Chapter By Chapter> BattleTech: I Am Jade Falcon chapters 28 & 29

Chapter By Chapter features me reading one chapter 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.

My schedule is a bit crazed at the moment but I did promise to get the Chapter By Chapter review out each week unless I got too sick, so despite whatever this is trying again better late than never.

Last time Joanna learned the terrible secret of what’s been going on here at the wonderfully named planet Dogg but we’ve been denied the great escape. Maybe it will show up in a flashback like Joanna and Ravill’s mech battle but I kind of doubt it. These next two chapters are interesting. Chapter 28 is really short, maybe four pages, while Chapter 29 is almost the designated chapter length of at least 11 pages for this review series. Next time I think it’s one full-length chapter. Are the short chapters behind us? We’ll see as the book continues on to 32 chapters and an epilogue, so we are near the end. Let’s see what happens next.

Continue reading →

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Star Trek: Starfleet Academy #4

Is this “love” or “war”? With Klingons it’s hard to tell.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy #4

Marvel/Paramount Comics (March, 1997)

“War And Peace” part 1

WRITER: Chris Cooper

PENCILER: Chris Renaud

INKER: Andy Lanning

COLORIST: Kevin Sommers

LETTERER: Jim Novak

EDITOR: Bobbie Chase

Continue reading →

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Spider-Man 2099 #2

In this issue: Spider-Man 2099 crosses over with Emergency+4 2099. (Now there’s an old reference.)

Spider-Man: 2099 #2

Marvel Comics (December, 1992; as reprinted in Spider-Man Family: Amazing Friends)

“Nothing Ventured”

WRITER: Peter David

PENCILER: Rick Lonardi

INKER: Al Williamson

COLORIST: Noelle Giddings

LETTERER: Rick Parker

EDITOR: Joey Cavalieri

Continue reading →

“Yesterday’s” Comic> Legion Of Super-Heroes In The 31st Century #1

Why not just call it “Superman & The Legion Of Super-Heroes”, like the cartoon? I don’t remember the name being in use.

Legion Of Super-Heroes In The 31st Century #1 (Free Comic Book Day edition)

DC Comics (June, 2007)

“Yesterday’s Hero”

ADAPTATION: J. Torres

ARTIST: Chyna Clugston

COLORIST: Guy Majors

COVER ART: Steve Uy

LETTERER: Rob Clark, JR

EDITOR: Jeanine Schaefer

Continue reading →

BW’s Daily Article Link: Sitcoms In Wanda’s Vision

I have no pictures of Vision and Wanda together. Go figure?

WandaVision may be over (I couldn’t tell you as I don’t have Disney+) but if you’re curious about the sitcoms that inspired the hex world Wanda created ScreenCrush’s Claire Epting did the research for you.

BW Programming Note: A Few Weeks Of Chaos

No comic today because, as I went over in this week’s Clutter Report, I have a new laptop for the art corner, one where I can update my software of choice, and this week I wanted to set that up. I didn’t finish in time for a proper comic. However that wasn’t the only delay I had to put up with this week.

As you may know I’ve gotten sick at the start of February and March, both times taking me off the site. Well, I’m going to have a few tests done to figure out what’s wrong but the current theory is that it’s a Crohn’s flare-up (wouldn’t surprise me given the strange weather fluctuations Connecticut’s been having lately since that can occasionally influence things–long story look it up), which means it’s taken a new form since my surgery and the first one I’ve had since said surgery. As I try to work this out, and I have a check-up with my regular doctor this week, I can’t promise I’ll have a feature article every day of the week until this is all cleared up. Also, I’m finally in the age bracket for the Covid vaccine and I have to try to schedule that. The result is that there may be days when I don’t have a feature article, but I am going to try to keep the comic reviews and daily quick posts going so you have something to read. I should be able to continue the Chapter By Chapter review of BattleTech: I Am Jade Falcon but it may not show up on Mondays, though I will attempt to maintain that schedule if possible.

This isn’t going to be a permanent situation (I hope) but it will affect the schedule until all the tests are done. Hopefully we can figure out what’s going on and deal with it accordingly. Bear with me folks and have a good week.

Saturday Night Showcase: Cadillacs & Dinosaurs

Created by Mark Schultz, Xenozoic Tales is a comic series that takes place in the “Xenozoic Era”, a time when dinosaurs rise to reclaim the earth after a major cataclysm. It was reprinted by Marvel’s “Epic Comics” imprint under the name Cadillacs And Dinosaurs, and that was the name used for the CBS Saturday morning cartoon series. Airing in 1993 and produced by Nelvana, the story takes place in a world where the human race was forced underground and forgot much of their old lives while a new world sprang up over them. Eventually, humanity returned to the surface and now must live in harmony with the “Slithers”, their name for dinosaurs.

The main character of the series is Jack Tenrec, a follower of the “machinery of life” and an oldblood mechanic–one of the few who can repair the old machines, though now they use a new power source…dino poop essentially, according to Wikipedia. He is joined by fellow mechanic Mustapha Cairo and scientist Hanna Dundee, an ambassador from the neighboring land of Wassoon in the show. (I don’t know if she was in the comic.) They live in the City In The Sea (formerly New York City), one of the remaining cities of the world, and clash with local poachers, a corrupt politician or two, and of course the dinosaurs. Jack really loves old Cadillac cars and rebuilds them, thus completing the name the franchise uses to this day through other publishers, reprints, a video game, and a short-lived toy line based on the cartoon.

The show is available through Retro Rerun, the YouTube channel tonight’s posting comes from unless they eventually take it down. Since they’re one of those channels who don’t put the intro into the episodes the second video is the intro to the show. It would show up right after the cold open. Let’s meet our cast. Enjoy.

Continue reading →