Comic Strip Review: Batman: The Sunday Classics 1943-1946

Comic Strip Review: Batman: The Sunday Classics 1943-1946 by various creators Batman was a big success in the comic books, so it wasn’t long at all before it was decided that he’d probably be a hit in the newspaper comic strips as well. Once that was decided, the problem of Sundays had to be considered.… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Batman: The Sunday Classics 1943-1946

Movie Review: One-Eyed Jacks (1961)

Rio talks to the locals.

Movie review: One-Eyed Jacks (1961) directed by Marlon Brando We first see Rio (Marlon Brando) and Dad Longsworth (Karl Malden) in Sonora, Mexico in 1880 when they are robbing a trading post with the aid of a third man. Foolishly, they stop in a town only a few miles away so that Dad and the third… Continue reading Movie Review: One-Eyed Jacks (1961)

Book Review: The Book of Poul Anderson

Book Review: The Book of Poul Anderson edited by Roger Elwood Poul Anderson (1926-2001) was an influential American science fiction author, first published in 1947 and winning seven Hugos and three Nebulas for his work. By the 1970s, he was well enough known, and had a large enough body of short fiction, that DAW Books… Continue reading Book Review: The Book of Poul Anderson

Movie Review: Jaws 2

Chief Brody contemplates the sea and its creatures.

Movie Review: Jaws 2 (1978) directed by Jeannot Szwarc It has been four years since the island community of Amity suffered a series of attacks by a great white shark. Most of the people have recovered, and things are looking up, with a new Holiday Inn ™ opening, and Len Peterson’s (Joseph Mascolo) real estate business… Continue reading Movie Review: Jaws 2

Movie Review: A Smoky Mountain Christmas

Found Family Picture

Movie Review: A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986) directed by Henry Winkler Lorna Davis (Dolly Parton) is a country-western singer who’s spent too long in Hollywood, and just isn’t feeling her music any more, much to the dismay of her agent (Rene Auberjonois) who has her fully booked for months to come. Wanting to reconnect with… Continue reading Movie Review: A Smoky Mountain Christmas

Book Review: Popular Book of Western Stories

Book Review: Popular Book of Western Stories edited by Leo Margulies The title of this 1948 paperback may seem a trifle misleading (“if it’s so popular, why have I never heard of it?”) but makes more sense when you learn that it came out from the publishing company Popular Library. Leo Margulies, a long-time pulp… Continue reading Book Review: Popular Book of Western Stories

Book Review: Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures Volume 2

Book Review: Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures Volume 2 by Louis L’Amour with editorial material by Beau L’Amour Disclaimer: I received an Advance Uncorrected Proof of this book through a Goodreads giveaway to facilitate the writing of this review. No other compensation was requested or offered. As an uncorrected proof, there will be changes made in… Continue reading Book Review: Louis L’Amour’s Lost Treasures Volume 2

Book Review: Tombstone & Speedy, Range Detectives

Book Review: Tombstone & Speedy, Range Detectives by W.C. Tuttle W.C. Tuttle (1883-1969) was a prolific author of short stories and novels, almost entirely Westerns. One of his specialties was comedic detective Western stories, with cowpokes solving mysteries, not always with their brains. This volume collects three such stories starring the duo of Speedy Smith… Continue reading Book Review: Tombstone & Speedy, Range Detectives

Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3

Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3 by Robert Bloch Robert Bloch (1917-1994) was a prolific author of horror, science fiction and mystery works. (You may have seen, read or at least heard of Psycho.) This volume, originally “Selected Stories” and by no means complete, features 39 stories published between 1960 and… Continue reading Book Review: The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch Volume 3

Magazine Review: Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine December 1978

Magazine Review: Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine December 1978 edited by Sam Merwin Jr. Private eye Michael “Mike” Shayne was created in 1939 by David Dresser, writing under the name “Brett Halliday”. The books were long-running and popular, and in 1956 Dresser licensed the character to a puiblishing company to be the headliner of a digest-sized… Continue reading Magazine Review: Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine December 1978