drive-by readings: Buck Rogers #2

Buck Rogers #2 (Dynamite Entertainment) "Future Shock, Part 2: Animal Husbandry ..." Scott Beatty Carlos Rafael Carlos Lopez Simon Bowland John Cassaday and Laura Martin (cover)

and the adventure continues. not a bad issue, as we get some backstory prior to Buck's ill-fated launch into space. apparently, he has to intercept a runaway satellite with DNA-heavy cargo shot out by the last survivor of a plague-infested Fort Heinlein (nice nod, part 1). his new superior, with whom he's at odds with (ah, the boring life of a daredevil pilot) is currently shacking up with his ex, who in this case is named Captain Ashley(?) Deering. fast forward into the future (2519), this time it's a Colonel Wilma Deering (the one we know and spunky too - wait, she didn't actually say her name was "Deering") and she's an Earth Protectorate officer investigating aliens trafficking in human meat and illegal genetic engineering in so-called slaughter ships. breaking free of their captors (hey, look its Princess Ardala), they go through a trash chamber (nice nod, part 2) and promptly eject themselves to space. yes, they're just orbiting Mars. whooopeee.

drive-by readings: Buck Rogers #1

Buck Rogers #1 (Dynamite Entertainment) "Future Shock, Part 1: One Giant Leap ..." Scott Beatty Carlos Rafael Carlos Lopez Simon Bowland John Cassaday and Laura Martin (cover)

considering my only exposure to daredevil spaceman Anthony "Buck" Rogers was the early '80s TV show ("Chicago, Chiii-cago..."), and also that Robot Chicken episode, i'm not familiar with the whole mythos and had to check Wikipedia (heh.) turns out the guy predates even Flash Gordon and Dan Dare, with only John Carter of Mars debuting earlier in 1912. Dynamite has to be commended for taking classic characters (Lone Ranger, Zorro, Green Hornet) and breathing new life into them. ok, so new audiences take note, the basic premise is still the same: hotshot space pilot in current time gets lost (space warp?) and lands in future, where new exciting adventures commence.

just like before, the man out of time encounters a familiar character, Col. Wilma Deering (of course. Erin Gray fan reunion!) garbed in an antigravity suit with a gun. Buck still doesn't get it that he's not on his Earth anymore, and the appearance of an armored walking bear should have made him realize this. of course, he gets vaporized into somewhere else before seeing the bear talk (and even has a name. "Ursunius"? why not "Yogi"?). well, they still got my attention. let the adventure begin.