characters

Which Fictional Characters Would Make the Worst Friends?

Some of the characters we meet in books or TV are folks we can easily imagine hanging out with for an afternoon. But then there are those we’re grateful are stuck safely behind the fourth wall. Which fictional characters do you think would make the worst friends? Will it be Sherlock Holmes (Pro: He would…

io9 Ria Misra Nov 6

What On-Screen Characters Are Secretly Terrible at Their Jobs?

Sorry, movie paleontologist brushing aside a light layer of dust to reveal a fully articulated Velocirapter fossil, we’re on to you. Today, we want to know your picks for the most egregious examples of bad on-screen work habits. Is it a research scientist with terrible lab protocols, a doctor who doesn’t ever crack a medical…

Movies Ria Misra Oct 29

A Poster of Every Star Wars Character from Just the Good Movies

So you want a Star Wars poster featuring all the characters, but Jar Jar Binks and kid-Anakin keep polluting the scene? I feel your pain. But a new print by artist Max Dalton and put out by Spoke Art has you covered. It has all your favorite heroes…from episodes IV-VI and nothing else. The 18…

Movies Eric Limer Oct 19

What character are you embarrassed that you love?

We all have one: a character from an otherwise great piece of media who is obnoxious or horrible in some way. Is there a character that you don’t usually admit to liking? Confess your terrible character love here. We’ll understand. Up top is one of my characters that I love, and I’m horribly embarrassed about…

io9 Lauren Davis May 19

I Want All These Impossibly Cool 8-Bit Cross-Stitches

Star Wars, Monty Python, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Ghostbusters, Justice League, Batman, Pretty In Pink, Ferris Bueller, Princess Bride, Goonies… even the Golden Girls. These 8-bit cross-stitching patterns are all awesome and incredibly charming. Just perfect nostalgia pixels. I want to make a blanket with all of them. Prices vary from $12 for big patterns, like…

Tech News Jesus Diaz Jun 10

Which literary character is most frequently portrayed on screen?

Having appeared 254 times in film and television, Sherlock Holmes is, according to the Guinness World Records, the most frequently portrayed human literary character. But he’s not the most frequently portrayed of all literary characters; the one who holds the top slot isn’t human. Sherlock wipes the floor with the next most prolific human character,…

Movies Lauren Davis May 19

Can You Recognize These People from Just Their Hair?

Some haircuts are so iconic that you already know who the person or character is from just seeing their hair. It’s like a brand logo, an identifier, a part of who those characters are. Made by graphic designer Patrícia Póvoa, it’s shockingly easy to figure it out which makes it sort of a commentary on…

Tech News Casey Chan Apr 22

Police composite software makes realistic portraits of literary characters

We all use the physical descriptions of literary characters to form an image of how that character might look, but what if you translated these portraits using police software? In his portrait series The Composites, Brian Joseph Davis uses law enforcement composite software to see determine how these characters literally look. Davis takes a descriptive…

io9 Lauren Davis Mar 18

Good Character Development Includes The All-Important “F*@% Yeah” Moment

What makes you invest in a character? Is it when you understand their motivations, or glimpse their all-too-human foibles? When they have rich, multi-layered relationships? Sure, those things all help. But what really helps is the all-important “f*@% yeah” moment. I cannot claim credit for discovering the importance of the “fuck yeah” moment. (Sorry, I…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Mar 29

How To Start A Novel So It’ll Grow Into A Compelling Series

Fantasy author Gwenda Bond points us to a fascinating discussion among novelists: How much planning do you put in before you start a novel? And raises a related question: what makes a great book series? The discussion, over at Livejournal’s Fangs, Fur & Fey community (for published urban fantasy authors), proves that there’s no perfect…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Apr 8

Science Fiction Loves “The Man”

Science fiction offers writers a blank palette of creation when it comes to creating new worlds, technologies, and possibilities. However, when it comes to naming those characters, sometimes those writers fall spectacularly short. Case in point: all of the characters with the surname “man.” Check out our list of memorable “men,” including of course Hawk…

io9 Kevin Kelly Jan 9

Which Fictional Characters Would Make the Worst Friends?

What On-Screen Characters Are Secretly Terrible at Their Jobs?

A Poster of Every Star Wars Character from Just the Good Movies

What character are you embarrassed that you love?

I Want All These Impossibly Cool 8-Bit Cross-Stitches

Which literary character is most frequently portrayed on screen?

Can You Recognize These People from Just Their Hair?

Police composite software makes realistic portraits of literary characters

Good Character Development Includes The All-Important “F*@% Yeah” Moment

How To Start A Novel So It’ll Grow Into A Compelling Series

Science Fiction Loves “The Man”

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