Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales

Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales compiled by Stefan Dziemianowicz This hefty volume collects a variety of public domain stories concerning the supernatural. While the majority fall roughly into the category of horror, some are more what we’d call “dark fantasy” and a handful are just “well, that’s a weird thing that happened.”… Continue reading Book Review: Great Supernatural Stories: 101 Horrifying Tales

Book Review: Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures Volume 2

Book Review: Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures Volume 2 by Louis L’Amour with editorial material by Beau L’Amour Disclaimer: I received an Advance Uncorrected Proof of this book through a Goodreads giveaway to facilitate the writing of this review. No other compensation was requested or offered. As an uncorrected proof, there will be changes made in… Continue reading Book Review: Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures Volume 2

Magazine Review: Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine December 1978

Magazine Review: Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine December 1978 edited by Sam Merwin Jr. Private eye Michael “Mike” Shayne was created in 1939 by David Dresser, writing under the name “Brett Halliday”. The books were long-running and popular, and in 1956 Dresser licensed the character to a puiblishing company to be the headliner of a digest-sized… Continue reading Magazine Review: Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine December 1978

Book Review: The Black Bat #1: Brand of the Black Bat & Murder Calls the Black Bat

Book Review: The Black Bat #1: Brand of the Black Bat & Murder Calls the Black Bat by Norman Daniels (writing as G. Wayman Jones) Tony Quinn was a handsome, wealthy and highly competent district attorney until the day of Oliver Snate’s trial.  This time he had proof of the gangster’s illegal activities, actual recordings… Continue reading Book Review: The Black Bat #1: Brand of the Black Bat & Murder Calls the Black Bat

Book Review: The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories

Book Review: The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories edited by Otto Penzler I have a fondness for Sherlock Holmes, as I am sure the majority of my readers do.  Unsurprisingly, there has been a ton of Holmes fanfiction over the years.  Pastiches that try to capture the feel of Arthur Conan Doyle’s prose, parodies… Continue reading Book Review: The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories

Manga Review: Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Volume 2

Manga Review: Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Volume 2 by Jiro Kuwata To briefly recap:  When the Batman television series was brought to Japan in the 1960s, it was decided to do a manga tie-in using the talents of Jiro Kuwata (creator of 8-Man).  Rather than being based on the TV show directly, Mr. Kuwata was given… Continue reading Manga Review: Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Volume 2

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud Edited by Lewis H. Lapham Mr. Lapham’s literary magazine is based on the principle that history has much to teach the present on many subjects, so presents excerpts from many famous (and not so famous) authors on a loose topic for the education and entertainment of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud

Book Review: The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries

Book Review: The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler The title of this volume is slightly misleading; “locked room” stands in for the general idea of impossible crimes in mystery stories.  A man  is found stabbed in the back in a windowless room with the door locked from the inside.… Continue reading Book Review: The Black Lizard Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries

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

TV Review: Dick Tracy

TV Review: Dick Tracy Dick Tracy has had many incarnations over the years, but the actor most associated with the character is Ralph Byrd, who played him in serials, movies and eventually a television show in 1950.  Unfortunately, Mr. Byrd was not in good health by this point, and the fast pace of TV production… Continue reading TV Review: Dick Tracy