Movie Review: The Jade Mask

Movie Review: The Jade Mask (1945) directed by Phil Rosen Inspector Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is flying back to Washington, D.C. soon, and has already checked out of his hotel. So when he’s called away to investigate a possible murder, his psuedo-intellectual Number Four Son Edward “Eddie” Chan (Edwin Luke) and highly nervous chauffeur Birmingham Brown… Continue reading Movie Review: The Jade Mask

Magazine Review: Fantastic August 1969

Magazine Review: Fantastic August 1969 edited by Sol Cohen The opening editorial is by Ted White, the new managing editor. He talks about the decline in “fiction magazines” (the Saturday Evening Post had recently ceased publication for the first time) and is sad, but points out that times are always changing. He also mentions his… Continue reading Magazine Review: Fantastic August 1969

Magazine Review: Strange Fantasy Spring 1970

The stories illustrated on the cover are, from left, "The Shrine of Temptation", "Sword of Flowers" and "Planet of Change".

Magazine Review: Strange Fantasy Spring 1970 “Strange Fantasy” was a short-lived reprint digest-sized magazine from Ultimate Publishing. This issue’s stories were originally published between 1959 and 1964, which somewhat belies the cover text. “The Shrine of Temptation” by Judith Merril starts us off with an anthropologist’s tale of a mysterious shrine on an isolated island.… Continue reading Magazine Review: Strange Fantasy Spring 1970

TV Review: Thunderbolt Fantasy

TV Review: Thunderbolt Fantasy Sho Fukan, a simple wanderer, just wanted an umbrella to ward off the rain.  But the sly stranger called Rin Setsua manipulated Sho Fukan into helping out a damsel in  distress.  The woman’s name turned out to be Tan Hi, a shrine maiden whose family was dedicated to keeping a powerful… Continue reading TV Review: Thunderbolt Fantasy

Manga Review: The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service

Manga Review: The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service by Eiji Otsuka & Housui Yamazaki. Five students at a Buddhist college discover that each of them has a talent or skill relating to death.  The corpse that brings about this revelation is restless, and they help it find peace.  In exchange it wills them just enough money… Continue reading Manga Review: The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service