Chapter By Chapter> Op-Center: Mirror Image chapter 2

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.

In our last installment we were told about the new evil Op-Center. I’m guessing we’ll meet the team this week, but to keep these intro segments genuine I haven’t read it yet.

I still maintain that this is the wrong book to be doing the evil opposite storyline. Our introduction to the team wasn’t the best. They barely won, and that was after all the internal squabbling and questionable morality we saw on display, plus we were told their first mission was a failure. So we’ve only seen their second assignment, and they barely succeeded.

It would have been better to save this for a few books, get the team’s mojo together, have some more definite victories, and then have a counterpoint to the good Op-Center with Commie Op-Center. Make it a real challenge for a team who finally showed they had what it takes to stop the villains, rather than a group we’ve only seen as incompetent thus far, unable to work together or sometimes even get along, even during a crisis. It’s supposed to be a crisis response team, but the real crisis was them. And a bombing, but other people not tied to Op-Center did a better job dealing with that for most of the book.

Let’s see what we can learn about Commie Op-Center this chapter. Yes, I’m still calling them that.

Chapter Two: Saturday, 10:30 AM, Moscow

And we still don’t know if they’re using local time or America Op-Center time.

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“Yesterday’s” Comic> Hardcase #6

When more thought is put into the Pumaman outfit than yours, it’s time to rethink your design.

Hardcase #6

Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (November, 1993)

“Friends And Enemies” part 2: “Returning Favors”

WRITER: Jim Hudnall

PENICLER: Scott Benefiel

INKERS: Mike Christian & Jordi Ensign

COLORING: Moose Bauman & Family Fugue

LETTERER: Tim Eldred

EDITOR: Hank Kalanz

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BW’s Daily Video> The Secret Behind The Train To Clarksville

Catch more from Professor of Rock on YouTube

 

BW’s Daily Video> Yoda Canceles The Acolyte

Catch more from How It Should Have Ended on YouTube

I’d like to say I’m done talking about Star Wars, but that’s not how the week is going to go.

Jake & Leon #609> Aco-Lite

Being a realist doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate once in a while.

I have a revelation earlier this week: Osha is the anti-Mara Jade. Think about it.

  • Osha: former Padawan whose sister sought revenge, later joined the Dark Side after lusting after a wanna-be Sith Lord.
  • Mara Jade: Former right hand to a Sith Lord Emperor, sought revenge against the guy that beat him (though that was technically Vader), but fell in love and became a Jedi.

It’s like a broken mirror.

Over at The Clutter Reports this week I couldn’t do anything because I’m getting used to new glasses and a new prescription (going slower than usual but I haven’t had new glasses in over a decade) so I ended up grabbing a couple of videos about different decluttering methods and try to figure out why I’m not as far ahead as I’d like to be.

This week I was hoping not to talk about Disney Star Wars for one week, but someone dropped the last part of a video series dissecting everything wrong with the Sequel Trilogy, so I’ll be dropping those in for the Daily Videos. Article wise we have the second chapter of Tom Clancy’s Op-Center: Mirror Image, more comic reviews, and whatever else springs to mind over the week. Have a great one, everybody!

Saturday Night Showcase> Max Steel (The Original)

When you think of Max Steel, do you think of a kid with a sentient robot backpack who fights alien threats? I haven’t really looked into that take because that’s not the concept I remember. The original concept for the series and toyline was much different.

Josh McGrath is an extreme sports star, sponsored by his adoptive father’s company N-Tek. Except N-Tek also delves into advanced technologies to use in their superspy organization. One day, Josh is exposed to one of those experiments, a nanite project that ends up giving superhuman strength, the ability to alter his appearance, and other bionic type powers, but must recharge his “transphasic” energy to remain among the living. To keep his identity secret, Josh takes on the identity of Max Steel…but being a 19 year old kid his personality can be as much a hinderance as an asset.

In the first episode, Max deals with their usual opponent, DREAD, and the man responsible for Max’s condition, the cybernetic terrorist Psycho. The animation was done by Netter Digital and Foundation Imaging, who also gave us Voltron: The Third Dimension and Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles. In other words, you’re watching this for the story, not the character models. Enjoy for what it is.

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BW’s Saturday Article Link> The Government Steps In The Reviewer Minefield

Leave it to the government to make something potentially worse by trying to make it better. The Federal Trade Commission set some ground rules for reviews, probably when it comes to user reviews on websites rather than something like this or YouTube, and on review collection sites like Rotten Tomatoes. In typical bureaucracy there are still questions despite 163 pages and further comments. Bounding Into Comics goes over the document, the reaction, and what isn’t clear about the new rules and whether or not this actually does anything with so-called “review bombing” or even deciding what it means.

Can’t wait to see how this @$%$#s everything up.