Vs. System Original Art: Liz Sherman.

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times. One of my most cherished memories in all of Vs. System history is the unveiling of Liz Sherman’s Uncontrolled Power.

We learned recently that Mike Mignola and his wife personally gave the green light to the artwork on this myth-busting cardboard masterpiece, although the original Dave Johnson painting was a bit too blue.  Here’s the before and after.  I still can’t believe I was a part of it. Liz never, ever, ever looked like this in the comics or the movies.  Only in our beloved trading card game. Forever.

Blurring the Distinction: From Art to Reality.

The art on that card has always made me scratch my head and wonder how I got so lucky. As an integral part of Vs. System’s history, that little proud zinco product not only brought one of Mike Mignola’s most magnificent paintings to real life on the Pro Circuit, it cemented something special inside of me.

See, here’s how it goes. One person crystallizes a myth in words and imagery. Then a whole bunch of others celebrate it and expand its existence in the collective psi-bank. Finally, the commercial conglomerate sanctions it with official releases. Continuity and canon arise from imagination, and we all live happily ever after.

What am I babbling about on this glorious Sunday morning? The myth of Hellboy, of course. Specifically the link between a fan-created Playmobil set that was eventually purchased by Mike Mignola himself, and our beloved Vs. System cardboard incarnations.  Feast your eyes.

Hellboy + Liz Sherman = Bliss.

(The best Liz Sherman I have seen, by Roc Upchurch.)

Flipping cards has never been finer. For the second weekend in a row, Nina and I have been turning Hellboy and Liz sideways on the kitchen table until the tentacles explode the moon and rain down from the heavens. Last night our seven-game series came down to the final swing, and I had the firestarter’s Uncontrollable Power ready to burn for the win.

Hottest. Cardboard. Ever.

Heavenly Hellboy.

The Hellboy Essential Collection contains the only 60-card constructed Vs. System decks ever produced for public consumption. It remains the pinnacle of mythological madness and trading card game bliss. Mike Mignola personally painted a large portion of the exquisite artwork, while Matt Hyra made sure the mechanics were magnificent tightness. It worked perfectly, in ways that still blow me away.

Nina and I have played two seven-game series so far this weekend. We switched teams for each house championship, with Thule Society claiming both rings. The first was 4-2, the second 4-3. The decks are wonderfully balanced. Each team has two different themes. It is the most fun we have had playing Vs. System, maybe ever.

Before we start the next series, I want to share some of the intense mythological eye candy that we have been wallowing in all weekend. Rub your eyes and blink, this stuff is for real.

Those are the original unpublished designs for the insert sleeves in the UDeck boxes. The final illustrations for the outer box holds just the arcane antiquity, without the illustrations.

The rulebook included in this set is, perhaps, the best single item that Upper Deck Entertainment has ever produced. Comprehensive, creative, colorful, and cool as anything else in the world.

As I mentioned earlier, Mike Mignola himself did most of the paintings for the cards. Kroenen drips in eternal cardboard glory because of it.

That is Ryan Sook’s hot take on Liz Sherman. If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times. Our game took her places she never would have gone in the comics.

Alex Garner broke off the horns…

Tim Townsend accepted the destiny…

… and Jason Pearson hilariously illustrated the biggest little beats we have ever seen.

That’s all the time I have to share the beauty of the Hellboy Essential Collection, I need to shuffle up and flip some cards. If you need more words, you can check out the Little Red Men deck that we built as a community.

I will see you back here soon, on the other side of Hellboy Heaven.

Save-It Saturday: Sadu-Hem.

This Weekend In Heaven will be spent with the Thule Society and its creepy cardboard characters, playing the Hellboy Essential Collection until our eyeballs  fall out and sprout Ancient Godlings. While we turn Mike Mignola’s terrific translations of the Old Ones sideways on our kitchen table, you can wallow in an article almost exactly two years old today. How big can it be?

Risk Vs. Reward: Major Mythological Figures Rian Fike March 18, 2007 View all articles by this author

Truth may be stranger than fiction, but that doesn’t stop the artist from trying. With modern creative technology blurring the distinction so drastically, who’s counting anyway? Hellboy, that’s who. The Hellboy Essential Collection has brought an entirely new level of realistic interaction to a fictional mythos that was already a huge part of many people’s lives. This comic book character has a rabid following. His dedicated devotees constantly strive to make him as tangible as they possibly can. They create authentic B.P.R.D. identification badges and hand out Lobster Johnson calling cards that simply say “Fiction?” These people are real freaks, and I like it. Hellboy has also been captured on powerful cardboard and is now ready to turn sideways on the kitchen table. As I wax poetic about the powers and interactions of our newest Vs. System playing pieces, we will also be treated to a symphony of sculpture from the community of die-hard Hellboy fans around the globe. There are some very serious artists who have a very serious crush on Mike Mignola’s baby. Their skills with clay take the myth and stretch it into taffy. Get ready for a visual treat. Your eyes will be exhausted when we are done. I got the call from the local gaming store and tried to keep my heart from beating out of my chest. It was here. The first set of full-sized, pre-fabricated Vs. System Constructed decks had arrived in Miami. Gravity slowed me down a bit, but within a few blinks, my Mini Cooper was sitting in front of the shop and the treasure was gripped firmly in my hands. I drove straight home to my wife. We ripped off the outer covering and shuffled up. As soon as Liz Sherman’s uncontrollable power hit the board, I knew the match was destined to become a classic. Nina’s Baba Yaga welcomed the squirming mass of Sadu-Hem to her side of the board, and we settled in for a turn 8 of epic proportions. It was a beautiful thing. The 7-drop Liz isn’t the only thing that stokes the home fires to new temperature thresholds in our house. Each sixty-card deck contains two different, satisfying strategies. The characters, equipment, plot twists, and locations are fascinating in both theme and function. The Pancakes are especially delicious. Constantly vigilant against the forces of metaphysical evil, the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense has all kinds of tricks up their collective sleeves. They can cover the ground with support troops in the form of U.S. Army Rangers. They have been blessed with some of the best equipment tricks in the game, starting with Sidney Leach’s human metal-detecting abilities. Thomas Manning makes sure all his boys get a big bonus when they are packing toys. Both Ben Daimio and Lobster Johnson get gigantic grins when they have a gray card attached. The Weapons Lab allows them double the pleasure and double the fun. But wait! That’s not the only way that the B.P.R.D. can mash the monsters on the other side of the Vs. System equation. When the big red dude enters the picture, things change. Hellboy works best by himself and he doesn’t mind telling his friends to get lost. This team affiliation follows his lead for their second theme, giving major advantage to any character willing to fight alone. Sometimes they like to have a hidden force, as well. As long as you only show the face of one visible character, the B.P.R.D. becomes as formidable as any group the game has ever seen. I have spoken of this before, and it is my favorite part of the Hellboy Essential Collection. Three of Mike Mignola’s myths are being developed more fully than ever before thanks to our beloved game. Karl Ruprecht Kroenen, Abe Sapien, and Liz Sherman are swelling with expanded power in their Vs. System incarnations. It fills my heart with joy and covers my kitchen table with some really hot fish. I have a confession to make. Mulletman is not going to like it. The Thule Society has introduced a truly classic version name that now tops my list of all Vs. System cards ever printed. Hecate has been dubbed a “Major Mythological Figure.” That is even cooler than being a “Rebel Freedom Fighter” in my book. She is also even hotter than Abe Sapien (for a fish), and she was specifically designed to destroy his plans. Hecate has been around for nearly 3,000 years in the human imagination, and now she is pulling characters out of the hidden area left and right. Her power is not limited to opposing threats, either. She is strong stuff for an environment dependant on concealment. Getting the black-bordered cards into the visible area where you can gain advantage with them can often set the stage for some late-game Cthulhu-style madness, with the Sadu-Hem sucking the life right out of your horrified opponent and transmuting it into a boost of endurance for the win. Grigori Rasputin and the gang have been given an alternate win condition in the form of Project Ragna Rok, but that party doesn’t float my boat. I am drawn to the Damn Nazis and their squirrel-like nature. Especially since the 1-cost Army lovers of the world can now unleash a Plague of Frogs for some massive weenie beats. “Thoolish Mortals” Characters 12 Damn Nazis 4 Hellboy, Little Boy 6 Huge, Annoying Tentacles 4 Karl Ruprecht Kroenen 4 Klaus Werner von Krupt 1 Hecate 1 Black Flame Plot Twists 4 Plague of Frogs 4 Nasty Surprise 4 Flying Kick 4 Wake the Devil 4 Accept Your Destiny 4 Something is Coming Locations 4 Cavendish Hall That is my deck of choice for any tournaments or kitchen tables that will be using only the cards from the Hellboy Essential Collection. It is fairly simple in operation, underdropping a swarm of occult minions that receive major mythological pumps from a trio of plot twists and an evil project leader. Klaus Werner von Krupt often hands out +3 ATK to three different attackers in order to stun the opposing board and wipe it clean with Accept Your Destiny. Karl Ruprecht Kroenen has eighteen possible lucky revelations for topdecking, and they are cheap enough to recruit a few per turn. Hecate whips hidden threats out into the open with her tail so that Black Flame can start boosting like Bastion—if the match goes that far and demands a more curvy combination. The tastiest trick that Thoolish Mortals can create begins when you realize that Something Is Coming immediately after you recruit Hellboy, Little Boy. When you flip Cavendish Hall, that baby gets really big. On turn 5 (with a Plague of Frogs or two), he can easily reach +20 ATK if all goes well. Sounds like my kind of fun. Whether the Thoolish Mortals are good enough to win the upcoming City Championships remains to be seen. They will need to duke it out with Olympic Weenie Glory and get covered in War Paint first. Whichever one of my pet decks barks loudest during testing will be let off the chain to sink its teeth into the Miami metagame. Skating major mythological figure eights on the Vs. System battleground has never been sweeter, thanks to Hellboy and the Thule Society that he opposes.

Hellboy: Hottest Myth on Earth.

How do I love Hellboy? Let me count the ways.

1.  Liz Sherman, Uncontrollable Power.  When Mike Mignola’s myth burst its way onto Vs. System cardboard with the Hellboy Essential Collection, the hottest firestarter in comics was given a major ugrade in image.  She was rather muted and moody in the books.  Our game got her to shed her clothes, and that painting by Dave Johnson is one of the most gorgeous things that I have ever been a part of.

2.  Vs. System allows legends of all flavors to be blended together.  In anticipation of tonight’s premiere of  Hellboy II: The Golden Army, I was actually able to team-up Squirrel Girl and her hungry horde with Liz Sherman and Hecate.  What would have been reserved for mere fantasy became a reality… right in our own home on the kitchen table.

3.  Hecate was a major star of the new animated feature called Hellboy: Blood and Iron. It is one of the greatest cartoon films I have ever seen, and we had a special connection to it thanks to the cardboard incarnations that we had been turning sideways all day.

4.  Guillermo Del Toro is the man.  I am especially excited about the brilliant design of the big orchid-headed Angel of Death.  It reminds me so much of the Heedless One, from Magic the Gathering.  That painting is the closest thing to a fully accurate portrait of my wife that I have ever seen.  It is by Mark Zug, and I will leave you with its incomparable beauty now.  I have a premiere to attend.  The new Hellboy opens tonight, and it is the Hottest Myth on Earth.