Manga Retrospective: My Hero Academia Last week, the long-running shounen manga series My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia) by Kouhei Horikoshi finished its publication in Weekly Shounen Jump. So it’s time to look back fondly at this homage to Western comic book-style superheroes. In the world of the story, several decades ago, a glowing… Continue reading Manga Retrospective: My Hero Academia
Month: August 2024
Movie Review: Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965) dir. Norman Taurog Craig Gamble (Frankie Avalon) is a SIC man. That is to say “Secret Intelligence Command”, a minor government agency, the San Francisco branch of while is run by his uncle Donald J. Pevney (Fred Clark). The budget is so low that he’s his uncle’s only agent,… Continue reading Movie Review: Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
Book Review: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
Book Review: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, tea monk Sibling Dex went into the wilderness on a journey of discovery, and was introduced to the robot Mosscap. (See my previous review.) This sequel volume picks up not too long after the conclusion of that one, as… Continue reading Book Review: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
Magazine Review: High Adventure #194: Wheeler-Nicholson Special
Magazine Review: High Adventure #194: Wheeler-Nicholson Special edited by John P. Gunnison This volume of the pulp reprints series has five stories by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, who in addition to writing many fine pulp stories is important to the history of comic books. In 1935, he founded National Allied Publications, which published the first comic… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #194: Wheeler-Nicholson Special
Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4
Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4 by Kazuo Umezz Quick recap: Orochi appears to be an ordinary, generically pretty young woman, but is actually a seemingly ageless being with vaguely defined supernatural powers. She has a gift for spotting people who are going to have interesting things happen to them and following their… Continue reading Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4
Movie Review: Angel and the Badman (1947)
Movie Review: Angel and the Badman (1947) directed by James Edward Grant Quirt Evans (John Wayne) may be a top hand with a gun, but he’s got his limits, and this time he was severely outnumbered, so rode away. Badly wounded, he collapses in front of Quaker woman Penelope Worth (Gail Russell) and her father Thomas… Continue reading Movie Review: Angel and the Badman (1947)
Comic Book Review: DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #22: Secret Origins of Super-Heroes
Comic Book Review: DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #22: Secret Origins of Super-Heroes edited by E. Nelson Bridwell “Secret origins” are a big part of the superhero genre. Since, back in the day, most superheroes had secret identities, just how exactly they’d come to gain powers or the motivation to fight crime was also a… Continue reading Comic Book Review: DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #22: Secret Origins of Super-Heroes
Book Review: Great Science Fiction About Doctors
Book Review: Great Science Fiction About Doctors edited by Groff Conklin and Noah D. Fabricant, M.D. While medical doctors are common and important in science fiction, stories directly about them or the field of medicine are a bit rarer. It was one magazine’s speculation that it would be difficult to fill an anthology with really… Continue reading Book Review: Great Science Fiction About Doctors