Movie Review: Nevada Smith (1966)

Max enjoys the products of civilization: canned peaches and the McGuffey Reader.

Movie Review: Nevada Smith (1966) directed by Henry Hathaway Max Sand (Steve McQueen) is the son of a failed prospector and his wife, a woman of the Kiowa tribe. While he’s out doing chores some miles from their house, Max is approached by three men. We will come to know them as Jessie Coe (Martin Landau),… Continue reading Movie Review: Nevada Smith (1966)

Magazine Review: American Short Fiction Summer 2022

Magazine Review: American Short Fiction Summer 2022 edited by Rebecca Markovits & Adeena Reitberger The literary magazine is still alive in America, though I will not say “well” as I have no idea how many people read them. American Short Fiction, an Austin, Texas-based magazine, has been running since 1991. It is, as the title… Continue reading Magazine Review: American Short Fiction Summer 2022

Movie Review: Papillon (1973)

Papillon is introduced to his new solitary quarters.

Movie Review: Papillon (1973) directed by Franklin J. Schaffner Henri Charrière (Steve McQueen), nicknamed “Papillon” after the butterfly tattoo on his chest, is convicted of a crime he did not commit and sentenced to imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana often referred to as “Devil’s Island.” On the ship taking the convicts there, he… Continue reading Movie Review: Papillon (1973)

Book Review: The Pocket Book of Adventure Stories

Book Review: The Pocket Book of Adventure Stories edited by Philip Van Doren Stern In his introduction, the editor talks about the thrill of adventure stories, how often they are churned out as cheap entertainment, and that he has selected twelve really good ones for the reader. This 1945 book was designed to be easily… Continue reading Book Review: The Pocket Book of Adventure Stories

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine September/October 2021

Cover by Brian Stauffer

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine September/October 2021 edited by Janet Hutchings “The years keep coming and they just keep coming.” It seems like just a few months ago I reviewed a 75th anniversary issue of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, but in fact it was five years ago, and here’s the 80th anniversary issue. It’s… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine September/October 2021

Comic Book Review: Kaijumax Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly

Comic Book Review: Kaijumax Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly by Zander Cannon Note: This review contains spoilers for the previous volume, and you may want to read the review for that one first. After last season’s explosive ending, Electrogor and Green Humongo have managed to escape the title prison. Electrogor’s anxious to get to the cave where he left his children, but they need… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Kaijumax Season Two: The Seamy Underbelly

Comic Book Review: Kaijumax, Season One: Terror and Respect

Comic Book Review: Kaijumax, Season One: Terror and Respect by Zander Cannon Electrogor just wanted to feed his family.  His children were the only things in the world he cared about.  Unfortunately, what Electrogor’s children eat is gigawatts of electrical power and he got caught trying to tap one of the humans’ power cables.   There… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Kaijumax, Season One: Terror and Respect

Book Review: Secondhand Origin Stories

Book Review: Secondhand Origin Stories by Lee Blauersouth Opal’s father should have been a superhero, but he used his powers to protect a neighbor illegally and wound up in jail.  Ever since, Opal has kept her nose clean, excelling in school and decorum, in the hope of being licensed and redeeming the family name.  Now… Continue reading Book Review: Secondhand Origin Stories

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

Magazine Review: Detective Fiction Weekly April 8 1939

Magazine Review: Detective Fiction Weekly April 8 1939  (Formerly Flynn’s) by various Detective Fiction Weekly started publication in 1924 as “Flynn’s”, after its first editor, William J. Flynn, who had previously been director of the Bureau of Investigation before it became the FBI.  It ran regularly under various titles until 1942, when it became a… Continue reading Magazine Review: Detective Fiction Weekly April 8 1939