Space Pirate Captain Harlock does not want you to pirate his movie

Well, this is a kind of a mixed message. Captain Harlock, star of the upcoming CG movie Space Pirate Captain Harlock, has taken a firm anti-piracy stance in Japan, appearing on 40,000 posters labeled “Even space pirates don’t forgive pirating!” So either Harlock truly believes that ramming a skull-faced spaceship into other people’s spaceships, killing…

Harry Potter fashion line sexes up Hogwarts with lycra

At first we thought, “Skin-tight Potter stuff? Lame.” But then we saw this Deathly Hallows bathing suit/body suit and the snitch tights. Two, please! Black Milk, inventors of the Star Wars bathing suit and so many other sexy geek staples, have been teasing their new Harry Potter line on Facebook, and so far we like…

We might have already met the Ultron in the Avengers sequel!

Steven Moffat discusses Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor, including his relationship with Clara. Vin Diesel is still pretty sure he’s playing Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy. Chris Carter says X-Files 3 could feature one of the most recognizable faces in modern genre. Plus Edgar Wright talks Ant-Man. Spoilers abound! Top image from Riddick. The Avengers:…

Chinese Army claims Pacific Rim is American propaganda

You might have thought Pacific Rim was just a cool movie about mechas fighting giant monsters, but actually you missed its true purpose as pro-U.S. propaganda. Writing in a Chinese military newspaper, a Chinese officer explains the secret imperialist message of Guillermo del Toro’s movie. Pacific Rim “exported the U.S.’s rebalancing of its Asia-Pacific strategy,”…

Zombie Torso Baby Costume Will Feast on Lame Pumpkin Baby Outfits

Best baby costume idea, ever. Tired of the lame-o peapod or lion baby costumes? Why not invest in a costume your child can be proud of: a ripped apart torso. It’s so cute, and soft! Smartypants designer Stephanie Davidson dreamed up Zombabiez, a baby costume that does not suck. Able to fit tykes up to…

io9 Book Club is in session! Let’s talk about The Shambling Guide

Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. In August, we read Mur Lafferty’s The Shambling Guide to New York City. Jump into comments to get started talking about it! For those unfamiliar with the io9 book club, here’s how it works: You read the book. We create a special book club post…

This Terrifying Raptor Chase Is the Most Traumatic Prank of All Time

Japan has just raised the bar on pranks forever. There’s putting buckets of water above doorstops, filling someone’s cubicle with packing peanuts, and now there’s making a dude think he’s being chased by an actual fucking velociraptor. Seriously, if your prank doesn’t involve the prankee either 1) having a heart attack or 2) wetting themselves…

Meet the Actors Inside Classic Full-Body Costumes

You’ve seen those apes in 2001: A Space Odyssey a zillion times, but do you ever think about the people who actually played them? What about the man inside the ALF suit, or R2D2? Now it’s time to meet them. Dan Richter, the Ape from 2001: Space Odyssey (1968, dir.: Stanley Kubrick) Richter was a…

At last, the true inheritor of the Red Dawn franchise has arrived

The problem with the Red Dawn reboot was there just wasn’t enough patriotic racism. Luckily, the yellow cyber-peril movie Dragon Day is here to bring that nationalist paranoia fix we all wanted (?) so much. That’s right, Dragon Day is about how those evil, greedy Chinese are going to cyber-invade America, to collect on our…

Who’s the most awesome villain of all time?

Everybody knows that in most science fiction and fantasy universes, the villain is way cooler and more interesting than the hero. But who’s the coolest and most badass villain of all time? You decide! Please include a photo or clip of this baddie, so we can admire him/her/it/them. And yes, this can include monsters and…

Don’t hold your breath for a new Blake’s 7. Those reports that Microsoft would be producing the reboot of the classic British space opera as original content for the Xbox? Apparently not true after all.

Open the final door to IDW’s Locke & Key series in This Week’s Comics!

Yes, the final installment of Locke & Key begins tomorrow, but don’t be sad: There’s still plenty of American Vampire, adorable demons, the arrival of Captain America’s most insane foe, and the triumphant return of the greatest couple in rock, all in this week’s comics! New Issues Dark Horse: • Station-to-Station: An inter-dimensional monster with…

Continuum‘s Simon Barry answers our deepest time-travel questions

In the past year, Continuum has become a must-watch television show. This time-traveling cop show has been blowing our minds with twisty storytelling and a complex mythology. We were excited to ask creator Simon Barry what’s coming next on the show, and here’s what he told us. We corresponded with Barry via email, and here…

Watch the first new Riddick clip in 9 years

Finally, the first unedited-for-trailers Riddick footage we’ve seen in nine long years. THIS is what the new Riddick movie will feel and look like: Riddick killing things. Win. It’s been way too long since we’ve seen the Furyan in action!

Behold Michael Rooker as a blue alien in Guardians of the Galaxy

We started seeing Marvel’s space opera movie Guardians of the Galaxy in a whole new light, when a battery of badass aliens started showing up on set. But the latest image is the first, real look we’re getting at one of the main characters in full Guardians of the Galaxy getup. Behold Michael Rooker’s big…

Detached octopus arms show awareness, react to danger

It’s further evidence that octopus intelligence is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Their arms continue to remain alert, reacting to pain, long after they have been removed from the body of the octopus. This isn’t just post-mortem twitching — the tentacles are aware of their environment, and responding to danger. Over at Scientific American, Katherine…

This hawk only attacks postal workers

This Swainson’s Hawk may appear to be a friendly bird — but it’s struck fear into the hearts of postal workers in Calgary. The bird has been attacking mail carriers, because their movements, darting from house to house without stopping, seem like a predator scoping the area. This has been going on for years, with…

Is the Moon a planet?

There are a lot of weird moons in our solar system, but ours is probably the weirdest. For one thing, it’s really damn big. It’s practically a planet. The Moon is one fourth the size of Earth. With the exception of Pluto and Charon, it is larger in comparison with the planet it orbits than…

Pulp action game Fortune and Glory brings out your inner Indiana Jones

In the adventure board game Fortune and Glory, pulp heroes travel the world in search of rare and dangerous artifacts while fending off Nazis, zombies, cultists and each other. Watch out for the Nazi War Zeppelin! Flying Frog Productions published Fortune and Glory with the intent to make it as deluxe as possible, and the…

The best social science book title ever

Feeling a little bitter about having to read and/or write social science books that seem to hide their basic points in unnecessarily fancy rhetoric? Then you need some advice from Michael Billig, who has figured out how to succeed as an academic by writing really badly. Billig doesn’t want you to think he writes badly,…