Book Review: Undeveloped: A Pine County Mystery by Dean L. Hovey Pine County is on the eastern edge of Minnesota, about halfway between the Twin Cities and Duluth. It’s a rural area, with a fair amount of relatively new growth pine timber (you may have heard of the Hinckley Fire.) Much of the economy depends… Continue reading Book Review: Undeveloped: A Pine County Mystery
Tag: 1990s
Anime Review: 16bit Sensation: Another Layer
Anime Review: 16bit Sensation: Another Layer In 2023, Konoha Akisato is an aspiring illustrator who wants to break into the world of bishoujo (“pretty girl”) games. She’s a huge nerd on the subject, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the field. Sadly, the only job she could get related to computer games is “color fill” at… Continue reading Anime Review: 16bit Sensation: Another Layer
Movie Review: Clueless (1995)
Movie Review: Clueless (1995) directed by Amy Heckerling Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) is popular, pretty and well off, which is important if you attend high school in Beverly Hills. Her father Mel (Dan Hedaya) is a prominent litigation attorney, but Cher’s mother passed in a tragic liposuction accident when she was little. There was a short… Continue reading Movie Review: Clueless (1995)
Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1949
Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1949 edited by Ellery Queen It’s time for another issue of this venerable mystery magazine. The cover this time is uncredited, and does not directly match any of the stories in the issue. “Double Exposure” by Ben Hecht opens the issue with a tale of a psychiatrist who… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 1949
Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volumes 27 & 28
Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volumes 27 & 28 by Rumiko Takahashi Quick recap: Rinne Rokudo is a part-human shinigami (death spirit) who works as a psychopomp, escorting lost spirits to the afterlife. Due to his deadbeat father sticking him with the responsibilities for that father’s debts, Rinne’s weak powers requiring him to use expensive tools to… Continue reading Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volumes 27 & 28
Comic Book Review: Blue Monday, Vol. 2: Absolute Beginners
Comic Book Review: Blue Monday, Vol. 2: Absolute Beginners by Chynna Clugston Flores Disclaimer: I received this volume through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review. No other compensation was offered or requested. Bleu L. Finnegan isn’t precisely your normal high school girl growing up in 1990s Northern California. For one thing,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Blue Monday, Vol. 2: Absolute Beginners
Manga Review: Sanctuary
Manga Review: Sanctuary Story by Sho Fumimura, Art by Ryoichi Ikegami In the killing fields of Cambodia in the 1970s, two sons of Japanese expatriates helped each other survive and became blood brothers. When they were brought back to Japan, the boys were disgusted by how stagnant and corrupt Japanese society had become. They came… Continue reading Manga Review: Sanctuary
Comic Strip Review: Still Pumped from Using the Mouse
Comic Strip Review: Still Pumped from Using the Mouse by Scott Adams Dilbert is an engineer who works for a poorly-managed mid-size corporation. His co-workers are hostile, his boss is pointy-haired, and Dilbert himself is less than competent with anything other than engineering. Such as dating. The Dilbert gag-a-day comic strip has been running since 1989;… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Still Pumped from Using the Mouse
Comic Strip Review: Shutterbug Follies
Comic Strip Review: Shutterbug Follies by Jason Little It is the 1990s, before the digital photography explosion. Bee works in a one-hour photo shop as a finishing technician. She enjoys her job, not least because she takes copies of the more…interesting pictures shot by the customers home for her own collection. One day, Bee notices… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Shutterbug Follies
Open Thread: She’s Back!
Back in the early 1990s, Naoko Takeuchi created a character named “Sailor V.” While mahou shoujo (magical girls) had been around for decades in manga and anime, ever since Bewitched was imported from America, Sailor V was a unique blend of stereotypical girly interests and action heroine. This attracted the notice of Toei Animation, who… Continue reading Open Thread: She’s Back!