Anime Review: The Apothecary Diaries

Maomao hears about a terrifying rumor.

Anime Review: The Apothecary Diaries As with the manga volume previously reviewed, and the web and light novels the manga was based on, this anime is set in a country that is heavily based on ancient China. Maomao is a promising young apothecary who’s kidnapped and sold into servitude in the “rear palace”, the Emperor’s… Continue reading Anime Review: The Apothecary Diaries

Anime Review: Pluto

Gesicht confronts the darkness in his own past.

Anime Review: Pluto On an alternate Earth where robotics technology is far more advanced than our own, self-aware robots have spread into almost every facet of society. Some are virtually indistinguishable from humans, and in recent years, robots have been granted at least some civil rights. But some robots are more powerful than others, with… Continue reading Anime Review: Pluto

Book Review: Binary Star #4: Legacy | The Janus Equation

Book Review: Binary Star #4: Legacy | The Janus Equation by Joan D. Vinge | Steven G. Spruil “Binary Star” was a short-lived series of paperbacks from Dell SF in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Their gimmick was pairs of novellas with a loose theme, something like the classic Ace Doubles. #4 was the first with… Continue reading Book Review: Binary Star #4: Legacy | The Janus Equation

Anime Review: Gamera: Rebirth

Gamera's in a bit of a pinch, but turning him upside down is not a winning move.

Anime Review: Gamera: Rebirth It is summer, 1989, on an alternate Earth where the Apollo Program never ended and there’s a permanent station on the Moon. In Tokyo, Japan, three children are enjoying their last summer break together before middle school separates them. Sensitive Boco, protective Joe and cryptid fan Junichi may not share all… Continue reading Anime Review: Gamera: Rebirth

Comic Book Review: Baltimore Omnibus Volume One

Comic Book Review: Baltimore Omnibus Volume One written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden, art by Ben Stenbeck Lord Henry Baltimore was once a happily married man, wealthy enough and fairly privileged. But then World War One happened, and his country called. But this was not quite the WWI you may have read about in… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Baltimore Omnibus Volume One

Comic Book Review: DC Special No. 3: Justice Society

Comic Book Review: DC Special No. 3: Justice Society edited by Paul Levitz As discussed in previous reviews, the Justice Society of America was DC Comics’ first superhero team, designed to showcase their characters that didn’t have their own individual titles. Thus Superman and Batman weren’t members, but were “honorary”, and Green Lantern and the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: DC Special No. 3: Justice Society

Manga Review: The Crater

Manga Review: The Crater by Osamu Tezuka In the late 1960s, Osamu Tezuka’s career was facing a crisis. He was still popular, with publishers quite willing to buy more of the kid-friendly material he’d become famous for. But he wasn’t a trend-setter anymore. The new generation of manga creators was into gekiga, more serious and… Continue reading Manga Review: The Crater

Book Review: Costigan’s Needle

Book Review: Costigan’s Needle by Jerry Sohl The time: the very near future of 1953. The place, Chicago, Illinois. Engineer Devan Traylor would rather be at his Florida winter home with his wife and children for their first long break in years, but he’s just learned that Inland Electronics, the company he’s on the board… Continue reading Book Review: Costigan’s Needle

Magazine Review: Worlds of If August 1973

"Astronauts on Deimos" by David A. Hardy. Not illustrating any of the interior stories.

Magazine Review: Worlds of If August 1973 edited by Ejier Jakobsson This issue of the magazine also known as “If” opens with the “Hue and Cry” letter column. One reader was especially impressed with the negative review Lester del Rey gave of a book on cloning, which taught the reader something to look for in… Continue reading Magazine Review: Worlds of If August 1973

TV Review: The Guardians of Justice

Red Talon reports to President Nukem

TV Review: The Guardians of Justice On an alternate Earth, World War Three began in 1947 with the rise of Robo-Hitler and the remnants of the Nazis, who’d finally managed to complete an array of mad science superweapons. All seemed lost until Marvelous Man (Derek Mears) arrived. A human-looking alien with seemingly limitless power, Marvelous… Continue reading TV Review: The Guardians of Justice