Books & Comics

How Ancient Epics are Just Like Modern Social Networks

It’s not every day you run into a publication that uses statistics to argue ancient epics were based on fact, judging by their social networks — yet here we are. “Universal Properties of Mythological Networks” is a newly published article in the journal Europhysics Letters, and researchers Pádraig Mac Carron and Ralph Kenna have described…

Books & Comics Tim Barribeau

Philip K. Dick Festival Comes to San Francisco with Headliner Jonathan Lethem

This September 22-23, you can mingle with Philip K. Dick fans and friends at the annual Philip K. Dick Festival at San Francisco State University. Jonathan Lethem is the guest of honor, and other guests include Dick’s former editor Marc Haefele as well as Dick-influenced cultural critic/visionary Erik Davis. Attendees will have a chance to…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

In this sneak preview of Aquaman, Black Manta goes nutzoid!

Here’s a first look at the next week’s issue of Aquaman, a series which sees author Geoff Johns delve into old animosities between the titular superhero and his arch-nemesis Black Manta. Here’s an exclusive sneak peek at the first five pages of Aquaman #11, which hits stores next Wednesday, July 25. The synopsis: AQUAMAN #11…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

Meet “The Dork,” the most fearsome beast in comic book history

Think you’re familiar with all the fearsome fauna on the comic page? Well, chances are you’ve never encountered The Dork, a marine reptile who graced the pages of Planet Comics in 1957. In this sequence, seafaring hero Reef Ryan is in the clutches of the villainous Zurko The Fierce, who sics the deadly Dork on…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

What Is the Best Nikola Tesla Biography?

Our Special Projects Editor Chris Mascari is on something of a Nikola Tesla kick right now, but isn’t sure what biography is the best one to sate his curiosity about the physicist/engineer/inventor. We figured we’d ask you, the readers to help us out on this one. So, what’s your favorite Tesla bio?

Books & Comics Adrian Covert

The Surprising Novel That Got Kim Stanley Robinson Interested in Science Fiction

Kim Stanley Robinson is a legend of science fiction. He’s best known as the author of the Hugo-winning Mars series (Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars), the Three Californias trilogy, and alternate history novel The Years of Rice and Salt. This year he published one of his masterworks, the novel 2312, about what happens…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

Jack Kirby — the co-creator of Thor and the X-Men — once designed costumes for a college Shakespeare play

Comic book legend Jack Kirby was responsible for the iconic looks of such famous superheroes as Captain America, Hulk, the X-Men, Thor, and the Fantastic Four. But back in the 1960s, Kirby put his mark on the Bard when a theater group at the University of California at Santa Cruz asked the famed artist to…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

Neil Gaiman’s writing a prequel to Sandman in 2013

Given the hubbub and sales that Before Watchmen drummed up, it’s not surprising that DC is looking to dip into their modern classics. And at last night’s San Diego Comic-Con panel for the publisher’s mature-readers Vertigo imprint, DC snuck in a bombshell — Neil Gaiman will be returning to his career-making comic The Sandman with…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

How Growing Up in Oklahoma Got Daniel Wilson Excited About Robots

Former roboticist Daniel Wilson made a huge splash several years ago with his non fiction book How to Survive a Robot Uprising, and then set his optical implants on writing fiction. His debut novel Robopocalypse was a huge bestseller, and is set to become a Steven Spielberg flick. And now he’s got a new novel…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

Great Opening Sentences from Classic Fantasy Novels

Every great fantasy novel is a journey into mystery and wonder. And the best fantasy writers set the tone of discovery with the very first sentence. Especially in these days of online book excerpts and Amazon.com previews, the opening sentences of a book can cast a spell — or cast readers out of the book,…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders and Amanda Yesilbas

Premiere clip from the latest Marvel short ITEM 47 takes us inside S.H.I.E.L.D.

When a modern day Bonnie and Clyde get their hands on “ITEM 47” (a big bad alien weapon) it’s up to two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (Maximiliano Hernández and Titus Welliver) to get Item 47 back. Here is the first ever clip from the hotly anticipated Marvel short which looks like it was shot right inside the…

Books & Comics Meredith Woerner

Napoleonic Dragons and Post-Apocalyptic Survivors Like You’ve Never Seen Them

A Paris gallery, Galerie Daniel Maghen, has an amazing exhibit of art inspired by great books — including a number of fantasy and science fiction classics. Behold some amazing takes on Naomi Novik’s Temeraire books, Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend and Robert E. Howard’s Conan. Here are a few of our favorites — check out…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

How to Write an Omniscient Narrator If You’re Not Actually Omniscient Yourself

Many of science fiction’s greatest novels are written in third-person omniscient. And this should come as no surprise, because nothing lets you depict a complex situation full of people (and creatures) with their own points of view, like a narrator who can view the whole scene from outside. But many, many writing teachers will tell…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Year Zero: A Pretty Great Book of Geek Humor About Music Piracy and Aliens

Rob Reid started Rhapsody, a music service, back during the Napster era. So he obviously knows and cares a lot about electronic music, and the madness of the record industry. This comes through, often hilariously, in his new novel Year Zero, in which aliens discover they’ve been pirating so much of our music, they owe…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Ursula K. Le Guin’s Great Unsung Masterpiece

When we were asking great SF authors to name the books that everybody pretends to have read, one title came up that we wound up not including on our list. Vonda McIntyre, author of Dreamsnake, The Moon and the Sun, and several other classics, mentioned a book by Ursula K. Le Guin. The only trouble?…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

It’s Adventure Time and cloned messiahs in this week’s comic book haul

It’s Comic-Con this week, and there are, rather fittingly, a ton of new reads on the spinner racks. First off, we have the Adventure Time: Marceline And The Scream Queens miniseries penned and illustrated by Meredith Gran of the webcomic Octopus Pie: Thanks to a newfound interest in music, Princess Bubblegum joins Marceline’s paranormal rock…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

A First Look At The Brand New Comic Star Wars (With Darth Vader Illustrated By Alex Ross!)

Scads of new comic books will be announced at the San Diego Comic-Con this week, but here’s a doozy with a pedigree. In January, Dark Horse Comics will publish Star Wars (full stop), an ongoing comic set during the original Star Wars trilogy by prolific author Brian Wood (DMZ, Channel Zero, Northlanders, The Massive), More…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

Batgirl Sailor Moon is so absurd it works

Presumably from the reality that spawned Cliff Chiang’s nixed Justice League of Japan comes Corey Lewis’ Sailor Bat, who is so gleefully ridiculous she dispels any and all mash-up-induced malaise. For further characters that will never officially grace the comic page, see the Sailor Avengers. [Corey Lewis via Project Rooftop]

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

Read a sneak preview of the fantasy comic Smoke and Mirrors

Courtesy of IDW Publishing, here’s an exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming issue of the urban fantasy Smoke and Mirrors, which sees protagonist and stage magician Terry Ward unwittingly foisted into a world where sorcery exists. This issue hits the stands Wednesday, July 11. Here’s a synopsis: SMOKE AND MIRRORS #4 Mike Costa & Jon…

Books & Comics Cyriaque Lamar

The Severest Ethical Breaches of Superhero Journalists

Self-plagiarism? Please. When it comes to questionable journalistic ethics, Jonah Lehrer is small fry. Clark Kent. Peter Parker. Lois Lane. These are the real culprits — the “stand up” citizens and “superheros” who make a mockery of the journalistic profession with their flagrant disregard for objectivity, accountability and… well… truth. This uncomfortable observation comes courtesy…

Books & Comics Robbie Gonzalez

How Ancient Epics are Just Like Modern Social Networks

Philip K. Dick Festival Comes to San Francisco with Headliner Jonathan Lethem

In this sneak preview of Aquaman, Black Manta goes nutzoid!

Meet “The Dork,” the most fearsome beast in comic book history

What Is the Best Nikola Tesla Biography?

The Surprising Novel That Got Kim Stanley Robinson Interested in Science Fiction

Jack Kirby — the co-creator of Thor and the X-Men — once designed costumes for a college Shakespeare play

Neil Gaiman’s writing a prequel to Sandman in 2013

How Growing Up in Oklahoma Got Daniel Wilson Excited About Robots

Great Opening Sentences from Classic Fantasy Novels

Premiere clip from the latest Marvel short ITEM 47 takes us inside S.H.I.E.L.D.

Napoleonic Dragons and Post-Apocalyptic Survivors Like You’ve Never Seen Them

How to Write an Omniscient Narrator If You’re Not Actually Omniscient Yourself

Year Zero: A Pretty Great Book of Geek Humor About Music Piracy and Aliens

Ursula K. Le Guin’s Great Unsung Masterpiece

It’s Adventure Time and cloned messiahs in this week’s comic book haul

A First Look At The Brand New Comic Star Wars (With Darth Vader Illustrated By Alex Ross!)

Batgirl Sailor Moon is so absurd it works

Read a sneak preview of the fantasy comic Smoke and Mirrors

The Severest Ethical Breaches of Superhero Journalists

School Forced to Replace Toilets After Kids Flush Vapes

‘Scream 7’ Just Won’t Stop Making Money as ‘Scream 8’ Gets Started

The Curtain Has Closed on Meta’s Movie Rating-Inspired Content Filters

Good News! You Can Finally Change That Ridiculous Gmail Address

ExpressVPN Just Launched ExpressAI: Your Prompts Are Now Invisible

VR Just Took Another Massive Body Blow

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

‘Supergirl’ Will Feature David Corenswet’s Superman in a Sort of Big Brother Role

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

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