Writer: Buzz Dixon
Artists: Kevin Altieri and Tom Mandrake
The Free Enterprise is about to get destroyed by RAM when Black Barney comes to the rescue. On a jet pack he takes out the fighters while Yorder uses an atomic rocket to destroy the heavy cruisers. Barney takes his crew to the inside of Wydlin’s lab. It is called Paradise and has an environment that is genetically tailored for maximum pleasure. The crew takes off to frolic in the rivers as Barney and Yorder go to meet their maker. Remus Wydlin is happy with Barney and takes him to his lab. There Judee is waiting and kills Yorder. She reveals she is also a Barney and was working for RAM. She heard that they were betraying her and decided to steal the cure for the genetic bomb herself. Only the cure was a trap and instead accelerates the process. The real cure is the air of Paradise which has cured Barney.
Barney then gathers up his crew and battles battlebots of the Wydlin heirs. The heirs have decided to kill their father and take the cure. Only Remus Wydlin has boobytrapped Paradise and sets off nukes that destroy it. He escapes with his genetically created animals to continue his research. Barney will distribute the cure to his fellow Barneys for free.
“Battle In Paradise”
By Paul Arden
Artwork: Ekpero
A game that simulates Black Barney on one side and the Wydlin heirs on the other. Barney has to rescue his first mate Peg and the Wydlin heirs their father and escape before the station blows.
“Grave Undertakings'”
Writer: Buzz Dixon
Artist: Mark Winchell
Buck has Huer.doc looking for information on Kharkov and finds the files are missing. Buck inadvertently has Huer.doc sent to a children’s learning program. Huer.doc escapes and is chased by the learning program in the form of a nurse. The chase eventually leads to Huer.doc barely escaping after Buck pulls the plug on the program.
“New Gennies for the XXVC Roleplaying Game”
By Scott Haring
Gives us stats and background for two genetically created races in the computer game. The Martian Desert Apes and Venusian Acid Frog.
The final chapter in the Black Barney story. We get a fun conclusion to the search for a cure. Barney finds one and his maker. There are some humorous moments like a battlebot that has an existential crisis about the meaning of life. A satisfying ending to the story.
The backup gives us another humorous story with Huer.doc trapped in the Cybermatrix. Back in the nineties they envisioned the internet as some weird virtual reality simulation. Maybe that will happen in the future. Also gives us some more exposition on the world of the Twenty-fifth century. This includes genetic modifications and types of warships.
The game sounded interesting and tied into the main story. There was also another article that gives us info from the computer game. That was a fun game. Love if they released it again.
Comic book cave of awesome 