Books & Comics

R.L. Stine Explains Why It’s Gotten Harder To Scare Teenagers

Since 1989, R.L. Stine has been scaring teenagers, first with the Goosebumps books and now with the Fear Street series. But it’s gotten tougher — as he tells Time, it’s hard to keep up with technology, as well as shifting teenage trends. Stine tells Time: It’s actually much harder [to scare teenagers now], because the…

The Last Issue Of Hawkeye Has Been Delayed… Again

Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye series was one of Marvel’s biggest surprise hits when it began in 2012, but fans are still waiting for the last issue — and they’ll be waiting a little while longer. Hawkeye #22 has been pushed back again until June 10th. Hawkeye #22 was originally due for release in…

Check Out The Cover For My New Novel, All The Birds In The Sky

I’m so excited to share this with everyone at io9. Here’s the front cover of All the Birds in the Sky, my novel coming February 2016 from Tor Books. It’s one of the coolest book covers I’ve ever seen, thanks to Tor art director Irene Gallo and cover designer Will Steahle. This is my novel…

Valiant Wants As Few People As Possible To Read Its New Comic

It’s not every day you see a comic company actively want to ensure that most of their readers don’t get their hands on their latest comic, but that’s the aim with Legends of the Geomancer, a new tie-in for Valiant Comics’ upcoming Book of Death event. Huh. https://gizmodo.com/valiant-comics-is-creating-a-dark-ugly-future-for-its-1696823642 The new series, penned by Fred Van…

What Are You Reading?

You’ve got your reading lists, and we’ve got ours. Today, let’s trade. We want to know about the books you’ve been reading lately. Tell us what they are, who wrote them, and what you thought of them. Be sure to also tell us about the books you’ve got your sights on for next — or…

Archie Vs. Sharknado Is An Actual Comic That Is Actually Happening

When did Archie Comics become the weirdest, craziest comic company around? The Riverdale icon is no stranger crazy crossovers — he’s recently gone up against the living dead, and earlier this week faced the goddamn Predator. Archie’s next crossover challenge? Syfy’s Sharknado. What?! The 48-page single issue special is being made to drum up hype…

io9 Newsstand: The Best Stories from the Week of April 12 – 18

This week’s best stories are about what it means to be human, about balancing the universe’s harmonies, and about using one’s voice as a weapon or a balm — depending on the situation. The New Mother by Eugene Fischer | Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine (excerpt) Trigger Warning: abuse, child abuse, forced medical procedures The girls…

There’s A Brand New Section Of A Wrinkle In Time That You Can Read

A newly-unearthed section of A Wrinkle In Time has been released by Madeline L’Engle’s granddaughter — and it has some strong words about the dangers faced by democracies, as they try to balance security and freedom. L’Engle’s granddaughter, Charlotte Jones Voiklis, gave the whole previously cut section to the Wall Street Journal, who just published…

Rejoice, Lando Calrissian Is Getting His Own Marvel Comic Series

Perhaps, just this once, this deal is getting better all the time — everyone’s favourite Space Gas magnate Lando Calrissian will headline his own comic book from Marvel this summer. Let’s hope it’s full of adventure and fabulous half-capes. The news was actually announced yesterday to coincide with the start of Star Wars Celebration, but…

Bruce Timm’s New Justice League Are Getting Their Own Snazzy Figures

Bruce Timm’s latest entry into the DCAU, Justice League: Gods and Monsters, features a pretty radical new version of DC Comic’s trinity. But they aren’t just coming to animation — the new iterations of Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman are also getting some lovely Toys from DC Collectibles. https://gizmodo.com/the-justice-leagues-a-lot-darker-in-bruce-timms-new-dc-1695950853 The three figures were part of…

Like These TV Shows? Here Are The Webcomics You Should Read

The number one question that people ask me when the find out that I write about webcomics is, “What webcomic should I be reading?” But really, which webcomics you should be reading depends on the sorts of things you like. For example, if you like certain TV shows, then these webcomics may be for you.…

Is It Really Possible to Learn to Speed Read?

Ninety-five percent of college educated individuals read at a rate between 200-400 words per minute according to extensive research done by University of Massachusetts Amherst professor Dr. Keith Rayner. However, there exists a small, but rather vocal subset of people who insist that they can read several times faster than this using various speed reading…

What’s The Most Beautifully Written Book You’ve Ever Read?

Some books keep you turning pages at a mad pace, eager to find out what happens. But then there are the books where you want to slow down, because every sentence is a marvel. Which science fiction or fantasy novel blew you away the most with its beautifully crafted writing? Please include a book cover,…

Two Authors Withdraw Their Work From This Year’s Hugo Awards

The controversy over this year’s Hugo Awards nominations continues to get messier. Two authors who were nominated for awards after being included on the Sad Puppies voting slate (and the copycat slate, Rabid Puppies) have decided to withdraw from the Hugo ballot. Top image: Lines of Departure by Marko Kloos For those of you coming…

The Identity Of DC’s New Batman May Have Been Discovered

We’ve known for a while that the current Endgame arc in DC’s Batman comics was going to culminate with the existence of a new, heavily armoured Batman (and an army of Robins) — but now we may actually know this mysterious new Dark Knight’s real identity. Spoilers ahead… https://gizmodo.com/a-new-batman-and-several-new-robins-are-debuting-in-dc-1690512227 It’s not yet been 100% confirmed…

Every Page Of This Webcomic Is Packed With Striking (And Creepy) Images

If you’ve been looking to hop onto a webcomic that your eyeballs will fall in love with, take a gander at Petra Nordlund’s webcomic Prague Race. What starts as simple tale of three young friends turns into a journey through a strange land that is by turns frightening and tragic — but always fun to…

What if the laws of the universe actually worked according to magic and pseudoscience? In his latest comic, cartoonist Boulet wonders “What if it was true?” and imagines a world governed by astrology, psychic predictions, and alchemy.

How P-22 Became Hollywood’s Most Famous Mountain Lion

A mountain lion named P-22 is making headlines today for being discovered inside—and eventually escaping from—a Los Angeles basement. In this excerpt from his new book about the urban wilderness, Tristan Donovan gives us the origin story of P-22. The discovery of P-22, the mountain lion that lives in Griffith Park, was pure fluke. The…

The Ultimate Comics Battle Begins: Archie Vs. Predator!

Riverdale’s finest go up against the legendary Predator! DC begins the next wave of Convergence! Bee and Puppycat comes to comics! Valiant’s Bloodshot gets a new series! Comics about Sci-Fi Samurai, Vengeful Gladiators, Assassins on the run, and more! This week has it all! So many Comics! Dark Horse Single Issues Archie vs. Predator #1…

io9 Book Club Is In Session: Let’s Talk About A Darker Shade Of Magic! 

Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. This month, we’ve read A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. Jump into comments to get started talking about it! Top image: Darker Shade of Magic fan art by Victoria Ying. For those unfamiliar with the io9 book club, here’s how it works: You…