RIC HOCHET VOLUME 3

"HOW TO COMMIT THE PERFECT MURDER"
Writer: Zidrou | Artist: Van Liemt | Colorist: Cerminaro

There are revelations galore in the opening pages of our latest RIC HOCHET installment! First off, the book opens with Ric and Nadine, who I had previously believed to be his platonic friend, in bed together. Not long after, we learn that the couple is engaged! Now, their relationship was not in any way a factor in either of the previous two stories, but still -- this seems like something that might have been mentioned once or twice.

But Commissioner Bourdon is apparently unaware of the fact that Ric and his niece are sleeping together (or possibly even unaware that they're engaged; it's hard to tell), because when he shows up to speak with Ric about a case, Nadine goes out her way to hide from him. The case, a recent string of murders rocking Paris, leads to our second unexpected revelation, as Ric goes to seek help from his father, Richard Hochet -- a "gentleman burglar" who hands out at a burlesque club with his cronies. Ric mentions that his dad showed up in ton "a few months ago," and that up until that point, he had believed himself an orphan. Not even Nadine knows about Ric's father until he tells her.

Again, this had no bearing on either of the prior adventures, and unlike the relationship between Ric and Nadine, is not something I would've expected to be commented upon in those tales. The only thing that confuses me here is -- when did this happen? As noted when I looked at volume one a couple weeks ago, that book was packed with footnotes referring readers to older RIC HOCHET stories. The second book had no such notes, but it also didn't make many (or any) references to past adventures, so I figured that was why. But if our protagonist learned at some point that his father was alive and he was not, as he had always believed, an orphan, you would think that might rate a note here!

RIC HOCHET VOLUME 2

"MURDER IN THE GARDENS"
Writer: Zidrou | Artist: Van Liemt | Colorist: Cerminaro

Our next Ric Hochet adventure finds the intrepid reporter investigating a government blackmail scheme (called the "High Ground" by Ric and his editor). While attempting to meet an informant, he is instead attacked by a hit man calling himself the Nyctalope (because he suffers from the confition of Nyctalopia, allowing him to see in the dark). Ric's arm is sprained and he spends the rest of the story in a cast and sling, with Commissoner Bourdon's niece, Nadine, driving him around.

Ric's investigation is interrupted when he gets involved in a new story -- three men, one a senator, have recently died in the Luxembourg Gardens park, and all the deaths occurred immediately after the men were seen kissing a mystery woman in red. When a fourth such incident happens while Ric, Bourdon, and Nadine at at the park investigating, Ric gives chase -- but the woman in red escapes when she shouts out that Ric is a pervert trying to force himself on her.

Ric is subseqently removed from the High Ground case and told to cover the assassinations instead. He has another run-in with the Nyctalope which results in him obtaining the file he was originally after when the story started -- but that file is soon stolen from the new reporter on the case, Bob Drummond.

RIC HOCHET VOLUME 1

"R.I.P., RIC!"
Writer: Zidrou | Artist: Van Liemt | Colorist: Cerminaro

As mentioned briefly last week, this seems to be a three-volume revival of a long running Franco-Belgian series that originated in 1955, and was serialized in the wildly popular TINTIN magazine (and these new stories are set in 1968). The protagonist is a rough-and-tumble investigative reporter, Ric Hochet, who writes for a Parisian newspaper called La Rafale. But in an interesting twist, we don't really see much of Ric in this volume. Instead, the story revolves around one of his old enemies, "The Chameleon" -- a master of impersonation and disguise, recently released from prison (where Ric sent him), who has undergone plastic surgery and devoted a ton of training toward his goal of becoming Ric Hochet.

The Chameleon breaks into Ric's apartment, puts on his clothes, and waits for him to return home from his latest assignent. After a brief confrontation, a shot rings out -- and then we cut to the next day, as the Chameleon shows up to La Rafale impersonating Ric. We later learn that Ric is alive, being held for an unknown purpose by the Chameleon, but that the villain killed Ric's poor cat when he fired his gun. (Which is super lame; as noted here many times before, I hate when pets are killed in stories.)

The Chameleon then sets about an elaborate plan for revenge on both Ric, who sent him to prison, and on Ric's friend, Police Commissioner Bourdon, who is about to get (re-)married. Ric tells his boss that he's taking some time off, then leaves with the commissioner's niece, Nadine, to buy some clothes for the wedding and drive up to the commissioner's island estate. On the way (and then later again at the estate), the Chameleon hooks up with Nadine, something Ric apparently never did. Oh, and he takes a moment before leaving to kill one loose end remaining from Ric's last case when the guy threatens him.