Fantasy and SF

Not sure why the overseas audience gets cooler trailers than we do—and looking at the international spots for The Amazing Spider-Man and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, they totally do—but the new ad for Ridley Scott's Alien prequel has 18 percent more awesome.

It's no secret that Disney's John Carter has a massive budget, so massive that it's going to need to earn upwards of $700 million at the box office just to earn the right to a sequel. But according to new tracking on the flick, it might not even come close. Could the Martian adventure be this year's biggest flop?

Writer Elliott Serrano stops by with page by page commentary on the first issue of the new volume of Army of Darkness, and brings half the book for free too!

The electric (or even hybrid) car has been heralded as a way to help limit the amount of aerial pollution hitting the skies and our lungs, but a new study out of China has shown that they're actually even worse than regular gas guzzlers. More »

Image of the Day: Lady Boba Fett in revealing body paint (NSFW)

We love games, so welcome to a new feature wherein we (we being Pritpaul Bains and Theresa DeLucci) collect links of win from around the web. Ever find yourself wanting to scream an Unrelenting Force shout at someone? If you have Kinect, you can! Horses too glitchy for you? Ride a dragon instead! And who wouldn’t want to adopt a scruffy little street urchin from Whiterun? With my track record for accidentally killing followers, I’ll pass on that last one. See above what Bethsda employees almost added to Skyrim.... And just in time for this presidential holiday weekend, get lost in Tamriel, drink some homebrew, and save the galaxy with returning patriot Commander Shepard. [Read more] Read the full article

Who are The Descendants? Is George Clooney in this issue? Here's an exclusive preview of SECRET AVENGERS #23.

Hollywood's appetite for endless sequels shows no sign of slacking — Transformers 4 is coming! — and these films often feel like exercises in futility. Last week, we listed a ton of movie sequels in the pipeline that felt totally unnecessary. As in, nobody had walked out of the previous movie saying, "I can't wait to see what this goes next." More »

Called “Cost of Living” this short film starring Brandon “Superman/Third Ex” Routh follows two security guards working plant that seems to manufacture monsters. Clever as hell, the short features great performances from Bret Harrison, Brandon Routh, and the voice of Mary Elizabeth Winstead! This is a reunion of sorts for Routh and Winstead since both appeared in Scott Pilgrim. But, beyond just being all-around great, this short confirms Brandon Routh as one of the funniest action-star actors of our time. Also, if this is any indication, filmmaker Bendavid Grabinski is one to watch. Enjoy the short here. (Slightly NSFW due to “strong” language.) Stubby the Rocket is the voice and mascot of Tor.com. Dude, gremlins ARE real. Read the full article

How's the latest from The New 52's CATWOMAN? Did WINTER SOLDIER stay strong in its second issue? Quick reviews are here!

Do you remember the Image Comics ashcans from twenty years ago? I do, I still have my Maxx ashcans somewhere, before the release of the comic proper, half size, showing off upcoming art, numbered and ...

This week we learned that three giant fighting robot movies were indeed not enough, and that we will in fact be getting a fourth Transformers flick in 2014. We also heard that Michael Bay will return to attempt something audacious even for him: rebooting his own franchise. But exactly what does "reboot" mean here?

Planning is already underway on a sequel to the hit X-Men: First Class, and a writer on the film says the follow-up will give proper attention to the mutant team's most famous frenemy.

We already showed you what the DC Free Comic Book Day retailer customizable version would look like. Now we have the Marvel version, only available to retailers who order vast quantities. It’s intended to be ...

If you weigh over 350 pounds, you can eat at the Heart Attack Grill for free (according to the Las Vegas eatery's slogan). But if you should keel over, gripping your chest in agony, while scarfing down a triple bypass burger (that's what the monstrosity pictured up top is called), don't expect any of the scantily clad waitresses "nurses" to come running — chances are, they'll just think you're kidding. More »

In the -25C° pitch-black cold of the French Alps filmmaker Jacob Sutton captured William Hughes shredding through the night like some radioactive snowboarder. This otherworldly glow was achieved using a full-body LED suit designed by John Spatcher. Explains Sutton of this project: More »

Tigers are exceedingly rare. They're also very solitary creatures. So why are there 11 of them gathered in this photograph? More »

The last time you held a compact disc, you probably noticed the way that waves of light, diffracted from the CD's surface, can give rise to transient shifts in color that draw from the entire visible spectrum. But odds are you've never seen the spectroscopic properties of CDs presented quite like this. More »

Arthur C. Clarke once famously quipped that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." So perhaps it was inevitable that the Pentagon's extreme technology arm would eventually start acting like magicians - and try to create illusions on the front lines. More »

If you're a hardcore superhero fan, you're going to love what's coming to retailers this year. The booths at Toy Fair '12 in New York City this week teased so many incredible DC, Marvel and more action figures, statues, busts and oddities that if the public were invited, we're sure there would have been drool stains everywhere.

Sam Humphries hit the headlines with the self distributed Our Love Is Real, asking the very important question, what if Judge Dredd had sex with his dog. Since then we’ve seen him pick up Boom’s ...

Dave Johnson famously reviews the designs of covers, and can be rather brutal at times. I wonder how he’ll react to the cover of upcoming comic Protocollo Omega issue 1? In Swipe File we present two or ...

SYNOPSIS: A touching picture book about a young boy with big dreams. MY RATING: MY REVIEW PROS: Beautiful imagery; a moving story. CONS: The strong language is the only barrier that may keep this from being read to children. VERDICT: Another unusual effort from a most unusual author. Lavie Tidhar is a raconteur of an [...] Related posts: VIDEO REVIEW: The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar [GUEST REVIEW] Bryan Thomas Schmidt on ‘Camera Obscura’ by Lavie Tidhar EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT 3/5: The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar

LeVar Burton delivered the opening keynote address at the Tools of Change for Publishing conference on February 13 and placed the emphasis on science fiction literature as the driving impetus behind the very tools that are currently redefining publishing, outreach, and reading habits across all ages. He begins with an anecdote on being a young kid growing up in the 60s seeing Uhura on Star Trek, and knowing, just by virtue of her presence on the bridge, that he had a place in the future of mankind. It’s a great keynote, so check it out when you get 15 minutes to spare. For more information on what Burton is up to in the digital publishing arena these days, read the coverage form Publishers Weekly. And if you like, wish LeVar Burton a happy 55th birthday today! Stubby the Rocket is the mascot of Tor.com and is always saving a seat for LeVar. Read the full article

The SACRIFICE writer is making the leap to superheroes with ULTIMATES, joining Jonathan Hickman as co-writer

While Ghost Rider creator Gary Friedrich may have lost his litigation against Marvel over the latest Ghost Rider film, he succeeded in creating a major stir in the comics community. It was only a matter of time before Marvel responded and finally, publisher Dan Buckley and Marvel's CCO Joe Quesada are speaking up.

The road sure isn't smooth for CBS' upcoming drama series Elementary. First, the BBC made it clear that they will sue the network if its new show shares too many similarities with the Beeb's awesome Sherlock, and now a producer is blasting the casting choice of Johnny Lee Miller as the other modern Sherlock Holmes.

AOA Nightcrawler and X-Force's adventure in Otherworld continues. Here's an exclusive preview of UNCANNY X-FORCE #22.

The first novel in Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time®, The Eye of the World, was released on January 15, 1990. Now more than twenty years later, Tor Books is thrilled to announce the official publication date for the final novel in the series. A Memory of Light will release on January 8, 2013, in the final month of the Year of the Dragon. [More info from Tor below] Read the full article

The CW isn't straying too far for the Beauty of its update of the '80s Linda Hamilton-Ron Perlman romantic drama: They've cast Smallville's Lana Lang, Kristin Kreuk, as the NYPD detective on the hunt for the monstrous man who saved her life.