Comic Strip Review: Jet Scott Volume 2

Comic Strip Review: Jet Scott Volume 2 Script by Sheldon Stark, Art by Jerry Robinson Quick recap: For a few years in the early 1950s (1953-1955) comics legends Sheldon Stark and Jerry Robinson tried their hands at a science fiction newspaper comic strip. The United States Government had a Department of Scientifact that investigated unusual… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Jet Scott Volume 2

Movie Review: Jailhouse Rock

Vince sees Hunk's guitar for the first time.

Movie Review: Jailhouse Rock (1957) directed by Richard Thorpe Vince Everett (Elvis Presley) is a nice enough young man, even if he maybe spends too much time in bars. But once he loses his temper, he doesn’t know when to stop. When another patron at the bar starts abusing a woman who was hitting on Vince,… Continue reading Movie Review: Jailhouse Rock

Book Review: Subversive Sci-Fi: Reflections on Futuristic Films That Broke the Rules

Book Review: Subversive Sci-Fi: Reflections on Futuristic Films That Broke the Rules edited by Prof. Christopher McGothlin, M.Ed. Disclaimer: I contributed to the Kickstarter for this book. In over a century of movies that can be considered “science fiction” of one sort or another, there have been a number that challenged the status quo in… Continue reading Book Review: Subversive Sci-Fi: Reflections on Futuristic Films That Broke the Rules

Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files

Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files edited by Max Allan Collins and Martin H. Greenberg In 1990, the venerable Dick Tracy comic strip got a movie adaptation, Dick Tracy, starring Warren Beatty and Madonna. To cash in on the publicity, the then-writer of the strip, Max Allan Collins, was asked to do both a… Continue reading Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files

Book Review: The Book of Cthulhu II

Book Review: The Book of Cthulhu II edited by Ross E. Lockhart It’s spooky stuff month again, so I sat down with this thick volume (24 stories) of tales inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft for a couple of weeks. This is a sequel to The Book of Cthulhu that I reviewed earlier on… Continue reading Book Review: The Book of Cthulhu II

Book Review: Galaxy Jane

Cover by Boris Vallejo, and it's probably a publicity still of the actress playing Jane.

Book Review: Galaxy Jane by Ron Goulart Galaxy Jane: adventurer, space pirate, freedom fighter, and one of the most interesting persons the Barnum System ever knew. A book about her would probably be awesome. But this isn’t that book. Instead it’s about NewzNet reporter Jack Summer, who’s ostensibly been assigned to write a story about… Continue reading Book Review: Galaxy Jane

Book Review: New Tales of Space and Time

Cover by Charles Frank

Book Review: New Tales of Space and Time edited by Raymond J. Healy This 1951 anthology opens with an introduction by Anthony Boucher. In it he notes the proliferation of science fiction anthologies at the time, most of which were reprints of magazine stories. Often the same stories, over and over–not bad because they are… Continue reading Book Review: New Tales of Space and Time

Book Review: Whatever Became of…? Vol. III

Book Review: Whatever Became of…? Vol. III by Richard Lamparski The vast majority of my readers will have at some point encountered one of those clickbait articles titled something like “8 CW stars of the 1990s, what they’re doing now, #3 will shock you.” Nostalgia is a powerful force, and most humans have at least… Continue reading Book Review: Whatever Became of…? Vol. III

Comic Book Review: Essential Captain America, Vol. 2

Comic Book Review: Essential Captain America, Vol. 2 written by Stan Lee, art by various. In 1941, war raged in Europe and Asia. Though the United States was not yet directly involved, it was preparing for the day when it might be pulled in to World War Two. Among other things, this meant recruiting many… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Essential Captain America, Vol. 2

Book Review: Great Stories from the Saturday Evening Post

This cover is by Stevan Dohanos, who often did covers for the Post, and illustrates a conversation he had with a mailman. Note the two red stars on the sleeve for twenty years' service.

Book Review: Great Stories from the Saturday Evening Post edited by Ben Hibbs For many years, the Saturday Evening Post was one of America’s most popular magazines. Every week, it would show fascinating photographs, interesting non-fiction articles and a selection of short stories and serialized fiction. With more than 200 short stories being printed in… Continue reading Book Review: Great Stories from the Saturday Evening Post