Manga Review: Shonen Jump Weekly 2024

Manga Review: Shonen Jump Weekly 2024 by various creators It’s the twelfth anniversary of my blog, so time once again to look at Japan’s best-selling manga magazine, or at least the online version of it. 2024 has been another turbulent year for Jump, with both My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen ending. (I did a… Continue reading Manga Review: Shonen Jump Weekly 2024

Movie Review: Boys of the City

Knuckles tries to reason with Danny and Muggs.

Movie Review: Boys of the City (1940) directed by Joseph H. Lewis Summer, 1940. New York City is in the middle of a scorching heatwave. “Knuckles” Dolan (Dave O’Brien) is worried about his kid brother Danny Dolan (Bobby Jordan) and his gang of underprivileged youths. It’s been too hot for them to exercise and blow off… Continue reading Movie Review: Boys of the City

Movie Review: Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

Naruto knows from dreams.

Movie Review: Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (2004) directed by Tensai Okamura Yukie Fujikaze is a popular young actress most famous for starring in the title role of the “Princess Gale” movie series, as a ninja princess with “rainbow chakra.” Sadly, while she is indeed a skilled actress in addition to… Continue reading Movie Review: Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

Anime Review: Kengan Ashura

Ohma during an early fight.

Anime Review: Kengan Ashura Kazuo Yamashita is 56 years old, and it’s been a pretty miserable life. He works as a salaryman in the sales department at Nogi Publications with a manager who’s constantly bullying and belittling him. Kazuo’s wife left him years ago, and he’s estranged from his sons, shut-in Kenzo and delinquent Yasuo.… Continue reading Anime Review: Kengan Ashura

Book Review: The Groom Lay Dead

Cover by Robert Stanley. This scene actually happens in the book!

Book Review: The Groom Lay Dead by George Harmon Coxe September 9, 1943: In Europe, the Armistice of Cassibile has been announced, the Italian government having withdrawn from the Axis alliance. (Not that it helped them much because Germany promptly took over much of Italy to fight on.) But in the Finger Lakes region of… Continue reading Book Review: The Groom Lay Dead

Book Review: Tom Swift and His Ocean Airport

Book Review: Tom Swift and His Ocean Airport by Victor Appleton The Tom Swift series of books are about a young inventor who gets into various adventures involving the technology he works with. They started out relatively realistic, with him as a teenager who tinkers with motorcycles and motorboats that he comes into possession of,… Continue reading Book Review: Tom Swift and His Ocean Airport

Magazine Review: Hooded Detective January 1942

Magazine Review: Hooded Detective January 1942 The Black Hood was one of the superheroes created for the MLJ (later Archie) Comics line, first appearing in Top-Notch Comics #9 in 1940. Matthew Kipling “Kip” Burland was originally a rookie cop who was framed for grand larceny and injured to near death by a criminal known as… Continue reading Magazine Review: Hooded Detective January 1942

Movie Review: The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest

Superman and Batman face off.

Movie Review: The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest (1997) directed by Toshihiko Masuda In Gotham City, the Joker (Mark Hamill) and Harley Quinn (Arlene Sorkin) steal a jade dragon. Based on fragments left behind, Batman suspects he knows where the Clown Prince of Crime is headed. As it so happens, Bruce Wayne has business in Metropolis;… Continue reading Movie Review: The Batman Superman Movie: World’s Finest

Anime Review: Tokyo Majin Part Two: Martial Fist Chapter

Anime Review: Tokyo Majin Part Two: Martial Fist Chapter Magami Academy in Tokyo looks like an ordinary high school at first. But it’s actually a nexus of mystical forces that draws unusual people from all over. Most of these people are under the Stars of Destiny, a group of 108 people destined to play an… Continue reading Anime Review: Tokyo Majin Part Two: Martial Fist Chapter

Movie Review: The Return of the Five Deadly Venoms

Avengers Assemble!

Movie Review: The Return of the Five Deadly Venoms (1978) directed by Cheh Chang, aka Crippled Avengers Tao (Kuan Tai-Chen) once used his Tiger-style kung fu for good, clearing out bandits and such, and became prosperous as a result. Unfortunately a gang (coincidentally also called “Tigers”) decided to strike back at Tao, and when they found he… Continue reading Movie Review: The Return of the Five Deadly Venoms