Manga Review: Samurai Executioner Omnibus 2 written by Kazuo Koike, art by Goseki Kojima Yamada “Decapitator” Asaemon is the o-tameshiyaku, sword-tester for the shogun and official executioner of criminals. It’s not a pretty job, but at least he has one in Edo-era Japan, during a time of peace. Without wars to fight, many of the samurai… Continue reading Manga Review: Samurai Executioner Omnibus 2
Tag: tragedy
Comic Book Review: Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2
Comic Book Review: Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2 mostly written by Marv Wolfman and art by Gene Colan. When the Comics Code restrictions on horror were loosened in the 1970s, DC primarily went in for horror anthology comics, while Marvel Comics based entire series around horrific heroes and villains. One of these was the… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2
Anime Review: The Rose of Versailles
Anime Review: The Rose of Versailles In the Year of Our Lord 1770, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and King Louis XV of France decided to seal an alliance between their countries with a political marriage. Thus it was that Louis-Auguste (later Louis XVI) and Marie Antoinette were married. So it was in our world… Continue reading Anime Review: The Rose of Versailles
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
Manga Review: Ooku 10 & 11
Manga Review: Ooku 10 & 11 by Fumi Yoshinaga Quick recap: In an alternate Shogunate Japan, a plague wipes out 80% of the men, requiring women to take over most of the jobs previously held by males. This includes being shogun (military leader, the day to day ruler of Japan, as opposed to the Emperor, who… Continue reading Manga Review: Ooku 10 & 11
Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Seven
Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Seven by Makoto Yukimura Quick recap and spoilers for the previous volume: It is the age of Vikings. Canute, King of Denmark and (by conquest) England, needs cash to fund his occupation army. Therefore, he has engineered an incident to force the wealthy Ketil family into outlawry and seize their… Continue reading Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Seven
Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Six
Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Six by Makoto Yukimura To recap if you haven’t read the previous reviews: It is the age of Vikings. After the murder of Thorfinn’s father, he dedicated his life to revenge on the man who did it. That didn’t end as he had hoped, and Thorfinn is now a slave on… Continue reading Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Six
Book Review: The Year’s Best S-F: 5th Annual Edition
Book Review: The Year’s Best S-F: 5th Annual Edition edited by Judith Merrill This 1960 book features a selection of speculative fiction short stories published during the 1958-60 time period. Editor Judith Merrill provides an introduction about the concept of wonder, chatty introductions to each story (she doesn’t think much of Kingsley Amis as a… Continue reading Book Review: The Year’s Best S-F: 5th Annual Edition
Book Review: Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
Book Review: Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson One hundred years ago this month, May 7, 1915, the Cunard Lines ocean liner Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine, the U-20, killing over a thousand crew and passengers (and three German stowaways whose true identities were never determined.) 123 of… Continue reading Book Review: Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
Book Review: The Jungle
Book Review: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair Jurgis Rudkos is a Lithuanian immigrant who has come to America with his fiancee Ona and their families to seek the good jobs advertised in his poverty-stricken homeland. It’s tricky for people who don’t know English or the local customs to get around, but finally they make it… Continue reading Book Review: The Jungle