NEW YORK IS SO SCREWED OMG. In The Fall, the sequel to The Strain, the vampiric virus has spread across the city, and the Master is poised for full on destruction. Our intrepid band of heroes is totally screwed. The only hope for humanity lies in a mysterious book long lost to history. In the tradition of Blade and Hellboy, del Toro and Hogan combine the [...]
Books
So I feel like, after it being all over Twitter and Tumblr, I should give an explanation for the “Mansplain” panel from Batman and Robin #18. For those of you who don’t know, yes, the villain told Dick Grayson’s Batman that he doesn’t get to Mansplain to her. It was some funny shit, but at the same time, with context…slightly demeaning. If you actually read, [...]
Beth Bernobich just came out with Passion Play, a romantic fantasy about politics, power, and reincarnation. Here, she talks about writing techniques, feminism, and emotional growth. What authors do you consider yourself working in conversation with? (Here, I’m trying to get a sense of your authorial genealogy) The three authors I’d name are Jane Austen, Ursula Leguin, and James Tiptree (Alice B. Sheldon). I first [...]
My name is Leigh and I love comic books, so much so that I’ve decided it’s the industry for me. I currently manage a comic book shop. It’s not rocket science, I’m not curing cancer, but between my growing responsibilities, and a colorful cast of customers and coworkers, things certainly aren’t boring. Recently, I’ve been asked to help out with the monthly order form, which [...]
First up: The King’s Last Song intertwines the story of Jayavarman VII, a 12th century Cambodian ruler, with the tale of the theft of his last work, an autobiography written on golden leaves. This is a beautiful, painful reflection on colonialism, the impact of war, and history. Unfortunately, very few of the characters achieve the emotional complexity of some of his other work. While I [...]
Short stories about zombies/survivors get right to the point, they don’t dally (if it’s written well) and the writer has fewer chances to screw things up. The Living Dead anthology (1 & 2) are both excellent, and editor John Joseph Adams manages to do what some other anthology editors don’t do: he infuses his anthology with tons of stories written by-get this-WOMEN WRITERS. Women horror writers. Yes, just about every other [...]
Dear Piers – We were really close once — I read all your books. Literally. Race Against Time (with its problematic racial politics), Ghost Ship (….with its problematic racial politics), Tatham Mound (with its problematic racial politics…), the Geodyssey series (with its problematic… gender? politics (yay?)), the Xanth series (with its problematic gender politics), Virtual Mode (with its problematic gender AND racial politics, wtf?). But, [...]
