Comic Book Review: Lost Marvels No.1: Tower of Shadows

Comic Book Review: Lost Marvels No. 1: Tower of Shadows edited by Dr. Michael Dean The “Lost Marvels” series of books reprints Marvel Comics publications that have not been previously collected in reprint volumes, looking to be mostly short-run series and one-offs that match a theme. This first volume reprints most of a horror anthology… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Lost Marvels No.1: Tower of Shadows

Book Review: Dandelion Wine

Book Review: Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury The time: Summer, 1928. The place: Green Town, a large rural town in Illinois. Douglas Spaulding has just turned twelve years old, and this will be a summer to remember, the moments captured in time like dandelion wine. This 1957 novel is a collection of vignettes, some previously… Continue reading Book Review: Dandelion Wine

Magazine Review: Spicy Mystery Stories June 1936

Cover is symbolic; the "cat person" in the story is male.

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

Manga Review: Mao Volumes 19 & 20

Manga Review: Mao Volumes 19 & 20 by Rumiko Takahashi Note: SPOILERS for previous volumes. You may want to read my reviews of those if you’re not caught up. Quick recap: Nanoka is a girl from the 21st Century who travels in time to the 1920s, where she helps the onmyoji (wizard/priest/doctor) Mao, who is… Continue reading Manga Review: Mao Volumes 19 & 20

Book Review: The Art of Prophecy

Cover by Hunter & River Inc.

Book Review: The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu Centuries ago, the Oracle of the Tiandi prophesied that a Destined Hero would arise to unite the Five States and defeat the Immortal Khan of the Katuia people. This prophecy has shaped the Five States’ culture and politics ever since. Relatively recently, the Destined Hero, a… Continue reading Book Review: The Art of Prophecy

Movie Review: Creatures the World Forgot

The Crone leads the way.

Creatures the World Forgot (1971) dir. Don Chaffey The Dark-Haired Tribe hunters have had a successful day, bringing down an antelope while only losing one of their number to its mate. But as the tribe is divvying up the meat, The Crone (Rosalie Crutchley) directs their attention to the nearby twin mountains–which turn out to be… Continue reading Movie Review: Creatures the World Forgot

Anime Review: Zenshu

Natsuko cleans up nicely for the festival.

Anime Review: Zenshu Natsuko Hirose is an anime director, and something of a young prodigy. She worked her way up from the bottom in record time, and has now been placed in charge of an actual upcoming movie, a romantic comedy entitled First Love. Problem is, Natsuko’s been so focused on becoming an animator since… Continue reading Anime Review: Zenshu

Anime Review: Dragon Ball Daima

Anime Review: Dragon Ball Daima Previously, on Dragon Ball: Son Goku was rocketed to Earth as an infant from the dying planet Vegeta–to conquer it. Instead, he became its greatest defender and the universe’s best martial artist. Along with his friends, quite a few of whom were former enemies, Son Goku defeated threat after threat.… Continue reading Anime Review: Dragon Ball Daima

Book Review: Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2025

Cover by Jeffrey Ray Hayes, illustrating "ESPD." The distressing is part of the cover design.

Book Review: Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2025 edited by Robert Greenberger Disclaimer: I contributed to the Kickstarter for this book. A lesser known aspect of pulp fandom is the creation of new stories in the tradition of the pulp magazines of old, action-packed and exciting. Thus this series of books which feature modern authors trying their… Continue reading Book Review: Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2025

Manga Retrospective: Undead Unluck

Most of the cast!

Manga Retrospective: Undead Unluck by Yoshifumi Tozuka Fuuko Izumo has had a miserable life due to her curse of Unluck. Anyone Fuuko touches suffers a statistically improbable misfortune, often to lethal effect, with the first victims being her own parents. At age 18, the only thing that has kept her alive has been wanting to… Continue reading Manga Retrospective: Undead Unluck