Book Review: Secondhand Origin Stories

Book Review: Secondhand Origin Stories by Lee Blauersouth Opal’s father should have been a superhero, but he used his powers to protect a neighbor illegally and wound up in jail.  Ever since, Opal has kept her nose clean, excelling in school and decorum, in the hope of being licensed and redeeming the family name.  Now… Continue reading Book Review: Secondhand Origin Stories

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

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

Comic Book Review: Suicide Squad Most Wanted: El Diablo

Comic Book Review: Suicide Squad Most Wanted: El Diablo story by Jai Nitz, art by Cliff Richards Chato Santana used to be a drug dealer and gang leader in East Los Angeles.  At some point he became linked to a vengeful demon and gained pyrokinetic abilities.  El Diablo used those powers to rule his neighborhood,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Suicide Squad Most Wanted: El Diablo

Comic Book Review: Oni Press Starter Pack 2016

Comic Book Review: Oni Press Starter Pack 2016 by various While I spend many of my comics-related posts on this  blog talking about the Big Two’s superhero comic books, there are a number of worthy small press comics companies that put out interesting material every year.  Oni Press has put out an affordable collection of… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Oni Press Starter Pack 2016

Book Review: Flying Colours

Book Review: Flying Colours by C.S. Forester This is the third book in the Horatio Hornblower series as they were originally written, but the eighth in internal chronology.   For those of you who somehow have not heard of these books or their media adaptations before, Hornblower is an officer in the British navy during the… Continue reading Book Review: Flying Colours

Book Review: The Jungle

Book Review: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair Jurgis Rudkos is a Lithuanian immigrant who has come to America with his fiancee Ona and their families to seek the good jobs advertised in his poverty-stricken homeland.  It’s tricky for people who don’t know English or the local customs to get around, but finally they make it… Continue reading Book Review: The Jungle

Book Review: Kitty Genovese

Book Review: Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and Its Private Consequences by Catherine Pelonero Disclaimer:  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. I am not quite old enough to have any firsthand memories of the coverage of the March 13, 1964 murder… Continue reading Book Review: Kitty Genovese