Magazine Review: Strange Fantasy Spring 1970

The stories illustrated on the cover are, from left, "The Shrine of Temptation", "Sword of Flowers" and "Planet of Change".

Magazine Review: Strange Fantasy Spring 1970 “Strange Fantasy” was a short-lived reprint digest-sized magazine from Ultimate Publishing. This issue’s stories were originally published between 1959 and 1964, which somewhat belies the cover text. “The Shrine of Temptation” by Judith Merril starts us off with an anthropologist’s tale of a mysterious shrine on an isolated island.… Continue reading Magazine Review: Strange Fantasy Spring 1970

Anime Review: SSSS Gridman

And this isn't even his final form!

Anime Review: SSSS Gridman Yuta has amnesia, that’s true, yet somehow Tokyo doesn’t seem quite right to him. Was it always so foggy in the city? And why is he the only one who can see kaiju (giant monsters) just casually hanging out in the distance? And did old model computers have superheroes talking directly… Continue reading Anime Review: SSSS Gridman

Comic Book Review: Superman Smashes the Klan #3

Comic Book Review: Superman Smashes the Klan #3 story by Gene Luen Yang, art by Gurihiru Note: This review contains SPOILERS for the first two issues. Previously: The Lee family moved from Chinatown to Metropolis when Dr. Lee got a job with the city health department. Tommy Lee, a young baseball player, soon found his… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Superman Smashes the Klan #3

Comic Book Review: Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Heroes 1

Comic Book Review: Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Heroes 1 edited by Cory Sedlmeier As has been mentioned on this blog before, by the late 1940s, superheroes had become passe in comic books. A handful continued to be published over at National Publications (DC) on a regular basis, and there was the odd minor publisher title,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Heroes 1

Comic Book Review: From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1

Comic Book Review: From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1 by Various When I was a lad in the 1970s, comic books had become thin. In an effort to save costs and keep prices within the allowance of kids, the major publishers had shaved off page count, and thus story content. I didn’t fully understand the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: From Beyond the Unknown Giant #1

Magazine Review: Astounding Science Fiction July 1939

Magazine Review: Astounding Science Fiction July 1939 edited by John W. Campbell Astounding Science Fiction is now Analog, which is still being published; see earlier reviews on this blog. Today I’m looking at a key issue from the pulp days, July 1939. First, there’s this classic cover by Graves Gladney. Up front is “Addenda”, an… Continue reading Magazine Review: Astounding Science Fiction July 1939

Anime Review: Ultraman (2019)

Anime Review: Ultraman (2019) Decades ago, Shin Hayata, a member of the Science Special Search Party (SSSP), almost died due to a collision with an alien. To save his life, the alien merged with Shin and they became the superhero Ultraman, who protected Earth from monsters and alien invasion. Eventually the alien threat ended, and… Continue reading Anime Review: Ultraman (2019)

Magazine Review: Science Fiction Adventures May 1953

Magazine Review: Science Fiction Adventures May 1953 edited by Philip St. John Science Fiction Adventures was a short-lived digest-sized magazine, running from 1952 to 1954. It was aimed at slightly younger readers, and edited by Lester del Rey under a pseudonym. Apparently, there was a dispute over payment, and del Rey quit as of 1954… Continue reading Magazine Review: Science Fiction Adventures May 1953

Webtoon Review: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Swift Wind and Adora navigate the Whispering Woods.

Webtoon Review: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Princess Glimmer of Bright Moon has a plan. If she and her best friend Bow can find the piece of First Ones technology that he’s detecting in the nearby Whispering Woods, her mother Queen Angella will be so impressed that she will allow Glimmer to take a… Continue reading Webtoon Review: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Book Review: The War of the Worlds

Book Review: The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells Early in the Twentieth Century, odd flashes of light are seen on the surface of the planet Mars. This phenomenon is highly interesting to scientists, but seems irrelevant to most people going about their lives on Earth. That is, until what is initially mistaken for… Continue reading Book Review: The War of the Worlds