Kirby Kovers #22

Unlike last week's "token romance comics cover", this week's starting cover, Young Love #17, definitely has the Kirby look to it... awfully static, though, isn't it? Kind of a disappointment...

Dog of the Geek: Maximillion, The Bionic Dog!

Breed: German Shepherd

Original Appearances: The Bionic Woman (NBC) season three

Other Appearances: None that I'm aware of, Max didn't seem to appear in either the two Bionic Woman novels or the Charlton comic book, nor did he appear in the US or UK Bionic Woman Give-A-Show Projector sets. Max is apparently mentioned by name only in Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman.

Biography: Before Steve Austin became the Six Million Dollar Man, Dr. Rudy Wells tested his bionic technology on Max (who had been badly injured in a lab fire), giving him a bionic jaw and legs capable of running up to 90 mph. Since the dog's parts cost about a million dollars, it was decided to rename him “Max-a-million,” or Maximillion, although everyone just calls him “Max” for short. In Season Three of The Bionic Woman, Jaime Somers met Max, who was experiencing symptoms of an age-related variant of bionic rejection (a similar thing happened to Jaime when she first got her bionic parts, which she was cured of). Max was due for dissection to determine the exact cause, but Jaime discovered that this was a psychological condition due to memories of the fire that injured Max when he was a puppy (puppy PTSD? You bet!). With this overcome, Max was fine, and Jaime was able to adopt Max.

Powers: As noted above, Max had a bionic jaw (which presumably had super-strength, allowing him to bite through just about anything, as well as hold someone in place as long as he wanted) and bionic legs that allowed him to run at amazing speeds as well as jump extra high or extra far.

Group Affiliation: I suppose an argument could be made for the OSI (Office of Scientific Investigation)

Miscellaneous: Max was originally played by a German Shepherd named Bracken, while other German Shepherds played Max during the third and final season of The Bionic Woman.

CBT BONUS: Crystar, Crystal Warrior Activity Book (different from last week's)!

Dog of the Geek: K-9!

Breed: Robot dog.

Original Appearances: Doctor Who, introduced in 1977.

Other Appearances: K-9 and Company, The Sarah Jane Adventures, K-9, as well as a multitude of toys and other Doctor Who memorabilia.

Biography: There have been several K-9s in the Doctor Who saga, all robotic dogs. The first K-9, Mark I, appeared in the serial The Invisible Enemy as the creation of Professor Marius in the year 5000. K-9 traveled with the fourth Doctor and Leela until The Invasion of Time, when K-9 decides to stay on Gallifrey with Leela. It is this version that is supposed to be the star of the TV series K-9, although it is apparently considered a bit noncanonical.

The Mark II K-9 first appears in The Ribos Operation immediately, and this version lasted from 1978 to 1981, when he was severely damaged. The Mark II K-9 stayed with Romana when she left the Doctor.

The Mark III K-9 first appeared in the spin-off series K-9 and Company, presented to former Doctor companion Sarah Jane Smith, and the two have their own adventures, as well as cameoing in the 1983 The Five Doctors. The final appearance of Mark III was in the 2006 episode School Reunion, and he's fallen into disrepair, and sacrifices his life to stop the alien Krillitane. The Doctor presents Sarah Jane with a new K-9 at the end of the episode, rebuilt with the same mind and memories.

This Mark IV K-9 appears briefly in the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures in the episode “Invasion of the Bane,” and then only appearing sporadically. He later appears in the 2008 season of Doctor Who with new abilities, and then returning to The Sarah Jane Adventures in the 2009 series, staying until 2010, then reappearing in the fourth series' finale episode.

Powers: Various powers the K-9 models exhibited included a head-up display, ability to fly, laser weapons, and probably other abilities as needed by the writers of the various series.

Group Affiliation: Robotic companion to the Doctor and a few companions.

Miscellaneous: The series K-9 was not produced by the BBC, as they decided to focus on their own Doctor Who spin-off, Torchwood. This series was much more aimed at children than Doctor Who was, and sported a much more sleek and curved design as its predecessors.

CBT: Cave Kids!

Monster Monday!

First up this week is this poster for Caltiki, The Immortal Monster!

Puzzle Sunday!

This week's puzzles:




Solutions after the jump!