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This came up as I was waking up yesterday. I’m going to have to look into this.
Chapter By Chapter (usually) features me reading one chapter of the selected book at a 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 a read-along book club.
In our previous chapter Korsal gets some father and son time…but not in the manner he would have liked.
This chapter gets us back to the Enterprise again. While the multiple plot threads are a concern due to previous novels in this review series, the limited use of the regular cast is the only real complaint I have at this point in the book. This isn’t just set in the 23rd century, it’s supposed to be a book about the voyages of the original show crew. So far they’ve taken a backseat to Jean Lorrah’s original characters from the previous novel, The Vulcan Academy Murders, and new original characters from this novel. We’re a bit shy of the halfway mark and the characters we’re here for hasn’t done much of anything.
I would have no problem with a story set in the time period without the original crew. Remember, I sought out the last book after reading and enjoying this one back in the day. I kind of know this is going to be a good story, as it was one of my first Star Trek novels and I picked up a few more after this. This being a review, I’m drawn to being a bit more critical (it’s in the term) than I was as a kid reading this for fun. The thing is you can like something but still point out flaws, or even hate something and point out the strengths. It’s part of my review style in part because that’s how I’ll learn to be a better storyteller myself. Thus far that’s what’s been happening. Now as we move to this chapter and the characters we bought a Star Trek novel for, I’m happier but I don’t hate how we got here. Understand the difference as we get into this chapter’s review.
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You’re probably wondering why folks keep on this show’s case. It’s not making me any money or superboosting my readership, so that can’t be it. It’s that we need a record of WHY this stuff matters versus why Hollywood wants you to think is the problem. It’s about promoting good storytelling over extremist agendas by media snobs who shove their elitist and divisive ideas into thing people loved because the geeks are still a punching bag long after high school. It’s about the storytelling, not respecting the source material that’s giving them something to adapt, and thus make more money than the audience in the process, and hoping someone will tell better stories when it’s their turn. Lanterns is the embodiment of “got wrong” while the showrunners try to convince making heroes act like villains is a good thing. So there’s a reason we keep harping on Hollywood’s failings with formerly good franchises.
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I wonder how much I’d make if I were able to sell Bryce plushies?
Technically I make both comics on my own, so…same crew, really. Yes, someone on X-Twitter wrote to tell me that their circle of friends enjoyed Captain Yuletide and asked to see more. Now I wish I knew where my plot list went to, but I do have a reminder to look something up that will make a good plot. [EDIT: I just found my list!] I just have to get working on this year’s comic into my schedule. It’s the first time I’ve gotten praise on the comics beyond a like, so I’m just hoping it’s because they actually enjoy it rather than a “so bad it’s good” routine. I’d hate to mess that up in the kid’s Christmas superhero minicomic. Stick to the audience intended, I say. Not that I mind if it’s an MST3K situation. It’s still entertaining somebody and I had fun making it…and hope to keep doing so.
Hey, toy photographers! This week’s Clutter Report is about me trying to put my toy review photo stage into a better condition. Advice is very much welcome.
Here at BW, if my current schedule manages to hold, we have this week’s Chapter By Chapter review of Star Trek: The IDIC Epidemic, and hopefully enough discussion topics that I can build my buffer up a bit before the next crisis…or so I can do other projects on a slow day. Have a great week, everyone!
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I don’t know. Might be too late for that girl.
Zip Comics #3
M.L.J. Comics (April, 1940)
It also happens to be the LAST comic of April, 1940 as of this writing. I took the time this “month” to make a list of Golden Age comics I wanted to continue reading. In the old days you could go to the stand, flip through, and decide if you want to buy it. That’s another advantage of paper comics over digital ones. Sure, I’m not buying these. They’re public domain and legally posted for free. I’m still paying in the time it takes to read and review approximately 64 pages at a time, so I’m prioritizing stuff I would have picked up to read willingly.
So far with this anthology collect, and they all were around this time, I’ve been just curious enough to continue. Let’s see whether this gets more readings in the future.
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Hyper Agent Gridman, or Gridman: The Hyper Agent depending on your translation, was a 1993 Japanese TV series in which someone at Tsuburaya Productions decided to meld Ultraman with Tron. A group of kids build their own computer, Junk (named after what it was made out of), that accidentally connected to the computer Hyper World. There they teamed with the Hyper Agent Gridman, one member even combining with him, to fight monsters in the digital domain and challenge a villain working with an Earthling boy who is also their fellow student who takes his aggressions out by creating monsters for the enemy. If that sounds familiar, the show was reworked by DIC in the style of Power Rangers to create Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad. Yes, they spelled “cyber” wrong to keep a theme going.
If you’re curious about either show, Gridman is up on Tubi and Pluto TV as of this writing, while SSSS is just on Sling. They used to have it on YouTube, but that’s no longer the case legally.
SSSS Gridman, and you can guess what inspired that title, was the first in the Gridman Universe series proper, spinning off from the live-action series into anime. This 2018 anime decides to bring the monsters into the real world, with a new group of kids teaming with Gridman. Only now, Gridman can also journey to our world, which frankly takes away what set it apart from it’s Ultra-cousins. Crunchyroll has this series and it’s spinoff as Funimation did the original English dub, and that’s now owned by Crunchyroll. However, that requires a subscription.
Since they own the dub, I’m surprise the subtitled version just recently popped up on the Japanese Ultraman YouTube channel, but I’m not surprised the dub isn’t on their English channel, nor is there a dub track on the Japanese channel like they’ve done with Ultraman. You’ll need to turn on the closed captions, and since they took down the original series a long time ago, you may want to watch fast. Episode one introduces Yuta Hibiki, a new character who has lost his memories and can connect to Gridman, who needs him to complete his mission. Luckily he makes some friends who can help him in his fight when a kaiju enters the real world, and brings a host of other questions along with it. Enjoy it while you can, as it may only be here long enough to promote the booster pack for the Ultraman card game. Hopefully it’s still up at post time. Sorry to disappoint if it isn’t.
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It’s kind of strange that you have to go outside of the comics industry to find people who see the power of comics in the 21st century. For example, the Boise, Idaho zoning board just put out an online comic discussing the zoning code. I have had a chance to read it yet, but if you want me to review it, just say so. The article goes over why they chose a comic as an alternate guide (the usual guide is also available through the comic hosting page). There’s also a physical copy available. Obviously this means more to someone putting up buildings in Boise, Idaho than the rest of us, but it’s still an interesting little curiosity.
