Manga Review: Billy Bat 1 by Naoki Urasawa with Takashi Nagasaki Billy Bat is a private detective in a world of anthropomorphic animals. He’s a hard-boiled type in the noir tradition with a cynical personality who refuses to use his wings unless he absolutely has to. (Or perhaps he can’t fly at all.) His current… Continue reading Manga Review: Billy Bat 1
Tag: private detectives
Book Review: The Complete Max Carrados Volume II
Book Review: The Complete Max Carrados Volume II by Ernest Bramah Disclaimer: I contributed to the Kickstarter for this project. To recap from my review of the first volume, Max Carrados is a blind detective published in stories from 1913-1934. A resident of a ritzy London suburb who’d been blinded in a riding accident, Max… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Max Carrados Volume II
Book Review: The Complete Max Carrados Volume 1
Book Review: The Complete Max Carrados Volume 1 by Ernest Bramah Disclaimer: I contributed to the Kickstarter for this collection. Ernest Bramah Smith, who dropped his last name for his literary efforts, was born in 1868, and was a school dropout and farmer before becoming a writer. His first published book in 1900 was The… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Max Carrados Volume 1
Anime Review: Detectives These Days Are Crazy!
Anime Review: Detectives These Days Are Crazy! A few decades ago, Keiichirou Nagumo was a famous teen detective, solving bizarre murders and impossible thefts on a weekly basis. In addition to being a master of instant deduction, he was also extremely athletic and quite handsome. But as time went on, the cases began to dry… Continue reading Anime Review: Detectives These Days Are Crazy!
Movie Review: Too Many Winners
Movie Review: Too Many Winners (1947) directed by William Beaudine Private eye Michael Shayne (Hugh Beaumont) and his secretary Phyllis Hamilton (Trudy Marshall) have been invited for a duck hunting vacation with one of her relatives. Phyllis is looking forward to this, so is irritated when Gil Madden (Ben Welden) enters, looking like a client. She… Continue reading Movie Review: Too Many Winners
Movie Review: Three on a Ticket
Movie Review: Three on a Ticket (1947) directed by Sam Newfield Private investigator Michael “Mike” Shayne (Hugh Beaumont) has just arrived at his office when his secretary Phyllis “Phil” Hamilton (Cheryl Walker) tells him he has an appointment with a prospective client, Jim Lacy (Brooks Benedict). Lacy is a private eye from the East Coast that… Continue reading Movie Review: Three on a Ticket
Movie Review: The Case of the Velvet Claws
Movie Review: The Case of the Velvet Claws (1936) directed by William Clemens Perry Mason (Warren Williams) invades the night court of Judge Mary F O’Daugherty (Clara Blandick) with an urgent matter–marrying his secretary, Della Street (Claire Dodd)! As the happy couple pose for the press photographers, Perry announces his retirement from criminal law. From now… Continue reading Movie Review: The Case of the Velvet Claws
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
Movie Review: Larceny in Her Heart
Movie Review: Larceny in Her Heart (1946) directed by Sam Newfield Noted private detective Michael Shayne (Hugh Beaumont) and his adoring if sarcastic secretary Phyllis “Phil” Hamilton (Cheryl Walker) are five minutes away from starting a two-week vacation visiting her aunt in Niagra. Naturally, that’s when a wealthy would-be client walks through the door. Burton Stallings… Continue reading Movie Review: Larceny in Her Heart
Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine January/February 2024
Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine January/February 2024 edited by Janet Hutchings Despite the cover date, this issue of the venerable mystery story magazine hit newsstands in December 2023, so is the Christmas issue as well as the Sherlock Holmes tribute. I bought this issue and promptly had it buried under a to read pile,… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine January/February 2024