Manga Review: Apollo’s Song

Manga Review: Apollo’s Song by Osamu Tezuka Shogo Chikaishi is an unhappy young man. He has no idea who his birth father was, and his mother supported them by inviting a string of horny men to her bed. She had little love to spare for her child, who often got in the way of getting… Continue reading Manga Review: Apollo’s Song

Manga Review: Lady Snowblood Vol. 1: The Deep-Seated Grudge Pt. 1

Manga Review: Lady Snowblood Vol. 1: The Deep-Seated Grudge Pt. 1 story by Kazuo Koike, art by Kazuo Kamimura It is the Meiji Era, and Japan is rapidly modernizing. Some have even suggested abolishing the Japanese language in favor of one easier to communicate in! But some traditions are more deeply rooted than others, like… Continue reading Manga Review: Lady Snowblood Vol. 1: The Deep-Seated Grudge Pt. 1

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine September/October 2021

Cover by Brian Stauffer

Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine September/October 2021 edited by Janet Hutchings “The years keep coming and they just keep coming.” It seems like just a few months ago I reviewed a 75th anniversary issue of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, but in fact it was five years ago, and here’s the 80th anniversary issue. It’s… Continue reading Magazine Review: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine September/October 2021

Comic Book Review: An Inspector Calls: The Graphic Novel

Comic Book Review: An Inspector Calls: The Graphic Novel script by J.B. Priestley, adaptation by Jason Cobley, linework by Will Volley It is spring, 1912 in the English town of Brumley. Wealthy manufacturer Arthur Birling and his wife Sybil are having a small dinner party to celebrate the engagement of their daughter Sheila to Gerald… Continue reading Comic Book Review: An Inspector Calls: The Graphic Novel

Book Review: The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories Vol. 1

Book Review: The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories Vol. 1 Edited by James D. Jenkins & Ryan Cagle As has been mentioned in reviews on this blog before, there is a lot of literature from around the world published every year that English-only folks never get to read because it’s in other languages and… Continue reading Book Review: The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories Vol. 1

Book Review: The Fungus

Book Review: The Fungus by Harry Adam Knight Dr. Jane Wilson, brilliant mycologist, wants to feed the world with mushrooms. (Maybe she got the idea from Time and Mr. Bass?) To that end, she’s created a virus-like enzyme that causes the edible mushrooms she’s been working with to grow to enormous size at an accelerated… Continue reading Book Review: The Fungus

Book Review: The Man on the Balcony

Book Review: The Man on the Balcony by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo It is June 2, 1967 in Stockholm, Sweden. A man stands on his balcony, smoking and watching the street as the sun rises. It’s going to be a scorcher today. A peaceful enough scene, but the calm of the city is going… Continue reading Book Review: The Man on the Balcony

Movie Review: Death Wish (1974)

Kersey's heart grows cold.

Movie Review: Death Wish (1974) directed by Michael Winner Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) has a pretty good life. He’s a respected architect at a large firm, he’s married to a beautiful woman (Hope Lange), has a pretty daughter (Kathleen Tolan) and a respectful son-in-law (Steven Keats). Kersey is well-off enough to afford a winter vacation in… Continue reading Movie Review: Death Wish (1974)

Book Review: Murder in Blue

Book Review: Murder in Blue by Paul Petersen Eric Saveman, the man codenamed The Smuggler, has come a long way from his career bringing marijuana into California. Nowadays he works for ZED, a secret branch of the CIA that also works domestically. His current assignment is to infiltrate a Soviet computer facility and steal a… Continue reading Book Review: Murder in Blue

TV Review: The Untamed

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian enjoy a quiet moment between tragedies.

TV Review: The Untamed At the beginning, Wei Wuxian (Zhan Xiao) dies. The cultivation clans have banded together at Nightless City to battle the Yiling Patriarch, master of the dark arts. Wei Wuxian is confronted by his adoptive brother Jiang Cheng (Zhuocheng Wang) and best friend Lan Wangji (Yibo Wang). Wei winds up plummeting off… Continue reading TV Review: The Untamed