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Hubris Comics (Fallout 3) is the company that used to print Grognak the Barbarian. The offices contain a lot of worthwhile loot, and the basement utility tunnels opens up near Wilhelm's Wharf.
Location
Hubris Comics is located in the north end of Mason District, next to the Falls Church/Mason Dst Metro tunnels. It's can also reached from Falls Church via those tunnels, and from the other end of Mason District via the Flooded Metro tunnels.
It's probably easiest to get to Hubris Comics via the Hubris Comics Utility Tunnels, that can be entered via a sewer grate at the edge of the water just north of Wilhelm's Wharf, next to the privy, southeast of Super-Duper Mart.
The building
The complex consists of Hubris Comics Publishing, Hubris Comics Printing and Hubris Comics Utility Tunnels. The buildings are infested with feral ghouls. There are also many traps set up throughout Hubris Comics Publishing and Hubris Comics Printing.
In Hubris Comics Printing is the apparent source of all the traps; a hostile Wastelander named Mad Johnny Wes, who is holed up in the fortified foreman's office overlooking the printing area, mowing down the assorted feral ghouls who wander the printing room floor. He is armed with a minigun, and has very high health on par with that of a Super Mutant Master. He is also protected by 2 automated turrets and a number of frag mines. However, his Wastelander Outfit is extremely poor armor, and he can be taken out with 5 or 6 hunting rifle headshots. You can shoot out the targeting sensors on his turrets to get them to attack him, but this is of limited usefulness since he destroys them before they can do much damage to him. There is also a device to the right of him that explodes when it's shot. This can contribute some damage.
A 'pre-war printing press' is also located in this area but breaks down as soon as it's activated. The cause appears to be a corpse blocking the machinery, which cannot be dislodged. The smoke that rises from the printing press as it breaks down obscures the vision of the turrets, causing them to stop firing.
A terminal in the "beta testing" area of the Publishing building runs a mini-text-adventure "Reign of Grelok (beta)".
The AntAgonizer
A letter to the editor, readable from the receptionist terminal, reveals that there was a Hubris Comics character called the AntAgonizer, an "orphaned girl raised by ants and instilled with a bitter hatred of humanity", who was a villain in the Grognak the Barbarian comics. (The letter complains that the current run of comics, written by a Mr. Neptura, treats the AntAgonizer as a two-dimensional villain, and demands the return of a Mr. Moorellis.) So it seems that The AntAgonizer found inspiration for her persona from an issue of Grognak the Barbarian.
Notable Loot
Hubris Comics Publishing
- Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor at the reception, on top of a shelf above the rigged terminal.
- Pre-War Book - NW of the reception area on a book shelf
Hubris Comics Printing
- Grognak the Barbarian - In Hubris Comics Printing, next to the terminal where Mad Johnny Wes is standing.
- Nuka-Cola Quantum - Between the wall and the desk in the foreman area with Mad Johnny Wes.
- Pre-War Book - Lower levels on a bookshelf in a backroom in the SW corner of the map, near the room with the turrets and Mad Johnny Wes.
- Scoped .44 Magnum in the printing room under the stairs in the northeastern corner, next to some ammo and a skeleton.
Hubris Comics Utility Tunnels
- Dean's Electronics - In the Utility Tunnels close to the Wilhelm's Wharf exit.
- Stealth Boy in the Utility Tunnels under a corpse, next to an Assault Rifle with a bunch of ammo.
Outside of Hubris Comics in Mason District
- Don't miss the Dean's Electronics in the Pulowski Preservation Shelter just outside in Mason District.
Notes
- The Grelok computer game is an homage to text-based adventure games popular the 1980s on the Commodore 64 (among others): They were text-only parsers, where the user typed in commands to perform actions. They were extensive in scale, requiring the the user to create detailed 'pen and paper' maps. The best known were published by Infocom: The Zork series, Planetfall, and Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy.
- Mr. Moorellis is likely a reference to the famous comicbook writers Alan Moore and Warren Ellis.
- Door in reception area leads to Mason District.
- The terminal in the reception area lists the release date for a "Drake Tungsten, Chrono-Cowboy" comic. Drake Tungsten is a reference to a host segment from the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode "Hercules Against the Moon Men".