Comic Book Review: Kaijumax, Season One: Terror and Respect

Comic Book Review: Kaijumax, Season One: Terror and Respect by Zander Cannon Electrogor just wanted to feed his family.  His children were the only things in the world he cared about.  Unfortunately, what Electrogor’s children eat is gigawatts of electrical power and he got caught trying to tap one of the humans’ power cables.   There… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Kaijumax, Season One: Terror and Respect

Book Review: Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories

Book Review: Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories by Naomi Kritzer This is the first collection of speculative fiction stories by Naomi Kritzer, headlined by the title piece, which won a Hugo Award in 2016.   There’s seventeen stories in all. “Cat Pictures Please” is a sweet story about an artificial intelligence accidentally created from a… Continue reading Book Review: Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories

Book Review: The Fourth Galaxy Reader

Book Review: The Fourth Galaxy Reader edited by H.L. Gold Galaxy Magazine had a decent run with a lot of good stories, so it’s not surprising that even this fourth collection of fifteen science fiction reprints from the 1950s has a strong selection.  (I recognized almost all of these!)  There’s an introduction which runs down inferior… Continue reading Book Review: The Fourth Galaxy Reader

Manga Review: Hayate the Combat Butler Vol. 2

Manga Review: Hayate the Combat Butler Vol. 2 by Kenjiro Hata Nagi Sanzenin, for all her wealth, is a lonely 13-year-old girl who must constantly be on guard against those who would harm her to gain some of her money, even her own relatives.   On Christmas Eve, Nagi is saved from kidnappers by an outstandingly athletic… Continue reading Manga Review: Hayate the Combat Butler Vol. 2

Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales

Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales compiled by Stefan Dziemianowicz The definition of “thriller” is a little loose in this fun anthology, though most of the stories do have at least some suspense.  It feels more like the compiler picked a bunch of the public domain stories he liked, but didn’t have a strong… Continue reading Book Review: Great Thrillers: 101 Suspenseful Tales

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1 by various creators In 1940, a year after Batman debuted, he gained the first superhero kid sidekick in comic books.  Robin aka Dick Grayson served several functions.  Kid appeal, merchandising, lightening up the tone of the stories a bit, and giving Batman someone to have… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents Robin the Boy Wonder Vol. 1

Comic Book Review: Zita the Spacegirl

Comic Book Review: Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke Zita and her friend Joseph are engaging in horseplay in the meadow when then stumble across what appears to be a meteorite crater.  Within the crater they find a curious device with a big red button.  Zita pushes the button, and Joseph disappears.  When Zita gets… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Zita the Spacegirl

Magazine Review: Other Worlds April 1952

Cover art by Malcolm Smith

Magazine Review: Other Worlds April 1952 edited by Raymond A. Palmer Other Worlds was a science fiction digest-sized magazine that began publication in 1949.  Raymond A. Palmer was both the publisher and editor, and thus had a freer hand in choosing what to put in the magazine than most pulp editors.  Mr. Palmer (whose name… Continue reading Magazine Review: Other Worlds April 1952

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: The Brave and the Bold Batman Team-ups, Volume 1

Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: The Brave and the Bold Batman Team-ups, Volume 1  Written by Bob Haney (mostly), Art by various The Brave and the Bold started its publication run in 1955 as an adventure anthology, featuring such characters as the Viking Prince and the Silent Knight.  Around issue 25, it switched to a tryout… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Showcase Presents: The Brave and the Bold Batman Team-ups, Volume 1

Book Review: Lambda I and Other Stories

Cover by Richard Powers

Book Review: Lambda I and Other Stories edited by John Carnell New Worlds was a British science fiction magazine that started professional publication in 1946.  Despite some financial hiccups, it was a reasonably good seller, and was still going in the early 1960s when the stories chosen for this anthology were published.  The editor picked… Continue reading Book Review: Lambda I and Other Stories