Interview: STUPERPOWERS! Team

Graveyard Greg: Who are you?

Unknown Stranger 1: This is Fred Van Lente

Unknown Stranger 2: And Steve Ellis

Fjvanlente: Full-time comics creators, part-time game designers...

GG: Give us a list of your gaming credits in the Industry of Gaming, please!

Fjvanlente: I have written THE NEW ORLEANS GUIDEBOOK for Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu game and articles on GURPS for Pyramid Magazine (back when it was on paper). I write CD ROM games a lot now--just did "Search for the Golden Dolphin" for Cinegram, Media.

Ellis: I am a (mostly) full time comic and game artist. I have illustrated for practically all of the recent game books for White Wolf (Werewolf Mage, Aberrant, Hunter, Vampire), Doomtown CCG, and others as well as comics work for Gen13, X-Men, Lobo, Tranquility and a bunch of others.

GG: Let's talk about your current work. What is STUPERPOWERS?

Fjvanlente: STUPERPOWERS! is the First-Rate RPG for Third-Rate Heroes, a cross between an RPG and a drinking game where players get useless, silly or downright rude superpowers and are sent out to do battle with the only slightly less ridiculous forces of evil.

GG: For those who don't know anything about this hilarious game, what is the system like? How do you resolve tasks?

Fjvanlente: All "skill rolls" are determined with a coin-toss and rock/scissors/paper instead of dice and the whole point is for the gaming group and Gamemaster (known as the Big Mac Daddy (BMD) in SP!) to giggle as much as possible and gross each other out.

We call this our "Binary Variable" RPG System. Kid-Tested, Mother-Approved.

GG: Time for an Origin Story! How did STUPERPOWERS! come to be?

Fjvanlente: Ah, gather around, my young ones, for therein lies a tale...The time? 1993...The place? Syracuse University, that jewel of higher learning on the shores of irradiated glowing Lake Onondaga...More precisely-- the Spaghetti Warehouse, headquarters of bohemian literati and second-rate marinara sauce-- The event? A friend's birthday dinner.

Me, Steve, Carson Jones, Ryan Dunlavey, Stew Noack, and various other SU comix-and-gaming geex, bloated on beer and pasta shells, started throwing out the stupidest super powers we could think of.

This discussion, most to the annoyance of everyone else at the table, continued throughout dinner, in the car on the ride back to the dorm, and in the lounge in Shaw Hall until the wee hours.

Numerous other individuals on Floor Four (the "cool" hall, don't'cha) you know, and before we knew it, we had a list of 100 powers.

Somewhere along the line, somebody -- Carson Jones, I think -- had the idea of transforming this into a roleplaying game. Not long thereafter, he (Carson) ran the first SP! adventure on the first floor of Shaw Hall. The adventure, as I recall, had something to do with 20 tons of car-crushing insanity, and a supervillain who could assume the form of anybody's ex-girlfriend at will...

Ellis: Actually, that's a great power...

Fjvanlente: Yeah, why didn't that ever make it into the rulebook?

Some years later, we (Ryan, Steve, Stew, Fred, Carson) had all moved to New York City. Pretty much everybody was involved in the comics industry on some level or another. We all wanted to do a project together, and we had kept trying to revive SP!, and in 1996 we decided to it.

We brought in some converts, non-S.U. alumns, like cartoonist (and Joe Kubert teacher) Lauren Rabinowitz and SHI, NEW WARRIORS penciller Jamal Igle...

GG: Jamal Igle..the CURRENT penciler?

Fjvanlente: Ayup.

GG: What's the deal with New Warriors? It's getting cancelled after only 10 issues...But that's a question for another time...

Fjvanlente: We debuted it at ORIGINS 97 -- where the first OFFICIAL SP! tourney was played ("Devolution Dilemma," created and run by Mr. Ellis) -- and we sold quite a few copies...but, coming as we did from the comix industry, if you don't mind me saying so, the gaming distribution system is... a little screwy...Our collective didn't really have the discipline to keep up with 15+ regional distributors, so our enthusiasm for publishing RPGs quickly waned. So our transition to Web-only in 1999 is entirely a happy one.

The credit for that Internet transition has to go entirely to Ryan Dunlavey, SP! co-creator, HTML-codemeister extraordinaire and all-around workhorse.

GG: I see

Fjvanlente: But we're generating so much material and enthusiasm -- from our group, that is -- we won't entirely rule out a return to print.

GG: Well, we got the Origin Story, but now I have a question for Steve...any relation to Warren Ellis (writer of the comic PLANETARY, among others)?

Ellis: I never got asked that question until I was already in the industry for about 4 years...He's more recent than I am...but no...unfortunately...he'd be a great contact.

GG: As comic book guys, give us your opinions of the Gaming Industry.

Ellis: The comics industry and the gaming industry are vastly different in philosophy.

Fjvanlente: The comics biz is now all about personalities and collectors. The interest seems to often be more about making money than about creating things that are fun and then enjoying them. The gaming industry seems to have at it's core a great group of people who really enjoy playing the games( not just colloecting them) and so make for a more fun environment. Gaming professionals and fans tend to be a lot nicer and friendlier than their comics counterparts, too; I think that's because RPGing is fundamentally a social activity--unlike comics reading, which all-too-frequently is conducting in solitude of your parents' dank basement...

GG: What's your favorite game to play?

Fjvanlente: GURPS. We have an on-going post-apocalyptic GURPS game going on right now... Our members include Steve, Jamal Igle, and Donato Giancola, so we're a pretty RPG/comics/art-friendly group...Call of Cthulhu sneaks in occassionally, too.

GG: Huzzah for Call of Cthulhu!

Fjvanlente: Indeed.

GG: OK, time for the famous CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH Question!

Fjvanlente: Bring on the Deathmatch!

GG: Since you guys like Super Heroes so much...the first opponent to enter the ring is MATT FORBECK, creator of the Brave New World RPG!

His opponent is the master of disaster -- the co-author of the BLOOD OF HEROES RPG, TONY OLIVERIA!

Only one man can survive, so tell us who it shall be, and how they pull off the victory!

Fjvanlente: In the tradition of Stuperpowers!, we shall flip a coin. Steve, if you would do the honors?

Ellis: Heads: Matt. Tails: Tony.

Fjvanlente: Since we've never heard of either of these people before in our lives, we can be 100% impartial?

GG: Have fun with it!

Fjvanlente: Now, Steve-- Flip! FLIP!!! FLIP LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT, MAN!!!

Ellis: [Schwing! Goes the coin...]

[It spirals in the air...]

[Glinting in the Brooklyn sun...]

[Over and over... Who will it be? Will it be Washington's profile-- or the EAGLE OF SHAME!?!!]

GG: (hmmm...sounds like someone watches too much IRON CHEF on Food TV)

Fjvanlente: So it lands-- With a fleshy slap-- On Steve's oh-so-Irish and freckle-y forearm...

And...

He looks...

And the verdict is...

Heads.

Who was Heads again?

GG: Matt Forbeck

Fjvanlente: YEAH!!! MATT!!! THE CHAMPEEN!!! IN YOUR FACE, OTHER GUY WE'VE NEVER HEARD OF!!!

Wait-- Did we flip to see who won, or who lost?

GG: Who won

Fjvanlente: YEAH!!!! GO MATT!!!!

GG: To have victory be decided by a coin toss--that is the mark of a true Deathmatch Champion. I would have used a Magic 8 Ball, but that's just me.

Ellis: I think it was a well fought fight....Matt really overpowered the other guy we never heard of....

Fjvanlente: Yes, I agree, Steve. Other Guy We Never Heard Of clearly did not have Deathmatch Gravity on his side...

Ellis: Well, Fred...I think the other guy got a bad toss, the wind wasn't on his side...

Fjvanlente: I don't know, Steve, if it's a bad toss-- I think the "Tosser" is the one to blame.

Ellis: Toss off!

Fjvanlente: [Fred pulls out a gun.] Take that back, blaggard!

Ellis: [Steve whips out his.....pistol...I think the DeathMatch isn't over yet....]

Fjvanlente: [Vicious sounds of struggling, biting, and gnashing of teeth.]

GG: Oh, the humanity!

Fjvanlente: [suddenly cease in hostilties] Hey, did we get a chance to plug me and Steve's comic TRANQUILITY yet?

GG: You just did...you may resume the Deathmatch

Fjvanlente: Just remember... [shouting over sounds of gunfire] the new Tranquility web site launches just in time for San Diego con at www.tranquility-comic.com!

(Note: The New Deathmatch was declared a draw due to Combatant Boredom.)

GG: Remember, just say "Boo!" to Combatant Boredom!

Ellis: [the two combatants settled back into their chairs....the glow of the computer screen mesmerizing their retinas...]

GG: Let's toss some irrelevant questions your way

Favorite Gaming Food?

Fjvanlente: Excellent question. If we're gaming at Donato's house, Jamaican. Carson Jones has to intake Sun Chips on a minute-by-minute by basis or he forgets his character's name...If we're at my house, Middle Eastern. Otherwise: pizza.

GG: One extreme to the other, eh?

Fjvanlente: (Boring, we know.)

GG: Favorite Gaming Novel?

Fjvanlente: Define "Gaming Novel."

GG: Any novel based on an RPG--D&D, Dragonlance, Shadowrun, etc etc etc

Fjvanlente: STUPERPOWERS!: DON'T TOUCH ME THERE EVEN THOUGH I LIKE IT, by William S. Burroughs.

Honorable Mention: I WAS DA BOMB, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHNNY KABOOM by Johnny Kaboom. (with Bob Woodward)

GG: Those aren't real books!

Fjvanlente: Damn! Steve, he caught us...

GG: I'll put down your answer as "Illiterate"...

Ellis: Sounds good to me..it makes us more relatable to the "little people"

GG: Favorite Babe you'd like to game with?

Fjvanlente: Favorite Babe? That's easy. STEVE ELLIS!!!

GG: Steve has breasts? EWWWWWW!

Ellis: Thanks, Fred....my personal website is www.Steve'schest.com

Fjvanlente: I'm sure you've seen the junk emails.

GG: You know this interview is over when we make breast jokes! Any final words before I send you to Crooklyn?

Fjvanlente: Oh, Greg, we're already IN Crooklyn...We don't have much to add, other than the site is now at www.stuperpowers.com

Coming attractions will be Instaventures!, the do-it-yourself SP! module creation system, and (Drum Roll, please) optional rules for character advancement!

GG: Hooray!

Fjvanlente: Steve, you want the last word?

Ellis: Sure Fred- FISH

GG: Thanks for your time, and thanks for all the fish!

Fjvanlente: Ditto! Take care, Greg!