Books & Comics

​The All-New Ghost Rider Has A Need For Speed And A Need For Vengeance

There’s a new spirit of vengeance in the Marvel universe, and he has a sweet new ride. Plus Buffy Season 10, the end of Animal Man, the next chapter of Saga, and more! New Issues Dark Horse: • Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #1: Buffy gets back to basics: slaying vampires. • The Witcher…

Brandon Sanderson: “We haven’t hit what epic fantasy is capable of yet”

Brandon Sanderson’s new book Words of Radiance debuted at #1 on the New York Times Besteller List. What does he think is the secret of his popularity, and the reason for epic fantasy’s resurgence? We asked him, and he explained why epic fantasy is ready to take it to the next level. Top image: Way…

Listen to JH Williams III talk about Sandman in San Francisco tonight!

Folks who are in the Bay Area tonight can stop by San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum, where artist J.H. Williams III will be talking about Sandman: Overture and offering a sneak peek at the second issue. The Cartoon Art Museum has been running its 25th anniversary celebration of Neil Gaiman’s comic series Sandman since October,…

You Wouldn’t Like This Hulk When He’s… Wet

Those ‘just add water and watch it grow’ toys have been a staple of kids for years now. But if you thought you outgrew such a childish novelty, ThinkGeek might change your mind with this wonderful desk toy that brings the Incredible Hulk to life with nothing but a container full of water. Patience is…

And Now, Batman Villains drawn as Cartoon Sharks.

No, we don’t know why. But artist Jeff Victor has drawn Batman villains as Sharks. Good night, everybody! [via Geekologie]

Watch out: this book is dangerously addictive!

Have you ever had the thing where you’re so absorbed in reading a book that you try to keep reading it while walking around on the street, only to come close to being hit by a bus? I had a bit of that with the new young-adult fantasy novel Half Bad by Sally Green. Top…

J.K. Rowling has released History of the Quidditch World Cup online!

Folks itching to see J.K. Rowling return to the world of Harry Potter are in for a treat today. The author has released the first part of her two-part essay, History of the Quidditch World Cup, which builds out the universe’s popular sport. The one catch is that, to read the essay, you’ll need to…

​12 Heroes and Villains Who Kicked the Incredible Hulk’s Green Ass

The Hulk is Incredible, Indestructible, Rampaging, the Strongest one there is, and a noted smashing enthusiastic. What he is not, however, is undefeated. Before his current insane level of strength, where he can basically punch other dimensions, a variety of heroes and even a villain or two have managed to beat the jade giant into…

Read this intense, pre-apocalyptic hacker story by Tobias Buckell

We’ve got an incredible short story for you to read, called “System Reset,” written by Arctic Rising author Tobias Buckell. It’s taken from the pre-apocalypse anthology The End is Nigh, edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey. It’s a smart thriller about hacker bounty hunters on a world-ending job. The End is Nigh is…

One of this year’s loveliest new webcomics has a touch of Ghibli magic

Kadi Fedoruk’s webcomic Blindsprings is a lushly illustrated princess tale with a twist. A young mage decides to rescue a princess from the curse that keeps her bound to a mystical forest. But there’s a hitch: this princess doesn’t want to be rescued. At first glance, Tamaura seems like a princess straight out of a…

UFO Investigations Manual is a practical guide to close encounters

Nigel Watson’s UFO Investigations Manual is partly an overview of UFO history, and partly a how-to guide for anyone interested in making UFOs a little less unknown. And it will delight you with hints of forbidden information waiting to be discovered. When I first saw this book, I was inexplicably delighted. I think it’s that…

What happens when fantasy novels get scientific?

Marie Brennan is the author of The Tropic of Serpents, the second novel in her incredible Memoirs of Lady Trent series about the life of a 19th century naturalist who studies dragons. In this essay, Brennan talks about what it means to bring science into her fantasy writing. I’m kind of fascinated by the impulse…

Let BookBot Bring You Any of This Library’s Two Million Titles

Wow. Look at BookBot go! This massive automated delivery system is housed in North Carolina State University’s stunning Hunt Library. With the touch of a few buttons, it will scan and deliver any title in the two million volume collection straight into your hands. At yesterday’s Bloomberg Businessweek Design Conference in San Francsico, Craig Edward…

7 Utopias that Changed the Future

Though “Utopia” means “nowhere,” many real-life societies have been strongly influenced by various concepts of a perfect realm where humans live in harmony with each other. Here are some of the most influential Utopian visions — and how they changed our distinctly non-Utopian world. Sculpture by Cornelia Konrads 1. Heaven Many religions across the world,…

This Is What Happens When Your Non-Coding Boss Asks You to Code

Whether you’re a PhD student, dev, data analyst or any other code-crunching machine, chances are you’ve written script for people that don’t understand what that entails. This cartoon is for you. Sometimes, people don’t quite understand that writing the code is the easy part; it’s figuring out what to write that takes up the time.…

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Books You Can’t Afford to Miss in March

Your reading list isn’t long enough! You can always use another stack of science fiction and fantasy books — and luckily, March is full of exciting reads. Including new Terry Pratchett and Brandon Sanderson, but also loads of magic, time travel, apocalypses and fun. Here are the March books you can’t afford to miss. The…

Brandon Sanderson discusses Words of Radiance and his “master plan”

The second book in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Chronicles, Words of Radiance, hits physical and virtual bookshelves today. So enjoy this conversation between the author and legendary publisher/ Tor Books founder Tom Doherty, about how to break into the biz, the future of Sanderson’s fantasy worlds, and more! FYI, there will be an io9 review of…

The walls of reality are breaking down! Over at the Guardian, children’s authors are interviewed by their own characters, as portrayed by children in costume.This is delightfully metafictional.

The Problem with being a Dead Frog Prince

Mike Heller’s “Time Trabble” webcomic shows why it’s probably a bad idea to run around desecrating dead lab animals. You never know what you’re going to find. I love Time Trabble. More at the website.

A Brilliant Cover to Celebrate 50 Years of Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain

It’s 50 years since Lloyd Alexander published the first book in his amazing Prydain Chronicles series — and to celebrate, the first book is getting an utterly beautiful new cover. We’ve got the exclusive reveal of this lovely artwork, plus an exclusive essay by the book’s new editor, Noa Wheeler. The 50th anniversary edition of…