Comic Book Review: Golden Age Marvel Comics 2

Comic Book Review: Golden Age Marvel Comics 2 by Various This volume reprints the contents of Marvel Mystery Comics #5-8 from 1940. The introduction by Roy Thomas points up the contrast with the publisher’s other anthology title of the time, Daring Mystery Comics. This one had star characters like the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Golden Age Marvel Comics 2

Movie Review: Hang ‘Em High

Marshal Cooper contemplates the morality of state executions.

Movie Review: Hang ‘Em High (1968) directed by Ted Post Jed Cooper (Clint Eastwood) used to be a lawman in Saint Louis, Missouri, but got tired of that job. So in 1889 he moved to the Oklahoma and Indian Territory. He used money he’d saved up to purchase cattle from a Mr. Johansen. Unfortunately, that man… Continue reading Movie Review: Hang ‘Em High

Book Review: Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women Volume 2 (1953-1957)

Cover by Frank Kelly Freas--not illustrating any of the stories in this volume.

Book Review: Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women Volume 2 (1953-1957) edited by Gideon Marcus As the introduction by Janice L. Newman points out, women have written science fiction all along. The percentage of them getting published at any given time in the magazines and books waxed and waned, but they were always there. In the… Continue reading Book Review: Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women Volume 2 (1953-1957)

Book Review: The Pocket Book of Adventure Stories

Book Review: The Pocket Book of Adventure Stories edited by Philip Van Doren Stern In his introduction, the editor talks about the thrill of adventure stories, how often they are churned out as cheap entertainment, and that he has selected twelve really good ones for the reader. This 1945 book was designed to be easily… Continue reading Book Review: The Pocket Book of Adventure Stories

Movie Review: The Ape (1940)

Dr. Adrien spots Nabu at the window.

Movie Review: The Ape (1940) directed by William Nigh Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Bernard Adrien (Boris Karloff) was expelled from the Robinson Institute for unauthorized experiments with spinal fluid. He moved to an obscure small town and started a practice as a humble country doctor. marrying and starting a family. Ten years ago, there was a… Continue reading Movie Review: The Ape (1940)

Book Review: Rio Bravo

Book Review: Rio Bravo by Leigh Brackett Rio Bravo is a small town near the river of the same name in southern Texas by the Mexican border. Ordinarily Sheriff John T. Chance is able to handle the local rowdies with the help of deputy Stumpy, who doesn’t walk well since a bullet smashed his leg.… Continue reading Book Review: Rio Bravo

Television Review: Scooby Doo!: Mystery Incorporated

The town is less than appreciative of its young mythbusters.

Television Review: Scooby Doo!: Mystery Incorporated Crystal Cove advertises itself as “the most hauntedest town on Earth” and it’s easy to see why. Its history is full of curses, ghosts, monsters and mysterious disappearances, starting with the Spanish conquistadors who founded the place. But if you dig a little deeper, you discover that many of… Continue reading Television Review: Scooby Doo!: Mystery Incorporated

Magazine Review: Analog Science Fiction Science Fact November 1965

Cover by Kelly Freas

Magazine Review: Analog Science Fiction Science Fact November 1965 edited by John W. Campbell It’s time for another random issue of the classic science fiction magazine. “Colloid and Crystalloid” by John W. Campbell starts the issue off with an editorial beginning with the notion that humanoid killer robots probably aren’t going to be a thing… Continue reading Magazine Review: Analog Science Fiction Science Fact November 1965

Book Review: Clive Barker’s Books of Blood Volume II

Book Review: Clive Barker’s Books of Blood Volume II by Clive Barker Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we’re opened, we’re red. Prescript to the Books of Blood, presumably a joke by Clive Barker himself. In the mid-1980s, Clive Barker broke onto the horror scene with a collection of short(ish) stories divided up into… Continue reading Book Review: Clive Barker’s Books of Blood Volume II

Movie Review: Key Largo

Nora and Steve discuss their pre-War lives.

Movie Review: Key Largo (1948) directed by John Huston Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) was a major in the United States Army during World War Two. During the Italian campaign, one of his men (and a friend), George Temple, perished in combat. While initially an idealist, the violence of the war left Frank disillusioned, and the America… Continue reading Movie Review: Key Largo