Comic Book Review: Sherlock Holmes Mysteries Volume One

Comic Book Review: Sherlock Holmes Mysteries Volume One written by Martin Powell, art by Seppo Makinen Sherlock Holmes and his good friend Doctor Watson are on the trail of Professor Moriarty, but they’ve just missed him.  The Napoleon of Crime has realized that the world’s first consulting detective is more difficult to deal with than… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Sherlock Holmes Mysteries Volume One

Book Review: The Invisible Man

Book Review: The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells The sleepy village of Iping doesn’t get many visitors in the middle of winter, so when Mrs. Hall gets a new customer (and one that pays on time!) for her boarding house, it’s not polite to look a gift horse in the mouth.  It’s true the guest… Continue reading Book Review: The Invisible Man

Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1: Phantom Blood Volume 02

Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1: Phantom Blood Volume 02 by Hirohiko Araki Quick recap: In 19th Century England, orphan Dio Brando comes to live with the wealthy and noble Joestar family.  In retrospective, they probably should have asked more questions about how he became an orphan.  Dio planned to supplant the heir, Jonathan… Continue reading Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1: Phantom Blood Volume 02

Comic Strip Review: The Phantom: The Complete Newspaper Dailies: Volume Two 1937-1939

Comic Strip Review: The Phantom: The Complete Newspaper Dailies: Volume Two 1937-1939 written by Lee Falk, art by Ray Moore Almost five hundred years ago, a sailor named Christopher Walker was accompanying his father on that man’s last voyage when they were attacked by the Singh Brotherhood, a bloodthirsty band of pirates.  The pirates killed… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: The Phantom: The Complete Newspaper Dailies: Volume Two 1937-1939

Book Review: Sex with Kings

Book Review: Sex with Kings by Eleanor Herman One of the advantages of being a king is that the rules don’t apply to you the same way as they do to commoners.  For centuries in Europe, this also extended to tolerance of extramarital affairs, to the point that many kings had maitresse-en-titre, the “official mistress.”  This… Continue reading Book Review: Sex with Kings

Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014

Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014 edited by Paula Guran Even the fastest, most dedicated readers can’t read everything that’s published each year.  Not even in relatively limited genres like fantasy or horror.  That’s where “Year’s Best” collections come in handy.  Someone or several someones has gone through the enormous pile… Continue reading Book Review: The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2014

Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Phantom Blood 01

Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Phantom Blood 01 by Hirohiko Araki Centuries ago in Mexico, an offshoot of the Aztecs discovered a method of attaining eternal life through the consumption of human blood.  They ruled supreme for a while, then abruptly vanished from the pages of history.  One of their mysterious stone masks… Continue reading Manga Review: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Phantom Blood 01

Book Review: Oliver Twist

Book Review: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens An anonymous woman stumbles into a village about seventy-five miles from London, heavily pregnant and with her shoes in tatters.  She collapses in the street, and is taken to the parochial workhouse.  There, she gives birth to a boy and then perishes, seemingly leaving no clue to who… Continue reading Book Review: Oliver Twist

Magazine Review: Saucy Romantic Adventures August 1936

Magazine Review: Saucy Romantic Adventures August 1936 by various This was one of the “spicy” pulp magazines, sold “under the counter” to readers wanting something more titillating than the standard action fare.  By modern standards, this is pretty tame stuff, mostly consisting of descriptions of women’s naked bodies (minus genitalia) and strong hints that the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Saucy Romantic Adventures August 1936