Book Review: The Golden Girls

Over the course of seven years and 180 episodes, The Golden Girls altered the television landscape. For the first time in history, Americans (and, later, the rest of the world) were watching sexagenarians—and one octogenarian—leading active, vital lives. These were older women who had careers, families, lovers, and adventures, far from the matronly television characters of the past.

In The Golden Girls: A Cultural History, Bernadette Giacomazzo shows why this iconic sitcom is more than just comedy gold. She examines how, between all the laughs and the tales of St. Olaf, these women tackled tough issues of the time—issues that continue to resonate in the twenty-first century. From sexual harassment, ageism, and PTSD to AIDS, inter-racial relationships, and homosexuality, Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia weren’t afraid to take on topics which were once considered taboo.

Book Review: Star Trek vol. 1 Godshock

Stardate 2378: A bold new era of Star Trek begins! Three years ago, Benjamin Sisko made a courageous sacrifice that left him trapped in the dimension of the mysterious Prophets; now he's returned to his home universe—with powerful, godlike abilities. But his omnipotence is failing when he needs it most. Someone is killing the gods, and Sisko and the motley crew of the U.S.S. Theseus will have to travel to the deepest parts of space to stop them.

Star Trek: Year Five lead writers Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly and artists Ramon Rosanas, Oleg Chudakov, Joe Eisma, and Erik Tamayo present a new ship, a new mission, and a lot of old friends! Sisko is joined by Commanders Data and Worf, and Dr. Beverly Crusher, of Star Trek: The Next Generation; Lt. Tom Paris, of Star Trek: Voyager; Captain Montgomery Scott, of Star Trek; and Ben's son, Jake. But there are new faces as well, to surprise established fans while showing new readers the ropes. Collects the prequel short story "A Perfect System" from Star Trek #400 and issues #1–6 of the ongoing series.

Book Review: Mrs. Plansky's Revenge

Mrs. Loretta Plansky, a recent widow in her seventies, is settling into retirement in Florida while dealing with her 98-year-old father and fielding requests for money from her beloved children and grandchildren. Thankfully, her new hip hasn’t changed her killer tennis game one bit. One night Mrs. Plansky is startled awake by a phone call from a voice claiming to be her grandson Will, who desperately needs ten thousand dollars to get out of a jam. Of course, Loretta obliges—after all, what are grandmothers for, even grandmothers who still haven’t gotten a simple “thank you” for a gift sent weeks ago. Not that she's counting.

By morning, Mrs. Plansky has lost everything. Law enforcement announces that Loretta's life savings have vanished, and that it’s hopeless to find the scammers behind the heist. First humiliated, then furious, Loretta Plansky refuses to be just another victim. In a courageous bid for justice, Mrs. Plansky follows her only clue on a whirlwind adventure to a small village in Romania to get her money and her dignity back—and perhaps find a new lease on life, too.

Book Review: The History of the Adventure Video Game

Adventure video games have provided players with epic and hilarious storytelling for over fifty years. What started from the humble beginnings of text adventures led to a blast of point-and-click and graphic adventure games throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s. Trailblazers like Roberta and Ken Williams, Ron Gilbert, Tim Schaffer and Dave Grossman brought timeless characters, stories and puzzles to life, lighting the imaginations and wracking the brains of gamers around the world.

This book showcases the companies, games and creators that have made the adventure video game one of the most passionately-adored genres in the medium. In these pages you’ll find histories on influential companies such as Sierra On-Line, LucasArts and Telltale Games, as well as some of the most revered games in the genre. With a bright future emerging as veterans and newcomers forge ahead with new ideas and visual flourishes for adventure games, there’s never been a better time to become acquainted (or reacquainted!) with a colourful and exciting part of gaming history.

Book Review: Too Late To Stop Now

Allan Jones brings more than 40 stories – many previously unpublished – from the golden days of music reporting. He recalls the world that once was - one of dark excess and excitement, outrageous deeds and extraordinary talent. Long nights of booze, drugs and unguarded conversations which include anecdotes, experiences and extravagant behaviour from the likes of Lou Reed, Elton John, Sting, the Clash, and more.

This volume includes stories of: a band's aftershow party in San Francisco being gatecrashed by cocaine-hungry Hells Angel, Chrissie Hynde on how rock'n'roll killed The Pretenders, what happened when Nick Lowe and 20 of his mates flew off to Texas to join the Confederate Air Force, John Cale on his dark alliance with Lou Reed, and more.

Book Review: Dark Crisis (On Infinite Earths)

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League are dead. The remaining heroes are left to protect the world from an onslaught of violent attacks by DC’s greatest villains! Leading the charge is a super-powered Slade Wilson...but this time there’s something dark fueling his rage.

Can the younger heroes, led by the 21st century Superman Jonathan Kent, step out of the shadows of the classic icons to form a new Justice League? And will that be enough to stop a darkness greater than anything they’ve ever faced from destroying everything? The world burns as Pariah and the Great Darkness make their play for planet Earth!

The blockbuster creative team of writer Joshua Williamson and artist Daniel Sampere bring years of stories to an explosive crescendo in this massive, cross-generational saga, the latest in DC’s famed canon of Crisis events—and the next evolution of the DC Universe! This volume collects Dark Crisis #1-7.

Book Review: John Tiffany Vol. 1

John Tiffany is one of the best bounty hunters in the world. Given his precarious line of work, he has found that he can only truly trust four people: Pastor Lovejoy, an unorthodox priest; Wan Chao, an underworld geek; Dorothy, his conservative teammate; and Magdalena, a sex worker he has foolishly fallen in love with. But it seems that one of them has turned against him and now he’s the one with a bounty on his head. It’s a race against time as he tries to survive being a high-priced target and find out which of his confidantes is the traitor.

John Tiffany Vol. 1 collects and updates this raucous action-adventure. Filled with car chases, intrigue, and beautiful women, John Tiffany is exactly the sort of gut punch that fans of international spy stories love. Story by Stephen Desberg, art by Dan Panosian and lettering by Lucas Gattoni. Rated: Mature.