T.K. Wade -- Author

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

The Road to Toontown [Book Review]

"The Road to Toontown" is a collection of short stories by Roger Rabbit creator Gary K. Wolf. It was published in 2012. This is the collection I have been reviewing over the last bunch of blogs. The reason I never mentioned the name until now was because it too heavily implied his toon stuff, and I wanted his works to stand on their own. After all, Gary is an accomplished science fiction writer on top of his Roger Rabbit stuff.

Since I have already reviewed Gary's short stories, I'm using this as an opportunity to talk about the author and his style. I hope you don't mind. If I have anything to say about the collection itself, I really just want to criticize him or his publisher for not including the original publication dates for his stories. I have read many other collections that bothered to do this. Knowing when a story is published can assist with understanding the subject matter. Other than that, the book was entirely readable.

Gary K. Wolf is a silly man, and he is better for it. When he has a goofy idea, you can bet he is going to sit down and construct that idea into a story we all can read and enjoy along with him. The original Roger Rabbit story called "Who Censored Roger Rabbit" was really rough around the edges, and honestly kind of a chore to read after seeing the movie. The whole concept of talking through talk bubbles just seems kind of annoying.

The good news is that the movie seemed to open his mind as to what toons could really do. He never quite got rid of the talk bubble thing but left it in as sort of a preferred cartoon accent. I don't mind this as much, and I am happy he enjoyed the movie enough to make a direct sequel to it.

As a science fiction writer, Gary has some genuine talent, especially in the dystopian fiction genre. His stories have decidedly wacky premises, but they work and that's what matters. The closest he came to something more serious was "The Unhardy Boys in Outer Space," and that was still silly in its own way. I think that one will always be my favorite.

All in all, Gary still gave us Roger Rabbit, and I think that, in and of itself, made the world a better place. I enjoyed this collection and totally recommend it. I look forward to reading more of his novels in the future.

This blog was written on June 17, 2026.

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Monday, July 6, 2026

The Warhol of the Worlds [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the main plot and the ending of this story.]

"The Warhol of the Worlds" is a short story/script by Gary K. Wolf. It was published as part of a collection in 2012. (I don't know exactly when the original story was published, but I am willing to bet it was pretty close to the collection itself due to subject matter.)

This story is actually an intended radio script that parodies the original infamous "The War of the Worlds" radio broadcast that caused all of the panic. In this version, the aliens come down in a giant tin can and land directly in Toontown, instantly murdering almost every single famous toon rabbit ever conceived. That is to say they all turned into angels and floated up into the sky. They're probably okay.

The script stars "Dan Blather" as he reports on this completely silly alien invasion. There are a lot of silly cartoon noises used to portray quick movement and other silly stuff. There is nothing even remotely serious about it at all. Even the normal people seem to act like cartoon characters.

Roger Rabbit seems to be the only bunny that doesn't get killed. That makes sense since it's Gary's original character. Pretty cheeky to kill off all other bunnies but his own.

I will say, however, that there is a little bit of political jabs made in this one which was not really desired. It made me roll my eyes when I got to it. It also felt kind of shoved into it. It really reflects some of the polarized politics we had around the time the collection was published, which honestly did not go away to this very day.

I did like that the actual Martian invading happened to be none other than Marvin the Martian, although the story sort of ends with it all being a joke... or a dream... or something. I'm not quite sure. Sort of hit me like the ending of "The Mysterious Stranger." There was no real point to any of it but to just make you laugh. And to be fair... it did.

"The Warhol of the Worlds" is a short read, and it is funny or silly enough to recommend. Just keep in mind that it's probably my least favorite of his Toontown stories. It would have gotten a few more points with me if he had stayed out of politics.

This blog was written on June 17, 2026.

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Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Kiss Me Goodbye [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the hell out of this story.]

"Kiss Me Goodbye" is s short story written by Gary K. Wolf. It was published as part of a collection in 2012. (I do not know the original publication date for this one.)

This story is set in Los Angeles in 1937. The main character is a cop/detective named Eddie. Now, I know what you must be thinking. A cop named Eddie, and it was written by Gary K. Wolf? Is his last name Valiant?! Well... no. In fact, his name isn't given at all. It could possibly be an earlier version of him. "Who Frames Roger Rabbit?" was set in 1947, after all. Either way, this information is not given.

Eddie is heading to the justice of the peace to get married to his girl, but when he confronts her he accuses her of stealing a priceless jewel in a mission they were both involved in. Spoiler: she actually did do this, rendering the whole marriage a non-event. Even more shocking is when she pulls a gun on him, and he is forced to defend himself, killing her on the spot. The scene is sad, dark, and brutal.

Now, what I find very interesting about this story is that it feels like the final chapter of a a lengthy noir book... but this is all there is. You do not get anything but the final play. This means everything that comes before it has to be hastily slipped into the narrative and dialog in this one chapter alone. It also has to be done as eloquently as possible, or else the reader might get a little suspicious!

Gary K. Wolf actually does accomplish this... but it still left me scratching my head. Why only write the final scene of a non-existent book? I don't have the answer to why he did it, but I don't think any harm was done. It was a neat idea, and I like that he bothered to try. Sometimes writing can be an experiment. Hell, I got a friend who is trying to write a musical as a narrative book. He's recording the music to be heard elsewhere. That's good, and this short story is cool in its own way. It proves that it might actually be possible to have an entire story... while only writing the final chapter. That's insane.

I really liked "Kiss Me Goodbye" for the experiment that it was, and I do recommend it. I encourage all writers to try a little experimenting once in a while. You might stumble onto a side of yourself you didn't know existed... and from there you may find your options in storytelling have broadened a bit.

This blog was written on June 15, 2026.

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Monday, June 29, 2026

Which Witch is Which? [Short Story Review]

"Which Witch is Which?" is a short story written by Gary K. Wolf. It was published as part of a collection in 2012. (I do not actually know when the original was published, but I can safely say it is somewhere around 1998 to the early 2000s based on subject matter.)

This story reads like an interview article written by Jessica Rabbit. She is interviewing the stars of the hit TV show "Charmed," which I have never watched at all. I barely even remember it. Anyway, Jessica goes on a little adventure with actresses Shannen Maria Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, and Alyssa Jayne Milano.

Calling this an interview is a little inappropriate. It never really adopts a transcript style like in "Here's Lookin' at You, Babs!". It just loosely talks about what it is like to hang around the three actresses as they go to various events.

The charm of the story is how much wit and bite Jessica's writing has. For one, she already has issues with them since she believes she was beaten out of one of those roles to begin with. Even so, she still has the strength to be their temporary girl pal.

Jessica was a little bit understated in the movie compared to this story. She was clearly a bad girl (drawn that way apparently), but her screentime was a bit limited. This story features her front and center and is entirely full of her opinions from beginning to end. There are people who might be interested in this, even without not caring about "Charmed" at all. What I am saying is that I think this world needs more Jessica Rabbit. She's awesome.

The whole thing is entirely fake and silly, and I am not even sure the real actresses even knew this thing was being written. I think Gary, once again, had an insane idea and just wanted to see it happen. If you have seen the show "Charmed" or not, I still recommend this story, especially if you like Jessica Rabbit.

This blog was written on June 12, 2026.

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Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Inspector Timber and the Three Pigs [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the main beats of the story.]

"Inspector Timber and the Three Pigs" is a short story written by Gary K. Wolf. It was published as part of a collection in 2012. (I do not actually know the original publication date of this particular story.)

This was a silly one. If the title doesn't give it away, this is a retelling of "The Three Little Pigs." It has its own weird lore to it. For one, the pigs don't seem to know each other this time around, and they are building very specific things such as a museums, a cathedral, and a fast food chain. The wolf is actually a building inspector who really enjoys his job, especially when he gets to condemn a building for whatever violations he can find.

The story seems to take place in a post-human world, where animals have taken over civilization. It is referred to as a "Fairy Tale" world regardless. But this story does not really progress in the same way as the original. The wolf does not consume the pigs, but instead he tries to get a piece of the action in exchange for letting the pigs continue with their endeavors. Quite a strange way of devouring someone, I guess.

This story is probably intended as satire. I do recommend it. It feels like Gary had a silly idea and just bothered to put it down on paper in his spare time. I liked it.

This blog was written on June 10, 2026.

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Monday, June 22, 2026

Who We Need Here is Mister Tom Edison [Short Story Review]

"Who We Need Here is Mister Ton Edison" is a short science fiction/western story by Gary K. Wolf. It was published as part of a collection in 2012. (Although I do not know when the original story was published, I feel like it must have been somewhere around the early 2000s because of its content.)

This story is kind of a rare breed. Scifi westerns are a bit uncommon, but I have run into a few here and there. The idea here is that a time-traveler from the distant future has come to the old west to trade high tech items to the people in exchange for their absolutely regular everyday items. Although this seems like a disproportional trade, the man intends to take it back to the future and sell them as mint condition antiques. It would actually be a very profitable thing to do.

The problem here is that, in doing this, he is absolutely ruining the past. It's a butterfly effect problem. People are straight-up not being born because of his actions, making him something like a mass murderer.

The main character is a man named Gristle who is not buying into the high-tech stuff and is continuing to live his life the way he was raised. He is confronted by another time-traveler, a beautiful woman, who explains to him that the first time-traveler is ruining the time-line and that he needs to stand up to him. Gristle, being a man who had killed a number of people before, chooses to make the confrontation, seeing him for the mass-murderer that he is. I won't spoil anymore than that though.

A brief explanation of the story's title is needed, I suppose. Gristle once had a good friend named Tom Edison, who really is the famous inventor. In this weird timeline, Edison died in an accident. Part of the story here deals with that, but I won't go into why, as I think this story is worth reading.

I do recommend this story. Although the premise is absurd, the author takes more care than you might think. It draws you in and ultimately comes out surprisingly satisfactory with its conclusion. I enjoyed this one a lot.

This blog was written on June 8, 2026.

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Wednesday, June 17, 2026

The Unhardy Boys in Outer Space [Short Story Review]

[I spoil some of the main points of the story.]

"The Unhardy Boys of Outer Space" is a lengthy short story written by Gary K. Wolf and Archbishop John J. Myers. It was published as part of a collection in 2012. (I don't actually know when the story was originally released, but it references things from the late 90's and early 2000s.)

The story follows two men living in a futuristic space station. Michael is a science fiction writer and his best friend is Father Jack who is a priest. They are both extreme fans of science fiction. Father Jack assists Michael with with ideas as well as writing and editing. The fun of the story stems from the fact that science fiction is being written from outer space. You can imagine how well those books might sell.

This story is a heart-warming tale of two friends that share something in common. A good portion of the story is slice-of-life, where they are simply dealing with their life working on a space station. They continually make scifi and movie references to each other. I recognized most of them, but I feel like a lot of people today might not catch them. This story is a product of its time.

The point of all of those references is just seeing these two dorks get along with each other. It's nice and surprisingly relaxing to read. I say this with a little bit of irritation. I tend to really dislike references made in stories, but I am not sure this one would have worked otherwise. Like I said: it is a product of its time. This story may not be relevant in another decade.

Even though the bulk of the story just deals with these two nerds enjoying each other's company, it does actually get serious towards the third act. One of the younger employees at the station likes to bully them, and his life ends up being in danger when he gets separated from the station in the vacuum of space. These two guys put all their hatred aside to go rescue him, and this turns out to be one of the most intense scenes I have ever read in literature. This was mainly because these two knew near to nothing about space walks. It was a good read, and I enjoyed its conclusion.

Despite the fact that the story has unfortunately dated itself by using so many scifi references, I still recommend this story for its very friendly and relaxing nature. Although it does have some exciting space adventure mixed into it, the core of it is a story about two inseparable friends.

I would also like to say that this story reminds me of stuff my friend Donald White has written. I kept thinking of him while I read this. He used to write stories that tossed constant references into it in a similar way that this story did. I bet he would probably enjoy this one too.

This blog was written on June 4, 2026.

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