Comic Strip Review: Johnny Comet by Frank Frazetta & Earl Baldwin Before Frank Frazetta hit it big with movie posters and book cover paintings of brawny barbarians and scantily-clad women, he worked in comic books and tried to break into the lucrative newspaper comics business. After a couple of abortive efforts, Mr. Frazetta was… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Johnny Comet
Tag: California
Book Review: White Fang
Book Review: White Fang by Jack London Like many a lad, I read this classic adventure story when I was quite young (despite it most assuredly not being a children’s book.) I have long planned to reread it when I had the opportunity, and was fortunate enough to get it for Christmas. For those who… Continue reading Book Review: White Fang
Book Review: Glitter & Mayhem
Book Review: Glitter & Mayhem edited by John Klima, Lynne M Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas Disclaimer: I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This volume is an anthology of speculative fiction short stories, themed around dance clubs, loud parties, roller skates, sparkly light and glitter.… Continue reading Book Review: Glitter & Mayhem
Comic Book Review: ‘Tain’t the Meat…It’s the Humanity!
Comic Book Review: ‘Tain’t the Meat…It’s the Humanity! art by Jack Davis EC Comics was for a short time a brilliant publisher of crime, SF and especially horror comics in the early 1950s. One of the things that made them so great was having some of the best artists working in the field at the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: ‘Tain’t the Meat…It’s the Humanity!
Book Review: USA Noir
Book Review: USA Noir edited by Johnny Temple Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This was an Advanced Reading Copy, and small changes may be made in the final product. “Noir”, here, is short for noir fiction, a form of hard-boiled crime fiction by… Continue reading Book Review: USA Noir
Book Review: Zorro
Book Review: Zorro by Isabel Allende Johnston McCulley wrote the first Zorro story, “The Curse of Capistrano” way back in 1919. Set in Spanish California, it told the tale of Don Diego (de la) Vega, a foppish young nobleman who in secret was Zorro, the fox, masked protector of justice. It was a modest success,… Continue reading Book Review: Zorro
Book Review: City of Nets
Book Review: City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s by Otto Friedrich The book’s title comes from a Bertolt Brecht opera, “The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.” Brecht had not yet come to Hollywood at the time, but “like a net set for edible birds” is a plausible description of… Continue reading Book Review: City of Nets
Manga Review: HeroMan Volume 1
Manga Review: HeroMan Volume 1 by Tamon Ohta and BONES, from a concept by Stan Lee. Joey Jones is a young orphan living with his grandmother in Center City, California. He’s a sweet kid in a bad situation, who has to hold down a part-time job to help with the bills and can’t afford nice… Continue reading Manga Review: HeroMan Volume 1