Science Fiction

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Right then, here we go…. 2000AD has, for the last year plus, been a regular feature of my week. The trip to the newsagent on Wednesday marks the past the midpoint and on the downhill to the weekend moment of my week. I could do the subscription thing and get it earlier, I could use the digital preview 2000AD send through for us and review that, but both seem like cheating to be honest. So a year plus later I’m settled in nicely, still a little bit of a newbie, some things still jumping out and sending me scuttling to the archives and needing to ask a few questions. But generally having a great time. You should try it too. This issue… Glenn Fabry’s Anderson cover’s really nice and all, but surely that’s old Anderson, not the Cadet Anderson we’re about to meet? Whatever, nice cover. Judge Dredd by Michael Carroll and PJ Holden Part 4 of the Forsaken, and we’ve settled into a pattern of Dredd and Dolman, still looking for their wayward clone brother, a cadet who went missing along with his squad on Chaos Day, finding one of the squad then interrogating and moving on, each time uncovering some horrible moment of the Chaos Day nightmare. I’m honestly loving this. I just can’t decide right now who amongst the Dredd writers impresses me most, but Carroll’s certainly up there. It’s the quietness of his stories, the contemplation, the cumulative shellshock of Mega-City One that he seems to just get right. He’s also got Dredd just so, that panel above where Dredd takes great offence at the cadet distancing herself from the Justice Department, near incapable of understanding. He’s the immovable object that all of these tales of the city can be placed around. Similarly in the panel below, as Dredd learns of the desperation of the squad, his only reaction is contempt… Yes, I know that’s how Dredd is, yes, I know that’s how it’s always been. I’m not saying Carroll’s doing anything new, I’m simply saying that he’s doing a bloody great job of delivering a Dredd that feels absolutely right. Meanwhile, his artistic collaborator Holden gets the look of the city just right as well, his chunkier artwork capturing the grime and the chaos that some artists fails to provide. This is a great little storyline, and I’m hoping it plays out long, I want to enjoy the slow build-up of the fun. Cadet Anderson by Alan Grant and Carlos Ezquerra Last time we had a Cadet Anderson it was a nothing kind of strip from Grant and Steve Yeowell, average, simple, straightforward and with a really not too great, Scooby Doo worthy everything slots into place all too conveniently ending. It was okay. And okay is …. well, okay. This time there’s perhaps something else here, I don’t know why, but something grabbed me this time. It may well be Ezquerra’s art, which is always a welcome addition, but I think it’s possibly more the prospect of a well-worked police procedural, with a bit of zip, and a bit of action. Whatever it is, it’s working thus far, although I did say that last time, and that let me down hideously. Fingers, as always, crossed. Sinister Dexter by Dan Abnett and John Burns This was one of those I had zero idea of. Last issue’s intro episode did enough to make me read on, and this issue answers my question of where’s the plot? It’s here, conveniently found in the offices where Sinister has found work as a cleaner (which again, is a fine gag, the contract killer, the ‘cleaner’ with a mop and his own handy cleaning cart). That it’s also the offices of the same protection programme that Sinister is part of is just one of those needed for the plot to move on sort of things. Yes, impractical, yes, a bit daft, but hey, let’s move on… So it wasn’t three people moved to Generica as Sinister thought, but four. And he’s not too happy wi

Every Sunday we put up these Art For Art’s Sake posts… and we’ve never, ever been short of great comic art to show you… God bless the Internet… Patrick McDonnell – Mondrian homage in a Mutts page (Via Wim) Philip Bond – an epic Archie cover from UKCAC ’93 (United Kingdom Comic Art Convention) Graham Annable delivers a little Addams Family: Ramon Villalobos draws Jack Kirby’s Demon: Paul Pope Grendel (Destroy Comics) Tara McPherson Sandman illustration from Illustration Now! Taschen 2005. (Via Bendis) Toth – oh so beautiful… (Bendis again) From the 1988 Birmingham Comic Art Show booklet. Zenith by Steve Yeowell. (Via Steven Cook) Dave Crossland – Dangermouse and Penfold as you’ve never seen them before (Via Lulu Bonanza) Travis Charest Miracleman (Comics Blah) Alex Toth pinup from Madman Picture Exhibition #1. (Bendis) Kyle Baker: Dick Tracey 1990 (Lazy Mercenary) Blacksad by Juanjo Guarnido - FB Page:

I'm sure that I don't have to tell you all that today is Towel Day, a yearly occasion set aside to celebrate the life and work of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams. Adams was justly celebrated for his humorous science fiction, including not only the Hitchhiker's Guide series but also - among others - the Dirk Gently books. However, he was more than that: Adams was a devoted environmentalist, activist video game writer and dramatist. He died at 49, a victim of cardiovascular disease. Although he was taken from us far too early, his genius will continue to enrich lives for many years to come. If you're interested in joining thousands of others in celebrating the life of this wonderful author, visit www.towelday.org to see if there are any special events near you.

VOLUME holds several meanings. First, that there is an abundant amount of excellent fiction in English currently being written by the younger generations. Second, that these stories must be read and shared. And third, that they deserve a place in bookcases and classrooms all over the country. VOLUME 1 will be the first book in an anthology series that will showcase fiction by Filipino writers, age 45 and under, selected without regard for boundaries or genres. VOLUME 1 will be launched in September 2013. Submission Guidelines 1. Submissions are open to all Filipino citizens 45 years and younger as of the end of 2013. 2. Submit only original unpublished short fiction written in English. ‘Unpublished’ is defined as not having previously appeared in part or in full in any print or digital media (including online refereed markets, blogs or any social media). 3. No multiple submissions. Submit only one piece of fiction for consideration. 4. Short stories only. Open theme, any genre. 5. Story word count cannot exceed 7500 words. Our preferred word count is in the range of 3500 to 5000 words. 6. Submissions should be formatted as Word Document files (.doc, .docx) or in Rich Text Format (.rtf) in simple fonts. 7. Submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes your name, your preferred byline and contact information. 8. Send your submissions to dean@kestrel.ph or sargelacuesta@gmail.com. We will confirm receipt of your work within 24 hours. 9. Deadline for submissions is midnight of June 30, 2013. Our reading period begins immediately afterwards. Letters of acceptance or regret will follow. 10. Contributors will be paid Php5000.00, as well as 2 copies of the book, for the exclusive first print rights to their story, as part of the anthology. We look forward to your stories and appreciate your help in spreading the word. Dean Francis Alfar & Angelo R. Lacuesta Editors

As in out there, as in Phillipa Rice is doing fantastic things at My Cardboard Life playing with the medium and the craft in her latest storyline, mixing comics, animation, photography to great, great effect. It’s all available over at the My Cardboard Life site, but I’ll tempt you with a few snapshots, starting with Granny telling a younger Pauline and Colin about her adventures in a strange world… All this talk of adventuring gets to them both and eventually, after much hemming and hawing, they take the plunge, and find the world was right in front of them all along… The adventures continue every weekday at My Cardboard Life.

News from Nikki Stu of an upcoming project she’s running a Kickstarter for; a new comic she’s been talking about for a while now – Honeydew and Magic. Nikki Stu should hopefully be a familiar name; we reviewed her series “Thank Goodness For Herald Owlett” in early 2012 with this: “… a huge, sprawling, pretty much non-stop fight scene of a comic, with characters in near constant motion, manga shapes everywhere, manga stylings everywhere. And dammit, it’s lots and lots of energetic, kinetic fun.” Here’s Nikki to tell you a little of the project: “My name is Nikki Stu, I am a UK based comic book creator living in Sheffield. For the past five years, I have worked on an ongoing series of comics called “Thank Goodness for Herald Owlett”, and am now working on something new… Honeydew and Magic follows the story of a girl named Sprout – She doesn’t know too much about her past, though one thing she does know is that she was human until a tree spirit named Treesun came along, who lives in her head. You’ll get to meet Terra and Goji, two other folks she lives with and see their adventures in the strange world they inhabit. Oh, I should also mention that they live in a magic shop selling all kinds of different magic teas. Some of which are explosive. Currently, I am halfway through inking Honeydew and Magic. However there is still a great amount that needs doing, as this is both my largest single issue at 64 pages, and my first comic to be produced in FULL, EYE-POPPING COLOUR from front to back. Making it my biggest project so far.” Looks good, yes?

(David Ziggy Greene) Spring has sprung, and Alternative Press are celebrating by bringing their fair to No Dark Places DIY Music Fetsival on 1st June 2013. Details and news over at the AP site, or facebook here. Entry to the AP Fair and workshops is free. And from the blog, a few more flyers….   (Carina Martina, Sabba Khan)   (Matt Witt, Max Lockwood)

I Spit On Your Grave Netflix | Amazon | Google Play | hitbliss | SEN | Vudu | YouTube DVD | Blu-ray Directed by Meir Zarchi Starring Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace, Anthony Nichols, Gunter Kleemann Cinemagic / The Jerry Gross Organization Originally Released: November 22, 1978 Paving the way for numerous fucked-up films that, in fact, have some form of subtext, the disturbing I Spit On Your Grave (otherwise known as Day Of The Woman) was a massive influence to the horror genre. Though campy now with age, the violence and ruthlessness is no less intense, making the movie still incredibly fucked-up and a disturbing viewing experience. Writer Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton) goes into seclusion to a remote "cabin in the woods" where she plans to begin work on her first novelization. The locals in the area seem friendly by all appearances, and things appear to be off to a good start for her. But the situation degenerates, as a group of the local young men attack and rape her, several times, in demented scenes that simply cannot be unseen. Believing her to be dead, the rapists go on with their daily lives, but Jenny survives and begins to put the pieces of her life back together. Once back on her feet, she becomes conscious that she will be unsafe if her attackers learn that she is alive, and begins to make plans to seek vengeance on those who brutalized her. [...]

So this dropped through the letterbox this morning thanks to Waterstones and after spending a little bit reading the opening I tweeted this:  The pressure to like Michael Moorcock feels quite intense after reading parts of the introduction and the love from team @gollancz & others — Gav Reads (@gavreads) May 25, 2013 But it’s not the only place to start. After some nagging Gollancz editor Marcus gave some insight into what to choose and the how the releases of Moorcock’s work is going to happen: “The most important thing to note is that really, you can start with any series. Yes, all of the works connect and build up into a wider mythos, but each of the series stand on their own. The best way, in my opinion, is to pick one you like the sound of and start from there. That’s what I did as a kid. However, here are a few pointers.” (Via: Michael Moorcock Reading List | Gollancz blog) I do like the fact that these are the definitive editions and things have been correctly and ironed out. Now I really hope I like it.