Manga Review: Fruits Basket Volume 8

Manga Review: Fruits Basket Volume 8 by Natsuki Takaya Tohru Honda’s extended family sucks. After her mother died, her aunt and uncle made it clear they wanted nothing to do with the child. But the optimistic compassion and strong work ethic Tohru inherited from her mother served her well. She got a part time job… Continue reading Manga Review: Fruits Basket Volume 8

Book Review: All My Friends Are Super Heroes

Book Review: All My Friends Are Super Heroes by Andrew Kaufman Toronto has a lot of superheroes. But now there will be one less. The Perfectionist is flying to Vancouver to start over after the disappearance of her husband Tom. What the Perfectionist doesn’t know is that Tom is on the flight with her, and… Continue reading Book Review: All My Friends Are Super Heroes

Manga Review: The Seven Deadly Sins Volume 1

Manga Review: The Seven Deadly Sins Volume 1 by Nakaba Suzuki Boar Hat is a small tavern in the middle of nowhere, known for its excellent selection of booze and the owner’s terrible cooking. It’s run by the childish-appearing Melodias and his talking pig partner Hawk. Despite its remote and variable location, Boar Hat gets… Continue reading Manga Review: The Seven Deadly Sins Volume 1

Book Review: Popular Book of Western Stories

Book Review: Popular Book of Western Stories edited by Leo Margulies The title of this 1948 paperback may seem a trifle misleading (“if it’s so popular, why have I never heard of it?”) but makes more sense when you learn that it came out from the publishing company Popular Library. Leo Margulies, a long-time pulp… Continue reading Book Review: Popular Book of Western Stories

Manga Review: Mob Psycho 100 Volume 1

Manga Review: Mob Psycho 100 Volume 1 by ONE Arataka Reigen is a psychic for hire, taking on people’s supernatural problems for a fee. And quite reasonable fees at that! In reality, of course, most people’s supernatural problems aren’t supernatural at all. Con artist Reigen uses his fast tongue and improvisational skills to deal with… Continue reading Manga Review: Mob Psycho 100 Volume 1

Book Review: Tombstone & Speedy, Range Detectives

Book Review: Tombstone & Speedy, Range Detectives by W.C. Tuttle W.C. Tuttle (1883-1969) was a prolific author of short stories and novels, almost entirely Westerns. One of his specialties was comedic detective Western stories, with cowpokes solving mysteries, not always with their brains. This volume collects three such stories starring the duo of Speedy Smith… Continue reading Book Review: Tombstone & Speedy, Range Detectives

Comic Strip Review: Al Jaffee Gets His Just Desserts

Comic Strip Review: Al Jaffee Gets His Just Desserts by Al Jaffee Al Jaffee was born in 1921 and is as of this writing still alive and working! He’s perhaps best known for his “Fold-Ins” and other features for MAD but also had enough of his independent work published to fill several volumes. In this… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Al Jaffee Gets His Just Desserts

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

Book Review: Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology

Book Review: Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology by Cory O’Brien Our modern world is built, among other things, on the mythology of the past. The stories of how the world came to be, where people came from, and the foibles of the gods are deep in our cultural DNA. But… Continue reading Book Review: Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology

Book Review: Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster

Book Review: Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster words by Tom Angleberger, art by Jared Chapman Disclaimer: I received an Uncorrected Proof through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review. No other compensation was requested or offered. As an uncorrected proof, there may be changes in the final product–in particular, some… Continue reading Book Review: Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster