Book Review: Apocalypse 1952

Cover by Darryle Purcell

Book Review: Apocalypse 1952 by Darryle Purcell Karl Stanley wasn’t a very curious person; if something didn’t affect him personally and it wasn’t pointed out to him, he didn’t pay attention. So when President Lindbergh announced that he’d signed peace treaties with the Axis powers so their overseas wars wouldn’t affect America, Karl just accepted… Continue reading Book Review: Apocalypse 1952

Movie Review: Spy Smasher

Alan and Jack confer.

Movie Review: Spy Smasher (1942) directed by William Witney Alan Armstrong (Kane Richmond) was an American journalist working in France when Germany invaded. Unable to stay neutral, Alan faked his own death so he could operate as freelance operative Spy Smasher. As our story opens, Spy Smasher is captured by the Gestapo, tortured and sentenced to… Continue reading Movie Review: Spy Smasher

Book Review: Transgressive Horror Resurrected

Cover design by Hal Mangold.

Book Review: Transgressive Horror Resurrected edited by Prof. Christopher McGlothlin, M.Ed. Disclaimer: I backed the Kickstarter for this book and got a discounted copy. No other compensation was requested or offered. This is the fourth book in the “Everyone’s Gone to the Movies” series, featuring essays about interesting or unusual films. This volume returns to… Continue reading Book Review: Transgressive Horror Resurrected

Comic Strip Review: Dick Tracy His Greatest Cases #1: Pruneface

Comic Strip Review: Dick Tracy His Greatest Cases #1: Pruneface by Chester Gould As a popular and long-running comic strip, Dick Tracy has had quite a few collections over the years. This paperback is from a 1970s series that collected particularly favorite plotlines from past years. It’s 1942, and America is at war. Police detective… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Dick Tracy His Greatest Cases #1: Pruneface

Movie Review: The Hasty Heart (1949)

Lachie registers a complaint with Sister Parker.

Movie Review: The Hasty Heart (1949) directed by Vincent Sherman Burma, 1945, what will turn out to be V-J Day, the last day of World War Two. Scots soldier Lachie (Richard Todd) takes a piece of mine shrapnel to the back. The military doctors manage to save his life, but he’s lost one of his kidneys.… Continue reading Movie Review: The Hasty Heart (1949)

Comic Book Review: Amazing Man Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Amazing Man Vol. 1 by Bill Everett and various creators. John Aman (probably not his birth name) was an American orphan taken in by The Council of Seven, a mysterious group of wise men headquartered in Tibet. After twenty-five years of intense training, John passed a series of physical and mental tests… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Amazing Man Vol. 1

Book Review: The Groom Lay Dead

Cover by Robert Stanley. This scene actually happens in the book!

Book Review: The Groom Lay Dead by George Harmon Coxe September 9, 1943: In Europe, the Armistice of Cassibile has been announced, the Italian government having withdrawn from the Axis alliance. (Not that it helped them much because Germany promptly took over much of Italy to fight on.) But in the Finger Lakes region of… Continue reading Book Review: The Groom Lay Dead

Anime Review: Time Patrol Bon

Bon and Ream deal with the realities of their job.

Anime Review: Time Patrol Bon (aka T.P. Bon) Bon Namihira is a fairly normal (his name would translate to something like “Joe Average” in English) middle schooler. His grades are in the middle of the pack, he’s not particularly athletic but no wimp, he’s not particularly popular but does have friends. But when time starts… Continue reading Anime Review: Time Patrol Bon

Movie Review: The Adventures of Tartu

Jan Tartu presents his papers at the German Consulate.

Movie Review: The Adventures of Tartu (1943) directed by Harold S. Bucquet Dateline: London, 1940. The Blitz is on, and recovery crews are working on a damaged hospital. One of the German bombs failed to go off, and Captain Terence Stevenson (Robert Donat) is called on to disarm it. (I got Danger: UXB flashbacks.) This task is complicated… Continue reading Movie Review: The Adventures of Tartu

Comic Book Review: The Complete Battlefields Volume One

Comic Book Review: The Complete Battlefields Volume One written by Garth Ennis, art by various. World War Two has been a favorite subject of comic books since the beginning of that conflict. Garth Ennis grew up on British war comics, and enjoys writing about the subject. So it’s not surprising that he did three miniseries… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Complete Battlefields Volume One