Lauren Davis, Author at Gizmodo

If superheroes competed in the Olympics what would their events be?

Some Olympic athletes seem to have superhuman abilities, but these posters ask: what if fictional superheroes decided to compete in the winter Olympics? The always wonderful Francesco Francavilla imagines a different version of the Sochi games, one where Captain America competes in luge, Wolverine picks up a hockey stick, and the Flash dominates speed skating.…

io9 Lauren Davis Feb 17 '14

Forensic artist “reconstructs” face of Crystal Head skull vodka bottles

If the Crystal Head Vodka bottles were modeled on a real skull, what would the person have looked like when he or she was alive? A forensic artist has used facial reconstruction techniques to sculpt a face that could belong to the vodka bottle. Nigel Cockerton, who received a Masters in Forensic and Medical Art…

io9 Lauren Davis Feb 17 '14

This Week’s TV: Romeo & Juliet Meets Alien Internment Camps

The Olympics means this is another quiet week for new television, with exception of one mid-season premiere, which adds extraterrestrial refugees to a Romeo and Juliet story. Plus, there are even more revelations ahead for Helix and The Walking Dead, and a smart house goes nuts on Almost Human. Check out the clips and details…

io9 Lauren Davis Feb 17 '14

A woman runs life-saving errands for an employer who may be God

Alana works for a Peacekeeper, a mysterious figure who sends her phone calls and text messages about people who are about to die; her job is to make sure those people stay alive. Some people think her employer is God, but Alana isn’t so sure. Peacekeepers is a new web series created by Charlie Reeves…

io9 Lauren Davis Feb 14 '14

Another Valentine’s Day dinner ruined

Francesca said she was making octopus, using the pots her strega auntie had given them as a wedding gift. When Jesse saw what awaited him at home, he figured it was for the best. He hated seafood anyway. Artist John Brosio has limited edition prints of “Fatigue” and his other paintings available through his website.…

io9 Lauren Davis Feb 14 '14

The real reason that women in fantasy art wear such skimpy armor

It’s horribly impractical for ladies to wear bikini armor while leaving their midsections exposed…or is it? Artist Stjepan Sejic reveals the “truth” behind half-naked women warriors. Sejic says that this has been a long-simmering joke between him and his wife about fantasy illustration. Sejic draws plenty of lady armor himself, as an artist for the…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis Feb 14 '14

Listen to the Butt Song from Hell written on a 500-year-old painting

One section of Hieronymus Bosch’s massive triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights depicts a hellish chorus singing a song painted on the buttocks of a sinner. Now a musician has transcribed it into modern notation for our asinine listening pleasure. Amelia, a music and information systems student at Oklahoma Christian University, decided to figure out…

io9 Lauren Davis Feb 14 '14

New Star Wars Rebels characters revealed—but in LEGO form

We’ve already met ponytail-sporting fugitive Jedi Kanan from the upcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels, but now we get a peek at his fellow Rebels—or at least how they look as LEGO minifigs. https://gizmodo.com/new-jedi-kind-of-looks-like-a-guy-we-bought-weed-from-i-1520977916 LEGO has released images of two of their Star Wars Rebels sets, which LEGO is bringing to this weekend’s Toy Fair…

Television Lauren Davis Feb 14 '14

Concept Art Writing Prompt: A Quiet Evening with Dragons

It’s a dark and stormy night, but inside the fire is roaring, the music is good, and the dragons are cozy. Tell us a story set in this serene scene. “An evening with dragons…” is by artist Travis Hanson, creator of the webcomic The Bean. Prints of this and Hanson’s other illustrations are available from…

io9 Lauren Davis Feb 13 '14

Batman is terrible at ad libbing in the LEGO Movie blooper reel

Still haven’t gotten enough of Will Arnett’s LEGO Movie Batman? He has even more goofy one-liners in this “blooper” reel, and even bonds a bit with Emmet. [via Blastr]

Movies Lauren Davis Feb 13 '14

Behold the first geological map of Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon

Four hundred years ago, Galileo Galilei observed Ganymede in orbit around Jupiter. This week, a team of planetary scientists unveiled the first global geological map of our solar system’s largest moon. Using images obtained by NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft and the Galileo orbiter, a team led by Geoffrey Collins of Wheaton College pieced…

io9 Lauren Davis Feb 13 '14

JL8 creator Yale Stewart is writing a series of Superman kids’ books

One of the best things to come out of the DC Universe recently is Yale Stewart’s touching and funny fan webcomic JL8, which imagines the members of the Justice League as eight-year-olds. Soon Stewart will have a series of licensed DC children’s books on the shelves: The Amazing Adventures of Superman. Stewart posted an image…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis Feb 13 '14

Arya Stark actress plunges her sword into a bloody Red Wedding cake

How do you celebrate marriages in the Riverlands of Westeros? With a Red Wedding cake, of course. And if you’re lucky, Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark, will take the first stab. Confectioners Choccywoccydoodah made this cake commemorating the brutal wedding of Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey for a Game of Thrones Season 3 DVD…

Television Lauren Davis Feb 13 '14

The (almost) entire run of Gargoyles is streaming legally on YouTube

Disney hasn’t yet released the final season of its urban fantasy series Gargoyles on DVD, but it has made nearly every episode of the cartoon available online. There goes the rest of our week. Sadly, Disney has restricted the videos to viewers in the US, but if you are (or appear to be) a US…

Television Lauren Davis Feb 13 '14

The Story of Star Wars Hand-Stitched into a 30-foot Bayeux Tapestry

Inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry, Aled Lewis cross-stitched “The Coruscant Tapestry,” a 30’x13″ visual retelling of the six Star Wars films with Aurebesh script surrounding the borders. “The Coruscant Tapestry” is currently on display at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles as part of Lewis’ Just Pixels solo show, and the folks at the gallery say…

io9 Lauren Davis Feb 12 '14

One of the remote-controlled Lost World dinosaurs actually bit an actor

In the second Jurassic Park movie, a pack of tiny Compsognathus swarm Peter Stormare’s character, Dieter Stark. Apparently, even the remote-controlled puppet versions of these Compies were vicious little critters; some were designed to actually bite Stormare’s lip. Stan Winston Studio posted this video of how they accomplished the Compy attack, and it’s a great…

Movies Lauren Davis Feb 12 '14

There’s still a way Firefly could come back to television

As much as we would all absolutely love to see more episodes of Firefly, getting the gang back together is a tricky proposition. But former Firefly writer and producer Tim Minear says he wouldn’t “foreclose the possibility” of more Firefly and has a proposal for another flight aboard Serenity. Firefly creator Joss Whedon has said…

Television Lauren Davis Feb 12 '14

An enigmatic nun hunts real monsters for the Spanish Inqusition

While other members of the Spanish Inquisition busy themselves rooting out false witches, the mysterious Inquisitor Two investigates genuine monsters and demons at the behest of Queen Isabella. But this slice-’em-up nun may have more in common with the creatures she hunts than with the people she works for. Run Freak Run is a fast…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis Feb 12 '14

Why did this non-existent town show up on maps of New York?

Up until the 1990s, many maps of New York situated the tiny town of Agloe just north of Roscoe in the Catskill Mountains. The problem? Agloe, New York, was almost entirely fictitious, although it briefly existed on paper. So how does a made-up town end up on a map? Simple: a mapmaker put it there.…

io9 Lauren Davis Feb 12 '14

The Greater North American Fairy Hunter enjoys a winged meal

Some fairies believe that dusting their bodies with powdered foxglove will make them unpalatable to the Fairy Hunter. While this is, tragically, an old wives’ tale, the substance will give their predator a nasty case of indigestion. Mythobiologists call it “Tinkerbell’s Revenge.” One of the numerous brilliantly colored fantasy creatures dreamed up by Dave Melvin.…

io9 Lauren Davis Feb 11 '14

Lauren Davis

If superheroes competed in the Olympics what would their events be?

Forensic artist “reconstructs” face of Crystal Head skull vodka bottles

This Week’s TV: Romeo & Juliet Meets Alien Internment Camps

A woman runs life-saving errands for an employer who may be God

Another Valentine’s Day dinner ruined

The real reason that women in fantasy art wear such skimpy armor

Listen to the Butt Song from Hell written on a 500-year-old painting

New Star Wars Rebels characters revealed—but in LEGO form

Concept Art Writing Prompt: A Quiet Evening with Dragons

Batman is terrible at ad libbing in the LEGO Movie blooper reel

Behold the first geological map of Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon

JL8 creator Yale Stewart is writing a series of Superman kids’ books

Arya Stark actress plunges her sword into a bloody Red Wedding cake

The (almost) entire run of Gargoyles is streaming legally on YouTube

The Story of Star Wars Hand-Stitched into a 30-foot Bayeux Tapestry

One of the remote-controlled Lost World dinosaurs actually bit an actor

There’s still a way Firefly could come back to television

An enigmatic nun hunts real monsters for the Spanish Inqusition

Why did this non-existent town show up on maps of New York?

The Greater North American Fairy Hunter enjoys a winged meal

The Opening Script Pages of ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Are Now Online

Jack Dorsey Beats Elon Musk to the Punch With a Reboot of Vine

Anker Docking Station Falls to Prime Day–Level Low With Nearly 40% Off, Powers 14 Devices With 160W Output

Canada Just Got Generic Ozempic. Americans Shouldn’t Hold Their Breath

Dreame Shows Off a Concept All-In-One Laundry With a Special Shoe Washer

Sony WF-1000XM6 Earbuds Get an Early Price Cut, More Expensive Than AirPods Pro 3 at Launch but Now at Record Low

Facebook Flooded With Bizarre Deepfaked Photos of Alleged White House Correspondents’ Dinner Gunman

Lego’s New ‘Fantastic Four’ Set Is Much Cuter Than Its First

Canon PowerShot V10 Vlogging Camera Drops Below Black Friday Pricing in Its First Discount of the Year

Dreame’s Smart Fridge Has a Robot Arm That Can Put Your Groceries Away for You

Steam Controller Review: Trackpads Change Everything for PC Gaming

Soundcore Space 2 Review: A Shockingly Stellar Value for Budget ANC Wireless Headphones

Anker’s UV Printer Can Handle Almost Anything… If You Know What You’re Doing

HP’s EliteBoard Keyboard-Computer Proves We Can Stick a PC in Anything

Sleep-Tracking Earbuds Didn’t Fix Me, but They Did Open My Eyes

I’ve Tested a Lot of Bad Smart Glasses and These Are the Worst Yet

Roborock’s Qrevo Curv 2 Flow Is the Ultimate Robot Mop—If You Don’t Have Corners or Walls

Alienware’s $350 QD-OLED Gaming Monitor Nixes Everything for a Pretty Screen

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages