Charlie Jane Anders

How To Photograph An Exploding Star

This is SNR E0519-69.0, an expanding shell of debris around a star that exploded in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way. The red lines are the outer edges of the explosion (visible light) and the blue glow is the superhot gas (millions of degrees hot, in X-Ray). This is just…

A Closer Look At The New Fantastic Four In Action

The first teaser trailer for the Fantastic Four reboot was… kinda low-key, actually. It definitely conveyed a strong mood of sombre anticipation, tinged with hope. But there were a few glimpses of the actual Fantastic Four doing actual superpowered things. We’ve rounded them up so you can take a closer look. The Human Torch: Sue…

Jon Pertwee’s TARDIS Is Looking Much The Worse For Wear

Apparently this is the actual TARDIS prop used by Doctor Who back in the Jon Pertwee era — which seems believable, since it was pretty battered-looking back in 1971 and the intervening decades probably haven’t been kind. Makes me kind of nostalgic for the days when the TARDIS was less imposing and shiny. Photo via…

Best Iain M. Banks tribute ever. Elon Musk tweeted thathe’s naming two SpaceX droneships after Culture ships in Banks’ The Player of Games. One drone ship will be called Just Read The Instructions, and the other will be Of Course I Still Love You. [via Tor.com]

This Is Probably The Most Beautiful Doctor Who Artwork Ever Created

Doctor Who has given rise to tons of incredible artwork, from Chris Achilleos’ book covers to Dave Gibbons’ comics to Bill Mudron’s art nouveau painting. But for my money, the best Who art of all time is probably the Dalek comic strip that was published in the mid-1960s in Century 21 magazine. And it’s all…

Read An Exclusive Chapter Of Catherynne M. Valente’s New Fairyland Book!

Catherynne M. Valente’s Fairyland series has captured the imaginations of kids and perspicacious adults alike — and now, the fourth volume in the series, The Boy Who Lost Fairyland, is coming out in March. But no need to wait — we’ve got an exclusive excerpt, in which a troll becomes a boy. C H A…

10 Weirdest Projects That George Lucas Has Been Involved With

This past weekend, George Lucas released his fairytale musical fever dream, Strange Magic. A movie in which fairies sing ELO and Lady Gaga for 99 minutes. But that wasn’t the only bizarre venture that Lucas has tried to develop. Here are the 10 weirdest projects Lucas worked on throughout his career. https://gizmodo.com/strange-magic-is-a-relentless-tirade-of-cg-fairies-sing-1681299506 1) Howard the…

Scott McCloud’s Graphic Novel The Sculptor Is Amazing. See For Yourself!

Scott McCloud is a legend in comics, both for his series like Zot! and for his books like Understanding Comics. And now, his long-awaited graphic novel, The Sculptor, comes out on Feb. 3. We’ve got some exclusive preview pages — you’re going to want to click the little magnifying glass to enlarge these. Here’s the…

The Biggest Surprise In Syfy’s 12 Monkeys Is The 12 Monkeys Themselves

How do you turn an existentially comfortless movie about a futile journey from a post-apocalyptic future into the present day into an ongoing TV series? One way is to make the time travel less futile. But another is to create a really scary villain — and with its second episode, 12 Monkeys stars doing just…

Norm Breyfogle, The Indelible Batman Artist, Deserves Your Support

Norm Breyfogle was one of the artists who changed Batman forever. And now, he’s suffered a stroke that affected the left side of his body, including his drawing arm. His family is raising money to help pay his medical expenses, and Comic Book Resources explains why anyone who believes in heroes should help.

An Amazing Opportunity: Get The Very Best Of Charles de Lint For Free!

If you love urban fantasy, then you owe a stupendous debt to Charles de Lint, whether you’ve read him or not. His playful, majestic, clever stories helped shape the genre and were part of what made me fall in love with magical stories set in cities. And now you can get a collection of his…

Ben Elton Has A Brand New Novel About Traveling Back To Stop World War I

You probably know Ben Elton as the writer behind such amazing shows as Blackadder and The Young Ones. But he’s also the author of a ton of novels, many of which explore totally ludicrous science fiction premises with the kind of zany humor you’d expect. (The best are Gridlock and Stark.) And now, he’s just…

The Inside Scoop On The Movie Version Of YA Book Classic House Of Stairs

House of Stairs by William Sleator is an intense, dark story, and it would make a fantastic movie. So it’s fantastic news that a House of Stairs movie is in the pipeline, with a goal of starting production in September or October. We talked to a producer and got the inside scoop on the film.…

The Whole Crazy Process Of Creating A TV Show, From Pitch To Pilot

Right now, it’s pilot season — which means you’re going to be hearing about a lot of TV shows getting ordered. And then, nine months from now… most of those shows will not be on television. What is this mysterious crucible? Here’s our step-by-step guide to the process of pitching a brand new television show.…

Jim Rockford Warned Us About Google And Facebook Back In 1978

Why didn’t we listen? The fourth season of The Rockford Files, arguably the greatest television show of all time, features a “futuristic” storyline about a terrible threat. What if a private corporation used computers to gather personal information on hundreds of millions of Americans? Could we trust them with that data? I know, it’s hard…

When You Can’t Tell The Difference Between Science And Science Fiction

As more and more stuff from science fiction feels as though it’s coming true, we run into more situations where straight-up descriptions of real discoveries feel science fictional. But it works the other way, too — some SF writers go out of their way to make their fiction feel like real science writing. Top image:…

Which Character Do You Just Wish You Could Give Some Helpful Advice To?

We love to watch people make terrible mistakes — there’s a reason why the characters who make the most awful decisions are usually the most popular. But sometimes, you just find yourself yelling at the screen (or page), “NO!” Which character in science fiction or fantasy do you wish you could give some helpful advice…

Doctor Who Quotes That Make Hilariously Terrible Pick-Up Lines

Given the sheer volume of dialogue that’s been spouted on Doctor Who in the past 50-odd years, and how silly or bizarre a fair amount of it is, nobody should be surprised that dozens of Doctor Who quotes make insane silly double entendres. Our new favorite Tumblr, “Leave The Girl, It’s The Man I Want,”…

How Is A Mathematical Proof Like Frodo’s Journey In Lord Of The Rings?

When people describe a story as being told in a “by the numbers” fashion, that’s usually regarded as bad. But in a talk at Oxford University the other day, scientist Marcus du Sautoy argued that a great mathematical proof is a lot like a story. In fact, a really great proof is like Frodo’s journey…

Supernatural Manages To Have The 2 Most Annoying Female Characters On TV

In its 10th season, Supernatural’s new formula seems to consist of: 1) way lower stakes, as compared to the overarching plots of previous seasons, and 2) soap-operatic subplots involving Castiel and Crowley. To that end, the show has introduced the two most annoying female characters on television. Spoilers ahead… I know that’s a bold statement,…