thebitterguy

1. If you could write one book for any game-line on the market, what would be the game, and what the book?

The thing is, I'm more comfortable writing ABOUT the industry than writing for it. Smaller word counts, for one thing. But if I could write one book right now, it would probably be a Super Agents supplement for Champions (or M&M, or SAS). I have a huge thing for SHIELD and cold war super spy/commando action, and even though recent iterations of Nick Fury prove that it's hard to take him seriously since communism fell. But I love the idea of a '70s UNTIL game; there's a picture for the recent VIPER expansion of a VIPER agent with an afro. That makes me smile.

God, does anyone know what happened to Solid!? Otherworld's website has gone.. Strange...

2. Why is it that Chris Benoit is inherently cooler than Brock Lesnar? And who really is the most electrifying name in sports entertainment?

Benoit's Canadian. He trained under Stu Hart. When he smiles, he looks like he's really happy (with that goofy gap in his teeth), but he could rip the arms off of a gorilla. Sure, Lesnar's cool. Lesnar is probably one of the best wrestlers they have right now in and out of the ring. But Benoit can jump off a turn-buckle without nearly decapitating himself.

Benoit has the makes of the greatest face in human history. He's a nice guy who, when necessary, can cripple a man. Brock's character is a great heel. Of course, he's a jerk heel ("Ohhh, he beat up a guy who ways under 200 pounds, and a guy with one leg. He's a baaaad man"), but we know he can wreak havoc in the ring regardless.

As for most electrifying? That's tough. I like Kurt Angle quite a bit, Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio are good in the cruiserweight division, and Trish Stratus gives me tingles (ooh!). The Rock may still claim the title, but he's Hollywood now. Hmm. Chris Jericho. Cause he plays D&D.

3. Okay hotshot, give me the five best comic-book titles, in order, and why they should be studied as the pinnacles of the form.

Unfair. Too broad. I'll stick to Supers and go from there.

1. Astro City. Kurt Busiek put together a world that, even though it's far different from what we remember, reminds us exactly why we love superhero comics. And it's the greatest example of how to write comics that have extensive backstory, yet still can be picked up and enjoyed at any point by anyone.

2. Watchmen. Cliche? Sure. But a great simulation of how supers could turn out (well, a half dozen mystery men and one super). A bit of a nihilistic ending, but a fun mystery/adventure all the same. For a Marvel take on a similar idea, the Squadron Supreme mini-series is great. Great power and all that.

As well, Watchmen introduced the concept of impotence to me.

I was a teenager, you see. To think that it would not work, that was foreign to me.

3. GI Joe. The originals. Let me tell you, you laugh, but they transcended the limitations of a licensed toy comic as few have. Sure, they ended up with some truely ass-tastic stuff near the end (and, admittedly, Battle Force 2000 can probably never be forgiven), but he spun interesting, exciting stories for over a decade while working within the limits of his particular genre. Okay, not really Supers. Super Agent level.

4. Sandman: A tightly wound story that flows from first page to last. Beautiful in prose and picture. Archetypes and anthropomorphisizations (that's a word now), all written by someone who does hard crosswords everyday before breakfast but still likes Benny Hill.

5. Ambush Bug, the Miniseries: The funniest stories ever told. This made me realize that I was wasting my time with MAD and Cracked, because they would never be this damn good. True, it ruined the use of the phrase 'Bwah-ha-ha-ha' by turning it into a rallying cry for idiots, but still, rockaliciousness. Nik Nak will always make me shed a single tear.

6. The first 20 issues each of Fantastic Four and Spider-Man: Not necessarily the best storytelling or scripting, but it's delightful to see adventure stories and horror comics and all the various genres of the day being set into the superhero mould in a way that they would stay in for most of the rest of the century. If they'd done a bit more integration of the romance genre, we would be looking at a very different comics industry today.

4. Same thing, but with RPGs.

You realize, this can only end in tragedy?

1. TORG. Okay, there are huge problems with this game. Massive rules issues, and some sourcebooks that, to put it lightly, are controversial among fans, and not so lightly, are ass. But, dude!? Once they got over the Living Land hump, the world was sooooo sweet. Cyber-priests, techno demons, a generic fantasy realm, Ancient Egyptian Pulp Adventure, subterranean worlds, it all rocked.

2. Wraith. The game nobody loved, except me. Sure, shadows can be almost unplayable, but it's still incredibly fun. People who say it's a hopeless game, BTW, are idiots who deserve a vicious sack beating. The game is nothing but hope. If a game where the basic premise is "you're dead, now do something" isn't hopeful, then we're in serious trouble.

3. Top Secret, SI. God, I loved this game as a kid. Only played it a few times (at a scout Jamboree, once), but it's good stuff. Nice system (I loved their unarmed combat system) that covered pretty much everything a spy game would need. Better gadget rules, maybe, but this was the '80s. It was also flexible enough for low powered SF or Fantasy games. And it had a boxed set set in Monaco.

4. Buffy, because it's beautiful and encompasses the source very well. Sure, I'm curious as to why there haven't been any supplements in almost a year, but I'm patient.

5. Werewolf: The Apocalypse. And the Wild West. Because there ain't nothing more fun than eviscerating horrid monsters. Sanity loss, my tukus.

6. D&D. Because it's the Granddaddy of RPGs.

5. We all know, by this point, that I'm Mormon. Now explain to me your take on religion and spirituality, and what it means in terms of your life, this universe, and everything.

You're a Mormon?!?

I'm a lapsed Orthodox Christian. Amusingly enough, I was practically raised Catholic, but since I was surrounded by assholes in the Catholic environment, I kind of waddled away from organized faith. I believe in the higher power, and the way I heard it he came to earth 2000 years ago. So I'm Christian, in that I believe in God, the father almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth. And I'm afraid of him, much like I'm afraid of my boss. Because I never know what I might have done wrong, and they're not telling. But I knew that, since I was surrounded by bad people who all considered themselves good Christians, and I suffered for it (admittedly, not as bad as some people, since I was never an altar boy at our church), there was really something terribly wrong with the whole situation.

When people who are supposed to be dedicated to the principles of a guy whose main precept was "Love thy Neigbour" (although I'm sure someone will point out I'm mistaken there), but who are instead irredeemable assholes are your neighbours and guides, you either come out stronger, or broken. I broke.

Spiritually, there ain't much there. I don't believe in angels. We're stuck in our room, and any intercession by higher powers… Well, it doesn't happen. Life is a situation of "deal with it, and you get answers afterwards", which is a sucky situation to be in, but it beats the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah. I don't believe in alien visitation, either.