Happy almost New Year everyone! Awards season returns, like that panto veteran you’re sure died years ago and in fact, may have… Last year I had a really pleasant surprise when I placed on the long list for Best Fan Writer. I have to be completely honest, I would love to be a nominee this …
So a couple of days ago there was a conversation online about how lonely it can be being on the outside of a cultural event. It’s something that happens a lot in pop culture, and something I get to experience first hand with reality TV. I have friends who love shows like The Apprentice and Big Brother and I’m …
That’s the first line of Olive Hill, a seven episode audio drama podcast that finished this week. It’s the story of Esther Snow, a journalist returning to her home town to try and discover the truth about a mystery that defined her childhood. It’s also about the challenges of being an outsider, of growing up in small …
There are two conversations pop culture insists on re-litigating. The first is whether or not it’s profoundly skewed towards specific body types, skin tones, sexualities and genders (it is). The second is the belief that everything is a reboot and originality is bleeding out in an alley somewhere. (It isn’t). She-Ra and the Princesses of Power doesn’t just …
Matt Miner is one of those comic creators whose work never fails to inspire. He’s also endlessly versatile and has recently co-edited All We Ever Wanted: Stories of a Better World. Doesn’t that sound great? And needed? I have a review copy I’ll be writing about but in the meantime, if you’re in the US, …
Marc Jackson’s work is a frequent flier in these parts and for good reason. His art has exuberant, fizzy energy to it, his comedic timing is spot on and there are few comic creators better at knowing exactly how long a story needs to be. His latest, Hot Dog and Mustard, is available now and …
This is a piece about the developing situation with the Parsec awards. There is a flotilla of issues here and I’ll do my best to address each one. First off, some basic principles. If you have an issue with these, you’re not going to like the article, and I’d suggest you walk away now: I …
I had the absolute pleasure of apeparing on Tim Niederritter’s Alive After Reading a couple of weeks ago. Tim’s a pleasure to talk to and is a prolific podcaster and author. His newest, Storm Fleet,the first volume of the Pillar Universe, arrives today. Storms outside fuel the tempest within. Yajain’s struggles to leave her past …
Death haunts the opening act of The First. The chrome bus that takes the Providence crew out to the launch, the waterside mounted bleachers where the families watch and, most of all, the skittering angles of the SRBs after the ship explodes in mid-air. Apollo 1 and Challenger, scars on the face of crewed spaceflight evoked respectfully but not painlessly. This …
I love a good blockbuster but for me, Western cinema’s beating heart is punky. Those mid-range to low-budget gems which get their hands dirty, where limitation meets invention, that’s where you get the FUN stuff. That’s where you get the voices that are distinctive and unique, the ones that will shape cinema for years to …