Books & Comics

These Beautiful Special Book Collections Will Part You From Your Money

If anyone else is like me—a compulsive book buyer with not enough shelf space—the discovery of the Juniper Books’ gorgeous book covers is going to be both wonderful and painful. The top image is for the “Science Fiction Classics” set, which will run you $250 and includes the works of Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, H.G.…

The Many, Maddeningly Convoluted Lives Of Hawkgirl

Comics are infamous for their sometimes convoluted plots: perhaps none more so than DC’s “Hawk” Heroes. We’ve already covered the fluctuating origins of Hawkman, but with his superhero partner Hawkgirl making her TV debut in Legends of Tomorrow, it’s time to delve into the maniacally convoluted history of Hawkgirl. https://gizmodo.com/the-10-hilariously-confusing-origins-of-hawkman-1451537031 The Golden Age When she…

Democracy Is the Anti-300, and One of the Best Graphic Novels of the Year

In ancient Greece, a small Athenian army tries to sleep the night before a battle against Prince Xerxes and his massive Persian hordes. They are unable to sleep, so one soldier begins to tell a story—a story of courage, of battle, and the price of freedom. Now, in Frank Miller’s original graphic novel 300, the…

Bad Religion’s Greg Graffin On Our Next Evolutionary Challenge: Moving Past Survival of the Fittest

Last week, I spoke with one of my punk rock and science heroes, Bad Religion vocalist / evolutionary biologist Greg Graffin, about his new book, Population Wars, which drops today. And he told me why our view of evolution needs to move past pure competition. In your first book, Anarchy Evolution, you tackled ideas related…

In This Week’s Comics, A Captain America Story Seven Years In The Making

It’s a relatively quiet week in comics—which makes it the perfect time for us to finally get our hands on Captain America: White, a comic that’s been in the works since 2008. But that’s not all for this week’s new comics. There’s also science fiction adventures from Arrow’s Marc Guggenheim, and tons more! Dark Horse…

How To Handle Rejection of Your Writing, Without Becoming a Basket Case

Rejection is part of being a writer. Unless you’re that one-in-a-billion wunderkind who gets “discovered” while you’re still in high school and goes on to become a literary sensation. Almost everybody who writes stories (or anything) has their work dismissed and sent packing, over and over. And learning to deal with rejection is a crucial…

In Marvel’s Comics, the Inhumans Are About to Become the X-Men’s Biggest Enemy

Ever since Marvel announced an Inhumans movie, the superpowered sub-race has gotten an increasingly prominent role in the comics… even in comparison to the similar plight of the X-Men. But it looks like new developments are about to make Inhuman-kind Mutant Enemy Number One. We’ve known for a while that when Marvel’s “All-New, All-Different” universe…

Two Of DC’s Greatest Recent Comics Are Coming To An Early End

DC have been killing it lately with their range of awesome, enjoyable “Digital First” comics. That range is getting a little less awesome and enjoyable at the end of the year, with the cancellation of Batman ‘66 and Sensation Comics. Ahead of DC’s release of their December solicitations earlier today, reports spread that a bevy…

Everything You Need To Know About Marvel’s “All-New, All-Different” Comic Universe

Next month, Marvel is introducing a whole new line up of comics—and a whole new universe to go with them. Don’t know your Earth-616 from your Earth-65? What the hell is with this Secret Wars thing? Will your favorite hero still have a comic? Will they even be the same person? Here’s everything you need…

Forget Spider-Gwen, Gwenpool Is Gwen Stacy’s Latest Superhero Persona

The Gwenaissance continues! Following the debut of Spider-Gwen a year ago, Marvel has seemingly gone gaga for Gwen Stacy. First was Spider-Gwen’s appearance in Spider-Verse. Then she became every Marvel Superhero ever in a series of variant covers. And now, she’s getting another comic… as Gwenpool! Gwenpool first started out as a variant cover for…

Local Governments Crack Down On The Monstrous Evil of Tiny Free Lending Libraries

It’s good to know that people are focusing on what’s really important. Local governments in a few different U.S. cities and towns have looked past the problems of homelessness, crumbling city services and displacement, to tackle the real crisis: people are putting up tiny “take a book, leave a book” libraries. This is clearly a…

Nobody Pronounced “Voldemort” Correctly, in Eight Movies

If this tweet by J.K. Rowling doesn’t prove that authorial intent is irrelevant, then nothing will.

Elected Queens and Princess Senators: How the Politics of Star Wars Work

Greetings, my magnificent mail-minions! I’ve got a swell—dare I say it, keen group of questions in this week’s mailbags, but I want to try something. If you have a question for the postman, you can email me, but you can also leave it in the comments of this article, and I’ll try to round them…

“We’re Not Talking About Good Writing. We’re Talking About Wire Racks”: Wolfe, Ellison and Asimov On Genres

This 1982 roundtable discussion on science fiction is amazing. Watch Isaac Asimov, Gene Wolfe and Harlan Ellison talk to Studs Terkel and Calvin Trillin about the randomness of genre distinctions and the difference between “science fiction” and “science fantasy.” [via SFSignal] Charlie Jane Anders is the author of All The Birds in the Sky, coming…

Pepper Potts’ Armor Is Finally Getting An Action Figure… But It’s Going To Cost You A Lot

It’s been two years since Hasbro revealed their Marvel Legends Rescue figure, their first figure based on Pepper Pott’s armored persona. But then it promptly vanished, never made for sale and leaving fans expecting that Rescue was gone forever. But rejoice! The figure is making a comeback… but it’ll be pricey to get. Rescue looked…

10 Writing “Rules” We Wish More Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Would Break

Science fiction and fantasy are genres where almost anything can happen — as long as the author can make it seem plausible, and as long as it’s part of a good story. But that doesn’t mean there are no rules. If anything, the fact that these genres are so wide open mean that there are…

You Can Only Find the Best Version Of Wonder Woman in Sensation Comics

Sure, Wonder Woman has her own ongoing comic book. She has a starring role in Justice League, and appears in countless other DC series. But if you want to see Wonder Woman at her very best, triumphing everything the character has ever stood up for, you seriously need to read Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman.…

The Best Things George R.R. Martin Created (That Aren’t Game of Thrones)

Creating an epic, sprawling fantasy series like A Song of Ice and Fire seems like an author’s life’s work, but it’s certainly not the only thing George R.R. Martin has achieved. His short stories and novels were taking us to amazing worlds long before we visited Westeros. Here are some of his best non-Game of…

Get a ton of Neil Gaiman rarities and support an amazing cause. The latest Humble Bundle raises money for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and includes just tons of incredible Neil Gaiman material. Including his rare book about Duran Duran! Contact the author at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @charliejane

They Said Malaysian Audiences Weren’t Ready For Science Fiction Books

Aspiring science fiction author Kushairi Zuradi got tired of publishers telling him that there was no market for science fiction in Malaysia. So the medical-school grad started his own publishing company, Simptomatik Press. Not only did Kushairi publish his own book of stories about micro-organisms, called Biohazard (pictured above), but he also started publishing books…