FANTASY ROCKS YOUR HOUSE | Awesome dragon-rider concept art by Weta Studios illustrator A.T. Anderson. More here.
https://gizmodo.com/they-arrived-from-the-sea-their-dragons-hissing-like-t-5763930
How do you define badass fantasy?
https://gizmodo.com/how-do-you-define-badass-fantasy-5795404
It’s Badass Fantasy Day at io9! But before we kick the festivities off, what makes a fantasy tale demonstrably badass? To get a professional opinion on this matter, we recently talked with comic artist Darick Robertson, illustrator and co-creator of Transmetropolitan and The Boys. More »
Why do so many former cyberpunk authors now write dark fantasy?
https://gizmodo.com/why-do-so-many-former-cyberpunk-authors-now-write-dark-5795217
Cyberpunk has fallen from its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, but the great cyberpunk authors are still writing. And many of them have turned to fantasy. More »
How does one invent an economy based on orc genitalia? Orc Stain’s James Stokoe fills us in
https://kotaku.com/how-does-one-invent-an-economy-based-on-orc-genitalia-5795566
If you like your fantasy comics grimy, roguish, and filled with orcs trying to lop each other’s dorks off, you’ll love James Stokoe’s Orc Stain. And if you don’t, you’re dunderheadedly depriving yourself of some of comicdom’s finest artwork. More »
25 awesome barbarian moments unjustly condemned to pop cultural obscurity
https://gizmodo.com/25-awesome-barbarian-moments-unjustly-condemned-to-pop-5795479
Being a barbarian is a thankless job. You spend all day slaying your foes in a loincloth and greased up in beef tallow, and nobody remembers your exploits. More »
In “The Alchemist and The Executioness,” magic destroys the environment
https://gizmodo.com/in-the-alchemist-and-the-executioness-magic-destroys-5795452
Last year, award-winning science fiction authors Tobias Buckell (Sly Mongoose) and Paolo Bacigalupi (Windup Girl) teamed up to write two fantasy novellas set in the same universe. More »
The most gruesome fates in fantasy
https://gizmodo.com/the-most-gruesome-fates-in-fantasy-5794991
Consequences are what give actions depth, and when magic and high intrigue are in the mix, the consequences can be huge. Have a look at the most terrible fates that fantasy characters have ever met. More »
10 of the most badass dragons ever
https://gizmodo.com/10-of-the-most-badass-dragons-ever-5795253
There are friendly dragons who help small children, but they’re not badass. Then there are tame dragons who fight for humans, but very few of them are badass either. More »
Why doesn’t more fantasy take place in the future?
https://gizmodo.com/why-doesnt-more-fantasy-take-place-in-the-future-5671816
It used to be, science fiction took place in the future and fantasy in the past. But lately, more science fiction takes place in the past. So we can’t help wondering whether there’ll be more fantasy set in the future. More »
The New Noir Fantasy Shows Magical Cities In Decay
https://gizmodo.com/the-new-noir-fantasy-shows-magical-cities-in-decay-5362187
A noir light is shining over fantasy – many of the best fantasy books on the shelves right now feature bloody-minded, morally gray protagonists battling their way through rotten cities and bleak landscapes. Here’s why noir is truest urban fantasy. More »
Which HBO pilot has more nudity: True Blood or Game of Thrones?
https://gizmodo.com/which-hbo-pilot-has-more-nudity-true-blood-or-game-of-5793737
Which HBO pilot has more ridiculous nudity: True Blood or Game of Thrones? We did the math. We counted up the nip-slips and ass shots, and compared the Dothraki’s naked dances to True Blood’s vampire sex tapes. Guess who won? More »
Dark Crystal Mural Creates Urban Fantasy in Seattle
https://gizmodo.com/dark-crystal-mural-creates-urban-fantasy-in-seattle-5347295
Buried in an alleyway in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood is this amazing mural of characters from classic Jim Henson flick Dark Crystal. io9’s own Garrison Dean took these pictures that truly capture “essence of Gelfling.” More »
The Forbidden Fantasy Photography of William Mortensen [NSFW]
https://gizmodo.com/the-forbidden-fantasy-photography-of-william-mortensen-5130016
William Mortensen was a popular celebrity portrait photographer in the 1930s, churning out glam images for the movie magazines. But he was also a rebel whose special effects images prefigure the age of Photoshop. More »
