Book Review: Out of the Dead City

Book Review: Out of the Dead City by Samuel R. Delany (originally published as “Captives of the Flame”) It has been about five hundred years since the Great Fire wiped out the old civilizations.  On the island of Toron, however, enough humans and records survived to begin again.  A settlement became a village became a… Continue reading Book Review: Out of the Dead City

Comic Book Review: Essential Ms. Marvel Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Essential Ms. Marvel Vol. 1 by Various In 1976, Marvel Comics felt the time was right for another try at a overtly feminist superhero to appear in a solo book.  (Their first stab was 1973’s The Cat, who became Tigra.)  Someone, probably Gerry Conway, who would be the first writer on the series,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Essential Ms. Marvel Vol. 1

Book Review: Perry Rhodan 10: The Ghosts of Gol

Book Review: Perry Rhodan 10: The Ghosts of Gol by Kurt Mahr Following clues retrieved from the distant past, Perry Rhodan continues to search for the secret of immortality.  Accordingly, the crew of Stardust II is searching a particular sector of the galaxy for structural anomalies.  Soon, they discover a particular signal coming from a supergiant… Continue reading Book Review: Perry Rhodan 10: The Ghosts of Gol

Magazine Review: Astounding Science-Fiction January 1946

Magazine Review: Astounding Science-Fiction January 1946 edited by John W. Campbell, Jr. Before Analog (see previous reviews), there was Astounding, the science fiction magazine that led the field for many years.  Having gotten a copy of an issue from the pulp days, let’s take a look at what wonders lie within.  Despite the cover date, the ads… Continue reading Magazine Review: Astounding Science-Fiction January 1946

Book Review: Superheroes

Book Review: Superheroes edited by Rich Horton Superheroes as we know them more or less started in the comic books of the late 1930s, with the most obvious first “true” superhero being Superman.  And comic books have largely shaped our perceptions of costumed superheroes ever since.  But sometimes prose is a perfectly acceptable way of… Continue reading Book Review: Superheroes

Book Review: Lobster Johnson: The Satan Factory

Book Review: Lobster Johnson: The Satan Factory by Thomas E. Sniegoski Disgraced doctor Jonas Chapel, on the run from the mob in Mexico, stumbles across a mysterious skeleton dripping a fluid that turns humans into monsters.  Soon thereafter Chapel’s back in New York, teaming up with the very gang boss who’d ordered the hit on… Continue reading Book Review: Lobster Johnson: The Satan Factory

Comic Book Review: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Volume One

Comic Book Review: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Volume One edited by Ian Sattler DC Comics has produced many fine characters in its superhero books over the decades, including iconic super-villains.  It can be a lot of fun watching the bad guys do things when their specific hero isn’t around to stop them.  Thus, in… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Secret Society of Super-Villains Volume One

Comic Book Review: The Best of Judge Dredd

Comic Book Review: The Best of Judge Dredd edited by Tharg It is the dark future of the 22nd Century.  Nuclear war and environmental devastation have made large portions of Earth’s surface barely inhabitable, and the majority of the remaining population is crowded into sprawling urban areas called Mega-Cities.  Overpopulation, high unemployment, and a general… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Best of Judge Dredd

Book Review: Father of Lies | Mirror Image

Book Review: Father of Lies | Mirror Image by John Brunner and Bruce Duncan, respectively. Belmont Books was a minor publisher of paperback books with a specialty in speculative fiction, which lasted from 1960 to 1971.  Apparently in an effort to mimic the success of Ace Doubles, they produced a series of “Belmont Doubles” that… Continue reading Book Review: Father of Lies | Mirror Image

Movie Review: Bender’s Game

Movie Review: Bender’s Game Futurama was a science-fiction cartoon created by Matt Groening (The Simpsons) for the Fox Broadcasting Company.   It starred Philip J. Fry, a New York City pizza delivery worker who is “accidentally” cryogenically frozen for a thousand years.  In the bizarre future world, Fry has trouble fitting in at first, but… Continue reading Movie Review: Bender’s Game