Revisiting The Free OSR Post Apocalyptic Comic Book Resource Atomic War! As Alternative Old School Campaigns Part I

Need an old school campaign setting that has that Fallout feel but takes a completely different course of events. A sand box setting where 'The Bomb' has created the perfect Fifties science fiction movie parameters for mutants, mutation, and all of the venues of Americana old school mayhem? We've got you covered with Ace comics from the Forties & Fifties. Ace according to Wiki was; "Ace Magazines^[1] was a comic-book and pulp-magazine publishing company headed by Aaron A. Wyn and his wife Rose Wyn. The Wyns had been publishing pulp fiction under the Periodical House and A. A. Wyn's Magazine Publishers names since 1928, and published comics between 1940 and the end of 1956"
They published a really weird atomic bomb exploitation comic book called Atomic War!.

Atomic War! was published between (#1 Nov 1952 - #4 April 1953) - under Ace Periodicals / Junior Books imprint and it would scare the hell out of kids with post apocalyptic nightmares for years to come. Which means perfect fodder for your old school campaigns! 

Last year I did a series of posts about a free series of post apocalyptic comic books from the Fifties and today I was speaking with a friend if I had done anything with those books or the ideas I put down in the blog about them? Well the answer to that was of course no but lately I've been on a post apocalyptic streak of gaming again fading back into the backdrop of the OSR again.

Atomic War series was from 1951 through 1953, this series featured some damn striking cover artwork with the tagline " Only A Strong America Can Prevent  Atomic War " under the melting gaze of a A bomb mushroom cloud set under a melting New York City. This issue lives up to the cover in the first story with the horrors of  Sneak Attack detailing a surprise attack on New York and the use of strategic nuclear weapons to overcome the Communist forces

GRAB ISSUE ONE RIGHT HERE

There is a solid narrative story line of events in issue one with Berlin Powder Keg following closely or happens along side  to the events depicted in Sneak Attack. Operation Haystack dovetails into the events of this issue and then builds upon the next story called Counter Attack.  The next issue continues the Atomic warfare action with Operation Vengeance. The Icebox Invasion is what happens when the Russians attack Alaska. The whole thing isn't pretty and they're is plenty of room for dungeon master customization. The spy From Coney Island details a Communist spy on the fringes of society. While Mission Demolition depicts events in Europe. This issue features plenty of retro technology action.

You Can Download Issue Two Right Over HERE The retro future vibe of these comics is so strong that it hurts in places but these comics are from a different time period so there is very little BS politically correct stuff in these pages. If your offended remember this is 1952.  Issue Number three gets into some hard turf with Commando Cracker Jack where the events of the fall of London has happened and a crack team of soldiers is dealing with the events in Europe. There is some very cool retro tech in this story and there's a ton of background detail that can help to fill in an old school post apocalyptic campaign with little issue. Log of the Snorkel Pack depicts an America reeling under an attack from Russia and the ruins of New York. This is a prime place to let loose your old school mutants and adventurers from an alternative time track or Earth. This story depicts some alternative versions of battles up and down the East cost.
The Invaders features some very interesting material from another area of the Atomic battle front. This is a very limited nuclear war in some regards. Almost a mix of World War II and the echoes from the Korean war as it sets the stage for the next battle called Slash By The Iron Greyhounds. This story features warfare  on the battle fields of Europe  and some great all tank warfare as well as the usual mix themes that build upon themselves.

 You Can Download Issue Three Right Here



Issue Number four features a solid continuation of the Atomic war story line. The Artic Assault features some Fallout style jet planes and some weird bases too. The story is bloody and very violently grim stuff. Old Timers Die Hard continues the war as things move to the tropics. Operation Satellite depicts the stalemate around the globe at this point and the fact that the West's scientists haven't been able to develop a new super science weapon to break the back of the enemy. Here we've got a Russian style underground missile base worthy of a James Bond movie villain. A great location to set a dungeon wasteland crawl. Peril of Ploesti has submarines and weird war action in the middle of the series.


 GRAB ISSUE Four Right Here

 Using Atomic War! As An OSR Campaign Outline




There are three reasons why comic books like Atomic War are easy to use and are continually sought out by dungeon masters. Atomic War outlines events of its conflicts, battles, atomic war weirdness throughout its four issue run. This makes setting adventures around, during, and after those events quite easy.  The battles of Atomic War are on a smaller scale then the missile launching nightmares that we've come to see in entertainment, history, and Hollywood. This is a comic book reality and as such not subject to the bounds of logic or reason. This is a mix of the Korean conflict era & the twisted brand of Ace Magazines atomic age weirdness.



So what does all this have to do with the Lamentations book Lusus Naturae?Well,  plenty  actually.
Lusus Naturae is one of the better horror gaming aids I’ve ever seen and it depicts the violent weird nature of parasites, mutation, loss of control over personal space, having secrets wrested from you in the face of the cosmic. The very nature of what is happening in the setting of the Atomic War comics  almost seems to plug into the background of pseudo cosmic mythos of the
Lusus Naturae book. This is a world ripe for the gods, beings, and horrors of Lusus Naturae to make an appearance.

Or alternatively this could well be a world primed for the appearance of adventurers who might loot, exploit, and deal with the horrors that this world presents. The world setting of Atomic War might an alternative universe from the average post apocalyptic universe. A place where the horrors of mutation and mutants are just getting started. This is a place where the usual forces of Gamma World and Mutant Future cryptic alliances  are just about emerging into a a very different set of Shadow Years.
There is a ton of archaic retro tech just in the background of these issue waiting to be brought to the fore. The final issue's "Arctic Assault" from Atomic War! #4 has it just under the surface begging to be used. Soviet era snow going tanks with skies. 

So continuing the weird atomic age theme, the old Gamma World War blog brought this gem of a collection of artwork from the Pageant Magazine 1951 issue.  This was the same era that Atomic War! hit the shelves and its perfect for the events depicted in the four issue run of Atomic War!. Welcome to any city USA where the events have spiraled out of control and the whole thing runs like a continuation of the Korean war on steroids. The timeline in Atomic War! follows through pretty well making the chaos of the shadow years easily doable.


Print these out and use them as hand outs for your mutant adventurers and your ready to go. If I haven't mentioned this all of the material sited here is public domain and easily ported over for any number of old school gaming systems.
This illustration is perfect for depicting the ruins of a wasteland city and there are plenty of opportunities to drop in your favorite mutant monster or weird wasteland Fifties outlaw gangs right into there. You can almost smell the fallout.


I love the guys in the gas masks and Hazmat suits, they make perfect zombie or mutant forces fodder. The rubble choked stairs are a nice touch. So why I'm I not taking this seriously? Because this is a comic book era reality and the reality is so much worse. This is the same era that spawned Atomic monster movies and this material is ripe to use. As we'll see next installment there's plenty of material left to mine from the wastelands. I can almost see this issue of  Pageant Magazine 1951   blowing on the imaginary fallout laden wind on a newsstand in any city USA.

So what I'm planning on doing with all of this campaign potential laden material? This is going to become an Alternative wasteland 789 a world that might have been in the process of rebuilding or going to hell as wasteland campaign takes shape. See you next time on the time trails! 

Another Free OSR Post Apocalyptic Comic Book Resource As Alternative Old School Campaigns Part II

Grab The Whole Run
 Right HERE For Free 

Atom Age Combat was a short series of comic books produced back in the 1950's that occupied that special little niche that war comics have always tried to juggle. Be appealing enough that your audience would want to read em and exploit the hell out of the horrific subject matter to keep them coming back for more. If you want to know more about St.John Publications, they're worth looking into. But I'm going to concentrate on the old school role playing aspects of the comics. Now with the retro future vibe of Fallout 4 in full swing and post apocalyptic fever gripping the pop culture imagination I thought I would settle down with a free post and pre apocalyptic resource namely the tender mercies of Atom Age Combat issues 1-6. Coming out in 1952, there are few things to keep in mind with Atom Age Combat : 

1. There are very few if any real fantastic elements in these comics leaving plenty of room for DYI add ons. 
2. These comics are mostly bypassed by the super hero crowd because of the subject matter and they make perfect alternative history and time line fodder for your old school campaigns. 
3. The retro future vibe of these comics is so strong that it hurts in places but these comics are from a different time period so there is very little BS politically correct stuff in these pages. If your offended remember this is 1952. 
4. Each issue has at least three or four stories in them, and one of those is going to have some piece of retro technology ala Jonny Quest worth stealing. These books are public domain, you can use them as you see fit and no one is going to bat an eye. 
5. These stories are so loose that they could easily be combined with other 1950's pre code comic book resources to pad out some of the adventure elements as necessary. And radiation, and other horrific elements weren't as well understood so the elements of atomic warfare, etc. are all in comic book science fact along the lines of Gamma World and Marvel science fantasy. 
6. Enemies, characters, NPC's drawn from these comics are two dimensional on purpose. Think of the Chinese forces in Fallout three here. 
7. These comic's world settings make excellent adventure locations for AD&D style parties, super heroes, etc. to visit. Add in your favorite mutant monsters after 'thousands of years when Earth is reborn' and your ready to rock. 
8. When we are talking about alternative Earth's and weird radiation as well as the cosmic rays of strange E.C. comics variety these titles can easily benefit from having PC's visiting them having a radiation check or mutation check at least ever 1d6 weeks for some of the more remote areas and once every 1d4 days for those areas closer to the urban areas. 
9. Because of the almost too mundane aspects of Atom Age Combat and other titles in 'war comics'lines; DM's often bypass these gems. These are just the kind of timelines that slime covered horrors from beyond  love to muck with these petri dishes of mutation and horror just waiting to happen.  My most recent excursion into this darkly interesting pond has  some of the denizens from  Lamentations of the Flame Princess's The Lusus Naturae venturing in. This is because of the split nature of the Lamentation's game itself, on the one hand we've got weird and twisted writing of Raphel Chandler  & the tendril and tentacled artwork of Genifer Bone. All marking the gonzo take no prisoners nature of products of the LoFP line with sister in titles like Carcosa, The Monolith Beyond Space & Time, and lots of others. Making way for LoFP covering both the gonzo market and the pseudo historical line all in one shot. That's because of the shot gun approach of some of the titles and I hope that Mr. Raggi doesn't explain it. Because if we look into the background of  other LoFP titles there's very well done gonzo running throughout. And DM's don't need to over think this stuff. They can write in material as they see fit. Something other rpg manufacturers should think about stop over explaining every little bit of 'your' world or setting. Let us do that for our own campaigns. 
10. Don't over think these titles when using them, they're meant to be canvas's and settings where you as the DM and players can add your thumb prints, and paints so to speak. Always remember the Bradbury or Barker rule. The more mundane the setting, the more that the fantastic or weird should exist right along with the 'normal'. 
    
    
    Now I spoke at length yesterday about using these titles for a number of older editions of Gamma World 1st and 2nd edition, Metamorphosis Alpha 1st edition, and many other post apocalyptic games. Pound for pound Atom Age Combat makes excellent  campaign filler rather then full on full adventure fodder. It's excellent for creating historical back events, adding in weird retro equipment, and filling out the details of your alternative Earth or historical campaign setting. Most of this material is pre or post Korean war, very much in keeping with the Fallout vibe here.  
    
    
    Now with the mutant time travelers/dimension hoppers yesterday from Denny O'Neil (writing as Sergius O'Shaugnessy) and Pat Boyette's Children of Doom. You can start to see the adventure possibilities of  adding in your own twisted DM elements to adventures.  The gonzo aspect is still there but you get a real sense of danger when the back drop is WWIII. When running these types of adventures DM should sort of get a sense of the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits. Besides the usual sources, take a look at the writings of  Rick Worland. He's one of my favorite sci fi writers from the era of classic television too.  Don't forget that DYIing the post apocalpytic wasteland doesn't have to be hard. Skirmisher Publishing puts out the Wisdom From The Wasteland line of very inexpensive products that can easily be adapted as the DM sees fit. 

I don't want to go into too much of the hows and whys and hows I'm going to be pacing the twisted and odd nature of the elements of Atomic Age Combat, LoFP, and the horrors of The Lusus Naturae. At least until after it happens to the PC's in tonight's game.