Manga Review: Mao, Volumes 11-13

Manga Review: Mao, Volumes 11-13 by Rumiko Takashashi Quick recap: Nanoka Kiba is by this point not at all an ordinary Japanese schoolgirl. Years ago she was transported to the Taisho Era (the 1920s) and “cursed” by the cat spirit Byoki. When she reached puberty, Nanoka became able to pass between the 21st Century and… Continue reading Manga Review: Mao, Volumes 11-13

Book Review: Mary Shelley: Gothic Tales

Book Review: Mary Shelley: Gothic Tales by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley The author of the classic horror novel Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus also wrote other things. This chapbook from Union Square & Co. reprints one of her short stories and an essay she wrote. “The Mortal Immortal” is a memoir by a fictional student of… Continue reading Book Review: Mary Shelley: Gothic Tales

Movie Review: Bangkok Haunted

Paga is a skilled dancer.

Movie Review: Bangkok Haunted (2001) directed by Pisuth Praesang-Iam & Oxide Chun Pang We open on a moving truck in the Thai countryside, heading for Bangkok. The man sitting in the back taking care of the packages gets scratched by…something. The moment he realizes he’s in a horror story, he jumps out the back of the… Continue reading Movie Review: Bangkok Haunted

Comic Book Review: Best of DC #8: Year’s Best Comics Stories

Can you name all the characters on this cover?

Comic Book Review: Best of DC #8: Year’s Best Comics Stories edited by Julius Schwartz If you were going to have a digest comic called “Best of DC” it only made sense to present a collection of what the creators considered best stories for a given year, in this case, 1979. As the text feature… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Best of DC #8: Year’s Best Comics Stories

Comic Book Review: B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground

Comic Book Review: B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground story by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, art by Guy Smith In the alternate history of the Hellboy franchise, the United States government created a group called the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. The title demon who does not in fact want to bring about the end of… Continue reading Comic Book Review: B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground

Comic Book Review: Black Magic Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Black Magic Vol. 1 Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby The creative team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby tried many different ideas for comic books over the years. Some were successful, others flops. In 1950, they cashed in on the then hot horror genre with Black Magic, created for Prize… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Black Magic Vol. 1

Manga Review: Deserter

Manga Review: Deserter by Junji Ito This volume says that the contents are mostly from the early horror work of noted manga creator Junji Ito. There’s no initial publication dates in the indicia, but his debut was in 1987, so I’m guessing late Eighties to early Nineties. Let’s see what his stuff was like before… Continue reading Manga Review: Deserter

Manga Review: Phantom of the Idol 5

Manga Review: Phantom of the Idol 5 by Hijiki Isoflavone Like many young people, Yuya Niyodo used to think that idol singers had it soft. You get paid for looking pretty, singing with Autotune ™ and performing a few basic dance steps, right? Not like the “real” jobs Yuya had available to him at the… Continue reading Manga Review: Phantom of the Idol 5

Manga Review: Omukae Desu Volume 3

Manga Review: Omukae Desu Volume 3 by Meca Tanaka Madoka Tsutsumi is a college student with a quiet, seemingly emotionless exterior. He’s actually quite passionate about analysis, and has a secret. He can see ghosts. One day he observes a man in a bunny suit chasing down an elderly spirit. Turns out the stranger is… Continue reading Manga Review: Omukae Desu Volume 3

Movie Review: The Terror (1963)

The baron and the lieutenant trade suspicious words.

Movie Review: The Terror (1963) directed by Roger Corman Lieutenant Andre Duvalier (Jack Nicholson) of Napoleon’s French army is separated from his unit and very lost. His compass has stopped functioning, and he’s no longer even sure what country he’s in. It’s probably one occupied by France at the height of the Empire, though. Rapidly approaching… Continue reading Movie Review: The Terror (1963)