Angel & the Ape # 1-4 (Ltd. 1991) (DC Comics)

Angel and the Ape are characters that have been around for a long time--since 1968, in fact, but I've never read much of anything with them in it.  In 1991, DC published a four-issue limited series to showcase the characters in a post-Crisis world.  Written by Phil Foglio, series keeps the characters in their very silly roots.  It's dumb-funny, but I found it surprisingly entertaining.

Issue # 1  presents Angel and (sapient) ape partner Sam as P.I.s lured into a cave involving bank-robbing apes!  There seem to be flashes of time where everyone in the city is turned into ape, except Sam who is turned into a human!  Angel's sister, Athena ("Dumb Bunny" of the Inferior 5) is a major supporting character, as she has a crush on Sam but he has eyes for someone else . . .

Okay, the important thing about Issue # 2 is that Blue Beetle and Booster Gold appear!  Only in a cameo shot, mind you, but still!  You see, Athena tries to call in the  Justice League International for help as Sam and Angel suspect there's a villain with memory or time-shifting powers at work, but Guy Gardner is so rude on the phone they hang up on him.  Classic.  Sam reveals the existence of Gorilla City, but no one he tells remembers because of a special device created to keep the city's existence a secret from humans.  And you can probably see where this is heading: (Super-)Gorilla Grodd!

Issue # 3 reveals that Grodd is Sam's grandfather.  And as Grodd notes, "I've battled the Justice League!  Back when that meant something!"  There's an amusing fight of Grodd against the Inferior 5 all done in the background of the pages.  Grodd kidnaps Sam so he can use his powers to influence a captured green glob to cull humanity . . . or something (I'm a bit fuzzy here).  And Athena snaps when she learns that Sam is in love with Angel.

In Issue # 4, Sam and Grodd vie for control of the glob, and Sam wins out by using it to give Grodd an uncontrollable craving for junk food.  It's that kind of comic.  Athena ends up with a new beau, but Sam and Angel decide to just stay friends.  There's a really good, persuasive comment on the letter page about the difference between humour and nonsense.

Overall, I liked this a lot better than I thought I would.

Pathfinder: "Bestiary 3" [RPG]

 The third bestiary of monsters for Pathfinder is chock-full of cool stuff.  A few major themes for the book can be extracted: creatures from myth and literature (like sasquatches and valkyries), creatures with an Asian theme perfect for adventuring in Tian-Xia (such as kami and jiang-shi vampires), and the just plain really weird (like yithians and zoogs).  As always with reviews of books like this, there's no way I can go through the hundreds of monsters individually, but I can say the writing and artwork is top-notch.  Some particular things to note:

* The book has five new playable races: catfolk, ratfolk, suli, vanara, and vishkanya.  There's always a demand for anthromorphic races like catfolk, and ratfolk later become prominent (under the name ysoki) in Starfinder.  Suli don't do much for me and vishkanya are a race I've never seen played.  But I do have to shout out to the monkey-like vanara, since a vanaran PC features prominently in my Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign!

* Several of the attempts from Misfit Monsters Redeemed to make goofy old monsters cool again are reprinted here, such as adherers and wolves-in-sheep's-clothing.

* Man, vulnudaemons are creepy.

* Love the artwork for animal lords--very Black Panther.

*The book introduces several new categories (sub-types) of monster: asuras (very cool concept I've never seen used), behemoths (creatures of divine vengeance on entire nations or worlds; a neat story idea), clockworks (a classic), demodands (titanspawn who hate the gods), divs (corrupted genies who strive for the ruin of all things made by mortals),  imperial dragons (wingless, serpent-like dragons of Asian legend), kami (fixed-location nature spirits), kytons (creepy devils from the Plane of Shadows!), leshy (plant-like sentients), linnorms (cruel wingless dragons with a death curse), oni (evil spirits given form--the opposite of kami), rakshasa (drawn from Indian myth), sphinxes (with an interesting write-up), and thriaes (female bee-like seers).  There's a real contribution to the richness of the game here, as all of these categories can then serve as the basis for rules-coherent variants introduced in later books.

All in all, Bestiary 3 is an excellent book and a smart purchase for a GM.

Pathfinder Map Pack: "Desert Sites" [RPG]

 I got a chance to use the Desert Sites map pack a few times recently while running a module set in Osirion.  I tend to think flip-mats are easier for most random encounters, but I could see the benefit of layering a couple cards from this pack over a general desert flip-mat to make a memorable scene.  Of the 18 cards in this set, four are devoted to tents (more than necessary), two to an oasis (a must), two to footprints in the sand (interesting), two to cave entrances (smart), three to ancient monuments (love the sphinx!), two to rocks (okay), and three to what the packaging calls "Strange Sands" (I have no idea what it's meant to be, and generic desert tiles would have been preferable).  So overall, you get some winners and some losers, and I'll sum it all up as average.

Pathfinder Flip-Mat: "Docks" [RPG]

 I think I've only had one encounter using the Docks flip-mat, but it was fit for purpose.  It's an attractive double-sided mat that meets the high-quality Paizo standard.   One side depicts a city dock, and I really like that one pier extends to the deck of a ship--perfect for an encounter where the PCs have to stop a quick getaway by sea, for example.  I also just noticed the path leading up to a lighthouse, which is pretty neat.  The other depicts a cruder set of docks constructed near a tropical island complete with small huts and palm trees (the packaging labels it "a ramshackle pirate cove nestled in some far corner of the sea").  The artwork is great with some nice detailing.  A good addition to the game. 

Pathfinder Tales: "Firesoul" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

Firesoul is a excellent Pathfinder Tales novel.  Set in the Mwangi Expanse, it features a young fire shaman named Jiri.  The author, Gary Kloster, shows a deep knowledge of the setting and a skill in depicting it.  Jiri is a well-written character, responding to tragedy in a believable way, while a variety of supporting characters come alive as well.  It's a strong, original tale, and a deeply satisfying one.  Definitely worth reading!  I'd also suggest that, prior to reading the novel, read the free short story that serves as a prequel, The Gem.

SPOILERS

In a sad but gripping opening, Jiri returns to her village of Thirty Trees to find it burned to the ground, and her master, Oza, dying.  It seems that a nearby sacred site named The Pyre has been opened, and something has been set free!  Jiri heads to the nearest city, Kibwe, for help, and finds herself assigned a group of northerners.  (I particularly loved Morvius--he reminds me of a bisexual Valeros.)  The cultural divide between the northerners and the tribal customs of Jiri are depicted well.  A band of treasure hunters from the Aspis Consortium are antagonists, and I particularly liked the insight into what the appeal of the rival organisation to the Pathfinder Society would be.  The hunt for the destructive creature set free from The Pyre is suitably nerve-wracking, and at no point was I bored or knew what was going to happen next.  All in all, an excellent contribution to the line, especially for anyone interested in the Mwangi Expanse.