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
Tag: bullying
Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Phantom Blood 01
Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Phantom Blood 01 by Hirohiko Araki Centuries ago in Mexico, an offshoot of the Aztecs discovered a method of attaining eternal life through the consumption of human blood. They ruled supreme for a while, then abruptly vanished from the pages of history. One of their mysterious stone masks… Continue reading Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Phantom Blood 01
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Batman, Volume 6
Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Batman, Volume 6 edited by Julius Schwartz By 1971, the Batman television show had been off the air long enough that its sales boost to the Batman and Detective Comics series had faded, and with it, the incentive to model the magazines on the show. Bruce Wayne moved from stately Wayne Manor to… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Batman, Volume 6
Book Review: Goblin Quest
Book Review: Goblin Quest by Jim C. Hines Jig has always lived in the mountain, only hearing third-hand stories about the outside world. Even stepping outside the goblin warrens is dangerous, why risk going any further? Still, he dreams of being promoted from his lamplighter duties (a child’s job) to a patrolling warrior. Jig’s smart,… Continue reading Book Review: Goblin Quest
Book Review: Twice Told Tales
Book Review: Twice Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) is one of the great American writers; his The Scarlet Letter is studied in many schools across this land. But it took him quite a while to reach that status. After crushingly disappointing sales for his first novel, Fanshawe, Hawthorne spent a dozen years in poverty,… Continue reading Book Review: Twice Told Tales
Manga Review: Doraemon, Vol. 1
Manga Review: Doraemon, Vol. 1 by Fujiko F. Fujio It’s not often that someone is so big of a loser that his descendant feels the need to travel through time to fix it. But Nobita Nobi has managed it. Nobita’s a wimp, as well as not very bright and so lazy that he doesn’t even… Continue reading Manga Review: Doraemon, Vol. 1
Anime Review: Battle Athletes: On Your Mark
Anime Review: Battle Athletes: On Your Mark In the far future year of 2015, World War Three is interrupted when Earth’s magnetic poles shift drastically, causing global disaster. The silver lining is that the survivors united to form a peaceful culture that then rapidly advanced. However, by the 31st Century, humanity was again at war,… Continue reading Anime Review: Battle Athletes: On Your Mark
Manga Review: Noragami: Stray God #1
Manga Review: Noragami: Stray God #1 by Adachitoka Mutsumi is in a bad way. Not only is she under stress studying for the high school entrance exams, but her classmates have turned against her, bullying Mutsumi and encouraging her to self-harm. She’s locked herself in a toilet stall for a good cry when suddenly… Continue reading Manga Review: Noragami: Stray God #1
Manga Review: Showa 1926 1939 a History of Japan
Manga Review: Showa 1926 1939 a History of Japan by Shigeru Mizuki This is the first volume of Shigeru Mizuki’s massive history of Japan during the reign of Emperor Hirohito, the “Showa Era,” It was a long reign, covering most of the Twentieth Century, from 1926-1989. In addition to the larger story of Japan, it… Continue reading Manga Review: Showa 1926 1939 a History of Japan
Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine July 2016
Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine July 2016 edited by Janet Hutchings Frederick Dannay, who along with Manfred B. Lee wrote the Ellery Queen mystery stories, was asked by Mercury Press to be the editor of a new magazine that would print a higher class of detective stories than the general run of pulps, with… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine July 2016