Team-Up Moves

We played See Issue X and now it’s time to talk about it! We’re joined by our special guest, Connor Goldsmith of the Cerebro podcast, to learn about his history with comics and TTRPGs, and then dig in to what makes See Issue X tick and what it says about superhero stories.

Find out more about See Issue X, by Chris Longhurst, at https://potatocubed.itch.io/see-issue-x

• Uncanny X-Men 129-137 (1979-80), The Dark Phoenix Saga, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne
• Uncanny X-Men 168-176 (1983-84), collected as “From the Ashes,” by Chris Claremont, Paul Smith, and John Romita, Jr.
• Inferno (1988-89), the mammoth crossover event involving New Mutants, X-Factor, Uncanny X-Men and the X-Terminators miniseries, plus other titles, written by Louise Simonson and Chris Claremont and drawn by many hands, including Bret Blevins, John Bogdanove, Marc Silvestri, and Walt Simonson. (Just look up “Inferno reading order” and follow directions. For example, https://www.comicbookherald.com/the-complete-marvel-reading-order-guide/x-men-inferno-reading-order/. It’s a lot but it’s worth it. —S)
• Dr. Fate: Countdown to Mystery (2007-2008), written by Steve Gerber and others, art by Justiniano and others.
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015–2019) #47–50, written by Ryan North, art by Derek Charm.

Connor Goldsmith (he/him, @dreamoforgonon) — Charlotte Bishop (“The Sibyl”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@[email protected]) — Maggie Cone (“Chimera”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@[email protected]) — Facilitator

Website: https://teamupmoves.com/

Newsletter: https://buttondown.email/teamupmoves/

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

We’re back to play See Issue X with our special guest, Connor Goldsmith of the Cerebro podcast. Join us for one more arc as The Sibyl and Chimera deal with an old enemy who hits very close to home.

Find out more about See Issue X at https://potatocubed.itch.io/see-issue-x

Connor Goldsmith (he/him, @dreamoforgonon) — Charlotte Bishop (“The Sibyl”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@[email protected]) — Maggie Cone (“Chimera”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@[email protected]) — Facilitator

Website: https://teamupmoves.com/

Newsletter: https://buttondown.email/teamupmoves/

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

We’ve got our decks of cards and we’re ready to deal with the hash demands of superhero continuity of See Issue X with our special guest, Connor Goldsmith of the Cerebro podcast.

Find out more about See Issue X at https://potatocubed.itch.io/see-issue-x

Connor Goldsmith (he/him, @dreamoforgonon) — Charlotte Bishop (“The Sibyl”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@[email protected]) — Maggie Cone (“Chimera”)

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@[email protected]) — Facilitator

Website: https://teamupmoves.com/

Newsletter: https://buttondown.email/teamupmoves/

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

We are closing out our run of Spectaculars from Rodney Thompson and Scratchpad Publishing with our back matter, when we talk about the game mechansims, how they fit in with super hero fiction, and give you some stellar comic book and novel recommendations.

We also spend some time talking with Seanan McGuire about her history with RPGs and some of her most memorable dice rolls, which will soon become some of your most memorable dice rolls.

• X-Men: Spotlight on Starjammers (1990), by Terry Kavanagh and Dave Cockrum.
• The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
• Victories Greater than Death by Charlie Jane Anders
• Cyclops (2014-15), by Greg Rucka and Russell Dauterman
• Justice League International (1987-89) by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis
• Wanderers (1988-89) by Doug Moench and Dave Hoover
• Howard the Duck (2015) by Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones
• Captain Marvel (2014) 7-8 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Marcio Takara (in which Carol's space cat turns out to be a flerkin, and Rocket Raccoon puts in an appearance)

Shana Hausman (they/them, @shanajeanh) — Emmett Low

Seanan McGuire (she/her, @seananmcguire/@[email protected]) — Aelili (“Lily”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@[email protected]) — Across Gliding

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@[email protected]) — Narrator

Website: https://teamupmoves.com/

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

We are back to play Spectaculars with Seanan McGuire, one of our favorite author, known for Middlegame, the Wayward Children and October Daye series of novels, and many others.

Across Gliding, Emmett Low, and Lily have boarded the ragged-looking Facilitator spaceship (with cyborg-cat-person-from-the-future L reluctantly in tow) to find who triggered the distress call and do what they can to keep this infested vessel from colliding with Earth.

Find out more about Spectaculars at https://scratchpadpublishing.com/spectaculars

Check out Thomas Manuel’s Indie RPG Newsletter at https://ttrpg.substack.com/

Small content note: lotsa swearing in this one.

Shana Hausman (they/them, @shanajeanh) — Emmett Low

Seanan McGuire (she/her, @seananmcguire/@[email protected]) — Aelili (“Lily”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@[email protected]) — Across Gliding

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@[email protected]) — Narrator

Website: https://teamupmoves.com/

Newsletter: https://buttondown.email/teamupmoves/

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

It’s one of our favorite writers! Playing an RPG with us! This run is Spectaculars by Rodney Thompson, and we’re joined by none other than Seanan McGuire, author of Middlegame, the Wayward Children and October Daye series of novels, and many others.

Our characters, crew of a space ship they accidentally stole, were about to leave Earth when said ship was in turn nearly stolen from them. Confronting the cybernetic cat thief, they find out about a distress call from the Facilitators — an intergalactic organization of knights errant — warning of an infested ship on a collision course with Earth.

Find out more about Spectaculars at https://scratchpadpublishing.com/spectaculars

Small content note: lotsa swearing in this one.

Shana Hausman (they/them, @shanajeanh) — Emmett Low

Seanan McGuire (she/her, @seananmcguire/@[email protected]) — Aelili (“Lily”)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@[email protected]) — Across Gliding

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@[email protected]) — Narrator

Website: https://teamupmoves.com/

Newsletter: https://buttondown.email/teamupmoves/

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

It’s time to dissect A City of Shining Stars by Aaron Lim, with our guest from this run, Jeff Stormer. For our Origin Story segment, we took the opportunity to interview Jeff about how he prepped for this game with a lifetime of watching, reading, and studying superhero stories.

• Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross (1994). The influential, and optimistic, mini-series follows a non-powered photographer through his career in Silver Age Marvel New York, looking at super-people as they emerge and alter the city's history. (Not to be confused with The Marvels, a more recent comic about superheroes at war.)
• Astro City by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson: a creator-owned, unified, multi-generational superhero story, as much about the city as about the heroes, and especially: “That Was Then” (2022), Family Album trade paperback (1997), Through Open Doors trade paperback (2014); stories about Jack-in-the-Box, a friendly neighborhood superhero with real-life family problems, or the Silver Agent, an era-spanning, time-traveling, tragic do-gooder (some of these stories collected in Shining Stars, 2014); the individual older stories and issues “Ellie’s Friends,” “What I Did on My Vacation,” and “The Sky’s the Limit.”
• Welcome to Tranquility (2007) by Gail Simone and Neil Googe. Action, detection and history in a retirement community for superheroes, with plenty of throwbacks and flashbacks to the eras when these superheroes were in their primes.
• History of the Marvel Universe (2020) by Mark Waid and Javier Rodriguez. It is what it says on the tin. And it’s good.
• The Other History of the DC Universe (2021) by John Ridley and Giuseppe Camuncoli. In-universe DC history over the decades, through the eyes of characters of color, interwoven with real-life US events.
• The DC Book of Pride (forthcoming in 2023) by Jadzia Axelrod. A reference work of LGBTQ+ characters from DC past and present.

Jeff Stormer (he/him, @PartyOfOnePod)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@[email protected])

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@[email protected])

Website: https://teamupmoves.com/

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

We’re back with Jeff Stormer of Party of One and All My Fantasy Children — not to mention Anyone Can Wear the Mask — to play Aaron Lim’s A City of Shining Stars.

We’re using this superhero city-building game to develop the history of New Olympia, a parallel-universe version of New Arcadia.

Find all of Aaron Lim’s games here: https://ehronlime.itch.io/

And, hear Jeff play another baseball-themed superhero, Slugger King, in the Protean City Comics Pride Annual #1: The Hometown Hero of Hillside Park.

Jeff Stormer (he/him, @PartyOfOnePod)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@[email protected])

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@[email protected])

Website: https://teamupmoves.com/

Newsletter: https://buttondown.email/teamupmoves/

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

This run we’re joined by Jeff Stormer of Party of One and All My Fantasy Children — not to mention Anyone Can Wear the Mask — to play Aaron Lim’s A City of Shining Stars.

We’re using this superhero city-building game to develop the history of New Olympia, a parallel-universe version of New Arcadia.

Find all of Aaron Lim’s games here: https://ehronlime.itch.io/

And, read Steph’s New Yorker article about multiverses in superhero media.

Jeff Stormer (he/him, @PartyOfOnePod)

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@[email protected])

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@[email protected])

Website: https://teamupmoves.com/

Newsletter: https://buttondown.email/teamupmoves/

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead

Time to talk about Sentinel Comics: The Roleplaying Game! In this back matter episode we go over the remarkable guided character creation mechanism, the balance between narrative and simulationist play, and Fiona breaks out a spreadsheet to report on probabilities.

Sentinel Comics: The Roleplaying Game was co-developed with Critical Hits Studios and is published by Greater Than Games.

• Inferno (1988) by Louise Simonson, with art by Walter Simonson, Bret Blevins, Terry Shoemaker and others: this is a multi-title crossover event involving X-Factor, New Mutants and other Marvel mutant comics, best read through the trade paperback Inferno or, if you're ambitious, using a reading order like this one from Comic Book Herald.
• Secret Wars (2015) by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic, and Secret Wars/Battleworld tie-in mini-series, such as: Runaways by Nate Stevenson and Sanford Green, A-Force by Marguerite Bennett, Willow Wilson and Jorge Molina and X-Men ’92 by Chris Sims and Scott Koblish.
• Defenders (1971) nos. 20-41 by Steve Gerber, Sal Buscema, Klaus Janson and others
• Defenders (1971) nos. 92-100 by J. M. De Matteis, Don Perlin and others
• City of Heroes MMORPG from Cryptic Studios and published by NCSOFT.

• Making Squirrel Girl in Sentinel Comics from Fiona’s website
• Matt Coville’s Action Oriented Monsters
• System Mastery #194 — Sentinel Comics

Ian Gregory (they/them, @fissionmale/@[email protected]) — Ursula, the Weird Sister

Ceci Mancuso (they/them, @[email protected]) — Horatio “Time Keeper” Holm

Stephanie Burt (she/her, @accommodatingly/@[email protected]) — Mona “Monomer” Maxwell-Damon

Fiona Hopkins (she/her, @fionawhim/@[email protected]) — Game Moderator

Website: https://teamupmoves.com/

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @teamupmoves

Mastodon: @[email protected]

Theme Music: “Play” by Sleepyhead