Magazine Review: Spicy Mystery Stories June 1936 by various creators As I’ve previously mentioned, the “spicy” pulps were racy for their time, with descriptions of women’s breasts and thighs, and it being obvious that the characters are having sex, but never actually describing the sex or genitals. This particular magazine, despite the title, has little… Continue reading Magazine Review: Spicy Mystery Stories June 1936
Tag: betrayal
Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #2: Batman
Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #2: Batman edited by Paul Levitz 1979 was the fortieth anniversary of the first published Batman story. Thus this special digest, showcasing interesting stories from each decade of the hero’s publication history. It comes with an essay by Mike W. Barr explaining each story’s significance. “The People vs.… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #2: Batman
Book Review: Way of a Buccaneer
Book Review: Way of a Buccaneer by Davenport Steward It is 1663, and young Wayne Thorp, late of Cambridge University, is assisting his father Captain Thomas Thorpe in a smuggling voyage to Spanish-controlled Panama. Unfortunately, their trading partner, Irish-Spanish minor government official Don Timóteo O’Bannion y Salazar, has decided he can make even more money… Continue reading Book Review: Way of a Buccaneer
Movie Review: The Ballad of Andy Crocker
Movie Review: The Ballad of Andy Crocker (1969) directed by George McCowan Corporal Andy Crocker (Lee Majors) is a hero. At least that’s what the medal he won for bravery and getting wounded in action in Vietnam says. But his draft obligation is finally over, and Andy is flying back to the States with his best… Continue reading Movie Review: The Ballad of Andy Crocker
Comic Book Review: Man-Thing by Steve Gerber: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
Comic Book Review: Man-Thing by Steve Gerber: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 by various creators You may have heard a story like this before. A biochemist working for a secret agency develops a chemical that evil people want to steal. They come to his place in the swamp, and he winds up with the serum… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Man-Thing by Steve Gerber: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
Movie Review: Sword of the Beast
Movie Review: Sword of the Beast (1965) directed by Hideo Gosha It is 1857, towards the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Commodore Perry’s ships have forced Japan to open its ports, and social change is rippling across Japan. Yuuki Gennosuke (Mikijiro Hira) thought he was going to help bring reform, but instead wound up killing his… Continue reading Movie Review: Sword of the Beast
Comic Book Review: Astro City Metrobook 4
Comic Book Review: Astro City Metrobook 4 written by Kurt Busiek, art by Brent Anderson, covers by Alex Ross Astro City is filled with superheroes and supervillains. But it’s also filled with ordinary people trying to live their ordinary lives in an extraordinary world. Both these groups have stories to tell. This independent “universe” was… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Astro City Metrobook 4
Movie Review: The Black Cat (1934)
Movie Review: The Black Cat (1934) directed by Edgar G. Ulmer Mystery writer Paul Alison (David Manners) and his bride Joan (Julie Bishop) are spending their honeymoon in Hungary, starting with a private compartment on the Orient Express. As so often happens, the railway company accidentally double-booked their compartment with a courtly but somewhat sinister-seeming middle-aged… Continue reading Movie Review: The Black Cat (1934)
Movie Review: Papillon (1973)
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: Enter the Jackal
Book Review: Enter the Jackal by Jonathan W. Sweet As you may have noticed by now, I’m a fan of the pulps. But I’m certainly not the most enthusiastic one, or most knowledgeable. Some folks have made the pulp magazines their main focus. Jonathan W. Sweet runs a reprint press, Brick Pickle Pulp, and does… Continue reading Book Review: Enter the Jackal