Book Review: Code Name Verity

Book Review: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein In a Gestapo cell somewhere in Vichy France, a captured spy has been broken.  She writes a story telling of her secret mission, but in order to do that, she must first tell of the friendship between ATA pilot Maddie and SOE wireless operator Queenie.   The years… Continue reading Book Review: Code Name Verity

Comic Book Review: Athena Voltaire and the Volcano Goddess

Comic Book Review: Athena Voltaire and the Volcano Goddess by Steve Bryant Our story opens in Malaysia, as premiere pilot and adventurer Athena Voltaire and British agent Desmond Forsyth deal with a recently hatched garuda (a gargoyle-like creature.)  Once that’s taken care of, Athena heads back to California for a debriefing by her secret patron, millionaire… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Athena Voltaire and the Volcano Goddess

Book Review: Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics

Book Review: Manga!  Manga!  The World of Japanese Comics by Frederik L. Schodt Back in the early 1980s, manga and anime fandom was tiny, with almost no material being available in English save dubs heavily edited for American children’s television and expunged as much as possible of their Japanese roots.   It required a certain amount… Continue reading Book Review: Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics

Book Review: Escape from Earth: New Adventures in Space

Book Review: Escape from Earth: New Adventures in Space edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois Per the introduction, in the Fifties and Sixties, many young science fiction fans’ introduction to the genre was “juveniles”, books aimed at an age above “children’s” but not quite “adult.”  In the 1970s or so, this category was re-labled… Continue reading Book Review: Escape from Earth: New Adventures in Space

Comic Book Review: The Complete Voodoo Volume 1

Comic Book Review: The Complete Voodoo Volume 1 Edited by Craig Yoe EC was not the only publisher putting out lurid horror comics during the brief period between the post-World War Two decline of superhero books and the installation of the Comics Code.  Others quickly followed in their footsteps.  Robert Farrell was one of those… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Complete Voodoo Volume 1

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Blackhawk Volume 1

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Blackhawk Volume 1 art by Dick Dillin and Charles Cuidero In September 1939, Poland was invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union.  The valiant Polish people battled bravely against the two-pronged attack, but it was to no avail.  One aviator was shot down, as it happens, near his family’s farm,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Blackhawk Volume 1

Comic Book Review: 2000 AD #2020-24

Comic Book Review: 2000 AD #2020-24 Edited by Tharg As I’ve mentioned before, 2000 AD is a weekly comic paper with a speculative fiction bent that’s been published in Britain for over forty years.  It keeps up the schedule by featuring several short stories in each issue, most of them serialized.  A while back I c… Continue reading Comic Book Review: 2000 AD #2020-24

Manga Review: Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 1

Manga Review: Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 1 by Yasuo Ohtagaki The time is Universal Century year 0079.  The place is Thunderbolt Sector, formerly the orbital space colony Side 4 before it was destroyed in a battle between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation.  Now this sector is heavily littered with debris, and afflicted… Continue reading Manga Review: Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 1

Book Review: The Great Quake

Book Review: The Great Quake by Henry Fountain Disclaimer:  I received this uncorrected proof through a Goodreads Giveaway to facilitate this review.  No other compensation was offered or requested.  As an uncorrected proof, many changes will be made in the final product, due out August 2017, including an index and bibliography, and possibly more illustrations.… Continue reading Book Review: The Great Quake

Movie Review: Destroy All Monsters

Movie Review: Destroy All Monsters It is the close of the Twentieth Century, and the United Nations has achieved two major goals.  There is now a permanent scientific base on the moon, and a way has been found to safely and humanely contain Earth’s giant monsters on a remote island dubbed Kaijuland (Monsterland in the… Continue reading Movie Review: Destroy All Monsters