io9: spain

I Always Wear High Heels to Visit the Moon

Annalee Newitz — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 17:00:00 PST

Over at Spanish pulp blog El Desván del Abuelito, they've got some terrific covers from what look like early 1960s science fiction comics from a series called "El Mundo Futuro" (world of the future). This is one of my favorites, whose title roughly translated means "It will happen tomorrow!" I love the man in his suit and the lady in high heels, hiking on the moon or perhaps an alien planet. And then, they come upon this scary alien statue! We've got a couple more amazing moments from this comic below.

Here's a great one with a psychedelic Saturn whose rings are all rainbowy. The title could be translated to "Beyond Saturn."

And then there El Fiera - the Beast! Totally scary!!!

Boixcar [via el Desván del Abuelito]

Cormac McCarthy is Huge in Spain

Alex Carnevale — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:30:00 PDT

Spain announced the results of its fan-voted scifi awards Los Premios Ignotus over the weekend, and nabbing the prize for best Spanish novel was Alexander the Great and the Eagles of Rome by Javier Negrete. The Spanish author was previously a university professor of Greek, and his classical alternate history asks where Alexander the Great might have set his sights had he not been poisoned. We've got a rundown of the notable winners, including a cameo by Cormac McCarthy and the best Spanish comic.

Here's hoping Negrete's novel is translated to English soon so it can reach a larger audience. A rising star in Spanish fantasy and science fiction, Negrete became well known for the heroic fantasy The Sword of Fire, that he wrote at the age of 17 and stashed in a drawer. His new novel Salamina will also dip into the historical reservoir, as it deals with the victory of a Greek naval fleet over the Persians in 480 B.C.

Best comic was Alfredo Álamo-Fedde's Legión del Espacio, which you can read in English here.

The 2004 Vernor Vinge novella, "The Cookie Monster," which can be read at in its original English at Analog, nabbed the translated short fiction prize (and also a Hugo Award in 2004). Luis Murilllo Fort's rendering of McCarthy's The Road was the best translation.

2008 Premios Ignotus Winner [OF Blog of the Fallen]

A UFO Lands in Downtown Nanning

Annalee Newitz — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:00:00 PDT

The language of UFOs is universal. That's why, when you travel across countries and continents, you'll always find structures that look like UFOs. More importantly, you'll find spaceship-esque buildings that somebody out there has called a UFO on Flickr. In other words: The only thing more universal than the UFO is the compulsion to call any freaky round building a UFO. Above, you can see a UFO that landed in the middle of a city in Nanning, China — captured on film by Peigianlong. Want to see more UFOs from around the world? Check out our collection.

Down in Rio, Brazil, the flying saucers look a little inverted but are still sleek and lovely.

Piatus snapped this shot.

In Spain, meanwhile, this glorious building looks just like a landed UFO, according to photographer Dags1974.

And of course people in Florida, United States, have their own special take on the UFO. Just crash it into a building.

Tony the Misfit took this one. Some things aren't entirely universal.

SpY's Android Sculptures Do Everyday Human Things

LISA KATAYAMA — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:00:17 PST

Bronze sculptures can be so boring. That's why Spanish street sculptor SpY—who became famous as a graffiti artist in the 80s—re-imagines them as offbeat androids doing ordinary human things. Here you can see his robotic officer sweeping the street, and below there's a bot with a gas mask reading the morning paper, and a clone posing as a businessman who happens to be wearing snorkels.

(Note: I don't know if SpY really knows that his sculptures are not actually human. But I do.)

Images by SpY

Interventions/Public Art by SpY

Super-Rabies Turns LA Building Into Death Trap In Quarantined

charliejane — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:00:00 PST

Plagues are the new monsters. Just look at Quarantined, the movie Screen Gems just green-lighted about a reporter and her camera crew, trapped inside a building where a deadly new strain of rabies rages. It sounds very 28 Days Later, but also like a zoom-lens on the future of our overpopulated and psychotic global village.

Quarantined is a remake of a Spanish horror film, Rec, which doesn't even come out until Nov. 23. It stars Jay Hernandez (Hostel) and Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter). Director and co-writer John Erick Dowdle also directed the forthcoming Poughkeepsie Tapes, about a serial killer who videotapes his gruesome tortures. Could the writer's strike be helping to rush a total schlock-fest into production? Or will this be a searing look into the future of bioterror and superbugs? The answer, alas, is probably both of the above.

Screen Gems Locks In 3 For Quarantined [Hollywood Reporter]