Anime Review: Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex, Vol. 03

Anime Review: Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex, Vol. 03 It is the year 2030, and after the effects of World Wars Three & Four, Japan is relatively unscathed, having become one of the world’s economic and technological powerhouses.  In particular, they lead the world in cybernetics, and various cyborg upgrades are commonplace.  Of course,… Continue reading Anime Review: Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex, Vol. 03

Manga Review: Servant X Service 1

Manga Review: Servant X Service 1 by Karino Takatsu In a certain city in a certain prefecture of Japan, the Health & Welfare Department has hired three new people.  Yutaka Hasebe, a highly competent slacker; Lucy (etc.) Yamagami, a strait-laced woman with an improbable name,  and Saya Miyoshi, an under-confident woman who has a tendency to… Continue reading Manga Review: Servant X Service 1

Comic Book Review: Superman Adventures Volume 1

Comic Book Review: Superman Adventures Volume 1 edited by Mike McAvennie After the success of the Batman animated series of the 1990s, the DC Animated Universe became a “universe” with the release of the Superman animated show that shared the same continuity.  While perhaps not quite as brilliant as its predecessor, the Superman animated series… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Superman Adventures Volume 1

Comic Book Review: Noble Causes Archives, Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Noble Causes Archives, Vol. 1 written by Jay Faerber Liz Donnelly is nervous about meeting her future in-laws.  After all, she’s just a normal bookstore manager, and they’re the Noble Family, celebrity superheroes, beloved across the world.  Her fiance Race Noble is nice enough, but Liz soon learns that behind the glitzy… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Noble Causes Archives, Vol. 1

Open Thread: Webcomics You Might Enjoy

Open Thread: Webcomics You Might Enjoy Over the holiday weekend, I went to ConVergence 2016 in Bloomington, a yearly science fiction convention.  One of the panels I was on was “Web Comics”, during which we discussed many webcomics that panelists and audience members have enjoyed.  As promised, here’s a list combining the handout by Kathryn… Continue reading Open Thread: Webcomics You Might Enjoy

Book Review: The Infinite Arena

Book Review: The Infinite Arena edited by Terry Carr Science fiction, in a way, is a very broad genre, that can easily contain stories of other genres within itself.  Thus space westerns, fantastic romance, star war novels and so forth.   In this case, we have a sample of sports stories set in science fiction… Continue reading Book Review: The Infinite Arena

Magazine Review: Gamma 3

Magazine Review: Gamma 3 edited by Charles E. Fritch Gamma was a short-lived science fiction magazine (five issues in 1963-64), known for high-quality cover art and snagging stories from authors connected with the film industry.  (Indeed, I picked up this issue because of the sweet Morris Scott Dollens art.)  It was digest-sized and relatively thin.  … Continue reading Magazine Review: Gamma 3

Manga Review: Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Volume 3

Manga Review: Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Volume 3 by Jiro Kuwata Quick recap:  The 1960s Batman television show was popular in Japan as well, and a tie-in manga was done by 8-Man creator Jiro Kuwata.  It was not based on the show as such, but on the Batman comic books of the time, so had a… Continue reading Manga Review: Batman: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga Volume 3

Comic Book Review: The Best of Judge Dredd

Comic Book Review: The Best of Judge Dredd edited by Tharg It is the dark future of the 22nd Century.  Nuclear war and environmental devastation have made large portions of Earth’s surface barely inhabitable, and the majority of the remaining population is crowded into sprawling urban areas called Mega-Cities.  Overpopulation, high unemployment, and a general… Continue reading Comic Book Review: The Best of Judge Dredd

Book Review: Father of Lies | Mirror Image

Book Review: Father of Lies | Mirror Image by John Brunner and Bruce Duncan, respectively. Belmont Books was a minor publisher of paperback books with a specialty in speculative fiction, which lasted from 1960 to 1971.  Apparently in an effort to mimic the success of Ace Doubles, they produced a series of “Belmont Doubles” that… Continue reading Book Review: Father of Lies | Mirror Image