House Retro: Revisiting the ashes of the past

Because I have no other article to innaugurate my new blog site with (and also as a testament to just how lazy I've been in the past), here... in its entirety, is the first entry of my old new blog circa Feb. 26, 2008:

So here's the deal. My staunch dedication to my hobby as a medium combined with my desire to get more flex out of my literary muscle (that's not a real muscle, by the way) has made me decide to give another shot to the greatest of all columns ever written by me during the past three years. I refer of course to the notorious "House Rules!".

And so, I am reborn! As the mighty phoenix rises from the ashes of despair... as the deadly Hydra's heads regrow as they are severed to threaten anew... as the mighty Ricki-Ticki-Tavi bit the **** out of that cobra (and you know he did, because that mongoose was hardcore like that)... so then shall I rise. Shall I prevail. And shall I resume my almighty blogness... until a new game comes out or something else distracts me.As per my previous statement, my first installment is more of a question and answer segment. The questions have been previously offered per my request on the infamous GameFAQs C&GN board. Apologies in advance for not getting every question and for forgetting who asked which one, but that's what happens when you forget to check and rebump your own board topics on a semi-regular basis.

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Do you watch House?

A rude but brilliant man with physical imparity and a knack for abusing those around him and somehow not running them off? Do I watch House? I am House.
Okay, I'm not, but I could be. And what a great example of the medical profession he is. His medical prowess amounts to doing every random test imaginable and throwing treatments at the patient like a monkey flings poop. Eventually, he lucks out, stumbles across the right thing and it sticks. Hmm. Come to think of it, that is a pretty accurate assessment of how the real medical system works.

... I wish I was kidding.

But seriously, I do watch the show. Not religiously (and really, no one should have House as a religion), but if it's on and I'm not trying to catch anything else at the time I tend to check it out. The format for the show does tend to get a bit predictable (you almost always know the first diagnosis is wrong), but a good deal of the episodes are more about the lives of House and his associates and how the case forces them to look at their own values and beliefs. In that repsect, it's good storytelling, and I'm a sucker for good storytelling.

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Who wins... Superman or Thor?

Superman doesn't lose comic crossover battles. Period. Magic blah blah... comparable feats of strength, yadda yadda... he don't lose. It's an irrelevant argument, and like most hypothetical comics battles it all comes down to writer's choice.

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Who is Red Hulk?

(Note: this topic contains possible spoilers for issues already on sale)

I'll tell you who it isn't. It isn't Tony Stark. It's not Jennifer Walters. And despite appearances and all information that led to him, it's not Rick Jones. And I say this primarily because they've all appeared on panel with said Hulk, so barring some bizarre cloning power (and please, let us not venture into that perilous pile), it's safe to say that he isn't any of them.
So who is Red Hulk? Well, not having followed much related to Planet Hulk, World War Hulk, or even the new Red Hulk, I can't possibly make an educated guess on the matter. So the smart thing to do would be to save myself some time and trouble and not embarrass myself with an obviously wrong gag answer.

...

It's the Leader. Think about it. It's the opposite of everything that he's ever been. He's big, strong, and impulsive. And red is the opposite of green (at least in traffic it is). So clearly, this giant, red, fast, and interestingly thougtful behemoth running around with a chip on his shoulder must be Leader. And don't tell me that Leader is dead or has been seen on panel with Red Hulk or something, because I won't hear it. Part of an irrational guess is the lack of rational behind it.

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What do you think of the World's Finest Heroclix figure?

Ah, a good move. What's better than a question about comics or gaming? A question about comics based gaming. I'm almost obligated to answer this one.

So, World's Finest is the Buy It By the Brick figure for the new DC Heroclix: Crisis set. Long story short: you buy a brick, you send in for the figure. What do I think about it? I'll split it into two fields of thought, since there are two ways to approach the issue.

First of all, is the figure playble? The short answer is not really. First of all, it's 500 points, which means that it's only going to see the table in larger point games to begin with. Arguably, it's got a pretty nice dial, and between the collection of powers and what many consider two of the best team abilities in the game, it should be fun to toss out there. Having said that, I've never had much success with high point figures. Smaller point figures on more mobile teams tend to out-action and out maneuver them eventually, and I'd wager that short of a 800-1000 point game (where you could add a lot of backup support), the same would be true for World's Finest. But as I am always apt to say, it's impossible to say for certain until the figure makes it into players' hands and onto game boards.

Secondly I'd imagine is the larger issue: what do I think of WizKids using World's Finest as their brick figure? Honestly, I think it's a good move for a few reasons. First of all, it's two of their most recognizable characters in a pretty spiffy pose. Even if it was the most unplayable piece of plastic ever made (note: it's far from that), it would still be a hearty edition to a collector's desk or shelf (it can go right next to my Planet Hulk dial, it can).

The only thing that WK seems to be taking flak for is announcing that the figure is a numbered limited edition piece. This has prompted all sorts of stories to pop up with accusatons of possible abuse, deception, and collusion by store owners. The notion is that some stores may sell product early, allowing their patrons to gain an undue advantage by sending in their order forms early. I don't know how prevalent that particular activity will be, but I honestly think it's going to be a waste of time. I know there's going to be a bit of a rush to send off for the figure, but I don't think the number they're producing (5000) is all that small. Consdiering we don't know what the producton numbers of previous figures was, it's possible that that number is exactly the same or even higher than other brick figures that have been made.

I'd wager that anyone who sends off for World's Finest within the first few days (maybe even weeks) of the set's release won't have anything to worry about except for maybe not receiving a low numbered version of it. And if you're really worried about something that unimportant, you probably want to reprioritize.

So in summary, World's Finest: cool figure. Nice move by WK. Don't kill yourself speeding to the post office at 12:05 Wednesday morning.

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Okay, that's it for now. Coming up this weekend: more rambling about things that no one cares about, the first of a new set of comic reviews (Amazon dating rituals... madness!) , and quite possibly the resumption of a regular posting schedule. Dare to dream.

(So there it is. The whole kit and kaboodle. Well, maybe mostly kaboodle with a side of kit, but you get the idea. In retrospect, I said nothing that was untrue (aside from maybe underestimating the appeal of that World's Finest figure. Yikes, but that thing went like hotcakes. Anywho, I'll be back soon with something or other. Maybe my old review posts or other insanity.)