Miskatonic Theatre

When one thinks of the worlds of H.P. Lovecraft, especially one who is already familiar with his works, downtown Manhattan isn’t the first thing that springs to mind. Generally the 20th Century’s master of the weird tale causes people to think of long dead underwater cities, reeking chthonic tunnels and dark clusters of ancient forests. But, if you’re in the city, and are an intrepid investigator, you’ll have head down to Manhattan’s East Village. There you’ll mount the cracked and pitted stone stairs outside of 85 East 4th Street. Once inside you’ll sidle up to a ticket-booth, a glass partition

Last Week’s Comic Book Reviews

Comic Reviews: Week of March 28th Action Comics #899 (DC – writer: Paul Cornell; art: Jesus Merino) I’ll be damned if Paul Cornell doesn’t write the best Superman stories. We haven’t seen Superman in about nine issues, and I couldn’t be happier. Paul Cornell has made Lex Luthor beyond interesting as a lead character. We know he’s a genius, and we know he’s evil, but Cornell reminds readers that Lex is also ruthless and calculating, and just plain awesome. The story so far has centered around Lex’s attempts to control the power of the black rings introduced in “Blackest Night,”

Anime is for Feminists, I Think: Part 2

Just before PAX, we took a look at Kino no Tabi and its place among the few anime that could be deemed feminist. We concluded with the promise of violence–a promise I fully intend to keep as this week we take a look at Kanabe Mamoru’s Elfen Lied, a brilliantly violent series based on the manga by Okamoto Lynn that is either the most profound or most offensive feminist statement in anime. A bit of plot summary can be found in my Elfen entry on underappreciated anime. For our purposes here, we’ll dive right in.