Z-Man Games just announced plans to publish its first roleplaying game, Cartoon Action Hour. Sound familiar? That's because CAH was originally designed and electronically published by Spectrum Game Studios. Z-Man President Zev Shlasinger is confident people will enjoy the game, stating "I think people are going to be surprised at how flexible this system is, while retaining the flavor of the various 80's style action cartoons." For the print release, set for next February, the rules will be expanded and released as a 192 page softcover book. "It's really two books in one," said Eddy Webb, Spectrum game designer, "the complete game system, which is massively expanded from its original electronic release, as well as a thorough series sourcebook for GMs and players to dive into called 'Warriors of the Cosmos'."

Additional support for the game will come in the form of a quarterly PDF magazine called After These Messages. (I might have gone with And Knowing is Half the Battle, but that's just me). A simpler version of the rules is also underway for Kids' Action Hour, a sourcebook with simplified character generation rules and ideas on how to play the humor-based cartoons of the 1980's. To paraphrase Homer (Simpson), "RPGs: is there anything they can't do?"