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Chapter by Chapter features me reading one chapter (or possibly multiple chapter for this one) of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.
I would make a joke about reading this book while sick, but so far there is improvement over the previous novel. The Op-Center crew has been less annoying than the first book and show a bit more competence and teamwork. Last time we learned more about just how small Commie Op-Center is compared to the original.
I’m also noticing that these are necessarily the mustache-twirling villains you’d expect. Dogin and his two partners in evil are, but Orlov is really interesting to watch in action. The man isn’t in this for power and control like Dogin is. He really things what he’s doing, and it’s still questionable how much he actually knows about what he’s doing, is in the best interests of Russia. He’s a patriot who love his country and will use his clout and position as a former cosmonaut for the benefit of the country. We also saw he will put people over leaders, which is more of an American thing (or it’s what we claim to strive for–we all know Congress has its share of power mongers). He’s a good man who may or may not be in the middle of doing bad things. Again, I don’t know how much he knows.
We won’t learn much this chapter, as it’s back to our heroes in DC, who have been showing themselves to be more worthy of the title than in the previous novel. I’m hoping that trend continues.
Chapter 23: Monday, 1:45 PM, Washington, DC
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“You’re buying me a new logo, pal!”
The Night Man #3
Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (December, 1993)
WRITER: Steve Englehart
CO-PLOTTER: Gerald Jones
PENCILER: Gene Ha
INKER: Andrew Pepoy
COLORING: Tim Divar & Foodhammer!
LETTERER: Dave Lanphear
EDITOR: Chris Ulm
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Unfortunately my duty suffered. On the plus side it’s the comic, the thing on the site with the least amount of readers, and I did get halfway through it. I should be done by next week, but I’ve seen sick the past few days. Probably a cold, but my uncle did get the 2020 plague (not sure if we can use the proper name without some note telling us all about it) after visiting. He’s okay, though, but the only symptom I had came from what I usually deal with, sinusitis and Crohn’s Disease. Dad got nothing, but I think we’re supposed to sequester for two weeks in case we’re asymptomatic and don’t want to spread to anyone else. I should check that. Then again, what’s fact or fiction with this thing has been suspect from the start, making the threat worse as a result. CDC says 14 days according to Google, just to make sure we’re not carrying. Six days down.
Anyway, over at The Clutter Reports this week I reviewed the Mega Man model kit I finished two weeks ago, just barely within 2024 and completing one of my declutter goals at least.
This week DC Heroes United is back with a new episode…meaning I did not have to rush a bonus before my break since I got back to work before they did. We continue the final section of the Star Trek writer’s guide with some more lore dumping, and the next chapter of Ton Clancy’s Op-Center: Mirror Image also awaits. That gives me two days for…whatever. Have a great week, everyone!
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Peter Pan Records’ “Power Records” put out a series of book and records that were actually comic books. In past articles on this site we looked at Superman: City Under Siege and Star Trek: Crier In The Emptiness. These and a Bugs Bunny large LP and 3 comic special are part of my collection, and I heard of more DC, Marvel, and Star Trek comics, essentially audio dramas with a comic book adaptation you can read along with. However, I didn’t know Kojak was among the listings.
Theo Kojak, or as my dad calls him the “bald-headed lollypop-sucker”, was played by Telly Savalas for a series and a few TV movies. A remake with Ving Rhames came out in 2006, and he also had a bald head and sucked lollipops, but Rhames version probably wasn’t Greek. The series followed the tough as nails New York cop as he went up against organized crime and other criminals, and aired from 1973-1978. It’s not exactly what I’d call a show for the family, so making a book and record, typically made for kids, is kind of strange to me.
Tonight I bring you two stories from that set. Like with Star Trek, none of the original cast reprise their roles. Come to think of it, the only book and record that had any cast, comic or other wise, from the show was a Scooby-Doo one as far as my collection went. This is a bit out of the norm for Saturday Night Showcase, but it’s a bit out of the norm for 1970s book and records, given that this one has a body count above zero. Enjoy.
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Clark Kent and Lois Lane are the longest lasting romantic coupling in comics. Since the early days Lois went after one identity or the other but while Clark (or Superboy, depending on the continuity) dated Lana Lang and there are a few other names for both of them (ask Sasha of Casually Comics on YouTube), it’s always been Lois and Clark. Of course there’s always that small group who hate any superhero being married and will push back on any pairing, usually for very dumb reasons. Right, Peter Parker? And so Fansided’s Bang Smack Pow! contributor Mark Lynch is running defense on the Supermarriage before someone turns it into the Spider-Marriage…and it’s been tried. Look up “Superman 2000” some time.
BW Media Spotlight 