Comic Book Review: Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #19: Superman

Cover by Ross Andru & Dick Giordano

Comic Book Review: Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #19: Superman edited by Julius Schwartz This is an imaginary story–aren’t they all?” –Allan Moore, “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” Back in the Silver Age of DC Comics, especially in the Superman titles, status quo was very much a thing. The Superman/Clark Kent/Lois Lane… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #19: Superman

Manga Review: Mao Volumes 14 & 15

Manga Review: Mao Volumes 14 & 15 by Rumiko Takahashi Recap: Nanoka Kiba is a modern girl who was cursed by the cat ayakashi (monstrous spirit) Byoki. Among the results is that she can travel between the 21st Century (it’s currently 2020) and the Taisho Era of Japan. In that 1920s setting, she became involved… Continue reading Manga Review: Mao Volumes 14 & 15

Manga Review: Oshi no Ko #1

Manga Review: Oshi no Ko #1 by Aka Akasaka and Mengo Yokoyari Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a nepo baby? Born to a celebrity with looks and connections from the very beginning, maybe money too? Sarina did, before she died of brain cancer. But she could only dream in… Continue reading Manga Review: Oshi no Ko #1

Webtoon Review: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Roxie and Ramona have a moment.

Webtoon Review: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Scott Pilgrim is not exactly the most successful young man on Earth. He’s between jobs, crashing at his gay friend Wallace’s apartment in Toronto, playing bass in an indie band “Sex Bob-Omb” and kinda-sorta dating high school girl Knives Chau. He’s weirdly good at fighting, but this is a… Continue reading Webtoon Review: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Comic Book Review: Best of DC #8: Year’s Best Comics Stories

Can you name all the characters on this cover?

Comic Book Review: Best of DC #8: Year’s Best Comics Stories edited by Julius Schwartz If you were going to have a digest comic called “Best of DC” it only made sense to present a collection of what the creators considered best stories for a given year, in this case, 1979. As the text feature… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Best of DC #8: Year’s Best Comics Stories

Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries

Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries edited by Otto Penzler While stories that could be considered “mysteries” in some sense have existed as long as writing, and perhaps a bit before, the short story mystery came into its own during the lifetime of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). This volume collects forty-nine notable stories from… Continue reading Book Review: The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries

Manga Review: The Crater

Manga Review: The Crater by Osamu Tezuka In the late 1960s, Osamu Tezuka’s career was facing a crisis. He was still popular, with publishers quite willing to buy more of the kid-friendly material he’d become famous for. But he wasn’t a trend-setter anymore. The new generation of manga creators was into gekiga, more serious and… Continue reading Manga Review: The Crater

Comic Strip Review: Hooky

Comic Strip Review: Hooky by Miriam Bonastre Tur Daniela “Dani” and Dorian Wytte are twelve-year-old twins who are looking forward to their first day at witch school. Except they’re late and miss the only departure of the bus. Rather than go home and admit the problem to their parents, the twins appeal to their Aunt… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Hooky

Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files

Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files edited by Max Allan Collins and Martin H. Greenberg In 1990, the venerable Dick Tracy comic strip got a movie adaptation, Dick Tracy, starring Warren Beatty and Madonna. To cash in on the publicity, the then-writer of the strip, Max Allan Collins, was asked to do both a… Continue reading Book Review: Dick Tracy: The Secret Files

Movie Review: Twin Dragons (1992)

Boomer and John finally meet face to face.

Movie Review: Twin Dragons (1992) directed by Ringo Lam Boomer (Jackie Chan) was raised by a single mom who had a bit of a drinking problem but tried hard to give him a good upbringing in the low-income areas of Hong Kong. She never talked about his father. Now he’s an auto mechanic and street brawler,… Continue reading Movie Review: Twin Dragons (1992)