn by Sam Gilman, an artist who appears to have worked only briefly in comics, with only a dozen or so stories to his credit, all in magazines from Centaur Publishing during 1940 and 1941. Given the disconnect between the Vapo-Man storyline in Liberty Scouts and Man of War, I can only assume that he didn't write the stories... although that could be a bad assumption, as continuity was not a priority during the Golden Age, and Chesler's crews seemed to ignore such niceties more often than many others.

Vapo-Man is a great example of the no-holds-barred weirdness and casual violence of early Golden Age stories. He may have been an attempt to capture the success of Centaur's more successful hero Mighty Man, as the two characters share some powers in common, but that was not to be. Readers may also feel that he reminds them of Plastic Man, but the two characters debuted the same month, so any similarity there is probably just coincidental.

Vapo-Man is one of the characters we hope to include in a future issue of Complete Golden Age Oddballs.

U is for the Unholy 3

The Unholy 3 are such an obscure set of characters that no one has even bothered given them a write-up at Public Domain Superheroes... or anywhere else really. Except in NUELOW Games publications.

Meet the Unholy 3. Art by Bill Madden

The Unholy 3 are a trio of con artists who have turned their skills from fleecing the innocent to grifting grifters, and making sure they end up behind bars. Flash provided the brawn (and a sexy distraction for the lady targets), Pearl provided the brains (and a sexy distraction for the male target), and Dale provided the sarcastic barbs (and to dress up like a baby when the need arose). They were featured in two stories that were originally published in Punch Comics #1 and #2 and later reprinted in Major Victory #1 and #2. The series was a product of Harry "A" Chesler's comic book production studios, which supplied content not only for his own titles (such as Punch Comics) but for virtually every other comics publisher operating between 1938 and 1942.

The writer on "The Unholy 3" will probably forever remain unknown, but the artist was NUELOW Games' favorite Bill Madden. He appears to only have drawn a handful of stories, most of them for Chesler during 1941 and 1942. It's possible that he continued as a cartoonist, or penciler elsewhere and we just haven't come across his work yet. We hope to re-present all of his published work in our titles, eventually, as we think it's a shame he does not get more recognition than he does. (We've already published the Unholy 3 stories in The Unholy 3 and OGL Trickery, all three Mother Hubbard stories in the title of that same name, all his Dynamic Boy and Yankee Boy stories in Madden's Boys,and stories that he only penciled in Al Plastino Early Work: 1940 - 1941 and The Werewolf Hunter #1. There are a few more stray items--like the story we featured in Carnival--that we are still looking for ways to present, but by we will get there eventually.

Meanwhile, I'm going to renew my request that if anyone knows something about artist Bill Madden (aka William J. Madden), please get in touch. I would love to be able to write something a little more detailed about him and his career.

T is for T.N.T.

When the United States government was recruiting scientists to work on the Manhattan Project, they overlooked one of the most brilliant nuclear scientists to ever live. Not only did Treve N. Thorndyke manage to split the atom in his personal workshop (while avoiding killing himself in the process), he also managed to invent an "atom gun" that was far more surgical in its killing capacity than any other atomic weapon devised by humanity. Thankfully, Thornedyke chose to use his invention for good rather than evil, putting on a mask and cape and joining the superhero set as T.N.T.

T.N.T. made his one-and-lonly appearance in the pages of Amazing Man Comics #21. Published by Centaur with a cover date of March 1941, this series was the most successful of all the titles featuring creations from the studios run by Harry "A" Chesler, and it was a treasure trove of exciting and bizarre comic book heroes--the strangest of which being Mighty Man, who is best described as a cross between Paul Bunyan, Hercules, and Plastic Man. (I'm going to be putting a book or two together of Mighty Man's weirdest adventures at some point.)

T.N.T. is one of artist Dan Gormley's first published professional works; Chesler and his editors had a great eye for talented artists and they gave many industry giants their first paying comics gigs... including Joe Kubert, who swept up around the studio as a young boy while getting pointers from the artists as they labored over their drawingboards. By mid-1941, Gormley was a staff artist at Dell/Western, and he would eventually become one of the premiere illustrators of children's comics.

As for T.N.T., although his one appearance ends with a great set-up for future adventures--he's wanted by both the law AND the underworld--he was never heard from again. We will rectify that ever-so-slightly, as he is slated to join the Science Sleuths line-up of characters. Look for him in Issue #6 in a couple of months, where he'll be featured in an all-new roleplaying game adventure!

S is for the Sword

By 1941, it was obvious to all comics publishers that masks and capes is what the readers wanted. A flood of costumed superheroes swept onto the newsstands/ Even some established characters took to wearing costumes, such as Quality's crusading crime-beat reporter Chic Carter.

In Smash Comics #24, Carter was framed for murder, so he adopted a costumed identity to clear his name. When his series moved to Quality Comics' new title Police Comics (which featured such soon-to-be legendary characters as Plastic Man) he continued to operate as the Sword.

Carter's masked mystery man phase was very short-lived, however. By Police Comics #5, Carter hung up his cape for good, making the Sword's career a total of four adventures before Carter went back to his standard issue blue suit and fedora. The real-world reason was that series writer/artist Vern Henkel had no interest in superheroes. The in-world reason for Carter giving up the mask is probably found in the last panel of the story from Police Comics #3:

That smart cookie is Gay Nolan, Carter's co-worker and girlfriend. In that panel, she proved herself to be smarter than 98% of all comic book characters.

Marking 4/20: Chic Carter Takes Down the Marijuana Ring

Two-fisted, pistol-packing investigative reporter Chic Carter set out to protect America's youth from the Devil Weed in issue #8 of Smash Comics, originally published in 1940. Read this story carefully, take it to heart! Click on the individual pages for larger, more legible versions.

You can carry Chic's crusade for truth and justice in ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters by using these pre-generated characters:

CHIC CARTER (Male)
Brawn 20, Body 14 (Includes +1 Hat Bonus), Brains 5
   Traits: Honorable, Short-tempered
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Dodge, Murderous Mitts,  Seduce, Walk and Chew Gum
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Fedora (Hat, +1 to Body ATT when worn). Nice Suit (Clothes). .45 Colt Automatic (Small Ranged Weapon, deals 2 points that ignore Armor).


MARY NEEL (Female)
Brawn 14, Body 12, Brains 4
   Traits: Improv Master, Left-handed
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Disarm, Dodge, Strategic Bleeding
  Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Fashionable Dress (Clothes).

GENERIC MOBSTER, SMOKING DOPE OR OTHERWISE (Male)
Brawn 11, Body 10, Brains 3
   Traits: Coldblooded, Improv Master
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Dodge. Knock Out
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Pistol (Small Ranged Weapon, deals 2 points of damage that ignore armor) OR Tommy Gun (Large Ranged Weapon, deals 4 points of damage that ignore armor).

Q is for Quicken

There is only one character I could find that fits the theme of this series whose name starts with "Q" -- and that would be the Queen of Evil. Using her would not only be more than just a little bit of a cheat, since her actual name is Nagana. There's also the added problem that I already wrote about her in the next material included in John Kerry vs. the Queen of Evil,

So, instead, I'm going to add another talent tree to the OGL d20 System that was introduced on this very blog, and the basics of which was published in their entirety in Madden's Boys.

NEW SUPER TALENT TREE: QUICKEN
   Prerequisite: Any one Minor Power feat
   Fast Acting: You gain a +2 bonus to all initiative rolls.
   Fast Moving: You gain a +2 bonus to all Sleight of Hand checks, as well as a +2 bonus to Defense Rating if not caught flat-footed.
   Prerequisite: Fast Acting
   Fast Working: You can complete any skill that normally takes more than one round in half the time without suffering any penalties.

P is for Penny Parker

Penny Parker is a child of wealth and privilege whom readers are introduced to when she rebels against her parents insistence that she honor the traditions of her social class by taking part in a debutante ball. The sixteen year-old girl gives in, but decides to show everyone up by bringing her rough-edged boxing instructor to the ball as her escort. In the process, she ends up stopping a jewel heist. Fueled by her success as a detective, and rebellious teenage impulses, Penny sets herself up in her own detective agency and starts solving crime among the upper classes.

Penny Parker and her First World Problems.

"Penny Parker" was a series aimed squarely at girl comics readers, and it is an example of strips that were more common than people assume. I find Penny particularly interesting, because she reminds me of another of my long-time favorite forgotten girl detectives--Violet Strange. Like Penny, Violet was a young woman who rebelled against her social status by solving crimes... but, unlike Penny, Violet hid her activities from her parents by operating secretly through a detective agency.

Penny appeared in issues 13 - 15 of MLJ's Blue Ribbon Comics, all published in 1941, solving mysteries and catching killers and stopping crimes at genteel parties and country clubs. Her creators remain lost to history, although some sources credit Irv Novick with the art on the series. I don't see his hand, though, and I think the attribution is based on an incorrect assumption about the signature "Irving" on the episodes.

Penny Parker will co-star with Kismet (the first Muslim superhero) in the next issue of NUELOW Games' Complete Golden Age Oddballs.

In the meantime, here's Penny ala ROLF!:

PENNY PARKER (Female)
Brawn 17, Body 15, Brains 8
   Traits: Nimble
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic attack, Castrate, Debate Philosophy, Dodge, Knock Out, Murderous Mitts, Strike Pose, Walk and Chew Gum
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Fashionable Dress (Clothes) OR Boxing Togs (Clothes, barely covers nakedness).

O is for the Owl

The Owl is second creation of cartoonish Martin Filchock to be featured on this trip through the alphabet by way of obscure Golden Age comic book characters, with the previous one being Electric Ray.

The world gets its first look at the Owl! From Funny Pages #1 (vol. 4)

The Owl is a young librarian named Jack who uses the hi-tech  flying suit to take revenge against the crimnals who crippled his father. The suit gives him the ability to fly "faster than an airship" and to communicate with his father via radio.

Like all of Flichock's creations, there is a quirky feel of off-centeredness--while reading, one is never quite sure if the story is to be taken seriously or is a clever bit of comedy.His most successful and longest-lived Golden Age superhero strip was Cenatur's Mighty Man (lasting from issues 5 - 25 of Amazing Man) which most was an obvious comedic take on superheroes Filchock was a celebrated cartoonist and yhumorist, who continued working and publishing right up until his death in 2012, so maybe he couldn't stop kidding around even when drawing and writing superheroes.

The Owl's solitary flight will be presented in a future issue of Complete Golden Age Oddballs.

N is for Numa

While that may be Tarzan-ese for "Lion," the Numa being referred to here is perhaps the most obscure and short-lived Golden Age of Comics character that will be touched upon in this series of posts.

Numa to the rescue. Art by A.C. Hollingsworth

Numa was a busty, scantily clad jungle girl who used her vine-swinging talents and Judo mastery to right wrongs in the Congo. In her single two-page adventure, she rescued another white jungle-dwelling girl from being sacrificed to dark gods while exposing a pair of blasphemous thieves. Her story was published under the heading "Jungle Fables" in Rulah Jungle Goddess #18 from Fox Features Syndicate. Like Numa, that was the only time a Jungle Fable appeared in any Fox title, and I don't think the editors at Fox knew the meaning of the word "fable."

We are currently planning on including Numa's adventure in the soon-to-be-released Judy of the Jungle: Warriors of the Laughing Hyena. Numa's adventure was illustrated by A.C. Hollingsworth, one of the earliest African American artists to work for mainstream comic book packagers and publishers. Hollingsworth later went onto become a civil rights activist. (NUELOW Games as previously featured his work on the Purple Tigress, another strip from Fox Features Syndicate that we included in the first issue of Complete Golden Age Oddballs. (And if we end up not including her in the Judy of the Jungle book, Numa will show up with other Oddballs in a future issue of that series.)

Just for fun, here's Numa in the ROLF! game system.

NUMA (Female)

Brawn 18, Body 18, Brains 5

Traits: Busty, Martial Artist, Nimble

Combat Maneuvers: Backflip, Murderous Mitts, Signature Move, Strike Pose

Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Fur Bikini (Clothes, barely covers nakedness). Large Knife (Melee Weapon OR One-shot Ranged Weapon. Deals 2 points of damage.)

M is for Major Victory

Major Victory was one of several patriotic superheroes to emerge from the studio and comic book packaging operation of Harry "A" Chesler, during a time when Phil Sturm was the lead editor. We here at NUELOW Games think of the Chesler output from 1940 through late 1941/early 1942 as the Golden Age for his Golden Age of Comics activity, and Major Victory is among the last of the characters from that period that we will be bringing to modern readers in one of our titles.

Drawn by Charles Sultan, and written by an unknown writer, Major Victory was featured in the first three issues of Dynamic Comics, along with other great Chesler superheroes, such as the original Dynamic Boy and Dynamic Man, and Lady Satan in her spy-killing incarnation. He was one of several patriotic superheroes created by the studio, a soldier who was returned to life by Father Patriot as the embodiment of the American fighting spirit after dying in an attempt to stop a terrorist attack on an American military base.

The splash page from the second Major Victory story.
Art by Charles Sultan

Like the best of Chesler's output, the Major Victory stories featured solid artwork, fast-paced stories that were more than a little macabre, and a whole lot of fun. Sadly, like all of Chesler's greatest creations, the Major's career was also very short. There were the three stories published in Dynamic Comics 1-3 during 1941, which were then reprinted in Major Victory Comics 1-3 in 1942. Curiously, the Major's shirt and pants were colored yellow in the reprints, breaking the red-white-and-blue motif of his costume. Why this bizarre decision was made one can't even being to guess at.

Exactly where Major Victory will appear in the line-up of NUELOW Games publications remains to be decided, but he is certainly a candidate for an issue of Complete Golden Age Oddballs.

L is for Little Giant

In 1940, Professor Rednow injected Rusty, a scrawny orphaned waif, with a serum that gave him superhuman strength and endurance. Since the boy didn't die from being an unwitting human test subject to a bit of mad science, Rednow adopted the kid, further outfitted him with a high-tech outfit that let him ignore gravity to leap long distances in a single bound. He took to punching criminals and rescuing girls in distress for two issues of "O.K. Comics" before fading into oblivion. (My guess as to his final fate? Rednow decided to subject Rusty to another mad science experiment... one that didn't end quite so successfully. I think in the annals of coldblooded scientists, Rednow has got to be one of the coldest.)

Rusty becomes the Little Giant,
through the wonders of child endangerment

By the way, does Little Giant's origin sound familiar to you--a weakling who gains superhuman strength and endurance after being injected with a vial full of weird science? To me, it sounds just like Captain America's origin story. I wonder what the Fanboy Brigade would make of the fact that the first issue of O.K. Comics was on newsstands some nine months before Captain America made his debut?

(It actually sounds like any number of superhero origins from that period, to be honest. Super-serums or lightning bolts seem to be the most common sources of superhuman powers in the early 1940s.)

K is for Kismet

Kismet, the Man of Fate, is, as far as I can tell, the first Muslim superhero. It's too bad he didn't catch on and become an international phenomenon. If he had, maybe the public face of Islam wouldn't be frothing-in-the-beard murderers. Kismet may fight evil, but violence is a last resort and he never harms innocent people. In fact, Kismet even tries to avoid harming the guilty, instead often letting their own actions lead to their doom. While fighting the evil of the Nazis, Kismet tries to be an examplar of someone who follows the "religion of peace"

"Kismet,Man of Fate" was a feature in all four issues of Bomber Comics--a slightly unfortunate title in retrospect, given the "Lions of Islam" that have emerged in the real world in recent decade--a title that came and went with its publisher, Eliot, in 1944. Other than being able to be a force for righteousness and freedom in the name of Allah, Kismet seemed to have an ability to predict what he enemies were going to do, with an ability to dodge their attacks as they are being launched, or to engineer events so his foes take each other out. He also rocks the shirtless-with-a-cape look like no one else. And he even looks good in a fez.

Kismet is the lead feature in the next issue of  Complete Golden Age Oddballs. Look for this space for an announcement of the publication date. Meanwhile, here's an add-on to NUELOW's superpower system for OGL d20 that reprents Kismet's uncanny ability to predict where fate will strike next.

NEW MINOR POWER: FORESIGHT
You have the ability to see a fraction of a second into the future.
   Benefit: You gain a permanent +2 adjustment to all initiative rolls.


NEW POWER TALENT TREE: FORESIGHT
You are able to sense what the immediate future will bring, and act accordingly. You don't always know exactly what is about to happen, but you know you have to act.
   Prerequisite: Any one Power Feat.
  Enhanced Foresight: You gain a +2 bonus to all to all initiative rolls, as well as a +1 bonus to your Defense Rating while awake or conscious.
   Improved Foresight: You gain a +1 bonus to all initiative rolls, as well as a +2 bonus to your Defense Rating while awake or conscious. You also gain a +2 bonus to all attack rolls.
   Prerequisite: Enhanced Foresight
   In Control: Once per game session, you can re-roll any single initiative roll, attack roll, or skill check. You may choose between the original or re-rolled results.
   Pre-requisite: Enhanced Foresight
   Master of Destiny: As In Control, but you my re-roll once per encounter.
   Prerequisite: In Control

J is for Jeep and Peep

If you were around and reading comics in 1945, you may have come across Jeep Comics on the newsstands. But if you blinked, you would have missed the series... along with the publishers that released them (R.B. Leffingwell & Company and Spotlight Comics).

The stars of the three published issues of Jeep Comics were Jeep and Peep, a pair of crime-fighters and explorers of the unknown and mysterious who traveled about in a flying, jet-powered Jeep. Jeep, so nick-named because he loved Jeeps so much that he let the Army give him one instead of his discharge pay, wore a red cape everywhere he went, while teen-aged Peep dressed normally... although he probably wore powered sugar everywhere, as one story dealt with how he was getting too fat and out of shape to fight crime.

Yes... "Jeep and Peep" was a series ahead of its time. I have no doubt it would be very, VERY popular today in some circles, because it carries messages about childhood obesity and the importance of exercising, as well as of energy and natural conservation. Jeep's flying Jeep is powered by an amazing, fuel efficient jet engine he has created... it only takes two drops of lighter fluid for Jeep and Peep to fly a distance of a hundred miles or more.

I'm not sure what's going here, except that Jeep and Peep are driving on air!

Any book we release collecting the "Jeep and Peep" series will be a cherished item by anyone who wants to stop global warming, or who believed in Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign. In fact, I will probably send comp copies to environmental groups around the globe; maybe I can get it made required reading!

At any rate, "Jeep and Peep" are perfect candidates for the Complete Golden Age Oddballs series... and I suspect that you'll be able to see all the flying Jeep action collected for the first time in place sooner rather than later!

And just because I'll be writing these stats eventually anyway, here are Jeep and Peep ala ROLF!

JEEP (Male)
Brawn 18, Body 15, Brains 7
  Traits: Driver, Inventor, Honorable
  Battle Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Dodge, Double-Strike, Murderous Mitts, Strike Pose
  Important Things Worn/Wielded: Super-Cape (Armor, absorbs up to 2 points of damage).

PEEP (Male)
Brawn 13, Body 9, Brains 5
  Traits: Comic Relief, Driver, Improv Master
  Battle Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Deflect, Disarm, Walking Disaster Area
  Important Things Worn/Wielded: Cheeseburger (Small One-shot Ranged Weapon, or tasty snack. Deals 1 point of damage).

I is for Invisibility

A while back, we introduced a new super power system for use with OGL Modern and other d20 System RPGs. It uses the feats and talent trees system rather than layering another set of mechanics or adding more classes to an already complex system.

Since I couldn't find an obscure superhero that I felt like adding to the NUELOW Games stable, I am instead adding the Invisibility Talent Tree to the d20 Supers system. (You can see the foundation of the system by clicking here.)

This is a bit off-the-cuff, so it will probably be revised before it finds its way into an actual product. If you want to offer input, it will be considered and appreciated.


NEW MINOR POWER: STEALTHY
You have an unnaturally developed ability to move stealthly.
   Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to Move Silently skill checks.


NEW TALENT TREE: INVISIBILITY
You can become hard to see or totally invisible at will. The invisibility can be activated by a thought, and remains in effect until he wills himself visible again, or loses consciousness. The characters clothes and carried objects become invisible as well.
   Prerequisite: At least one Minor Power Feat.
   Shadowy: By taking a standard attack action, you turn partially invisible. You gain a +2 bonus to all Hide checks. This bonus increases to +6 if you are in a dark area or it is night.
   Invisible: By taking a standard attack attack action, you turn invisible. All attacks made against you suffer a -6 penalty. You can still be seen by creatures that can see invisible objects, and you can be sensed by equipment that detects body heat or movement. Likewise, if you step in a puddle, are submerged in water, stand in heavy rain, or if someone fills the air with dust or flour that clings to you, you essentially become visible
   Prerequisite: Shadowy
   Insubstantial: As Invisible, except the character becomes vapourous and become immune to damage from all damage sources except those that compress or displace air, such as extreme heat and cold. The character suffers normal damage from such attacks.
   Prerequisite: Invisible

'Science Sleuths #5' now available!

The fifth issue of Science Sleuths is now on sale at DriveThruComics, DriveThruRPG, and RPGNow. It features stories starring Jill Trent and Rocketman, but you can also get to know the King of Darkness in two stories that are being collected in one place for the first time ever. As a special treat, this issue also features write-ups of Jill Trent and the King of Darkness in the Heroes and Hoodlums RPG system... a game specifically designed for playing Golden Age comic book characters.

Click here to see previews of Science Sleuths #5, or to buy and download your own copy.

H is for the Hand

Some comic book heroes are left on the ash-heap of discarded pop culture for good reason. One of these is the mysterious, supernatural crime-fighting entity known only as the Hand. Where he (it?) came by that name is obvious.

Talk to the Hand. Art  and Writing by Bill Flinton & Bill O'Connor

I love the Golden Age of Comics, because the "rules" of what made for good story telling in the medium were still being established. All sorts of fun and crazy stories were being thrown out there for public approval, and many of the flash-in-the-pans that only appeared a few times were crazier and more fun than most/

And then there are ones like the Hand. What's more amazing than someone thinking this was a good idea is that the Hand appeared twice during 1941, in issues 12 and 13 of Harvey's Speed Comics. The same team of Bill Flinton and Bill O'Connor delivered both of the Hand's crime-smashing adventures, so they probably came up with the strip... and maybe they had pictures of the editor's mother performing unnatural acts on a water buffalo.

I suppose the Hand is remarkable because it is such a strange notion for a comic book hero. L.L. Hundal, the main editor here at NUELOW Games earmarked the two Hand stories for a future issue of Complete Golden Age Oddballs. I think she may have to get around me first, but if enough of you out there wants to give her a hand by showing support for her idea that the Hand needs to be added to the line-up or NUELOW Heroes & Villains, I may have to give in. You won't even need to acquire pictures of my mother performing unnatural acts with a water buffalo. It doesn't take much to get me to agree to something... if people want to see the Hand, I'll give them the Hand.