Movie Review: Paradise Canyon

John signs up with the medicine show.

Movie Review: Paradise Canyon (1935) directed by Carl Pierson There’s been a flood of counterfeit bills in the southwest territory recently. Federal agent John Wyatt (John Wayne) has been sent to investigate. The local law enforcement do have one lead. A while back, two suspects were caught flogging very similar funny money. One turned state’s evidence… Continue reading Movie Review: Paradise Canyon

Book Review: Thuvia, Maid of Mars

Book Review: Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs It has been some years since Thuvia, princess of Ptarth, was rescued from her captivity by the Therns, thanks to John Carter and his son Carthoris. In the process, she and Carthoris had become attracted to each other, but having been returned to her rightful… Continue reading Book Review: Thuvia, Maid of Mars

Magazine Review: Oriental Stories Winter 1932

Magazine Review: Oriental Stories Winter 1932 edited by Farnsworth Wright Oriental Stories was a mostly-quarterly pulp magazine published from 1930-1933, with a name change to The Treasure Chest Magazine for an additional year. Its remit, as you might have guessed from the title, was tales of the exotic, mysterious East, from Islamic North Africa through… Continue reading Magazine Review: Oriental Stories Winter 1932

Anime Review: The Human Crazy University

Kito picks an odd moment to be philosophical.

Anime Review: The Human Crazy University Hirofumi Satake is an ordinary, run-of-the-mill death row inmate, convicted of the murder and cremating of his fiancée Chie Negishi and the man she was supposedly cheating with. Before he became a criminal, Hirofumi worked for a trading company, traveling all over the world, and fluent in several languages.… Continue reading Anime Review: The Human Crazy University

Movie Review: Papillon (1973)

Papillon is introduced to his new solitary quarters.

Movie Review: Papillon (1973) directed by Franklin J. Schaffner Henri Charrière (Steve McQueen), nicknamed “Papillon” after the butterfly tattoo on his chest, is convicted of a crime he did not commit and sentenced to imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana often referred to as “Devil’s Island.” On the ship taking the convicts there, he… Continue reading Movie Review: Papillon (1973)

Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean

Foo Fighters' drinking habit concerns Jolyne and Ermes.

Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean When Jolyne Cujoh was growing up in Florida, her father, marine biologist Jotaro Kujo, wasn’t around much. Feeling neglected, Jolyne acted out, stealing a car. That barely got her noticed, so it seemed, as Jotaro just made sure she was physically okay. Then she started going out with… Continue reading Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean

Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files

Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files edited by Max Allan Collins and Martin H. Greenberg In 1990, the venerable Dick Tracy comic strip got a movie adaptation, Dick Tracy, starring Warren Beatty and Madonna. To cash in on the publicity, the then-writer of the strip, Max Allan Collins, was asked to do both a… Continue reading Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files

Movie Review: Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance

Yuki's profession is so hazardous in itself that she's never thought about the possibility of dying of plague instead.

Movie Review: Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (1974) directed by Toshiya Fujita So, it turns out Yuki (Meiko Kaiji) survived the ending of the previous film, much to her own surprise. Problem is, people remember she did all that murder beforehand as Lady Snowblood. We pick up several years later after the end of… Continue reading Movie Review: Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance

Book Review: Secret Murder: Who Shall Judge?

Cover art by Alicia Austin

Book Review: Secret Murder: Who Shall Judge? by Ellen Kuhfeld Ragnar Forkbeard, iron-monger, and Olaf Far-Traveler, trader in exotic goods, have come from Surtsheim in the north to Northlanding, the falls that block boats from coming any further up the Great River. It is time for the great spring fair and the merchants have come… Continue reading Book Review: Secret Murder: Who Shall Judge?

Book Review: The Pocket Companion

Book Review: The Pocket Companion edited by Philip Van Doren Stern This 1942 paperback anthology was designed for people who wanted a lot of reading in a pocket-sized book, so has a novel, short stories, articles, poetry and trivia. The closest thing to a theme is the connection between the British and Americans, now allies… Continue reading Book Review: The Pocket Companion