Book Review: Ireland for Beginners by Phil Evans and Eileen Pollock This is not a full history of Ireland, but more a chronology of its subjugation by England, and its long struggle for independence. Thus it begins in 1169 with a Norman invasion invited in by a deposed Irish king. Henry II of England decides… Continue reading Book Review: Ireland for Beginners
Tag: murder
Book Review: Strange Scottish Stories
Book Review: Strange Scottish Stories by William Owen Like many another country, Scotland has a bloody history of dark deeds done and tales of the supernatural to be told during long cold winter nights. This 1981 anthology features some of those stories as retold and illustrated by William Owen. Most of the stories are from… Continue reading Book Review: Strange Scottish Stories
Book Review: Head of a Traveler
Book Review: Head of a Traveler by Nicholas Blake (pen name of Cecil Day-Lewis) Nigel Strangeways, a writer and literary scholar when he isn’t being distracted by his private investigation work, is thrilled to have a chance to meet Robert Seaton, one of Britain’s greatest living poets. Plash Meadow, Seaton’s house, is in Oxfordshire near… Continue reading Book Review: Head of a Traveler
Magazine Review: National Geographic July 1981
Magazine Review: National Geographic July 1981 edited by Wilbur E. Garrett National Geographic was originally titled The National Geographic Magazine when it was first published in 1888. It was the scholarly journal of the National Geographic Society. In 1905, it began including photographs to go with the articles, and began sometimes having color photographs in… Continue reading Magazine Review: National Geographic July 1981
Comic Book Review: Adventure Comics #499
Comic Book Review: Adventure Comics #499 edited by Carl Gafford & Nicola Cuti I managed to find another issue of the digest-sized Adventure Comics from 1983. Let’s take a look at the treasures inside! “Plastic Man” (no chapter title) written by Len Wein, art by Joe Staton and Bob Smith features the obvious character. Plastic… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Adventure Comics #499
Anime Review: Kengan Ashura
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
TV Review: Batman: Caped Crusader
TV Review: Batman: Caped Crusader To each new generation there shall come…a new animated Batman series! Caped Crusader is the 2024-on version of the story. In this version, traumatized millionaire Bruce Wayne and his dark-costumed alter ego are at the beginning of their career. He and the police don’t trust each other, largely because Gotham… Continue reading TV Review: Batman: Caped Crusader
Movie Review: Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959)
Movie Review: Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959) directed by Jean Delannoy (French title: Maigret et l’affaire Saint-Fiacre) It’s difficult to imagine, but Jules Maigret (Jean Gabin) was not always a police commissioner. As a boy, he lived in the rural village of Saint-Fiacre, where his father was the steward for the chateau of the… Continue reading Movie Review: Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case (1959)
Book Review: The Groom Lay Dead
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
Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4
Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4 by Kazuo Umezz Quick recap: Orochi appears to be an ordinary, generically pretty young woman, but is actually a seemingly ageless being with vaguely defined supernatural powers. She has a gift for spotting people who are going to have interesting things happen to them and following their… Continue reading Manga Review: Orochi the Perfect Edition Vol. 4