Manga Review: Excel Saga 02

Manga Review: Excel Saga 02 by Rikdo Koshi The secret organization ACROSS must take over the world. For its own good, of course. But at the moment, they’re a bit short-staffed. Their leader, Il Palazzo, has only two active agents, the hyperactive but not very bright Excel, and Hyatt, whose constitution is either extremely poor… Continue reading Manga Review: Excel Saga 02

Anime Review: Dorohedoro

"I'd like to talk to you about the Baseball Initiative."

Anime Review: Dorohedoro Life is pretty miserable in The Hole. If you’re a normal human, you could be attacked at any time by a sorcerer trying to practice their magic. Multiple people are walking around scarred or deformed for life Yes, the effects of magic are reversed it the sorcerer dies, but they’ve got magic… Continue reading Anime Review: Dorohedoro

Book Review: American Gothic

Book Review: American Gothic by Robert Bloch It’s so sad that G. Gordon Gregg’s wife died when she drunkenly set their house on fire. And just when things were looking up for the couple. Gregg has just completed creating a new transient apartment building with a castle-like facade and a thriving pharmacy on the ground… Continue reading Book Review: American Gothic

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1953

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1953 edited by Ellery Queen If you’re not picky about condition, you can find a lot of cool old magazines for very reasonable prices, like say a dollar for this 1950s EQMM. At this time, editor Frederic Dannay still used his pen name of Ellery Queen on the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1953

Webtoon Review: Castlevania Seasons 1-3

Our intrepid trio: Alucard, Sypha and Trevor.

Webtoon Review: Castlevania Seasons 1-3 created by Warren Ellis It is the 1470s, and Wallachia is experiencing a record low number of vampire and monster attacks. The Church decides that this is due to its religious fervor and tightens its grip on the citizenry. The Church hierarchy decides it no longer needs a pandemic response… Continue reading Webtoon Review: Castlevania Seasons 1-3

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: Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic

Book Review: Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic by Catherine Lundoff Per the author’s introduction, the style of stories in this volume were inspired by her love for the artwork of Edward Gorey and Victorian ghost stories. And so we have a dozen short stories of horror and dark fantasy. “The Mask and the… Continue reading Book Review: Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic

Book Review: Thief River Falls

Book Review: Thief River Falls by Brian Freeman “Write what you know.” Thriller author Lisa Power followed that maxim in her fourth book, entitled Thief River Falls. It’s set in her home town of Thief River Falls, Minnesota and features real locations there, and even the real names of some of the residents. The verisimilitude… Continue reading Book Review: Thief River Falls

Magazine Review: Strange Tales September 1931

Magazine Review: Strange Tales September 1931 edited by Harry Bates Strange Tales was published as a direct competitor to Weird Tales, the top fantastic/occult story pulp magazine of the time, starting with this issue in 1931. It had more of an action slant to its editorial policy as compared to the more idea-heavy stories of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Strange Tales September 1931

Movie Review: Black Jack: The Movie

The good doctor and a potential patient.

Movie Review: Black Jack: The Movie (1996) directed by Osamu Dezaki The Twentieth Century is still waning, but it looks like the people of the Twenty-First Century, the superhumans, have already arrived! At the most exciting Olympics in decades, record after record is smashed by athletes from around the world. They’re from different countries, so there… Continue reading Movie Review: Black Jack: The Movie