Manga Review: Princess Jellyfish Volume 1

Manga Review: Princess Jellyfish Volume 1 by Akiko Higashimura Amamizukan is not your average apartment building.  For one thing, it’s a small, old-fashioned building of the type rarely seen these days.  More importantly, all the residents are fujoshi (“rotten women”) who for one reason or another have fallen outside the society-approved get job/get husband/have kids way… Continue reading Manga Review: Princess Jellyfish Volume 1

Book Review: A Weird and Wild Beauty: The Story of Yellowstone, the World’s First National Park

Book Review: A Weird and Wild Beauty: The Story of Yellowstone, the World’s First National Park by Erin Peabody Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review. In early 1871, the readers of Scribner’s Magazine, one of the best-selling periodicals in the United States, were… Continue reading Book Review: A Weird and Wild Beauty: The Story of Yellowstone, the World’s First National Park

Book Review: Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan

Book Review: Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan edited by Chad Nevett Disclaimer:  I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review. Transmetropolitan was a science fiction comic book series co-created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Darick Robertson that ran under the… Continue reading Book Review: Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan

Open Thread: Minicon 51 Report

Open Thread: Minicon 51 Report For those of you new to this blog, Minicon is the Easter weekend science fiction convention put on by MN-StF every year.  I’ve been going to it for somewhere around three decades now, and this year was no exception.  Once again it was at the RadiShTree (Bloomington Doubletree) hotel, and… Continue reading Open Thread: Minicon 51 Report

Book Review: The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories

Book Review: The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories edited by Otto Penzler I have a fondness for Sherlock Holmes, as I am sure the majority of my readers do.  Unsurprisingly, there has been a ton of Holmes fanfiction over the years.  Pastiches that try to capture the feel of Arthur Conan Doyle’s prose, parodies… Continue reading Book Review: The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories

Open Thread: RIP Shigeru Mizuki

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

Comic Book Review: The Batman Adventures Volume 2

Comic Book Review: The Batman Adventures Volume 2 written by Kelley Puckett, pencils by Mike Parobeck, inks by Rick Burchett Batman: The Animated Series ran on Fox 1992-1995, and is considered one of the best animated TV series of all time, as well as one of the best adaptations of Batman outside comic books.  It… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Batman Adventures Volume 2

Book Review: The Hugo Winners Volume 5 1980-1982

Book Review: The Hugo Winners Volume 5 1980-1982 edited by Isaac Asimov The Hugo Awards are given out every year by the membership of the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon.)  This series of books from 1986 collected the winners in the three short fiction categories: Novella  (17,500-40,000 words), Novelette (7,500-17,500 words) and Short Story (less… Continue reading Book Review: The Hugo Winners Volume 5 1980-1982

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud

Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud Edited by Lewis H. Lapham Mr. Lapham’s literary magazine is based on the principle that history has much to teach the present on many subjects, so presents excerpts from many famous (and not so famous) authors on a loose topic for the education and entertainment of… Continue reading Magazine Review: Lapham’s Quarterly: Spring 2015 Swindle & Fraud

Manga Review: Showa 1944 1953 a History of Japan

Manga Review: Showa 1944 1953 a History of Japan by Shigeru Mizuki Shigeru Mizuki was one of the oldest (born 1922, died 2015) still-working and most respected manga creators in Japan.  Though he is best known for children’s horror comics such as GeGeGe no Kitaro, Mizuki also has written extensively for adults.  This is the third… Continue reading Manga Review: Showa 1944 1953 a History of Japan