Diana and the Underworld Odyssey - The Second of the Wonder Woman Adventures

I have been a fan of the Wonder Woman character ever since I sat in front of the television on Saturday mornings with a bowl of cereal watching Super Friends, and later, watching Lynda Carter spin around on the TV and change into that red, blue, and gold spandex costume with the golden lasso.  I have been faithfully reading the comics since around that same time, so it's obvious that I've been following the adventures of Wonder Woman for over four decades.  In that time, I've seen a lot of change and a lot (and I do mean a LOT) of different interpretations of the characters - some good, some bad; some memorable, some I'd like to forget.  Of all the different versions of Wonder Woman that have appeared through the years, there are few that have captured the true essence of the character and beautifully incorporated the Greek mythology into her story.  George Perez is definitely one of the first who springs to mind, as his run on the Wonder Woman comic is probably one of the absolute best ever (second only to the original stories by William Moulton Marston and H.G. Peter.  But I am going to have to add author Aisha Saeed onto that list of creators who truly know the character of Diana, as this second book in the "Wonder Woman Adventures" proves.

The first novel in this series featured Diana's first trip away from Themyscira and gave her an adventure that helped establish not only her strength and determination, but gave glimpses into her true power and her destiny.  This second novel, Diana and the Underworld Odyssey, further develops Diana's budding powers and drops more hints not only as to her future as Wonder Woman, but also her connection to the gods themselves.  The story opens mere days after the conclusion of the first book, as the Chara festival reaches its conclusions, and Diana must say goodbye for another year to her friend, Sakina.  Diana feels a sense of unease, and she stays on her guard after the events of the last book - but her mother assures her that everything will be fine.  Until, of course, it's not...

First, Sakina disappears before she can get to her ship to leave the island.  Then, Diana is attacked by a mysterious cloaked figure who seems almost intangible - a figure that is intent on kidnapping her.  Then, as if that weren't bad enough, the island comes under attack by a strange ship that should not have been able to locate the island with all of its cloaking spells and other protections - and Diana is the only one that can defeat the ship.  During all of this, however, her mother, Antiope, and the other Amazons want to lock Diana away for safety, something Diana cannot understand.  After all, hadn't she proven her capability of handling herself after she rescued a young boy and escaped the clutches of a demon from another island?

 

So, when the goddess Artemis arrives on the island and agrees to take Diana to the safety of a secret location of the gods, her mother agrees, despite Diana's wishes to stay and help defend the island.  But maybe they are right?  Maybe the island will be safe if Diana is not there, since the demon had told her "he" was after Diana - whoever "he" may be.  The next thing you know, Diana is standing before the gods, telling her story of battling the demon who kidnapped the young boy and tried to kidnap her and Sakina.  Diana learns that a malevolent force is kidnapping a number of children, all of whom have special abilities.  Then, Hades arrives.  And he completely discounts Diana's story and calls her a liar.  Before you know it, the gods are arguing, and Diana is sent outside with another young girl who is at the island.  And, yes, wouldn't you know it, they get attacked, and the girl is kidnapped and taken away before Diana can save her.  Diana knows what she must do, and thus begins her journey across the ocean and to the River Styx so that she can make her way into the underworld, the realm of Hades, where the Sakina and the other girl are currently being held.  And Diana has until midnight to rescue the girls, and that's only a few hours away!

 

Saeed writes a fantastic adventure into the underworld, putting Diana through one challenge after another - battling the sea serpent Hydra; fending off a dangerously deceptive Siren; getting past the vicious three-headed Cerberus; convincing the judges who guard the way into the underworld to allow her in; figuring out how to unlock the cage holding her friends without a key (which she lost before ever making it to the River Styx);   defeating the monsters who keep watch over the captured children; finding the strength to open Doom's Doorway that will lead her and the others back to Themyscira; and ultimately facing off against Hades, the very god of the underworld.  And while this young version of Diana certainly has her doubts and fears, Saeed manages to beautifully portray Princess Diana's true nature as she overcomes those doubts and fears to stand up and face head-on every challenge put in her way, proving without a shadow of a doubt just what a Wonder Woman this young girl really is!

Oh, and let's not forget Diana's new friend, Liara, who helps her on her journey through the underworld.  She is present at the hatching of a young dragon, who immediately has a connection with Diana (being the first thing she sees when she hatches), and so she sticks by Diana's side through thick and thin during the entire adventure.  In some ways, it kind of reminded me of the connection Kitty Pryde had with Lockheed back in the day in the X-Men and New Mutants comics.  I almost wish Liara would stick around, as I'd love to see a fully grown Liara come to the aid of the adult Diana (as Wonder Woman) - what a force of nature these two would make!

The final adventure of this trilogy is coming sometime this year, and it's a shame there are only three books to this series.  I've enjoyed the stories so much, and would love to read more adventures of this young Diana!

RATING:  10 antique Rumzis out of 10 for providing Wonder Woman fans with a look at her past adventures while staying true to her character.

Hobtown Mystery Stories - The Cursed Hermit

I can't believe it has been almost five years since I bought and read the first Hobtown Mystery Story, The Case of the Missing Men.  The only reason I bought that first graphic novel was because it's cover and spine paid homage to the yellow-spine Nancy Drew books.  But the story turned out to be really good, if not a bit off-beat - and the characters (Dana Nance?  C'mon, a clear reference to the Dana Girls and Nancy Drew!) were all a hoot!  The series follows the adventures of the Hobtown Junior Detective Club, made up of Dana Nance (its head/chair), Pauline Larmier, Brennan Hale, Denny Hale, and the new honorary member, Sam Finch (who joined in the first graphic novel).  Having helped Sam in the search for his missing father, the Club discovered their hometown was filled with secrets, and they managed to stop not only one, but two sets of killers - and now, the Club is looking for its next big mystery to solve...

The Cursed Hermit opens with the town waiting in the middle of winter for the sighting of the mysterious hermit, who shows up once a year in what the town now calls an annual "tradition."  But this year's tradition ends on a different note, when the hermit, who was thought to be mute, starts screaming - screaming at the distant boarding school known as Knotty Pines.  And with that, the events are set in motion that will divide the Club and send Brennan and Pauline on a dangerous adventure to solve a decades old mystery that has been haunting the town for longer than anyone realizes!

Bertin and Forbes tell an even stranger tale than last time, as Brennan and Pauline find themselves with six other students - three other girls and three other boys - and only three staff members: a headmaster with a smile that hides something dark behind it; a headmistress with a stern expression and even stricter demeanor; and a caretaker who follows orders but clearly does not like what is happening at the boarding school.  It's only for a week, so what could happen, right?  Well, Pauline discovers right away that everything is not quite right at this school.  The girls are divided from the boys, and the headmistress seems to only want to teach the girls how to be submissive, and Pauline is pretty sure she is feeding the girls some kind of drug in their meals.  Brennan doesn't see anything off - at first - but slowly comes around to Pauline's view of the school, and together, they must uncover the truth about what is really going on at Knotty Pines.  Especially after they see the hermit lurking on the school grounds and Pauline starts having visions - visions that she shares with Brennan.

Is it alien?  Is it supernatural?  Is it a strange mix of both?  The tagline on the back of the book that says,"Nancy Drew meets David Lynch in this follow-up to the highly-acclaimed The Case of the Missing Men," is absolutely right.  The mystery at a lonely boarding school is certainly worthy of Nancy Drew, and the strange happenings, the quirky characters, and the dark revelations (that have an impact on what has been going on in Hobtown for generations!) all are worthy of David Lynch in the very off-beat Twin Peaks style.  While this book focuses more on Pauline and Brennan (although the other members of the Hobtown Junior Detective Club make an appearance and provide some assistance), the mystery provides a few more clues to the overarching story of just what is going on in Hobtown.  The headmaster and headmistress are conducting some very strange and very deadly rituals at Knotty Pines that affect the citizens of Hobtown and have for many generations past.  But that poor, cursed hermit holds the key to ending this particular blight upon the town, and it's up to Pauline and Brennan to figure it all out.

In these first two graphic novels, Bertin and Forbes have laid the groundwork for a dark, mysterious world in which a group of bright, determined young teens must face their fears and some incredible dangers to solve the mysteries surrounding Hobtown.  Superb writing and unique, stylistic art make for a great read, and I'm already anxiously awaiting book three in the series!  More information about this series, and its move to Oni Press for future publications, can be found at the author's page Hobtown Titles.  I find the move to Oni Press great news, as it will give the creators a greater outreach for this amazing series!

RATING:  10 urinal drain masks out of 10 for an off-beat mystery with the best new detective team since Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys!

Fence: Disarmed

I came into the world of Fence through the comic published by BOOM! Studios, and while I enjoyed it for a bit, I eventually stopped getting it, as the stories started to feel redundant.  However, when the first novel, Striking Distance, came out, I decided to give it a try.  I enjoyed it somewhat, so figured the second novel wouldn't be too bad, and I picked it up when it came out.  It has taken me some time to finally sit down and read it (the book was published in May 2021), but read it I finally did.  And, sad to say, this will definitely be my last foray into the world of the boys at Kings Row fencing academy.  

Disarmed picks up not long after the first novel ended.  Nicholas and Seiji have become friends, despite Seiji's superior, off-standish manner.  Harvard and Aiden are in an awkward place because they "faux" dated, which ended up a disaster, since they each secretly harbor feelings for the other but are too afraid to say anything.  Aiden has gone to the extreme, chasing after every guy on campus, leaving Harvard to pine after a young man that apparently wants nothing to do with him; meanwhile, Aiden is trying to drown out the sorry he feels from Harvard having told him it was a mistake to try dating and that the worst thing they could ever do is be with one another.  So, when the Coach tells them of the opportunity to train at an elite school in France, it becomes one huge cluster-&*$%!

Author Sarah Rees Brennan has a feel for the characters, and from what I can tell (I have no knowledge myself, so I can't say for sure), she has the necessary knowledge to write about fencing.  But the problem I have with this book is that the entire 350 pages are spent describing how Harvard and Aiden are pining for one another, but they are too afraid to tell the other how they feel - and after the first few chapters, it really starts to become boring.  You keep hoping something will break in their story, but it's just the same hesitations, the same heart-break, the same "He just doesn't want me and I need to accept it" woe-is-me scenes over and over and over.  Quite frankly, the only thing that carried me through this book were the chapters on Nicholas and Seiji.  

 

Nicholas' vibrant, never-give-up spirit and the affect it has on Seiji was fun to read.  Seiji, the way too serious fencer whose entire life revolves around fencing and being the best there is having to constantly be around the novice fencer, Nicholas, and try to train him, made for an engaging story.  You get to see the cracks in Seiji's set ways as he finds ways to help Nicholas, even when he himself can't understand why he's doing what he does.  What is amusing is that his father clearly understands the situation, even though Seiji is under the misguided belief that his father only cares about his business and can't be bothered to be involved in Seiji's life.  These two develop an even stronger friendship and understanding of each other throughout their adventure in France, and it's apparent that sooner or later these two young men will wake up and realize the attraction they have for one another.  This part of the book was very well written, perfectly paced, and, as I said, the most enjoyable portion of the book.

Brennan does bring in some side characters - such as young Bobby, the silent Dante, the nervous Eugene (who gets sidelined from the training), the yearning Arune, and the one who spells trouble for both Nicholas and Seiji - one very talented, very boastful, and very connected Jesse Coste - who happens to not only be Seiji's former training partner from his previous school, but he's also secretly Nicholas' half-brother (of which, only Nicholas is aware!).  

With the recent surge of teen gay romance shows that are streaming (i.e. Love, Victor, Heartstoppers, etc.), I'm surprised this one has not yet been picked up for a television series on one of the streaming networks.  It certainly has the 90210-style drama and it would be the right age group.  But, alas, it won't be for me to know, as this will be my closing chapter on the world of Fence (although, I haven't seen any future books listed yet, so it may be everyone's final chapter.....)  I certainly wish the author well if she does continue with the series.

RATING:  5 extra breakfast rolls out of 10 for at least making Nicholas and Seiji's friendship an engaging story to carry me through the book!

The Vanishing of Dr. Winter - A Posie Parker Mystery, Book 4

It's time to take another trip back to the 1920s to solve another mystery with that nosy little private detective, Posie Parker.  Four books in, and our intrepid sleuth is now having to face a mystery that is personal, as it reveals a part of Posie's past that readers have yet to learn about!   Author L.B. Hathaway takes Posie on a different kind of journey with this book, and I must say, it was a nice change of pace.  While I have thoroughly enjoyed the first three books in this series, this book really dove into just makes Posie tick - and there's a wonderful surprise at the end of the book that should have fans of this series smiling big-time!

The Vanishing of Dr. Winter opens up the door to Posie's past, when she served during the Great War at Casualty Clearing Station Number 8.  The crew at the station had formed a familial-type of bond, and she loved her fellow workers.  Until, that is, Felicity Fyne showed up and took over the role of Sister-in-Charge.  She was stern, she was cold, and she broke-up the engagement of one Dr. Winter and one Helena Llewellyn, a couple that everyone there was overjoyed to see happen.  Posie left the station, and eventually she heard that nearly everyone who had worked at the station had been killed.  Nearly everyone.  It seems that Sister Fyne was not one of them.  Because just as Posie is about to celebrate Christmas in 1922, Sister Fyne shows up, asking for her help.  It seems not only did she break up Dr. Winter's engagement all those years ago, but she ultimately married the man.  But he died in the explosion that ripped apart Station Number 8.  Or so she thought.  Because that very day she happened to see her deceased husband very much alive at the university in Cambridge!  Posie was already there looking into a mystery of her own involving her brother's past, so what's one more mystery along the way?

This story is filled with TONS of secrets, TONS of twists and turns, TONS of red herrings, and TONS of surprises!  Every time you think you have something figured out, Hathaway manages to throw a monkey-wrench into it and heads off in another direction.  Is Dr. Winter really alive, or did Sister Fyne imagine him?  And who is blackmailing Sister Fyne regarding her deceased husband's reappearance?  Has Dr. Winter's first fiance come back for revenge against the woman who stole her man?  And what about the mystery surrounding Posie's brother, who also died during the war...?  Why are the professors at the university so cagey about him?  Why is the porter at Trinity College so eager to help Posie?  Just how does he know so much?  And secret is the professor's wife hiding?  The ghosts of Posie's past are definitely back to haunt her in this mystery that is definitely worthy of Christie, Doyle, Hitchcock, and even a bit of Poe thrown in for good measure.

It's been a year since the murder at Maypole Manor, and this time around, instead of solving a murder, Posie must hunt down a man thought to be dead; stop a blackmailer who may not be who Posie thinks he/she is; uncover a secret about her brother that will bring about big changes for Posie; and figure out just how she is going to get all of this done by Christmas so that she can spend the holiday with Alaric!  Yes, Hathaway manages to sneak into the story some very touching moments in Posie's relationship with the dashing, continent-hopping man who stole her heart; but at the same time, she reminds us that Posie's feelings for her business partner/former almost-boyfriend Len Irving are not necessarily completely gone away.  And the adorable Mr. Minks manages to make an appearance or two, for all the cat-lovers out there!

Book four is another fantastic read, and I'm looking forward to reading the further adventures of Posie Parker as this series progresses!  Last book saw the end of 1921; this book sees the end of 1922; so we'll see how far into 1923 the next book takes us!

RATING:  10 black and gold-tooled leather boxes out of 10 for reminding us that not every great mystery needs to be a murder mystery!

Samantha Wolf Mysteries, Book Eight - The Legend of Shadow Mountain

The Samantha Wolf Mystery series has turned out to be a surprisingly fun series to read.  It's kind of a shame that the series is not picked up by a major publisher and marketed for sale in bookstores and such.  There are way too few mystery series for children on the shelves today - everything seems geared for fantasy or school-oriented series, and not even Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys have very many books on the shelves (which is so sad, when I can remember the bookstores, and even department stories, carried shelves and shelves of those series!).  But, until such time as the Samantha Wolf Mystery series becomes the next big thing in bookstores, I'll continue to watch for them to show up on Amazon and keep buying them!

The Legend of Shadow Mountain is the eighth book in the series, and this time around Samantha and her friends face something much more frightening than a mystery to solve - they face the danger of the Alaskan wilderness!  Sam, Ally and Cassy are excited to be flying up to Alaska to spend time with Sam's father, who has been up in Alaska for months working, earning money to support the family.  Sam's brother (Hunter) and Ally's brother (John) are joining them, and they share the small plane ride up the coast with a young woman and her toddler son.  Everything is going just fine, and Sam is just beginning to think this trip may not hold any adventure to it, when the pilot decides to take a quick detour to show them some of the beautiful mountain ranges where panning for gold was a big thing back in the day - but that detour turns to terror when the plane ends up going down into the woods, crashing and severely injuring the pilot!

Ellis sets aside the mystery element in exchange for a survival story, as John and Hunter must lead the three girls on a trek up the mountain to find a spot high enough to send a signal that they hope emergency planes may see in order to rescue them.  The pilot may not have long to live, and with the mountainside woods filled with bears and other possible dangers, the five youngsters are forced to stick together, put aside their differences, and face their fears to make the trek through the dense woods.  Of course, there is also the legend of the Taquka-aq, the Kodiak bear, which is said to protect the infamous Shadow Mountain.  No one dares climb that mountain, and those that do have faced dire consequences!  So, of course, it is that very same Shadow Mountain that Sam and her friends must climb in order to burn the signal fires for help!

And, Ellis can't help but sneak in a little bit of a mystery into the story involving a gold miner who fell in love with one of the locals, only to disappear one day into the mountain, never to be seen again.  As the group makes their way up the mountainside, they come across a small cabin that may have been used by that miner back in the day, and Sam notices a strange symbol on the lantern in the cabin ... finding a similar symbol carved into a tree not that far away ... and yet another similar symbol on another tree.  Just what do these symbols mean?  Sam, Ally, Cassy, Hunter, and John not only figure out the meaning, but they ultimately uncover a shocking find that could lay to rest a mystery that has been unsolved for more than 50 years!  (Leave it to Sam to turn a dangerous situation into yet another mystery!)

This is not your typical Samantha Wolf mystery, but it is a refreshing change of pace that allows for all of the characters to show some of the growth their characters have been experiencing as the series progresses.  And that is another thing I enjoy about the series - the characters are not stagnant.  They age, they learn, they grow, they mature - they are "real" people.  Yes, the books continue to be written in present tense, which can be a bit jarring when 99% of the books you read are all in past tense, but the stories are engaging enough that by the third or fourth chapter, you no longer take notice (and I'm not sure if it's because my mind is automatically reverting everything to past tense, or if it's just because the stories are THAT good!).

I still have several more books in this series to read, and I hope that Ellis plans to keep the series going indefinitely, so that we can watch Sam age well into her teens and solve hundreds of mysteries!

RATING:  9 antique lockets out of 10 for changing things up a bit and placing Sam and her friends in a situation where it will take more than a few clues to get them out of it!

Sham Comics Presents: The Adventures of the Nerdly Boyz (A Parody of Adventures of the Dover Boys)

So what exactly do you call a parody of a parody?  Well, over a year and a half ago, I picked up and read a reprint of an old 1950s comic titled Adventures of the Dover Boys, which was a parody of sorts of the old Stratemeyer series, The Rover Boys.  The story was actually well done, considering when it was published, and I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure.  Sadly, it was only a one-off comic, with no other issues of this title ever being published.  Thus, you can imagine my surprise when I'm thumbing through Previews a couple of months ago and saw a comic that sported the same exact cover as the Adventures of the Dover Boys!  Needless to say, it caught my attention, so I looked a bit further at the advertisement.  Published by Source Point Press, the comic was titled Sham Comics, and this second issue of the series presented a story titled "The Adventures of the Nerdly Boyz."

If the title of the comic itself was not enough to give away the fact that this was going to be pure parody, the cover dialogue more than confirms it!  Similar in nature to the MST3K comic series I recently read and reviewed, this series appears to take old comics (likely those in public domain) and while maintaining the original art, reworks all of the word balloons, thought bubbles, and text boxes to create an entirely different story!  And as the text on the cover proudly proclaims, "What is the idol's secret? You may never know because nothing like this actually happens in this issue!"  

The story of "The Nerdly Boyz and the Riches of the Wango Bango" provides readers with a hysterically new story involving Spud and Pud Nerdly, who are touted as identical twins (although Spud is ten months older than his brother and has a different mother).  They live with their father, Colonel Horatio Nerdly, and their doting housekeeper, Eudora Graybush.  Taking over the role of the villain is the colonel's former partner, Professor Basil Ratburn, and his son, Dickie.  The comic is represented exactly as the original, including advertisements at the end of some of the chapters (although these advertisements are not real and will certainly make you giggle, if not laugh out loud!).  And while the story is not overly vulgar, there are definitely some more adult moments (such as the 24-karat gold dildo in the shape of an ear of corn, the racist remarks of Mrs. Graybush, and the blunt use of the "f" bomb).

Tim Fuller is identified as the "rewriter and designer" for the comic, and while I'm not familiar with the name, I have to give him some high praise for his ability to create an entirely new story from an existing comic.  What was originally written to show two very smart, quick-thinking, and adventurous young men has been changed to show two inept, ridiculously incompetent, and unbelievably lucky nerds.  In fact, the re-write brought out some things that I never noticed when I read the original Dover Boys tale, such as the full-on lip-lock of Pud (Tim) and Mrs. Graybush (Aunt Martha) on panel three of page 10!  How in the world did I not catch that in the original comic?  Then there's the guy who shows up on page 29 of the story and immediately gets killed when he runs off with the treasure!  He appeared way back on page 7 for just a few panels and is not seen or heard from again until the end of the story - a fact that is quickly pointed out by Spud on page 30 (and which, again, I did not really catch when I read the original Dover Boys comic!). 

The rewritten story follows Spud and Pud as they go on a treasure hunt to steal the gold from the Wango Bango tribe of natives.  They are rescued by a doctor and his assistant ("Freebird!"), who join on the hunt.  Of course, they encounter the natives and have to rescue poor Freebird from being sacrificed as a virgin (although, as she so bluntly tells them, they are barking up the wrong bush!).  From smelly farts in the tunnels to an ancient butt plug as the last remaining momento of their treasure hunt, the Nerdly Boyz share an adventure that will undoubtedly make you laugh!

I'm all for a good parody, and this comic was a GREAT parody!  I'll be keeping on eye on this Sham Comics series to see what they'll be making fun of next!

RATING:  10 talking red Buddhas out of 10 for proving just how much fun a really great parody can be!

Domino Lady: Gentlemen Prefer Domino Lady

The sultry pulp crime fighter returns in Moonstone's latest anthology, featuring stories that team-up the sexy Domino Lady with some of the greatest pulp heroes of yesterday.  To date, I have enjoyed nearly all of Domino Lady books and comics that Moonstone publishing has had to offer.  With adventures that take place in the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Domino Lady must confront crime without the aid of cell phones, computers, tasers, and all of the other technological gadgets that today's crime fighters have.  Domino Lady must simply use her wits, her fighting skills, and her feminine wiles to defeat the bad guys - which makes for some really great reading!

Gentlemen Prefer Domino Lady offers up eight short stories in which Ellen Patrick dons her alter ego persona to fight the villainous mafia, saboteurs, killers, and other sundry bad guys alongside some of her contemporaries, such as the Black Bat, the Phantom Detective, the Green Ghost, Zero, Secret Agent X, Ravenwood, the Woman in Red, as well as "the ladies of pulp."  Each tale, written by a different author, places Domino Lady in a set of circumstances where she either requires the aid or must assist one of these pulp heroes, and together they fight a common enemy.  In some cases, the characters have teamed up with Domino Lady before (either in comic form or in prose form), and in those cases, readers get brief references to those prior tales.  In other cases, Domino Lady is meeting the characters for the first time, although there are comments made that the heroes have heard of each other but never had an opportunity to meet.  Regardless, the team-ups prove fortuitous for them and very unfortunate for the villains!

"Ladies' Day," the first story, is by far my favorite.  A day at the salon turns into a cat fight when Madame Orchid and her henchmen show up, determined to get to the owner of the salon.  But it's unfortunate for them that not only is Ellen Patrick at the spa, but several other women who happen to have connections with some other pulp heroes - such as Jean Moray (the assistant to I.V. Frost) and Myra Reldon, otherwise known simply as "Ming" (an assistant to the Shadow).  Playing on the misconception that women are the weaker sex, these women work together to take down all of the hired thugs, as well as the ruthless Madame Orchid, leave the police the simple job of cleaning up the mess...

"Zeromino" was a bit more sci-fi than Domino Lady is used to, as the man she teams up with, Zero, has some very strange powers.  The story was alright (fairly comic book-style in nature), but it was not one of my favorites.  Zero is after a man who claims to have become immortal, and along the way, Domino Lady becomes embroiled in his mission.  Through pure mishap, Zero's powers are transferred to Domino Lady, who must figure out how to use them and stop the villain of the story.  I much prefer the more down-to-earth stories for Ellen Patrick to conquer, so this one missed the mark.

"Red-Handed" guest-stars the "Woman in Red."  I am familiar with the writer of this story, Bobby Nash, who I actually met at DragonCon some years ago.  I have enjoyed his other stories (both of Domino Lady and other characters), so I went in with high hopes on this one.  I wasn't disappointed.  Nash introduces readers to Peggy Allen, a police officer who never seems to garner the credit that her male counterparts do.  However, when she dons the red outfit, she fights crime in a way the police force won't allow her to.  She and Domino Lady are a force to be reckoned with in this story,   When an informant of Domino Lady turns up dead, and Allen and her partner are investigating the death, it turns to Domino Lady and the Woman in Red to track down and ultimately capture the criminal mastermind behind the death.

"My Date with Domino" is a fun little story where Secret Agent X and his assistant, Betty Dale, cross paths with Domino Lady while investigating a cache of weapons that could cause more than their fare share of destruction.  The trio must somehow destroy all of the weapons before the criminal gang they are hunting cause the disastrous "C-Day" event!   The banter in this story is a lot of fun and definitely made me smile as I read it.

"Blind Date" (another "date"?) features the team-up of Domino Lady and Ravenwood.  I have heard of Ravenwood before (I actually have a book that collects all of his tales), but I haven't read any of his adventures as of yet.  So, this story was a nice introduction to the character for me.  The two pulp heroes are after the same man, but for entirely different reasons,  The story alternates perspectives between Domino Lady and Ravenwood, so the reader not only gets to follow both characters are their separate tasks, but also allows the reader to become better acquainted with both characters throughout the course of the story.

"Kill the Lady Goodbye" takes Ellen Patrick and her date, David King, to New York, here King's father is missing and he must take control of his father's family business - a well-known carnival.  At the same time, the Black Bat is on the trail of a big-time crime boss, who seems to have taken over the King Carnival.  Needless to say, the paths of Domino Lady and the Black Bat cross, and with these two acting in concert, it's only a matter of time before the criminal element is wiped out of the carnival (with a surprise twist relating to an inside job at the carnival!).

"Dame Sinistre" gives the spotlight to the Green Ghost, as he must rescue a good friend's daughter who has been kidnapped as part of a supernatural experiment to draw an evil entity known as Leonox into this world.  His alter ego happens to be on a date with Ellen Patrick when the drama begins, so it goes without saying that Domino Lady gets dragged into the mix.  The story is completely told from the Green Ghost's point of view, and Domino Lady is simply along for the ride (and nearly gets sucked into the ritual sacrifice designed to bring Leonox into this world!).  It's an okay story, but again, the strong supernatural side of things just doesn't really fit with my idea of Domino Lady.

"Call in the Stuntman" is the final offering in this anthology, and it guest-stars the Phantom Detective.  In this story, Domino Lady has found the evidence that will exonerate a well-known and beloved actor that she knows to be innocent of the crime for which he is being tried (being a spy for the Nazis!).  But on the very day the evidence is to be revealed that will prove his innocence, a costumed pirate swoops in and slices the actor's throat open, killing him!  Domino Lady is determined to bring the culprit to justice, as is the Phantom Detective, who happened to be on the scene when the murder took place.  Together, they track down the criminal known as "the Stuntman" to a studio where, in a truly theatrical battle, he appears in the Phantom Detective's own costume, resulting in a battle between the two "Phantoms," leaving Domino Lady to figure out which one is which!  I did enjoy this tale, which involved more detective work and felt very much like an episode of a television show in book form.

The editors of this anthology, David Boop and Kim Perisin, chose well with their bookend tales - the first and last stories are definitely the two best ones in the book.  None of the ones in-between are bad, but some are definitely better than others.  The one thing I was disappointed in, however, is the amount of spelling errors throughout the stories.  With two editors, I would have expected little to no misspellings; yet, there are enough errors that after a while, it became a glaring defect in the book and took me out of the story.  It just confirms my belief that "editors" in today's book market are more about marketing then actual editing of the books.  Otherwise, fans of pulp characters and Domino Lady in particular should enjoy this anthology for what it is.

RATING:  8 posh French restaurants on the Sunset Strip out of 10 for giving readers eight prime examples of why gentlemen really do prefer Domino Lady!