Book Review: Cooked to Death

Book Review: Cooked to Death edited by Rhonda Gilliland and Michael Allan Mallory Let’s return to the world of themed anthologies, a quick way to get a sample of various authors writing on a particular topic. In this case, it’s primarily Minnesota and other Midwestern writers doing crime and mystery short stories around the topic… Continue reading Book Review: Cooked to Death

Comic Book Review: The Bitter End and Other Stories

Comic Book Review: The Bitter End and Other Stories illustrated by Reed Crandall and George Roussos This EC reprint volume covers the latter part of Reed Crandall’s career as an artist of EC comic books, and several genre stories by George Roussos, who didn’t stay with the company long. The book opens with an introduction… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Bitter End and Other Stories

Comic Book Review: Uptown Girl: The Lazarus Heart

Comic Book Review: Uptown Girl: The Lazarus Heart by Bob Lipski Thirty years before “now”, three men were exploring a South American jungle, Alvarez Tuesday, Billy, and Mack. They found the hiding place of the legendary Lazarus Heart, but the cave collapsed and only Alvarez escaped. Ten years later, Billy caught up with Alvarez in… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Uptown Girl: The Lazarus Heart

Book Review: But Not Forgotten | The Schemers

Book Review: But Not Forgotten | The Schemers by Ruth Fenisong It’s time for another Ace Double paperback, this time a pair of mysteries by Ruth Fenisong (1904-1978). She’s best known for her Lieutenant Gridley Nelson series, but he’s barely in the first, and the other is independent. But Not Forgotten Leo Socarus is a… Continue reading Book Review: But Not Forgotten | The Schemers

Anime Review: Undead Girl Murder Farce

From left to right,: Tsugaru, Aya and Shizuku.

Anime Review: Undead Girl Murder Farce (also advertised as “Undead Murder Farce”) Aya Rindo was turned into an immortal being during the Heian Era of Japan, keeping the appearance of a young woman but gaining knowledge and perceptiveness according to her chronological age. About a year before the story begins during the Meiji Period (Victorian… Continue reading Anime Review: Undead Girl Murder Farce

Manga Review: Batman: Justice Buster Vol. 1

Manga Review: Batman: Justice Buster Vol. 1 by Eiichi Shimizu & Tomohiro Shimoguchi It’s been about three years since Bruce Wayne began his career as Batman, the mysterious masked vigilante operating in Gotham City. His war on crime has borne some fruit; the old, normal gangs have largely broken up as their members go to… Continue reading Manga Review: Batman: Justice Buster Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Gotham Central: Unresolved Targets

Comic Book Review: Gotham Central: Unresolved Targets edited by Matt Idelson Being a cop in Gotham City is rough. In addition to the long hours, hostile population and dangerous streets that come with the police officer’s job in any large city, Gotham City has one of the highest corruption rates of a police department in… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Gotham Central: Unresolved Targets

Magazine Review: Hooded Detective January 1942

Magazine Review: Hooded Detective January 1942 The Black Hood was one of the superheroes created for the MLJ (later Archie) Comics line, first appearing in Top-Notch Comics #9 in 1940. Matthew Kipling “Kip” Burland was originally a rookie cop who was framed for grand larceny and injured to near death by a criminal known as… Continue reading Magazine Review: Hooded Detective January 1942

Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries

Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler While stories that could be considered “mysteries” in some sense have existed as long as writing, and perhaps a bit before, the short story mystery came into its own during the lifetime of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). This volume collects forty-nine notable stories from… Continue reading Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries

Comic Book Review: DC Special No. 3: Justice Society

Comic Book Review: DC Special No. 3: Justice Society edited by Paul Levitz As discussed in previous reviews, the Justice Society of America was DC Comics’ first superhero team, designed to showcase their characters that didn’t have their own individual titles. Thus Superman and Batman weren’t members, but were “honorary”, and Green Lantern and the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: DC Special No. 3: Justice Society