Magazine Review: High Adventure #194: Wheeler-Nicholson Special

Magazine Review: High Adventure #194: Wheeler-Nicholson Special edited by John P. Gunnison This volume of the pulp reprints series has five stories by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, who in addition to writing many fine pulp stories is important to the history of comic books. In 1935, he founded National Allied Publications, which published the first comic… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #194: Wheeler-Nicholson Special

Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4

Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4 by Kazuo Umezz Quick recap: Orochi appears to be an ordinary, generically pretty young woman, but is actually a seemingly ageless being with vaguely defined supernatural powers. She has a gift for spotting people who are going to have interesting things happen to them and following their… Continue reading Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4

Movie Review: Chained for Life (1952)

Vivian/Violet and Dorothy/Daisy sing a duet.

Movie Review: Chained for Life (1952) directed by Harry L. Fraser Vivian and Dorothy Hamilton (Violet and Daisy Hilton) are conjoined twins (called “Siamese twins” in the movie as that was the slang of the time) who work as a singing duet in vaudeville. Variety show attendance is down overall so the Bijou’s owner Mr. MacKenzie… Continue reading Movie Review: Chained for Life (1952)

Manga Review: Tezucomi Vol. 1 & 2

Manga Review: Tezucomi Vol. 1 & 2 by Various Creators 2023 would have been Osamu Tezuka’s 95th birthday year, and in commemoration of the great manga and anime creator, this series was commissioned to show other artists’ take on his famous (and not so famous) works. For reasons, most of these were French and Spanish… Continue reading Manga Review: Tezucomi Vol. 1 & 2

Movie Review: Zatoichi’s Vengeance

The biwa priest lampshades that Zatoichi's sensory abilities are comic book level.

Movie Review: Zatoichi’s Vengeance (1966) directed by Tokuzo Tanaka Let’s look at one of the Zatoichi films! This Japanese series ran for 26 films from 1962 to 1989, all starring Shintaro Katsu as the titular blind masseur. Plus a five year TV series, and a couple of modern remakes. From the relatively scanty hints of backstory… Continue reading Movie Review: Zatoichi’s Vengeance

Movie Review: The Return of Dracula (1958)

Dracula's coffin is not well-ventilated.

Movie Review: The Return of Dracula (1958) directed by Paul Landres It is a known fact that Count Dracula (Francis Lederer) is a real person, a vampire who drains the blood of the living and creates others of his kind. He’s been terrorizing central Europe for decades, evading attempts to permanently destroy him. At the beginning… Continue reading Movie Review: The Return of Dracula (1958)

Magazine Review: High Adventure #191: Action Special

This cover is unrelated to any of the stories within.

Magazine Review: High Adventure #191: Action Special edited by John P. Gunnison This issue of the pulp fiction reprint magazine has five stories from different action subgenres from five different magazines. Let’s see what’s in the grab bag! “The Jonah” by Bill Adams, first published in The Blue Book Magazine November 1935, is a sea… Continue reading Magazine Review: High Adventure #191: Action Special

Movie Review: The Great Escape

Danny and Sedgwick attempt to blend with the Russian prisoners.

Movie Review: The Great Escape (1963) directed by John Sturges During World War Two, the Germans captured quite a few enemy soldiers, primarily aviators who’d been shot down or crashed. The Allied prisoners considered it their first duty to escape from captivity, and several of them caused enough headaches that the Luftwaffe built a new prison… Continue reading Movie Review: The Great Escape

Book Review: The Empire of the Ants

Book Review: The Empire of the Ants by H.G. Wells In addition to his famous longer works like The War of the Worlds, Herbert George Wells also wrote a number of speculative fiction short stories. What I’m reviewing today is a collection published by Scholastic Book Services (and mostly sold at school book fairs) which… Continue reading Book Review: The Empire of the Ants

Manga Review: Be Very Afraid of Kanako Inuki!

Manga Review: Be Very Afraid of Kanako Inuki! by Kanako Inuki Kanako Inuki is a popular creator in the field of shoujo horror manga, who’s been working since 1987. Despite being well-liked, she’s never had a real breakout hit, so is little known outside Japan. This volume is a collection of six representative tales of… Continue reading Manga Review: Be Very Afraid of Kanako Inuki!