Welcome to the table,
We used to play a game we called Samurai Swords. Trying to find it recently, I came across an eBay listing labeling it as 1986 Samurai Swords Vintage Game (Shogun) by Milton Bradley. I never realized how old the game was when I was playing it. The comic shop we use to hang out in had it in the back room and no one ever touched it. The owner said we could play it whenever we wanted as long as we did not spill anything on it or lose the pieces.
The thing about the game that amused us was that it seemed to be weirdly cursed, or blessed, depending on how you looked at it. It played a lot like Risk with players taking control of armies and working to take over sections of the map until one dominated over all.
The play pieces were little figures in samurai-styled armor with spears and swords and tiny flags. They came in an array of colors indicating the different armies. The red army had a spearman whose spear was bent at a wonky angle. Now, everyone knew that whoever played the red army would lose, but somehow… some way, beyond all logic, Bent Spear Man, as he would come to be known, would be one of the last pieces standing.
The legend of Bent Spear Man was something we would tell people about and they would doubt it until they played the game and saw it happen in real-time. To this day I like to think Bent Spear Man is out there defying the odds and slaying all who stand in his way.
Speaking of epic Samurai stories, Humanoids announced today Legends of the Pierced Veil: Izuna. It’s a brand new deluxe edition hardcover collecting both volumes of the Eisner Award-nominated Izuna by creator Saverio Tenuta, co-writer Bruno Letizia, artist Carita Lupattelli, and translator Montana Kane, for fans and readers worldwide. This definitive hardcover edition follows the epic battle between spirits both chaotic and novel for the fate of their world.
The noble Izuna wolves have stood as guardians, shielding Japan from malevolent spirits while respecting the delicate boundary that separates the realms of Kami and humanity. However, a sinister entity known as the Noggo emerges, infecting the spiritual plane and prompting the Izuna, bound by duty, to resist its advance. Yet, a profound disruption arises when an Izuna cub takes the form of a young human girl, unsettling the balance between the ethereal realm and the waking world.
Legends of the Pierced Veil: Izuna will be available in bookstores everywhere on June 13, 2023 and in comic shops on June 14, 2023. Digital copies can be purchased from comiXology and other digital platforms.
Until next time, don’t sleep on Bent Spear Man.
Welcome to the table, We used to play a game we called Samurai Swords. Trying to find it recently, ICOMICONRead More