Open Thread: RIP Shigeru Mizuki Shigeru Mizuki (1922-2015) was a manga artist famous for his horror works, most famously Gegege no Kitarou, and did much work to familiarize younger generations of Japanese children with the traditional stories of yokai. As I’ve written here before, Mr. Mizuki was stationed in New Britain, Papua New Guinea during World War… Continue reading Open Thread: RIP Shigeru Mizuki
Month: November 2015
Manga Review: Black Blizzard
Manga Review: Black Blizzard by Yoshihiro Tatsumi The year is 1956. Shinpei Konta, a card shark with five convictions (two for murder) and Susumu Yamaji, a pianist just convicted for murder, are handcuffed together on a train headed for prison. The weather has turned to a blizzard, and a landslide across the tracks derails the… Continue reading Manga Review: Black Blizzard
Magazine Review: The Blueroad Reader: Stardust and Fate
Magazine Review: The Blueroad Reader: Stardust and Fate edited by John Gaterud Yes, this is yet another literary magazine; I picked up a bunch inexpensively at the book fair. This one seems to take its title from Jack Kerouac’s writing; this first issue was published in 2007. The index is unusual for this kind of… Continue reading Magazine Review: The Blueroad Reader: Stardust and Fate
Manga Review: My Hero Academia, Vol. 2
Manga Review: My Hero Academia, Vol. 2 by Kohei Horikoshi I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, or at least a nice Thursday! In keeping with the holiday spirit, let’s have a second helping. Brief recap: Izuku Midoriya always wanted to be a superhero, but was born without a “quirk”, unlike 80% of the… Continue reading Manga Review: My Hero Academia, Vol. 2
Book Review: The Land of Dreams
Book Review: The Land of Dreams by Vidar Sundstøl Lance Hansen has not dreamed in seven years. A divorced Forest Service police officer on the North Shore of Lake Superior, most of his days are spent chasing illegal fishing and people camping in the wrong places. He thinks that the latter will be his… Continue reading Book Review: The Land of Dreams
Book Review: The Art of Empathy: Celebrating Literature in Translation
Book Review: The Art of Empathy: Celebrating Literature in Translation edited by Don Ball This thick pamphlet is a collection of essays by literary translators on the art of translation. It’s a product of the National Endowment for the Arts, and is available from them as a free download (or in paper form at NEA… Continue reading Book Review: The Art of Empathy: Celebrating Literature in Translation
Book Review: Justicariat
Book Review: Justicariat by Nathan Bolduc In an alternate history, the newly-formed United Nations created an extra-national force called the Justicariat. Its members, the Justicars, hunt down and kill those they believe to be criminals, not bound by any authority or law higher than themselves. They have absolute immunity from local laws or regulations, though… Continue reading Book Review: Justicariat
Book Review: Headaches Can Be Murder
Book Review: Headaches Can Be Murder by Marilyn Rausch & Mary Donlon Charles “Chip” E. Collingsworth III was supposed to become a neurosurgeon like his father and grandfather before him, but wasn’t suited to being a doctor, so dropped out of medical school. Three failed marriages later and with his trust fund depleted, Chip wrote… Continue reading Book Review: Headaches Can Be Murder
Comic Book Review: Child of the Sun
Comic Book Review: Child of the Sun written by Michael Van Cleve, art by Mervyn McCoy Disclaimer: I was provided with free downloads of this comic book for the purposes of review. No other compensation was offered or requested. It is 1300 B.C.E., and the people of Israel have fallen into wickedness. Thus they are… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Child of the Sun
Book Review: Seeds for Change
Book Review: Seeds for Change by Marly Cornell This is a biography of Surinder “Suri” and Edda (nee Jeglinsky) Sehgal, the founders of the Sehgal Foundation. That foundation helps rural villages in India achieve clean water, improved agriculture, better education and more honest government, as well as funding conservation and ecological efforts around the world.… Continue reading Book Review: Seeds for Change