Comic Strip Review: Don’t Make Me Laugh, Beetle Bailey

Comic Strip Review: Don’t Make Me Laugh, Beetle Bailey by Mort Walker From 1940 with World War Two looming to 1972 with the Vietnam War being lost, the United States of America had an active Selective Service (“the draft”) process. The amount of young men ebbed and flowed with requirements, but many folks were drafted,… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Don’t Make Me Laugh, Beetle Bailey

Book Review: Twelve

Book Review: Twelve by Joan Marie Verba Once upon a time, there was a soldier named Alden. He had traveled far and wide, and fought in many battles, though he avoided fighting when possible. War has a way of eating at a man, stealing his composure and making him less than he was. So when… Continue reading Book Review: Twelve

Manga Review: Mars Red Vol. 1

Manga Review: Mars Red Vol. 1 Story by Bun-O Fujisawa, art by Karakara Kemuri It is 1924, and the Great Kanto Earthquake has hit Tokyo. In the ruins of a lavish performance hall, the star actor awaits death. A girl comes to rescue him, amusing to him as he is a vampire and she a… Continue reading Manga Review: Mars Red Vol. 1

Manga Review: Attack on Titan Volume 3

Manga Review: Attack on Titan Volume 3 by Hajime Isayama Note: This review contains SPOILERS for the first two volumes. Three children were in the village of Shigashina on that fateful day. Eren Yeager, an aggressive young fellow who chafed under the restrictions imposed by the fifty-meter walls that protected his village and by extension… Continue reading Manga Review: Attack on Titan Volume 3

Book Review: Generation Wonder

Book Review: Generation Wonder edited by Barry Lyga This young adult superhero anthology has the mission of creating characters across a spectrum of diversity and not being derived from previous properties. There’s thirteen stories ranging acrpss multiple subgenres, comedic, science fiction, fantasy… Let’s see how they did! “Love to Hate” by Lamar Giles starts us… Continue reading Book Review: Generation Wonder

Magazine Review: Worlds of If August 1973

"Astronauts on Deimos" by David A. Hardy. Not illustrating any of the interior stories.

Magazine Review: Worlds of If August 1973 edited by Ejier Jakobsson This issue of the magazine also known as “If” opens with the “Hue and Cry” letter column. One reader was especially impressed with the negative review Lester del Rey gave of a book on cloning, which taught the reader something to look for in… Continue reading Magazine Review: Worlds of If August 1973

Comic Book Review: Forbidden Worlds Vol. 15

Comic Book Review: Forbidden Worlds Vol. 15 edited by Richard E. Hughes Forbidden Worlds started as a horror anthology comic book series from American Comics Group in 1951. In 1955, it ran foul of new restrictions on horror in comics, but soon retooled as “stories of strange adventure” which conformed with the Comics Code and… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Forbidden Worlds Vol. 15

TV Review: Seven Swordsmen

Master Shadowglow sets some high expectations.

TV Review: Seven Swordsmen aka “Seven Swords Descend from Mount Heaven” In 17th Century China, the Qing Dynasty now rules where once the Ming Dynasty did. Many Han resent their new Manchu overlords and pockets of rebellion are everywhere. To help quell the resistance, the Qing have banned the practice of martial arts by ordinary… Continue reading TV Review: Seven Swordsmen

Comic Book Review: Indestructible Hulk Vol. 3: S.M.A.S.H. Time

Comic Book Review: Indestructible Hulk Vol. 3: S.M.A.S.H. Time written by Mark Waid, art by Various The Hulk, a.k.a. Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, has gone through multiple status quo changes over the years. Indeed, the fluid nature of just how smart the Hulk is, when changes happen, and the relationship between Banner and his (usually)… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Indestructible Hulk Vol. 3: S.M.A.S.H. Time

Magazine Review: Analog Science Fiction Science Fact December 1984

The cover by Jack Gaughan for "The Elemental" is more symbolic than an actual scene from the story.

Magazine Review: Analog Science Fiction Science Fact December 1984 edited by Stanley Schmidt Continuing to dig through my pile of stuff that I’ve been meaning to reread, I found this issue from the year I actually subscribed to Analog.. This was an indulgence as I was underemployed at the time, but a magazine in the… Continue reading Magazine Review: Analog Science Fiction Science Fact December 1984