Variant Covers

I remember in the 90's that we were plagued by a multitude of different covers (before the term variant was used as much as it is today). There were chromium this and die-cut that, it all seemed too much.



And now here we are in 2013. There are ton's of variant covers from all over the place. There are sketch variants, blank variants, alternate covers, different artist's covers and so on.



Why do those who collect comic book subject ourselves to buying so many of these variants? Is it because we feel that they'll increase in value, somehow legitimizing our purchase? Is it just because the art is good and we like the way it looks, even though we buy a copy with a different cover that has the same internal material in it?



My excuse is that I am a bit OCD when it comes to my collecting, and I feel the need to have a copy of every variant in my collection for most of the titles I get. Good for my LCS. Not so much for my savings. :) I'm not complaining, just putting it out there.



Who is the worst offenders when it comes to printing variant covers? Marvel? DC? IDW? Dynamite Entertainment?



For what I have on my subscription at my LCS, I regularly get the variants of Lady Death, Vampirella, TMNT and Evil Ernie. I used to get all the variants of ever G.I. Joe title as well, but unfortunately the demand for those titles has gone down enough the my LCS doesn't get the variants any more... so I found a few places online to fuel that need.



With Lady Death, I can count on 4 separate covers for every issue when it is originally released. Then, they will occasionally put out additional covers ranging from holidays to conventions to auxiliary... and I pick them all up as I can. There was even a recent Holiday VIP cover that had a cover price of $29.99! Can you imagine? Needless to say... it's in my collection.



Vampirella from Dynamite Entertainment is another that generally publishes 4-6 regular covers, and then has additional retailer incentive covers depending on how many copies your LCS orders. These incentive covers, or RI's as their also known as, are a real pain for collectors and retailers alike. As I explained above, I don't receive the RI's for G.I. Joe because of lack of demand. My LCS reduced the number of issues he was ordering because the issues weren't selling. A very reasonable and responsible decision. When the LCS reduces the number they are ordering, they stop receiving the RI covers and OCD collector's like myself are forced to turn to the internet to aid in completing our collection.



From my recent experiences, it seems to me that Dynamite Entertainment produces more variants per title than most other publishers. Granted, I don't generally buy many variants from Marvel or DC, so my knowledge on this topic is a bit skewed. I know that for many of their titles, both DC and Marvel push the variants, but I don't think it's nearly as much as either Boundless with Lady Death or Dynamite Entertainment with any of their titles. I could be wrong.

Where Do You Game?

There are the misconceptions that all role playing happens in someone's Mom's basement or some such. While I have had the occasion to partake in the occasion basement game, more often than not we've generally taken over the dining room table or even a front room with our tabletop games. When I moved to a larger house in high school, I had the entire upstairs to myself... complete with a half-bath. I originally had a large table with chairs setup in the room adjoining my bedroom. This was my little slice of heaven.



When my city gained a new gaming store, there was a back room that we used for many of our games. If the location was better, it would have been perfect. Granted, for many years it was situated between a bar and a liquor store, but there was not much else within short distance. Now that the store has moved to a better location, there are a plethora of options available including a mall within reasonable walking distance.



The back room of this specific store is well suited for our tabletop needs, but it seems like the tables and chairs have been through a great many gamers sitting on them. I'm to understand that the owners of this establishment are looking to replace them at the time of my writing. As it is, the location is ideal, the room is very useful and the fee to use the private room is reasonable.



There is now another gaming store that has rooms available for private use. Sure, this other store is not as convenient to get to and it's only opened recently and is still growing in stock and clientele. The fee's to use the private rooms (yes, multiple rooms are available) are still fairly reasonable... especially if you happen to schedule them in advance... yes, I meant a discount.



The problem of playing in a store that has competition is that you will always find at least 1 person who will put down the other store... asked to or not. I understand competition, but bad-mouthing another store is very disrespectful and it only breeds contempt. When I have a complaint about a specific store, I generally let the management or owner know about it. In this respect, they hear what's wrong and can work to resolve the issue. If the issues are not brought to the attention of the management, then they will never be fixed.



There have been homes that have specific setup's for gaming, and then there are those that simply use a front room where it's comfortable. As much as I like playing at a table, I also enjoy feeling comfortable if I'm going to be spending several hours in a location. For many years, I have dreamed of creating the ultimate gaming nirvana if I were to ever win a large lottery. If I ever do when, you can bet your final dollar that I will post about it here. :-)

John Constantine, Hellblazer: Pandemonium

Title: John Constantine,
Hellblazer: Pandemonium

ISBN: 9781401220358

Price: $24.99

Publisher/Year: Vertigo,
2010

Artist: Jock

Writer: Jamie Delano

Rating: 3/5

In the 25 years since his first appearance, we've seen John Constantine
in many places, from Swamp Thing to a reality television show in Hell, a God-awful
film adaptation, and everything in between. In Hellblazer: Pandemonium,
Vertigo's new original graphic novel from the first Hellblazer writer Jamie
Delano and artist extraordinaire Jock, Constantine goes someplace new: Iraq.

That's right, the man who is devoutly against standing for something
blindly with a uniform on is coerced by some government spooks to be their
interrogation expert on a POW they've acquired that seems to be driving
previous interrogators mad by some means of magic. After setting up an
elaborate scheme to trap Constantine in their politics, our hero and a double
agent named Aseera are en route to the center of the War on Terror.

Originally, I was a bit apprehensive at Delano using John Constantine
as a soapbox for his opinions on the Middle East situation, but was relieved to
find that Pandemonium was as much an exploration of the merits of war and
torture as it was another occult adventure for everyone's favorite
chain-smoking occult investigating cynic.

That's not to say I don't appreciate the merging of established
characters and politics; it's been done before to great effect. Delano is
cleverly able to tie in the war in Iraq with Middle Eastern mysticism, creating
a world in which Constantine fits into easily, despite my initial trepidation.
Delano's characterization of Constantine is spot-on with where he left him when
he exited Hellblazer in 1991: potty-mouthed with self-indulgent wit, but always
with that sliver of a soft spot. Though the relationship Constantine develops
with Aseera is fairly predictable and winds up being one of the more drab
elements of the story (though one of the most significant), the supernatural concepts,
musings on the War on Terror, and trademark Constantine moments more than make
up for it.

Delano is quite heavy on Constantine's inner monologue narration, which
I normally find a distraction and/or cheap storytelling device. However, nearly
every page is filled with intelligent words and nothing is wasted. There's no
restating of what is happening in the panels, just emphasis. One scene in
particular, in which Constantine is in the underworld of Nergal playing a poker
game of sorts with an assortment of demons, is beautifully written. It's only a
few pages long and told almost entirely through Constantine's monologue, but I
can honestly say I can't recall any card game played out in a comic book that
was even remotely interesting. Delano enhances the entire scene through the
intense and meaningful words of his main character. Of course, the fact that
Constantine's chips are human souls adds a little something as well.

Of course, Delano's script could be the most poetic Hellblazer piece
ever written and it wouldn't mean squat if it wasn't rendered well. If you're a
fan of Jock's, be it from The Losers, Detective Comics, Judge Dredd or his
cover work on books like Scalped, you know what to expect. His work is frantic
but with careful planning; his lines are incredibly sketchy and often thick
with heavy inks and plenty of shadow. His coloring is very washed out and adds
an appropriately grim aesthetic to the entire book.

It might seem like a wild comparison, but in many way's Jock's work is
akin to impressionism. So many of his images, if analyzed up close, look like
nothing more than a chaotic mess of scratches and shadow. When you look at the
page as a whole, all of these lines come together in a way that tell the story
beautifully and you realize the meticulous organization that goes into his
work.

I'm not sure that Pandemonium will go down as one of the prototypical
Hellblazer tales, nor will it be the definitive mainstream comic’s political
commentary of the War on Terror, but it damn sure is an enjoyable, visually
poetic rendition of Vertigo's most enduring character.

Why Do You Game?

In all the years I've been role playing, I don't think I've ever been asked this question. I have been told that I should play these games, but I've never had someone question my reasons behind my fascination.



I guess I've always had an overgrown sense of wonder and imagination. When I was a child, my first movie experience was the original Star Wars and I think this may have provoked my interest into escapism and fantasy. This was promoted through the ample supply of toys and action figures that pressed my young mind into utilizing my imagination on a regular basis.



The answers are different for every person. Some hope to use it to escape from the banality of real life. Others may use it as a crutch to seem socially active. I'm sure there are those who see gaming as their only method of finding friends. I'll even bet there there are more than a few of the rare gamer girls that will secretly admit that the only reason they game or at least got into gaming is because of a significant other; either boyfriend or girlfriend.



With gamer celebrities like Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton, it has become increasingly popular to be known as a gamer these days. It makes one wonder what brought them to the table.There are now so many different Facebook groups that proclaim "Geeks Are Sexy" and similar notions that stimulate the idea that being a gamer is now considered "cool". 

John Constantine, Hellblazer: The Gift

Title: John Constantine,
Hellblazer: The Gift

ISBN: 9781401214531

Price: $14.99

Publisher/Year: Vertigo,
2005

Artist: Leonardo Manco, Frazer Irving

Writer: Mike Carey

Collects: Hellblazer
#207-215

Rating: 3/5

Following a battle with his three demonic offspring, occultist John
Constantine is left with most of his friends dead and his sister Cheryl
murdered and her soul damned to Hell.

The only solution is for Constantine to make the perilous journey into Hell
himself to rescue his sister. However, his only guide is the treacherous demon,
Nergal, whose blood Constantine once accepted into his veins. Along the way,
Constantine encounters enemies both old and new and quickly discovers that
there is far more going on then he could have suspected. As Constantine is
pitted against some of the oldest and darkest forces of Hell he is forced to
relive painful moments from his past and confront the terrible price that must
be paid for his powers.



This graphic novel contains the final nine issues of Mike Carey's work on the
monthly Hellblazer comic book. The book is
a powerful piece of urban horror taking the charismatic, chain-smoking
"urban mage" and con-man antihero John Constantine into some of his
darkest places yet. It collects three linked stories from the series which all
follow on from each other, the six part "Down in the Ground, Where the
Dead Men Go", the one issue "The Gift", and the two part
"R.S.V.P.".

Blending gritty urban reality with startling supernatural horror, this
collection is an example of Hellblazer its best.

This is a must read for fans telling a gripping and disturbing narrative with
some powerfully evocative artwork, however it is not recommended for newcomers
to the Hellblazer universe, due to its multiple references to earlier
stories and the fact that it is a direct continuation of the previous collection
Reasons to be Cheerful.

Mortality of Characters

I'll be the first to admit that I often reuse character's. Not just the concept, but the entire character. I have played 1 LARP character in 2 separate chronicles, and there have been a multitude of tabletop characters that I have been able to play again and again.



For the first time in my life, I'm actually taking a Vampire: The Masquerade tabletop character and bringing him to LARP. Unfortunately, this specific character won't convert 100% over to LARP due to the fact that several of the options available through tabletop are not currently available in the MES LARP rules right now. He'll have to be toned down quite a bit, losing starting generation plus a special merit that allowed him to actually have 4 in clan disciplines rather than the normal 3. We'll see how it works out in the end.



It's actually this character that I've brought back time and time again in several tabletop games... both as my PC and as an NPC in games I've run. My ex-wife and I actually went back-and-forth running games that involved this character and one of her design. This created a large arching story which I hope to bring to this blog in the near future. (I'm currently working to get proper permission to use the White Wolf specific terms without infringing on copyright laws.)



Another method of keeping your characters alive is to use them... or variants thereof... as NPC's in your own games. I insert characters from my previous games as NPC's into every game I run. Some may see this as a lazy method of designing your chronicle, but I enjoy reviving the old characters and allowing them to interact with new PC's under new circumstances.



When you run games with a common set of friends, these NPC's spark old memories of games past. I've even taken characters from a modern day game (Vampire: The Masquerade) and inserted a version of them in a fantasy setting (Dungeons & Dragons). This way you not only invigorate the former character, you also have the option to design them anew the way they may have been in a different world.



To give you an example...



A D&D game I ran several years ago was one of my M Night Shyamalan style games where I actually started the game with a twist. I had the players create regular D&D characters that they'd like to play, and the prelude to the actual game went something like this:



"We're all here, sitting at the table and putting the finishing touches on our characters. Each of you have told me you're ready, and I excuse myself to the bathroom before we actually begin. When the door of the bathroom closes behind me, there is a bright flash. When you wake-up, you are lying in a field. As you move around, you don't recognize your surroundings... and you won't seem to recognize your body as you look at it. You are also surrounded by others whom you don't seem to recognize."



The players soon realized that their personal consciousness had been transferred into their characters bodies. Everyone seemed to enjoy the concept, and I inserted character we had each played as NPC's. The one I recall best is my former Tzimisce priest from our Sabbat LARP game was a sorcerer that helped to guide them in their travels. Obviously the powers and abilities of the Tzimisce (mainly the ability to mold flesh and bone) were not converted, which is why I decided to make the NPC version a sorcerer... and less "evil".



I'm sure I'm not the only person who tries to keep a copy of their old characters so they can reminisce when they happily happen across them while cleaning or organizing. I try to re-invent many of these character from time to time. Even though the concepts are old, bringing them back to life helps get the proverbial creative juices flowing.



To date, even though I have had my fair share of LARP character die, I have never had a single one of my tabletop characters die inside of a campaign.

John Constantine, Hellblazer: Joyride

Title: John Constantine,
Hellblazer: Joyride

ISBN: 9781401216511

Price: $14.99

Publisher/Year: Vertigo,
2008

Artist: Leonardo Manco

Writer: Andy Diggle

Collects: Hellblazer
#230-237

Rating: 3/5

Modern trickster mystic John Constantine has been many things in the
decades since his introduction in the Swamp Thing story arc American Gothic.
But what he’s never been since that debut is exactly what new writer Andy
Diggle returns him to in this trade. When he first introduced himself to the
giant vegetable Bog God, Constantine was a cool, sharp-dressing, smug,
in-control and very dangerous man-of-mystery we weren’t supposed to like. He
oozed menace and untold secrets and was always in charge of the situation.

After twenty years and more of going to Hell and Back, that menacing
stranger returns, but with enough accumulated shared history now that the
reader can still empathize with this unlikely hero whom no sane man would
actually want to have a pint with. Moreover, despite being a Scouser (someone
born and bred in Liverpool) by birth, Constantine is a Londoner by disposition,
and Diggle writes him with that so distinct voice and attitude.

Back on top and dressed to impress, the hard man does a favor for an
old acquaintance in the first tale of this chilling collection. Pearly Grey was
an old-school East End gangster, but he’s in Wormwood Scrubs now, at Her
Majesty’s pleasure. His daughter’s dead and she was murdered. He knows how but
not who because she told him when her ghost appeared in his cell. Pearly knew
everybody once, and if this isn’t a normal job, it needs the attention of a
specialist…

Solving the problem of the unquiet dead is only the first step however.
The grateful Grey repays his debt by giving Constantine a chance to clean up
old business at Ravenscar, once the scene of the Magician’s greatest failure,
but now part of the gangster’s extensive property portfolio. It couldn’t have
gone better if Constantine had planned it…

The final tale introduces a new nemesis for the chain-smoking wizard in
a grimy, nasty tale of possession in the blighted urban hell of South London.
With triggers lifted from any daily paper, this is a tale of murderous wasted
youth, privilege and social disorder, murder and witchcraft, prompted by greed
and the utter contempt of the elite for the rest of society. Political
corruption stalks hand-in-hand with blood-hungry monstrosity in this very
British horror story and at its blood-soaked centr is a bloke in a raincoat
with a smile that can make a statue sweat…

This is a welcome advancement and return to terrifying form for one of
American fantasy’s most striking characters. Thoroughly British once more (our
comics never got the handle on heroism: All the best and most memorable
characters were villains like The Spider, The Dwarf, Grimly Feendish and
Charlie Peace or maniacs like Judge Dredd) this is a unique character at his
compelling best, and another superb horror tome to add to your “spooky” shelf.