science fiction

Get your geek on at your local science-fiction convention

Posted on by earthtoshawna

Admit it – you have always wished you could participate in a re-enactment of that bloody rave scene in “Blade.” Right? OK, well, me neither, but the New York City Comic Con is doing it so someone must be excited about it.

Blade Rave is actually a Comic Con afterparty and will recreate the scene in the 1998 vampire movie in which the sprinklers spray blood on the dancers. If that’s your thing, you can still get tickets for the event, which will be Oct. 9, at Terminal 5. The Crystal Method is headlining.

The New York City Comic Con will be Oct. 8-11, in the Javits Center in New York City.

Depending on where you live and how far you’re willing to travel, there are plenty of sci-fi conventions with lots of special guests, costume contests, art exhibits, and more. Here are just a few of the many, many science-fiction conventions:

Geek Girl Con, dedicated to “recognizing and celebrating the contribution of women in all aspects of geek culture,” is scheduled for Oct. 10 and 11, 2015, at the Conference Center in downtown Seattle.

Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo, Oct. 30-Nov. 1, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, will feature guests Grant Morrison, Stan Lee, William Shatner, Mike Mignola, Elvira, Nichelle Nichols, Dita Von Teese and more.

Eucon, or Eugene Comic Con, will be Nov. 14 and 15, 2015, at the Lane Events Center in Eugene, OR. Special guests this year include John Rhys-Davies from Lord of the Rings, Jason David Frank, and Chris Roberson.

Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest, Dec. 4-6, 2015, at the University of Phoenix Stadium, is the winter version of the Phoenix Comicon, which will be June 2-5, 2016, at the Phoenix Convention Center.

Wonder Con, the sister show to San Diego Comic Con, will be March 25-27, 2016, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Emerald City Comicon, April 7-10, 2016, at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, will feature Nathan Fillion from “Firefly,” as well as Fiona Staples, the illustrator of one of my favorite comics, “Saga,” and many other special guests.

Comic Con International: San Diego is slated for July 21-24, 2016, at the San Diego Convention Center. Comic Con International is the home of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (the comic book world’s version of the Oscars), as well as several other awards.

MidAmericaCon II, the 74th World Science Fiction Convention, will be Aug. 17-21, 2016, in Kansas City, MO. Guests of honor will be Kinuko Y. Craft, Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Tamora Pierce, and Michael Swanwick. Worldcon is where the Hugo Awards, for the best science fiction literature, are presented.

Check out these binge-worthy sci-fi, fantasy TV series

Posted on by earthtoshawna

  1. “Battlestar Galactica.” There are four seasons, but you have to start with the miniseries. My favorite TV show of all time, it stars Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, and so many other great actors. It is epic, dramatic, suspenseful, and just plain awesome. So say we all!
  2. “Star Trek.” Any and all. I came in at “Deep Space Nine,” so I’m more a fan of the later series. I sometimes think if I had watched Star Trek when I was younger, I would have set my sights on science, rather than journalism.
  3. “Game of Thrones” is the first science fiction-fantasy series ever to win an Emmy for best drama, so you know it’s something special. GoT has knights, dragons, wolves, witches, giants, and ice zombies, and the special effects are amazing. But the real magic is the plotting and political intrigue, and the stellar performances of the ensemble cast. My one complaint is that HBO goes too far sometimes, adding violent scenes that weren’t in the books.
  4. “Orphan Black.” If you haven’t seen this BBC show yet, you’re in for a treat. Tatiana Maslany stars as a young mother and con woman who has just discovered she’s a clone – one of many. And then the plot thickens. Stick with it; it keeps getting better.
  5. “Heroes.” With the “Heroes Reborn” premiere this week, what better time to re-watch the original series, about ordinary people discovering they have random superpowers? The series has a huge cast of great actors playing interesting characters, and Zachary Quinto (who plays Spock in the new Star Trek films) is amazing as psychotic supervillain Sylar.
  6. “The 4400.” This series drew a lot of comparisons to “Heroes” but actually came first. In the pilot episode, 4,400 people suddenly appear near Mount Rainier. All of them have disappeared at some point during the past 50 years, but no one knows where they have been all this time, or how they got back, and some of them have returned with special abilities.
  7. “Life on Mars.” Jason O’Mara plays a New York City cop who is hit by a car in 2008 and wakes up in 1973. I’m a sucker for a good time travel tale. It was canceled after one season, and some say it wasn’t good as the BBC version, but I ask of you, did the BBC version have Harvey Keitel?
  8. “Caprica.” I didn’t love this prequel series as much as the series from which it was spun, but it satisfied my craving for more “Battlestar Galactica.” Starring Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Paula Malcomson, Alessandra Torresani and Polly Walker, “Caprica” tells the story of how the Cylons were created.
  9. “Defying Gravity.” Another good show that was canceled after one season, “Defying Gravity” starred Ron Livingston as one of eight astronauts on a mysterious six-year mission. This was pitched as “Grey’s Anatomy in outer space,” which may have sold the series, but was maybe also its downfall.
  10. “Dr. Who.” I confess I have only seen one season of this goofy time-travel series, but I’m planning to go back and watch more. It’s on my list.

(Photo: “Battlestar Galactica,” Syfy)

Don’t miss Image Comics’ ‘Saga’ and ‘Rat Queens’

Posted on by earthtoshawna

I confess I was late to the “Saga” party. When this epic comic came out three years ago, I made a mental note to check it out. “Saga,” written by Brian K. Vaughan, who wrote the clever post-apocalyptic comic “Y: The Last Man,” and illustrated by the very talented Fiona Staples, won several Eisner awards, and when the first volume was published, it won a Hugo award. 
 
But you know how it is – life gets in the way and I forgot about it. Now that I’ve had a little more time to read, I finally picked up Volume 1 and was blown away. I checked out volumes 2, 3 and 4 from the library, and read them one after another. Oh comic books, how I’ve missed you! And this comic book – where do I begin? 
 
Volume 5, the collection of comic books 25 through 30, picks up after a disgruntled android kidnaps toddler Hazel, and her mother and grandmother. Hazel’s father is in hot pursuit, along with a robot prince, whose robot infant has also been taken hostage. And Gwendolyn, Sophie, and The Brand are on the hunt for a cure for The Brand’s comatose brother. But let’s back up. 
 
At the heart of “Saga” are Alana and Marko, star-crossed lovers from warring worlds. Alana’s home planet is Landfall, and she has wings. Marko is from Landfall’s moon Wreath, where the natives have horns or antlers. Alana was a prison guard when she fell in love with Marko, who was a prisoner of war on the planet Cleave. 
 
The narrator of this crazy story is their little girl Hazel, presumably now an adult. Hazel’s babysitter, ghost girl Izabel, floats among the panels, with entrails hanging out from the hem of her t-shirt. (Sounds disgusting, but she grows on you.)
 
Fugitives, the young family is pursued across the galaxy by a host of bizarre alien characters including but not limited to an assassin called The Will and his huge, hairless, lie-detecting feline (a fan favorite, Lying Cat can only speak one word – “LYING!” – which comes in handy when you need to interrogate someone, but occasionally backfires as Lying Cat also calls out his master’s fibs); Prince Robot IV, who has a TV set in place of a head (the robots outsource their military to Landfall’s army); and Marko’s ex-fiancee, who is literally out for blood. 
 
Comparing their story to Star Wars or Romeo and Juliet or Game of Thrones or whatever doesn’t do this comic justice. It’s original, unique and unpredictable. Just when you think you know someone, they surprise you.
“Saga” is original, fun and addictive. It’s also violent and creepy, so take note that this is a comic for adults only. 
rat-queens
 
Another award-winning fantasy from Image, “Rat Queens,” is my other new favorite comic. It has been described by the author as “Lord of the Rings” meets “Bridesmaids,” a pretty accurate description. Imagine if the fellowship of Tolkien’s ring were made up of women. Now imagine their adventures being raunchier and way more fun, and you have “Rat Queens.” 
 
The queens, a foursome of female mercenaries, are dwarf Violet, human Dee, elf Hannah, and “smidgen” (halfling) Betty. The funny and irreverent warriors fight, drink, curse, and then fight some more. (Tasked with bringing rations on a quest, Betty packs a bag of candy and magic mushrooms. They all complain, but dig in anyway.) 
 
Like Saga, “Queens” has little inside jokes: One of the other mercenary groups is called Brother Ponies (a nod to the My Little Pony fans known as Bronies). 
 
What I love about the Queens is that they are strong women without becoming stereotypes of strong women. They’re badasses, but they are vulnerable. They still want love; they still get their feelings hurt when they are rejected. They all have different personalities. They aren’t cookie cutter characters.
 
One thing that I love about both of these comics is that they are entertaining while at the same time addressing serious issues like war and drug addiction. One “Saga” subplot centers around a young girl who was sold into sex slavery, and one of the Queens has reservations about the religion she abandoned. It gets deep, but not too heavy. Vaughan and Wiebe both strike the perfect balance in their writing. But don’t take my word for it; visit your local comic book shop or library and check out these awesome grown-up fairy tales for yourself. 
 
“Saga, Volume 5” (graphic novel) was released Sept. 15, and the 12th issue of “Rat Queens” is out today.
 

Saga, Volume 5
By Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Image Comics, Rated Mature

Saga_26-1
 
Rat Queens
By Kurtis J. Wiebe and Tess Fowler
(Previously drawn by
Roc Upchurch and Stjepan Sejic)
Image Comics, Rated Mature
RatQueens_12-1

Will Tatiana Maslany win Emmy for ‘Orphan Black’?

Posted on by earthtoshawna

If you are a fan of “Orphan Black,” you may have thought, “Wow, that actress really deserves an Emmy.” 
Well, Tatiana Maslany has finally been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. 
Maslany plays Sarah, a British punk rock mom who discovers she’s a clone – one of many, and she plays all of them. You know she’s doing an amazing job when you forget they are all the same person in real life. It’s an addictive series –  gritty and suspenseful, but with plenty of comic relief. I don’t want to give anything away, but I highly recommend putting it on your short list for what to binge watch next.
Another one of my favorite shows, Game of Thrones, was nominated for 24 awards this year. Among the nominations are Outstanding Drama Series, a Best Supporting Actor nod for the incomparable Peter Dinklage, who won an Emmy for his role as Tyrion Lannister in 2011, and nods for Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, and Diana Rigg.
Game of Thrones has also been nominated for cinematography, production design, writing (D.B. Weiss and David Benioff) and direction (David Nutter) awards.
The HBO series swept the Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday. Will they sweep the Primetime Emmys? Tune in to the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards on FOX, Sunday, Sept. 20, to find out.
 
New TV series
 
Here are a few of the new shows I will be checking out this fall. I use the term “new” loosely, as all of the following are adaptations of other TV shows and movies – but they are great stories, so let’s hope the TV shows will be too.
  
Monday, Sept. 21
“Minority Report” (FOX) is a sequel adaptation of the 1956 Philip K. Dick story and the 2002 film (Steven Spielberg). In the movie, Tom Cruise starred as the Chief of PreCrime, a police force that aimed to stop crimes before they were committed, through the use of “precogs,” mutant siblings who can see the future.  The TV series, set 11 years after the events in the movie, focuses on a precog named Dash, played by Stark Sands.  
 
Tuesday, Sept. 22

“Limitless” (CBS) is a sequel based on the 2011 film of the same name. The story revolves around a drug called NZT-48 which increases the user’s IQ and gives him a photographic memory. The main character in the series is Brian Finch, played by Jake McDorman. Bradley Cooper, who starred in the movie, will have a recurring role.  

Thursday, Sept. 24
“Heroes Reborn” (NBC), a 13-episode miniseries, is a continuation of the show “Heroes” (2006-2010). Some of the original actors will reprise their roles, including Jack Coleman as Noah Bennet, Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura, Jimmy Jean-Louis as The Haitian, Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman, Noah Gray-Cabey as Micah Sanders, and Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh. 
 
guardians-of-the-galaxy-full
Saturday, Sept. 26
“Guardians of the Galaxy” (Disney XD) is an animated spinoff of the comic book and film of the same name. Stephen Wacker, Marvel’s vice president for current animation, has said the series would strive to replicate the film’s offbeat sense of humor, and would pick up where the movie left off.
(Photos: BBC America; Disney XD)