Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Men of War

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Men of War edited by Paul Levitz In 1977, African-American male leads in mainstream comic books were still countable on one hand (and don’t even ask about African-American women!)  But this also had the effect of making a comic with a black person on the front attention-getting.  And I suspect… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Men of War

Comic Book Review: Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman

Comic Book Review: Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman edited by Gary Groth In later years, Harvey Kurtzman was better known  for his humor work, among other things being the first editor of MAD.  But while he worked at EC Comics in the early Fifties, Mr. Kurtzman was also known for some… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Corpse on the Imjin! and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman

Comic Book Review: Our Army at War

Comic Book Review: Our Army at War edited by Joey Cavalieri Back in the day, DC Comics had a fine line of war comics.  Primarily focused around World War Two, they paid tribute to the American military and the Greatest Generation.  Which is not to say that they were mindless patriotic propaganda.  The stories often depicted… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Our Army at War

Book Review: Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante

Book Review: Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal It is late December, 1941.  The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, and America is now at war with the Axis powers.  The United States’ alliance with Great Britain is now an active one, and to cement that alliance,  Prime Minister Winston Churchill has crossed the ocean… Continue reading Book Review: Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante

Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Mad

Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Mad by E. Randall Floyd American history is full of offbeat people, some downright weird.  The author was (like many a lad) fascinated by their stories when he was young.  Then he got to interview Erich von Daeniken (Chariots of the Gods) and decided to make writing about… Continue reading Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Mad

Book Review: Boy Scouts of the Air on the French Front

Book Review: Boy Scouts of the Air on the French Front by Gordon Stuart Tod Fulton’s father is an inventor who has developed a new airplane that can hover in place and has true VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) capabilities.  Up to now, he wasn’t able to sell it as there were no peacetime applications.… Continue reading Book Review: Boy Scouts of the Air on the French Front

Book Review: Aeroplane Boys on a Cattle Ranch

Book Review: Aeroplane Boys on a Cattle Ranch by John Luther Langworthy Construction on the new high school is going slowly, so classes won’t start for another two months.   Don’t worry, cousins Frank and Andy Bird will not be bored.   It seems the two young aviators have been invited to spend their extra… Continue reading Book Review: Aeroplane Boys on a Cattle Ranch

Book Review: Springboard to Tokyo

Book Review: Springboard to Tokyo by Canfield Cook Squadron Leader Robert “Lucky” Terrell has at last gotten his small group of RAF Stratohawk fighter-bombers to China.   There’s a small problem–the Japanese launched a major offensive while our heroes were enroute, and the airfields they were planning to use have been overrun.  Only one badly… Continue reading Book Review: Springboard to Tokyo

Book Review: Air Service Boys over the Rhine

Book Review: Air Service Boys Over the Rhine by Charles Amory Beach In 1916, America was still officially neutral in the matter of the Great War.  While many Americans didn’t much like the way Germany was attacking its neighbors, the government felt that it was really none of our business.   Still, some Americans felt… Continue reading Book Review: Air Service Boys over the Rhine

Book Review: Battling the Clouds

Book Review: Battling the Clouds by Captain Frank Cobb It is shortly after World War One, and two boys, both sons of majors, have come to be stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Frank Anderson’s father is in Aviation, while Bill Sherman’s stepfather is a teacher at the School of Fire (Artillery.)  Bill is new to… Continue reading Book Review: Battling the Clouds