The movie opens with the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) writing a title on a chalkboard: “eXistenZ. Written like this. One word. Small e. capital X, capital Z.” A virtual reality game, led by the designer itself, goes violent and wrong. As she and her companion flee assassins and death, their exploration within the game itself soon blurs the lines between game and reality.
Our robo-goblin overlord has declared a Month of Joy, and allowed that in this month, by his grace, I am allowed to be right about comics. Therefore, this month, I’m going to do a round-up of comics I’ve been loving. Which is a lot, since this is the year I decided to get into comics writing, and as a result, have been reading a LOT of comics, especially since Baltimore Comic-Con. Here’s a round-up of some of the books that have wowed me this month:
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode232AnInterviewWEricOrchard/SandF%20–%20Episode%20232%20–%20An%20Interview%20w%20Eric%20Orchard.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSFlying bears, spider-goblins, and magic, oh my! Graphic novelist Eric Orchard joins Shaun and Mike to talk about his newest graphic novel, Maddy Kettle: The Adventure of the Thimblewitch. We discuss writing for young readers, the comics market, illustration and myth, and much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 232 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: Eric’s Website Eric’s Twitter Eric’s Tumblr Eric’s Store Maddy Kettle: The Adventure of the Thimblewitch (Top Shelf Productions) Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks! Thanks for listening. See you next week.
My Superpower is a regular guest column on the Skiffy and Fanty blog where authors and creators tell us about one weird skill, neat trick, highly specialized cybernetic upgrade, or other superpower they have, and how it helped (or hindered!) their creative process as they built their project. Today we welcome Justin Robinson to talk about how the power of art relates to Get Blank. —————————————— If I’m ever interrogated by a foreign power — something I was convinced would happen from the moment I saw my first James Bond film until lunchtime last Tuesday — there’s one thing that can never possibly break me. Bad movies.
There’s a lot to critique about the role of women in superhero comics and associated media — and I spend a lot of time and energy doing exactly that. But today, I’m here to talk about a bunch of reasons to be super excited about female superheroes, and what’s being written, drawn and performed either right now or in the future. 1) Wonder Woman It’s a really good time to be a Wonder Woman fan. We’re drawing to the end of Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s legendary run on the character, which was one of the few creative success stories to come out of the DC Comics New 52. I’ve particularly liked the heavy focus on Greek mythology, the retro and non-exploitative art direction, and the supporting cast. Keeping Diana mostly outside the rest of continuity for these comics has helped with the consistency of the story, meaning (hopefully) that they can continue in graphic novel format to be an accessible gateway to the character for many years to come.
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode231CityBuildingAtCONvergence/SandF%20–%20Episode%20231%20–%20City%20Building%20at%20CONvergence.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSCliff cities, twisted towers, and fantastic streets, oh my! Earlier this year, I moderated / participated in a panel on city building with some amazing folks. And I finally get to release it! From new cities to ancient palimpsestial streets, Emma Bull, Tania Richter, Kathryn Sullivan, and Christoforo Pasquarette tackle the process of city building in urban fantasy (and fantasy at large). Here is the CONvergence description: From cloud citadels to urban wastelands, any city has infrastructure needs: water, sewage, transportation. How will those be met? A discussion of good and bad city design in urban fantasy. We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 231 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: Emma’s Website Emma’s Twitter Emma’s Books Shadow Unit! Tania’s Website Tania’s Twitter Tania’s Books Kathryn’s Website Kathryn’s Books Kathryn’s Facebook Christoforo’s Bio Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). Additional music from “Black Vortex” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. That’s all, folks! Thanks for listening. See you next week.
