Book Review: Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2026 edited by Robert Greenberger Disclaimer: I contributed to the Kickstarter for this book, and there’s an advertisement for this blog on page 44. It’s time for another annual installment of this pulp-style anthology! Some returning authors, some new ones, and some familiar characters to follow. This year, the genres… Continue reading Book Review: Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2026
Tag: gangsters
Comic Strip Review: Blood Orange Volume 1: National Secrets
Comic Strip Review: Blood Orange Volume 1: National Secrets by Tim Avers & Paul Fricke Constanze is a famous fashion model, actress and platinum-certified recording artist. These days she’s the spokesperson for i0, a top fashion house. She’s also got a taste for blood orange mimosas. However, there was a time when she wasn’t any… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Blood Orange Volume 1: National Secrets
Comic Book Review: Adventure Comics #503
Comic Book Review: Adventure Comics #503 edited by Nicola Cuti All good things must come to an end, they say, and this digest issue was the last one of the original Adventure Comics run. (It would be picked up again as a title 2009-11 before being cancelled for the New 52 reboot.) At the end… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Adventure Comics #503
Comic Book Review: Plastic Man Archives Volume 3
Comic Book Review: Plastic Man Archives Volume 3 by Jack Cole Plastic Man was first published in Police Comics #1 in 1941. He wasn’t the first stretchy superhero in comics, but quickly became the most popular. Much of this was down to the talent of Jack Cole (1914-1958), who did both the writing and art… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Plastic Man Archives Volume 3
Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #30: Detective Comics
Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #30: Detective Comics edited by Len Wein Detective Comics is one of DC’s longest-running comic book series, and indeed, they’re named after it. While it’s best known as the birthplace of Batman, over the years it’s hosted several other features involving some form of detection or mystery solving.… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #30: Detective Comics
Magazine Review: Spicy Mystery Stories June 1936
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
Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #2: Batman
Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #2: Batman edited by Paul Levitz 1979 was the fortieth anniversary of the first published Batman story. Thus this special digest, showcasing interesting stories from each decade of the hero’s publication history. It comes with an essay by Mike W. Barr explaining each story’s significance. “The People vs.… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #2: Batman
Comic Book Review: Adventure Comics #498
Comic Book Review: Adventure Comics #498 edited by Carl Gafford & Nicola Cuti I just keep having these pop up out of my boxes o’ stuff! “Plastic Man” written by Len Wein, art by Joe Staton & Bob Smith, is the first in a revival series. At the National Bureau of Investigation, shadowy figures in… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Adventure Comics #498
Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #36: Superman vs. Kryptonite
Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #36: Superman vs. Kryptonite edited by Nicola Cuti Kryptonite is Superman’s most famous weakness, the shattered, radioactive fragments of his homeworld Krypton. The prototype version, “K-metal” was created by Jerry Siegel for a 1940 story that would have revealed Superman’s secret identity as Clark Kent to Lois Lane,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Best of DC #36: Superman vs. Kryptonite
Magazine Review: High Adventure #200: Special Last Issue
Magazine Review: High Adventure #200: Special Last Issue edited by John P. Gunnison Much like the pulp magazines it reprints, HIgh Adventure is at last coming to the end of its publication history. But a 200 issue run over 33 years (starting as Pulp Review) is pretty darn impressive. And to celebrate the occasion, this… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #200: Special Last Issue