Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 22

I've been complaining throughout this Advent how I hate it when the packaging ruins the surprises in store. Well I've finally discovered an Advent that not only do you not know what's inside, you don't even know which calendar door to open next!

Exit: The Game is a series of escape room themed board games. This year, game manufacturer Thames & Kosmos released a 24 Day long escape room adventure. Subtitled 'The Missing Hollywood Star', participants must solve a daily riddle. Only when you solve the puzzle, you only then discover which Advent calendar door you open the following day. Presumably, when you make it to Day 24, you'll locate the missing starlet. Though I reality, you should know where she is on Day 23, because the December 24th door will be the only one left unopened.

Best of luck that you get all of the puzzles correct. It would stink if you made a miscalculation and found the actress on Day 6

Another thing you'll need is time. The Amazon posting for this Advent recommends about 15 minutes per day to solve the daily enigma. This isn't an Advent that you'll be able to just rush through 

Clue #6

The murderers are finally revealed!

No-way am I going to tell you who did what. Uh-uh!!! No spoilers here!

However, I will say that this issue is dynamic in two very distinct ways. For one, certain lines in the first 5 pages of the book pays great homage to both the classic board game and the 1980s live-action film version on which this miniseries was based. Secondly, that ending! WOW! It's a fourth-wall busting scene that I didn't think was possible in comics!

If you want to experience it, your just gonna have to wait until this Wednesday (November 22nd) when it debuts in store.

A masterful ending to a very fun series by Paul Allor and Nelson Daniel. Yes, I know I harp on it, but still no praise to whomever was behind the coloring of this book. That person or persons was the real star of this production team.

If you love mysteries that are unpredictable and slightly interactive, then Clue is the book you've been looking for. Not all of the motives may have made sense to me. I blame a little on the fact, that I have probably forgotten some key elements over the past 3 months that this series has been gradually released. 

I highly recommend reading all 6-issues consecutively for optimal enjoyment.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Clue #5

With only one issue before the finale, this chapter reveals but a sliver of the motives behind the murders of Mr. Boddy and several other characters. 

Not exactly the most tongue-in-cheek episode of the series. But there's several shocking twists and turns that I did not see coming. 

Another great entry by Paul Allor and Nelson Daniel. Who will finally be revealed as the murderer is anybody's game. But with a dwindling cast, the list of culprits runs awfully thin. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Clue #4

Building on the twist ending of last issue, more of the backgrounds of several important characters is delved upon. More motives are revealed. Plus, at least one or two more characters are removed from the playing board.

My suspect is still in this- well that is if they survive the cliffhanger.

After a very rough second issue, last issue as well as this one have gotten really intriguing. I love the rift between Upton, Mr. Boddy's butler and our narrator, and the editors. It really adds to the cheeky humor that has been ingrained in Clue since it's inception over 60 years ago. 

One thing missing from this story is the amazing colors used to represent all of the players. There's so many scenes where two or more characters interact, that the brilliant palette of our mystery colorist, is noticeably absent from this chapter.

There's only 2 issues left in this story and from here on in, it's anybody's game...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Clue #3

I'm going to say that issue #2 was a hiccup because this issue was great. The smarmy British charm of Upton is back. Interactions with the editor in relation to the story is back and quite funny. Plus, it feels more like an interactive whodunit again as opposed to a closed off episode of Law & Order. 

In this issue Professor Plum and Dr. Orchid are on the run from the detectives called to investigate Mr. Boddy's death. Colonel Mustard's complex past is revealed. Plus Sen. White and Mr. Green get really excited about Scarlet's bouquet of flowers. 

This issue felt like I was playing the game Clue again. Issue #2 did not! I don't have any idea who is behind the murders. Well, I have a theory- that I won't share least I spoil it- but it's kinda out there. 

Judge Dredd's Nelson Daniel continues to amazing with the art. But once again, it's the anonymous colorist of this series that is the real star of the book. Come on IDW- give that person or person's their just due. They really add to the game feel of this book and if it was up to me, I'd nominate them for an Eisner.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Clue #2

Story by Paul Allor. Art by Nelson Daniel. Published by IDW.

  The bodies continue to stack up at Boddy Manor. The second issue of Clue: the Comic Book, based on the classic Parker Bros board game, is filled with clues and motives. But what’s missing is the dark humor of the first issue.

   Upton the Butler is still your host through this dinner theatre mystery. Yet, his witty barbs about the players is suddenly gone. The butler has suddenly morphed from being a bit cheeky to acting darn near morbid. It’s like he’s the host of a classic horror anthology now. It seriously changes the tone of this miniseries.

    Another thing missing are the bonus pages. In Clue #1, there were 3 additional pages of clues that were randomly inserted into issues. I’m not sure if readers complained about having to buy variants for the extra material. Maybe IDW planned it this way. I only know that the bonus clue pages are not in this issue. The lone thing different between the variants for the second issue are the covers.

     The black comedy and additional hints have disappeared but the quality of the overall book remains. Writer Paul Allor has woven a masterful web of intrigue that only promises to get better in issue 3. I’m composing my own list of suspects and Upton assures readers that some very important details are forthcoming very soon.

   Nelson Daniel’s art is also very good too! But as with the last issue, whomever is coloring this title is doing a killer job. Notice the color schemes of the variant covers below. Come on IDW! Give this genius colorist their due credit!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Review originally published July 19, 2017 on outrightgeekery.com.

Clue #1

How To Play…

Clue- The Classic Whodunit board game from Parker Brothers is now a comic book. From the guys at IDW Publishing, readers are given the task to solve the murder of Mr. Boddy. Over the course of five issues, clues will be discovered and motives revealed. Is it pharmaceutical magnate Mr. Green in the kitchen with the knife? Was it power hungry Senator White with the revolver in the billiard room?

The first issue of Clue: the Comic Book was rather fun. Upton the Butler is your host to Boddy Manor. The servant breaks the fourth wall, cluing readers in on suspects and alerts you to new developments. Even writer Paul Allor (G.I. Joe) gets in on the fun conversing back-and-forth with Upton about the crime at hand. It’s very reminiscent of the fun stuff Lee and Kirby would do at Marvel back in the Silver Age.

A Colorful Assortment

The artwork by Tank Girl’s Nelson Daniel was okay. None of the characters look like they do from the classic board game. With the addition of modern personas like Dr. Orchid from more recent Clue editions, it’s the colorist who matters most in this comic. Without him, you wouldn’t know Miss Scarlet from Professor Plum. Oddly enough, IDW doesn’t give a listing for who colors the book.

Multiple Chances to Solve the Game

This is actually a comic that you’ll want to buy multiple copies of. Each book has an extra page of clues randomly. There are 3 extra pages per issue to be found, so if you really want to master the game, you’ll need to buy 3 issues! Though maybe IDW should follow Marvel’s lead and insert a code in which you can activate the addition pages digitally.

I love playing Clue. It’s one of the reasons I choose to review this book. It’s also true that I am a big fan of the 1980s live-action film version of the game. There’s several elements of humor and game-play found in both the comic and the movie. I just wish that Allor and Daniel would’ve made the character of Upton to look more like Tim Curry’s Wadworth.

Regardless, Clue takes comics and games to a new level of interactive comics. This is an enjoyable summer comic. But I think it’s best when scanned during a dark and stormy night.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

1977: Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 34

  Sometimes when I can find anything good to write about a day in history in regards to 1977, I just thumb through web pages looking for inspiration. That's the case with today's article. While in my research, I stumbled across a couple of board games that I used to own that debuted in my favorite year. So, sit back, enjoy this trip down memory lane, and hope to roll double sixes.

Really looks like hours of fun don't it? It isn't.

    The Amazing Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four Game
     I remember this game being on store shelves for years after it debuted in 1977. The main reason for this was because of how amazingly dull it was.The object was to get your member of the Fantastic Four to the middle of the board which was designed to look like a web, and free Spidey from it's clutches. Why would Spider-man get caught in his own web? 
     Anyways, you played with colored markers. They didn't even look like the Fantastic Four! Plus one of the pieces was green. So if you had that piece, you had to play as Doctor Doom?! 
       I bought my set in the late 80s in original packaging at a local pharmacy. They still had 6 sets. They couldn't give this lame-o game away! 

   The Captain America Game
      I really wanted this one but I never could find it. The box said it featured Falcon, Cap's sidekick and the Avengers! I'm kinda glad that I never did get this one as it was just as uninspired at the Spider-man game. 
      The wasn't Captain America's first foray into board games. In 1966, Milton Bradley released a Captain America inspired game. It looks just an uninteresting as the 1977 set did. But I would much rather have it over the '77 version and have it complete because the 60s set also came with a free comic book!

I'm glad that the makers of this game
opted to not include a torso of the Kitner boy.

    The Jaws Game
   Technically, this game came out in 1975-76 and technically, it's not a board game. But in 1977, it was still on store shelves, capitalizing on the still popular blockbuster JAWS, which was still in some theatres and drive-ins 2 years after it was released.
     This game had a big blue shark with a gaping mouth. Inside were all kinds of things like bones and ocean garbage. With a set of tweezers, you had to remove the items from the shark's maul. But watch out! One wrong move and this fish would bite back!
     Now I never had this game. But I had a game very similar to it. In 1980, Lewis Teague released a film called Alligator, about a gator that gets giant sized and terrorizes the sewers of New York City. 
     Ideal (who also made the JAWS game) made a game based on the film and similar to the JAWS game, the gator would bite down on you if you weren't careful. Only, I think you had to put stuff in it's mouth instead of taking out. Regardless, I remember playing with that thing at my grandmama's for hours. I loved that thing.

Ideal's Alligator game based on the 1980 film.

    Star Wars- Escape From the Death Star and the Destroy the Death Star Game
      With the release of Star Wars, the licensing opportunities were unlimited. In 1977-78, Kenner released at least 2 board games based on the film. The Escape from the Death Star game is the most common. The board shows a wedge of the Death Star with tons of dots. It looks similar to the Spider-Man game and from what I hear, it was just about as complicated. But at least the markers looked like characters from the movie. 
     The second game is much more rare and it's the one I remember playing with for hours on end with my dad or just by myself. The board is a maze around the Death Star and with every turn, you moved the space station. Doing so allowed entrance into the Death Star's trench to randomly appear, so you could begin your run to blow it up. 
     I'm pretty sure I was too young to play the game right but with playing pieces that were actual tiny versions of X-Wings it was too fun to pass up. Add to the fact that the game would fight back as if you landed on a Tie Fighter square, you'd lose one of your squad- it was challenging. If you ran out of ships, the Empire won! It was the best board game ever- that is until 1983 when Kenner released a totally awesome game that had you dangling your favorite Return of The Jedi characters over a Sarlacc monster! 

    

I want another one so bad. 

     In those days, things didn't go on clearance as often as they do now. So if s toy store couldn't sell the item, it would sit on the shelves for years. Plus, my parents loved yard sales and the flea market and I'd sometimes find the cool games there for just a couple of bucks. 

     Looking back, I'd love to have a few of these games to play with again. Especially the Death Star and Alligator! But I bet they aren't cheap. Who knows, maybe this article might inspire you to scour eBay for a classic game to play with your family. 

 Well, I think that's a good stopping point for now. I enjoyed looking at some classic 1977 toys that I ended up playing with and I have a feeling I'll be returning to the realm of 1977 toys sometime again soon.

     Until tomorrow...