Manga Review: Kitaro’s Yokai Battles by Shigeru Mizuki Oh hey, I was missing one of the volumes of the Drawn & Quarterly Kitaro reprints! This one has an introduction that covers from 1966 to 1971. While the Hakaba no Kitaro series seemed like a good choice for animated adaptation, network executives thought it was too… Continue reading Manga Review: Kitaro’s Yokai Battles
Tag: automobiles
Book Review: The Best of Analog
Book Review: The Best of Analog edited by Ben Bova After the death of long-time editor John W. Campbell in 1971, Analog Science Fiction and Fact needed a new person at the helm. The winner of the selection process was Ben Bova (1932-2020), who intended to stay only a few years, those years winding up… Continue reading Book Review: The Best of Analog
Movie Review: Mad Max: Fury Road
Movie Review: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) directed by George Miller It’s been some years since we last saw Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy). He’s almost unrecognizable as the same person. By now, there are adults who were born after the fall of the previous civilization and have no memory of what once was. Max’s mental state… Continue reading Movie Review: Mad Max: Fury Road
Movie Review: The Green Hornet Strikes Again
Movie Review: The Green Hornet Strikes Again! (1940) directed by Ford Beebe A little background first. The Green Hornet was created for radio in 1936 by Fran Striker, who had also created the Lone Ranger. In the backstory, Dan Reid, nephew of the Lone Ranger, eventually grew up to become a newspaper publisher in an unnamed… Continue reading Movie Review: The Green Hornet Strikes Again
Movie Review: Drive Angry
Movie Review: Drive Angry (2011) directed by Patrick Lussier John Milton (Nicolas Cage) was a bad person who committed many crimes. It’s no surprise he ended locked up for many years. During those years, his daughter grew up, joined a cult, left the cult, got married, had a child, and then was murdered by the cult… Continue reading Movie Review: Drive Angry
Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16
Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16 edited by Stephen Jones Let’s go back to 2004 for what at least one editor considered excellent short horror fiction. As with the later volume I have reviewed, there’s a lot of ancillary material. It opens with an extended look at horror and horror-adjacent… Continue reading Book Review: The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume 16
Book Review: Arsene Lupin
Book Review: Arsene Lupin by Maurice LeBlanc & Edgar Jepson This should be a happy time for millionaire Gournay-Martin. Not only is he one of the richest men in France, but his daughter Germaine is finally getting married to the dashing Duke of Charmerace. But there is a cloud in his life. Three years ago,… Continue reading Book Review: Arsene Lupin
Manga Review: Case Closed, Volumes 74, 75 & 76
Manga Review: Case Closed, Volumes 74, 75 & 76 by Gosho Aoyama Time for three more volumes of our favorite manga about a teen genius detective stuck in the body of a little boy! Volume 74 begins with the conclusion of the hostage situation in Kogoro Mouri (Richard Moore in the American version)’s office. After… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed, Volumes 74, 75 & 76
Book Review: If This Goes On
Book Review: If This Goes On edited by Charles Nuetzel The “if this goes on” story is a staple of short science fiction. Pick a current trend like “women not wearing hats anymore” or “cat videos” and extend it out to an exaggerated conclusion. For example, the Robert Heinlein story of that name, which posits… Continue reading Book Review: If This Goes On
Movie Review: The Armour of God
Movie Review: The Armour of God (1986) directed by Jackie Chan Jackie (Jackie Chan) used to belong to a pop singing group called The Losers. But his best friend Alan (Alan Tam) and sweetheart Lorelei (Rosamund Kwan) fell in love and the group broke up. Jackie switched careers entirely and became a soldier of fortune codenamed… Continue reading Movie Review: The Armour of God