Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 132 i SciFi Now

With each successive comic book movie, you see the same think pieces about superhero saturation, as if this next film is finally going to be the one to burst the bubble. But to say that some kind of critical mass has been reached not only makes an incredibly sweeping statement about comic books and comic book movies, when it comes to something like Wonder Woman, it brushes over the fact that we have been waiting for Diana Prince to get her own solo live-action movie ever since the character was created. Patty Jenkins’ film is not only the first female superhero movie since this new post- Iron Man comic book movie era began, it’s also the first film that places the historic character front and centre. We talk to the…

1 IT’S AN ANTHOLOGY SERIES To make the most of Philip K Dick’s immense imagination, Electric Dreams is an anthology sci-fi series made up of ten episodes based on a collection of Dick’s short stories. At the time of writing, the only stories we know for sure that are being adapted are The Commuter, Impossible Planet and Crazy Diamond. 2 IT’S A UK/US CO-PRODUCTION Channel 4 and Sony Pictures Television are partnering up to bring the show to life, with Channel 4 airing Electric Dreams in the UK and Sony distributing the goods overseas. After recent Channel 4 sci-fi series like the brilliant Humans and Utopia we’re excited to see what the network will deliver. 3 THE PRODUCERS HAVE PEDIGREE Ronald D Moore (Outlander), Michael Dinner (Masters Of Sex) and…

How did you find working with Patty Jenkins? She was the right person to direct this movie. Whether she’s a woman or not, she had all the abilities and qualities this movie needed. There’s a difference in working with a female director who’s been a young girl and grew up to be a woman who understands that the world is complicated… She helped me through this journey. But Patty is also a talented director; so smart and passionate and emotional. Did training for the Israeli military help when it came to the physical side of Wonder Woman? Growing up I was always very active doing all different types of sports. I don’t think that my service in the IDF really taught me or gave me tools to perform better as…

BEST Duel Of The Fates If only all of The Phantom Menace could’ve been like this: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul engaged in an incredibly choreographed final lightsaber duel, set to John Williams’ epic score Duel Of The Fates. “Now this is podracing!” Genuinely thrilling and dynamic, the Podracing sequence from The Phantom Menace is a highlight from a film with not many highlights. Darth Vader breathes for the first time It was the moment we were all waiting for: The birth of Darth Vader, and the draw of his first breath. It is one of Revenge Of The Sith’s best scenes. Order 66 montage Darth Sidious’ execution of the Jedi is delivered in brutal, Godfather style: through a tragic montage that sees the Clone Troopers turn on…

“THE SCORE IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT FILM MUSIC HAS” Since 1977 and the establishing of the franchise to beat all franchises, John Williams has gone on to score all seven episodes in the Star Wars saga. But did you know that George Lucas wanted to use classical music? That a theme from Psycho is in the film? And that the music for the iconic twin sunset moment was originally completely different to what exists in the film now? In reality, we have Steven Spielberg to thank for all this after he recommended Williams to George Lucas while finishing Jaws. “We had all liked the Jaws score very much,” said producer Gary Kurtz to the BBC in 1980. “It was a traditional symphonic score, and we went through…

YOU CAN’T KEEP A UNIVERSAL MONSTER DOWN. DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN’S Monster, The Wolf Man, The Invisible Man, The Creature From The Black Lagoon… all these iconic creations are being exhumed for a new generation, so it seems rather fitting that this new shared universe begins with our action-man hero raiding an ancient tomb. It all starts with The Mummy. It’s been nearly a decade since we last saw Brendan Fraser’s Rick O’Connell take on the hordes of the undead in the mostly-forgotten The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, and five years since Universal first announced that it wanted to bring the legendary creature into the modern day. Since that time it’s gone through a couple of filmmakers (including Underworld’s Len Wiseman and It’s Andrés Muschietti) and has emerged in Jon…

MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975) While not concerned with sticking to the story, many of the players in the Arthurian legend are there – Arthur, Sir Lancelot, murderous bunnies... The Holy Grail cheerfully subverts expectations and is packed with more quotable moments than perhaps any other film ever made. EXCALIBUR (1981) Guy Ritchie has said that he cites Excalibur as the film that ignited his interest in the Arthurian legend, and he has expressed that he admires the way the film felt modern, even when exploring a mythologised past – and not just because of Helen Mirren’s brilliantly early-Eighties hair do… KING ARTHUR (2004) In Antoine Fuqua’s ‘realistic’ take on the Arthurian legend, Arthur’s not a king but a Roman soldier in occupied Britain. All of the magic…

“Diane, never drink coffee that has been anywhere near a fish.” “Diane, you’ve moved that clock 12 inches to the left!” “Oh Diane, I almost forgot. Got to find out what kind of trees these are. They’re really something.” “Diane, I’m holding in my hands a small box of chocolate bunnies.” “Diane, it’s 11:55pm, approximately 19 hours since the shooting incident which nearly caused me to make a premature purchase of the proverbial farm.” “Diane, it’s 4:10 in the afternoon at the scene of the crime. Here’s something we haven’t seen before: a mount of dirt.” “Diane, it struck me again earlier this morning, there are two things that continue to trouble me. And I’m speaking now not only as an agent of the Bureau but also as a human…

FILM INFO Released 26 May Certifi cate U Director Michael Dudok de Wit Screenwriter Michael Dudok de Wit, Pascale Ferran Cast None Distributor Studiocanal Running Time 80 mins The level of competition for the Best Animated Film at this year’s Oscars was ferocious: Kubo And The Two Strings, Moana, and Zootopia each felt like they were more than deserving… which is why it’s just about forgivable that Michael Dudok De Wit’s beautiful fable The Red Turtle walked away without a statue. This stunning feature comes bearing the Studio Ghibli name, and fans of that legendary production house’s output will adore this. In terms of tone and pacing, it’s closer to the artful spirituality of The Tale Of Princess Kaguya than the glorious parade of Spirited Away, but it’s also something…

Details 18 // 450 mins // 1979-2016 // // Released Out now Director Don Coscarelli, David Hartman Cast Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm, A Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornburry, James LeGros Distributor Arrow Video New extras aside, there are two reasons why devotees of Don Coscarelli’s hugely loveable franchise will want to upgrade from their sphere box-sets: the Bad Robot-supervised 4K restoration of the original movie, and the first UK release of the latest film: Ravager. 1979’s Phantasm is still a delight, as Coscarelli bounces increasingly outlandish ideas and creates the family unit of Mike (A Michael Baldwin), badass ice-cream vending hippie Reggie (Reggie Bannister) and Mike’s brother Jody (Bill Thornburry) that formed the core of the franchise. Mike suspects that something strange is going on at the local cemetery, a…

Details 15 // 78 mins // 1960 // // Released Out now Director John Llewellyn Moxey Cast Christopher Lee, Venetia Stevenson, Patricia Jessel, Dennis Lotis, Betta St John, Valentine Dyall, Tom Naylor Distributor Arrow Video If horror movies are anything to go by, you had to be careful about booking a place to stay back in Sixties. This proto-Amicus spookfest, released in the same year as Psycho, features a hotel no less deadly than Bates Motel: the Raven’s Inn, in Whitewood, Massachusetts. Built on the very spot where, some 300 years ago, the townspeople of Whitewood burned suspected witch Elizabeth Selwyn (Patricia Jessel) at the stake, it’s now run by the forbidding Mrs Newless (also Patricia Jessel). And while her anagramming skills aren’t perfect, her spells are top notch. Twice…

Details 18 // 96 mins // 1983 // // Released Out now Director Tony Scott Cast Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, David Bowie Distributor Warner Home Video Tony Scott’s impossibly stylish vampire story gets the Premium Collection treatment from Warner Home Video, although it should be noted that the only extra is still the commentary from the director and Susan Sarandon. Still, time has been kind to The Hunger, which finds Sarandon’s blood specialist falling for seductive vamp Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve), who is on the hunt for a new lover after her husband John (David Bowie) suddenly succumbs to the ravages of time in the span of a single day. Bowie’s tragic passing give his scenes an added poignancy but he does give one of his best performances here,…

Details TBC // 106 mins // 2017 // // Released 12 June Director Paul WS Anderson Cast Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen, Ali Larter, Ruby Rose Distributor Sony Pictures Home Entertainment If you’ve come this far in the Resident Evil franchise and grown to love director Paul W.S. Anderson’s natural flair for a rip roaring CGI enhanced action sequence and Milla Jovovich’s exasperated facial expressions you’re sure to enjoy this purportedly final instalment. The film answers a few questions about Alice’s beginnings and features one of the finest face-to-face showdowns between the evil Umbrella Corp and our hero. Ali Larter and the laser grid both make a welcome return, though sadly there’s no Michelle Rodriguez. When Alice is told there’s an airborne cure for the T-Virus she makes the treacherous…

Details 15 // 247 minutes/350 minutes // 2016 // // Released Out now Creators Victoria Madden, Vincent Sheehan, Cast Elizabeth Debicki, Matthew Le Nevez, Henry Nixon, Anthony Phelan Distributor Spirit Entertainment This slow-burning slice of Tasmanian Gothic immediately drew comparisons to Twin Peaks thanks to its small town setting, murdered teenage girls and hints of the paranormal, but the fact is that it sits much closer to French sensation The Returned, or Peter Hoeg’s environmental murder mystery Miss Smilla’s Feeling For Snow. The latter comparison is perhaps the best one, as our out-of-place heroine finds herself caught in the middle of an industrial conspiracy that nudges against the boundaries of our understanding. That heroine is Dr Anna Macy (Elizabeth Debicki), who returns to her home town of Kettering somewhat unintentionally.…

“IT LEAVES YOU WITH A FEELING OF WANTING TO DIVE DEEPER INTO THE WORLD IT OPERATES IN” Details Author: Andrew Lane and Nigel Foster Publisher: Titan Books Price: £7.99 Released: Out now In the 40 years since first contact with aliens, Earth has benefitted from a trade setup that sees scientific advances develop faster than humans would have managed alone. However, communication is impossible with the alien species. When a group of human colonists are captured by the Cancri aliens, a rescue party is sent out to negotiate their release without knowing whether any negotiation will even be possible. Netherspace is a fairly straightforward humans-on-a-mission tale, but Andrew Lane and Nigel Foster find ways to flirt with other genres, throwing in a bit of classic murder mystery, a little political…

“THERE IS A CLEVER MESSAGE HERE WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY STRIKE A CHORD” Details Author: Sebastien De Castell Publisher: Hot Key Books Price: £12.99 Released: Out now Everyone has an embarrassing school story, like calling your teacher ‘mum’, but nothing beats the humiliation of getting shown up in class for something you cannot do. Imagine, though, bluffing your way through a test, only to be outed in front of your whole class, by your sister. A shame that Kellen, son of Ke’heops knows only too well. Kellen knows that his days are numbered as he approaches his 16th birthday and needs to pass his mage trials; the only tiny problem is he has no magic, hardly even a dribble. His smug sister, Shalla, on the other hand, is riddled with it…

“SHEA NEVER REALLY TAKES HISFOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR FORTHE 300-ODD PAGES” Details Author: Kieran Shea Publisher: Titan Books Price: £7.99 Released: Out now Koko Takes A Holiday author Kieran Shea breaks from his acclaimed series for a standalone, fast-paced sci-fi that wears its influences on its sleeve. Set on a mining facility in space, it finds disillusioned miner Jimmy Vik facing a potentially drastic change in lifestyle after he finds a seam of gold. Should he call it in to his supervisor (and, unfortunately, his ex-girlfriend) Leela, or should he roll the dice and try to get the goods off rock and back home without getting caught or killed in the process? Shea wastes no time in getting things going, and he never really takes his foot off the accelerator…

The author’s upcoming slate is packed at the moment. She’s working on another book outside of The Three universe, another novel with Louis Greenberg under their pen name SL Grey (The Apartment has recently been optioned by Amblin), and she’s adapting Mark Millar’s comic Reborn with her daughter Savannah. “Oh my gosh, that has been so interesting,” she enthuses. “That’s something I’ve never done, it’s almost like a novelisation of a film. You’ve got almost the complete story but you’ve got none of the introspection of the characters, so that’s been a fascinating exercise for us to do. It’s like Riverworld meets Mad Max and the protagonist is an 84 year old woman. That’s probably why they asked me to do it!” There’s also the in-development TV series based on…

Details Writer: Junji Ito Artist: Junji Ito Publisher: Vertical Comics Price: £10 Released: Out now Junji Ito, the master of Japanese horror comics, returns with a series of skits tied together by a protagonist with an uncommon power. Yuuma Azawa’s curse initially seems to be an uncontrollable, neurotic urge to apologise for everything, but this profuse penitence has an unseemly edge… over time, Yuuma’s apologies melt the listener’s brain! The Dissolving Classroom’s short stories are essentially engines for the writer-artist’s fabulously freaky flourishes – and few can match Ito for gloopy, gory, oozy grossness. The result may be slight, and it certainly lacks the narrative sweep of his longer form work (Uzumaki, Gyo, Tomie), but it’s a joy to drink in Ito’s inimitable artwork in print, and the novelty of…

Say what you like about the quality of the prequel trilogy but George Lucas has always maintained he made Star Wars for kids and it wasn’t his fault adults liked them too. Perhaps the first fully-fledged clue to this adolescent mindset turns up about halfway through Return Of The Jedi, when a tribe of fluffy creatures comes into contact with our band of rebels on the forest moon of Endor. While critics (and some older fans) were quick to criticise the inclusion of these cutesy teddy bear-type beings, (only referred to as Ewoks in the closing credits) in addition to the plausibility of how they overwhelmed Imperial forces so easily during the somewhat slapstick style battle of Endor climax, the targeted child audience were more forgiving and embraced these characters…

Hordes of Star Wars fans were on-hand in Orlando and legions more were glued to their livestreams over the Easter weekend for the 40th anniversary Star Wars Celebration and, as ever, it did not disappoint. From the anniversary panel to the Carrie Fisher tribute to The Last Jedi teasers, here’s a breakdown of a triumphant look back and a tantalising glimpse of the future. 1 LUKE IS PIVOTAL IN THE LAST JEDI Mark Hamill was all over Celebration like the hero he is, remembering his work on the original trilogy, paying tribute to the Carrie Fisher and delighting fans with his stories over the entire weekend. However, when it came to details of his role in The Last Jedi, he was tight-lipped. “I might be one of the most valuable…

Sundance London is back, and it’s bringing two of the best genre films from this year’s indie fest to audiences in London. First up is David Lowery’s A Ghost Story starring Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck. Mara plays a grieving woman whose late husband tries to make contact covered in a white sheet. The first teaser trailer showed that same beautiful sensibility as seen in the trio’s first collaboration Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and we can’t wait to see how Lowery (Pete’s Dragon) will deliver this romantic haunting. Word is: this is excellent. The second film is Marjorie Prime, from Michael Almereyda (Nadja). This near-future fable tells the story of an 86-year-old woman (Phyllis Smith) whose new artificial companion is the spitting image of her late husband (Jon Hamm), with…

ALIEN: COVENANT Of all of the promotional material that Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant has given us so far, this poster is by far the greatest. As well as just being simply gorgeous, it really captures the essence of Alien. It’s somehow both minimal and complex, and the light shining down on the Xenomorph is nothing short of beautiful. Now we just have to wait and see if the film will follow suit. A GHOST STORY The horror posters are really bringing it this month. This simple but eerie one for David Lowery’s A Ghost Story reveals just enough to send shivers up your spine. TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT Transformers posters are usually pretty basic, with lots of fire and chrome, so this artsy banner for The Last Knight came as…

OR MANY YEARS, I WAS ASKING THE QUESTION YOU’RE ALL ASKING: WHY IS NO ONE MAKING THIS MOVIE?” says Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins. “In America, look at Halloween; there are hundreds of people dressed as Wonder Woman every year! She’s got a huge fan base, so why aren’t we doing this?” It is strange that Wonder Woman has never had her own big screen adaptation. It’s not like her 1975 live-action TV series put people off the idea. The show – and its star, Lynda Carter – are still deeply associated with the good-hearted, aspirational, spandex-infused fun that many people love about the superhero genre. It leaves many scratching their heads as to why Diana Prince is only finally getting her own big budget solo film over 75 years…

ALL-STAR COMICS #8 Writer: William Moulton Marston Artist: Harry G Peter Cover: Everett E Hibbard Released: 31 December 1941 If you’re going to read all the classic Wonder Woman appearances, you might as well start with the first. The story is the same one in the new film: Diana’s origin and her introduction to Man’s World. When US Air Force, Steve Trevor, crash lands on Paradise Island, Diana is exposed to man, warfare and 20th century civilization. Her inspiring journey to becoming Wonder Woman is one of the things that’s made her so iconic. SENSATION COMICS #1-9: THE RETURN OF DIANA PRINCE Writer: William Moulton Marston Penciller/inker/cover: Harry G Peter Released: September 1942 Wonder Woman’s second outing obviously made an impact, as six months later she was given her own…

It’s been a hell of a few years for Katherine Waterston. After breaking out with Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, she’s done acclaimed indies (Queen Of Earth), family-friendly blockbusters (Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them), and now she’s in the latest chapter of the Alien saga. “Ridley genuinely gets off on terrifying the audience so yeah; he sets the bar high for himself,” she laughs. “He wants to be able to walk into the theatre and hear people scream and duck under their chairs.” What’s it like standing on an Alien set? The ship feels like an Alien museum. When we first stepped on the set were looking around at each other saying: “We can’t believe we’re here!” And Ridley steps on says: “You pull this lever and we’ll…

“I have two. Waiting in the queue to get into the cinema. Secondly, seeing Darth Vader for the first time on the big screen and smiling.” @FilmFanStevie “It being on a tape before Escape To Witch Mountain. I still expect ad breaks in certain places.” @cyber_shep “Front row, centre, in the cinema in 1977 when it was just Star Wars and not Episode IV: A New Hope, jumping at the loud blast of music.” @write_act “1977 Army Barracks cinema in Celle, Germany. My dad was stationed there and took me to see #StarWars. Was in awe of that Star Destroyer!” @ginger5poon “Saw Star Wars in Jan ‘78 in the Lewisham Odeon (now demolished) I loved it, but it caused my mum a migraine. I spent all night drawing Vader.” @BlackdogPodcast…

Since that crawling yellow text first appeared back in 1977, the world of Star Wars has continued to expand across a variety of mediums, from books and comics to games and television series. Though it continues to influence new material, much of Star Wars Legends, formerly known as the Expanded Universe, has been declared non-canonical by Lucasfilm to clear the way for the new trilogy, but it’s a whole universe packed with essential material. Here, we take you through some of the highlights from four decades of Star Wars spin-offs. Book: Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye In 1976, Alan Dean Foster was contracted to ghost write the Star Wars novelisation and a second book, Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye, as the basis for a low-budget sequel should Star Wars flop.…

IT’S CLEAR THAT NOBODY CAN MAKE DAVID LYNCH DO ANYTHING THAT DAVID LYNCH DOES NOT WANT to do. The legendary filmmaker is bringing Twin Peaks back to us, but he’s doing so on his terms. He’s directed every single one of the 18 new episodes, including the two-hour premiere, and he wrote each one with his co-creator Mark Frost. There’s no doubting his passion for this world, but he nearly walked away from it all rather than have his vision be compromised. So, when he says they’re not going to give anything away, you can bet that’s what’s going to happen. Take, for example, the TCAs panel, where Showtime was eager to show off its prestigious, highly talked about series. Trying to parse details from the cast Q&A was like…

Details 12A // 107 mins // Out now Director Rupert Sanders Screenwriters Jamie Moss, William Wheeler Cast Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbaek, Michael Carmen Pitt, ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche Distributor Paramount Pictures Arriving as the wider whitewashing debate seems to be reaching its apex, Rupert Sanders’ Ghost In The Shell remake needed to make one hell of an impression. Unfortunately, despite some impressive visuals, this live-action adaptation doesn’t offer much in the way of life at all. Scarlett Johansson plays Major, whose brain has been transplanted into a complex, badass cybernetic body that makes her the property of the people who created her. When her anti-terrorism unit Section 9 come up against a revenge-driven hacker, Kuze (Michael Carmen Pitt), the truth about her past will rise to the surface. Fans…

Details 15 // 115mins // 2016 // // Released 15 May Director Justin Kurzel Cast Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Ariane Labed Distributor 20th Century Fox Home Ent. There were a lot of hopes pinned on Justin Kurzel’s film of Ubisoft’s immensely popular series. Could it be the film to break the videogame movie curse? Well, no, but it makes one of the best efforts yet. Although it’s frequently muddy and loses its way during the sequences set in the present day, the Macbeth filmmaker offers some brilliant action sequences set in 15th Century Spain as death row inmate Callum Lynch’s (Michael Fassbender) ancestor Aguilar races to protect a powerful artefact from the Inquisition. It’s at its best in the past, with swooping camera work, spectacular stunts and…

Details 15 // 102 mins // 2017 // // Released Out now Director Charlie McDowell Cast Robert Redford, Jason Segel, Rooney Mara, Riley Keough, Jesse Plemons Distributor Netfl ix In the near future, a scientific discovery made by Dr Thomas Harbor has rocked the world. After finding the answer to the ultimate question – what happens after death? – Harbor becomes responsible for a suicide pandemic, with people suddenly deciding to kill themselves to re-set their existences. However, there are still a few who don’t quite trust Harbor’s research, including his son Will (Jason Segel). With Earth’s population count dropping by the day, and so much still unknown about the exact nature of life after death, an isolated group of people, including Will and a mysterious woman named Isla (Rooney…

Details 18 // 78 mins // 2015 // // Released 22 May Directors John Ainslie Cast Tianna Nori, Mark Matechuk, Krista Madison Distributor Second Sight Young couple, new baby, new place… what could go wrong? For Joanna (Tianna Nori) and Geoff (Mark Matechuck), the answer is ‘everything’ and ‘very fast’. The sublet they’re staying in (the original title was The Sublet, if you’re struggling to find it on IMDB) seems nice enough, but tempers fray quickly with Geoff’s work commitments and inability to keep his snobby ex out of his life, and the baby can’t seem to settle. When Joanna finds a diary of a previous tenant in a similar position, her life begins to mirror that of the author’s… Despite the filmmakers’ best efforts, there’s not much to…

Details 15 // 117 mins // 2017 // // Released 5 June Director M Night Shyamalan Cast James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Betty Buckley Distributor Universal Pictures UK As far as trailer spoilers go, Split’s seemed to give quite a bit away. Despite this, the film still has a surprise around every corner after very quickly getting to the meat of the story. Barely five minutes pass before our protagonist Casey (Taylor-Joy) and two of her classmates are kidnapped and locked in a windowless room with apparently no means of escape. Slowly, their captor is revealed to be Dennis, and Patricia… and Hedwig, and Barry, and a whole host of others. Really, their captors are just Kevin, a man with dissociative identity disorder with over…

A couple of years ago you’d have been hard-pressed to find anything featuring witches that would frighten you. Sure, we had a dark fairy tale here, a Wiccan there, but genuinely scary witches seemed few and far between. That’s all changed. In cinema, we have to thank Robert Eggers’ terrifying 2015 film The Witch, and in comics, it’s all about Scott Snyder and Jock’s Wytches. If you’re a genre fan and you haven’t read this first volume yet, then we recommend that you stop right now and find a copy. These six issues represent some of the best that horror comics currently have to offer. Wytches is brutal, richly detailed, heart breaking and, most of all, genuinely scary. The opening pages let the reader know just what they’re in for.…

Details Author: Aliette De Bodard Publisher: Gollancz Price: £14.99 Released: Out now Aliette De Bodard takes us back to her devastated alternate Paris with a beautiful and compelling follow-up to her debut The House Of Shattered Wings. The story picks up after the events that concluded the previous novel, and the author spins a tale that’s rich, emotional and gripping, and delivers that rare thing: a superior sequel. Angel essence-addicted Madeleine’s worst nightmares have come true: she’s back in House Hawthorn and faced with a terrible choice: give up her addiction and pledge allegiance to the brutal House ruler Asmodeus (the angel who killed her friends and sent her crawling to House Silverspires), or agree to be killed by him. The promise of release is appealing, but when she realises…

“Re-re-re-reading IT by @StephenKing in prep for the new movie. It’s even better than the first time around. #BookClub” @Tim_M_Matthews “Re-reading Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne. What a classic, so ahead of its time. #BookClub” @SciFiThorsday “The Skull Throne and enjoying this series. #BookClub” @Mrspoonzs “Finished John Wyndham’s powerful and involving book The Chrysalids a few days ago. Now 30 pages into JG Ballard’s Empire Of The Sun. #BookClub” @BobHammond2 “Europe In Winter by @HutchinsonDave excellent book, third in the series. I recommend all three! #BookClub” @MrsHirez “I’m making my way through The Dresden Files book number three Grave Peril. Loving this series #BookClub” @farscape08 “Ghastle And Yule – working my way through all Malerman. Interesting. Not mind-shatteringly good like Bird Box and A House. #BookClub”…

How would you pitch Spellslinger? It’s a book about wondrous spells, mysterious playing cards, and the price you’re willing to pay to find your own magic. Oh, and there’s a talking squirrel cat. What came first; the world or the characters of Kellen and Ferius? I always start my books with a character stuck in a difficult situation. Since so much of Kellen’s experience is about things not turning out the way he expects, I wanted the rest of the characters to follow suit. It’s from that core that I start to build the world – to create a setting where those problems are magnified. When did the wild west element come in? Was it always part of the plan? I always wanted Kellen to have to contend with being…

Details Author: Cory Doctorow Publisher: Head Of Zeus Price: £18.99 Released: Out now Hubert, Natalie, and Seth are weary of human society and decide to become ‘walkaways’, leaving for a life outside of the system of the mid-21st century. Walkaway communities form across the world, defying attempts to suppress their way of life. However, when the walkaways make a discovery, their technology becomes the centre of a fight between the system and those outside it. Cory Doctorow builds his Walkaway landscape from the foundations of contemporary society; climate change has redrawn the post-scarcity world, the rich have found a way to keep getting richer, and everyone else has to try and muddle along. The tech may be more advanced, but the politics feel familiar and Doctorow brings it all together…

Details Writer: Emil Ferris Artists: Emil Ferris Publisher: Fantagraphics Price: £32 Released: Out now More a coffee-table book than a graphic novel, Emil Ferris’s My Favorite Thing Is Monsters has a monstrous presence about it. At 9 by 11 inches in frame, and just shy of 400 pages in length, it looms over the zines, the floppy single issues or the trim trade paperbacks with which it might share shelf space. Crack open the cover, and out spills its colour-pencilled innards, its elegantly cross-hatched guts. This is the journal of Karen Reyes: ten-year-old horror fan, pubescent werewolf, and wannabe private eye. The year is 1968, the place is Chicago, and there has been a murder – or so Karen thinks. Her neighbour, the enigmatic Anka Silverberg, has died under mysterious…

Details Writer: Jeff Lemire Artist: Dean Ormston Publisher: Dark Horse Price: £12.00 Released: Out now It seems de rigeur for a certain type of ambitious comics writer to one day attempt a meta-fictional crossover epic – an era-spanning masterwork that pulls together disparate character archetypes to make a grand statement about the medium as a whole, or simply to offer up a cheeky, revisionist twist on a familiar formula. Think Watchmen. Think The Authority. Think nearly every superhero project Grant Morrison puts his name to. Joining these ranks is writer Jeff Lemire, who teams up with artist Dean Ormston and colourist Dave Stewart for Black Hammer, which sees an eclectic team of superheroes become stranded in an alternate dimension, leaving behind the bustle of Spiral City for the sleepy farming…

Despite avoiding the chance to be involved with the so-so Bride of Re-Animator (1989) and the largely disastrous Beyond Re-Animator (2003), both of which were overseen by Brian Yuzna, Gordon reveals that he was interested in re-animating the franchise with a fourth film. “Gosh, this was back in about 2003 or 2004,” he maintains. “I got the idea for House Of Re-Animator when George W . Bush became president and then we had the war in Iraq. On top of that, all of these people started to show up in his cabinet that I thought had been dead for years [laughs]. I thought: ‘My God, someone must have re-animated them’ and then the idea just kind of hit me. I thought: ‘That would make a great Re-Animator sequel.’ So I…

Though the planned third live action Ewok fi lm never materialised, the adventures continued on the small screen in animated form. Star Wars: Ewoks ran for two series between 1985 and 1986 and was set after the events in the live-action movies. Containing the same life-affirming messages of family, courage and friendship, it centred on four major Ewok families, (predominately speaking English, with some Ewok phases thrown in for good measure!) with the Wicket family adopting the surname Warwick in an assumed reference to actor Warwick Davis. Teebo from Return Of The Jedi also returned for the series, as did the tiny Tinker Bell-type flying Wisties from Caravan Of Courage. It must be said that none of the Ewoks pose much of a likeness to their live-action movie counterparts. However,…

”Great fi lm, very underrated. Its powerful underlying message and themes are perhaps even more relevant now than ever.” @paul_bowler “Absolute classic – saw it a geek night with @ mrmarkmillar a couple of years ago. Acquired taste possibly!!” @ dim_tim “Loved it. Still yell the punchline when I see something I really don’t want to eat.” @TheCorvidArcher “Rewatched it last week. Love it. The Edward G. Robinson euthanasia scene is pretty powerful (his last fi lm).” @OnlyZodForgives “Great sci-fi fi lm that becomes increasingly relevant as we face a growing food crisis. @Nerdifi _MCR “Give Trump another term and this is what American healthcare will turn out to be.” @elicab “Quite satisfying, chewy, and always a needs a glass of something to wash it down. Oh… you mean the…

REY RETURNS We’re straight into Rey’s journey as her training begins. From the look on her face, this isn’t going to be a walk in the park. “LIGHT…” We glimpse Leia in full General mode but Kathleen Kennedy has confirmed that the character will not appear in Episode IX . “DARKNESS.” There’s Kylo Ren’s shattered mask, as we hear that legendary breathing and Obi Wan’s line “…seduced by the dark side.” HIT THE BOOKS Some suggest this could be the Journal Of The Whills, the order that Rogue One’s Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus belonged to. JEDI IN TRAINING Honestly, this is our favourite shot, as the camera sweeps around the island to reveal Luke watching Rey’s lightsaber practice. KICKING UP DIRT These speeders seem to be…

1 The return of Rick Grimes Robert Kirkman has a smile on his face when he talks about the Season Seven finale of The Walking Dead and the show’s future: “This season has been about tearing Rick Grimes down,” the creator confesses. “That is something that has been very frustrating for the audience, because they don’t want to see their hero be broken. We have been getting Rick back on track and organising the characters, and we’ve been re-engaging them against Negan. If you wanted your Rick Grimes back, you got your Rick Grimes back – but it wasn’t a happy moment. We’ve had to leave people guessing as to where we are going to go with our next season, but I think we set it up really well.” 2…

Welcome to Memory Bank, the corner of SciFiNow where we look back on previous issues of SciFiNow and see what the heck was going on in the world of science fiction, fantasy and horror. This month, we stuck our hands into the dusty, cobwebbed vaults (that also look suspiciously like a hard drive) and pulled out issue 46, which featured the strapping Winchester brothers of Supernatural, played by the even more strapping Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, on the cover. “I don’t know how long this plan is,” Supernatural creator Eric Kripke told us just before the start of the show’s sixth season. “I know it’s at least a year, it may go beyond.” That statement might have been interesting back in 2010 but now, with Season 12 currently airing,…

SHE-HULK We’re willing to bet any film starring Bruce Banner’s lawyer cousin would end up better than the Hulk films of 2003 and 2008. A live-action version was actually planned in the early Nineties, directed by Larry Cohen and with Brigitte Nielsen in the title role, but unfortunately the project never got off the ground. BLACK WIDOW Surely the Avengers’ Natasha Romanoff is popular enough for her own film at this point. People have been calling for it since she first appeared in Iron Man 2, and after two Avengers films and two Captain America films, she’s more than earnt her place among the big Marvel papas like Cap himself. AQUAMAN The King of the Seven Seas doesn’t technically count anymore, seeing as an Aquaman film is currently in production…

WONDER WOMAN INFO Alias: Princess Diana of Themyscira; Diana Prince Creators: William Moulton Marston; Harry G Peter First appearance: All-Star Comics #8 (1941) Powers: Super strength; invulnerability; flight; combat skills; combat strategy; superhuman agility; healing factor; magic weaponry POWERS FROM THE GODS 1. Super strength from Demeter 2. Beauty from Aphrodite 3. Animal communication from Artemis 4. Wisdom and war tactics from Athena 5. Speed and flight from Hermes WONDER WOMAN’S ARSENAL Lasso of Truth Forces those captured by it to tell the truth and obey orders Indestructible bracelets Can be used to block bullets and other weapons Invisible plane Can be used to fly into outer space Tiara Can be used as a throwing weapon, and can cut very durable substances when combined with Wonder Woman’s strength SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY…

990 A team of 990 workers were involved in the production of Alien: Covenant. 4 The script of Alien: Covenant took four years to complete. 2000 At the start of Alien: Covenant, 2000 colonists are present on the Covenant spacecraft. 10 The action of Alien: Covenant takes place ten years after the final scene of Prometheus. 4 The disused reservoir in the Sydney suburb of Potts Hill was home to four epic outdoor sets, including a large forest setting and more. 2016 Alien: Covenant began filming in April 2016. 80 In total, 80 sets were constructed for the movie. TEN The first ten days of filming took place in Milford Sound, New Zealand. 70 All-in-all, 70 shooting days were spent filming Alien: Covenant, with the majority of the shooting schedule…

MALAKILLI THE RANCOR KEEPER His tears at the sight of the slain rancor add an unexpected moment of humanity to Jabba’s palace. After all, it’s not the rancor’s fault. CORNELIUS EVAZAN AND PONDA BABA “He doesn’t like you.” “Sorry.” “I don’t like you either.” These two Mos Eisley Cantina customers aren’t here to make friends. NIEN NUNB Nien Nunb’s combination of sensible concerns and infectious laugh make him the perfect battle buddy, and he’s a damn good pilot, as shown in The Force Awakens. SALACIOUS B CRUMB The cackling Kowakian sits at Jabba The Hutt’s side laughing at everything and everyone, and even takes C-3PO’s eye out. Still, he gets what’s coming to him. WEDGE ANTILLES Denis Lawson’s ice-cool Wedge flew as Red 2 in the Battle Of Yavin, took…

They are, quite possibly, the most notorious films ever made; disasters so big, so profound, that, nearly 20 years later, they have passed into pop-culture infamy — artefacts to be examined, studied and debated. But were the Star Wars prequels really so bad? That’s a question that’s been asked a lot lately; revisionism inspired not only by the The Force Awakens, but a generation who grew up watching the films in the cinema. The answer, of course, is yes: the Star Wars prequel trilogy is bad. But it is also a little bit more complicated than that. You see, the Star Wars prequels were not just bad – they operated on a higher level than bad; a special kind of chaos and insanity, of terrible decisions and bizarre ideas, that…

Despite all of its success over the past four decades, Star Wars hasn’t always been able to translate to the small screen in any sort of meaningful way. Even beyond the infamous 1978 Star Wars Christmas Special, from the mid-Eighties there were the live-action TV movies Caravan Of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: Battle For Endor, and the pair of animated series Ewoks and Droids. Between them, there was little to get excited about. But things began to change in 2003 with the traditionally animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars, consisting of three to 15 minute episodes set between events of the films Attack Of The Clones and Revenge Of The Sith. This idea took greater root in the 2008 CG series of the same name that over its…

AN OBI-WAN KENOBI SOLO FILM Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi was one of the best things about the prequels, so a solo anthology film – set during his Tatooine exile – makes perfect sense. McGregor is reportedly up for it too. GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S JABBA THE HUTT MOVIE How’s this for tragic? Guillermo del Toro revealed last year that he was, at one stage, in talks to head a Jabba the Hutt spin-off movie, but that nothing came of it. It would have been incredible. DARTH VADER SPIN-OFF FILM You may think that devoting an entire movie to one of the most enigmatic badasses would be a risk, but Kieron Gillen’s Darth Vader comic did just that, and opened up the villain without ruining the mystique. X-WING: ROGUE SQUADRON The new…

SAVOURY 1. Baguette with Brie and butter, a la Ben Horne To be consumed with absolute maximum enthusiasm. 2. Smoked cheese pig To be consumed by someone who appreciates it, rather than burned in place of a real ledger. SWEET 3. Cherry pie The speciality of the Double R diner, to be eaten with a cup of coffee. Occasionally comes with ice cream. 4. Donuts To be eaten whenever possible. 5. Cherry No comment. AVAILABLE BEVERAGES 6. Good strong coffee, and hot!…

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: SALAZAR’S REVENGE is the fifth and, supposedly, final instalment in the franchise and from what we’ve seen, it promises to be a swashbuckling swan song. Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush (Hector Barbossa) and Kevin McNally (Joshamee Gibbs) are reprising their roles and, as well as a few more familiar faces, there’s a crew of new ones, too. This time around, our snarling, spectral villain is Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem) once a naval officer and now the undead commander of the Silent Mary. Salazar remorselessly pursued pirates until he met a young Jack, who lured him and his crew into the Devil’s Triangle and to their deaths in textbook Jack Sparrow fashion. Now, he’s returned with a vengeance and Jack is his first port of call. The film’s…

Details 15 // 126 mins // 19May Director Guy Ritchie Screenwriter Joby Harold, Guy Ritchie, Lionel Wigram Cast Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Eric Bana, Aiden Gillen, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou Distributor Warner Bros After reinventing Sherlock Holmes and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Guy Ritchie is turning his inimitable attentions to the legend of King Arthur. It’s a classic origin story, with Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) growing up in a brothel in Londinium after his uncle Vortigern (Jude Law) usurps the throne from his father (Eric Bana). A chance encounter with the sword of the title sets a Arthur on the path to claiming his birthright. Only Ritchie could stuff a King Arthur film with Londinium geezers, a pounding soundtrack, and twisting montages. Arthur is a wide-boy, wheeling and dealing his way…

Details 15 // 96 mins // 2004 // // Released Out now Directors Mamoru Oshii Cast Akio Otsuka, Atsuko Tanaka, Koichi Yamadera, Tamio Oki Distributor Manga Entertainment However you feel about the live-action remake, it is still worth diving into the world beyond the original anime. Mamoru Oshii returned after a decade to direct this sequel, which finds Batou partnered up with Togusa to investigate a series of murders committed by ‘gynoids’, geisha-styled bots that have been modified for sexual intercourse. The plot becomes increasingly labyrinthine but as with the original, it’s the grander themes that make Ghost In The Shell a world we love to get lost in. There’s a greater sense of melancholy here than in its predecessor, as the lonely Batou returns home to feed his…

Details 15 // 80 mins // 2017 // // Released 8 May Director Roxanne Benjamin, Karyn Kusama, Annie Clark, Jovanka Vuckovic Cast Melanie Lynskey, Natalie Brown, Jonathan Watton Distributor Thunderbird Pictures The first horror anthology written and directed solely by women sees Roxanne Benjamin, Karyn Kusama, Annie Clark and Jovanka Vuckovic deliver a bold feminist statement with a mixture of chilling, gory and emotionally intelligent shorts. A delicately detailed Quay Brothers style stop-motion animation from Sofia Carrillo threads all the pieces neatly together. The opening film from Vuckovic is an adaptation of Jack Ketchum’s short story The Box that tells the tale of a young boy who loses his appetite after he curiously peers into a strange man’s shiny red gift box on the subway. Vuckovic switches the gender…

Details 15 // 120 mins // 2015 // // Released 15 May Director George Miller Cast Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne Distributor Warner Bros Home Entertainment There can be no question that George Miller’s return to the world of Mad Max gave us one of the great action films of the modern era. It’s a jaw-dropping piece of cinema that aims an oil tanker at the patriarchy, and it not only gave us a great new version of a classic hero, but an icon in Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa. It was also eye-popping, not just in terms of the action sequences but in the visuals, with yellow sands searing our retinas alongside the huge red fireballs. However, according to Miller, the version we saw at the…

Details TBA // 405 mins // 2017 // // Released Out now Creator Noah Hawley Cast Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Bill Irwin, Jean Smart, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Katie Aselton Distributor Fox TV There’s no other way to put it: Legion blows all other superhero TV out of the water. When there’s something this good, this wonderfully delicious on offer then what’s the point of all that other stuff that keeps getting pumped out, season after season? Basically, Legion’s as damn near to perfect as a superhero series is going to get, and even bypasses a fair few of the films. From just the first few scenes, it’s clear that the series came from the same mind as FX’s stunning crime drama Fargo – Legion has Noah…

Harrow County Cullen Bunn, Tyler Crook This slow-burning saga is a brilliantly spooky piece of Southern Gothic, as young Emmy realises that she has a terrifying connection to the creatures in the woods. Clean Room Gail Simone, Jon Davis-Hunt The great Gail Simone turned her skills to the horror genre with great effect, as a journalist investigates a sinister self-help guru with terrifying powers. Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Robert Hack Beautifully illustrated and fantastically witty, this spin on Archie’s teenage witch is extremely inventive and genuinely scary. Afterlife With Archie is also very highly recommended. Nameless Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham This tale is exactly as dense and complex as you would expect from Morrison, but it also absolutely succeeds as a piece of horror sci-fi as a team…

1. Speaker For The Dead “Speaker For The Dead. Because: the piggies. And Jane. #BookClub” @SGJ72 2. Silence Of The Lambs “Silence Of The Lambs. Because Harris developed further the quintessential bad guy, Dr. Hannibal Lecter and wrote the badass Clarice Starling. #BookClub” @Ijestyounot 3. A Clash Of Kings “A Clash of Kings introduced me to Brienne of Tarth and I fell in love with a fictional character for the first time. #BookClub” @TheCorvidArcher 4. The Time Ships “Stephen Baxter’s The Time Ships, his sequel to #HGWells’ The Time Machine. It expands on the original brilliantly and is epic in scope. #BookClub” @MrAlecDeacon 5. Stolen “Stolen by Kelley Armstrong – a fantastic follow up to Bitten and it set up the third book perfectly!! #BookClub” @BeardedWhovian “IT’S THAT RARE…

Details Author: Sarah Lotz Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Price: £16.99 Released: Out now After showing us humanity on the brink of an apocalyptic event in The Three and Day Four Lotz takes us on a more focused, grounded journey for her latest solo venture. While it is a horror, the chills come from the protagonists’ slippery grasp on what’s real and the possibility that the living aren’t the only ones on the mountain. After narrowly escaping with his life after an illegal caving expedition, Simon Newman’s ghoulish website becomes a hit. His business partner then gets the idea to send him to Everest to get footage of the frozen bodies that can’t be removed, but he can’t shake the memories of what happened in the caves, and memories aren’t the…

Details Author: Sam Peters Publisher: Gollancz Price: £14.99 Released: Out now The narrowing gap between artificial intelligence and humanity is an increasingly ubiquitous subject in today’s science-fi ction. In From Darkest Skies, Sam Peters adds another story to this fast-growing genre, but does so without being too derivative, while adding a dollop of post-apocalyptic interplanetary thrills and mystery. Intelligence agent Keon Rause is called back into duty after five years of failing to get over his wife Alysha’s tragic and unexplained death, despite (or perhaps due to?) having built an AI recreation of her personality to help him cope. Returning to his old home on the planet Magenta, crisis, thrills, criminal conspiracy and AI revelations ensue. Many of those scenes are inventive and vivid – the tone set early on…

“THAT MOUNTAIN OF MYSTERY HAS BECOME ALTON TOWERS” The White Road, the new novel by The Three and Day Four author Sarah Lotz, is mostly set on the slopes of Mount Everest. Its characters gasp for air, endure injuries and suffer the mind-bending effects of altitude sickness. And as if that wasn’t enough, the book begins with its main character, sleazy web journalist Simon Newman, in the only environment more challenging: deep underground caves. “Why do people put themselves in these situations where their lives are in danger? I was fascinated by that,” she explains. “A lot of people said to me: ‘You can’t just go to Everest!’ but you can just go to Everest, that’s the point of the book! People can just go to Everest and this is…

Details Writer: Hamish Steele Artist: Hamish Steele Publisher: NoBrow Press Price: £12.99 Released: Out now Part Horrible Histories, part Adult Swim, Pantheon is an edgy, silly, brilliant whistle-stop tour through some of Egyptian mythology’s best (and weirdest) bits by erstwhile animator Hamish Steele. By some stroke of genius, Steele’s hilarious history lesson is irreverent and reverent, revelling in the ‘true story’ of Horus, Set, Osiris and the other Egyptian deities from its outlandish absurdity to its teachable tenets. Expect golden penises, incestuous bestiality, and dysfunctional family drama on an epic scale. Rendered in an expressive, entertaining style – at times a little bit reminiscent of The Simpsons (with her yellow skin and green dress, Isis is the spit of Marge Simpson) – Pantheon reads like a colourful Saturday morning cartoon,…

“I THOUGHT CRITICS WOULD HATE RE-ANIMATOR, I WAS VERY SURPRISED!” STUART GORDON Stuart Gordon may be well the least appreciated of all the major horror film directors. Whereas the likes of Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper and George Romero have all entered the popular public consciousness, Gordon has – for all intents and purposes – been a far more marginal figure. Meanwhile, despite launching his career with the critically acclaimed splatter-comedy Re-Animator (1985) – a film that gained far more box office traction than, for instance, the comparable likes of Sam Raimi’s original Evil Dead (1981) or Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste (1987) – Gordon never quite had the chance to move into the Hollywood A-list. As such, the good-humoured director – who can rightly be regarded as a major influence in…

CHILDREN OF MEN (2006) 1 Alfonso Cuaron’s absolutely brilliant modern classic is set in a world where humanity can no longer reproduce, and his vision of a Britain at the end of the world is very grimly plausible. GATTACA (1997) 2 Thanks to advances in genetics, parents in Andrew Niccol’s excellent SF can tweak their unborn children to achieve maximum potential. The naturally-born Vincent dreams of the stars… BRAZIL (1985) 3 Bureaucracy runs the world in this stunning film and humanity is filed away as Sam Lowry dreams of flight. Tormented by plumbers, paperwork and the state, can poor Sam fi nally escape? LOGAN’S RUN (1976) 4 Humanity has an age-limit in this classic staring Michael York and Jenny Agutter. Once you hit 30, it’s time for you to die…

WATER 1. What was the name of Katara and Sokka’s father? 2. Who sacrificed their life to become the new Moon Spirit in the two-part episode ‘The Siege Of The North’? 3. Who did Katara’s necklace originally belong to? 4. Which tribe did Katara and Sokka grow up in? 5. Who was Katara and Aang’s waterbending master at the Northern Water Tribe? EARTH 6. Who discovered metalbending? 7. Who was the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors when Team Avatar visited Kyoshi Island? 8. What is the capital of the Earth Kingdom? 9. What is the name of the Spirit World library, the group visited in the episode ‘The Library’? 10. What kind of animals are blind and have earthbending abilities? FIRE 11. What name did Zuko go by while he…