Warehouse W - Valiant: X-O Manowar, Ken and Randy

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Re: Warehouse W - Energy Controllers: Thermite, Stratocaster, Vloedgolf, Payback, Rime

Post by Gamebook »

I have my own version of Impervious which I keep in mind when doing my builds.

Any effect with a rank less than the ranks of Impervious resistance of the target has a -5 penalty on its DC.

I like this as it makes Impervious useful against a broad range of ranks without making the character with it so invulnerable. It also makes Penetrating much more valuable for overcoming Impervious.
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And Now for Something Completely Different

Post by Woodclaw »

Wall of Text Incoming

You've Been Warned


Well, I still have a week or so of intensive work ahead of me, but I want to start working on a new project (I ahte to leave the energy controllers unfinished, but I'm kind of burned out at this point).

So, thanks to a couple of conversations with Jab I figured that I'm kind of in a unique position. Pretty much all of us are comic book nuts, but I've started wondering how many of you guys knows about Italian comics. Superheroes aren't really a big thing around here, the few experiment of classic American style hero ended up being pretty ... insignificant (with the partial exception of a few self-published stories). In general Italian comics are firmly rooted in two big genres: comdy/humor and adventure.

A Man Named Bonelli

Giovanni Luigi "Gianluigi" Bonelli (1908-2001) is often considered the patriarch of Italian comics, his contribution to genre is in many way analogous to that of Siegel & Schuster or Stan Lee in the U.S.A.: he pretty much defined the genre singlehandedly. Bonelli started writing short stories and novels in the late '20s and sent the to several magazines for publications under a number of aliases (an habit he broke only after WW2) and in the late '30s he moved to comics. He often joked that he was a "novelist borrowed by comics and never returned".
During the Fascist regime comics were hit pretty hard, authors were forced to write stories only with Italian (or Ancient Roman) protagonists and with antagonists that were strictly British or American, censorship run amok up to the point that all comics but Mickey Mouse were forbidden and considered "a sign of Anglo-Saxon culture" (according to some reports Mickey was spared because it was the favorite character of Mussolini's children). Yet, Bonelli had the chance to read many classics in their original languages, in particular the works of Lee Falk and Alex Raymond, which he often quoted as inspirations next to novelists like Emilio Salgari and Alxandre Dumas.
Around 1940 he bought the rights to the magazine "Audace" (Brave) and opened his own little editorial venture. Despite being forced to flee to Switzerland during the war – while his wife Tea and his son Sergio moved to Genoa – Bonelli kept working creating new characters and writing new episodes for American comics (a common practice back in the day) like Alex Raymond's Secret Agent X-9.

A Family Venture

After the war Gianluigi and Tea divorced and he gave her the property of his publishing company as a livelihood (by all accounts the separation was extremely serene), while he remained just as a freelance collaborator. Tea – who "had never touched a comic before 1946" according to her son Sergio – turned out to have a real knack as a publisher and in 1948 enlisted Aurelio "Galep" Galeppini to draw two new projects of Gianluigi: Occhio Cupo (Dark Eye) and Tex. While Occhio Cupo – a character inspired by both Zorro and the Musketeers – was considered the most promising, it was the dark horse Tex that became the most popular and absolutely defined the genre of the adventure comics.
In 1957 Sergio took over the company and in 1958 introduced a new "notebook style" format that became the staple of Bonelli comics and was copied by almost all their competitors.

Family Pictures
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23592149_1940077519587461_1876817288946753816_o.jpg (254.86 KiB) Viewed 2804 times
There is a boatload of characters published by Bonelli over the decades, many of the enjoyed just a brief time in the sun – being relegated to mini-series or single special issues – while others were licensed, like Magnus and Doctor Solar from the Gold Key Comics.
There's one really interesting tidbit here: in the '70s Marvel Comics reached to Bonelli to publish the Italian version of Savage Sword of Conan, Sergio Bonelli refused due to his personal lack of interest toward any kind of fantasy narrative. This forced Marvel to contact another publisher, a small and apparently insignificant studio called Comic Art, which – up to that point – had only published a few unacknowledged South American comics. The success of Savage Sword was so big that Comic Art became Bonelli's chief competitor for the decades to come.
Anyway listing all the regular series, anthologies and mini-series published by Bonelli is a titanic task, so I'm going to present to you only the most noticeable ones.

Onward to Adventure

The first generation (spanning roughly from the end of WW2 to the early '60s) presented a number of short lived experiments that allowed Gianluigi Bonelli to test out many ideas based on his love for both Western movies and the swashbuckling genre. All these ideas eventually coalesced in his most successful character: Tex. Since 1948 Gianluigi infused all he could into writing Tex (he retired officially in 1991) adding many crazy yet fascinating ideas to the initial western setting. While the initial stories followed the classic tropes of the genre, magic, lost worlds inspired by Jules Verne's Voyage to the Centre of the Earth and other weirdness made their way into the stories, provinding some of the most inspired tales of this 70 years old series. One of the most central elements of all of Bonelli's narrative was how his characters had an anti-racist streak a mile wide and several times as deep. In 1949 - one years prior to Delmer Daves's Broken Arrow (usually considered the first pro-native hollywood movie) - Bonelli wrote a story where Tex married Lilyth, daughter of a Navajo chieftain, the only woman he ever loved.

Make Way for Comedy

At the beginning of the '60s, Sergio Bonelli tried his hand as a writer, under the pseudonym of Guido Nolitta. If Tex could be considered a comic that dwindle between realism (a number of historical figures appears), Sergio's Zagor was pure literary escapism. The most noticeable difference between the two Bonellis though was the use of comedy. While Gianluigi included a number of humorous situations and very spirited lines of dialogue, Sergio prefered a slapstick comedy, usually centered around Zagor's sidekick Cico (strongly inspired by Laurel & Hardy).
A curious hybrid between Rice-Burroghs's Tarzan and Tex, Zagor's stories took place in the first half of the 18th century around the completely fictional forest of Darkwood in the north-east of the U.S.A. These stories almost always took a turn for the weird and the unexpected, including character inspired by Sergio's love for any form of narrative (exclusing fantasy), from mad scientists a la Frankenstein to aliens, witches and spirits were regularly featured.
This comedic inclusions were nothing new, but it defined most of this decade, in particular thanks to another series: Commander Mark. Created by an author team under the collective monicker of EsseGesse and based on a previous project for another publisher, Mark was a Canadian soldier during the Franco-Indian War, who had two extremely unlikely sidekicks, a fat ex-pirate and an old pessimistic native.

Antiheroes

During the '70s there were very few experiments, but two of them left a lasting impression: Mister No and Ken Parker. Both these characters were a massive detour from anything published up to that moment, their stories felt much more realistic and the characters lacked the aura of certainty and invincibility of Tex or Zagor.
Jerry Drake - nicknamed Mister No due to his terrible temper - was a burned out WW2 pilot that moved to Manaus, Brasil in the '50s trying to get away from the haunting memories of the war. Cynical, drunk and often disattisfied, Jerry was nonetheless able of incredible altruism and selfless acts in the same way of the classic hard-boiled protagonists.
Ken Parker was the last western hero published by Bonelli for a while and it's often considered a masterpiece for its extreme realism. Not only the stories were a big step away from the escapism of Zagor or the pure adventure of Tex, but the titular character age consistently and the setting moved along from the first stories set on the frontier to the last in New York, during the strikes of the late 19th century. Ken was generally portrayed like a good man fighting and losing an uphill battle against the greed and the cynism of his contemporaries.

Less Answers, More Questions

As the '80s rolled in, the changes introduced by Mister No and Ken Parker had taken root and the next generation of heroes introduced characters much more flawed, who often questioned the reality, rather than providing certanties.
Martin Mystère - made famous by a rather terrible French TV adaptation - was the first of the bunch. Archeologist, occasional college lecturer and TV host, Martin looked very much like a throwback to the classic square-jawed protagonists of some '50s sci-fi but, in truth, he was anything but. He was first and foremost a thinker, who rarely relied on violence to solve problems. His world was one of alien mysteries, lost civilizations and goverment conspiracies (he numbered the Men in Black among his foes).
A few years later debued the most successful character of this era Dylan Dog. A London-based former policeman turned P.I., Dylan specialized in solving mysteries linked to monster, ghosts and other supernatural creatures. A luddist by nature, Dylan relies more on intuition (his famed "fifth and a half sense") and had the apparent ability to get glimpses of parallel universes. More often than not his stories included a twist ending revelaing how the monsters were actually innocent compared to the humans.
The odd piece of this generation was Nick Raider, a character born from the undying love of his creator, Claudio Nizzi, for procedural police novels (in particular Ed McBain's). A detective of New York's Murder and serious crime unit, Nick's stories were 100% realistic and Nizzi went out of the way to get police procedure as accurate as humanly possible.
While published in 1991, Nathan Never was still part of this generation. A special agent from a private security firm in a cyberpunk city that took inspiration from number sources including Judge Dredd, WIlliam Gibson's novel and Jack Kirby's sci-fi comics, Nathan was a nostalgic in a world dominated by a pervasive technology. This series had the merit of creating a vast supporting cast that worked without the main character and spawned a secondary series a few years later.
Another bit of trivia, halfway through the '90s the Dark Horse Comics published the first 12 issues of Martin Mystère (renamed Martin Mystery), Dylan Dog and Nathan Never. Unfortunately they were heavily censored (Dylan above all) and the issue weren't in chronological order.
Make Way for the Ladies

The '90s brought in a number of changes with many new formats (Zona X, an anthology based around Martin Mystère and Agenzia Alfa [Alpha Agency] featuring the supporting cast of Nathan Never) and - finally I might had - ongoing series featuring female leads.
Legs Weaver had been the long time platonic fighting partner of Nathan Never. A hard-as-nails gun-toothing ex-convict, Legs wasn't just the first female protagonists of a Bonelli comic, but also the first openly omosexual lead in an Italian comic. Compared to Nathan highly introspective stories, Legs was like a fireworks show. Her stories were less personal and much more action-oriented.
Julia Kendal sat at almost the opposite end of the spectrum to Legs. A police profiler and college professor, her stories were extremely slow-paced and had a lot in common with Nick Raider's being as realistic as humanly possible.
Gea - the brainchild of my friend Luca Enoch - was the first timid attempt to bypass Sergio Bonelli's famous intollerance to fantasy tales. Gea is a teenager who inherited the mission to be a Sentinel, a sort of "angelic" soldier that protect Eearth form extradimensional incursions. Despite being, quite possibly the most powerful and superheroic character of this line-up, she was also incredibly unstable and lacked any kind of fine control over the powers.
There were two more rather interesting experiment, albeit much more classics: Bredon -- a strange post-apocalypse/fairy tale mix, where the titular character roamed across what was left of Great Britain after a nuclear winter -- and Magico Vento (Magic Wind, actually published in the US by Epicenter Comics) -- a western/horror story featuring a former U.S. soldier affected by amnesia and adopted by a Sioux medicine-man.

Testing and Testing

With the turn of the millenium the editorial policy changed radically and a metric crapton of characters debued in their own miniseries to test the market. From the half-blooded vampire hunter Harlan Draka masked vigilante to the science-fantasy tiem-travlling epic of Lilith to the maked vigilante Morgan Lost, these new character broadned once again the mold created by Bonelli senior back in 1948. Unfortunately at this point in history I had pretty much stopped reading Bonelli comics so many characters are pretty much unknown to me, with one glaring exception.
Ian Aranil is the main character of Dragonero (black dragon) the first 100% fantasy series that debued just a couple of years before Sergio Bonelli's death in 2015. right now his son Davide took over the family business.
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Re: Warehouse W - Energy Controllers: Thermite, Stratocaster, Vloedgolf, Payback, Rime

Post by Jabroniville »

Fascinating stuff, man- how many of these guys are you going to stat?
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Re: Warehouse W - Energy Controllers: Thermite, Stratocaster, Vloedgolf, Payback, Rime

Post by Jabroniville »

Now that I'm home, I can elaborate:

The stories about Tex in particular seem interesting, because instead of just being a standard Cowboy Hero like in American comics, he goes off and fights Wizards and stuff. It's something so bizarre by American standards (a "Kitchen Sink" setting that's COWBOY-themed?), that it can only come from a foreign country.

The Group Pic actually has a bit of that European flavor, too- all those leather jackets and overcoats is very emblematic of stuff like that, though I would have said it was British on first glance- Brit writers were the big instigators of the "Trenchcoat Look" in the U.S.

But the "Metal Jacket" guy and the "Pink Jumpsuit" lady are SO European in look. Them and the guy with the canary-yellow suit jacket.
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Re: Warehouse W - Energy Controllers: Thermite, Stratocaster, Vloedgolf, Payback, Rime

Post by Woodclaw »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu May 17, 2018 2:13 am Fascinating stuff, man- how many of these guys are you going to stat?
I don't know yet. It's very likely that I'm going to stats some of them right away and others later down the line. Tex and his supporting cast will be first for sure, but after that it's uncharted territory.
Jabroniville wrote: Thu May 17, 2018 6:31 am Now that I'm home, I can elaborate:

The stories about Tex in particular seem interesting, because instead of just being a standard Cowboy Hero like in American comics, he goes off and fights Wizards and stuff. It's something so bizarre by American standards (a "Kitchen Sink" setting that's COWBOY-themed?), that it can only come from a foreign country.

The Group Pic actually has a bit of that European flavor, too- all those leather jackets and overcoats is very emblematic of stuff like that, though I would have said it was British on first glance- Brit writers were the big instigators of the "Trenchcoat Look" in the U.S.

But the "Metal Jacket" guy and the "Pink Jumpsuit" lady are SO European in look. Them and the guy with the canary-yellow suit jacket.
Well, given that 99% of these characters are based in a pseudo real world the jackets kind of became a staple of Bonelli design. The first example was probably Mister No, who dressed in a variation of a WW2 aviator jacket most of time and they spread from the late '80s onward.
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#34 Bonelli Comics: Tex Willer

Post by Woodclaw »

Image

"To my eyes a Mormon criminal is no different from a gentile criminal. Both must face justice." (Tex explaining his convictions to a Mormon bishop)

Tex Willer
Also known as Night's Eagle among the Navajos

Power Level: 8; Power Points: 150; Hero Points: 4

STR: +4 (18), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +4 (18), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +3 (16), CHA: +3 (16)

Skills:Athletics 4 (+8), Deception 4 (+7), Expertise (Lawman, Charisma) 6 (+9), Expertise (Survival, Widsom) 4 (+7), Insight 4 (+7), Intimidation 7 (+10), Language 3 (Apache, Navajo, Spanish, Smoke Signals; Native: English), Medicine 3 (+5), Perception 5 (+8), Persuasion 4 (+7), Ride 7 (+10) Stealth 2 (+5)

Feats: Ambidexterity, Beginner's Luck, Benefit 1 (Fame), Benefit 1 (Law Enforcement), Benefit 1 (chieftain of the Navajo nation), Bruiser (Intimidation is based on Strength), Defensive Roll 1, Dodge Focus 7, Endurance 1, Equipment 4, Rain of Bullets, Improved Aim, Improved Concealment, Improved Initiative 1, Improved Ranged Disarm, Lionheart 1, Luck 3, Minions 3 (Horse), Power Attack, Precise Shot 1, Quick Draw 2, Second Chance 1 (gunfire), Seize Initiative, Sniper, Stunning Attack, Tough 1, Track, Ultimate Sharpshooter, Uncanny Dodge 1 (Visual)

Powers:
Sacred Silver Bracelet (Device 2 [hard to lose]; 8pp)

Devices:
Sacred Silver Bracelet (10pp of effects)
  • Nullify 8 (Magic; Extra: Nullify Field; Flaw: Limited 2 [4 different characters must present their bracelets at the same time])
  • Immunity 10 (Magic; Flaws: Limited 1 [can only block direct effects, not illusions or area effects])
Equipment: Ranger Badge, Boot Blade (1 ep)
Arsenal (array)
  • Winchester Repeater Rifle (+5 ballistic damage [full power, lethal]; crit 20; 50')
  • Twin Colts (+4 ballistic damage [full power, lethal]; crit 20; 40')
  • Bowie Knife (+1 cutting or piercing damage; crit 20; 10' [thrown])
  • Lasso (Snare 5 [tether]; 50' [2 Increments])
4ep in mission specific equipment

Combat: Attack +11 (Grapple: +15); Defense +11 (+3 Flat-footed); Initiative +7

Saves: Toughness +5 (+4 Flat-footed), Fortitude +6/+10 [Endurance], Reflex +4, Will +6/+10 [Lionheart]

Totals: Abilities 38 + Skills 26 (52 ranks) + Feats 41 + Powers 8 + Combat 30 + Saves 6 - Drawbacks 0 = 150

Suggested Complications
  • Berserker Button (racism): Before even cracking a racist joke near Tex you'd better say goodbye to you teeths.
  • Enemy (Mephisto): Most of Tex opponents tend to end up in boot hill, but the warlock Steve "Mephisto" Dickart returned time and again to pester the ranger, even from beyond the grave.
  • Motivation (justice): Tex is dedicated to see justice done, even if this means going against the law.
  • Reputation (like plague and cholera combined): Tex is considered the most nosy, dangerous and downright dreaded ranger that ever graced the Frontier.
  • Reputation (renegade): After marrying into the Navajo nation, Tex became fully integrated into its culture and whoever threaten or mistreat a Navajo is as good as dead.
  • Responsibility (the Navajos): After his father-in-law, chief Red Arrow passed away, Tex was voted as the new chief of the Navajo Nation. He also took over the office of Indian Agent for the Reservation and, in this capacity had done a LOT to fend off many threats to his adopted home.
  • Secret (the Rainbow Mines): Deep within the Navajo Reservation there is a rather sizeable amount of gold that the tribes mines and stashed away. As a chieftain, Tex knows about it.
:arrow: Well, here we go. Tex is the longest running Italian comic character (first issue December 1948) of course such a long run makes extremely difficult to extrapolate the essence of the true character. While the "narrative grid" of Tex is extremely linear and recognizable -- Claudio Nizzi, who wrote most fo the character's stories between the '80s and the 2000s said "manicheist" -- sparing the character from reboots, ultimate versions and so on, it still means considering 70 years of material and many stories are directly in contraddiction with one another. For a decent chronology of the character's history you can check the Comicvine page that I wrote about 10 years ago.

:arrow: Tex is often considered the archetype of the "perfect hero": an unbelievably skilled sharpshooter with a kill count that would make Jonah Hex go pale, his punches are often described "like mule's kick" (and he usually use them as mean to interrogate people, by punching them until the spill it), he's master tracker and an excellent rider. In short, he's capable of conquering almost every natural challenge. Keep in mind that my build is probably downplaying some of his skills, partially compensated by the use of Beginner's Luck.

:arrow: One interesting element of Tex characterization is how uncomfortable he is to the supernatural. While he openly admits that supernatural exists and often repeats that he met a number of native shamans possesing truly extraordinary powers -- and even more posers -- he's often skeptic to accept it, Dana Scully skeptic. The general feeling is that, being the practical man he is, Tex is somewhat scared by what lies beyond the veil of normalcy.

:arrow: This lead to what can be considered his personal nemesis, Steve Dickart (a.k.a. Mephisto). Whereas Tex is extremely skilled, Mephisto is the master of illusion and misdirection. One seem to have al the answers, the other put every certainty to a test.

:arrow: The silver bracelet listed above was introduced during one of the greatest storyline of the character (The Son of Mephisto) and while it's not iconic as the Colts or the yellow shirt, it was interesting as one of the few times that Tex had to use a supernatural aid to face his opponents on equal footing. The unusual bit of his kit is the boot blade, a small utility knife hidden in the heel of his right boot, often used to escape binds.

:arrow: Of course, like any classic western hero, Tex moves around on horseback. Originally, he had an incredibly intelligent moutn called Dynamite, but after a while Bonelli realized how stupid it looked that Tex and only Tex was always able to get his horse back, while those of every other character seemed disposable. To the credit of all the writers that ever touched the character, both the automaton and the invulnerabile horse tropes are throughly avoided.
Last edited by Woodclaw on Fri May 25, 2018 11:07 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Warehouse W - Bonelli Comics: Tex

Post by Jabroniville »

Very interesting- the whole "Italy's longest-running comic is about an American cowboy" thing is something I never would have guessed in a million years. Europe as a whole seems to have things like that- superheroes never really took off, but instead, a lot of things popular in the turn of the century to the 1960s are- Disney Comics, Cowboy Comics, etc.

I like how his stats cry "Generic Cowboy" (albeit at a peak level of skill)... except the Magical Bracelet.
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Re: Warehouse W - Bonelli Comics: Tex

Post by Woodclaw »

Jabroniville wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 9:49 am Very interesting- the whole "Italy's longest-running comic is about an American cowboy" thing is something I never would have guessed in a million years. Europe as a whole seems to have things like that- superheroes never really took off, but instead, a lot of things popular in the turn of the century to the 1960s are- Disney Comics, Cowboy Comics, etc.

I like how his stats cry "Generic Cowboy" (albeit at a peak level of skill)... except the Magical Bracelet.
In most respects that's absolutely correct, Tex is pretty much the cowboy trope taken to the extreme.

The reason behind his creation was, I think that during the Fascism western movies were heavily censored or totally forbidden, so a crapton of them arrived immediately after the war making the genre uber-popular. Most movies by John Ford were adapted only from 1946 onward. This was also what inspired Sergio Leone to try his hand with the Spaghetti-Western genere in the early '60s.
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Re: Warehouse W - Bonelli Comics: Tex

Post by Spectrum »

Thanks for starting this group. It's always fun to see how pop culture differs from standard US fare.
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#35 Bonelli Comics: Kit Carson

Post by Woodclaw »

Image

"God help us. When Tex has an idea, the vultures get ready to party." (Carson usual reaction to Tex's plans)

Kit Carson
Also known as Silver Hair among the Navajos

Power Level: 8; Power Points: 150; Hero Points: 2

STR: +3 (16), DEX: +2 (14), CON: +3 (16), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +2 (14), CHA: +3 (16)

Skills:Athletics 4 (+7), Deception 3 (+6/+10 [Attractive]), Expertise (Charisma, lawman) 6 (+9), Expertise (Intelligence, military) 4 (+6), Expertise (Widsom, survival) 5 (+7), Insight 4 (+6), Intimidation 3 (+6), Language 2 (Apache, Navajo, Spanish, Smoke Signals; Native: English), Medicine 4 (+6), Perception 5 (+7), Persuasion 5 (+8/+12 [Attractive]), Stealth 3 (+5), Vehicles 8 (+10)



Feats: Ambidexterity, Attractive 1, Beginner's Luck, Benefit 1 (Fame), Benefit 1 (Law Enforcement), Benefit 1 (organizational ties, U.S.Army), Connected, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Diehard, Distract (Deception), Dodge Focus 7, Equipment 4, Rain of Bullets, Improved Aim, Improved Concealment, Improved Initiative 1, Improved Ranged Disarm, Lionheart 1, Luck, Minions 3 (horse), Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Draw 2, Seize Initiative, Set-Up, Skill Mastery 1 (Expertise (survival), Persuasion), Sniper, Stunning Attack, Teamwork 2, Track, Uncanny Dodge 1 (Visual)

Powers:
Sacred Silver Bracelet (Device 2 [hard to lose]; 8pp)

Devices:
Sacred Silver Bracelet (10pp of effects)
  • Nullify 8 (Magic; Extra: Nullify Field; Flaw: Limited 2 [4 different characters must present their bracelets at the same time])
  • Immunity 10 (Magic; Flaws: Limited 1 [can only block direct effects, not illusions or area effects])
Equipment: Ranger Badge, Cooking tools
Arsenal (array)
  • Winchester Repeater Rifle (+5 ballistic damage [full power, lethal]; crit 20; 50')
  • Twin Colts (+4 ballistic damage [full power, lethal]; crit 20; 40')
  • Bowie Knife (+1 cutting or piercing damage; crit 20; 10' [thrown])
  • Lasso (Snare 5 [tether]; 50' [2 Increments])
4ep in mission specific equipment

Combat: Attack +11 (Grapple: +14); Defense +11 (+3 Flat-footed); Initiative +6

Saves: Toughness +5 (+3 Flat-footed), Fortitude +6, Reflex +4, Will +5/+9 [Lionheart]

Totals: Abilities 30 + Skills 28 (54 ranks) + Feats 46 + Powers 8 + Combat 30 + Saves 8 - Drawbacks 0 = 150

Suggested Complications
  • Berserker Button (age jokes): Nobody except his closest friends should ever think about joking on Carson's age and, for the love of God, do not call him "granpa" if you want to keep all your fingers and toes attached.
    Old-ish and Grumpy: Being about 10 years older than Tex, Carson often grumbles about his --alleged -- aches and rheumatism, which doesn't seem to slow him down all that much.
  • One Sane Man: Carson is often the only one that tries to be the voice of reason ... he rarely have the last word.
  • Reputation (casanova): Carson is notorious for his "proclivity" toward the fairer sex. While it's true that he is quite the silver fox, he's actually very respectful of women, including prostitutes.
  • Reputation (Tex's shadow): Everyone on the frontier knows that where Tex goes, Carson isn't far behind.
  • Responsibility (to the Rangers): While Tex is more or less a freelancer moonlighting for the Rangers, Carson is still on semi-active duty.
  • Responsibility (Lena and Donna Parker): The only woman that got under Carson's skin so much that he actually considered retiring was his long-lost girlfriend Lena Parker. when they reunited decades later, Carson also met his illegitimate daughter Donna. While he didn't reveal her the truth, he took an active interest in ensuring her a better future.
:arrow: Just like Holmes & Watson or Batman & Robin, Tex Willer and Kit Carson are one of those team-ups that survived against all the odds. the idea of pairing the main hero with an older character is pretty typical of Italian comics back in the '40s and '50s. The idea was that the main character represented a super-cool fatherly figure, whereas the old guy was more of a grumpy uncle or grandfather with a heart of gold. It's no surprise that Tex's son affectinately calls him "Uncle Kit".

:arrow: Carson was introduced pretty early in the stories (I think it was during the second or third story arc), but he quickly faded into the background, just to reappear rather soon to help Tex. The original intention of Bonelli senior was to use the actual historical figure, but that last just about 4 panels. Despite sharing the name and epic facial hair, there is not much else in common between the historical figure and the comic book character. Still, this lead to the fact that we know very little about his past, which is kind of a shame because the Old Bufalo (as Tex tend to call him) has been around quite a lot. What we do know is that he left home very young (probably barely a teenager), enslisted in the Army as a scout, fought during the Civil War (probably for the Unionist Army) and later was joined the Rangers.

:arrow: Carson is usually considered slightly less than Tex. Not as smart, not as good of shot, not as strong, but still incredibly skilled (we are talking about Green Arrow vs Hawkeye levels of skills here). Most of it seem to be due to his age -- usually estimated a bit over 50 -- and his proclivity toward vices: he's a chain-smoker of cigars (Tex smokes cigarettes, but only just), tend to enjoy a alcohol a bit too much and his a notorious womanizer. This last bit is actually not true, sure as hell Carson is a silver fox charmer and he knows it, but he's actually very respectful to all the ladies he meet (bonus points if they are a bit curvy). All in all these factors often lead to old Kit looking much more vulnerable and fallible than his friends, creating a number of humorous moments.

:arrow: Within the economy of the team, Carson serves as the designated cook (apparently his coffee and roast are extremely good), the charmer and, above all, the voice of reason. Due to his age, he's the only one that regularly points out the failings in Tex plans and actively tries to talk his friend out of some of the craziest stunts. This formed the basis for a rather vitriolic relationship whereas Tex and Carson constantly joke, bicker and try to one-up each other. Of course you need a crowbar to separate them.
Last edited by Woodclaw on Tue May 29, 2018 7:55 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Warehouse W - Bonelli Comics: Tex, Carson

Post by Jabroniville »

Huh- that's interesting. So it's common for the hero to have an OLDER partner? That's certainly different than in America, where you typically have small children (Audience Inserts) or Ethnic Buddies (exotic cultures explained by Tonto or Lothar-types). Sounds like a fun character- a grouchy, more hedonistic sort.
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Re: Warehouse W - Bonelli Comics: Tex, Carson

Post by Woodclaw »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri May 25, 2018 1:02 pm Huh- that's interesting. So it's common for the hero to have an OLDER partner? That's certainly different than in America, where you typically have small children (Audience Inserts) or Ethnic Buddies (exotic cultures explained by Tonto or Lothar-types). Sounds like a fun character- a grouchy, more hedonistic sort.
It's not common, but it's not rare either. In general Carson serve as a foil for Tex in the same vein that Alfred does with Batman, except that he's actually an equal in terms of fighting skills.

Audience insert and ethnic buddy comes next :P
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#36 Bonelli Comics: Tiger Jack

Post by Woodclaw »

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"Ugh! They're like an old married couple." (Tiger commenting the umpteenth discussion between Tex and Carson)

Tiger Jack

Power Level: 8; Power Points: 147; Hero Points: 2

STR: +3 (16), DEX: +3 (16), CON: +5 (20), INT: +2 (14), WIS: +4 (18), CHA: +2 (14)

Skills:Athletics 5 (+8), Deception 5 (+7), Expertise (Widsom) (survival) 8 (+12), Insight 4 (+8), Intimidation 5 (+7), Language 3 (Apache, Cherooke, English, Iroquis, Spanish, Smoke Signals; Native: Navajo), Medicine 3 (+5), Perception 6 (+10), Persuasion 3 (+5), Ride 7 (+10), Stealth 5 (+8)

Feats: Beginner's Luck, Benefit 1 (organizational ties: Five Nations), Connected, Diehard, Distract (Intimidate), Dodge Focus 6, Endurance 1, Equipment 3, Rain of Bullets, Improved Aim, Improved Concealment, Improved Initiative 1, Improved Ranged Disarm, Iron Stomach, Last Stand, Lionheart 1, Luck 1, Minions 3 (horse), Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Draw 1, Second Chance 1 (Starvation), Set-Up, Sniper, Stunning Attack, Teamwork 2, Track, Ultimate Tracker, Uncanny Dodge 1 (Visual)

Powers:
Sacred Silver Bracelet (Device 2 [hard to lose]; 8pp)

Devices:
Sacred Silver Bracelet (10pp of effects)
  • Nullify 8 (Magic; Extra: Nullify Field; Flaw: Limited 2 [4 different characters must present their bracelets at the same time])
  • Immunity 10 (Magic; Flaws: Limited 1 [can only block direct effects, not illusions or area effects])
Equipment: Medicine Pouch
Arsenal (array)
  • Winchester Repeater Rifle (+5 ballistic damage [full power, lethal]; crit 20; 50')
  • Bowie Knife (+1 cutting or piercing damage; crit 20; 10' [thrown])
  • Lasso (Snare 5 [tether]; 50' [2 Increments])
4ep in mission specific equipment

Combat: Attack +10 (Grapple: +13); Defense +10 (+3 Flat-footed); Initiative +7

Saves: Toughness +5, Fortitude +7/+11 [Endurance], Reflex +4, Will +6/+10 [Lionheart]

Totals: Abilities 38 + Skills 27 (54 ranks) + Feats 39 + Powers 8 + Combat 30 + Saves 6 - Drawbacks 0 = 147

Suggested Complications
  • Berserker Button (racism): Do not make the mistake of insulting Tiger, even if he's bound and wounded he's still dangerous.
  • Debt (to Tex): If it wasn't for Tex and Lilith, Tiger would have taken his own life a long time ago.
  • Prejudice (native): Tiger is proud of his people and does nothing to hide it.
  • Responsibility (Kit Willer): Tiger was the teacher and big brother figure to Tex's son and hw still consider his duty to shield the young Kit from the worst.
  • Responsibility (Tex's right hand man): Whenever Tex is not around to handle the responsibilities of chieftain and indian agent, Tiger usually step up.
  • Superstitious: Despite being a very rational man, Tiger often points out that he has seen way too many weird events in his life to simply dismiss the idea of spirits and magic.


:arrow: Of course, one of Gianluigi Bonelli great inspirations for Tex was the Lone Ranger, which lead to the inevitable native buddy character in the form of Tiger Jack. While the initial characterization followed the classic stone-faced, proud native, Tiger was never portrayed as dumb -- nor he ever spoke in the classic pidgin/stunt English, although he retains some claremontisms -- and it was immediately clear that if Tex was a good tracker, Tiger was borderline superhuman. After this first outing, helping Tex and other lawmen to nail the Dalton Gang after the Coffeyville robbery, Tiger disappeared for a time, resurfacing as the teacher of Tex's son.

:arrow: It took many years before Claudio Nizzi, with the blessing of Bonelli senior, decided to dig into the past of the stoic Navajo warrior to reveal the reasons behind his stone-faced persona. It turned out that young Tiger Jack was the exact opposite of his adult self: hot-headed, foolish, he thought to be invulnerable and rushed into danger without thinking twice. He was also madly in love with a girl from his own village called Taniah and stole 30 horses from a U.S.Army cavalry fort as a gift for her father, so that he would agree to their marriage. Let me reiterate this once again: a lone Navajo, probably no older than 18 at the time, stole 30 bloody horses under the nose of an entire fort, just to get the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately his happiness was incredibly short lived, two days before their marriage, Taniah and her best friend were kidnapped by a group of Utes raider that sold them to a Mexican crime-lord, Don Liborio Torres. Almost driven mad with rage, Tiger tracked down the Utes and slaughtered them single-handedly, before rushing to save Taniah ...

:arrow: Tiger attracted too much attention and here Tex entered the scene, saving his life and then helping track down Don Torres. Unfortunately it was too late, Taniah took her own life when the Mexican tried to rape her. Completely out of his mind, Tiger knocked Tex out and murdered Don Torres in the most brutal fashion possible. At this point Tiger was a shell of a man and Tex was barely able to convince him not to kill himself and instead follow him back to the reservation. After some time, Tiger regained a measure of self-control, but he was no longer the same.

:arrow: Contrary to the classic "proud native warrior" stereotype, Tiger is an extremely practical man, he's not above playing the dumb redskin, using his looks as a mean to intimidate (usually by threatning some really horrible torture), dress up as a paleface (although he doesn't like it) or playing all sort of dirty trick in order to save his skin. He's nonetheless extremely loyal and a man of his word.

:arrow: In the team ecology, Tiger is usually the recon-man, he's not just a master tracker, he's also extremely adept at stealth. He often pairs up with Kit Willer handling flanking and secondary actions, leaving the two "old men" to deal with the full frontal assault.
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#37 Bonelli Comics: Kit Willer

Post by Woodclaw »

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"Cheer up, uncle Kit. The air has a pleasant smell of gunpowder." (Kit trying to cheer up Carson)

Kit Willer
Little Hawk

Power Level: 7; Power Points: 135; Hero Points: 3

STR: +3 (16), DEX: +2 (14), CON: +3 (16), INT: +3 (16), WIS: +2 (14), CHA: +3 (16)

Skills:Athletics 4 (+7), Deception 1 (+3/+7 Attractive), Expertise (Charisma, lawman) 5 (+8), Expertise (Widsom, survival) 5 (+7), Expertise (Intelligence, humanities) 3 (+6), Insight 3 (+5), Intimidation 3 (+6), Investigation 4 (+7), Language 3 (Apache, English, French, German, Spanish, Smoke Signals; Native: Navajo), Medicine 2 (+5), Perception 5 (+7), Persuasion 3 (+6/+10 Attractive), Ride 8 (+10), Stealth 4 (+6)

Feats: All-out Attack, Ambidexterity, Attractive 1, Benefit 1 (Law Enforcement), Benefit 1 (Navajo Chieftain), Defensive Roll 2, Dodge Focus 5, Endurance 1, Equipment 4, Fascinate, Rain of Bullets, Improved Aim, Improved Concealment, Improved Initiative 1, Improved Ranged Disarm, Lionheart 1, Luck 2, Minions 3 (horse), Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Draw 1, Second Chance 1 (gunfire), Sniper, Stunning Attack, Track, Uncanny Dodge 1 (Visual)

Powers:
Sacred Silver Bracelet (Device 2 [hard to lose]; 8pp)

Devices:
Sacred Silver Bracelet (10pp of effects)
  • Nullify 7 (Magic; Extra: Nullify Field; Flaw: Limited 2 [4 different characters must present their bracelets at the same time])
  • Immunity 10 (Magic; Flaws: Limited 1 [can only block direct effects, not illusions or area effects])
Equipment: Ranger Badge, Boot Blade (1 ep), Hidden Knife Scabbard (1ep)
Arsenal (array)
  • Winchester Repeater Rifle (+5 ballistic damage [full power, lethal]; crit 20; 50')
  • Twin Colts (+4 ballistic damage [full power, lethal]; crit 20; 40')
  • Bowie Knife (+1 cutting or piercing damage; crit 20; 10' [thrown])
  • Lasso (Snare 5 [tether]; 50' [2 Increments])
3ep in mission specific equipment

Combat: Attack +9 (Grapple: +12); Defense +9 (+3 Flat-footed); Initiative +6

Saves: Toughness +5 (+3 Flat-footed), Fortitude +5/+9 [Endurance], Reflex +4, Will +5/+9 [Lionheart]

Totals: Abilities 32 + Skills 25 (49 ranks) + Feats 37 + Powers 8 + Combat 26 + Saves 7 - Drawbacks 0 = 135

Complications
  • Badass in Distress: Kit often pushes his luck way too much and the rest of the pards ahve to bail him out of fire.
  • Honor (no unnecessary killing): In spite of his confessed love for gunpowder (see above), Kit always try to avoid unnecessary killings, often relying on his lasso to stop his opponents.
  • Prejudice (half-blood): Although it's not immediately apparent, Kit is in fact an half-blood and usually identify himself as a Navajo.
  • Reckless: Compared to his father, Kit has the habit of taking many unncessary risks.
  • Starstruck: Part because of his young age, Kit had fallen in love many times, he even shared a very romatic kiss with Carson's daughter, Donna Parker.
  • Responsibility (the Navajos): Many among the Navajos consider Kit the natural succesor to Tex and his father is actually grooming him for it.
:arrow: Named after his grandfather Carson, Kit was kind of weird deal, he wasn't of of those "suddenly introduced children" that are way too common for comfort, but we only saw his stories through leaps and bound. In his first appearence he was barely 5 years old, but already showed to be both brave and quite rascal (his first on panel action was shooting an arrow through Carson's hat). By the end of that particular story arc, Tex took a leave of absence from the rangers to raise him and by the time the next arc started 10 years had passed and Kit was now a very problematic teenager. Of course this was meant to make him the ideal "audience insert", but also gave Bonelli a chance to explore a number of situations that would have been otherwise impossible. Kit was an ideal story hook for small romantic subplots, investigate in those areas where Tex and Carson where too well known and a surefire way to introduce an extra layer of problems by having him kidnapped or wounded.

:arrow: Kit started pretty much as a carbon copy of his dad, although over the years a few noticeable differences emerged. First and foremost, Kit had a chance to study with at the mission of Saint Anita, which makes him a lot more learned than the rest of the pards, although he dropped out when he was around 16 to enlist with the rangers. Second, he tend to be a lot less quick-handed but more reckless than Tex, possibly due to his age. While Kit was mostly dropped after the '70s, some recent stories started to explore his relationship with his father and pointed out that although Kit hero-workship his old man, he also feel the need to escape his gigantic shadow.

:arrow: Compared to the rest of the pards, Kit is still growing, he has taken the best out of all three of his fatherly figures, but there's still room to improve.
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Re: Warehouse W - Bonelli Comics: Tex, Carson, Tiger Jack

Post by Woodclaw »

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The Pards

Tex, Carson, Kit and Tiger Jack form pretty much the main cast of the comic. While they're oftne helped by old friends or occasional acquaitances, these four men are a well-oiled team. the often quoted inspiration for these four was one of Gianluigi Bonelli's all time favorite The Three Musketeers of Alexander Dumas. This inspiration isn't just in the number of character, but also in how Carson, Kit and Tiger act as foils for Tex in different ways, just like Athos, Porthos and Aramis were foils for D'Arthagnan.

Carson is the older Tex, a bit slower, a lot more prone to vices and, in general, a lot more interested in enjoying life.
Kit is the younger Tex, quicker to act, more hot-headed and often not quite as good at assessing ricks.
Tiger is the native Tex, a bit more serious and often faced with problems that the main character never experience.

This of course is mirrored by the stories, The presence of each of the pards is like a flag for the reader about what to expect.
Tex solo stories (pretty rare nowadays) are often very serious and "by the book", they are often based upon the classic western tropes with little variation.
Carson adds a comedic element with his constant grumbling, but also several situation that his more serious friend rarely consider. The Tex-Carson stories plays very much like a buddy-cop comedy. This is why the story arc Carson's Past is often highly praised, it was one of the rare moments when the Old Bufalo took the spotlight and had some very serious interactions.
Tiger, being the most serious of the bunch is often called in for tragic stories. The stories with Tex and Tiger alone tend to be way darker and more bloody than any other possible combination.
Kit, after an intial run that was pure audience insert, became a sort of middle ground. His cheerful is often used to lighten up some situations -- but he's not as commedic as Carson -- and his habit to get into troubles makes for some really tense moments.
Of course when the entire team is present it's when the shit hits the fan.
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

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