New 52 - Week 2

The New 52 continues with the 2nd wave of new titles. After reading the first two weeks worth of titles, there's one word to describe The New 52: Dark.

Not that there's anything wrong with books that are dark in tone or material, but I'm hoping we see a bit more sunlight and hope peek through the books as the month continues. Too much of anything can be.. well, too much.

That said, there's some gems this week. Let's get to it.

Deathstroke #1 - Good introductory issue. An all-in-one plot for the character, plus a hook at the end. A bit of a surprise there, with his comment about not liking competition; it made me laugh. The one thought I had (and this has gone through my head a couple times in the last couple weeks) is that Deathstroke's outfit was a little too much 90's Image Excess. Sometimes simpler is better? (See Batwoman's costume). That said, solid first issue.

Grifter #1 - Oh, DC. Why must you take my previous Wildstorm characters, pour gasoline on them, and then make me watch as they slowly burn away, never to be remembered by those of us who loved them ? TELL ME WHY, YOU SADISTS.

Okay, got that out of my system.

Grifter was described as Sawyer from Lost meets the DCU. That pretty much hits it on the head. Grifter is a con man, but things go very bad, very fast. This was a good first issue.

Mister Terrific #1 - I was very happy to see the fan-favorite from JSA get his own book. It was a good story, but it felt a little write-by-numbers, y'know? It lacked oomph. This one might take a couple issues to come together.

Green Lantern #1 - Anyone who was reading GL before this month should be able to pick this up and jump right in. For new(er) readers, it might be a little tricky, trying to figure out why Sinestro is Green Lantern instead of Hal, who the guys in the yellow uniforms are, and what's going on. Also, isn't Carol still in-charge of the you-know-who's? BRING BACK COWGIRL, GEOFF JOHNS.

Sometimes I wish Geoff Johns would write just one book a month, instead of 2-4. Ever since he became head honcho/VP at DC, his writing hasn't been the same.

Batman and Robin #1 - Oh Damian, you lovable jerk. Why can't you and Daddy Wayne just get along?

Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E #1 - Like Animal Man and Swamp Thing from last week, this one floored me. Great, strange issue. Franky's father is in the body of an 8 year old girl? I couldn't possibly pin this one down with one word, but I'll try: Must-buy.

(Yeah I cheated there. Whaddya want from me?)

Demon Knights #1 - I was both amused and disgusted by the "rough" comment. If you've already read it, you know what I'm talking about. If not, you'll understand. I have to confess, my expectations were low for this book, but they surpassed them. This was a "pieces and players coming together for the first time" -type first issue, and it was fun. Good read. Anyone who read Stormwatch last week already knows this ties into the history of the New DCU.

Resurrection Man #1 - With all my love for Abnett and Lanning, you'd have thought I read the original Resurrection Man series, right? Wrong. The writing on this was strong, and it felt like a "long read". Great value for $2.99. The art, though, was a little off. Sometimes the characters looked disjointed? Body parts not quite lining up right? It added a little atmosphere to the book, but it also took me out of the story sometimes, too.

Superboy #1 - Hey now, this was good. They've jettisoned all the previous Superboy stories (and Teen Titans, I'd imagine), and stated fresh.  Solid first issue, one of the best from this week.

Legion Lost #1 - ... and now, one of the weakest. Yikes, this was messy. Too much talking about superpowers, and the costumes are so complicated I STILL don't know who's who. Or why I should care. Granted, it's easy to be intimidated by all the LSH characters, there's only a million of them. But "time-traveling super-heroes from the future, stuck in the present"? That's a pretty nifty concept, but all the language about the "Flashpoint wall/event/whatever" lost me. Hopefully next month is better, 'cause I'm going to hear about this review from loyal reserivst Gatti, that's for sure.

Red Lanterns #1 - And now, a big ol pile of Rage. As many of you already know, I'm a huge fan of the Red Lanterns (my rage issues are legendary, ask the employees at the Den), so I've been waiting MONTHS, nay YEARS for Atrocitus and the Almighty HATE KITTEH to get their own book. This was another strong introductory issue, and Ed Benes did a good job on the art.

Suicide Squad #1 - Like you could make this title anything BUT dark, right?  Lots of blood and mayhem, but I have to confess, it was missing something. In the original Suicide Squad by Ostrander and it's spiritual successor, Secret Six by Gail Simone, the books were dark, but balanced  with a little light comedy here and there. Halfway through this book, I thought to myself "Why isn't Gail writing this?" The voices in my head had no answer. The only other criticism is my own blinders: Anytime I see Harley in a comic, I automatically pipe in her voice and mannerisms from The Animated Series. This book didn't jive with the show. That's more me, than anything else, I think.

Batwoman #1 - This was awesome. The. End.

-Scott.

Magic Celebration 2012 Recap

Well the Magic Celebration is now over.  So what did we see, and what did we notice:

Number of players:

In the first flight we ended up with 33 players total! The second event had 28 at the start.  We had drops in almost every round as players finished up and felt their deck was not going to win.  Getting a dual land and a foil land kind of hurts in this format...  Well I have a feeling that having 61 players is a pretty good turnout for the Magic Celebration and I would love to know how other locations did.

FREE T-Shirts:

We had many people excited about getting a free t-shirt!  I think was a masterful plan by Wizards and really helped the local stores.  No internet sales for that t-shirt!!!  We ended up selling out of the t-shirts by 2:00pm and with 8... yes I said 8 t-shirts, they went really FAST!

Digital Download Promo Cards:

 Well many people were wondering why the choice was Jace, Chandra, and Gideon... I kept telling people maybe it was a Red, White, and Blue thing... I mean maybe with Remembrance Day tomorrow, maybe Wizards was being Patriotic.  If they went with the same colors as the promo titans for the game then it would have been Jace, Chandra, and Liliana... but that would not have been as patriotic.  The cards each have a unique digital item code one for Steam, PS3, and Xbox 360.

In the end, this event was fantastic for Magic and Wizards of the Coast.  It allowed players to have some fun and get a bunch of FREE stuff!  I'm very happy to see Wizards doing something this fantastic for the players.  Now to see how all of this effects our Planeswalker points and all that new stuff.  And now for all the questions about Planeswalker Points... but we'll save that for another day.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

The NEW 52 for Wednesday September 14th

Next Wednesday, the next wave of THE NEW 52 from DC COMICS arrives:

Deathstroke #1 - The popular villain gets his own series.
Superboy #1 - The clone of Superman who's got the dna of a super-villain inside him!
Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1 - The book with such a long title, I've got not enough room to write a description!
Resurrection Man #1 - The cult-classic returns! He lives, he dies, he wakes up with new powers!
Demon Knights #1 - DC goes medieval on your... well, you know.
Suicide Squad #1 - You're going to buy this comic just because of the cover. Don't deny it.
Green Lantern #1 - Hal Jordan is NOT a Green Lantern anymore. So who's the new GL of sector 2814?
Red Lanterns #1 - I AM THE RED LANTERN OF SECTOR 2814. I mean... love the hate kitteh, don't you?
Batman and Robin #1 - Father and son, together for the first time!
Mister Terrific #1 - The world's smartest man gets his own title!
Legion Lost #1 - Members of the LSH, stuck in the 21st century, with no way to go home!
Grifter #1 -The Wildstorm hero stars in his own spy thriller!
And finally...

Batwoman #1 - Finally, Kate gets her own ongoing. J.H. Williams is doing the writing and art; this book WILL be gorgeous.

Guaranteed.

See you next Wednesday!

The New 52 - Week 1

...and here we are.

After months of questions and teases and press releases and the occasional fanboy rage, The New 52 have landed at the Dragon's Den. After reading all of this week's books, I came away pretty impressed. All of the books are easy jump-on points; you don't need to know anything about the characters, but if you do, that's okay too. DC's done a good job of blending "jump-on point" without tossing away much of the continuity for the older readers.

Random comments:

* Most of the titles managed to end on a cliffhanger. Some more memorable than others (Detective Comics, for one)

* Several of the covers are different than originally solicited. That's not a bad thing

* I'm hearing many reports of stores under-ordering these books, across the country. This may sound crazy to you, but I'm just saying this now: I am fairly certain that all of The New 52 #1's will be go to 2nd printing by the end of the month. Get the 1st prints now. Trust me.

 * Review Time.

Justice League #1 - Yes, this came out last week, but I'm including it here anyways. This was a strong first issue, but not a strong introduction to The New 52. On that level, it didn't succeed. But I'm not going to lie: It was great to see a Jim Lee-drawn comic again.

Action Comics #1  - My expectations were high for this book. Grant Morrisson's All-Star Superman is one of the landmark stories for the character, so we all know what he's capable of doing with the character. But this book... this is a very different Superman. This Superman is a bit more reckless, unexperienced, and a bit more anti-authoritarian. It was great to read a Superman who didn't come off as having a stick up his you-know-where.

It was great. Fresh. New. Innovative, while paying homage to the past. Plus the last page... so simple, yet brilliant.

Animal Man #1 - This book creeped me out. It really did, the whole issue made me feel anxious. How is that possible? I don't know, but it happened anyways. And the last page... wow. CREEPY. Don't give this one to your kids, they'll have nightmares (seriously).

Batman Detective Comics #1 - Sweet mary, mother of god, if Animal Man #1 creeped me out, this one made my jaw drop. The last page is... no, I'm not going to use any words to read it. But you Will Not See That Coming. This issue was dark, bloody, and then the ending? Wow. Just... wow. Okay Tony Daniel, you got my attention.

Batgirl #1 - Can I talk about Babs getting her legs back without the internet going crazy? Good. So yeah... Babs is back in the costume. They acknowledge The Killing Joke, and her paralysis, but they gloss over her time in the wheelchair. Ignoring the backstory, this is a younger, less-somber Babs, and I think this book is going to surprise the naysayers.


Batwing #1 - I didn't have a chance to read it. BAD SCOTT. BAD SCOTT.

Green Arrow #1 - Adios, beard. Adios, Black Canary. Neither are around, and this is a clear mix of the ornery Ollie we all know and love, and the poutier Green Arrow seen on Smallville. The art didn't do much for me on this book, but the writing was tight; That said, this book was fun, but didn't overwhelm me.

Hawk and Dove #1 - Don't hate. No, really, this wasn't bad. This amped up the tension and drama between Hawk and Dove, dropped a lot of hints about Dove's connection to the original Dove, acknowledged the relationship between Dove and Deadman that came out of Brightest Day. I had low expectations, but this was pretty fun. As for the art... Liefeld did okay here.

Justice League International #1 - As a huge fan of the original JLI/JLE run, this was a bit of a disappointment. The characters didn't quite mesh together as well as you'd like. Some of the ha-ha's were still there, but it didn't quite have the humor that made the original run such a classic. That said, I have faith in Giffen, as should you all. Noone does these characters better, it just might take an issue or two for him to get back into the swing of things.

Men of War #1 - This was a gritty-but-not-overbearing war story, featuring a character with the last name Rock. And although this isn't my normal cuppa... I really liked it. Fun and dark, but without being overly so. Color me surprised by how good this was.

OMAC #1 - I opened this up, prepared to dislike it, and came away satisfied. There's TONS of Kirby riffs in this, from the artwork to the layouts, to the writing, but done well. Another pleasant surprise.

Static Shock #1 - A fun yarn, right from the beginning. Fans of the character are going to enjoy seeing Static back in action. I never watched the cartoon, so I don't know much about the character, but this book jumped off the page. Great stuff.

Stormwatch #1 - As an old-school Wildstorm fan, reading this was painful: It's a clear re-boot of all the Authority and Stormwatch characters. As someone who knows nothing about any of them, or has not attachment, it was a decent read. I think I probably set the bar too high on this one for myself.

Swamp Thing #1 - ... But this book: WOW. Great, GREAT first issue. Scott Snyder's been killing it at DC, and this issue managed to give the character(s) a fresh slate, but still keeping Swamp Thing's history intact (especially the Alan Moore stuff). Great read, highly recommended.

-Scott

Quarriors the Dice Game by Wizkids

While out at Gen Con this year, I had the chance to try a new DICE building game so similar to all the great DECK building games called Quarriors by Wizkids! So let's open the box... or in this case the tin, and see what's inside.

Inside the box:

The first thing you notice with the collector's tin is that it is shaped like a die and has the markings on each side corresponding to the Dragon die in the game.  It is a very nice look, and I think will appeal to many players and collectors.  Once you open it up, you find 4 dice bags of different colors (Black, Blue, Green, and Red).  The dice bags are the same color as the tokens used per player to track victory points.  The next item is the rule book.  The rules are very straight forward and easy to understand, so easy in fact that my 8 year old was playing in no time!  Further down is the tracking card used for keeping track of victory points.  The victory points vary depending on the number of players; 12 for a 4 player game, 15 for a 3 play game, and 20 for a 2 player game. The tray below the rule book and tracking sheet contains the ability cards for the dice. There are 3 different types of cards; Basic, Spell, and Creature.  The cards represent different levels for the dice, so that they can make promo cards that will change the way the dice results are seen.  There is also a small area for the tracking cubes, again in matching colors to the dice bag.  The final thing in the tin are the dice! There 130 dice in 15 different varieties.  The dice correspond to the cards, and the cards represent different levels of the dice.

Playing the game:

So now that we have pulled apart the box, lets look at the game.  If you have played any of the deck building games, then you have an idea of how to play Quarriors... just think dice instead of cards.  You start the game with the 3 basic resource cards, 3 different spell cards, and 7 different creature cards.  Remember to shuffle the groups of cards separately so you can draw from each group.  Next have each player chose a color for their dice bag and victory point token.  Give each player 8 Quiddity Dice (the basic die), and 4 Assistant Dice.  This is your starting allocation of dice.  Each players turn will follow the same steps, so I'll detail one player from the beginning:

1. Score Creatures
2. Draw and Roll Dice (Remember to shuffle... shake the dice bag) (Draw 6 without looking)
3. Ready Spells and Summon Creatures (Optional)
4. Attack Your Rivals
5. Capture 1 Quarry Die from the Wilds (Optional)
6. Move Dice to Your Used Pile

So then all you have to do is pass your turn to the player on the left and repeat! One key rule, just like with the deck building games, you don't gather and reshuffle your dice until you need to draw a die and you can't.  You just wait until then and then pick them all up and put them back in the dice bag.  Continue playing until you reach the correct number of victory points.

So I've had a lot of fun playing this game so far, and I can't wait for it to become available... or is it??? We are hoping to get this great game in at the store, we are just waiting to learn about availability.  As it looks like they will have an expansion out this fall, I'd like to see both in the store soon.

I'd like to thank my little group of play testers... also know as Alex, Aiden, and Emily.  They were great, and really enjoyed the game! With and age range from 8 to 16, they picked up the rules and concept quickly, and ask to play the game frequently.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks