Power Outage RPG Review

When I was asked to recommend an RPG for kids aged ten or higher, I took a look back through some of the RPG PDFs in my collection with that in mind. One game that I came across was Power Outage. I really like Power Outage and would love to get it to my table … but. There are caveats.

This is going to something of a mixed review, but stick with me. There's a good game here.

Power Outage is packaged and promoted as a game for kids. In that area, I think it fails. First, the 180 page core rule book is not easy to read. If you aren't a gamer, you are going to struggle with this book. It is full of jargon and game play assumptions. 

The book may not be too terrible for people who are already tabletop gamers, but I struggled with it. I wouldn't recommend this book to a parent looking to enter the RPG space for the first time. Personally, I only plan to use about 15 pages of the game when I play it. Most of the rest feels like bloat.

The game is supposed to be easy enough to be played by kids aged 4 and up, but it's loaded with power tables and character advancement to level 20. It's crunchy. Yes, some things are streamlined, but this is no more a kids' game than most OSR D&D clones that I've read. And then, there are a few rules that just blow my mind as being present in a kids' game at all.

  

  

Here are two rules that don't belong in a kids game and don't belong in my game. If I run Power Outage I will change these rules.

1) Random attribute generation.

This shouldn't be in a kids' game. What happens when big bro rolls a six and little sis rolls a one? So sorry little sis. I guess your character sucks. (Just no.) If I bring this to my table, everyone will get to use the max value of the dice for character creation stats.

2) The Energize Rule

A game balancing rule in Power Outage limits the number of times that you can use powers during an encounter. If you run out of these then you have to Energize. This involves sitting out doing nothing for two turns and then rolling a single die on the third turn to see how many uses of your powers you got back.

What?

Sitting around not taking turns sucks for anyone. Do you really expect a 4 year old to sit on their hands and do nothing for three turns? This is crazy. It not only doesn't belong in a kids game, it doesn't belong in any game!

If I bring Power Outage to my table (and I want to) I will change this rule.

I will say that no one has any powers to use until they Energize. When they Energize they immediately gain D+1 power uses. (D is a die type and replaces the power use limit. A limit of 6 is replaced by an Energize die of a D6.)

  

  

You still have to Energize, but you do it and go. No waiting. The higher your Energize die the longer you can potentially go before needing to use a turn to Energize again.

With these house rules, I could happily bring Power Outage to my table, but not for kids. This is a clean and streamlined game. But it's still no more a kids game than any other rules lite RPG. I want to play this with my regular play group.

The power tables allow you to create / define interesting powers. The system builds characters based on level progression and not a point buy system. (I prefer this immensely.)

  

  

Power Outage actually combines the modularity of a point buy based game like Champions with the clear simplicity of a level based system like D&D. It's really good.

Characters have 5 stats: Impact, Power, Ohmer, Yield Points, and Travel

Impact is used for non-power actions and Power is used for power actions. Sure it's simple. But that's okay. The granularity comes from the different power effects, and there are many. 

  

  

Ohmer is defensive. It's what you roll to keep from getting hurt. Yield Points are like hit points, but they show how close you or an enemy might be to giving up. No one gets killed in Power Outage. 

Travel is just your movement allowance. How many "spaces" you can move each turn. (The rules say minis are optional, but all powers count distances in number of spaces.) 

  

 

That's it. Combine these 5 core stats with some powers and you've got a superhero. It's decidedly combat focused despite what the jargon laden CAPE system might state to the contrary. 

One Last House Rule

Power Outage uses opposed d20 rolls for action resolution. That can be really swingy. I will probably just go with a basic Difficulty Class approach like D&D does. Easier. Less die rolling. (I know that this is a lot of house rules, but I really like the basic framework here. Power Outage's structure is so solid that it makes it worth house ruling, as opposed to just reaching for another game.)

I'm not sure how well Power Outage sold. The back cover has a copyright of 2018. Their Facebook Page hasn't been updated since 2021. So, I don't know. I feel like Power Outage is a product that missed its audience. 

  

  

I applaud what the designer wants to do, but I don't think that they succeed. At least, I don't think that they have created a game that will appeal to people looking for something to play with their kids. I do think that Power Outage looks like it might be a lot of fun at the table.

Maybe one day, I will find out.

  

Nimble 5E Preview Review

What do I like about the Nimble 5E RPG? Here's a review of the game as it is presented in the free sample PDF provided on backerkit. 

Faster combat is pretty much guaranteed. 

More specifically, combat turns in Nimble 5E will be faster … snappier. This means less down time for everybody. How is this accomplished? How about, no Armor Class and no roll To Hit? Players just roll for damage. You still miss, if you roll a 1. And if you roll the maximum value on the die, you crit and can roll again. This means that lower value dice both miss more often, but also crit more often. The thing about rolling a crit is that it ignores armor. That's right, effects that reduce damage are ignored when you roll a crit. So that higher chance of missing might just be worth it if you are fighting a heavily armored opponent. And rolling exploding damage dice is just so much fun.

Three action economy.

You get three actions. Use them how you want. Attacks after the first are called "rushed attacks" and are made at disadvantage (roll an extra die of the appropriate type, keep the low one) but you can attack three times if you want. You don't have separate reactions, but can "borrow" actions from your upcoming turn if you want. (This is all pretty easy to grok. You have three actions. They aren't broken up or divided into categories. They just are.)

There is a clear and consistent turn order.

The new initiative system might seem wonky at first, but really it's awesome. Players go first and everyone takes turns around the table. However, rolling for initiative is one of those hallmarks of D&D style combat and it is retained here. How? Once, at the beginning of combat, all players roll for initiative. Depending on how high you roll, you will get one, two or all three of your actions in that initial round. In subsequent rounds you will get all three actions, but in that moment when everything starts, just how alert and ready was your character? Your initiative roll will tell you, and rolling higher here will really make a difference so having a good initiative modifier matters. I LOVE this system.

There are new defensive options.

Armor reduces the damage you take. You can perform a "defend" reaction after being hit to reduce damage in combat by your armor value a second time, effectively doubling your armor value. There's also a reaction called, "interpose" that allows you to put yourself between an enemy and their target. You can even use the two reactions together.

Cleaner death mechanics.

No more death saves. When you drop to 0 HP, gain 1 level of Exhaustion and the Dying condition: actions are is limited to 1/ round, concentration is broken, and continuing to fight may further harm you: attacking/casting spells causes 1 level of exhaustion unless you make a DC 10 STR save; taking damage while Dying causes 2 levels of exhaustion, a crit causes 3 instead. If you gain 6 levels of exhaustion you die.

The characters are heroic.

The next several pages of the preview showcase characters, and these look epic.

  

  

The berserker is an unstoppable tank of rage. The cheat is a rogue that can just set their dice to whatever they want. The Mage is a powerful spellcaster with some interesting and random chaos magic effects thrown in. The Oathsworn is a vengeful paladin who gets more powerful when they take damage.

The magic system makes sense.

Magic is broken into tiers and casting spells expends mana. Make spells more powerful by expending additional mana. It all makes sense.

Simplified but more impactful racial abilities.

Races each have a single special ability, but these racial abilities are useful. It also seems that racial abilities can be mixed and matched. Players are encouraged to play the strengths they want and to layer in racial distinctions as flavor and roleplay. (Awesome!)

Monster stat blocks are simplified.

Certain monster qualities are assumed to be default (such as movement and armor). This makes stat blocks a lot smaller and simpler, and exceptions can be easily noted when needed. (The fewer things a GM has to track, the better.)

The character sheet is super open.

Only 10 skills and they are organized with Ability Scores at the top of the sheet. There's lots of room at the bottom of the sheet to list your powers the way that you want. 

  

  

This character sheet might be a little too open for some, but it allows you to decide what's important and where to put it. I like that.

These are Nimble's features as listed at the front of the preview:

• Fast Attacks — Know instantly if you hit and how much damage you do.
• Exploding Critical Hits — Retain the chaotic excitement of battle.
• Teamwork & Tactics — Be rewarded for smart positioning, and clever teamwork.
• Actively engage in combat — New reactions: Defend & Interpose.
• Instant Initiative — No more clumsily polling the party, get right into combat.
• Respect the Story — Keep role-playing through combat & new resting rules.
• More Player Agency — Flexible action economy, strategic weapon system, & more.
• Deep Yet Focused — Streamlined character sheets, easy to find what you need.
• Overhauled Magic & Spell system — Easier to pick up, more freedom, more flavorful.
• 5e compatible — Keep using your favorite adventure modules, monsters books, & supplements.
• New Classes & Subclasses — Thematic mechanics, customizable, & super flavorful.
• New Legendary Monster system — Easy to run for the GM across different party sizes.
• EASY to Learn & Teach New Players — continue to grow the hobby by making it less intimidating to play and GM. A plethora of GM tips are included. Great for first time and even experienced GMs.

Personally, I like all of this. All of it. I can't wait to get Nimble 5E to my table.

Nimble 5E

I have expended a lot of energy and space in this blog complaining about the relentless combat focus in the TTRPG hobby space and in complaining about D&D specifically. I have discovered a few non-combat RPG's and I still plan to get Golden Sky Stories to my table one day. I have also discovered some great alternatives to D&D, like Dragonbane and There And Hack Again. So, I guess I really should stop my complaining. There's a lot of TTRPG options out there. The real trick, I suppose is presenting those options in a light that will appeal to the greater TTRPG player base as a whole.

With that in mind, I want to talk a bit about Nimble 5E. I got the Nimble zine last year and I was pretty impressed by its innovations. These were all just methods of streamlining 5e combat encounters, but that's something that I think is sorely needed. So, yeah. I thought it was good. I didn't try to introduce the changes at my table. I probably should have, but I feel like layering exceptions over the existing D&D rules would just confuse things.

What I would like to talk about now, is an entirely new set of RPG books that fully incorporates Nimble's innovations into their framework. I am talking about a game that is close enough to 5e D&D to be accepted by judicious 5e players, while reducing overall complexity at the table by (at a guess) about 60%. Once I get over myself and accept that TTRPG's aren't going to change their core game play loop anytime soon, once I accept that tactical combat options are exactly what players want, once I accept these things ... then finding a game that makes combat a lot easier for me at the table without sacrificing player options feels like discovering the holy grail.

I know that the recent DC20 by The Dungeon Coach promised much the same, but it just didn't grab me. Maybe I was still pushing back too hard at the time to be receptive to DC20, but Nimble 5E just looks even simpler to me. Also, as I said, I have read Nimble 5E's predecessor from last year, and I like it. So, I guess that has given Nimble 5E a bit of an edge for me. 

What about Dragonbane or There And Hack Again, two games that I have raved about recently? I love both of those games ... but, Nimble 5E might even be better. First, the focus on 5E compatibility may make the game easier to bring to my table. Second, based on what I have read, and on this preview by Dave Thaumavore on YouTube, Nimble 5E is focused on heroic characters. 

Both There and Hack Again and especially Dragonbane have a bias toward the "old school" tendencies for "lower powered" characters, and higher player character mortality. My favorite D&D based RPG is 13th Age. The thing that I most love about 13th Age is how heroic it feels. In 13th Age, players are high fantasy superheroes! Nimble seems to be promising a similar experience. That appeals to me very much.

Nimble is being published as 3 core books. If you opt for the softcover versions on Backerkit, you can get all three for $40 including PDFs. That's $20 less than they will cost you later at retail, and $20 less than the cost of just one D&D 5E core book. For me, that's too good to pass up. Also, give Dave Thaumavore's video a peek (above.) I like Dave's stuff and watch him regularly. Go ahead and subscribe to his channel. He's pretty cool. Also, even if you don't plan to back, and you just want to wait for retail, click the Backerkit link and scroll down to find the free preview. The free preview is definitely worth a look.

Shade

It was around this time that the famous Subway Mayonnaise story happened. We were playing on Friday instead of Wednesday, and would soon move to Saturday to avoid conflicts with rehearsal for the times that I was in a play. (Which was fairly often.) 

Things went like this for awhile. I would game with Dave and Robert on the weekend and work and have rehearsals during the week. I even went on a small tour with an original production of a show called, "Shade."

The Center Stage Players didn't normally do shows about disability. They would do the same mix of plays as any other community theater, but they would "blind" cast a mix of disabled and able bodied actors, putting them on stage together, and the results were magical. 

As a disabled actor, I got to work with talented able bodied actors from the wider theater community and they got to work with me. Friendships were formed and barriers broken down. And, I am heartbroken as I turn to the internet now and look for evidence of the things that we accomplished, and discover nothing.

Well, very nearly nothing. I found this single article about, "Shade."  This play was the one exception. It was about the lives of normal people living in the normal world ... normal people who happened to be disabled. The play was a series of vignettes. Some were funny, and a few were heartbreaking, but all were very human and very relatable.

Shade was written by Dan Taylor who had founded the theater program at the Center. It was good because it was based on genuine experience. It was honest and real, and it got the Center Stage Players noticed, at least for a minute.

And we went on a little tour of small towns and we performed it in competition. It was a pretty amazing time. The Center Stage Players was an amazing theater troupe.

Sadly, I fear that this memoir and the article that I linked above might be the only evidence that it ever existed. 

Warhammer Fantasy Role Play

The Champions game at World of Comics must have lasted 6 months. It had to be 6 months or a year, and I don't think it was a whole year. The reason that I say, 6 months or a year is because of my lease at the Brownstones. You may remember that my sister Sally took over that lease. Well, Sally moves into a house in Broken Arrow before the Champions game ends. That means that the Champions game lasted a whole year, and I just don't think it did. So, the alternative is that my lease at the Brownstones was only a 6 month lease. I'm going with that.

As I mentioned the Champions game had grown beyond a sustainable size. Doug who had started the game was the one to suggest an alternative. It was at the end of one of the game sessions. Doug and I were always the last to leave, because Doug would stay to lock up the store and I would stay because Doug always gave me a ride home. Ever since the play, Dave would stick around to chat and so would his friend Robert. It was an evening like this when Doug put forth a plan.

  

  

Doug wanted to play a game called Warhammer Fantasy Role Play. He even offered to run the game for the three of us. The catch was that we couldn't play at the store. People would see cars in front of the store and ask questions. He didn't like excluding people and he would rather just avoid the whole problem by playing somewhere else. I suggested my apartment. I was the one who didn't have transportation. This way no one would have to drive me back home after the game.

In an instant a plan was forged. In the next days Doug called people and told them that the Champions game had ended. It was just too big and neither myself or Dave wanted to run the sessions anymore. I don't know if other people offered to run the game, but if they did Doug politely declined and the Champions game was put to rest.

The next Wednesday we met for our first Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay game at my apartment. During the game there was a knock at my door. It was two of the folks from the Champions game, Rolland and Mindy. I tried to stop them at the door, but they had seen Doug's car and were curious. Robert greeted them cheerfully and told them what was going on. I suppose in hindsight, honesty is the best policy, but the situation was uncomfortable.

Inviting Roland and Mindy to play would open the floodgates. It's not that we didn't want to include everyone. It just wasn't tenable. Roland and Mindy said their goodbyes. We didn't play. We talked about playing, and we talked about what to do. Robert didn't see a problem. He thought that people would understand. (Robert always thought the best of people.) Doug was very concerned. He didn't like excluding anyone, and he knew people would feel slighted if they weren't included.

We needed a place to play that was "out of sight" … off everyone's radar. That way at least the perceived "slight" would be lessened. We prescribed to the theory, "Out of sight. Out of mind." My sister Sally had just moved into a new house in Broken Arrow. I would ask her if we could play there. She was at work when we would normally play. We wouldn't be in her way. It was a plan, that worked out.

For a while we played at Sally's new house in Broken Arrow. Doug felt guilty about the deception and quit after a few weeks. Robert didn't believe in deception and just told everyone what was going on openly. Me, I didn't really run in the same circles at the time. The only time I saw Dave and Robert was at my sister's house to play the game. The "deception" such as it was, didn't really affect me.

When Doug quit, Dave took over running the game. Dave and Robert and I kept playing, first Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, then AD&D, then other games. The three of us became closer and closer as friends. It was the beginning of something that persists to this day, over 30 years later. (But, there have been a few notable bumps in the road. Bumps of my making.)

An RPG like D&D for Children 10+ years of age

When I started playing D&D in highschool, I was 16 years old and my friend Jon was 11. Someone recently asked me to recommend an RPG like D&D that would be good for children aged 10 and up. This is actually a bit of a tough ask. Jon was that age when he began playing D&D, but D&D has changed. It is much more complex now than it was back then. I first began playing with AD&D 1st Edition, but the first set of rules that I actually owned and read for myself was the D&D Basic Set from 1981 by Tom Moldvay.

  

Man, I read that book from cover to cover many times. At the time, I preferred AD&D because I saw my basic version as just that, a dumbed down incarnation of the game that I wanted to play. That's the thing about being a kid. You don't want to be talked down to. You want to be lifted up. You want to learn the "grown up" game. In my old age, I've gone the other direction. I really appreciate the clean simplicity of Moldvay basic. It was designed so that players could learn the game by reading the rules. AD&D wasn't.

There are games for kids younger than 10, out there. But, once you hit 10+ it seems to be assumed that you are ready for the big leagues. But D&D is a monster. It's built as a modular framework on which to hang as many products as possible, and unless you have been navigating that landscape for awhile, it can be impossible to figure out how to start.

  

  

There is a D&D Essentials boxed set that's good. The trouble is, there are actually several such "starter sets" and they vary in quality. The one that I like is the D&D Essentials set that contains the Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure. It's rulebook is streamlined and surprisingly complete, but it only contains four classes (Fighter, Cleric, Magic User, and Rogue) and it only takes characters up to 6th level.

Still, that's pretty good. It's arguably better than the Moldvay Basic Set. But, it is limiting, and it lets you know that it's limiting. It sets itself up to sell you the "real" game of Dungeons and Dragons. Kids see that and think that they are missing out. Heck, most adults see that and think that they are missing out. I'd happily play this version of D&D, but most would find the limit of four classes and six levels too restricting.

Fortunately, I do know of a game that is complete, and is written to be new player accessible. That game is Dragonbane. Specifically, the Dragonbane boxed set is a real bargain. It contains the full Dragonbane rules, a full prewritten adventure campaign. It has dice, and a beautiful full color map of the world where the campaign takes place. It includes premade characters so that players can jump right in and play. It has standees so that players can have "miniatures" at their table from day one.

  

  

I've spoken about Dragonbane before. I have mentioned that I like it as an alternative to D&D because it is easier and more accessible. I have spoken about the beautiful artistic presentation of the books and unequaled product quality. But, I realized as I was answering my friend's inquiry, that Dragonbane is also a perfect entry level product. It's the Tom Moldvay Basic of my youth, without any of the limitations.

The inclusion of extras like standee miniatures and a decks of cards for equipment and treasure push this product over the top.

  

  

This is the full list of what the Dragonbane boxed set contains:

• Rulebook with fast and effective D20-based game rules for character creation, skills, combat, magic, and travel
• Adventures book with eleven complete adventures, to be played separately or tied together in the epic Secret of the Dragon Emperor campaign
• The booklet Alone in Deepfall Breach letting you play Dragonbane solo
• Huge full-color map of the Misty Vale
• llustrated playing cards for adventures, treasure, and more
• Ten transparent polyhedral dice, including two custom D20s
• Five pregenerated characters
• Five blank character sheets
• Cardboard standees for characters and monsters
• Double-sided battle mat

I own the boxed set as well as the hardcover rules book and a monster book. It's all gorgeous. If you own the boxed set, you don't need the hardcover of the rules. In fact, you don't need anything else. The softcover that is included in your boxed set is identical to the hardcover except for one short introductory adventure that they added. The monster book has all of the same monsters in the core book, and adds more. It's not necessary, but cool if you really get into the game and want to explore further.

I hope that Dragonbane gets more love and continues to grow as an introductory and advanced RPG product. I think that it's brilliant and it is one of the most attractive (if not THE MOST ATTRACTIVE) products that I own.

  

  

Oh, and did I mention: You can play a DUCK!

Justice League Vs Godzilla Vs Kong Issue #7 - The Final Issue

Warning Spoilers!

The final issue begins by explaining Clark / Superman's disappearance. Batman and Cyborg worked together to combine tech from the Justice League Satellite Teleporter and the Mother Box to teleport Superman's body to the sun for a super charge. Which worked.

  

  

In the meantime, we finally learn the fate of Toyman. Pretty much the moment that he touched down in Metropolis with his new "toys," Godzilla stepped on him, crushing him to death. I really like this reveal. It speaks to the danger that has always been inherent in magic that is powerful enough to grant wishes. It always comes at a price that is way too high. Toyman paid that price with his life. As for the Dreamstone? It's missing.

  

  

So here we are for the big final battle. All the monsters, and the mechs, and the supers, converged in Metropolis for a final mega battle, and it doesn't look too great for the heroes ... but Clark has a plan.

  

  

Now Clark is back and he realizes that the best chance the supers have of stopping all the titans who have invaded this DCU earth is to set Godzilla free and let him do his job. His plan is pretty similar to how it worked in the latest Godzilla X Kong movie: make the king of the titans mad and point him in the right direction.

  

  

Will Superman and Godzilla arrive in time? Will they be enough to stop the combined might of the other titans and the Legion of Doom? Maybe? Maybe not. But, the writers have one final surprise up their sleeve and I did not see this coming. Remember that Grodd killed Guy Gardner?

  

  

When a Green Lantern is killed in action, its ring goes out and finds the most worthy new ring bearer that it can. Who does Guy Gardner's ring find. Who among all present is the most worthy? Surprise! It's Kong!!

  

  

And ... Now, Superman and Godzilla make it to the scene of the battle and the tide quickly turns. This is the grand finale we've been promised!

  

  

With the villains and titans defeated, Superman uses the Dreamstone to send the titans back where they came from. Wait? What? Where did Superman get the Dreamstone? When he freed Godzilla he found it lodged in the bottom of the titan's foot! As for Superman using the Dreamstone? I like this too, because he only undoes what the Dreamstone did. He doesn't make any new or selfish wishes. He doesn't try for example to bring Toyman or Guy Gardner back to life.

  

  

This wraps the story in a pretty much happily ever after fashion and I for one was very satisfied. If you are interested, I believe that the entire 7 issue run of Justice League Vs Godzilla Vs Kong is available as a trade paperback. I read mine as individual Kindle editions.

  

  

PROS:

• The Fate of Toyman
• Kong Green Lantern
• DC Comics Presents: Superman and Godzilla
• The satisfying conclusion

CONS:

• Sadly, it's an Elseworlds story. So, we are unlikely to see these characters brought together again.

Justice League Vs Godzilla Vs Kong Issue #s 5-6

Warning: Spoilers.

  

  

Issue 5 sees Supergirl checking on Clark before returning to check on Kong. Unfortunately, Grodd has taken over Kong's mind and does the same to Supergirl because of the Kryptonite horn thingy on his head.

  

  

  

Aquaman uses the distraction caused by the Kraken to chain Godzilla in the same kind of chains used to keep the Kraken in check. (Nth metal or some such nonsense.)  It works and at least for now it seems that Godzilla is dealt with.

  

  

As issue 6 begins, Godzilla is out of play and Clark has disappeared.

  

 

In the meantime Lex has used the tech he discovered in the beacon (at the end of issue #3) to find out all kinds of secrets about the Monsterverse including plans to build his own Mechagodzilla.

  

  

Lex isn't the only one playing giant robo in this issue. Batman and the Green Lanterns get in on the fun!

  

  

  

It's beginning to look like the heroes may finally have Luthor's Mechagodzilla on the ropes when Grodd shows up with a mind controlled Supergirl and Kong. Suddenly, things take a major turn for the worse.

  

  

Oh, and Grodd kills Green Lantern Guy Gardner. That's right KILLS. (This is an Elseworlds story. Stuff like that can happen.)

  

    

The heroes react in a sudden fit of rage and manage to knock the Kryptonite mind control thingy off of Grodd. But, will it be enough? And what's this? Superman is back and talking with Godzilla!?

  

  

Yep. That's how issue #6 ends.

  

  

PROS:

• Art and Story still both awesome!
• Giant ROBO issue! (Issue #6.)

CONS:

• Almost no Godzilla. (Issue #6.)

  

Up next: The Grand Finale!

Justice League Vs Godzilla Vs Kong Issue #s 2-4 Review

Another Spoiler FILLED review.

  

  

It's not just Godzilla and Kong who have been transported to this version of the DCU, but the entire population of the Monsterverse (or so it would seem.) Superman has his hands full in Metropolis, but the rest of the Justice League have to split up to cover monster threats all over the world. Specifically at key locations important to members of the Justice League. After all Toyman's wish was to use these "toys" to "play with" the Justice League. (Good thing he didn't wish for the monsters to "destroy" the Justice League, because then this story might have ended quite differently.)

  

  

The big finish to the second issue happens in Metropolis as Billy Batson, aka Shazam arrives to help Superman. Billy decides to use his magic lightning bolt to blast Godzilla which does hurt the Titan, but not nearly enough. 

  

  

Superman is forced to place himself between Billy (who transformed in order to perform his lightning attack into his vulnerable human form) and Godzilla's atomic breath attack.

  

  

This attack is more harmful to Superman than one might hope and in the end it looks like Superman is really in trouble. That's how we end issue #2. Issue #3 is a lot more monster vs hero battles. In the end the heroes reveal that the monsters are responding to some kind of beacon. Then we change to a scene that shows said beacon as it is being discovered by none other than Lex Luthor. This seems bad.

  

  

Through the next few issues there's an ongoing search for Toyman. He and the Dreamstone have disappeared. There's a really nice scene at the start of issue #4 where Batman shows a bit of vulnerability in his concern for the fate of his friend (Clark / Superman.) It's a good moment. I really liked it.

  

  

After that, we finally get to see a bit more of Kong, who has not yet posed a threat to the heroes. There's a good bit where Supergirl attempts to commune with the giant primate before leaving to check on her cousin.

  

  

  

Next we have a huge monster battle in Atlantis, where surprise! Aquaman releases the Kraken!

  

  

PROS:

• Story by Brian Buccellato continues to entertain
• Art is still awesome. Artist Tom Derenick is listed along with Christian Duce in these issues, and while I think that I preferred the art in the first issue, the later issues give me strong Brent Anderson vibes, and I suspect that's Mr. Derenick's influence. Certainly, not a bad thing. I love Brent Anderson's work and his influence in these pages and in Tom Derenick's work is welcomed. 
• Kong and Godzilla aren't portrayed as bad guys, but Godzilla is certainly a threat.
• Release the Kraken!

CONS:

• There's a side story with the League of Assassins which just seems like one too many here. It's why I don't mention it in my overview. It just didn't grab me.

Justice League vs Godzilla vs Kong Issue #1 Review

  

This is a "spoiler filled" review. I finished reading the comic, "Justice League vs Godzilla vs Kong" and I want to talk about it. It was a seven issue series that crossed over the DC universe with the Godzilla Universe (Monsterverse?), and that's cool. I believe that this is one of those stories that falls into the category of an "elseworlds" story. If that term is even still being used. It refers to a story that exists independently of the regular comic book universe continuity and it just being told for fun. I like that. All comics should just be told for fun.

  

  

The story starts with Clark and Lois on the top of the Daily Planet building in Metropolis enjoying a romantic dinner. It is pretty clear that Clark is about to propose. (Establishing this as a story with its own continuity, because I am pretty sure Clark and Lois are already married in the established continuity. I may be wrong here. I have not read comic books regularly for many years. So, I may be out of touch.) Anyway, the pending proposal is cut short by the sudden appearance of Godzilla rising up out of Metropolis Bay.

  

  

Flashback to the Justice League answering an alarm call from the Fortress of Solitude. Supergirl is filling in for Supes because Clark informed all of his Justice League friends about his plans for the evening and asked that he not get interrupted. Supergirl and the League go to the Fortress to investigate the cause of the disturbance. It's the Legion of Doom. (Geeker joy! Yay!) They have broken into the Fortress to steal the device known as the Mother Box. The Mother Box is able to teleport anyone anywhere in the multiverse. Luthor wants to use it to banish the Justice League to the Phantom Zone.

  

  

The plan is messed up because Toyman sees something shiny that he wants and, in grabbing it, he sets off the alarm. It doesn't take long for the good guys to arrive and a battle to ensue. The battle ends in the Legion of Doom accidentally sending themselves gosh knows where courtesy of the aforementioned Mother Box. The Legion of Doom finds itself on Monster Island home of King Kong (or just Kong now?) and any number of other giant monsters.

  

  

There's a great moment in here where Grodd first sees Kong. Using the Legion of Doom for this story was genius. The group of villains argue and scheme and point fingers, mostly at Toyman whom they blame for their current predicament.

  

  

The Toyman in the meantime is not taking the abuse very well. He does try to spin the events to his advantage by pointing out that these monsters that they have discovered would make wonderful toys and fantastic tools to use against the Justice League. Unfortunately for Toyman, no one wants to listen to his ideas. On the other hand, remember that "shiny" that Toyman stole from the Fortress? It's something called a "Dreamstone" and has the power to grant wishes.

  

  

Toyman wishes the Legion of Doom and all the monsters of the Monsterverse back to their home dimension without actually meaning to. At least, I don't think he knew of the power that he had. He just thought that the stone was shiny, and wishing on it was dumb luck. That all feels like a bit of a stretch, and maybe the story would have been more believable if all of these events had just been part of Luthor's plan from the start. Anyway. that doesn't matter because now the stage is set for the next six issues of superhero vs giant monster mayhem. Which brings us up to date and back to Clark and Lois' date. That's how issue #1 ends.

  

  

PROS:

• The Legion of Doom!
• Grodd's reaction to Kong!
• The engaging and witty story by Brian Buccellato!
• The gorgeous art by Christian Duce!

CONS:

• All the coincidences required for the set up are a bit much. If this had all just been a well executed evil plan, I would have found it more believable.