A little bit ago I reviewed DC Comics revival of The Shadow, written and drawn by Howard Chaykin. This time I’m taking a look at the follow-up to the first sequel arc to that series.
The story picks up not long after Chaykin’s miniseries, with The Shadow and his new network of agents following up on one of the murders from Chaykin’s miniseries, along with a series of mysterious spree killings in New York. The killings are traced to a corporation that turns out to be run by Shiwan Kahn. The Sh
This time I’m finishing up the run of DC’s The Shadow Comics – at least the ones that I own a copy of, with a story arc that goes back to some of the character’s original pulp roots.
The premise of this arc, on paper, should make for a gloriously macabre crime thriller, taking a mix of the pulp genre and combining it into the exploitation genre. This arc pits The Shadow and his agents against the Finn family, a group of brothers involved in organized crime, selling drugs, arms, and smuggling di
I’m something of a fan of The Shadow, both in terms of the radio plays, and in terms of the pulp character. The feature film starring Alec Baldwin holds a special place in my heart for how it combines the two very different versions of the character into one with some success. So, when I ended up having to find a new comic shop after my old one (Ancient Wonders in Tualatin – which was also my FLGS) closed, I found myself in need of a new comic shop. When I found my new one (Comics Adventure in G
Before we return to Star Wars novels, we have one more comic series to take on, one which goes to the furthest reaches of the Star Wars universe – the Tales of the Jedi.
Writer: Tom Veitch
Art:
(For Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon): Chris Gossett & Mike Barreiro
(For the Saga of Nomi Sunrider): Janine Johnston & Mike Barreiro, and David Roach.
Lettering: Willie Schubert Colors: Pamela Rambo Covers: Dave Dorman
Publication dates: October 1st, 1993 – February 1st, 1994
Coming a few months after the first installment of Tales of the Jedi, we get an episodic, more comedic Star Wars comic, focusing on the comic relief of the original trilogy – R2-D2 and C3-P0.
Writer: Dan Thorsland Art: Bill Hughes and Andy Mushynsky Lettering: Bill Pearson Colors: Pamela Rambo Covers: Cam Kennedy (#1), Kilian Plunkett (#2-6)
Publication Dates: April 1st, 1994 to September 1st, 1994
This is available from Amazon.com either on it’s own, or as part of the Droids Omnibus (Kindle/
Get Ultimate Spider-Man: Carnage at Amazon.com
So, it’s now time to review the Ultimate Universe’s take on the member of Spider-Man’s rogue’s gallery I hate the most. I’m going to say this right now. I hate Carnage. The character is completely unoriginal. He was created to be a darker-and-edgier version of Venom, who was in turn meant to be a darker and edgier version of Spider-Man. The character has essentially no depth. He kills people for no reason. That’s it. He breaks out of where he’s hel
Get Ultimate Six from Amazon.com
I’ve been catching up on my Ultimate Spider-Man, for reasons various and sundry. The volumes that haven’t been reviewed at Bureau42, I’ve reviewed here. However, this storyline – the introduction of the Ultimate Universe’s version of the Sinister Six, has been reviewed there. Thus, I’m taking my review of this storyline to my blog here, so I can kind of review it in my own little way, with a bit of an aside about the state of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Ma
With its next episode, one of the Internet’s best retro game podcasts, Retronauts, is coming to an end. This leaves a bit of a void, as I can’t think of a lot of truly great retro game podcasts out there. Destructoid’s Retro Game Podcast, which was okay, but not great, has ended. IGN’s retro game podcast is similarly over. However, I can still think of demand for podcasts in this field, and even material that the Retronauts themselves haven’t covered yet (if only retro Wrestling video games). So
Now that we’ve gotten a verdict in the Supreme Court case of Brown (nee Schwarzenegger) vs. EMA, I’m going to give my thoughts on this very happy occasion, and a response to comments made by Senator Leland Yee.
Filed under: News, Video games Tagged: California, First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Leland Yee, News, politics, United States Supreme Court, Video games
Source
Most fantasy novels that I’ve read work, generally, in the context of an existing society of our world. Tolkien took his cues from Nordic mythology and the Eddas. C.S. Lewis took a mixture of elements from various Mediterranean cultures and his own Christian views. Japanese period fantasy (as seen in anime, manga, live-action cinema, and books like the Kouga Ninja Scrolls) take cues from stories about youkai and oni, along with legends about the history of the Japanese Imperial family and the de
We’re returning to the Star Wars novels with our first straight-up stand alone book (meaning one that isn’t part of a trilogy or other mini-series.
Writer: Kathy Tyers Publication Date: January 1994
The Truce at Bakura is available from Amazon.com in Kindle and paperback editions.
Plot Notes
A few days after the victory at Endor, an emergency communication drone from the planet Bakura arrives at Endor, with an emergency message for the Emperor – the planet is under attack by an alien race kn
I’ve previously covered the first two books in Martha Wells’ Books of the Raksura series – The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea. I’ve finished reading the third installment of the series, and I want to give my thoughts on that.
Well, in short, if the Books of the Raksura series ended here, I’d be okay with that – not because this book is bad, or because I’m not interested in more stories with these characters. It’s because this book really ends with a satisfying feeling, with a sense of closure,
The Cloud Roads created a very interesting and narratively distinct fantasy world – one that was very different than most of the other works of fantasy that I’d read, and which had a fairly clear sequel hook. So, I was ready almost right away to move on to the next work in the series.
The book starts fairly soon after the conclusion of The Cloud Roads, with the remainder of the Indigo Cloud court heading for their new home. They reach their home – the old lair of Indigo Cloud, a giant tree. How
Movies set in historical periods or otherwise based around historical events will never go away. We will always have Victorian tales of class-based angst. Same with tales of valorious (or conniving) knights in medieval Europe. For Eastern cinema, we’ll probably always have samurai films of various stripes, and the same with various Wuxia films, discussing various martial artists and their exploits in Imperial China.
To get try and some background on wuxia films and their I recently read The Chr
This time I’m taking a look at (chronologically) the first book in the Fafhrd and Grey Mouser series – Swords & Deviltry.
Please support my Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/countzeroor
Member of The Console Xplosion Network: http://www.theconsolexplosion.com/
Watch my Live-Streams on http://twitch.tv/countzeroor/
Filed under: Books, videos Tagged: book review, Fritz Lieber, swords & sorcery, Videos
Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series kicked off something of a new renaissance of Urban Fantasy. The genre had existed before – authors such as Emma Bull and Mercedes Lackey had written works in the genre, but what made Harry Dresden distinctive is how well it combined the Urban Fantasy genre with the hard-boiled detective novel. I had previously read Storm Front, and several of the later books, but hadn’t read any further books in a while. So, I figured now was as good a time as any to revisit th
A while back I reviewed the Log Horizon anime. Since then, I’ve also decided to start reading the Log Horizon novels as well. First off is the first volume in the series.
Log Horizon, at first glance, appears to be like the standard “Trapped in the MMO” game, but as covered in my review of the show – the dynamic of removing death’s sting does a lot to change the dynamics of the genre in a lot of respects.
The first book is a more conventional adventure story set immediately after The Calamity
When I reviewed the first Log Horizon book, I mentioned that were a few plot concepts that were set up in the next book in the series – a general malaise filling Akiba, along with the state of food in the world – and in turn a new discovery by Nyanta related to that. With the second installment of the series, the book dives further into that, and shifts genres somewhat.
In the previous book, we learned that while living in the world of a MMO – the titular game “Log Horizon” has it’s perks – you
I’m continuing my reviews of the books in the Legend of the Galactic Heroes series with the third book, and the most recent book to date – Endurance.
Please support my Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/countzeroor
Member of The Console Xplosion Network: http://www.theconsolexplosion.com/
Watch my Live-Streams on http://twitch.tv/countzeroor/
Filed under: Books, videos Tagged: Anime, Books, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, science fiction
I’m continuing my reviews of the books in the Legend of the Galactic Heroes series with the second title, Ambition.
Please support my Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/countzeroor
Member of The Console Xplosion Network: http://www.theconsolexplosion.com/
Watch my Live-Streams on http://twitch.tv/countzeroor/
Filed under: Books, videos Tagged: book review, Books, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, science fiction
We’re returning to the Star Wars expanded universe with the beginning of the Jedi Academy Trilogy, with Jedi Search.
Author: Kevin J. Anderson.
Publication Date: February, 2014
Jedi Search is available from Amazon.com in paperback or in Kindle formats.
Plot Notes
In the wake of the Emperor Reborn’s failed attempt to conquer Coruscant and the galaxy, the New Republic is in the midst of repairing the damage and attempting to rebuild the city. During this, Luke Skywalker comes forward to the R
I don’t know if you know this, but I like tabletop RPGs. I really like tabletop RPGs. So, when I learned of the massive amount of scholarship going around RPGs and the history thereof, I got really excited. Though not the first book on the topic that I picked up (that being Of Dice And Men, which I reviewed in the fourth issue of my fanzine) this is one of the first, and one that warrants some discussion.
Empire of the Imagination is a biography of E. Gary Gygax – co-creator of Dungeons and Dra
Probably one of the first sourcebooks put out for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was Deities and Demigods, a book with a collection of beings that would provide something for your Cleric to be, well, a cleric of. However, it doesn’t really hold up very well, particularly compared to later deity books for later editions of AD&D and D&D.
The problem with the book lies with the fact that the book is very much at odds with itself. The first chapter or so of the book talks about the nature
<p>This week it’s time for another book review, as I continue to make my way through <a href="http://www.amazon.com/James-Blish/e/B000APGES2/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=themillenn0b3-20" target="_blank">James Blish</a><img style="border:none!important;margin:0!important;" alt="" src="https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=themillenn0b3-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" />‘s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/g
Disclosure: I received this book for free from the author for purposes of review.
When I received Aetna Adrift from the author, Erik Wecks, at OryCon last year, I saw that the book was a prequel to another series of books that he’d put out – his Pax Imperium series. Before I accepted the book, I asked if he considered the book to be a decent jumping point to this series. He said it was. I was a little unsure, but I accepted the book anyway. The good news is that the book is. It starts on a roug
Affiliate Disclaimer: Retromags may earn a commission on purchases made through our affiliate links on Retromags.com and social media channels. As an Amazon & Ebay Associate, Retromags earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your continued support!
