Anime Review: Space Patrol Luluco

Anime Review: Space Patrol Luluco Luluco is a normal middle-school student who is trying to live a normal middle-school life in the decidedly abnormal town of Ogikubo.  It’s the one place on Earth where aliens are allowed to mix freely with humans.  Luluco’s father Keiji is a Space Patrol officer who helps dispense justice in… Continue reading Anime Review: Space Patrol Luluco

Comic Book Review: Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2

Comic Book Review: Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2 mostly written by Marv Wolfman and art by Gene Colan. When the Comics Code restrictions on horror were loosened in the 1970s, DC primarily went in for horror anthology comics, while Marvel Comics based entire series around horrific heroes and villains.  One of these was the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2

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

Book Review: The Wrath of Brotherhood

Book Review: The Wrath of Brotherhood by Ozgur K. Sahin Captain Roy Toppings had planned to live a relatively peaceful life plying a small shipping route  between England and the Continent, but the murder of his sister by pirates set him  on a different course, and now he’s a privateer  operating out of Port Royal.… Continue reading Book Review: The Wrath of Brotherhood

Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (2015)

Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (2015) by various creators. It’s the third anniversary of this blog, and as is my custom, I’ll be looking at the current lineup of Weekly Shonen Jump, the online version of Shounen Jump.  For those just joining us, Shounen Jump is the top-selling shounen manga (boys’ comic book) in Japan.  Many of its series… Continue reading Manga Review: Weekly Shonen Jump (2015)

Magazine Review: Pirate Stories November 1934

Magazine Review: Pirate Stories November 1934  Some of the pulp magazines went for very specialized subjects, so it’s not a surprise to find one dedicated entirely to stories about pirates.  As this was the first issue, there’s an publisher’s note indicating that there will be stories about pirate of the past, present and future (it… Continue reading Magazine Review: Pirate Stories November 1934

Book Review: Billy Smith Shanghaied Ace

Book Review: Billy Smith Shanghaied Ace by Noël Sainsbury, Jr. William “Billy” Smith, noted teen aviator, has been called to Australia by a wealthy banker, Mr. Clafflin whose daughter Janet was on the missing passenger liner GLORIA (sic).  The banker believes that the ship was not sunk, but is stranded off course somewhere in the… Continue reading Book Review: Billy Smith Shanghaied Ace

Book Review: The Pirate Princess

Book Review: The Pirate Princess by Tawn Krakowski Penelope Puffinstuff is the ninth child of the royal family of Pufftania, so everyone calls her “Princess Penny.”  She’s a sweet, well-behaved girl, but is feeling slightly bored with the life of a princess.  So when it turns out that a centuries-old prophecy requires her to acquire… Continue reading Book Review: The Pirate Princess

Book Review: Space Captain/The Mad Metropolis

Book Review: Space Captain by Murray Leinster/The Mad Metropolis by Philip E. High This is another of the Ace Doubles–two short science fiction books in one volume, printed upside down from one another.  In general, these are a good deal.  A readable copy won’t set you back more than a brand new paperback in most… Continue reading Book Review: Space Captain/The Mad Metropolis

Open Thread: Minicon 49

This past weekend, I went to Minicon 49 at the RadiShTree Hotel in Bloomington.   It’s a book-oriented science fiction convention with an older-skewing crowd, running around 500 people.  So it’s not overcrowded and a good place to talk to your once a year friends. This year’s theme was “Pirates and Airships” largely because the… Continue reading Open Thread: Minicon 49