Magazine Review: High Adventure #190: H. Bedford-Jones – Adventure

Magazine Review: High Adventure #190: H. Bedford-Jones – Adventure edited by John P. Gunnison This issue of the pulp reprint magazine collects three stories from the multiple typewriters of prolific author Henry James O’Brien Bedford-Jones (1887-1949). He was born in Canada, but moved to the United States in his teens and became a naturalized citizen… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #190: H. Bedford-Jones – Adventure

Magazine Review: Hooded Detective January 1942

Magazine Review: Hooded Detective January 1942 The Black Hood was one of the superheroes created for the MLJ (later Archie) Comics line, first appearing in Top-Notch Comics #9 in 1940. Matthew Kipling “Kip” Burland was originally a rookie cop who was framed for grand larceny and injured to near death by a criminal known as… Continue reading Magazine Review: Hooded Detective January 1942

Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries

Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler While stories that could be considered “mysteries” in some sense have existed as long as writing, and perhaps a bit before, the short story mystery came into its own during the lifetime of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). This volume collects forty-nine notable stories from… Continue reading Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries

Comic Book Review: DC Special No. 3: Justice Society

Comic Book Review: DC Special No. 3: Justice Society edited by Paul Levitz As discussed in previous reviews, the Justice Society of America was DC Comics’ first superhero team, designed to showcase their characters that didn’t have their own individual titles. Thus Superman and Batman weren’t members, but were “honorary”, and Green Lantern and the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: DC Special No. 3: Justice Society

Movie Review: The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest

Superman and Batman face off.

Movie Review: The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest (1997) directed by Toshihiko Masuda In Gotham City, the Joker (Mark Hamill) and Harley Quinn (Arlene Sorkin) steal a jade dragon. Based on fragments left behind, Batman suspects he knows where the Clown Prince of Crime is headed. As it so happens, Bruce Wayne has business in Metropolis;… Continue reading Movie Review: The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest

Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files

Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files edited by Max Allan Collins and Martin H. Greenberg In 1990, the venerable Dick Tracy comic strip got a movie adaptation, Dick Tracy, starring Warren Beatty and Madonna. To cash in on the publicity, the then-writer of the strip, Max Allan Collins, was asked to do both a… Continue reading Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files

Manga Review: Orochi: The Perfect Edition 2

Manga Review: Orochi: The Perfect Edition 2 by Kazuo Umezz Quick recap: Orochi is a seemingly immortal being in the shape of a young woman who can pass anywhere from high school to college age. While her name evokes the eight-headed serpent of Japanese folklore, Orochi does not appear to be of ill intent. She’s… Continue reading Manga Review: Orochi: The Perfect Edition 2

Movie Review: Sudden Impact (1983)

Harry contemplates the difference between justice and revenge.

Movie Review: Sudden Impact (1983) directed by Clint Eastwood San Francisco is a dangerous city, as seen when a man is given a “.38 vasectomy” and a head shot in his car by his passenger. The next morning, Police Inspector “Dirty” Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is not initially investigating that case. He’s in court, where a… Continue reading Movie Review: Sudden Impact (1983)

Movie Review: Serenity (2005)

The Serenity's crew doesn't always agree on the best course of action.

Movie Review: Serenity (2005) directed by Joss Whedon This is what we are told: It is around 500 years in the future. Life on Earth That Was became unsustainable, so humanity went looking for new worlds to live on. At least one place they found was a trinary star system with multiple planets and planetoids in… Continue reading Movie Review: Serenity (2005)

Book Review: Catlow

Book Review: Catlow by Louis L’Amour (A)bijah Catlow and Ben Cowan grew up together, fighting together and against each other. As so often happens, their lives have taken different paths since. Ben is now a deputy U.S. Marshal, and Bijah is an outlaw rustler. Now, admittedly, Bijah was initially framed for rustling by a crooked… Continue reading Book Review: Catlow