Simon Helberg as Howard Wolowitz on “The Big Bang Theory”
So, let’s go back a bit to that placement of a specific comic book on the hit TV show, “The Big Bang Theory.” That would be the episode where the guys are trying to buy tickets to go to Comic-Con International in San Diego. In “The Convention Conundrum,” broadcast January 30, 2014, we see Simon Helberg thumbing through the pages of a copy of “Colonus.”
Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews, Sci-Fi, science fiction, The Big Bang Theory, The Geekie Awards
When we last checked in on WORTH, we took the first issue for a spin (review here). Now, let’s take a look at the first full length graphic novel of WORTH. As you’ll see, we have a whole new kind of hero we’re dealing with here. Grant Worth is a new “old school” kind of hero. The print edition of the WORTH graphic novel is available now.
Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews, Roddenberry Entertainment, Sci-Fi, science fiction
My favorite episode of the original Star Trek series is “Man Trap,” by George Clayton Johnson. But there are certainly plenty to choose from. One of the crown jewels is by the great scribe, Harlan Ellison, “The City on the Edge of Forever.” Ellison’s teleplay, much like Johnson’s, went through revisions to make it a better fit for network television at the time. Now, thanks to IDW Plubishing, this classic story will be faithfully adapted as a five-issue comics series, just as Ellison had originally envisioned it.
Press release follows:
We’ve all seen, or know something about “Gravity,” starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, right? We appreciate that getting lost in space is not a very good idea. Imagine if you’re a goofy teenager thrown in with a bunch of other teens in some space station that has apparently lost its way and is just drifting out in space. That’s what we first see in this new comic, “Pariah,” story by Aron Warner and Philip Gelatt, art and lettering by Brett Weldele, published by Dark Horse Comics. There’s not even a hint of the glamour of Bullock and Clooney, not by a long shot. This is gritty, sweaty, stuff, more like “Lord of the Flies.”
Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews, Dark Horse Comics, Sci-Fi, science fiction
Lola Kirke as Hailey in “Mozart in the Jungle”
MOZART IN THE JUNGLE
If I could only pick one of the current crop of Amazon TV pilots, amid comedies and dramas, it would have to be “Mozart in the Jungle.” After having given it a try, along with the four other pilots, it stays with me the most. That’s not to say the other shows aren’t quality items. In fact, this whole roster has a lot to offer and I’ll say a little about them too. What I find to be most appealing about this particular show is that you have compelling conflict evenly distributed amongst compelling characters. You have the main character, Hailey, who is likable and someone to root for. Lola Kirke brings something of the appeal of “Girls” to the show and that’s not just because she’s the sister of one of its stars, Jemima Kirke. She does not seem to be an especially strong character but you get the sense that she’s growing and will strike when she needs to. Other characters already know how to strike all too well and it will be fun to see just how far they will go. This is the world of classical music but it’s a jungle too.
Filed under Amazon, Amazon Originals, Amazon Studios, Comedy, drama, Reviews, Sci-Fi, science fiction, Television, TV Reviews
There is something downright thrilling about a project that is adding to the appreciation of Logan’s Run, a franchise with numerous tropes and backstory. Logan’s Run means a lot of things to a lot of people. There are diehard fans of the original novel, the major motion picture, and the television program. This omnibus edition collects all six issues of the Bluewater Comics series of Logan’s Run Last Day. It is a story that gives a big nod to the original novel, basically makes a case for what a remake of the movie might look like, and is a fine example of what you can do to tease out more nuances to such an iconic work.
FAMOUS MONSTERS #272 HISTORY OF SCI-FI (NEWSSTAND)
Consider this scenario: A man finds himself apparently the sole survivor of a world-wide pandemic. He searches for more survivors and a cure. Sound familiar? Well, welcome to the source: Richard Matheson’s groundbreaking 1954 Sci-Fi classic, I AM LEGEND. Or about this scenario: A world-wide plague has wiped out most of the population. Survivors fight for what little resources remain. Again, sound familiar? Well, go back even further to another source: Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking 1826 Sci-Fi classic, THE LAST MAN. Starting to see a pattern? You get a look at a wide variety of Sci-Fi interconnections in the latest issue of FAMOUS MONSTERS, #272. Half the issue is a tribute to writer Richard Matheson, who passed away in 2013, and the other half is a brief history of Sci-Fi literature.
Filed under Famous Monsters, movies, Sci-Fi, science fiction, Television, The Twilight Zone, The Walking Dead
FAMOUS MONSTERS #272 RICHARD MATHESON (DIAMOND/SUBSCRIBER)
The upcoming issue of Famous Monsters will be a tribute to a giant in science
fiction, Richard Matheson. Yes, he’s the guy who wrote that famous episode of The Twilight Zone with William Shatner freaking out at seeing a gremlin on the wing of the plane he’s on, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.” He was a prolific writer and wrote one of my favorites, BID TIME RETURN, which became the movie, SOMEWHERE IN TIME, starring Christopher Reeve.
Visit our friends at Famous Monsters here.
FAMOUS MONSTERS #272 HISTORY OF SCI-FI (NEWSSTAND)
More details from FAMOUS MONSTERS follow:
Filed under Famous Monsters, Fandom, Magazines, Richard Matheson, Sci-Fi, science fiction
There are so many superhero comics out there but readers are always open to a new wrinkle. How about a comic that encompasses a world made up of trillions, a hundred times more populated than Earth? That is a world that we all live in now, inside our own bodies, made up of trillions of cells. Welcome to BIOWARS.
This is definitely something new within the superhero genre. What will first interest readers is how this comic engages with real biology. With a majority of superhero comics heavily tied to either pulp fiction or mythology, BIOWARS, published by Gabriel Creations, confidently goes deep inside a vast alien world with many possibilities. Creator Gabriel Shaoolian envisioned a comic that dove into a whole new terrain. With a story that literally takes place inside and outside, there is great potential here.
The story begins with a sounding of alarms in the first issue, aptly entitled, “Infection.” We see the emerging war take shape. Written by Mark Powers (Marvel Comics, Devil’s Due), we get a nice dose of action, and even humor. Microphage armies and B-Cell forces, given human-like form for the sake of more vivid storytelling, are deployed to subdue the enemy invader. The artwork (Lucius Cross, Joana LaFuente, and Gonçalo Lopes) brings it all to life with impressive results. The next time you get a cold, you can picture a war like this one raging through your bronchial passages.
But there’s far more going on. Whatever this virus or bacteria is, it is unlike anything the immune system A-teams have ever encountered. And things aren’t any less tense in the great unknown world outside. Out there, on the streets of New York’s Chinatown, there’s a young man, Alex Hawking, running for his life. Outside, danger looms even closer as Alex is being chased by a killer. The killer is quite familiar with what’s wrong with Alex from the inside.
The intrigue continues as more details are revealed in the second issue, entitled, “Revelations.” With two issues in, a suspenseful story has unfolded that carries the weight of a first-rate superhero tale. We know that Alex is in a lot of danger. And we have some clues as to what he might do next. Good use is made of superhero tropes. There’s Janice Lee, the reporter who gets too close to her story and is now wrapped up with Alex’s fate. There’s Alex’s classic conflict with his father, Marcus. And there are two villains: a mad scientist, Ernst Kelso, working in the outer world; and Raze, the master mold, working in the inner world. All in all, a pretty promising start to a new all-ages comic.
BIOWARS #3, entitled, “The Virus Invasion,” comes out January 14, 2014. Visit our friends at the BIOWARS website here.
Filed under Biology, Biowars, Comics, Comics Reviews, Sci-Fi, Science, science fiction
“Alex + Ada” is a story set in the not too distant future of floating computer screens and little robots that serve your coffee. We’re given a quiet moment to settle into the story, up until when we get to the morning’s news. Something about a virus being unleashed upon a warehouse of robots and the robots killing humans. Overnight, that company’s stock plummets and a new company emerges as the world’s most trusted tech leader.
We continue to follow Alex on his way to work and we see life-sized robots walking alongside their human masters. In the distance, there’s a protestor with a sign pleading for robot rights. We next find Alex at his office chatting telepathically with a friend. Just a little social networking through an implant in one’s head. Alex is still bummed out over his breakup of seven months ago. Isn’t there something that could cheer him up?
That something will, undoubtedly, be Ada but we only get a hint of that in this first issue which is just fine. The art by Jonathan Luna (GIRLS, THE SWORD) has a free and easy quality as if it came out of a sketchbook. It is an instinctive and simple style that is fun to look at and conveys more emotion than some more realistic art. Luna’s story, with script by Sarah Vaughn (Sparkshooter), seems to share a similar light quality. Luna appears to be very comfortable with a story full of quiet moments, at least for now. Vaughn has an agile touch with dialogue that is truly conversational. There’s a scene between Alex and his grandmother that could have easily just been filler but it’s actually fun and gives a little more substance to what happens next.
An unlikely pairing of human and android. Yep, that’s where we’re headed. No doubt, this won’t be the first story exploring the various possibilities between humans and A-I. However, there’s potential here for something refreshing. I will set the bar high and hope for something as good as the recent movie, “Robot & Frank,” which stars Frank Langella, as Frank, and Peter Sarsgaard as the voice of Robot. In this movie, also set in the near future, Frank is a man who is adrift, much like Alex in this comic. Frank Langella is a very admirable actor. Always the lady’s man, he’s matured to perfection. Here, he plays a retired jewel thief who has a robot forced upon him by family for his own good, to look after him. Little by little, Frank warms up to Robot. He refuses to give him a proper name. Ultimately, Frank and Robot come to an understanding and that’s when the plot thickens.
In the case of this comic, things look very promising indeed, considering we have Ada, a very mysterious and sexy android; plus, we have a possible robot rebellion lurking in the background.
“Alex + Ada #1” releases November 6. Visit our friends at Image Comics here.
Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews, Image Comics, Sci-Fi, science fiction
