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warren ellis

Short Fiction: Doomed Or Just Dying? Now that Warren Ellis has reopened the perennial debate over the fate of print science fiction magazines, the discussion has mutated a bit. Some observers say it's not just print magazines, but short fiction in general, that's doomed. Eoghann Irving over at Solar Flare says his readers are suggesting the real problem is that most short science fiction, in print and elsewhere, is "simply too literary for many people's tastes." Readers want cracking adventure reads, but most short SF is "cutting edge" and fancy. Wis(s)e Words chimes in that the print SF mags are "incredibly dull." But it's not all bad news: a panel at WorldCon called "Short Fiction: On Its Way Out, Or A Way To Break Into The Market?" ended up concluding that short fiction is not on its way out.

sf magazines

Does The Internet Mean The Death Of Print, Again?

Is the future of science fiction writing totally dependent on the internet? After looking at the (falling) sales figures for magazines like Analog and Asimov, comic book writer and novelist Warren Ellis argues that it's time for people to realize SF magazines are dead — except online. More »

gi joe

Warren Ellis Is Resolute About GI Joe

After the surprise announcement that Transmetropolitan and Planetary writer Warren Ellis was the man behind the new, "adult", GI Joe cartoon GI Joe: Resolute stunned fans of both Ellis and the Joes a couple of weeks ago, enough dust seems to have settled that Ellis has felt it safe to start talking about the project's origins. More »

gi joe resolute

New GI Joe Cartoon To Be Aimed At Adults

It's not only the movie theater that terrorist organization Cobra will be invading next year - It's your television, as well. Luckily, GI Joe will be there to fight them on both fronts, both in the movie GI Joe: Rise of Cobra and the new animated series GI Joe: Resolute. And if you're thinking that the new cartoon will be a repeat of the old '80s show, think again - This time, they're aiming it at the adults that grew up watching that show. More »

san francisco superhero freakshow

San Francisco Is America's New Superhero Playground

San Francisco has a long and proud history of being on the forefront of popular culture - consider the Beats, the Hippies, and Web 2.0! Wait, ignore that last one. But now the City By The Bay has a new group to call its own: the Mutants. Both this week's Uncanny X-Men and No Hero comics feature a new wave of superheroes calling San Francisco their home. What's behind this exodus from the traditionally East Coast locale? We talked to No Hero writer Warren Ellis and hear from X-Men's Ed Brubaker about the move. More »

warren ellis

What the SF World Needs Is an Obsession with Penis Size

Searching to mix his fascination for speculative fiction and ever-more-unusual attempts to outrage, writer Warren Ellis has been sharing his desire to push SF writing in a new direction. He wants to splice the verbage of a certain genre of spam emails with the short sharp shock mentality of 1970s punk. The result is... well, singular, to say the least. More »

ocean

Weapons Inspectors on the Jovian Moons

United Nations weapon inspectors have found way more than they bargained for during a routine inspection. That may sound like the beginning of a "torn from headlines" plot from your average episode of Law & Order: International Politics Unit. But when you add in that the weapon inspections are happening on one of Jupiter's moons and that the "more than they expect" turns out to be long-buried artifacts from a dead alien civilization, suddenly you have the basis for Ocean, a comic from the mind of Warren "Transmetropolitan" Ellis. Now it's being made into a movie from the people who brought you 300. Spoilers ahead. More »

superhero movies

How Superhero Movies Made Comic Books Cooler (If Not Better)

Everybody talks about how superheroes have come to dominate movies in recent years. These days, summer is spandex season, and it's only going to get more superpowered in the next few years. But the success of movies like Spider-Man 2, Iron Man and Batman Begins has had a huge effect on comic book publishers as well, making mainstream comics cooler... if not always better. Here's a list of 9 ways the superhero movie boom has changed comics. More »

triviagasm

Jules Verne Wants You To Shoot The Moon

Jules Verne first published From The Earth to the Moon, or De la Terre à la Lune, in 1865, pre-dating our first real visit to our lunar neighbor by over 100 years. It involves a post -American Civil War group called The Baltimore Gun Club firing a three-person capsule from an enormous gun. The goal: to get them to the Moon, although it would have been a one-way trip. Is trying to fire people into space crazy? Check out the some little known facts about the book, the real life efforts to do the same, and the impact it's had on science fiction, in the triviagasm below. More »

artbots

Let Your Robots Express Their Creative Sides

Have a mechanical friend whose artistic side is just waiting to come out? Then make sure that you're in Ireland this September for ArtBots 2008, a three day art show taking place on the 19th through the 21st of the month in the appropriately named Trinity College Science Gallery. According to the just-released call for works, artists of both the metallic and fleshy persuasion are welcome to submit their art, as long as it's suitably robot-centric. More »

new comics we crave

Zombies, Aliens And The Last Boy On Earth In This Week's Comics

Before I tell you all about Secret Invasion again — the first issue arrives in stores tomorrow — I have just five words for you: Zombies Vs. Robots Vs. Amazons. Ignoring the potential sequel, "Zombies Vs. Robots Vs. Amazons Vs. Your Mother," how much more awesome can one comic sound? Find out about the war to end all wars, as well as invading aliens who look just like you and other four color funnies under the jump. More »

x-men

X-Men To Move West, Have Sex

Marvel Comics plans to publish a much less depressing version of the X-Men, if news reports coming from this weekend's WizardWorld: Los Angeles are anything to go by. Following the culmination of literally decades of angst, death and depression culminating in the accidental shooting of Professor Xavier and its aftermath, July will see the start of a new era for the characters. Writers Warren Ellis and Matt Fraction are joining the writing team, the team is moving to San Francisco, and... well, there some sex, apparently. More »

comics

The Secret Inspiration for "Y the Last Man"

Everybody thought comic book creator and Lost scribe Brian K. Vaughan was so creative when he came up with the premise for post-apocalyptic comic book Y the Last Man. In it, a mysterious force wipes out the entire male population of all species except for the main character, Yorick, and his male monkey. But we didn't realize Vaughan had copied the premise from a fifty-year-old romance comic! Behold the just-revealed inpsiration for Y, brought to light thanks to the researching powers of the dude behind comics blog MightyGodKing. More »

wildstorm

Wildstorm Relives Past Glories, Other People's Characters

DC's once proud Wildstorm imprint showed signs of hurting at their Sunday panel at WonderCon. First sign was the sparse attendance for the panel, with less than 50 people in a hall meant to hold roughly eight times that number, with the second being that everyone involved, from pros to fans, would rather talk about crossovers with the mainstream DC Universe or old books that never got finished. More »

freakangels

Get Your Steampunk Freak On With New Webcomic

If you've been hankering for a beautifully-illustrated, free steampunk webcomic, then today's launch of FreakAngels may be just the thing you're looking for. The six page launch episode of the weekly strip by Warren Ellis and new artist Paul Duffield may currently be full of familiar Ellis-isms, but is worth your time for the art alone. But don't expect the plot to move quickly, Ellis warns. More preview art below the fold. More »

warren ellis

Modify Your Body But Also Worry About the Planet

Warren Ellis has created a new biopunk blog called Grinding, spun out of his Doktor Sleepless comic. Mostly it's about body modification, but is also sprinkled with Ellis's traditional techno-urbanism and pretty picture obsessions. The best part is Ellis' introduction to the site, where he talks about a new breed of body-hacking humans. More »

new comics we crave

A Drinking Game for New Issue of "Ultimate Human"

Welcome to New Comics We Crave, a weekly column from io9's comics czar Graeme McMillan, a rather shy young Scottish lad whom you may know from Newsarama or Fanboy Rampage. Ordinarily published on Tuesdays (in time for you to prepare for Wednesday, the Sacred Day of New Comics), this week it's coming at you late since new comics arrive on Friday for the holidays.

If the first week of the year means things like "New beginnings" and "Turning over a new leaf" for, well, almost everyone in the world who follows the Judeo-Christian calendar, then it's refreshing to see that comic publishers continue to buck that particular trend by releasing very little of interest while we're all doing more important things like recovering from parties. Nonetheless, if you find yourself wandering into a comic book store in a still-drunken haze this Friday with some cash in your pocket, I thought it may be a nice thing to suggest some ways for you to spend it.

More »

Warren Ellis' New Cyber-Hangout In preparation for the February launch of his new webcomic Freakangels, comic writer and self-styled "internet Jesus" Warren Ellis has started a new online community to support it. Whitechapel is, according to Ellis:
not a comics-centric place, though there's plenty of space for that. But I've also created space for Second Lifers, the steampunk/retropunk crowd, the people who like following the mad science and signs of the apocalypse, music and art etc.
Of course, this being a Warren Ellis board, expect to have to wade through camgirls and sycophants to get to the good stuff. [Whitechapel]