G.I .JOE: Luck Be A Lady by Carrie Vaughn

G.I .JOE: Luck Be A Lady 

by Carrie Vaughn

Amazon Kindle Worlds novella

Book description:

"In this episode, Lady Jaye and Cover Girl are in Las Vegas tracking down a secret Cobra bunker. But instead of a secret bunker, they find the Baroness and Dr. Mindbender on the verge of launching a nefarious experiment that could spell doom for the entire city. Parental advisory: this episode contains disguises, trick javelins, mad races across the desert, and explosions. Lots and lots of explosions."

I'm a fan of Carrie Vaughn's work. I found the first novel in her werewolf series, Kitty and the Midnight Hour, on the shelf at the local mallbox bookstore and have been hooked ever since.

G.I. JOE, I have to admit, I'm somewhat less familiar with. Read some of the comics back in the day, had a couple of figures (Snake Eyes and Scarlett), saw some of the cartoons and both the recent movies...that's about it. But I know Vaughn is a fan, so when the Joes were added to Amazon's "Kindle Worlds" program, I was one of the folks to casually point it out to her. Luckily, others did too, and now we have this.

It's a short, fun, action-packed story (with explosions, as noted in the description above) about two Joes in a mad scramble to save Las Vegas from the latest Cobra plot. It's full of self-aware humor but doesn't skimp on the action and, in my humble opinion, is more than worth the two buck asking price.

Pick it up, and if you like it, don't hesitate to check out her other works. I think you'll be glad you did.

Honey West and T.H.E. Cat “A Girl and Her Cat”

Official Solicitation:

When an exotic green-eyed Asian doctor hires Honey to recover a stolen sample of a new influenza vaccine from a rival scientist, the blonde bombshell private eye—suspicious but bored—takes the case. But when she’s attacked not once, but twice, on her way from Long Beach to San Francisco to track downher quarry, she knows there’s more—much more—to her femme fatale client than meets the eye.

Along the way, Honey’s one-time paramour Johnny Doom—ex-bounty hunter and current Company agent—reenters the picture, and the gorgeous doctor’s insidious—and deadly—grandfather deals himself in. But when Honey questions whether Johnny’s playing her game, or just playing her for a patsy, she joins forces—as only Honey can—with the one man in Frisco who can help her recover the stolen vaccine-cum-bioweapon and prevent a worldwide epidemic—former cat burglar-turned-bodyguard Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat: T.H.E Cat!

Join writers Win Scott Eckert and Matthew Baugh, and cover artist Douglas Klauba, for A Girl and Her Cat, a groovy, racy 1960s romp.

I finally made it down the stack (do ebooks wind up in 'stacks'?) to this one.

The two main characters from two of the mid-sixties best 'one season wonder' television shows team up in this novel by Win Scott Eckert and Matthew Baugh.

Honey West is an ocelot-owning, judo using private eye who also happens to be a total knockout. She was played by Anne Francis.

T. Hewitt Edward Cat is a former circus aerialist (who never used a net) and cat burglar who abandoned his life of crime to become a bodyguard. He was played by Robert Loggia.

If you're a fan of either show (I'm much more familiar with Honey West thanks to its runs on MeTV) or sixties spy stories in general, there's a lot to like packed into this book. Along the way there are references to or cameos by several well-known genre characters. If you're familiar with them and like this sort of thing, you're in for a treat. Eckert and Baugh know their stuff when it comes to these classic characters and it shows.

Unfortunately, due to the pesky nature of copyrights, most of these other characters can't be named outright and if you don't know who they are, I can see where it could be a bit frustrating for the reader. That said, the scenes are handled well enough to not mar the flow of the story. It's a small nit to pick and really, it's hard to believe anyone interested in the book wouldn't already have enough of a passing knowledge of other characters from the same time frame to not pick up on who they are.

Moonstone Books published another winner with this one. Their track record with classic characters (they've also published books and comics about Buckaroo Banzai, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Zorro, the Green Hornet, the Lone Ranger, The Phantom, and many more - quite of few of which have also been written by Eckert and Baugh - like I said, they know their stuff) has been pretty darn good in my eyes and this is no exception.

I think it's too late to get the hardcover, but the ebook is easy enough to come by for both Amazon's Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook tablets, so do yourself a favor and take a short stroll thru the swinging, sexy, sixties.

POISONED FOR REVENGE- A CASE FOR KITTY MCGEE

Official Synopsis:

"The Hottest Lady Shamus in 1920s Hot Springs returns! Kitty McGee continues to find life harder than she wants it to be. Hired by a bootlegger accused of poisoning his own hooch, Kitty goes head to head with the police, gangsters, and a relentless lady reporter. With enough grit to gum up a tommy gun and her trusty blade, Kitty McGee tears her way through the home away from home for America’s gangsters in the early 20th Century in true lady gumshoe style."

I like pulp adventure. I stumbled across some of the Bantam reprints of Doc Savage pulps, originally published between 1933 and 1949, back when I was in grade school and was hooked. Movies like RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK just served to reinforce that addiction.

In recent years, there's been a bit of a resurgence of the genre, with imprints like Hard Case Crime reprinting hard-boiled, two-fisted tales of adventure by great classic authors like Lester Dent (of Doc Savage fame) and Cornell Woolrich along with new tales by the likes of Stephen King and Christa Faust inspired by those stories of yesteryear. There are even new Doc Savage stories being published today, written by pulp expert Will Murray (using the 'Kenneth Robeson' byline the originals were credited to) and published by Altus Press.

Especially with the advent of digital publishing, others have gotten into the game. One of the leaders of this new wave of pulp is Pro Se Press and one of their most intriguing innovations is the Single Shot line of short stories, available to download for the bargain price of ninety-nine cents from Smashwords and Amazon.

One of their newest offerings is POISONED FOR REVENGE- A CASE FOR KITTY MCGEE by Ashley Mangin.

Kitty McGee is a pulp-era private detective who specializes in helping those who have no other place to turn, because she remembers what it was like to lose everything after the stock market crash.

That's why she's answered the call of Donald Gordon, a small-time bootlegger with a big-time problem; his hooch has been poisoned and the cops are wanting to pin the deaths on him. When she speaks to him, Gordon points his finger at mob boss Big Al Candelari. In short order, Kitty is caught between mobsters and an overenthusiastic rookie reported named Billie Jean Byline, trying to solve the case and not get herself killed in the process.

'Poisoned...' is a quick read, both due to its short length (Amazon estimates it at 20 pages) and the breakneck pace that fits so well with the pulp feel the story is going after. Kitty is a fun character, armed with her knife and riding around on an Indian motorcycle, willing to take on the mob to help someone that the police are perfectly happy to lock up. Gotta love someone who fights for the little people.

If you like pulp stories, especially those with tough female protagonists, or have just been wondering what the whole 'pulp' deal is about, this title is good, inexpensive way to dip into the pool.

Personally, I wouldn't mind see more (and longer) Kitty stories in the future.

SHERWOOD, TX #1 (of 5)

OFFICIAL SOLICITATION:

SHERWOOD, TX #1 (of 5)

Diamond Order Code MAY141623

Written By: Shane Berryhill
Artist: Daniel Hillyard
Colors: Charlie Kirchoff
Covers A and C: Andrew Robinson
Cover B: Eben Matthews

Price: $1.00
24 pages

Synopsis:

Re-imagining the legend of Robin Hood as a modern day Spaghetti Western, SHERWOOD, TX is set inside the world of biker gangs, drug wars, and human trafficking.

After the same biker gang who murdered his father leaves ROB HOOD for dead, he returns seeking his own brand of justice and revenge. Hood is joined on his quest by Padre Elvin Tuck, Will Scarlet, and Little John, as they take on the crooked Sheriff of Nottingham, Texas and his partners in crime, The Nobles biker gang and their leader John Prince.
Don’t miss out on the book Examiner.com calls “one of the most notable” titles of FCBD 2014— jump on board now at the special introductory price of only $1.00!

@12GaugeComics
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Random musings (and spoilers, of course) commencing now....

(originally posted on Tumblr on 6 July 2014)

As the official synopsis states, this is the legend of Robin Hood retold by way of Sons of Anarchy.

Home from the Navy for his dad’s funeral, Rob Hood gets drawn into the conflict between two biker gangs - the Jesters, whose members include Hood’s Native American half-brother Will and local bar owner Little John, and the Nobles, led by John Prince and his second-hand man, Gisburn. Rob also reunites with his girl, Maria, who happens to be the daughter of the Sheriff of Nottingham County, on the Texas/Mexico border.

As a first issue, it’s mainly concerned with giving us the setup for the main characters and world they live in, and as introductions go, it’s got me interested in where things go from here. The familiar Robin Hood elements are getting a nice spin (Rob and Little John get into a bar fight with pool cues) and I like the rival gang setup.

It would have been too expected, I think to make Rob’s men the outlaw gang and kept Prince John and the others more ‘high born’ - say keeping them the Mayor and police force or some such, maybe.

Not sure how “robbing the rich and giving to the poor” will come into play with the gangs fighting. There’s indications that the Nobles are involved with smuggling people across the border (and that Rob’s father, Richie the Lion, was killed for not going along with the plan) so maybe that’s where it will manifest.

Oh, and there’s a ghost.

So, yeah. Looks interesting and I’ll try and keep an eye on this one.

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA #2

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA #2

(originally posted on Tumblr on 6 July 2014)

Story: John Carpenter and Eric Powell
Writer: Eric Powell
Art: Brian Churilla
Colors: Michael Garland
Letters: Ed Dukeshire
Publication Date: July 2014
Published by BOOM! Studios

"When some eight-foot tall immortal Chinese warlord magician comes looking for revenge and challenges you to some damn near impossible task to save your pal’s skin…well, you look that sucker right square in the eye and say…

Sister, challenge accepted.”

-Jack Burton

So, in the first issue, Qiang Lu, the eight-foot tall immortal Chinese warlord magician mentioned by Jack above, abducts Wang Chi. He tells Jack he can get his friend back by travelling the Black Road in the Hell of the Seven-Faced Widow and releasing the souls of the three storms - Thunder, Lightning, and Rain.

Issue two picks up with Jack, Egg Shen, and Qiang Lu hashing out the details of the exchange, and then Jack and Egg (and Pete, the demon servant of Lo Pan that’s now following Jack around like a lost puppy) head out.

They travel the Black Road, encountering some bizarre inhabitants of the spirit realm (and triggering a funny flashback to one of Jack’s ex-wives) and the issue end with them arriving at the house of the Seven-Faced Widow.


The title is continuing to impress. Not sure exactly how much involvement John Carpenter has, but Eric Powell’s writing has the characters down pat. Jack’s bluster and Egg’s attempts at getting Jack to understand the situation ring true and Kurt Russell and Victor Wong’s voices echo in my head as I read their lines.

Brian Churilla’s cartoony art is working for me here, making it as easy to recognize the characters visually as Powell’s writing does thru the dialog.

The whole look and feel of the title so far perfectly meshes with the world as portrayed in the film, where the physical world and the spirit realms aren’t so far apart as you might think.

I’m a little curious how close the mythology presented in the world of BTiLC matches actual Chinese mythology, but I’m afraid to look it up because it’s so well done in the film and the comic.

My biggest concern about the series was how to keep the series focused on Jack without making him….well….competent at anything. So far they’re doing a fine job, as Jack continues to bluster his way thru things. Absolutely nothing phases the man, at least in part because he can’t see thru his own ego. The flashback to Jack’s ex is a perfect example of this, as he manages to defeat a supernatural evil that he doesn’t even realize exists.

Yeah…so far, so good. Definitely think that if you’ve any love for the film at all, you’re going to enjoy this comic.

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA #1

Greetings!

This time I’ll be presenting my random musings on the new Big Trouble in Little China comic from BOOM! Studios.

For those poor unfortunates unfamiliar with Big Trouble in Little China, it’s a 1986 film from John Carpenter (HALLOWEEN, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, THE THING) starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, and James Hong. It’s a hilarious blend of over-the-top 80s neon-lit action and 70s kung-fu movies, with a fair dose of “Chinese black magic.”

Seriously, go watch it. It’s available for streaming from Netflix and everything.

And, before we get into the meat of things, I want to point out that despite persistent internet rumors, the film is NOT in any way, shape, or form a re-tooled version of BUCKAROO BANZAI: AGAINST THE WORLD CRIME LEAGUE.*

On to the comic....

(originally published on Tumblr on 6 June 2014)

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA #1

Story: John Carpenter and Eric Powell
Writer: Eric Powell
Art: Brian Churilla
Colors: Michael Garland
Letters: Ed Dukeshire
Publication Date: June 2014
Published by BOOM! Studios

At the end of Big Trouble in Little China (BTiLC going forward) hero-trucker Jack Burton hits the road in his big-rig, The Pork Chop Express, after rescuing Miao Yin and Gracie Law from the clutches of the evil Lo Pan. Little does he know, a demon servant has hitched a ride.

The BTiLC comic picks up immediately after the film fades to black as Jack finds out about his uninvited hitchhiker. Fortunately for Jack, the beast turns out to be friendly, acting more like a big puppy. Jack doesn’t know what else to do so he decides to head back to Little China, hoping Chinese sorcerer Egg Chen will know how to handle it.

Egg Chen explains to Jack that the demon was a servant bonded to Lo Pan, and that when Jack killed Lo Pan, the bond transferred to Jack. The only way to remove the bond is for someone to kill Jack, which isn’t exactly the kind of solution that sits well with Jack.

But before they can investigate the problem further, it’s time for the wedding of Jack’s friend Wang Chi and his green-eyed girl, Miao Yin. A wedding which is interrupted by the appearance of Qiang Lu, a warrior sorcerer disciple of Lo Pan.

Qiang Lu takes Wang Chi but offers Jack an opportunity to save him. If Jack travels the Black Road in the Hell of the Seven-Faced Widow and releases the spirits of the three storms (Thunder, Lightning, and Rain - Lo Pan’s right-hand men) within three days, he’ll spare Wang’s life.

Jack’s response: “Sister, challenge accepted.”

So endeth issue one.

Now, I love the movie. It’s a quirky ball of fun with a great cast - Kurt Russell and Jack Burton, Dennis Dun as Wang Chi, Kim Cattrall as Gracie Law, Victor Wong as Egg Chen, and the always awesome James Hong as Lo Pan.

It didn’t do that well in theaters but developed a cult following, especially after it hit home video. Like all the good movies, it seems.

The thing that made me worried about how it would translate to a continuing comic book adventure is that Jack Burton, for all his bluster and swagger, isn’t the hero - he’s the comic relief sidekick. Only he doesn’t know it. Jack bumbles his way thru the movie and if he does actually accomplish something, it’s by accident more often than not.

As an example, in one of my favorite scenes, Jack and Wang Chi are leading a group of prisoners to freedom from Lo Pan’s warehouse. They end up with a group of Lo Pan’s hoods on the other side of a door, ready to attack. As Jack and Wang get ready for the fight, Jack pulls a knife from his boot only for it to slip from his hand and fly across the room. Jack goes after it as the baddies bust in. By the time Jack recovers the blade and jumps back to the fight - it’s over. Wang Chi has dispatched all the bad guys single-handed.

Wang Chi is the hero of the film.

So it’ll be interesting to see how they keep to the essence of this thru the run of the series.

That said, the first issue is off to a promising start. It’s got the action and humor of the film, and Jack acts like Jack. He’s ready for anything, even if he’s not exactly sure what that ‘anything’ might be. A definite ‘leap before he looks - assuming he looks at all’ type.

It’s easy to hear the character’s voices in my head as I read it, which is about the highest praise I can give it.

The art - I have to admit a personal bias against the more cartoony style but for this title it seems to work, and I can recognize the characters.

As it’s a first issue, it has to spend its time setting up the characters and situations, so you can’t really get too deep into it from a review standpoint - not that I’m giving myself enough credit to call these write-ups of mine ‘reviews’ - but I’m a fan of the film and right now I’m a fan of the comic, too.

We’ll have to see where it does from here but I’m more than willing to tag along for the ride.

*No, seriously. Aside from W.D. Richter directing THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI and writing BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, there’s no connection between BTiLC and the promised Buckaroo sequel. BTiLC was based on a previous script - a straight out period western - that Richter was called in to re-write. And as Richter has pointed out several times, even if there was a version of AGAINST THE WORLD CRIME LEAGUE out there, it would be written by Buckaroo’s creator Earl Mac Rauch, not himself.

That said, there is one small connection between the films. In the official Buckaroo Banzai newsletters released after the film, it’s revealed that one of Buckaroo’s men was engaged to marry until his intended ran off with Jack Burton.

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN: SEASON SIX #4

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN: SEASON SIX #4

(originally posted on Tumblr on 5 July 2014.)

Writer: James Kuhoric
Art: Juan Antonio Ramirez
Colors: Fran Gamboa
Letters: Joshua Cozine
Publication Date: July 2014
Published by Dynamite Entertainment

The story so far….

The Bionics project has been shut down by Oliver Spencer, who has convinced The Powers That Be to instead support his robotic agent - Maskatron.

Unfortunately, Maskatron has suffered some damage and its onboard programming is over-riding Spencer’s attempts to control it.

Barney Hiller has only barely survived his attack by Maskatron and is in the hospital, sans bionic arms and legs.

Dr. Joan Anderson has been taken over and mutated by the strange alien entity brought back to Earth by the US government’s Venus probe.

Jaime has found out about the closure of the Bionics project.

And Steve, after having been set up to get caught during a mission to the Soviet Union, has defeated the Russian robot-tank and made it back to the US.

Let the random musings commence….

As this issue begins, Spencer is drowning his troubles in drink, upset that things haven’t worked out the way he’d imagined.

Maskatron has been subdued after wiping out a SWAT team and Spencer’s scientists are running diagnostics to determine the origin of the control problem.

What they don’t know is that Maskatron’s internal systems have rebooted and it’s running its own diagnostic of the situation. It decides that its future isn’t looking too rosy and so initiates its own self-preservation protocol.

It scans the OSI’s top secret files (clearance level six and above) and discovers the records concerning the alien ‘Bionic Bigfoot.’ When last encountered (season five - episode five in the fittingly-titled “Bigfoot V”), the Sasquatch was in the process of being transformed from nyosynthetic construction to a purely biological entity. This seems to interest Maskatron.

Steve, meanwhile, is back from Russia and in a bad mood, having obviously been compromised by someone inside the OSI. He blows past Callahan and busts Oscar’s door open only to be surprised by the presence of Jaime Sommers. It’s a pleasant, if quick, reunion for the pair who haven’t seen each other for a year (due to their respective shows being on separate networks in their final seasons).

Oscar already knows there’s a security leak at OSI, but he has something else to talk to Steve about, so they send Jaime down to see Rudy. While she’s there, with Rudy and his assistant Lynda working on packing up the lab, they get an emergency call from NASA. Kennedy Space Center is being overran by mutated alien beings who are transforming the personnel there into more of the creatures.

Oscar takes Steve to the hospital, where he has an emotional scene with Barney. Barney reveals to Steve that when Maskatron attacked, it was wearing a likeness of Steve’s face.

Already mad about the botched Russian mission, this upsets Steve even more. And he’s about to get even more torqued off.

As Steve and Oscar get back to OSI, Maskatron has broken free and is killing its way thru the building to get out. Steve saves Spencer’s life and as Maskatron sees Austin, it recognizes the face it used to have and decides to take it back.

Jaime jumps into the fray but gets knocked aside by the rampaging robot.

And that’s when Steve gets well and truly pissed off. Finally, the moment we’ve been waiting for - Steve and Maskatron in a knock-down, drag-out fight.

The issue ends with Steve and Maskatron locked in a clinch, Maskatron’s saw blade slicing into Steve’s bionic arm.

Another good issue, with things finally coming to a head.

Steve spends most of the episode with a mad-on, for a variety of very good reasons. First betrayal, then seeing his friend who’s been mutilated by Maskatron - a friend who both tells Steve that the thing that did that to him wore Steve’s face and begs Steve to kill him, and then Jaime getting hurt during the fight. I don’t think he’s ever been that angry. It’s good to see him let loose like that.

Maskatron’s study of the OSI files gives us glimpses of Steve fighting the Russian Venus Probe, teen psychic Audrey Moss, and Dr. Franklin’s weather control device. Cameos in this issue include the aforementioned Jaime and Callahan, along with what appears to be National Security Bureau Chief Inspector Jack Hanson (who led the search for Oscar when the OSI chief was kidnapped by Dr. Franklin and replaced by a robot) and, most importantly - the belt buckle! (if you’re a fan, you know)

Hanson is unnamed but it pretty much has to be him from the look, with the dark hair and mustache, and that kind-of leads me to one thing I’m still a bit annoyed about. The artist can convincingly reference a guy who was in one storyline (the three-part “Kill Oscar” crossover episodes) but still can’t give us a better representation of Oscar’s office or his favorite secretary. Sure, I’m picking nits, but I think in the musings on the first issue I pointed out how much of a fan I am. Nits will continue to be picked with this one.

But, that’s kind-of a good thing, because other than the artistic nits (the character consistently drawn to look the least like his on-screen counterpart - Steve Austin, of course) there’s really not much I don’t like about this series. Adjusting for the differences in medium and the time of production, Kuhoric has done a nice job of continuing the bionic legacy and I hope the title has a nice, long run if it stays this good.

Here’s hoping Brandon Jerwa is up to the task when his take on THE BIONIC WOMAN: SEASON FOUR premieres in September.

Bonus useless Bionic Trivia - in the series, Sasquatch was first portrayed by wrestler/actor Andre the Giant. The rest of his appearances featured former ‘Lurch’ of THE ADDAMS FAMILY fame, Ted Cassidy. In the CHARLIE’S ANGELS ‘behind the scenes’ TV movie, a bit of the Steve/Bigfoot fight was recreated. The man in the fur suit for that one? Former ‘Lurch’ of THE NEW ADDAMS FAMILY, John DeSantis.

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN: SEASON SIX #2

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN: SEASON SIX #2

(originally posted to Tumblr on 20 April 2014)

Issue two is out. Figured I’d keep this going with some random observations.

The bionics program has been shut down by Oliver Spencer, who is using Maskatron now. They do allow that there will be a small maintenance budget and Jaime’s name is brought up, so that’s nice.

And the Seven Million Dollar Man is back.

To refresh your memory, the Seven Million Dollar Man (played by Monte Markham) was a former racecar driver who had a near-fatal accident not long after Steve. In his case, both his arms and legs were replaced with bionics. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite adjust to the bionics. He was never able to drive up to his old level again and he had trouble staying in control. In his first appearance, his name was Barney Miller. By his second episode, there was already another quite popular Barney Miller on TV (a captain in New York City’s 12th police precinct, where Richard Castle would later haunt the squadroom while getting inspiration for his Nikki Heat novels) so ‘Miller’ was changed to ‘Hiller.’ I was amused with how the comic addressed this.

Anyway, due to his issues, Barney’s bionics were tuned down to merely peak human efficiency and he was pretty much allowed to live his life. Because of that, Spencer sends Maskatron out after the Seven Million Dollar Man, considering him a security risk.
Meanwhile, more strange things are afoot with the returned Venus probe and the radiation, and now there’s some unusual material found on the satellite.

So Steve goes off to Russia on his next mission (I guess it was already far enough along in the planning phase to not pull the plug just because the bionics program is being phased out?) and the issue ends with him being caught, apparently due to a tip. Possibly Spencer’s way to get rid of another potential security risk? Although delivering him to the enemy seems a strange way to go about it.

Still not totally sold on the art style tho I do seem to see hints of Monte Markham in Barney’s face in a panel or two. I think that’s part of my issue with the art. Random panels of the characters show some likeness to the actors, but it’s not consistent.
They kinda lost me when Steve had to have his memory refreshed on who Oliver Spencer was. I realize the need to explain it to the reader, but I think it could’ve been done a little better.

Jaime’s mentioned twice in the issue, and actually shows up on the cover for issue 4 displayed on Dynamite’s site, so hopefully we’ll see her fairly regularly. Steve and Jaime weren’t allowed to interact during the last season of their respective shows because they were on different networks.

So yeah, overall it’s still working for me more than it’s not.

Still a bit worried about them bringing in all the ‘classic’ characters too soon - covers for upcoming issues also show the Sasquatch (who should be pretty much entirely biological by now based on his last series appearance) popping up in the storyline along with Jaime. Short of bringing back one of Farrah’s characters (I’d vote for con-woman Trish Hollander myself, but if it happens we’ll probably get fellow astronaut Major Kelly Wood) I’m not sure of any more ‘classic’ characters or storylines they could revisit. Not that there’s not plenty I’d like as a fan to see return, of course.

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN: SEASON SIX #3

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN: SEASON SIX #3

Since I’m apparently going to keep doing these, I thought I ought to throw in the proper credits for each issue. Make it more 'professional' looking.

Unfortunately, the rest of this will still be the random musings of a
decidedly non-professional, so, ya know, whatevs….

Besides, the credits can double as spoiler-space.

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN: SEASON 6 #3

Writer: James Kuhoric
Art: Juan Antonio Ramirez
Colors: Fran Gamboa
Letters: Joshua Cozine
Publication Date: May 2014
Published by Dynamite Entertainment

The story so far….

Former OSI head Oliver Spencer has returned and made his move to
disband the Bionics project in favor of his fully robotic agent,
Maskatron. Unfortunately, Maskatron doesn’t seem to be as obedient as
Spencer hoped, and has its own ideas about how to accomplish its
mission - bringing in the Seven Million Dollar security risk, Barney
Hiller.

Steve arrived in Russia on a ‘secret’ mission only to find the Soviets
waiting for him. Someone has tipped them off.

Meanwhile, a strange, alien entity has hitched a ride to Earth on a
returning satellite and infected scientist Joan Anderson….

Now:

So Maskatron is back from his mission to get Barney, but due to damage
it’s operating independent of Spencer’s control so it tends to react
somewhat badly to potential threats, like the SWAT team that greets it
as it returns to OSI HQ. It pretty much destroys the team until
Spencer arrives to command it shut down in person.

Steve finds himself in a knock-down, drag-out fight with a giant,
Soviet, armored robot-tank, but of course he finds a way to beat it
and get away. Now he just has to make it out of Russia. Note: the base
Steve infiltrates is in Chelyabinsk, which was hit by a meteor in
February 2013. Lots of nice dash-cam videos on YouTube of that if you
haven’t seen it.

Jaime returns! She’s on the scene at Washington National Airport,
where a plane with a US senator on board has been hijacked. After the
hijacking has been dealt with, Rudy gives her the bad news about the
Bionics project, but explains that they’ll likely be re-assigned
somewhere else as opposed to cut loose from the OSI altogether.

Oscar shows up at the hospital emergency room after a call from
Barney’s wife, Carla. We find out for sure how Maskatron decided to
complete its mission as Barney is a man barely alive and now missing
his bionic arms and legs. (Lucky for him he didn’t need an eye or an
ear - that wouldn’t have been pretty.)

And police show up at Dr. Joan Anderson’s house to find out why she
hasn’t been at work only to be attacked by a Species-esque alien
version of her.

Things are, as they say, heating up.

So, cue the random musings -

Since the final seasons of their respective shows were on different
networks, it’s been a long time since Steve and Jaime were able to
interact. It’ll be nice to see them working together again. Wonder how
Steve will get along with Chris Williams
- Jaime’s semi-boyfriend from her final season?

The hijacking scene also starts with a newscast setting up the
situation. A newscast from the Peeping Blonde herself, Victoria
Webster. Webster was one of Farrah Fawcett’s three characters from the
show and this is the type of cameo I love. So often on episodic TV
we’re introduced to characters that by all rights we should see again
in our heroes lives, but it’s not practical due to having to bring
actors in again for a thirty second scene. Comics don’t have to worry
about that so if you need a newscast, let Webster deliver it. If Steve
is chilling between missions, let him be playing tennis with Fred
Sloan. I hope to see more of this. (I *really* hope to see crossovers
with other shows/characters of the time snuck in but that’s just a
thing with me.)

Still not sold on the art style, but I can’t say it’s bad, just not to
my taste. I think there’s a bit of a manga influence and I’m not a fan
of that. And I’m really not sure why Spencer is always wearing a hat.
Pretty sure he never wore one in the pilot movie. I suspect it’s a way
to cue us that it’s him, but I think a better likeness to Darren
McGavin could cover that. Still, those are just personal quibbles. It
does the job and is dynamic and gets the point across. And it’s
entirely possible it will grow on me. It’s happened with other artists
before.

The writing, the part I was most worried about when the title was
announced, has continued to impress. Aside from the changes necessary
due to the format (that I mentioned in earlier write-ups) it’s pretty
easy to hear the characters I grew up with in there and that’s what I
really wanted.

Overall, I’m still really happy with how the series is going hope we
get season’s seven, eight, nine….

Also wonder if we’ll be getting a separate ‘The Bionic Woman: Season
Four’ comic. The way this one is going, I’d be on board with that.

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN: SEASON SIX #1

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN: SEASON SIX #1

(originally posted on Tumblr on 20 April 2014).

It occurs to me I’ve done write-ups of the first two issues of Dynamite’s THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN - SEASON SIX comics so I figured I’ll post ‘em here and probably keep going as long as I’m reading the series.

SPOILERS abound, of course, so I’ll toss in a few lines of nonsense to give you time to skip past this without accidentally seeing something you would rather not if you want to check it out with virgin eyes.

See, THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN (SMDM going forward) is my show. I don’t mean that in any sort of competitive fanboy “my collection/trivia knowledge is better than yours” sense, just that for as long as I can remember, I’ve loved the show and watched it whenever I could.

I suppose that technically there was a time in my life that I was unaware of the adventures of Steve Austin - the World’s First Bionic Man (tm) but obviously those days were wholly unremarkable and not worth recalling.

I’m also…not a big fan of Dynamite’s handling of most of the properties they deal with, which is sad because they seem intent on licensing every cool character ever.

So, those are two of the things I was dealing with which factor into my judgement of the book, about which I’ll begin talking shortly.

Spoiler Space is over now.

Dynamite’s new take on Steve Austin is actually going back to the original version as brought to life by Lee Majors on March 7th, 1973 when the first of three tele-movies premiered before the show went to series. The series lasted five seasons, spun off THE BIONIC WOMAN (BW going forward) which went for three, and enjoyed a successful toy line and became a pop culture landmark. Three reunion tele-movies followed, between 1987 and 1994.

Dynamite had previously published two series, Bionic Man and The Bionic Woman, which were based on a Kevin Smith script for a possible movie. The less said about all of that, the better.

The new series bills itself as ‘Season Six,’ picking up after the end of the television series, which means it should be set in the 1978-79 time frame.

Writer Jim Kuhoric has stated in interviews that he is a big fan of the original shows. I hear that all the time and don’t really believe it’s always true (and even if it is - being a fan is no guarantee of quality as a stroll thru fanfiction.net will prove) but in this case, it seems to be the case. Certainly the first issue has enough nods to the original series to bear that out. In short order we’re introduced not only to the expected characters of Steve, his OSI boss Oscar Goldman, and bionic doctor extraordinaire Rudy Wells, but we also get a cameo of Oscar’s favorite secretary Peggy Callahan and are reintroduced to Oliver Spencer - the original head of the Office of Strategic Operations and played by the always awesome Darren McGavin from the original pilot. (Fun trivia - McGavin and Richard Anderson, who played Oscar Goldman starting with the second tele-movie - appeared together in the second Kolchak tele-movie THE NIGHT STRANGLER.)

Spencer was the one who spearheaded the project to turn Steve into a cyborg, tho he wasn’t totally pleased with the results. Steve’s independence and stubbornness got on his nerves. He even wondered if there was some way to turn Steve ‘off’ between missions. Now, he has the obedient operative he wants.

Maskatron was a robotic character originally introduced into Kenner’s SMDM toy line in the 1970s and it finally makes its official appearance in a SMDM story here. Based on the designs of Dr. Dolenz (the ‘Robot Maker’ from three episodes of the series, portrayed by Henry Jones), M.A.S.K.A.T.Ron is the weapon Spencer always wanted, and he’s convinced the powers that be to take away funding for the bionics project in favor of his robotic agent.

While Oscar is dealing with that news, Steve and Rudy are off the coast of Florida looking for a downed satellite. After dealing with the Russian Venus Probe (the ‘Death Probe’ of two, two-part stories from the series) the US government fast-tracked their own Venus probe, sent both to study the planet and to keep an eye out for any other Soviet activity. It turns out that a strange radioactive cloud changed course to intercept the probe when it approached Venus and all contact was lost until suddenly it showed up back on Earth, splashing down in the Atlantic.

That’s the basics of the plot of the first issue. It could be an interesting setup but it’s too early to really be able to judge. Obviously, as a fanboy I liked the callbacks to the series (the wonder-drug Neotraxin from the Bigfoot episodes is also name-checked) tho I’m a little worried that he’s going to front load the series with too many of these. The promo for the second issue already has the Seven Million Dollar Man being brought into the mix.

While I couldn’t “hear” the actor’s voices while reading it, nothing hit me as massively out of character.

The art by Juan Antonio Ramirez is okay. I’m not huge on the style and am pretty sure I wouldn’t recognize Steve if someone had shown me a non-bionic panel with no context. Oscar and Rudy are a little better. Callahan, however, is portrayed in her one panel as a stereotypical leggy blond, which might fit the seventies setting but bears no resemblance to the series portrayal at all. It would also be nice is someone would give the artist some photo reference for Oscar’s office. Again, I’m a fanboy.

For a Dynamite title, it’s definitely better than I’d expected. Again, one issue is too early to offer a fair evaluation but nothing really torqued me off so that’s something.

Dynamite's THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN page.