Ace and Gary, The Ambiguously Gay Duo from Saturday Night Live and Furry Force from CollegeHumor. Anyone remember those two cartoons? I know it sounds random as hell but while playing Glory Hounds, my mind immediately thought about those two cartoons. They're dumb fun at best, cringey trash at worst but thinking about it now, I wonder how bad of a picture they painted in the eyes of "normal people". Y'know, milquetoast, white-bread "Christian" types who stick their nose up at shit like this thinking "how horrid!" Blah blah.
Now, I never liked superheroes to begin with. I couldn't keep up with comics because there were too many multiverses or side-stories going off on different tangents. I grew up on superhero films but I could never connect with any of them. I don't like power fantasies (shocker, I know) and I couldn't relate due to how fantastic their backstories were while mine is rather bland and fucked up.
I didn't know what I was expecting from Glory Hounds. When I first heard about it, I gave it an 'ehh' due to my distaste in general. However, after reading Echo (and finally finishing it. Man, what a trip that was), I became obsessed with Visual Novels, excited by the prospect of reading again. So, I gave Glory Hounds another shot. The first thing that blew me away: the animation and the music just in the title sequence. My jaw literally dropped. This is coming from a Ren'py engine?? I couldn't believe it. I haven't read too many Ren'py Visual Novels but the Echo Project have impressed me in such a short span of time.
As for the first issue itself, I felt giddy after finishing it. This VN wasn't just gay, it was positively gay, it was upliftingly gay, it was BEAUTIFINGLY GAY! Nearly every character was handled delicately and had a great sense of charm. The futuristic world and atmosphere looked impressive and fun! The story itself was lighthearted but serious with an air of mystery surrounding it. This is not your typical superhero story and Alex is very relatable. I love Raoul and his overall goofiness. He is played off as a "Batman-type" figure but he shows how much fun he's having doing it, like nothing fazes him. I'm excited to see how the story unfolds and I'm glad you're doing this by " comic issues" giving us time to gush while giving yourself ample time to work on the next story beat.
Coming back to what I've first said, Glory Hounds is nothing at all like the two cringey cartoons I've mentioned. GH has heart, charm and a great sense of positivity embedded into its personal narrative. I can't wait to see what happens next