Comic Book Review: DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #19: Doom Patrol

Cover by George Perez and Frank Giacoia

Comic Book Review: DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #19: Doom Patrol edited by Karen Berger The Doom Patrol is one of DC Comics’ more interesting super-teams. First published in My Greatest Adventure #80 (1963), it concerned a group of people who felt isolated from normal humanity, led by a genius in a wheelchair, who nevertheless… Continue reading Comic Book Review: DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #19: Doom Patrol

Movie Review: Better Off Dead

You might be thinking, "oh, Lane has such a vivid imagination" but a later scene indicates this actually happened.

Movie Review: Better Off Dead (1985) directed by Savage Steve Holland Al Meyer (David Ogden Stiers) is a lawyer in the small Northern California town of Greendale, a short drive away from the mountains. Life is rough for him. His wife Jenny (Kim Darby) is an improbably bad cook who refuses to stop trying and is… Continue reading Movie Review: Better Off Dead

Book Review: New Tales of Space and Time

Cover by Charles Frank

Book Review: New Tales of Space and Time edited by Raymond J. Healy This 1951 anthology opens with an introduction by Anthony Boucher. In it he notes the proliferation of science fiction anthologies at the time, most of which were reprints of magazine stories. Often the same stories, over and over–not bad because they are… Continue reading Book Review: New Tales of Space and Time

Comic Book Review: 2000 A.D. Progs 2206-2209

Comic Book Review: 2000 A.D. Progs 2206-2209 edited by Tharg Over the years, the long-running British speculative fiction comic paper 2000 AD has strayed from its original demographic of British schoolboys somewhat. As in, it’s got a lot more “not safe for school” content. As a way of allowing younger readers to enjoy a taste,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: 2000 A.D. Progs 2206-2209

Book Review: The Best of R.A. Lafferty

Book Review: The Best of R.A. Lafferty by R.A. Lafferty Raphael Aloysius Lafferty (1914-2002) was one of those “American originals” you hear about every so often. His writing takes some form from the American tall tale, some from Native American yarn spinning, and mixes it into a style all his own. This anthology collects 22… Continue reading Book Review: The Best of R.A. Lafferty

Manga Review: Death Note Tome 10

Manga Review: Death Note Tome 10 Story by Tsugumi Ohba, Art by Takeshi Obata Warning:  This review spoils earlier events in the series, including major plot twists.  I’ll let you know when that starts happening with a SPOILERS announcement. The life of a shinigami (death spirit) is pretty boring.  You sit around the shinigami realm all… Continue reading Manga Review: Death Note Tome 10

Book Review: Lambda I and Other Stories

Book Review: Lambda I and Other Stories edited by John Carnell New Worlds was a British science fiction magazine that started professional publication in 1946.  Despite some financial hiccups, it was a reasonably good seller, and was still going in the early 1960s when the stories chosen for this anthology were published.  The editor picked… Continue reading Book Review: Lambda I and Other Stories

Book Review: Siege 13

Book Review: Siege 13 by Tamas Dobozy During World War Two, Hungary was one of the Axis powers, with its own fascists led by the Arrow Cross Party.  At first this seemed like a good idea, as Hungary gained back territories it had lost after the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  But late in the… Continue reading Book Review: Siege 13