Comic Book Review: Superman Smashes the Klan #3

Comic Book Review: Superman Smashes the Klan #3 story by Gene Luen Yang, art by Gurihiru Note: This review contains SPOILERS for the first two issues. Previously: The Lee family moved from Chinatown to Metropolis when Dr. Lee got a job with the city health department. Tommy Lee, a young baseball player, soon found his… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Superman Smashes the Klan #3

Magazine Review: High Adventure #171: Far East Fiction of Frederick Moore

Magazine Review: High Adventure #171: Far East Fiction of Frederick Moore edited by John P. Gunnison In this pulp reprint issue, we’re off to the exotic South Seas, in particular Malaysia. According to the introduction, although Frederick Moore’s byline listed him as “Captain”, there’s no record of him ever earning that title. “The Cloth of… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #171: Far East Fiction of Frederick Moore

Magazine Review: High Adventure #168: Wonder Stories

Magazine Review: High Adventure #168: Wonder Stories edited by John P. Gunnison This issue of pulp reprints gets its content from Wonder Stories November 1930 (when it was still edited by Hugo Gernsback) and Thrilling Wonder Stories December 1942 (after Gernsback had been bought out by the Thrilling Group.) As you might imagine, this means… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #168: Wonder Stories

Book Review: Wives to Burn

Book Review: Wives to Burn by Lawrence G. Blochman William Shakespeare Gabriel may have bitten off more than he can chew when he accepted an assignment to go to India and track down Fred Oaks. Bill’s past as a reporter may make him an excellent investigator for the Five Continents Detective Agency, but India’s a… Continue reading Book Review: Wives to Burn

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

Movie Review: Twice-Told Tales

Time for your neck massage!

Movie Review: Twice-Told Tales (1963) dir. Sidney Salkow  The book version of Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne was full of ghosts and supernatural occurrences, so it’s not surprising that a star vehicle for noted horror actor Vincent Price would dip into that well. It’s not a very deep dip, though, with only one story from that anthology, one… Continue reading Movie Review: Twice-Told Tales

Book Review: Nine Strange Stories

Book Review: Nine Strange Stories edited by Betty N. Owen When I was a lad, one of the fun annual events I looked forward to was the Scholastic Book Fair.  Scholastic Publishing would send boxes of books around the country to schools so that kids could get the thrill of picking out their own low-cost… Continue reading Book Review: Nine Strange Stories

Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales

Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales compiled by Stefan Dziemianowicz The definition of “thriller” is a little loose in this fun anthology, though most of the stories do have at least some suspense.  It feels more like the compiler picked a bunch of the public domain stories he liked, but didn’t have a strong… Continue reading Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1 by various creators In 1940, a year after Batman debuted, he gained the first superhero kid sidekick in comic books.  Robin aka Dick Grayson served several functions.  Kid appeal, merchandising, lightening up the tone of the stories a bit, and giving Batman someone to have… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Queen & Country: Definitive Edition Volume 01

Comic Book Review: Queen & Country: Definitive Edition Volume 01 written by Greg Rucka, art by various Tara Felicity Chace is a field agent for the Special Operations Section of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS.)  She’s one of three operatives known as Minders who are assigned to the most dangerous tasks, and is code-named… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Queen & Country: Definitive Edition Volume 01