Frankie Drake Mysteries Reviews: Season 3, Episode 4

Frank Drake title season 3A Brother in Arms – Director: Mina Shum/Writer: Karen Hill, Ley Lukins

This one starts with Frankie and Trudy hanging out at Wendy Quon’s new speakeasy. They notice a newspaper headline about a local Chinese factory worker (Li Chang) who’s been sentenced to hang for murdering his boss and Wendy speculates that it’s racism more than facts that got him convicted. Flo comes in and complains about her new morgue assistant, Bart, who’s blessed with neither brains nor looks. When Frankie and Trudy return to the office, they notice a light and go inside to find a guy making himself at home. He claims to be Jack Drake, Frankie’s brother. Continue reading “Frankie Drake Mysteries Reviews: Season 3, Episode 4”

Frankie Drake Mysteries Reviews: Season 3, Episode 2

Frank Drake title season 3Counterpunch – Director: Mina Shum/Writers: John Callaghan, Keri Ferencz

This one starts with a woman (Sarah) looking for her husband (Joe), an amateur fighter who came home acting all weird the night before, sweating and hallucinating before taking off. Sarah wants Frankie and Trudy to check the back alley gym where Joe works out, in case he’s dead or something. On the way, they pass a huckster selling Walcott’s Wonder Elixir and a pharmacist trying to peddle more traditional medicine. When they get to the gym, Sarah is too scared to go in, so Frankie and Trudy head inside to look for Joe. He’s not there, but they do find some bottles of Walcott’s Wonder Elixir. On the way out, they’re stopped by a guy with a rifle. Continue reading “Frankie Drake Mysteries Reviews: Season 3, Episode 2”

Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 7, Conan the Barbarian 8

Conan 007 coverConan the Barbarian #7 – “The Lurker Within” – Roy Thomas/Barry Windsor Smith/Dan Adkins, Sal Buscema

This one starts with Conan on the Road of Kings outside Numalia, second-largest city in Nemedia. He saves a high-born lady (Aztrias) from wolves and agrees to drive her chariot to the city (since he probably would’ve been refused entry otherwise). Inside the teeming city, Conan runs the chariot into another, driven by Kallian, owner of the Hall of Relics. A guard captain (Dionus) intervenes and Conan is ready to fight until Aztrias smooths things over. (She’s the governor’s niece, so the other two defer to her.) Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 7, Conan the Barbarian 8”

Comics Reviews: New Titans 71, Legion 13, Suicide Squad 47

New Titans 71 coverNew Titans #71 – “Beginnings … Endings … and (We Promise) New Beginnings” – Marv Wolfman/Tom Grummett/Al Vey

This one starts with the Titans returning from a mission against someone named Flashfire. They discuss Troia’s recent nightmares and say farewell as she and Terry head off to Greece (which means this intro takes place before Wonder Woman 47). The Titans part ways, but plan to get together for a party at a restaurant later. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: New Titans 71, Legion 13, Suicide Squad 47”

New Trekker Book

Gulliver reads Blood in the WindI got the latest chapter of Ron Randall’s Trekker series (Blood in the Wind) and it’s great as usual. As you can see, Gulliver was quite taken with it. He loves action and there’s plenty of it in this installment (along with some romance and intrigue, just to balance things out).

And this Kickstarter gave backers plenty of rewards, like these cool pins and coin,Blood in the Wind coin and pins

plus a bookmark, stickers, special prints, and a mini-poster.Blood in the Wind swag

Ron’s been so generous with the swag on the last few books, I’m gonna have to build an extra room just to put it all in. But even without the rewards, Trekker is a cool story with great characters and lots of thrills, so check it out. Maybe you’ll catch Trekker fever like I did.

New Trekker Book

Gulliver reads Reckoning on RigelI just received the latest chapter in the Trekker saga (Reckoning on Rigel) and Ron Randall has done it again. Another great story (with a few interesting twists) and top-notch art as usual. Things are getting a little more intense and it looks like Mercy may have some tough choices ahead of her, but I’m sure she’ll make the right decision in the end. Gulliver loved it too (and he claims he saw the surprises coming, but I don’t believe him).

Don’t even get me started on the rewards for backers … Ron really outdidReckoning on Rigel swag himself this time. Bookmarks, stickers, a mini-poster, a fridge magnet, a bumper sticker, some cool prints, and two enameled pins, plus a special coin-medallion. There’s more swag here than in one of those Oscar bags (and it didn’t cost $100,000).

Trekker pins and medallionHere’s a closer look at the pins (the top one is the Zephyr spaceship and the other is a funky one of Molly) and the coin. I was surprised how much the coin weighed … maybe it’s made of Adamantium? Anyway, if you haven’t already been initiated into the ranks of Trekker fandom, check it out and maybe think about contributing to the next chapter so you can get some swag of your own.

 

New Trekker stuff

Gulliver reading Hunters MoonMy copy of the latest in Ron Randall’s Trekker saga (Hunter’s Moon) arrived today; great story and art as usual … and things seem to be getting even more intense for Mercy as the story goes on. The only problem is it ends on a cliffhanger, so I’m already looking forward to the next installment. As you can see, Gulliver was enraptured right from the first page.

Ron threw in some great extras for backers on Kickstarter: posters, stickers, a bookmark, and some really cool enameled pins, one of Mercy and one of Scuf.Trekker pins

Of course, Gulliver immediately claimed the Scuf pin for himself …Gulliver with Scuf pin

Check out the series at trekkercomic.com; if you like action, romance, and a little mystery, you’ll probably love this.

New Webhost

I recently switched webhosts from WordPress.com to Bluehost, so I hope there aren’t any problems with the site. Note that the site URL now includes the “www” before eruditegorilla (although it should redirect no matter what), so you may have to update your bookmarks. Additionally, the blog is now named “The Eruditegorilla” (all one word) instead of “The Erudite Gorilla”. I left a message on the old URL with a link to this one, so everything should be fine. I’m hoping the transition will be basically seamless (and I won’t lose any subscribers), but if there are any problems let me know and I’ll try to sort them out. Thanks for reading 🙂

Gulliver Loves Trekker

I just got my copy of Trekker The complete Journey today … great stuff. The book is huge, collecting every Trekker story up through Rite of Passage; it’s cool to see those early stories in full colour! As you can see below, Gulliver liked it so much, he pulled out all the subsequent volumes for a complete read-through. Kudos to Ron Randall for all the great stories over the years.

Gulliver prepares for a Trekker marathon.