Book Review: Red Randall on Active Duty

Book Review: Red Randall on Active Duty by R. Sidney Bowen Red Randall and his buddy Jimmy Joyce have completed their flight training and been assigned to a base in Darwin, Australia.  They’re looking forward to getting some revenge against the Japanese for Pearl Harbor, but there’s not much excitement at the moment.  Until suddenly… Continue reading Book Review: Red Randall on Active Duty

Book Review: Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress

Book Review: Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress by Gaylord Du Bois World War Two is raging, and the Army needs pilots desperately.   Enter Barry Blake and his buddy Chick Enders, straight out of high school and patriotic volunteers.   They’re to receive their preliminary flight training at Randolph Field in San Antonio.  … Continue reading Book Review: Barry Blake of the Flying Fortress

Comic Book Review: Essential Rampaging Hulk, Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Essential Rampaging Hulk, Vol. 1 story by Doug Moench, art by various. Doctor Bruce Banner was one of the nation’s top physicists, and an expert in gamma radiation, when he was drafted into creating a new kind of nuclear weapon called a “gamma bomb.”  Just before the device was about to go… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Essential Rampaging Hulk, Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Weird War Tales Volume 1

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Weird War Tales Volume 1 edited by Joe Kubert & Joe Orlando As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, the relaxation of the Comics Code in the early 1970s created a horror anthology boom at DC Comics.  At the same time, the once best-selling war comics were going into a slump,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: Weird War Tales Volume 1

Book Review: Chasing Jenny

Book Review: Chasing Jenny by Jeff Stage Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the grounds that I would review it. The “inverted Jenny” is a real-life stamp; a misprint where a plane is flying upside-down.  Only 100 of them got out to the public before the mistake was discovered, so they… Continue reading Book Review: Chasing Jenny

TV Review: Lock-Up

TV Review: Lock-Up Lock-Up was a 1959-1961 crime drama loosely based on the files of real-life attorney Herbert L. Maris.  Mr. Maris was played by Macdonald Carey, and John Doucette played police lieutenant Jim Weston, depicted as Maris’ best friend. Herbert Maris was actually a specialist in corporate law who sometimes championed people who’d been… Continue reading TV Review: Lock-Up

Book Review: Jet Set

Book Review: Jet Set: The People, the Planes, the Glamour, and the Sex in Aviation’s Glory Years by William Stadiem Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it.  My copy was an Advance Uncorrected Proof, and there will be considerable changes made to the final product,… Continue reading Book Review: Jet Set

Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency

Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency This 2012 anime series was based on the first two story arcs of the manga by Hirohiko Araki.  The series as a whole deals with the bizarre adventures of the extensive Joestar family, with protagonists having repeated “Jo” sounds in their names, thus “Jojo.” Phantom Blood takes… Continue reading Anime Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood/Battle Tendency

Book Review: In the Wet

Book Review: In the Wet by Nevil Shute This is rather an odd book by the author of On the Beach and A Town Like Alice.  It starts as the story of Roger Hargreaves, an aging Anglican priest in Northern Australia in the 1950s.  In the course of his parish duties,  Father Hargreaves meets a colorful local… Continue reading Book Review: In the Wet

Comic Book Review: The Thrilling Adventure Hour

Comic Book Review: The Thrilling Adventure Hour by Ben Acker & Ben Blacker The Thrilling Adventure Hour, it turns out, is a continuing theatrical performance and podcast in the style of old-time radio.  As such, it’s full of action, comedy and thrilling adventure.  This is their first illustrated tie-in graphic novel. The contents range from straight-up science… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Thrilling Adventure Hour