Manga Review: Skip-Beat! Volumes 4-5-6

Manga Review: Skip-Beat! Volumes 4-5-6 by Yoshiki Nakamura Quick recap:  Kyoko Mogami dropped out of school and moved to Tokyo to support her beloved Sho as he tried to break into show business.  A couple of years later, the now rising star let slip that he has never liked Kyoko back, just using her as… Continue reading Manga Review: Skip-Beat! Volumes 4-5-6

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

Book Review: Old Celtic Romances

Book Review: Old Celtic Romances by P.W. Joyce The Gaelic-speaking people of ancient Ireland told tales of their mighty ancestors and great men, not unlike the people of every nation and tribe.  When writing came, they began to put these tales into manuscripts.  Out of the large body of remaining literature, in 1879 P.W. Joyce… Continue reading Book Review: Old Celtic Romances

Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volume 25

Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volume 25 by Rumiko Takahashi Quick recap:  Rinne Rokudo is a shinigami, a psychopomp who guides stray spirits to the afterlife for rebirth.  But he’s part-human, so he has to use (often expensive) tools to make up for his weak powers.  That, plus debts his deadbeat father Sabato saddled him with, and being… Continue reading Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volume 25

Open Thread: Scavenger Hunts

Open Thread: Scavenger Hunts This year, I participated in Beat the Backlist (2017), which had a Harry Potter theme.  As part of this, there were four scavenger hunts, three of which I completed.  Let’s take a look at them! Related posts: Open Thread: Top Ten Lists for 2023! Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s… Continue reading Open Thread: Scavenger Hunts

Comic Book Review: The Building

Comic Book Review: The Building by Will Eisner This is a ghost story.   In New York City, a brand new building has risen where another one stood for eighty years.  But not all remnants of the old building’s history are gone.  Today, four people from the past appear, their tales entwined with this site. Will… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Building

Book Review: Sex with Kings

Book Review: Sex with Kings by Eleanor Herman One of the advantages of being a king is that the rules don’t apply to you the same way as they do to commoners.  For centuries in Europe, this also extended to tolerance of extramarital affairs, to the point that many kings had maitresse-en-titre, the “official mistress.”  This… Continue reading Book Review: Sex with Kings

Movie Review: The Chinese Cat (1944)

Movie Review: The Chinese Cat (1944) directed by Phil Rosen Six months ago, Thomas P. Manning, businessman and chess expert, was shot to death in his study, the door locked from the inside.  The police have been unable to solve the case.  Daughter Leah Manning (Joan Woodbury) is dismayed to discover that a new book… Continue reading Movie Review: The Chinese Cat (1944)

Manga Review: Fire Force Volume 01

Manga Review: Fire Force Volume 01 by Atsushi Ohkubo On an alternate Earth, the majority of Japanese people have been converted (at least on the surface) to the religion of the Sun God.  This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that the biggest threat to human life is now spontaneous… Continue reading Manga Review: Fire Force Volume 01

Book Review: Black Bird of the Gallows

Book Review: Black Bird of the Gallows  by Meg Kassel Cadence, Pennsylvania used to be a mining town.  The economy never fully recovered from the mines closing down, but the town survived.  But there are some disturbing signs.  There’s an unseasonably high number of crows for February, and an even more unseasonable number of unusually… Continue reading Book Review: Black Bird of the Gallows