Geek with Family

I would always come home from my fellow ninja’s house with grass stains on my back. My gai would get stained from my friend and his little brother using me as their judo throw pillow. As a ninja in training, I had little defense against their arm wrenching flips and throws. My friend would effortlessly use my own weight against me to leave me on the dewy lawn, then his brother would tug at my sore and crumpled body for the next self-defense maneuver. After they got bored with their rag doll, the three of us would retreat inside for some Donkey Kong on Colecovision, a popping and helicopter ridden breakdancing session, and some Knight Rider.

Continue reading Ninja on a Green Machine - Fifth Graders Shouldn’t be Practicing Judo

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A sensitive, clockwork knight; an innocent, prepubescent, heir to great weapons of unwieldy and unimaginable power, a hermit scientist/wizard, a washed up mercenary, and a busty thief all thrown together against the faceless shadows of evil and their monstrous henchmen. Battle Chasers, Joe Madureira’s jump into creator owned publishing, pulls all the most loved themes from Japanese RPGs into the pages of a comic. And did the comic industry ever need this genre explored! RPGs are so analogous to comics that comic creators should be kicking themselves in the pants for not thinking of this sooner. I can’t wait until the rogue’s gallery of Battle Chasers take their first ride in an airship, call upon spirits kept in precious gems embedded in weapons and armor to vanquish an enemy boss or grow tired of the endless random battles that they must endure just to build some experience and earn some cash. I anticipate that every Square or Capcom plotline and original inventive device will be exploited by the folks at Image. But who cares? Battle Chasers is still well worth the $2.50 simply because it is completely unoriginal, it gives the fans what they want–familiarity.

Continue reading A Plot So Common It’s Like Coming Home - Familiarity in RPGs

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Back in the mid-eighties, my home town only had one, short-lived toy store. It was a typical store for the time with a moderate selection of RPGs, overpriced action figures, cool Go Bots models (recasts of Mospeda kits), and super-balls. Like so many other small toy stores at the time it would be run out of business by Toys ’R’ Us and Kay Bee in just a few years. I would stop by the place a few times a week while my mother and I ran grocery errands (this trip would also include the local drug store where I could stock up on all my favorite Marvel comics) and check if they had any new Car Wars accessories or GIJoes. These items were really of secondary interest to me, though. My primary concern was behind the counter.

Continue reading Soft-Air Blowing Through My Hair - Shooting Your Best Friend in the Face

Popularity: 36% [?]