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The staff of First Comics News wishes our readers a Happy Thanksgiving… Alex Wright, Barry Gregory, Ben Herman, Bill Black, Bob Almond, Christopher Watts, Dærick Gröss Sr., Dan Hagan, Matthew…

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  Sectaurs #1 Illustrated by: Ramón Bachs Written by: Dennis Culver Cover artist: Dustin Weaver Oni Press 2024 *Some spoilers.. THE SECTAURS’ SAGA CONTINUES! Writer Dennis Culver (Unstoppable Doom Patrol)…

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Milk Run #1 Illustrated by: Jarret Katz Written by: Bryan Reheil Scout Comics 2024 *A whole lot of spoilers.. Fans of Back to the Future and Minority Report will love…

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Batman / Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #1 Written by: Jeff Parker Illustrated by: Lukas Ketner Cover art: Bernard Chang DC Comics 2024 *Maybe some mini spoilers.. Santa comes to…

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The second arc of the supernatural series by co-creators Wyatt Kennedy and Luigi Formisano will launch in February 2025 following January’s Nights #12, the shocking extra-sized Season One finale issue…

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I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm looking at the comics hitting the stands on November 22, 1983.

Action Comics #552: Wolfman and Kane get back around to what was going on with the Forgotten Heroes, last seen 7 months ago in issue #545. Dane Dorrance, Cave Carson, and Rick Flag have been brought together with Animal Man, Dolphin, and Congo Bill, by the mysterious Immortal Man. They find they all have one thing in common: they've seen a great, golden temple in their last exploits, knowledge of which was hushed up by the government in many cases. Now Immortal Man tells them that in order to defeat a menace to the entire world, they must destroy Superman! Meanwhile, Vandal Savage has manipulated Superman into a position where dormant plant organisms Savage caused to colonize the Man of Steel to enter an active phase, growing giant vines to menace Metropolis. 

Detective Comics #535: Moench and Colon/Smith reveal that Jason Todd wasn't killed in his very first outing as Robin, but he seems to have a concussion. When he wakes up, he's acting oddly. He sucker-punches Batman and heads out dressed as Robin. He goes to Crazy Quilt's hideout where the villain's goons are waiting in ambush. Batman recovers a few minutes later and follows a clue Jason left him. He arrives in time to take out some thugs, but Crazy Quilt seems to be getting the better of them until Jason realizes he needs his helmet to see. Having hypnotized Crazy Quilt with his own reflected light, he makes him remove his helmet attachments.
In the Green Arrow backup by Cavalieri and Patton/McManus, Star City beginning to seem a really ridiculous place. Not only are the Werewolves over the top in their Mad Max stylings, but as Green Arrow and Ozone are trying to escape them, their resident inventor reveals he's turned a shack into a flying contraption. In the end, our heroes have the black box snatched from them by the Detonator.

Arion Lord of Atlantis #16: Arion and friends are walking home after leaving the city of Mu. Arion reveals to Chian that in bis battle with Garn, he didn't kill him, but rather absorbed him somehow. Since that time Arion has felt the evil inside of himself. The magic energy sword that Arion found in Garn's tower in Thamuz has amplified the effect urging the mage to bloodlust.
Arion and his companions are then captured by a group of animal men, victims of experiments by Atlantean scientists. (This seems a reference to the animal men of New Atlantis in Warlord, bring closer together DC's never completely in sync views of Atlantis.) Bylgor, the leader of the animal men hates all Atlanteans for the crimes committed against him, and moves to kill Arion, until the disgraced General Balar, who happens to be hiding out with the animal men, intervenes. Balar wants Arion for himself, but though forced to use the magic sword to win, Arion doesn't kill Balar. The animal men allow them to leave in peace.
Meanwhile, kingship isn't pleasing to Wyynde, but once he's introduced to his intended bride Fawndancer, he starts to warm to it a bit.

All-Star Squadron #30: Wonder Woman tells Liberty Belle about the Justice Society's recent, all-out fight against the Black Dragon Society. Most of the issue by Thomas, Howell, Machlan, and de la Rosa, is the usual split the team to squash the various plots of Black Dragon, but the real reason for the story's existence seems to be to address the U.S. internment of Japanese Americans during the War. The story is admittedly softer in its condemnation than a comic would be today. Still, for kid's media in the 80s it does a decent job. 

New Adventures of Superboy #50: Giffen provides the art for the cover and 30th Century framing sequence, and he is moving ever closer to his mid-80s style. Nylor Truggs, a 30th Century criminal, steals the H-Dial from a museum and goes back in time to ally himself with 20th Century criminal Lex Luthor. The 20th Century sequences are by the usual art team of Schaffenberger/Hunt. The Legion of Super-Heroes travels back to team-up with Superboy to help stop them. Krypto also returns from space to help out. Truggs breaks with Luthor but uses the dial to empower a team of villains. As all of the villains are defeated, they transform back into their regular forms--and they turn out to be Bash, Lana, Pete and Lisa. The dial gets destroyed, so it can't get returned to the museum in the 30th Century after all.

Jonah Hex #81: Fleisher and Ayers/DeZuniga have Jonah have a change of heart and rescue Turnbull from his rattlesnake bite. Maybe this is so Turnbull can clear his name, but the issue doesn't make any comment. Anyway, the story purpose is clearly so they can be uneasy allies against a common foe, namely El Papagayo and his band. Not that Turnbull doesn't try to double cross Hex on a couple of occasions, still, at the issue's end they are both in a buggy--when the dynamite Papagayo planted goes off. 

During all this time, Hart and Mei Ling are getting close, and Emmy Lou (dressed as sexy cowgirl this time instead of Indian) decides she needs to leave to get Hex out of her mind.

World's Finest Comics #300: This issue is an all-star jam with segments written by Kraft, Barr, and Wolfman, pencils by Andru, Texeira, and Amendola; and Janson, Smith, Maygar, McLaughlin, and Rodriquez. It primarily features the JLA and the Outsiders teaming up to thwart Zeta who after all is soul-searching has made himself the god of his alien creators and is continuing their mission. The Titans only feature briefly, just to show us they have their hands full in New York. 
A group of the JLA and the Outsiders try to stop the invasive tree on Earth while Superman leads another JLA contingent to rescue Batman. The first group is successful against the tree but is captured and crucified by the aliens to be taken to Zeta, Superman and his bunch also encounter Zeta who easily defeats them, turning all but Superman to stone.
Meanwhile, Batman is bouncing around through time. In a prefiguring of Crisis, the alien assault seems to occur in multiple eras. Batman encounters Sgt. Rock, but more helpfully, manages to free Halo. Making their way to Zeta, Batman and Superman confront him. They final shame him into changing his ways. He restores the JLA and sends them with the Pantheon to save the planet that sent out the Cosmic Tree. 
In the aftermath of all this, Wonder Woman encourages Batman and Superman to give up their disagreement and reconcile, which they do.

It's Stalwart '85 release day, which is probably going to go on the list of big holidays to celebrate going forward; it is a little risky putting it this close to Thanksgiving, but I figure you can spend your morning reliving the glories of getting your copy (in lieu of the parade), and then in the afternoon eat turkey, and then play Stalwart '85 at night. That seems like a reasonable tradition that all Americans (and really, the whole world if I'm being honest) should participate in.
Of course, you'll need the book to do that. It's right here.
Thanks again to the Kickstarter backers, because the book would be a book of some kind, but it would not be NEARLY this amazing. KS backers - I posted an update a few hours ago with a link to the game, but you will also be getting an email this morning if you want to download it from DriveThru, which is probably a good idea to have just so that there's that permanent digital link.

I don't know Gary Gygax's preferences in regard to authors of fantasy fiction, but I feel pretty strongly that L. Sprague de Camp (1907-2000) is the closet in sensibility to Gygax himself, at least in the earlier days of D&D. 

De Camp makes several appearances in Appendix N. I haven't read all of these works, but the ones I have read demonstrate some characteristics I get from Gygax's worldbuilding and from his early fiction that I have seen. There is some content similarity (like universe-hopping, crossovers with the works of other authors, and hierarchical planes of existence), sure, but what I'm mainly thinking of is more of a structural or attitudinal alignment. 

For one thing, I think it's fair to say that Gygax's work shows a concern with realism and degree of pedantry around certainly topics: Extensive list of polearms, obscure terminology, etc. De Camp gives us an extensive exegesis of REH's naming in the Conan stories and also an analysis of the same stories' technology. He wrote a series of Sword & Planet stories (the Krishna series) that makes a point of addressing the unrealistic elements of Burroughs' and others' similar stories.

It seems to me there was a logic to Gygax's D&D work. I'm sure this is in part due to it being in a game where you have to be prepared for player action, but it resembles the application of rational consideration of elements in fiction as in the Harold Shea stories or The Carnelian Cube.

Both men also have a fondness for humor in their fantasy. While this isn't an uncommon trait and is found in the work of a number of Appendix N or adjacent authors, I feel like use of anachronism for humorous purpose is something found in Gygax's work that also occurs in the Harold Shea series. Less than totally heroic or unheroic protagonists (often the humorous effect) probably describes a lot of D&D, but also several of de Camp's Krishna novels and his Reluctant King trilogy.

As to Gygax's later work, I've only read a couple of the Gord novels and that was decades ago, but I don't recall them being particularly de Campian. Maybe his sensibilities shifted over time or perhaps they reflect a desire to better compete in the fantasy market that existed in the mid-80s. Still, I think on balance, the similarities are there.

I remember the thrill I got just looking at a house ad for Giants Walk the Earth! in Journey Into Mystery 104 (May 1964). Jack Kirby’s art depicted a Godzilla-sized…

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The next Marvel and Disney mashup comic adventure, MARVEL & DISNEY: WHAT IF…? MICKEY & FRIENDS BECAME THE FANTASTIC FOUR #1, hits stands on January 18.                                                                                                                              New York, NY—…

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The Predators aren’t done wreaking havoc on the Marvel Universe…   Following Predator Vs. Wolverine and Predator Vs. Black Panther, the galaxy’s greatest hunter target’s everyone’s favorite wallcrawler in Benjamin…

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DEADPOOL/AVENGELYNE CREATOR’S LIMITED, EXCLUSIVE & METAL EDITIONS ARE NOW LIVE ON INDIEGOGO! Click HERE for the SHI:GATECRASHER! Indiegogo Campaign! Rob Liefeld and Colorist Ezequiel Dominguez’s Striking Shi: Gatecrasher Limited Edition!…

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GHOST visionary Tobias Forge sheds light on the hidden past of an enigmatic figure in a new comic miniseries MILWAUKIE, Ore., (November 22, 2024)— Together with Tobias Forge, founder and mastermind…

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‘The Breakfast Club’ in a graveyard LOS ANGELES, CA (November 22, 2024) – The next chapter of legendary horror author R.L. Stine and acclaimed illustrator Carola Borelli’s coming-of-age teen thriller is…

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WORLD OF BETTY & VERONICA JUMBO COMICS DIGEST #37 BRAND NEW STORY! When Betty and Veronica attend a magic show by the mysterious Kardak, he brings them on stage for…

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WHO – OR WHAT – IS BLOOD TYPE? EC Comics and Oni Press Make History for Free Comic Book Day 2025! The Next Shocking Year of EC Comics’ Blockbuster Resurrection Begins in…

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BETTY #8: FACSIMILE EDITION You’ll find plenty of gold in this treasured issue of BETTY #8, faithfully reprinted in a full-facsimile edition! Script: Various Art: Various Cover: Dan DeCarlo, Alison…

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The Iconic Series from Larry Hama & Chris Mooneyham Continues HERE! LOS ANGELES 11/22/2024 — Today Skybound and Image Comics, in collaboration with leading toy and game company Hasbro, revealed a…

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Thinking about rationalization of the implied setting of D&D, not in the way of industrial magic or anything like that (though I've done that before) but in the direction of how the implied setting of D&D might point toward its religions or belief systems. Sure, there's the explicit fantasy polytheism, but as others have pointed out, it's undermined by the (at least up through AD&D) presentation of the cleric class as vaguely sort of Medieval Christian and by the fact that historical polytheism didn't work like D&D thinks it does. As Delta puts it:

...D&D claims to have a polytheistic religion, but you've got both the politics and the critical Cleric class set up as in the medieval Christian world, and nowhere else.

Is there a more interesting and perhaps more realistic way weave together the elements presented? I think so.

Note that Clerics of 7th level and greater are either "Law" or "Chaos", and there is a sharp distinction between them.
- Gygax & Arneson, Men & Magic

OD&D mentions Law and Chaos with regard to a cleric's orientation. To me, this suggests a system of belief with a dualist cosmology. (Perhaps this is the actual state of the cosmos, but it doesn't have to be!) This is a moral dualism, as the two opposing forces or principles are in conflict. This could be interpreted (and perhaps is by some sects or particular faiths) as ditheistic with two gods or groups of gods in opposition, but I also think the broader, philosophical tradition could embrace transtheism, where the existence of Law and Chaos is a greater and more important truth than the existence or nonexistence of god-like beings/powers. 

The church of law is syncretic, incorporating deities as it grows as agents, exemplars, or aspects of Law. No doubt there would be historic disagreement (possibly even conflict) over just how much deference and attention these powers are rightly due.

Clerics/priests, given the hierarchical structure presented in OD&D, are important in public rituals and ceremonies of the belief system but are also likely interpreters and scholarly experts on Law. Each of these Patriarchs (and Matriarchs, probably, though OD&D doesn't mention them!) is independent and self-governing but in fellowship with the others (generally). Initially a Patriarch would be a charismatic leader who attracts followers, but presumably the church they founded would have a mechanism of choosing a successor. 

Patriarchs are the final arbiters of the commandments of Law within their area, but the Patriarchs of the various churches might vote to decide points between them, or perhaps different interpretations would reign in different jurisdictions. Another aspect of the high clerical function extremely relevant to adventuring is calling for and supporting crusades/jihad against Chaos. 

Speaking of Chaos, it does seem a bit odd it is presented with a hierarchical clerical structure identical to Law's. One possibility is the "anti-clerics" are sort of Satanists and just performatively mock the church of Law, but another possibility is that "Chaos" only speaks to its ultimate goals or cosmological beliefs, not to its organizing principles. It's also possible (even likely) that the Church of Law applies the name Chaos to a diverse group of belief systems that don't agree with it and often don't agree with each other. 

I did a commission, and the KS backer gave me feedback that it wasn't exactly what he had in mind... so I ended up doing a different commission once I understood how he was thinking a little better. However, I went full Bob Ross on this guy and decided this was a happy accident - instead, this is going to be the design for the Messari in their natural form, which is a departure from the 'mind flayers with the serial numbers filed off' that they have been for years. These are more in line with the early 80s alien aesthetic, and also a little more freaky looking than what I had in mind.
FWIW, this guy's name was going to be "Giger the Counter", and he was going to be like Spawn except the alien had a fixation on numbers like the Count from Sesame Street and had OCD about things always coming out to prime numbers.
If he's that in your own game, I'm not going to stop you.