THE MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ (1904) – We’ve all been exposed to countless variations of the adventures of Dorothy Gale and company in Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). Therefore I’m starting my reviews of the Oz books with the second in the series – The Marvelous Land of Oz.
A little boy named Tip lives with the mean-spirited witch Mombi as his adult “guardian.” One day Tip mischievously plans a bit of revenge on Mombi by building a pumpkin-headed figure made of wood, branches and old clothes. He then positions the figure – named Jack Pumpkinhead – to scare the evil witch when she arrives home.
The nasty old witch is unfazed and further proves she’s not scared by sprinkling the pumpkin-headed figure with a magical Powder of Life. The powder brings Jack Pumpkinhead to life but he’s very naive and ignorant.
When Mombi threatens to turn Tip into a marble statue as revenge for trying to scare her, the boy steals some of her Powder of Life and runs away with Jack Pumpkinhead as a traveling companion. Tip sprinkles some of the powder on a sawhorse, bringing it to life as a mount for Jack, who is still unsteady on his legs.
Thus begins another adventure throughout the bizarre Land of Oz. Among the other characters encountered by Tip, Jack and the Sawhorse: Continue reading
MS. MARVEL Vol 1 #1 (January 1977) 
THE DOMINION IN 1983 (1883) – Written by “Ralph Centennius,” the presumed pseudonym of an unknown author. 
Canadian technology leads the world, with rocketships that can fly at a mile per second and electric automobiles for ground transport. Electricity is the predominant energy source, and Electropolis, the first all-electric city, was recently completed. 
The team name Sanduguan dates to the era of Filipino resistance to the Spanish colonial forces. Rebels would take an oath of blood to the cause. Sanduguan, the term for the oath ritual, has also been translated as One Blood and Blood Pact. 
SANDATA (Weapon)
THE SHADOW
Comment: Many of this hero’s villains were femmes fatale along the line of 
CONVERSATIONS ON THE PLURALITY OF WORLDS (1686) – Written by Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle. The author offered up some science fiction concepts that were considered real possibilities in 1686. These ideas were presented within the frame of conversations, as indicated in the full title. The conversations happened over the course of six evenings. 
THE HAT IN THE RING GANG: THE COMBAT HISTORY OF THE 94th AERO SQUADRON IN WORLD WAR ONE – Written by Charles Woolley, this excellent book covers America’s 94th Aero Squadron aka The Hat in the Ring Gang. 
DOUGHBOY WAR: THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN WORLD WAR I – Written/ edited by James H Hallas. I feel this book is perfect for people who are just diving into World War One and don’t want inundated with all of the overwhelming details of more involved works. Doughboy War covers every aspect of American soldiers’ experiences in the Great War, often in their own words. 
LONER – In 1988 the U.K. comic book Wildcat introduced a sci-fi character called Loner. This figure was, shall we say, reminiscent of America’s 
In the year 2492 a huge spaceship called Wildcat searches the universe for a planet fit for the human race to settle on as Earth faces destruction from a meteor storm. Loner was the world’s highest-paid mercenary warrior and bought his way onto the Wildcat by chipping in twenty million in financing. 
MOUNTAINS, SEAS AND GIANTS aka BERGE MEERE UND GIGANTEN (1924) – Written by Alfred Döblin, later famous for the novel Berlin Alexanderplatz. A 2021 translation of the book uses the title Mountains Oceans Giants: A Novel of the 27th Century. 
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