Comic Book Review: Snake Tales edited by Mike Howlett Ophiophobia (fear of snakes) is a common phenomenon (Hi Mom!) and has plagued humanity from ancient times, even appearing in the Book of Genesis. Even humans not afflicted with undue fear of the legless reptiles tend to distrust them, and snakes are often cast as villains… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Snake Tales
Tag: poison
Comic Book Review: The Complete Voodoo Volume 1
Comic Book Review: The Complete Voodoo Volume 1 Edited by Craig Yoe EC was not the only publisher putting out lurid horror comics during the brief period between the post-World War Two decline of superhero books and the installation of the Comics Code. Others quickly followed in their footsteps. Robert Farrell was one of those… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Complete Voodoo Volume 1
Book Review: Black Bird of the Gallows
Book Review: Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel Cadence, Pennsylvania used to be a mining town. The economy never fully recovered from the mines closing down, but the town survived. But there are some disturbing signs. There’s an unseasonably high number of crows for February, and an even more unseasonable number of unusually… Continue reading Book Review: Black Bird of the Gallows
Book Review: In Winter’s Kitchen
Book Review: In Winter’s Kitchen by Beth Dooley When Beth Dooley first moved to Minneapolis from New Jersey in 1979, she was dismayed by the poor selection of fresh food in the commercial supermarket. She’d heard that Minnesota was a farm state, yet the wilted vegetables and sallow fruit seemed to come from somewhere else… Continue reading Book Review: In Winter’s Kitchen
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
Manga Review: Case Closed (Detective Conan) Vol. 63/64
Manga Review: Case Closed (Detective Conan) Vol. 63/64 by Gosho Aoyama Quick recap: When teen genius detective Shinichi Kudou (Jimmy Kudo in the American version) is shrunk to a childlike form in a botched assassination attempt, he takes the name Conan Edogawa and is taken in by bumbling private eye Kogoro Mouri (Richard Moore) and… Continue reading Manga Review: Case Closed (Detective Conan) Vol. 63/64
Book Review: Enchantment Lake
Book Review: Enchantment Lake by Margi Preus Francine Frye isn’t a detective. She played a detective on TV. On a children’s show. For a few episodes. But that still makes her the closest thing to a detective Francie’s eccentric aunts Astrid and Jeannette know. So when a series of perfectly explainable but statistically improbable deaths… Continue reading Book Review: Enchantment Lake
Magazine Review: Detective Fiction Weekly April 8 1939
Magazine Review: Detective Fiction Weekly April 8 1939 (Formerly Flynn’s) by various Detective Fiction Weekly started publication in 1924 as “Flynn’s”, after its first editor, William J. Flynn, who had previously been director of the Bureau of Investigation before it became the FBI. It ran regularly under various titles until 1942, when it became a… Continue reading Magazine Review: Detective Fiction Weekly April 8 1939
Manga Review: Showa: A History of Japan 1953-1989
Manga Review: Showa: A History of Japan 1953-1989 by Shigeru Mizuki This is the final volume of Shigeru Mizuki’s history of Japan and his personal life during the Showa Era. It mixes events that affected the entire country with stories of his struggles as a man and an artist. As noted in the introduction by… Continue reading Manga Review: Showa: A History of Japan 1953-1989
Comic Book Review: Batman Archives Volume 1
Comic Book Review: Batman Archives Volume 1 written by Bill Finger & Gardner Fox, art by Bob Kane & Sheldon Moldoff Batman was the second full-fledged superhero published by National Periodicals, soon to be better known as DC. The kernel of the idea was proposed by artist Bob Kane, and fleshed out by writer Bill… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Batman Archives Volume 1