Comics Time: Knight and Squire #5

This DC title by Paul Cornell and illustrated by Jimmy Broxton has not disappointed me at all. The entire run has been entertaining and lighthearted with some underlying darkness. This title is one I look forward to since it sort of sits on its own in the DCU. Issue #5 played out the chivalry of the titular characters as Knight and Squire’s actions could be considered unheroic from one way of looking at them, but from a more humanitarian viewpoint they are heroic to the core. The other main character in this issue is Jarvis Poker, “The British Joker”. This fellow is not necessarily evil like the Joker, but sort of mischievous. Towards the end of the issue, things get really spiced up and the book looks to be going down a very dark path, and I cannot wait until next month to see where this is going (Which is what I want from every title I read, but often this is not the case). Another endearing quality of this title is its consistently British point of view which Paul Cornell takes the time to define things the non-British readers may not “get”. A fantastic idea and a great comic!

Game Time: City of Heroes: Going Rogue (PC)

Back to City of Heroes (CoH) for my poor neglected toons. My choice to play was Deigh Laoch (pronounced Jayee Laoch). My history of CoH has been littered with deleted Tanks here and there. I usually end up deleting them because I am more of a solo/small team player and have more fun with every other character type. She is my latest attempt. Deigh is an Ice/Ice Tanker and tanks some patience to play. She is like most tanks, slow to defeat enemies, but not easy to kill.  Deigh is also a legacy character; her father is one of my friend’s characters. His character is unaware of her existence, in a very complicated storyline involving Praetoria, magic, and amnesia (typical comic fare…). I cannot encourage this type of thing in character creation enough, its all in the details with CoH, which in my opinion makes it special as an MMO. Have a ball just making your characters!

I played with Deigh because she was still running her initial arcs in Praetoria. I wanted to complete her missions there to get her to Primal Earth and into our supergroup, so she could begin earning Prestige for the group as well as have its functions for her disposal. She started out at 18th level that night in the Praetorian location of Neutropolis. I was all business so no real silliness ensued. I ran solo and after several missions and a few hours I achieved my goal and got Deigh to Primal Earth as a hero and level 20 at that. I could have cut the time down if I teamed up, but Tanking is a responsibility and I just don’t feel she can handle the job yet. The two enhancement slots I got and new power, Ice Patch, will help, but I am just not confident with her yet.

Game Interlude: City of Heroes

Call it OCD, call it organization, call it something, but I have a slight madness with CoH. I took the time long ago to invest the influence (money) and time to achieve the Field Crafter Badge. This is done by completing a lot of other Invention Badges. The benefits, as I saw them, were great. The character gained the ability to summon a table to invent enhancements on the spot and in the process the toon memorized the generic invention enhancements. Which then allowed the character to save some serious money when crafting those types of enhancements. This coupled with “the book” is why I may be mad. The book is a series of printouts that detail how to make every Invention Enhancement, with the amount of in game money and materials needed. I consult it frequently. Am I mad or do other people actually do this? By the way the pages are in slip-sleeves (of course!).

Next time: A 70′s Hero returns, Assassin’s Creed 2, more Young Justice.