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

Book Review: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Strange Tales

Book Review: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Strange Tales by Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) wrote several “weird” stories as well as adventure tales like Treasure Island. This volume collects five of them. “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” starts us off with the adventures of Mr. Utterson,… Continue reading Book Review: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Strange Tales

Book Review: The Beast with Five Fingers

Book Review: The Beast with Five Fingers by W.F. Harvey W.F. Harvey (1885-1937) was born in Yorkshire, of Quaker family, and became a doctor. However, his health was poor and he was often unable to practice, so he wrote short stories on the side, many of them falling generally into the “weird” category. This volume… Continue reading Book Review: The Beast with Five Fingers

Book Review: The Periodic Table

Book Review: The Periodic Table by Tom Jackson Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway to facilitate writing this review.  No other compensation was requested or offered. The periodic table was developed in 1869 by Dmitri Mendeleev   as a way of categorizing elements, substances that cannot be refined or purified… Continue reading Book Review: The Periodic Table

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: Jefferson’s America

Book Review: Jefferson’s America by Julie M. Fenster In 1803, many people in the fledgling United States expected a Louisiana War, as the Spanish had forbidden American shipping from passing down the Mississippi and through the port of New Orleans.  That didn’t happen, as the Spanish were induced to yield the Louisiana Territory to their… Continue reading Book Review: Jefferson’s America

Book Review: The Book of Andre Norton

Book Review: The Book of Andre Norton edited by Roger Elwood Andre Alice Norton (1912-2005) was a prolific author,  best known for her science fiction and fantasy novels marketed to the young adult sector.  (I’ve previously reviewed her 1960 book Storm Over Warlock.)  Her output of short fiction was much less, but enough good stories were… Continue reading Book Review: The Book of Andre Norton

Comic Book Review: Jacked

Comic Book Review: Jacked written by Eric Kripke, art by John Higgins. Disclaimer:  I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purposes of this review.  No other compensation was offered or requested. Josh Jaffe is hitting a mid-life crisis.  His body is beginning to fall apart, he doesn’t really talk to his wife… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Jacked

Book Review: The Jail Gates Are Open

Book Review: The Jail Gates Are Open by David Hume Cardby and Son is a detective firm comprised of ex-Chief Inspector Cardby (late of Scotland Yard) and his son Mick.   They’ve been engaged by a consortium of banks to discover where a recent flood of “slush”, counterfeit money, is coming from.  Nick realizes that… Continue reading Book Review: The Jail Gates Are Open

Movie Review: Four Frightened People (1934)

Movie Review: Four Frightened People (1934) The last of the Cecil B. DeMille movies in the set I have, it’s very different from the others, being set in the present day, and having a relatively small cast. The story opens on a passenger ship that has become infested with bubonic plague.   The crew is… Continue reading Movie Review: Four Frightened People (1934)