Date: Tue, 19 Dec 95 02:17:43 EST From: mgerber@ao.net (Matthew Gerber) To: superchat@awenet.com Reply-To: superchat@awenet.com Errors-To: postmaster@awenet.com Precedence: bulk X-Mailer: PMMail v1.1 UNREGISTERED SHAREWARE Subject: 000REVIEWS Spoilers for all issues from Rush #4 to Sentries #19. The "review crew" consists of myself, Mason Kramer, Jon Lennox and Rick Rechowicz. Mason and Rick do not review episodes they're affiliated with and anyone can choose to abstain from any review. I still write the capsules. Story types: 1: Full-tilt wacko 2: Generally humorous with serious elements 3: Equal balance of seriousness and humor 4: Generally serious with humorous elements 5: Lethal serious, perhaps with flashes of humor Rating scale: 0: Abysmal (Utterly and completely without merit. Shouldn't be on Superguy, shouldn't be on the Internet, and shouldn't exist.) 1: Very Bad (Thoroughly wretched. May have very dim life signs.) 2: Bad (Still bad, but the glimmer of something amusing may exist.) 3: Very Poor (Might have potential, but needs a lot of work.) 4: Poor (_Does_ have potential, but still needs work.) 5: Mediocre (Okay. Not _good_, but not bad either.) 6: Good (Good read. Basic Superguy.) 7: Very Good (High basic Superguy. The difference between 6 and 7 can be slim.) 8: Excellent (Very high quality writing.) 9: Exceptional (Really _excellent_ writing. Can have no serious flaws.) 10: Perfect (The kind of thing that leaves you sitting there in front of the screen going "whoa...." for a while. These are VERY, VERY RARE.) /// [Superguy] Rush #4 (Rick Rechowicz) /// The first arc wraps up nicely, tying up its own loose ends and introducing a few more questions to answer later. Characterization is solid, with Davis suitably mysterious without being cliche about it, although Rick's ability to make "extras" believable isn't much on display here. A good conclusion; looking forward to the next arc. /// Rush #4: Type 4, 7.33 xenotech crystals /// Matt: 7 Mason: 8 Jon: 7 /// [MetaWorld] Out of the Nest #1 (Greg Fishbone) /// AAARGH! Well, we know what happened to Heatwave and the Tesla Girls now. More or less. We _still_, however, don't know what's going on.... and it looks like things are going to get a lot more complicated before they start getting less. Characterization is amusing, but the prime factor here is the sheer out-of-nowhere unexpectedness of what Greg's pulled. I've gone from generally curious about what's going to happen to _really_ wanting to just know what the heck is going _on_. For Mason, "the surprise middle bumped [it] WAY up"--enough that he gave it a 10. Really excellent. /// Out of the Nest #1: Type 3, 8.50 imaginary cities /// Matt: 9 Mason: 10 Rick: 7 Jon: 8 /// [Superguy] Hero Patrol #23 (Mike Escutia) /// The weirdest town on Earth gets a visitor from one of the few places that's probably even weirder: 000SUPERGUY. The flashback isn't strictly necessary, but other than that, the issue is good. Good characterization is something you expect from Mike, and while a bit short (not counting the flashback), this episode doesn't disappoint. The ending is offbeat, and lightly disturbing, keeping the mood perfectly. Well done. /// Hero Patrol #23: Type 4, 7.67 patches of darkness /// Matt: 8 Mason: 8 Jon: 7 /// [Superguy] Sentries #17 (Jon Robertson) /// Sentries has gone from merely adequate to genuinely enjoyable in a fairly short amount of time. This episode's a bit off the wall, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Jon's getting better at characterization and much better at his deadpan humor style. /// Sentries #17: Type 3, 6.75 Gromonian sympathizers /// Matt: 7 Mason: 7 Rick: 6 Jon: 7 /// [Superguy] Hero Patrol #24 (Mike Escutia) /// Characterization is light and action is heavy, with things kicking into high gear. Everything seems to be moving into position for things to hit the fan, and it's looking to be one heck of a ride when they do. /// Hero Patrol #24: Type 4, 7.67 wonderful points! A-hahahaha! /// Matt: 8 Mason: 8 Jon: 7 /// [Superguy] Sentries #18 (Jon Robertson) /// /// Type 3, 6.75 odd Spam interactions /// Matt: 7 Mason: 7 Rick: 6 Jon: 7 /// [Superguy] Team M.E.C.H.A. Journal #9 (Chris Meadows) /// Flatphoot's back (oh, right, like you didn't know that's who it was) and Terrania's his target. Terrania itself, that is. This episode is dominated by a _long_ but well written exposition about Terrania, and Team M.E.C.H.A. doesn't actually appear. Characterization is well handled, Andrea managing not to be too cliche as the issue's plot device. Team M.E.C.H.A. never actually shows up in this issue (and it doesn't look likely that they will in the arc), but it's an enjoyable read nonetheless. /// Team M.E.C.H.A. Journal #9: Type 4, 7.00 unfortunate TONN employees /// Matt: 7 Rick: 7 Jon: 7 /// [Superguy] Task Force Aurora #12 (Chris Angelini) /// The phrase "things get weird" is pitifully inadequate to describe this issue, but it's all I can come up with. The Television Dimension starts leaking into 000SUPERGUY and.... what Chris does with it is simply not something that can be explained in a paragraph. Genuinely hilarious. /// Task Force Aurora #12: Type 2, 7.25 Manchesters /// Matt: 8 Mason: 6 Rick: 7 Jon: 8 /// [Superguy] Sentries #19 (Jon Robertson) /// /// Type 3, 6.75 well-placed buckets /// Matt: 7 Mason: 7 Rick: 6 Jon: 7 -- Matthew Gerber mgerber@ao.net (preferred) mbg84022@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu