Lauren Davis

Just How Did Scott McCloud Create Something As Moving As The Sculptor?

Scott McCloud is best known for his comics about comics, books like Understanding Comics, Making Comics, and Reinventing Comics, which examine the elements and power of the sequential art form. But in The Sculptor, McCloud combines form with heart to tell a story about love, mortality, and art. If you haven’t gotten a chance to…

Constantine Has Revealed Its Long Con, And We’re Rooting For Its Return

This week, Constantine aired what might be the show’s final episode, a creepy story about otherworldly polygamous teenagers. But it’s the episode’s last few moments that ups the stakes and has us hoping that Constantine returns, perhaps with a bit of rebranding. I will admit, I’ve been a bit ambivalent about Constantine. Like a lot…

This Week’s TV: Joker’s Story Begins On Gotham And Archer Visits Area 51

This week’s Gotham involves a clown fight, the Flying Graysons, and perhaps our first real glimpse of the Joker. Vikings returns for a third season of war-filled historical fiction. Archer ends up at Area 51, Gravity Falls does a bit of ghostbusting, and a character from the comics turns up on Walking Dead. Top image…

Artists Draw Celebrities As Gender-Swapped Versions Of DC Characters

Sigourney Weaver as Bruce Wayne? Jennifer Connelly as Clark Kent? David Bowie as Poison Ivy? Several artists have been having fun the past few weeks by imagining famous folks as superheroes — but with male celebs as female characters and vice versa. Here’s what they came up with. These artists, many of them professional cartoonists…

Webcomic Explains How Pythons Invaded Florida—And Why They’re A Problem

Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia, but in the last 40 years, they’ve invaded the Florida Everglades, where their population has exploded. This short comic explains how Burmese pythons got there in the first place — and how it’s wreaking havoc on the ecosystem. Cartoonist journalist Andy Warner‘s latest piece at Medium’s The Nib…

The Avengers‘ Battle Of New York Recut To Include Spider-Man

Spider-Man is finally going to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but where was he while the Avengers were fighting the Battle of New York? This video inserts Peter Parker into the action, letting him fight alongside Earth’s Mightiest heroes. The folks at Screen Crush mashed up Spider-Man’s movie footage with footage from The Avengers,…

In 1900, Two Inventors Audition For A Stage Show About The Year 2000

The year is 1900 and Georges and Madeleine are trying to get a gig showing off the wonders of life in the year 2000, complete with gadget that we would think of today as retrofuturistic. But it’s when they debut their time machine on the stage that things start getting goofy. 1900-2000 was directed by…

Concept Art Writing Prompt: The Spidermother

Well, things are looking pretty creepy in this week’s writing prompt. But is the massive mother in this image going to care for that baby or feed the baby to her brood? “Spidermother” is by artist Markus Erdt. You can see more of Erdt’s work on his portfolio site, his blog, and his deviantART profile,…

A Paranoid Robotic Vacuum Deals With A Bug Infestation On A Spaceship

In the music video for Hundred Waters‘ “Innocent,” we watch through CC TV cameras as a robotic janitor travels through an empty spaceship, sucking up the bugs who have invaded the corridors. But gradually, we come to understand just what is going on in this strange animation. Jeremy Clapin directed and designed this creepy and…

On The 100, Mount Weather Pulls Out The Big Gun—Which Is A Missile

On this week’s The 100, we’ve got two children making big decisions without their formerly powerful parents — and there are bound to be grave consequences. As Mount Weather points a missile at the alliance leadership, Clarke must decide whether to protect them and risk exposing her spy. Things are getting chaotic beneath Mount Weather.…

An Expertly Crafted Short About Two Men Who Hack The Brain To See God

A computer scientist teams up with a film student for an ambitious project: finding the perfect set of images that will induce hallucinogenic visions of God. But just as they succeed, they find themselves pursued by a mysterious religious sect. Be sure to watch this one to the very end. The Brain Hack, which was…

What Does “OK” Stand For, Anyway?

As a linguistic phrase, OK is something of a phenomenon, traveling from American English into hundreds of other languages. And there are tons of myths about how OK emerged to mean that things are hunky-dory. But which story is correct? The truth is a little bit goofy. In his book Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban…

Someone Is Writing The Ultimate Generic Dystopian YA Novel On Twitter

We love young adult science fiction, but even we have to admit that sometimes, it can feel like dystopian novels are following a bit script. The new Twitter account @DystopianYA is poking a bit of fun at some of the more common conventions of the genre. Writer and comedian Dana Schwartz is behind the @DystopianYA…

Peter Dinklage May Or May Not Being Playing A Leprechaun In New Comedy

Peter Dinklage is one of those actors whose roles of ranged from the sublime (Game of Thrones, The Station Agent) to the bizarre (Underdog), and one of his upcoming projects sounds pretty crazy. In the comedy film O’Lucky Day, Dinklage is set to play a con man who may be a Leprechaun. Deadline is reporting…

Just in time for spy week: CIA veteran Lynn Boughey and International Spy Museum executive director Peter Earnest’s book Harry Potter and the Art of Spying, which analyzes the spy techniques in J.K. Rowling’s fantasy novels, is free today on Kindle.

What Happens When An Astronaut Falls In Love Right Before Hibernation?

In the short film Hibernation, Joseph is about to embark on a remarkable journey — entering hibernation so that he can explore parts of the universe where no human has ventured. But he can’t shake the feeling that things have been left unfinished between him and his instructor, Claire. Hibernation was written by Eric Navarro…

An Old Lady Saves Zeus’ Life And He Tries To Repay Her…Awkwardly

Every year, the cartoonist Boulet makes an entire webcomic story in just 24 hours, and every year, it’s incredibly fun. This year, Boulet spins a tale about an elderly widow who finds herself doing Zeus a favor, and doesn’t much like how the king of the gods tries to repay her. Boulet celebrated 24-hour-comic day…

Derelict Spaceships Helped The Microhousing Trend Take Off

The single-occupant pod ships were actually perfect for low-impact housing. They already had solar panels, hydroponic chambers, and modular living quarters. However, most sentients replaced the strap-in, low-gravity beds with simple hammocks. “Home” is by concept artist Juhani Jokinen, who currently works at Ubisoft Redlynx. You can seem more of Jokinen’s work at his portfolio…

Sarah Faces Off Against That New Clone In Latest Orphan Black Teaser

We met someone new at the end of the last season of Orphan Black, and in the latest teaser for Season 3, that certain someone interacts with Sarah Manning. But what else is going on here? Spoilers ahead. Well, it seems that this male clone, played by Ari Millen (who already creeped us out and…

Star Wars Rebels Reminds Us What A Badass Grand Moff Tarkin Is

Wilhuff Tarkin is definitely having a moment in the Star Wars Universe. The novel Tarkin revealed the biography of Emperor Palpatine’s most valuable military officer, and now Star Wars Rebels is reinforcing the idea that if one man could have snuffed out the fledgling Rebellion, it would be Tarkin. I must say, between the Empire…