Books & Comics

How Kurt Vonnegut’s Famous Older Brother Inspired Him To Write Science Fiction

When Kurt Vonnegut was working as a PR flak at General Electric, his older brother Bernard was a famous scientist. And Kurt was there when Bernard demonstrated his incredible new invention: a way to seed clouds with dry ice and silver iodide and make it rain. Could this be used as a weapon? At the…

It Turns Out the Next Game of Thrones Book Isn’t Late at All

I know a lot of people were bummed out when author George R.R. Martin finally confessed that the much-anticipated fifth in his A Song of Ice and Fire series wouldn’t be out before the sixth season of Game of Thrones. But it turns out the long-delayed book may actually be right on time. The Washington…

All The Incredible Comics That Will Melt Your Wallet in 2016

2015 was a great year for comic books, and 2016 is shaping up to be just as exciting—and financially ruinous. Seriously, take a deep breath, look longingly at your wallet, and get ready to write up your pull list of some of 2016’s coolest sounding comics. https://gizmodo.com/the-20-best-comics-and-graphic-novels-of-2015-1748709046 JANUARY Dragon Age: Magekiller #2 (Dark Horse)—This series…

J.K. Rowling Celebrated the End of Harry Potter by (Very Lightly) Trashing Her Hotel Room

Many a rock star has trashed a hotel room to celebrate a triumphant performance. It turns out rock stars of the children’s literature world do the same, they just tend to be a lot more polite about it. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling tweeted the below picture, confessing that when she was done writing the…

6 Heroes Who Had Their Asses Thoroughly Kicked by Wonder Woman

It’s amazing that anyone would ever dismiss Wonder Woman. She’s a better fighter than Superman, and more powerful than 99.9 of most other DC characters… and she’s got the fight card to prove it. Besides all the villains she’s defeated, here are some of the fellow superheroes she’s had occasion to trounce. 1) Batman Let’s…

Discover the Origins of Abe Sapien‘s Latest Occult Villain in This Exclusive Comic Preview

The adventures of Hellboy and his friends in the pages of Dark Horses comics have always examined the spooky underpinnings of the occult. But this week’s issue of Abe Sapien takes a whole new look at Western occultism, through the gorgeously macabre art of Santiago Caruso—and io9 has an exclusive look! A warning: some of…

A Reminder That Clark Kent and Lois Lane Used to Pretty Much Hate Each Other

Lois and Clark. It’s a pairing held up as one of the dreamiest in all comics, the classic romance of the secret superhero and the no-nonsense reporter that loved him. The two have gone through some rough spots—but let’s not forget, in their earlier incarnations, Lois and Clark could be real douchey to each other.…

These 3D Trading Cards of Mike Allred’s Madman Are The Superhero Pop Art You Secretly Desire!

Madman is one of the coolest comics characters to emerge in the past 25 years. A riff on Frankenstein in a cool costume, Madman blended Mike Allred’s clean pop-art sensibility with a uniquely weird and colorful set of characters. Now writer and pop culture historian Christopher Irving has put out a set of 3-D collectible…

40 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books That Will Rock Your World In 2016

2015 was a fantastic year for books, including a lot of titles that did things we’d never seen before. But 2016 looks like it could be just as incredible, including titles from some of our favorite authors. Here are the must-read science fiction and fantasy books of 2016. Midnight Taxi Tango, Daniel Jose Older, January…

You Cannot Unsee This Mock-Up of Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm as Deadpool’s X-Buddy Cable

How much does Cable creator Robert Liefeld want Jon Hamm to play the time-traveling, gun-toting pouch enthusiast? So much so that when Hamm won his Golden Globe last night, Liefeld tweeted this photoshop of Hamm as the prodigal son of Jean Grey and Cyclops: It’s burned into my retinas. Not because it’s bad, mind you,…

Marvel’s Civil War Sequel Sounds a Lot Like Superhero Minority Report

Yes, Civil War II: Revenge/Return of the Civil is happening—but our early skepticism at Marvel simply reheating its major 2007 comic book event to tie into the next Captain America movie seems to have been mostly waylaid by new information that teases the conflict that pits hero against hero will be at least a little…

Can This Scratch-and-Sniff Book Turn You Into a Whiskey Aficionado?

While the clear intentions of vodka and gin were an easy sell for my cocktail glass, I admit it took me a little longer to dabble in the dark liquors. Mostly because I was confused. Was rye like bourbon? But what the hell was scotch? And apparently they’re all whiskey? If only I’d had this…

Raymond Chandler Mocked Science Fiction, But He Also Inspired It

Raymond Chandler was one of the greatest writers to come out of pulp fiction, but he also had some snobbish tendencies of his own. Notably, in a 1953 letter to his agent, he makes fun of science fiction for being kind of ridiculous. But Chandler also inspired tons of science-fiction writers. In the letter from…

Marvel’s New Falcon Is a Latino Falcon Man-Hybrid

Ever since Sam Wilson took on the mantle of Captain America, his former superhero alter ego of the Falcon has lain dormant. That is, until next week, when The Falcon returns… as Joaquin Torres, a man who is literally part-falcon. Torres has played a role throughout Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuña’s Sam Wilson: Captain America…

You Don’t Have to Be a Kid to Want All the New Star Wars Little Golden Books

Following up on the first series that condensed all of the original Star Wars movies into six illustrated children’s books, Random House Kids is releasing five new Star Wars Little Golden Books that now focus on the various characters from that universe. The new series of books includes I Am a Droid, I Am a…

All the Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Everyone Will Be Talking About in January

It’s a whole new year, and already the science fiction and fantasy publishers are hitting the ground running. There are tons of great new books in January, including China Miéville, Amber Benson, and Tim Powers! These are all the science fiction and fantasy books that should be on your radar this month. (Plus in addition…

Get some of last year’s best stories for just $1.99! The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 is a Kindle Daily Deal today. Contact the author at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @CharlieJane

Sorcerer of the Wildeeps Is an Epic Fantasy Unlike Anything You’ve Read Before

We’re living in an exciting era for fantasy literature, with a lot of really interesting approaches to magical worldbuilding. But I’ve still never read anything quite like Kai Ashante Wilson’s novella Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, which was part the first batch of Tor.com’s new line of short novels recently. [Full disclosure: Tor is also my…

Could a Society Develop Advanced Technology WithOUT Written Language?

It’s a fascinating question. Over at Charles Stross’ blog, he responds to a reader question: What would a technological society look like without written language? And could such a thing even happen? Stross’ answer: probably not. After a certain point, a lot of things that we think of as necessary for an advanced technological civilization…

John Barrowman and His Sister Are Writing Their Own Arrow Comic Book

John Barrowman and his sister Carole have a history of teaming up to work on new stories for characters Barrowman has played in the past (including several stories about his Doctor Who/Torchwood hero Jack Harkness). Now the duo are turning their talents to Barrowman’s charming Arrow villain, Malcolm Merlyn. Announced during an interview with TV…