Grab It Right Over
HERE
HERE
World War III #1 1953 was another early Cold War Post Apocalyptic comic that has slipped into the public domain. The book was a part of the whole campaign of anti war anti nuclear war comics that seemed to actually glorify this type of warfare. Similar in look and feel to the E.C. horror comics and the later Mars Attack comics.
Ace was the producer of some damn fine comic books in the 1940's and 50's. At least till the whole Seduction of the Innocent crap that created the Comic Book Code Authority and sent comic books back to the Stone Age for awhile.
These comics make for some great fodder for your old school post apocalyptic games such as Mutant Future and Mutant Epoch or even DYI post apocalyptic games that you can create.
With a new Fall Out video game looming on the horizon and players interested in all things post apocalyptic lately I've been diving into the deep end of these sources.
There are several reasons why I turn to these sources. The technology is WW II and Korean Era which means its ready available in the post apocalyptic games out there. There are time lines in these stories enabling a DM to adapt them quickly and easily. For example in the very first story we get the origin of this world's World War Three. Everything in these stories is an odd mix of conventional warfare and the liberal use of nuclear weapons. There's also some really odd retro future technology that we get here and there in the backgrounds of some of these stories that make great artifacts and relics.
Using World War III #1 1953 From Ace Comics
For Your Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaigns
.
The first story in on this comic is titled World War Three Unleashed and it lives up to its name! Within three pages we've got Reds unleashing hell upon the unsuspecting American public. This is really a weird mix of an odd mix of conventional warfare and the liberal use of nuclear weapons. US and Soviet rocket planes streak through the skies as the bombs fall on the US soil. This is a Soviet First Strike with no doubt. As I said earlier the time line is very clear cut in Ace comics material. This makes it perfect for adapting as background material for a POA right off the bat.
The second story in is 'Operation Comeback', USA forces are closing for a retaliatory military operation on the Soviets. Yet, here again we've got a mix of nuclear assets and conventional military being deployed. This gives a ton of recoverable military hardware where the nuclear arms are deployed. Bombs drop, Soviet forces survive and the war goes on.
'Last Stand For The Secret Missile' is everything you could want as a DM in a post apocalyptic comic. A Soviet base inside a mountain houses a nuclear missile silo and the conventional American forces have them pinned. This is a running battle to get this thing taken out. This base looks like a multi level military style base from the Soviet era. There seems to be an odd mix of Korean era stuff and modern. The army finally using a combination of nuclear artillery and army tactics to get the job done.
This story gives a DM a really nice blue print for a Soviet base. Add in your favorite combat bots, a few artifacts, and your ready to go.
I love the tag line 'The war that will never happen if America remains strong and alert.' I've used that line several times during Mutant Future adventures. All of the tales that appear in this comic make perfect fodder for an alternative Earth foray by post apocalyptic adventurers. The few times that I've used this comic book for Mutant Future its been as a side line adventure for PC's.
More to come folks. And happy gaming!
Ace was the producer of some damn fine comic books in the 1940's and 50's. At least till the whole Seduction of the Innocent crap that created the Comic Book Code Authority and sent comic books back to the Stone Age for awhile.
These comics make for some great fodder for your old school post apocalyptic games such as Mutant Future and Mutant Epoch or even DYI post apocalyptic games that you can create.
With a new Fall Out video game looming on the horizon and players interested in all things post apocalyptic lately I've been diving into the deep end of these sources.
There are several reasons why I turn to these sources. The technology is WW II and Korean Era which means its ready available in the post apocalyptic games out there. There are time lines in these stories enabling a DM to adapt them quickly and easily. For example in the very first story we get the origin of this world's World War Three. Everything in these stories is an odd mix of conventional warfare and the liberal use of nuclear weapons. There's also some really odd retro future technology that we get here and there in the backgrounds of some of these stories that make great artifacts and relics.
Using World War III #1 1953 From Ace Comics
For Your Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaigns
.
The first story in on this comic is titled World War Three Unleashed and it lives up to its name! Within three pages we've got Reds unleashing hell upon the unsuspecting American public. This is really a weird mix of an odd mix of conventional warfare and the liberal use of nuclear weapons. US and Soviet rocket planes streak through the skies as the bombs fall on the US soil. This is a Soviet First Strike with no doubt. As I said earlier the time line is very clear cut in Ace comics material. This makes it perfect for adapting as background material for a POA right off the bat.
The second story in is 'Operation Comeback', USA forces are closing for a retaliatory military operation on the Soviets. Yet, here again we've got a mix of nuclear assets and conventional military being deployed. This gives a ton of recoverable military hardware where the nuclear arms are deployed. Bombs drop, Soviet forces survive and the war goes on.
'Last Stand For The Secret Missile' is everything you could want as a DM in a post apocalyptic comic. A Soviet base inside a mountain houses a nuclear missile silo and the conventional American forces have them pinned. This is a running battle to get this thing taken out. This base looks like a multi level military style base from the Soviet era. There seems to be an odd mix of Korean era stuff and modern. The army finally using a combination of nuclear artillery and army tactics to get the job done.
This story gives a DM a really nice blue print for a Soviet base. Add in your favorite combat bots, a few artifacts, and your ready to go.
I love the tag line 'The war that will never happen if America remains strong and alert.' I've used that line several times during Mutant Future adventures. All of the tales that appear in this comic make perfect fodder for an alternative Earth foray by post apocalyptic adventurers. The few times that I've used this comic book for Mutant Future its been as a side line adventure for PC's.
More to come folks. And happy gaming!
Wow--I've never seen these before, so thanks very much for posting about them! Fun stuff...despite the grim themes. You are a great researcher into this sort of thing. You always manage to find some of the neatest stuff!
ReplyDeleteWe've got more of these coming tomorrow. Your welcome Garrison. I try to get some of the best stuff to you folks. I've got some really cool stuff coming up soon.
ReplyDelete