|
|
Post by Cory Olson on Sept 26, 2024 22:46:48 GMT -5
Tune in for the gripping details on this important question! Also, I don't have my stuff in front of me.  I did find my Promoter #1 and the postmark date was June 29, 1992. So I would have to guess we dont have much time left with Club Galactica. Thanks for finding that, Todd. I wish instead of liking your post, I could make a sad face on it, as this will be sad when the Super Report coverage ends! |
|
|
|
Post by Tournament Master on Sept 27, 2024 11:17:54 GMT -5
I did find my Promoter #1 and the postmark date was June 29, 1992. So I would have to guess we dont have much time left with Club Galactica. Thanks for finding that, Todd. I wish instead of liking your post, I could make a sad face on it, as this will be sad when the Super Report coverage ends! Agreed, they are some of my favorite episodes. I do know Mark was involved in the Promoter as well, so maybe that would be an excuse to keep having him on. Certainly once you are reviewing CPC, that would be a great excuse to have him on as well. |
|
|
|
Post by Cory Olson on Sept 27, 2024 14:15:09 GMT -5
Thanks for finding that, Todd. I wish instead of liking your post, I could make a sad face on it, as this will be sad when the Super Report coverage ends! Agreed, they are some of my favorite episodes. I do know Mark was involved in the Promoter as well, so maybe that would be an excuse to keep having him on. Certainly once you are reviewing CPC, that would be a great excuse to have him on as well. While we haven't discussed this, I think it's safe to say we can keep Mark coming back for his content and creations. |
|
|
|
Post by Pete on Sept 27, 2024 21:31:50 GMT -5
My first newsletter was the one with the 2094 cover--it was a very late issue that I'm sure Chad will get into the circumstances of, but at press time 2094 had just come out. There was a review from Myron but overall not much Sudden Death content. There was, as I recall, one more issue after that.
Going over 2093...
Alpha Force - I get what Tim said about all the white, but I have to disagree with the consensus and Tom himself--I like this drawing better than 2094. The pose on the 2094 card allows Alpha Force to take up more space himself but the actual art is better for 2093. From a storyline standpoint, this was a bold move by Tom as in the flyer he flat-out declared that Star Warrior-Thantos was no longer the top feud in the company. Many great real-life wrestling bookers wouldn't be so quick to try to move on from what was working. That said, in the end Alpha Force was the first in a line of attempts at creating a new lead hero that didn't quite live up to the hype and eventually got moved down (somewhat) in the cards. But he wasn't a disappointment for me--he was to my GWF Title what Chaos was to most other people's. (Answering a question from the podcast, Chaos was the first straight-A chart guy, but he went to straight B's when the Alpha Stone weakened so I can see why you wouldn't count him. Alpha Force's Deathjump went to a B on his 2094 card, and a failed ULTIMATE FORCE knocked him back to L2O where on the 2093 card he stayed at Level 3, which could create some pretty repetitive die-rolling scenarios.) Oh, and the first person to actually pin Alpha Force for me? Would you believe Scourge? He did it in a Champions-vs.-Third Force Battlezone Match. I didn't explore it at the time but looking back that really should have led to some tension between the Keepers and Chaos.
The Collector - I always thought that was a cane or a crutch he was carrying--the Collector struck me as a guy who might need one. This is exactly the kind of card that Chuck specialized in more than any other artist to come along since. It's one thing to draw a big, macho tough guy superhero or supervillain, but Chuck was a master of drawing slight, weaselly guys who weren't particularly physically threatening but full of character. Only Werner has compared since in that regard. Great drawing for a great character concept.
Cannibal - Is he still the only guy whose finisher worked like that? Two different finisher and DQ ratings for the same move, but not a roll finisher. Cannibal never held any titles for me but he wasn't a guy all that concerned about titles. He was out to maim people. Also, next to Mayhem he was probably my favorite interview in press conferences, especially once he started leading his own team.
Chopper Mattock - Honestly, I'm not that crazy about the colorization putting blood on his ax. But otherwise, I've always loved this guy. Also, for years I always pronounced his name like "Mah-TOCK." I didn't get the semi-pun that it was supposed to sound like "chop-o-matic" like a Ron Popeil gadget.
Quasar - Maybe the best art in the set. Cool new type of character for the Titans who unfortunately seemed content to be the #3 man in the team for his whole career. I remember at my first GCon in '94, Tom opened it up to the group about which character you were tired of and needed something new or to just go away, and like 3 or 4 people immediately said "Quasar!" Of all the guys who never turned in their careers, I think Quasar had some of the most potential in doing so, as the Terrell Owens/Rickey Henderson-type diva. Rob, of course, jumped on that concept years later.
Vanity - Loved this update. The Freedom Fighters-Stud City feud was the perfect opening-match feud. Neither team was likely to challenge the Gladiators but betwee them were stakes, there was a personal issue at hand, and the matches mattered. This incarnation of Vanity actually had a brief Interplanetary title run, upsetting Holocaust after his SHOCK WAVE backfired on him. The 2097 U.S. Patriot, appropriately enough, was the one to unseat him.
U.S. Patriot - Yeah, *this* was the art that made me think Chuck was losing it, more than Sectarian. I liked that Adam Blast got an update and I liked how he was being booked, but this drawing was a miss. And I agree with Chad--a back body drop as a finisher? Clearly Tom thought up the name FREEDOM FLYER first and came up with a finisher to match it second. It could have used another workshopping.
Sectarian - I too didn't know how negatively this guy was received until years later, and I was actually surprised that he was the one banished in 2096 and not the Creeper since I figured Tom would want to keep the new guy around. It was an interesting attempt at adding some new personality to the Kingdom with a guy who was part-animal but with more intelligence, but obviously this experiment was given up on pretty quickly.
Meteor Storm - Two more guys whose delusional press conferences were always highlights for me. I enjoyed using these guys and Astro Turk actually holds a win over Thantos, something that he never let the fans forget.
I know there was some negative reaction to this set at the time and there are definitely some bad misses from a guy who, despite his importance to the game, was probably in need of a replacement. But looking back I think it's a really good table-setter of an edition for what's to come in 2094 and '95, and a sign that Tom was never going to be afraid to shake up the foundations of the Fed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cory Olson on Sept 28, 2024 15:04:57 GMT -5
Thanks for the thoughts on 2093, Pete! I think you might have meant to post it in the Episode 195 thread. |
|
