Steve Stiles is a living double entendre: not only does he draw icons of the field, he is an icon of the field. If brushing twilltone off your lap after reading is a familiar experience, Mr. Stiles will need no introduction. You have no doubt marvelled at his art. You’ve also probably laughed your posterior […]
Although I’m sure that there’s certain decorum for writing blog posts that prohibit fanboy type moments, I am choosing at this point-if such rules do exist- to completely ignore them. I do not have nearly enough verbage to clearly explain just how cool it is that I have been invited to be a part of […]
EXTREMELY SHORT SUMMARY Lots of fans sign up for free memberships to read cool, fannish, free stuff: Advertisers pay to advertise: Ad revenue is used to fund a magazine: The magazine purchases content from authors and artists: The content is published on the site (and in print). Member fans read it and see it all […]
Jules Verne hovers between number two and number three on the list of the most translated books worldwide and I think it’s deserved. He became one of the earliest science fiction writers to make it financially from book sales. He is frequently referred to as the “Father of Science Fiction,” a distinction he shares with H. […]
I said last time that I wasn’t going to debate the definition of “fan” here. But one of the most important defining characteristics of fandom is our shared language. From founding fan Forrest J Ackerman on, fen have delighted in neologisms, and, of course, language helps to define a culture. We all use a great […]
I’m both stunned and excited by the comeback of Amazing Stories and that I have become a part of this historic process. And it is a historic process. I’ve been looking back at what Amazing Stories’ accomplished in the past and it just increases my anticipation. With a history of so many great writers and […]
Sword & Sorcery has become a term of derision since the 1980s. There are good reasons for this but much of that derision is out of ignorance. The barbarian baby has been thrown out with the Hyborian bath water. This blog will outline the history of S&S, its major players, its ups and downs, and […]
Hello, I’m Leah Zeldes and I’m a fan. I have been a fan since 1973, not long after I discovered the concept of fandom in the pages of — not coincidentally, an Amazing Science Fiction column called “The Clubhouse” — and it seems to me that for most of the time since I’ve been arguing […]
One of the ways writer Kelly Sue DeConnick is developing the new Captain Marvel is by giving her firm links to the history and culture of women’s aviation. This approach combines the real world and Marvel Universe in a way that comics fans haven’t seen in several years. Captain Marvel #1, DeConnick introduces Carol Danvers’ […]
I was going to devote this initial essay to The Shaver Mystery, that forties phenomenon masterminded by Raymond Palmer which put science fiction for the first time (and not in an helpful fashion) under the lens of Henry Luce and Time but have decided to take a pass. Wikipedia has already entirely reconfigured the culture. […]
