Saturday, December 27, 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 72 Calls for Submissions in January 2026 - Paying Markets
Scott's Take: Godzilla vs the Marvel Universe by Ryan North, Gerry Duggan Gerry Duggan, John Romita Jr. (Illustrator), Giuseppe Camuncoli (Illustrator), and Leinil Yu (Cover Art)
Godzilla vs the Marvel Universe by Ryan North,
Gerry Duggan, John Romita Jr. (Illustrator), Giuseppe Camuncoli
(Illustrator), and Leinil Yu (Cover Art), collects a series of one shots (one
shots for those who don’t know are single issue stories that are supposed to be
self-contained). I read these through the Marvel Unlimited app. In these one shots, Godzilla crossovers and battles
various heroes in various times throughout the history of Marvel. So, you have the 90s X-men vs Godzilla, 80s
Spider-man vs Godzilla, Modern Thor vs Godzilla and more. This is just a fun
crossover with various heroes dealing with Godzilla.
They don’t seem to connect at all and
there are no shared creative teams or story. Most of the reads have good art
except for the John Romita Jr for the Fantastic Four. I think his art is
blocky. Most of these stories are action packed with humor. Some of which is
forced, such as Nick Lowe’s editorial jokes in the Spider-Man story. I think he
negatively impacted the story overall, but I also have a negative opinion of
him based on his public comments about Spider-Man fans. The only story I really
did not like was the Hulk vs Godzilla which goes downhill once he introduces some
vague villain from the Godzilla Universe. I’d never heard of the character and
the story made no sense.
Overall, I think this is a fun
collection that leans heavy into the Marvel Universe and not as much in the
Godzilla Universe.
By the way, there is another Godzilla
series that seems completely separate. Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe
has two issues so far at Marvel
Unlimited as that is all they have put up. The collected volume is supposed
to be released in March 2026. It seems to be completely separate and has all
the heroes teaming up to stop him.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4iHvXdn
Scott A. Tipple ©2025
Friday, December 26, 2025
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 64 Writing Contests in January 2026 - No entry fees
In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange - Christmas Edition
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: The Dead of Winter: Beware the Krampus and Other Wicked Christmas Creatures by Sarah Clegg
Mystery Fanfare: BOXING DAY MYSTERIES
In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Red Christmas
Jerry's House of Everything: FORGOTTEN BOOK: RUNNING WITH THE BARONS
Thursday, December 25, 2025
Beneath the Stains of Time: Murder in Retrospect: The Best and Worst of 2025
Mystery Fanfare: CHRISTMAS MYSTERY ROUND-UP!
Wednesday, December 24, 2025
Defending The Crown-- 28th Annual Critters Readers Poll Opened -- Best Review Site
It has been quite a year. Somehow, despite the way
worse financial situation and my own worsening health, I am still here. The blog
is still here too. Despite the fact that I am way slower reading and reviewing
wise, the blog continues to soar and add thousands of page views each month. I am
sure that the majority of that is due to the fact that the blog remains popular
with guests who contribute the lion’s share of content these days. I again
thank them for their posts.
I very much thank you, the reader, for your support.
If not for you coming and reading the blog, it would not exist.
I have never understood why anyone would value what
I do here. People tell me I impact the mystery and crime fiction community. I
don't see how. Yet, folks keep telling me I have an impact, as they have again
in recent days. Maybe it was the way I was raised. The idea that something I do
has value, that I matter, is such a bizarre concept to me.
The 28th Annual Critters Readers' Poll has opened
and I put Kevin’s Corner in the running in the Review site category. If you think the blog is worthy, please vote
at https://critters.org/predpoll/reviewsite.shtml
After you vote, make sure you respond to the
confirmation email and register your vote so that it is counted.
While currently we are the only review site listed,
I expect that we will once again be going up against a number of review sites
that have teams of reviewers and are active in many genres across multiple
forms of media. Most of them host book giveaways and other events as well. This
site remains an underdog as always because we do not have all the bells and
whistles that other sites have to drive traffic to them.
If you think we are worthy of your vote, please go cast your vote today. Remember, you must respond to the confirmation email for your vote to count.
Thank you for your continuing support.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Kaye George and Gerald Elias read ’TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (Misti Media)
Jay Hartman of Misti Media has announced that he has posted video
readings of ’TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS from Misti Media authors Kaye
George and Gerald Elias. As Jay points out, you can think of them as a Santa
Claus vs. Mrs. Claus kind of thing.
The videos are available on the Misti Media YouTube channel
at: https://www.youtube.com/@mistimediallc/videos
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
SleuthSayers: 2025 Year in Review: Editing
Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity: 12 (Warm) Writing Conferences and Workshops in January 2026
Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Staff Christmas Picks
Monday, December 22, 2025
Mystery Fanfare: Christmas Specials: Death in Paradise and Return to Paradise Air Dates
Beneath the Stains of Time: Inspector De Klerck and the Dead Philanthropist (2025) by P. Dieudonné
In Reference to Murder: Media Murder for Monday
Little Big Crimes: The God You Save May Be Your Own, by Michael Thomas Ford
Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: A Case of Mice and Murder: The Trials of Gabriel Ward by Sally Smith
.
Of Mice
and Murder (Raven Books, June 2025) has been getting raves from readers of
historical mysteries since it was released. Now it is popping up on favorites
of the year lists and I was determined to see what the buzz was about.
It is, as
everyone says, a wonderful story. Set in May 1901, the quirky Sir Gabriel Ward
KC, an outstanding addition to the pantheon of amateur sleuths, literally
stumbles across the body of Lord Norman Dunning, Lord Chief Justice of England,
as Ward was attempting to enter his legal office in the Inner Temple. Dunning was
in popular opinion amazingly average and the last person to be murdered. But
here he was, expired and not of natural causes.
By law the
Temple is not part of the City of London and London police are not allowed to
enter without invitation. The author goes into some detail about the history of
the Temple and provides a helpful map. To keep the police at bay for a few
days, Ward was given the task of investigating the death accompanied by a
police constable to take notes. Ward was on the verge of an important piece of
litigation that needed his full attention and he did not welcome this new and
strange assignment. Indeed, he did not welcome anything that disrupted his
long-established routine. His outstanding intellect was recognized by his
colleagues however and it was felt if anyone could find an answer to this
peculiar event, it would be Sir Gabriel.
The second
plot thread is just as perplexing. Years ago, legal publisher Herbert Moore
found a manuscript for a children’s book with no letter or explanation on his
doorstep. He examined it briefly and discarded it in the nearest bin, from
which his young daughter retrieved it and read it, enthralled. Moore decided to
publish it as a Christmas one-off and found himself with a runaway bestseller.
He had made some inquiries as to the author that came up empty and despite some
reservations continued to publish the book. Now a young woman has come forward
claiming authorship of the book and Moore hasn’t a legal leg to stand on. In
desperation he has turned to Ward for help.
Sally Smith
spent all her working life as a barrister and later King's Counsel in the Inner
Temple. Her deep knowledge of the history of the Temple and understanding of
its operations give the story a commanding sense of authenticity. The
references to new-fangled forensic tools such as fingerprints and the mentions
of the limitations placed on women’s lives sets the context equally well. Those
same limitations offer clues to the resolution. The dual mystery itself is nicely
constructed, and Sir Gabriel is a vivid personality with whom I can easily
identify.
Fortunately for
us all, there is no need to wait for the second book in the series; it is
available for purchase now. Library Journal starred review. Highly
recommended.
·
Publisher: Raven Books
·
Publication date: June 17, 2025
·
Language: English
·
Print length: 336 pages
·
ISBN-10: 1639736921
·
ISBN-13: 978-1639736928
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3MIybxm
Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal
It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Gravetapping: My Favorite Books Published in 2025
Mystery Fanfare: WINTER SOLSTICE MYSTERIES
Beneath the Stains of Time: There Came Both Mist and Snow (1940) by Michael Innes
The Rap Sheet: Revue of Reviewers: 12-20-25
Note: In absolutely stunning news, I made the review roundup list TWICE today. First for my review hee on my blog of The Curious Poisoning of Jewel Barnes by Terry Shames. Second for my guest post review at Lesa's Book Critiques (Lesa Holstine) of Crimson Thaw by Bruce Robert Coffin. Very cool!
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