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  Games by Scott Casper – What Have I Got Here? 
       So I had this big, long editorial pre-written about how 
  H&H had never been professionally reviewed, I was fine with 
  it because it suited my Charlie Brown-like persecution 
  complex, blah, blah, blah – and then James Maliszewski at 
  the Grognardia blog finally came through with a terrific 
  review of H&H.  Yeah, go read it -- 
  http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-hideouts-
  hoodlums.html -- love it, come back here.   
       Reviews are important for many reasons.  Just having a 
  review validates the game.  Not in the sense anymore than 
  being reviewed in The Dragon magazine would have once 
  accomplished; the authoritative paper sources for reviews 
  are all gone.  The reviews that seem to matter these days 
  have migrated to the blogosphere.  By whatever magic some 
  people seem to possess more online charisma than others, a 
  rare few bloggers seem to be treated as if their opinions 
  matter more than other bloggers.  It is itself its own sort of 
  game.  Follow enough blogs, hope that they all follow you 
  back, build readership until the sheer numbers make you 
  seem authoritative and your opinions will have weight.  Then 
  you review other people‘s games in the hopes that they will 
  then review yours.  It‘s a game I have opted out of playing 
  myself, probably to the detriment of H&H. 
       The most personal reason is that reviews stroke the egos 
  of game designers.  No one wants a bad review, but even a 
  bad review would at least say that, ―This product is out there 
  and was worth my consideration.‖  But, of course, It‘s the 
  good review that everyone wants.  The one where the 
  reviewer recognizes just what you were trying to do and then 
  tells you that he gets it.  When I see things like, ―the plot 
  saving throw is so elegantly done,‖ I delight in reading it.  
  Why, thank you; it was meant to be. Said game designer 
  now goes back to work with a big smile on his face, content 
  to crank out another 50 pages of material.   
       And, of course, the real goal of getting reviewed is the 
  monetary benefit of a good review.  When a reviewer says, ―I 
  like it, you will too, buy this product,‖ you just know that is 
  going to generate revenue.  Again, not the main goal for 
  producing H&H (I talked about this in last issue‘s editorial), 
  but sure does help.   
      While Grognardia was the first blog to comprehensively 
  review the core rules of H&H, Steve Lopez has written 
  several glowing blog posts about H&H on his Four Color 
  Glasses blog.  Thanks, Steve.  Everyone check out the good 
  things he says too at 
  http://fourcolorglasses.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/look-
  what-just-came-out/.  You‘ll see more of him in this 
  newsletter! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  PUBLISHER'S STATEMENT 
       THE TROPHY CASE is published quarterly by Games by                       
  Scott Casper, 6300 Church Road, Apt. 112C, Hanover Park, 
  IL. 60133.  Paper copy distribution is available by 
  subscription at the rate of $4.00 per four issues.  Electronic 
  copy of every issue, however, will be available for free 
  online.  At least initially, mailed paper copy will only be 
  available in the U.S. and payments must be made by check.   
  All material posted herein becomes the exclusive property  
  of the publisher unless arrangements to the contrary are 
  made. 
        Unsolicited material cannot be returned unless 
  accompanied by a stamped return envelope or sent by e-
  mail, and no responsibility for such material can be assumed 
  by the publisher in any event. AlI rights on the entire contents 
  of this publication are reserved, and nothing may be 
  reprinted in whole or in part without written permission of the 
  publisher. Copyright 2011 by Games by Scott Casper 
  Editor – Scott Casper 
  Assistant Editor – TBA? 
  Change of Address should be sent as soon as possible, and 
  in any event not less than two weeks prior to the first day of 
  April, July, October and January, as applicable.   
   
  The H&H FAN CLUB 
       H&H players online currently have two messageboard-
  based campaigns to choose from.  The original H&H 
  campaign on rpol.net continues now in its sixth scenario, 
  ―Reuter Mansion‘s Hideout,‖ with its Heroes approaching fifth 
  level.  The rpol campaign still specializes in hideout crawls.   
       For gamers with more interest in urban-based roleplaying, 
  there is now ―Hideouts & Hoodlums: Kansas Heroes‖ at 
  rpg.net‘s forums.  It‘s a first level campaign with few players 
  and off to a slow start, so it‘s a great jumping on point for new 
  players.  
       The big announcement last issue was about Ned Martell‘s 
  retirement from gaming, but now after beating cancer he‘s 
  ready to come back and beat some more hoodlums!  Good 
  luck on getting your post count back up, Ned.  Matthew Kay-
  Conway, who came in ―late‖ to the campaign in its second 
  scenario, has been posting like gangbusters ever since and 
  now leads Jeremy Best, who for a long time was H&H‘s most 
  prolific player-poster. 
       I‘ve also been running a live session H&H campaign, also 
  going through ―Reuter Mansion‘s Hideout‖, for the past few 
  The Trophy Case 
   
  PULP FICTION  *  GAMES  *  COMIC BOOKS 
  SPRING 2011               Single Copy 0¢                Vol. 1, No. 3 
  
  months at my local public library.  Our players skew young, 
  with two ten-year olds among them.  One positive thing I can 
  say about kids these days playing video games is that they 
  already ―get‖ a lot of the concepts and game mechanics of 
  RPGs.  I hope they‘ll think at least as nostalgically about H&H 
  30 years from now as they probably will about Halo. 
       The H&H Fan Club on Yahoo!Groups had a great month in 
  February, with membership climbing to 21 and 55 posts for 
  the month.  Contributions to Supplement III: Better Quality 
  have fueled a lot of the discussion.   
       HIDEOUTS & HOODLUMS can now be followed on 
  Facebook too! 
   
  MOBSTER SPOTLIGHT 
  Presenting new Hideouts & Hoodlums mobsters for 
  your enjoyment 
  ABOMINABLE SNOWMEN 
  Armor Class:  
  8 [11]  
  Hit Dice:  
  4+1  
  Attacks:   
  cold or grappling (1d8) 
  Special:   
  cold aura, hide in snow, immune to cold 
  Move:   
  45  
  HDE/XP: 
  5/240 
  Found only in the Far East, the abominable snowmen are a 
  degenerate ape-like species of man, broad, strong, and 
  standing seven feet tall on average.  Their skin is pale as 
  snow.  They appear to be covered in white hair at a distance, 
  but their bodies are always naked except for layers of snow 
  and ice that hang in icicles off the body.   
       In a snowy terrain, snowmen enjoy a 1 in 3 chance of 
  being effectively invisible so long as they remain motionless.  
  As sluggish in movement as they are, they prefer to attack by 
  ambush, for their most fearsome ability is that they continually 
  radiate such deadly cold that anyone within 5 ft. of a 
  snowman takes 1d8 points of damage per turn.  Snowmen 
  prefer to grapple and hold their victims to ensure continuing 
  damage, but they only need to miss their attack rolls by five or 
  less to stay close enough to their victims to inflict damage, 
  unless the victim flees at a higher Move rate. 
       Although culturally primitive, abominable snowmen are 
  intelligent, capable of great coordination among their own 
  kind, and able to use complex weapons including modern 
  firearms. 
  GHOSTS 
  Armor Class:  
  4 [15]  
  Hit Dice:  
   5+1 
  Attacks:   
  frighten (1d10)  
  Special:   
  fear, invisibility, intangibility, magic 
  weapons needed to hit 
  Move:   
  55 
  HDE/XP: 
  8/800 
  The non-corporeal undead are similar to wraiths, but instead 
  of draining life they are interested in causing fear.  Any act 
  performed by a ghost intended to frighten not only 
  necessitates a save against magic to avoid fear, as per the 
  Fear spell, but inflicts physical damage as well.  Anyone killed 
  by a ghost dies of a heart attack.  Unlike some other undead, 
  victims of ghosts do not come back as ghosts. 
       Ghosts cannot roam freely, but are always bound to a 
  location.  It may be a house or graveyard, or as small an area 
  as a single room.  The ghost‘s fear effect can only affect 
  someone within that area of confinement.  Ghosts can move 
  through any objects, walls, or people within their areas of 
  confinement, but cannot use intangibility to escape their 
  confinement.   
       Ghosts cannot control their invisibility; they are always 
  invisible during the day and always visible at night.  They can 
  use frightening sounds during the day, which still cause fear 
  but no damage. 
  LEPRECHAUNS 
  Armor Class:  
  7 [12]  
  Hit Dice:  
  1-1  
  Attacks:   
  small-sized weapon (1d4) 
  Special:   
  bless, charm, illusions, invisibility, 
  summoning, wish 
  Move:   
  85 
  HDE/XP: 
  5/240 
  Uncommon in Ireland and very rare everywhere else, 
  leprechauns are magical little people.  They are also rarely 
  violent, motivated only by their love of music, dancing, and 
  wine.  They are, of course, highly sought after because of 
  what they can do for others.  Leprechauns can impart luck 
  onto others, as per the Bless spell, or curse people with bad 
  luck, reversing the benefits of Bless.  Every leprechaun has a 
  hidden pot of gold.  A captured leprechaun will give up his 
  gold in exchange for his freedom.  If the gold is refused, a 
  leprechaun can grant a wish instead, as per the Limited Wish 
  spell.   
       Despite their physical weakness, leprechauns have 
  magical defenses.  They can become invisible at will, cast 
  Phantasmal Force once per turn, and cast Charm Person 
  once per hour.  Anyone charmed by a leprechaun will likely 
  be asked to ―dance ‗til you drop‖ or ―come follow me to a fairy 
  place where time stands still.‖  Ten leprechauns acting in 
  concert can summon a banshee (see Supplement II) to 
  defend them in a real emergency, up to once per week. 
  NAGAS 
  Armor Class:  
  7 [12]  
  Hit Dice:  
  7  
  Attacks:   
  constrict (3d4+1)  
  Special:   
  hypnotic gaze, wreck things  
  Move:   
  50 
  HDE/XP: 
  8/800 
  Uncommon in India and very rare everywhere else, nagas are 
  the spirits of evil people trapped in the body of constrictor 
  snakes up to 15 ft. long.  They can make their heads appear 
  to be snake heads or human heads and, when in partial 
  human form they can not only speak, but their gaze forces 
  anyone seeing them to save against magic or be hypnotized 
  and unable to act for 1d6 turns. 
       The coils of a naga are supernaturally strong; any object 
  small enough to be constricted can be wrecked as if by a 1st 
  level Superhero.  Nagas can also slither horizontally up and 
  down walls. 
   
   
   
  
  SPECIAL FEATURE: THE REST OF APPENDIX A 
  FROM SUPPLEMENT I  
       In preparing Appendix A: Index of Golden Age Heroes for 
  Supplement II: All-American, it became clear that I had 
  missed a lot of heroes in Supplement I.  I had known that 
  there were more comic books published in 1940 than 1939, 
  but was still blindsided by the sheer numbers.  This time 
  around, in preparing the list for the second half of 1940, I had 
  taken greater care in systematically checking what titles there 
  were from each publisher during that time.  Of course, my 
  research is not from primary sources.  I simply do not have 
  the resources to do more than thoroughly check what 
  resources others have developed online and those sources 
  are outlined in each bibliography (which are at least half 
  webliographies, if that is even an accepted term yet) I 
  publish.  
       That out of the way, the following is the addenda: 
  Fighters (with Explorers marked with an E) 
  Avenger (Shadow Comics #2-4) 
  Barnes, Bill (Shadow Comics #1-4) – E 
  Bentley of Scotland Yard (Pep Comics #1-6) 
  Black Condor (Crack Comics #1-2) 
  Brady, Buck, of the FBI (Prize Comics #1-4) 
  Brodie, ―Shark‖ (Fight Comics #1-6) 
  Bulls-Eye Bill (Target Comics #1-5) 
  Byrd, ―Lucky‖ (Target Comics #1-5) 
  Cameron, Ted (Cyclone Comics #1) 
  Captain Bruce Blackburn, Counterspy (Feature Comics #32-
  33) 
  Captain Curry (Amazing Adventure Funnies #1) 
  Captain Death (Doc Savage Comics #1) 
  Captain Fearless (Silver Streak Comics #1-2) 
  Captain Fury (Doc Savage Comics #1, Shadow Comics #2) 
  Captain K-4 (Daring Mystery Comics #2, 4) 
  Captain Terry Thunder of the Congo Lancers (Jungle Comics 
  #2-6) 
  Captain Valor (Zip Comics #1-5) 
  Carter, Nick (Shadow Comics #1-4) 
  Champ (Champion Comics #2-8) 
  Cody, ―Scoop‖ (Blue Ribbon Comics #2-3) 
  Cole, Dick (Blue Bolt Comics #1) 
  Collins, Chip, Sky Fighter (Fight Comics #1-6) 
  Cornwall, Cliff (Flash Comics #1-6) 
  Corporal Collins (Blue Ribbon Comics #2-4) 
  Corporal Merrill (Keen Detective Funnies v2 #3, ?) 
  Crane, Bill, Frontier Marshall (Master Comics #1-3) 
  Crane, Ted (Exciting Comics #2-3) 
  Curtis, ―Storm‖ (Prize Comics #1-4) 
  Dare, Dan (Whiz Comics #2-5) 
  Dawson, ―Stoney‖ (Amazing Adventure Funnies #1; Keen 
  Detective Funnies v. 2, #2) 
  Detective Sgt. Burke (Startling Comics #1) 
  Doc Savage (Doc Savage Comics #1, Shadow Comics #1-3) 
  Doc Strong (Blue Ribbon Comics #4) 
  Dr. Gade (Mystic Comics #2-3) 
  Dolan, Jim (Slam-Bang Comics #1-4) 
  Eagle (Science Comics #1-5) 
  Egan, ―Shark‖ (Popular Comics #41?-45, 47-52) 
  Fantom of the Fair/Fantoman (Amazing Adventure Funnies 
  #1, Amazing Mystery Funnies #1) 
  G-Man Bob Dalton (Startling Comics #1) 
  Garrett, Danny (Doc Savage Comics #1) 
  Golden Arrow (Whiz Comics #2-5) 
  Granger, Lee, Jungle King (Slam-Bang Comics #1-4)-E 
  Handy, Bill (Champion Comics #2-6)-E 
  Hansen, ―Hurricane‖ (Slam-Bang Comics #1-4) 
  Hastings, Dan (Blue Ribbon Comics #1-2) 
  Hatfield, Jim, Texas Ranger (Exciting Comics #1, 3) 
  Jaxon, Mike, of the Jungle (Prize Comics #1-4) 
  Johnson, ―Gypsy‖ (Blue Ribbon Comics #4) 
  Johnson, Ben ―Wings‖ (Top-Notch Comics #1-6) 
  Jones, ―Navy‖ (Science Comics #1-5) 
  Jones, ―Nevada‖ (Zip Comics #1-5) 
  Jones, Robert ―Robinhood‖ (Champion Comics #7-8) 
  Jungleman (Champion Comics #2-8) - E 
  Kaanga (Jungle Comics #1-6) – E 
  Keanne, Rance (Feature Comics #22-30, 32-33) 
  Kelly, ―Duke‖ (Silver Streak Comics #1-2) 
  Kerry, Tom, District Attorney (Big Shot Comics #1-2) 
  Kincaid, ―Reef‖ (Amazing Man Comics #12-13) 
  Kornell, Keith, the West Pointer (Top-Notch Comics #1-6) 
  Lance, Ray (Jungle Comics #2-6) - E 
  Langdon, ―Scoop‖ (Startling Comics #1) 
  Laughing Mask/Purple Mask (Daring Mystery Comics #2-4) 
  Lawton, ―Lucky‖ (Slam-Bang Comics #1-4) 
  Lobo, Flying Sleuth (Champion Comics #6-8) 
  Logan, ―Loop‖ (Blue Ribbon Comics #4) 
  Madam Fatale (Crack Comics #1-2) 
  Mallory, Mark (Doc Savage Comics #1) 
  Marga the Panther Woman (Science Comics #1-5) - E 
  Masked Rider (Startling Comics #1) 
  Masters, Dean, D.A. (Keen Detective Funnies #19-20) 
  McLane, ―Big Red‖ (Fight Comics #1-6) 
  Mister Midnite (Silver Streak Comics #1-2) 
  Mister Q (Cyclone Comics #1) 
  Mister Satan (Zip Comics #1-5) 
  Nelson, Nick, of the Navy (Cyclone Comics #1) 
  O‘Brien, Terry, Gang Smasher (Fight Comics #1-2) 
  O‘Casey, Lance (Whiz Comics #2-5) 
  O‘Day, Pat (Keen Detective Funnies v2 #3?) 
  O‘Neil, Ted (Prize Comics #1-4) 
  O‘Shay, Rick (Master Comics #1-3) 
  Oran of the Jungle (Fight Comics #1- 6) - E 
  Powers, ―Ace‖ (Silver Streak Comics #3-5) 
  Preston, Lee, of the Red Cross (Crack Comics #1-2) 
  Red Gaucho (Nickel Comics #4) 
  Red Panther (Jungle Comics #1-6) - E 
  Red Torpedo (Crack Comics #1-2) 
  Regan, Rip, the Power-Man (Fight Comics #3-6) 
  Reynolds of the Mounted (Feature Comics #21-26, 28-33) 
  Roberts, ―Shipwreck‖ (Master Comics #1-3) 
  Ronson, ―Runaway‖ (Blue Bolt Comics #1) 
  Ryan, ―Rocky‖ (Big Shot Comics #1-2) 
  Samar (Feature Comics #32-33) - E 
  Saunders, ―Sub‖ (Fantastic Comics #1-7) 
  Scott, Perry (Feature Comics #32-33) 
  Secret Agent M-11 (Prize Comics #1-4) 
  Sgt. Bill King (Exciting Comics #1-3) 
  Sgt. ―Buzz‖ Sawyer (Cyclone Comics #1) 
  Sgt. Spook (Blue Bolt Comics #1) 
  Sharp, Tom, the War Bird (Slam-Bang Comics #1-4) 
  Shaw, ―Spin‖ (Feature Comics #29-33) 
  Sheriff Pete Rice (Doc Savage Comics #1) 
  Silver Fox (Blue Ribbon Comics #2-3) 
  Silvers, ―Speed‖ (Amazing Adventure Funnies #1; Star 
  Comics #15, 16, v2 #2) 
  Sky Wolf (Silver Streak Comics #4-5) 
  Sloan, ―Streak‖ (Master Comics #2-3) 
  Smith, ―Scoop‖ (Whiz Comics #2-5) 
  Spider (Crack Comics #1-2) 
  
  Spy-Master (Big Shot Comics #1-2) 
  Spy Smasher (Whiz Comics #2-5) 
  Stacey, Buck (Blue Ribbon Comics #1-2) 
  Storm, Dick (Top-Notch Comics #2-6) 
  Strand, Jack (Blue Ribbon Comics #2-3) 
  T-Man Turner (Target Comics #1-5) 
  Todd, ―TNT‖, Ace G-Man (Keen Detective Funnies v2 #3?) 
  Trojak the Tiger-Man (Daring Mystery Comics #2-5) - E 
  Ty-Gor (Blue Ribbon Comics #4) – E 
  Voice, The (Feature Comics #32-33) 
  Wambi the Jungle Boy (Jungle Comics #1-6) - E 
  Wayne, Bill (Silver Streak Comics #3-5) 
  White Rajah (Master Comics #1-3) 
  White Rider (Blue Bolt Comics #1) 
  Williams, Dan (Exciting Comics #1-3) 
  Wilson, ―Yank‖, Super Spy Q-4 (Fantastic Comics #1-7) 
  Wright, Penny (Champion Comics #3-5) 
  Zara of the Jungle (Mystic Comics #2-3) - E 
  Zero, Ghost Detective (Feature Comics #32-33) 
   
  Magic-Users 
  Boodini the Great (Blue Ribbon Comics #1) 
  Dakor the Magician (Mystic Comics #1-3) 
  El Carim (Master Comics #1-3) 
  Fantomah (Jungle Comics #2-6) 
  Kalthar (Zip Comics #1-5) 
  Kardak the Mystic (Top-Notch Comics #1, 4-6) 
  Marvelo, Monarch of Magicians (Big Shot Comics #1-2) 
  Master Mind Excello (Mystic Comics #2-3) 
  Monako, Prince of Magic (Daring Mystery Comics #1, 4, 5) 
  Mystico (Startling Comics #1) 
  Norgil the Magician (Doc Savage Comics #1, Shadow 
  Comics #3) 
  Reeves, ―Red‖, Boy Magician (Silver Streak Comics #1-2) 
  Sheridan, Jack ―Shanghai‖ (Top-Notch Comics #5-6) 
  Tabu, Wizard of the Jungle (Jungle Comics #1-6) 
  Warlock the Wizard (Nickel Comics #1-4) 
  Wizard Wells (Crack Comics #1-2) 
  Zambini the Miracle Man (Zip Comics #1-5) 
  Zardi the Eternal Man (Amazing Man Comics #11-12) 
   
  Mysterymen 
  Devil‘s Dagger (Master Comics #1-3) 
  Falcon (Daring Mystery Comics #5) 
  Fox (Blue Ribbon Comics #4) 
  Fox, Johnny (Champion Comics #6-8) 
  King (Flash Comics #1-6) 
  Mr. Elixir, the Voice (Feature Comics #32-33) 
  Mr. Midnite (Silver Streak Comics #1-2) 
  Scarlet Ace (Amazing Man Comics #13) 
  Shadow (Shadow Comics #1-4) 
  Voice, The, Invisible Detective (Popular Comics #51-52) 
  Wasp (Silver Streak Comics #1-2) 
  Whisperer (Doc Savage Comics #1) 
   
  Superheroes (with Speedsters marked with an S) 
  Diamond Jack (Slam-Bang Comics #1-4) 
  Electro/Dynamo (Science Comics #1-5) 
  Hercules (Blue Ribbon Comics #4) 
  Iron Munro (Shadow Comics #1-4) 
  Kalthar the Giant Man (Zip Comics #1-5) 
  Lightning (Jumbo Comics #15-16) 
  Marvex the Super Robot (Daring Mystery Comics #3-5) 
  Master Man (Master Comics #1-3) 
  Silver Streak (Silver Streak Comics #3-5) - S 
  Spirit Man (Silver Streak Comics #1) 
  Thesson, Son of the Gods (Exciting Comics #2-3) 
  Thor (Weird Comics #1-3) 
  Tornado Tom (Cyclone Comics #1) – S 
  Typhon (Weird Comics #1-3) 
  Volton, the Human Generator (Cyclone Comics #1) 
   
  Q&A WITH THE EDITOR 
  These are some things that have come up in game play 
  recently. 
  Q:  Can animals be recruited as supporting cast? 
  A:  Yes, if the animal is trainable, it should count.  Dogs, 
  birds, and horses would likely qualify, with your Editor‘s 
  approval, of course. 
  Q: Should Heroes always have to save vs. plot before they 
  can shoot someone with guns?  Wouldn‘t shooting some 
  people, like Nazis, weigh less on one‘s conscience? 
  A:  The Editor is always free to assign modifiers to rolls 
  based on the circumstances.  In this instance, I told the 
  players that they could have a +1 bonus to their saves if they 
  were shooting Nazis. 
  Q:  Do Android Heroes need to eat?  Drink?  Breathe?   
  A:  Yes, they do all those things.  Your Android may look 
  mechanical on the outside if you choose for him to be, but it 
  is synthetic, human-like organs controlling all of its most 
  important bodily functions on the inside.  Really, it‘s the 
  easiest solution to keep players from stopping the game and 
  asking, ―Why doesn‘t this work differently for my android?‖    
   
  REVIEWED:  SUPERMEN: THE FIRST WAVE OF 
  COMIC BOOK HEROES; 1936-1941 
       Though this is indeed a handsome repackaging of 20 
  public domain comic book stories from the Golden Age of 
  Comics, the elephant in the room is online scans.  With all 
  these reprints already available online, what is the purpose of 
  the collection?  It is hard to argue it is a ―best of‖ collection 
  with the inclusion of Fletcher Hanks‘ Stardust AND 
  Fantomah.  Hanks was the Ed Wood of comic books, his 
  work generously said to be so bad it‘s good.  Still, this could 
  be a ―my personal favorites‖ volume, since the editor, Greg 
  Sadowski‘s comments in the back are much more favorable 
  
  towards Fletcher Hanks than mine.  It is also worth pointing 
  out that this is not another collection of an old man‘s 
  reminiscences of growing up with Golden Age Comics. 
  Sadowski is barely older than I am and, like me, discovered 
  comic books in the ‗70s.   
       What this book is, is a cross section of the early Golden 
  Age, showcasing a little of every genre and showing them in 
  their formative years.  The selections seem to be about 
  showing as much variety as possible and even, within each 
  genre, the range each covered.  The magic-user genre is 
  shown to range from the raw crudeness of Joe Shuster‘s Dr. 
  Mystic to the slick, polished work of Will Eisner.  The science 
  fiction genre ranges from the sketchy, early work of Bill 
  Everett to the beautiful grotesqueries of Basil Wolverton to 
  Jack Kirby‘s swarthy figures in front of gorgeous vistas.  The 
  purpose of such a volume is not so much for the benefit of 
  those already looking for Golden Age stories – who are for the 
  most part better served online – but for those new to comic 
  books and browsing the shelves at some book store or 
  library.  This book is an option, if not a remedy, for those who 
  might otherwise be sucked into more modern interpretations 
  of the comic book genres without ever knowing their roots.   
       First up is the first two-page installment of Dr. Mystic who, 
  in DC Comics‘ hands, would soon become Dr. Occult.  I love 
  it for the same reason I love the early Superman comics – for 
  their rawness and vitality.  Perhaps under-confident in his 
  backgrounds, Shuster‘s cityscapes are full of line work 
  representing a fog-shrouded night that, panels later, swirl and 
  become a different type of fog in the supernatural otherworld.  
  This otherworld is a scary place where ethereal monsters 
  always lurk just a panel away.  And though Shuster‘s Dr. 
  Mystic may appear at times interchangeable with Superman, 
  Siegel‘s Dr. Mystic is clearly a different character from 
  Superman, showing his is the greater range and versatility. 
       George Brenner‘s The Clock has already had plenty of 
  exposure in the pages of H&H.  It can certainly be difficult to 
  take seriously a mysteryman in a tuxedo, disguised only by a 
  blank hanky over his face, who can so easily be framed for 
  murder by crooks who had a local printer duplicate The 
  Clock‘s calling cards.  Yet this installment of The Clock gives 
  us bold, stark images of the criminal underworld, with its drug 
  addicts and bordellos, that are lost in more ―cleaned up for 
  kids‖ versions we will soon see from other publishers.  
       Fred Guardineer did many gorgeous covers for DC 
  Comics, but this bland, blocky, Buck Rogers pastiche, Dan 
  Hastings, shows why Guardineer seldom did strip work that 
  earned cover spots.   
       Slightly more interesting, though still slight, is Dirk the 
  Demon.  The character of Princess Nemo is a dead giveaway 
  as to what this strip is supposed to be – a sci fi version of 
  Little Nemo in Slumberland.  Aiming too high, Bill Everett (a 
  year before his success with Sub-Mariner) falls flat, though 
  the framing device wherein Dirk‘s adventures are related 
  through Bill Everett‘s future diary, is an interesting twist.   
       Lou Fine was an early master of superhero art and some 
  of his Flame stories were gems.  The one in this volume isn‘t 
  one of them.  Yes, there are some flashes of brilliance in the 
  layouts and the faces in close-ups, but Lou Fine racing a 
  deadline was as mundane as any other artist in the field.  The 
  concept of pseudo-undead ―living spectres‖ is interesting and 
  the earliest instance I‘ve seen of the concept, (and perhaps 
  will turn up in Supplement III?).  I do have trouble, though, 
  buying that their skin is so dried out as to make them 
  bulletproof (could The Flame have beaten them with skin 
  lotion?). 
       This is the second of Will Eisner‘s Yarko the Great story 
  I‘ve ever read and I‘ve really liked them both.  I love that 
  Death is a recurring character, that he‘s a creepy-looking guy 
  in a top hat and dark glasses, and that Yarko and Death are 
  always at odds with each other, but it‘s a game of wits 
  because Yarko is never so powerful that he can fight Death.  
  This particular story is like a lite version of the Cliff Notes of 
  Dante‘s Inferno, with some interesting cosmological twists 
  (like going up a staircase to reach the Land of the Dead, 
  inverting our classically-oriented expectations).  For the first 
  time in this volume, this eight-page story left me wishing it 
  was longer.  Indeed, it could have used at least another page 
  to explain the tenuous connection between the Scottish 
  diplomat and the Indian witch that set up the plot. 
       Dick Briefer‘s Rex Dexter of Mars is another early piece by 
  an artist in his formative years; at times bland and stiff, but 
  with flashes of real talent.  It is perhaps not surprising that the 
  villain is the most interestingly drawn character, considering 
  this artist went on to do Frankenstein for almost ten years.  
  The science is as goofy as comic book science gets, with 
  Rex able to override control of a Martian robot by virtue of 
  being able to speak to it in Martian.  
       Just over 21 years before revolutionizing comic books with 
  the Silver Age of Marvel Comics, it‘s amazing how much of 
  Jack Kirby‘s artistic strengths are already here, and what is 
  missing.  Both Kirby‘s objects and figures have always had a 
  lustrous sheen to them, as if he was not drawing the thing 
  itself, but an idealized version of it.  This look is used here 
  somewhat less effectively for the sci fi serial of Cosmic 
  Carson, but is perfect for the superhero genre.  Kirby would 
  later say that he drew fight scenes as if he were 
  choreographing a dance.  There is little of that skill at 
  depicting combat on display here, but there is an inkling of it, 
  with the grand vistas and big panels (three per page, well shy 
  of Kirby‘s penchant for splash pages or his invention of two-
  page splashes, but still amazingly open page layout 
  compared to other artists in this volume) found here.   
       The comic book equivalent of Plan 9 from Outer Space, 
  Fletcher Hanks‘ Stardust starts with the startling revelation 
  that Stardust‘s machines can not only observe events on 
  other planets, they can read people‘s thoughts on other 
  planets.  A mad scientist named Kaos wants to conquer 
  Earth by feeding vitamins to space vultures that look oddly 
  like giant pigeons.  Stardust saves the day, saves the girl, 
  and kills the mad scientist.  Said girl is such a hussy that she 
  can‘t even grieve over her dead parents because she really, 
  really wants Stardust to take her home with him.  Yeah, we 
  know what you‘re hinting at, Hanks.  There actually are some 
  decent Stardust stories in Hanks‘ brief oeuvre – this story isn‘t 
  one of them. 
   
       Jack Cole‘s Plastic Man was eventually a masterpiece, 
  but it did not start off that good and Cole‘s earlier work was 
  pretty spotty too, such as this goofy-looking installment of 
  
  The Comet.  In it, we learn why superheroes should never let 
  villains follow them home – because villains will capture them, 
  brainwash them, and make them commit crimes to ruin their 
  reputations.  Although I don‘t see the ―sophistication‖ here 
  that Sadowski talks about in his end notes, I do agree that 
  the sub-plot about the two villains betraying each other is an 
  interesting bit of cosmic justice worthy of Arthur Conan 
  Doyle. 
       I fully understand why Fero, Planet Detective is included 
  here.  It‘s not for the poor art, crammed into ten-panel pages 
  so no panel has to show too much and it‘s not because 
  detectives-investigating-the-supernatural was ever an 
  important genre in comics, but because the concept of a lone 
  detective knowing that all of the werewolves and vampires in 
  the world are actually aliens from outer space pretending to 
  be supernatural is too good an idea to let be lost. 
       But then there‘s things that probably deserve to be 
  forgotten, or at least only kept around to snicker at – which 
  brings us back to Fletcher Hanks and one of his other 
  creations, Fantomah.  Fantomah is like Sheena, Queen of 
  the Jungle…in a skirt…with weird supernatural powers…and 
  sometimes her face is only a skull.  There‘s gorillas and a 
  serum that makes the gorillas both hyper-intelligent and 
  hyper-savage and Fantomah makes sure the super-gorillas 
  turn on their maker and dismember him.  Yeah.   
       Fred Guardineer returns with Zatara – oops, no, this is 
  Marvelo.  We know he‘s not Zatara (or Mandrake or, etc.) 
  because he‘s wearing a white suit instead of black and a red 
  turban instead of top hat.  Marvelo, Monarch of Magicians, 
  does have one other gimmick that is interesting – being new 
  to America, Marvelo has to overcome culture shock just as 
  often as he has to overcome bad guys, like when he learns 
  about hoodlums in this story (because, naturally, whatever 
  country he‘s from must not have organized crime).  There‘s 
  also some really fun moments, like when Marvelo makes a 
  statue of George Washington not only come to life and 
  subdue the hoodlums, but the Washington statue starts 
  scolding and lecturing the hoodlums too. 
       Michael Blake‘s The Face pushed no envelopes in the 
  mysteryman genre and Blake himself was no visionary artist, 
  but he does a solid job of telling the story he sets up.  If the 
  idea of a man sneaking up on you in a Halloween fright mask 
  doesn‘t sound too frightening, try imagining walking into your 
  bedroom at night and seeing a stranger wearing such a mask 
  peeking out from behind your window curtains – and it‘s not 
  Halloween. 
       Before Airboy and Blackhawk, Skyman was probably the 
  most important aviator hero and remained a significant one 
  for years.  This initial outing is more of an experiment for the 
  genre.  Skyman starts with an investigation that builds into 
  stopping an entire enemy air force and then saving an entire 
  air force.  Each page ratchets up the demands, both on 
  Skyman, and on our suspension of disbelief.  How much can 
  we seriously believe one lone guy with a plane capable of?  
  This genre-defining question would continue to be explored 
  for the rest of Skyman‘s run.  
       On paper, Silver Streak is a character who should have a 
  lot going for him -- the distinctive arrow motif on his shirt, the 
  fact that he‘s fighting giant bugs in this early story instead of 
  ordinary hoodlums, the fun supporting cast character (a fat 
  lady who talks faster than Silver Streak can and can‘t get his 
  name right), and the early attempt to explain the science 
  supporting his powers (suction shoes for climbing walls at 
  super speed?), this last bit long before Gardner Fox was 
  treating The Flash as anything more than fantasy.  But this is 
  still 1940 and Jack Cole just isn‘t ready for drawing 
  superheroes yet.   
       There‘s something else wrong here, but it‘s a mistake a lot 
  of comic book creators made when they jumped on the 
  superhero bandwagon without really understanding the look 
  Joe Shuster had created with Superman.  Superman is not 
  wearing, as so many artists drew it post-Shuster, tights.  
  Superman is not a ballerina.  His costume is a circus strong 
  man‘s costume.  It‘s a 1930s-era symbol of masculinity, not 
  femininity.  Yet here, Cole doesn‘t get it either.  Silver Streak 
  is wearing green tights and brown ballet shoes.  The 
  misinterpretation replaces the real meaning and soon many 
  heroes would just look gay for generations to come.  
       Now it‘s 1941 and Jack Cole is in possession of some of 
  the mastery he would possess on Plastic Man by 1943. 
  Daredevil vs. Claw is still cartoony, but this is cartoony in a 
  good way now, plenty fun, and with some inspired layout 
  work.   
       This is my second Basil Wolverton‘s Spacehawk story I‘ve 
  ever read and I hope to someday get a hold of the reprint 
  books Dark Horse put out years ago because these stories – 
  really cowboy stories, but with a thick veneer of science 
  fiction over them – are a pure joy.  Wolverton‘s unique style is 
  a ravishing mix of realism and abstract weirdness.  No matter 
  how crazy his aliens look, they never break your suspension 
  of disbelief if you can already buy into the underlying 
  weirdness everywhere else, like in the giant fungal forests of 
  Saturn.   
       Bill Everett was already Timely Comics‘ best writer/artist in 
  1940, but he did some moonlighting for Novelty and one 
  feature he did an issue on was Sub-Zero.  It‘s an interesting – 
  and dark – story wherein Sub-Zero nearly gets fried in the 
  electric chair by a masked villain whose face we never see.  
  Sub-Zero‘s ice powers were novel in the Golden Age, long 
  before Ice Man of the X-Men.  Still, my 10-year old son could 
  tell at a glance that Sub-Zero was being drawn to look like 
  Superman.  This is not where Everett was putting all his 
  creativity into – that was his one true love, the Sub-Mariner.  
       Speaking of creativity, though, the last sample is Blue Bolt 
  by the undefeatable team of Simon and Kirby.  Blue Bolt is an 
  excellent place to leave off because it‘s an example of both 
  the best and the worst of comics.  The worst is its 
  obviousness -- the scantily clad Green Sorceress in chains 
  isn‘t there for character development. The best is the Green 
  Sorceress‘ underground city –- the perfect locale for an 
  urban-fantasy-superhero campaign.  Also going for it is 
  Kirby‘s inventiveness, particularly in terms of believable-
  looking futuristic technology, like the rocket-cycles.  If only 
  Blue Bolt himself wasn‘t so boring! 
   
  THE VINDICATORS:  CHAPTER ONE 
  Fiction by Steve Lopez 
       Doug Davis stubbed out his cigarette and took another sip 
  of his drink. He‘d been cooped up in his office for three days 
  waiting for the phone to ring and he was starting to get a little 
  stir crazy — that‘s no April Fool‘s — so he decided to close up 
  his detective agency for the afternoon and knock a couple 
  back down here at Clancy‘s. This morning‘s early edition 
  carried a banner headline about another tenement building 
  
  catching fire under mysterious circumstances, and from the 
  sound of the sirens this afternoon it‘s likely that the evening 
  edition will have a similar headline. Other than the string of 
  possible arsons over the last week, things had been really 
  quiet in town. Davis hadn‘t seen hide nor hair of a paying 
  client in nearly three weeks. Hell, even Clancy‘s was crazy 
  quiet for a Wednesday afternoon — it was just Davis, the 
  bartender, and that drunk guy who was practically falling off 
  his barstool. 
       ―Whaddyou lookin‘ at??‖ the drunk sneered. 
       ‗Who, me?‖ Davis replied. 
       ―You see any g--damn else in here?‖ 
       ―Look, friend, I don‘t–‖ 
      ―I ain‘tcher damn friend!‖ the drunk yelled as he lunged at 
  Davis. The private investigator sidestepped the rummy and 
  gave him a punch in the breadbasket as he went by. The 
  drunk turned and landed a lucky hard right on Davis jaw. 
  Even as his head snapped back, Davis could notice the 
  strong odor of gasoline coming from his assailant. Davis 
  popped the guy with a quick left and the drunk hit the floor. A 
  roll of quarters fell from the drunk‘s hand; no wonder he 
  punched so hard, Davis thought. He‘d been fighting with a 
  loaded fist. 
       The bartender was at the far end of the bar and couldn‘t 
  see what was going on. Davis quickly searched the drunk‘s 
  pockets and found another $110 in addition to the roll of 
  quarters. Business had been slow lately and, after all, the 
  drunk had jumped him, so Davis didn‘t feel badly about 
  pocketing a cool hundred; he left a $10 bill and the quarter 
  roll for the police to find. Davis also found a matchbook in the 
  drunk‘s pocket; it had an address scrawled inside the flap. 
  Davis recognized the street name as part of a warehouse 
  district on the outskirts of town. He pocketed the matchbook 
  alongside the cash he‘d lifted. He returned to his barstool 
  (and his drink), patiently awaiting the arrival of John Law. 
       Davis recognized the cop as soon as he walked through 
  the door, a young kid named Callahan; he‘d been acquainted 
  with the patrolman for some time, but they weren‘t what you‘d 
  call close. 
       ―Hoo-weeee!‖ Callahan said when he bent over the 
  drunk‘s inert form. ―You‘d think he‘d been drinking some hi-
  test!‖ 
       ―Yeah, about that…‖ Davis said. ―You think he might 
  maybe have something to do with those tenement fires?‖ 
       Callahan scratched his head. ―Never thought of 
  that…maybe.‖ 
       ―You think you might give me a call if you find something 
  out?‖ 
       Callahan shook his head. ―Mind your own business, 
  shamus; this is a job for us uniforms, not for a private dick.‖ 
       ―Hey, no problem,‖ Davis laughed. ―Let‘s just say it‘s 
  professional curiosity.‖ 
       ―Yeah, and you know what curiosity did to the cat. C‘mon 
  you,‖ the patrolman grunted as he lifted the drunk‘s inert 
  form. ―Let‘s drag your butt out to the wagon.‖ 
       I have a pretty good idea he‘s our firebug, Davis thought. 
  And it‘s entirely possible that this address might lead me a 
  little farther along. I think it‘s time to call my friends in on this 
  one. It looks like The Vindicators are back in business… 
       Davis smiled, tossed down the rest of his drink, and 
  headed back to the office. 
  St. Nicholas, Maryland. April 2, 1936… 
       From the shadows across North Howard Street, Doug 
  Davis peered at the warehouse and waited for total darkness. 
  He was determined to check out the building‘s contents, but 
  he wasn‘t going in alone; he‘d brought reinforcements. 
       He could dimly see a huge silhouette close by him in the 
  gathering dusk. That would be the man who called himself 
  Prometheus; Davis didn‘t care if the guy called himself 
  ―Rumplestiltskin‖ so long as he got the job done. Davis didn‘t 
  know the man‘s true identity, since he always wore a domino 
  mask, but the investigator didn‘t ally himself with Prometheus 
  because of who he was but, rather, what he could do. 
  Prometheus was freakishly strong; Davis suspected that he‘d 
  once worked for a circus. 
       Davis couldn‘t see his other companion, but that was 
  completely normal; he knew the man was nearby, vigilant in 
  the shadows of the loading dock. His real name was 
  Jedediah Singletary but only Davis knew that fact;  the 
  criminal element of St. Nicholas knew him as the Twilight 
  Phantom. Possessing the ability to almost totally conceal 
  himself in shadows and dim light, the Twilight Phantom had 
  been the scourge of the city‘s underworld at the end of the 
  Prohibition era. Since the repeal of the Volstead Act, though, 
  the Phantom had lived fairly quietly, only donning his 
  trademark black trenchcoat and bandanna when Davis called 
  on him for help with ―special‖ jobs like this one. 
       ―What do you expect to find here, Doug?‖ Prometheus 
  whispered. 
       ―Those tenement fires? They‘re no accidents,‖ Davis 
  replied. ―The one yesterday afternoon killed seven people – 
  two of ‗em were little kids. I‘m pretty sure the guy who picked 
  the fight with me in the bar is an arsonist – and I found that 
  warehouse‘s address in his pocket.‖ 
       ―Maybe he‘s just a firebug.‖ 
       Davis shook his head, even though he knew Prometheus 
  couldn‘t see it. ―Nah, it‘s more than that. There‘ve been too 
  many fires in too short a time. It‘s something bigger, more 
  sinister. C‘mon, let‘s get started.‖ 
       Stealthily the duo left the loading dock, crossed the 
  railroad tracks, and slipped across the street to the 
  warehouse they‘d been observing. The huge block building 
  was dark and appeared deserted. Davis looked over his 
  shoulder in time to glimpse a silhouette cross behind them; it 
  looked like nothing more than a bit of black cloth being 
  windblown across the road. Davis and Prometheus hit in the 
  shadows at the building‘s corner and waited. After a few 
  moments a third figure appeared beside them as though from 
  thin air. 
  ―The door‘s locked, as we expected,‖ the Twilight Phantom 
  intoned in a voice as deep as blackest midnight. 
  ―Start checking windows,‖ Davis said. 
  The trio split up. Davis pushed on the ground floor windows, 
  hoping to find one that was unlocked or loose. The place was 
  locked up tight as a drum. Davis hated to have to waste the 
  
  time picking one of the cheap padlocks, but it was starting to 
  look like they‘d have to break in – no one was going to make 
  this easy for them. 
  ―Hsst!‖ came a whisper from behind Davis. ―I found one!‖ 
  Davis turned and followed Prometheus around the corner to 
  the rear of the building. They stopped about halfway along 
  the building‘s length and the large man pointed upward to a 
  second story window. ―Up there.‖ 
  ―How the hell‘d you get up to that window?? That must be 
  fifteen feet up!‖ 
  ―Easy – I jumped.‖ 
  Davis shook his head. ―Brother, you are one strange 
  character, but I‘m sure glad we‘re on the same side. Let‘s go 
  find the Phantom and –‖ 
  ―I‘m here,‖ came a voice from the shadows behind them. 
  ―OK, great. Now all we need to do is get up there.‖ 
  Prometheus laughed. ―I‘ll carry you. Step right up – next stop, 
  second floor.‖ Grabbing each of his companions around the 
  waist like sacks of flour, Prometheus tensed his legs and 
  leaped. Light as a feather he landed on the sill of the large 
  industrial window, shouldered open the unfastened hinged 
  pane, and stepped inside. In the dim light the trio could just 
  make out crates and pallets stacked around them. 
  Prometheus set his companions down and announced, 
  ―We‘re in! Now where do we start?‖ 
  ―This is just storage,‖ Davis replied. ―The offices will be on 
  the first floor.‖ 
  The Vindicators didn‘t find a whole suite of offices as Davis 
  had suspected; instead there were just two – a small glassed-
  in affair containing dozens of waybills posted on pegs, and a 
  larger, more private office which contained nicer furnishings. 
  ―If we find any evidence, it‘ll be in the larger office,‖ said 
  Davis. ―That other one‘s probably just for the shipping and 
  receiving manager.‖ 
  The larger office was furnished with a couch, some plush 
  chairs, a large desk, and a few cabinets. Although the 
  furniture was a bit swankier than what Davis would expect to 
  find in a warehouse, he noted that the carpet was a bit 
  threadbare and somewhat soiled; it had definitely seen better 
  days. Davis closed the door behind them, then switched on 
  the desk lamp. ―Let‘s go to work.‖ 
  A quarter-hour later, after a thorough search of the desk and 
  cabinets, the trio had to admit they‘d come up dry. ―Crap,‖ 
  muttered Davis. ―Nothing. Let‘s put everything back and get –‖ 
  ―Doug,‖ the Twilight Phantom interrupted. ―I feel a cold draft 
  in front of this cabinet.‖ 
       ―It‘s a warehouse; of course it‘s drafty.‖ 
       The Phantom placed his gloved hands on the side of the 
  large, floor-to-ceiling cabinet and pushed. The wooden 
  cabinet swung outward, revealing a doorway. 
      ―You were saying, Doug?‖ said the Phantom. His mouth 
  and nose were hidden by his black bandanna, but Davis 
  could tell the Phantom was grinning by the glint in his eye. 
       ―What in the Sam Hill is that?‖ Prometheus wondered. 
       Davis looked through the doorway and saw a long, 
  brightly lit stairwell leading downward. ―If I had to bet, I‘d say 
  that this is a holdover from Prohibition.‖ 
       ―You mean a mob hideout.‖ 
       ―You got it. See, St. Nicholas was a center of mob activity, 
  especially for bootleggers. This town has easy access to both 
  Calvert and the Chesapeake Bay, and it‘s close enough to 
  both the Pennsie and Delaware borders to suit the crooks — if 
  they were in a vehicle chase with John Law, they could tear 
  ass across the border where a state or county boy wouldn‘t 
  have jurisdiction. Johnny‘d have to stop at the line and the 
  crooks would get away scot-free.‖ 
       ―And don‘t forget who the historic St. Nicholas was,‖ 
  added the Phantom. ―He was patron saint of bankers, 
  pawnbrokers…and thieves.‖ 
       Davis chuckled ruefully. ―Prohibition may be gone, but 
  some things evidently never change. Let‘s check it out.‖ 
  Davis stepped through the doorway and began descending 
  the stairs. Prometheus and the Twilight Phantom exchanged 
  glances. The big man grinned and the pair followed the 
  private investigator down the stairs. 
       After a straight descent of about twenty feet, the trio found 
  themselves in a large well-lit square chamber. The air in the 
  chamber was fresh and cool, not especially humid. The walls 
  were of block construction, probably built sometime after the 
  war. A wooden door was in the center of the wall straight 
  ahead, while the two side walls contained openings to side 
  passages. The chamber‘s floor was fairly clean, but the 
  Vindicators could see some debris and refuse in the side 
  passages. 
       Davis walked to the wooden door and listened. He could 
  hear no sounds from within. Davis saw no hinges and 
  reasoned that the door should thus open inward. He tried the 
  knob and found the door opened easily. He motioned for his 
  companions to join him; together they entered the dimly-lit 
  room. 
       It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the gloom. 
  Davis smiled to himself, knowing that the Twilight Phantom 
  was in his element. The room was surprisingly similar to the 
  office in the warehouse above, albeit more cheaply furnished. 
  There were a few chairs, a large desk, and some cabinets. 
  But dominating the wall opposite the door was a large fresco 
  of a feathered snake. 
       ―Quetzalcoatl,‖ said the Twilight Phantom‘s voice from 
  somewhere in the shadows. ―An Aztec deity.‖ 
       ―Weird,‖ replied Prometheus. ―What kind of mobster would 
  have that on his wall?‖ 
       ―One with bad taste,‖ Davis shot back. ―Get to looking.‖ 
       A few minutes‘ search revealed nothing, although Davis 
  did discover $400 in bills in one of the desk drawers. 
  ―Crooked cash. Ours now. We‘ll split it later. Let‘s find out 
  what else is down here.‖ 
       Leaving the room, the companions took one of the side 
  passages from the main chamber. Various wood and metal 
  debris littered the floor, along with small piles of a foul-
  smelling substance. The farther they proceeded through the 
  tunnel, the dimmer the light became while the piles became 
  more numerous. Davis double-checked to make sure his 
  sword cane was still strapped to his back. He paused to pull 
  a flashlight from his backpack and slipped a set of brass 
  knuckles onto his right hand. He couldn‘t see the Phantom 
  
  but he hoped Jed was carrying his trademark twin 
  truncheons. 
       They came to a four-way intersection and turned to the 
  right. After another ten paces or so the passage opened into 
  a pitch-black chamber. Davis thumbed the switch to turn on 
  the flashlight. Instantly there was an ear-splitting screech 
  from overhead and something like a heavy black blanket 
  dropped down on them. 
       It was a quick little melee; when it was done, the trio stood 
  panting and looking at a large black hairy shape on the floor. 
  It was a huge bat. 
       ―Holy mackerel!‖ Prometheus exclaimed. ―That thing must 
  have a five foot wingspan!‖ It was no exaggeration; the beast 
  was indeed unnaturally huge. 
       ―That passage was an educational experience,‖ Davis 
  grinned. ―Now we know how big a pile of guano a five foot bat 
  leaves.‖ He couldn‘t see the Phantom but he could sense 
  Jed‘s disapproving expression. ―In case we‘re ever on one of 
  those radio quiz shows,‖ he finished. 
      The Vindicators could see a large number of shiny objects 
  littering the floor, gleaming in the light of their electric torch. 
  Many coins, mostly dimes and quarters, littered the floor. 
  Davis guessed they were dropped by previous visitors who‘d 
  cut and run after being surprised by the bat. The trio quickly 
  gathered up the change and moved on. 
       They left the chamber into another dimly-lit hallway. 
  Gingerly they picked their way around refuse and debris, 
  moving slowly and silently. They turned another corner and 
  the passage widened. As they approached a ―T‖ intersection, 
  they were surprised when six men rounded the corner from 
  the right. They were dressed in an assortment of workman‘s 
  togs and cheap suits. After a startled moment, the six 
  produced an assortment of knives, pipes, and blackjacks. In 
  a flash the fight was on. Davis popped one of the pipe-
  wielders in the jaw with his brass-knuckled fist and was 
  gratified to see the man drop in a heap. Another assailant 
  flew backwards into the wall and slumped at its base, felled 
  by one of Prometheus‘ huge fists. A third thug went down, 
  and the remaining trio dropped back to regroup. Davis took a 
  step back and stumbled slightly; he was surprised to see the 
  Twilight Phantom lying on the floor, a rivulet of blood running 
  across the concrete floor from under his inert form. 
       ―Lucky shot,‖ Prometheus said. ―One of them took a wild 
  swing at me with a knife and missed, but accidentally got 
  him.‖ 
       ―Grab him up and let‘s go. We‘re outta time.‖ 
       Prometheus picked up the Phantom; he and Davis ran 
  back the way they‘d come. Taking the steps two at a time, 
  they ran back through the office and paused in the darkened 
  warehouse long enough to apply first aid to their wounded 
  comrade. The Twilight Phantom opened his eyes and looked 
  around. Then he swore under his breath. ―Sorry, Doug.‖ 
       ―It‘s not your fault. We‘ve learned enough for one night. 
  Let‘s get out of here — but, rest assured, we‘ll be back…‖ 
  Copyright 2011, Steven A. Lopez. All rights reserved. Used 
  with permission of the author.  For more, see 
  http://fourcolorglasses.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/whats-
  wrong-with-winging-it-old-school-and-retro-rpgs/ and 
  http://fourcolorglasses.wordpress.com/2010/12/24/an-
  interesting-discovery/ 
   
  TIPS FOR SUCCESS WITH LOW-LEVEL HEROES 
  By Scott Casper 
       It‘s no secret:  when you game with level-based 
  mechanics, characters don‘t get really fun until at least 3rd 
  level.  That‘s when most character classes have enough 
  options and hp to be versatile in a variety of situations.  Until 
  then, adventuring is often a tough game of survival with little 
  access to special abilities and not many hp between your 
  characters and defeat at any given time.  Some players might 
  prefer to start playing at 3rd-level or higher and just skip the 
  lower levels entirely, while others prefer that tough, gritty 
  genesis of starting at 1st-level.  There is a deeper 
  appreciation one has for one‘s character when this ―baptism 
  of fire‖ has been endured.  Fortunately, in H&H, there are 
  ways to make that ―baptism of fire‖ a little less dangerous. 
       The most common mistake I see Fighters make is to go 
  without armor.  A suit-wearing tough guy might be more fun 
  to roleplay, but if that Fighter insists on going into the Hideout 
  accessorized with nothing but his hat and tie, then maybe 
  there isn‘t quite enough meta-gaming going on there.  Let 
  your Fighter look cool at 3rd level; at 1st-level he should be 
  playing it safe and sporting a flak jacket, helmet, and riot 
  shield.  Arm your Fighters with automatic pistols, especially if 
  your Editor is using the optional weapon damage that makes 
  firearms extremely deadly.  The range bonus of a rifle isn‘t 
  worth the sacrifice of not having that left arm free for carrying 
  some light cover like that aforementioned shield.  At 1st level, 
  the combination of a flak jacket and riot shield is even better 
  than the AC of an alien.  Put them both on a Fighter with a 
  high DEX and you‘ve got the party‘s point man right there. 
       The temptation for a Magic-User to take Charm Person or 
  Sleep as his first spells is great, but someone needs to take a 
  ―hit‖ for the party and be the healer.  Sure, it‘s less fun 
  casting Cure Wounds I than Charm Person, but the party is 
  going to need the first spell much more than the second.  
  Magic-Users are awful vulnerable by nature.  Maybe consider 
  an Alien Magic-User.  And don‘t forget that Magic-Users are 
  allowed to use cover, which means they get to hold shields in 
  this game!  
   
       Superheroes are not Fighters with superpowers.  The 
  Superhero, without compensating with powers, has several 
  disadvantages in combat when compared to the Fighter 
  class.  So leave the fighting to the Fighter.  The Superhero 
  should be in there wrecking things.  Wreck the enemy guns.  
  Wreck their armor so it‘s easier to hit them.  The low-level 
  Superhero should be complementing the Fighter, not 
  
  upstaging him.  At 2nd level, choose a defensive power like 
  Nigh-Invulnerable Skin.  You‘ll last longer.  Playing an Alien 
  Superhero would help too, with the special abilities the Alien 
  race brings to the table.  
       Morale saves are your friend.  Low-level mobsters have 
  lousy saves and should seldom be sticking around long in 
  combats.  Bringing along a Mysteryman with his intimidate 
  skill may keep fights from even starting.   
       Recruit supporting cast.  At 1st level, having a few 
  supporting cast members who are good in a fight with you 
  can make a world of difference.  They don‘t need to all come 
  into the hideout with you. Approach hideout-raiding like war.  
  Soldiers always have support staff nearby.  A med tent with a 
  doctor waiting, if possible, would be a huge boon.  So your 
  Heroes don‘t have to rely on carrying their own canteens and 
  rations, have a cook somewhere nearby who can have meals 
  waiting for you. You can be the toughest Heroes in the world 
  and still die of starvation if you stay in the hideout too long 
  without eating.  Leave some guards outside, guarding your 
  vehicles, or at the nearest payphone to call for the police or 
  an ambulance if things go badly.      
       Don‘t rush to a hideout.  Obviously, if your Editor has a 
  specific scenario planned for you, you‘ll have to, but if the 
  Editor is running a ―sandbox‖ campaign and open-ended 
  scenarios, then there is no need to hurry until you feel you 
  are ready.  Keep in mind that you can earn XP doing good 
  deeds and recruiting supporting cast without ever going into 
  a hideout.  One good deed and one new supporting cast 
  member a day will see a Superhero to 2nd level in just 8 days 
  and a Magic-User to 2nd level in 13 days.  The Editor has a lot 
  of latitude for deciding what constitutes a good deed, of 
  course.  After so many times of helping little old ladies across 
  the street or rescuing cats out of trees, you might have to get 
  more creative.  At the same time, you should be able to ask 
  your Editor to help you come up with ideas by having you run 
  into fresh opportunities.  Be observant; that confused-looking 
  man on the street might be a plot hook for your next 
  adventure or simply a good deed waiting to happen! 
   
          
  GAMES BY SCOTT CASPER NEWS  
       The following products are currently available for sale on 
  drivethrurpg.com: 
   
  Book I: Men and Supermen 
   
  Book II: Mobsters and Trophies 
   
  Book III:  Underworld and Metropolis Adventures 
   
  Reference Sheets 
   
  Supplement I: National 
   
  Supplement II: All-American 
       The three core rule ebooks are $2 each, the sheets are 
  free, Supplement I is $2.50 and Supplement II is $3 – a total 
  of well over 300 pages of material for just $11.50!   
       Soon, Supplement III: Better Quality will also be available 
  for sale.  This ebook will include new classes,  
       More supplements will be forthcoming in the same format.   
  Watch for announcements! 
   
  And don‘t forget to buy your copy of Supplement II: All-
  American! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Games by Scott Casper 
  6300 Church Rd., Apt. 112-C 
  Hanover Park, IL. 60133   
   
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Swords & Wizardry Light/Swords & Wizardry White Box-Based/Hideouts & Hoodlums/Trophy Case/Trophy Case v1n3.pdf