Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.
Elric tome 1: Le trône de rubis
by Michael Moorcock
Adaptation by Julien Blondel
Art by Didier Poli, Robin Recht, and Jean Bastide
Gorgeous French graphic adaptation of the first chunk of Michael Moorcock’s classic Elric of Melniboné.
Promo copy:
20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hell bent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King, a 40-year old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their home town and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub, The World’s End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realize the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind’s. Reaching The World’s End is the least of their worries.
Extras:
*Feature Commentary with Writers Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg
*Technical Commentary with Director Edgar Wright and Director of Photography Bill Pope
*Cast Commentary with Simon Pegg, Nick Frost & Paddy Considine
*U-Control – Storyboard Picture in Picture
*Deleted Scene
*Outtakes
*Alternate Edits
*Completing the Golden Mile: The Making of The World’s End
*Director at Work
*Pegg + Frost = Fried Gold
*Friends Reunited
*Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy
*Filling in the Blanks: The Stunts and FX of The World’s End
*Animatics
*Hair and Make-Up Tests
*Rehearsal Footage
*Stunt Tapes
*VFX Breakdown
*Bits and Pieces
*There’s Only One Gary King: Osymyso’s Inibri-8 Megamix
*Signs & Omens
*Edgar & Simon’s Flip Chart
*Trailers
*TV Spots
*TV Safe Version
*Galleries
*Trivia Track
Back in August over at Blastr, I interviewed Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost about The World’s End.
Similar to the other films, enjoyment of The World’s End does not rely on a prior knowledge of its antecedents. “There are no Cliffs Notes you need to read before seeing this movie,” explained Wright. Though he readily admitted that the social science fiction genre influenced the picture. American movies such as the original incarnations of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Stepford Wives and Invaders From Mars; the film adaptations of British literature such as John Wyndham (Midwich Cuckoos, which became Village of the Damned), John Christopher, and Nigel Kneale (The Quatermas series); and the legendary U.K. TV shows Dr. Who, The Avengers and The Prisoner all influenced the story. “So much of this is such a big part of our upbringing. And coming from small towns and you have an overactive imagination, that’s when you want to imagine it’s happening all around you,” concluded Wright.
The Science of Discworld
by Terry Pratchett with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen
Promo copy:
When a wizardly experiment goes adrift, the wizards of Unseen University find themselves with a pocket universe on their hands: Roundworld, where neither magic nor common sense seems to stand a chance against logic. The Universe, of course, is our own. And Roundworld is Earth. As the wizards watch their accidental creation grow, we follow the story of our universe from the primal singularity of the Big Bang to the Internet and beyond. Through this original Terry Pratchett story (with intervening chapters from Cohen and Stewart) we discover how puny and insignificant individual lives are against a cosmic backdrop of creation and disaster. Yet, paradoxically, we see how the richness of a universe based on rules, has led to a complex world and at least one species that tried to get a grip of what was going on.
The Doctor and the Dinosaurs
by Mike Resnick
Cover by Andrew Bailey
Promo copy:
Welcome to a Steampunk wild west starring Doc Holliday, with zombies, dinosaurs, robots, and cowboys.
The time is April, 1885. Doc Holliday lies in bed in a sanitarium in Leadville, Colorado, expecting never to leave his room again. But the medicine man and great chief Geronimo needs him for one last adventure. Renegade Comanche medicine men object to the newly-signed treaty with Theodore Roosevelt. They are venting their displeasure on two white men who are desecrating tribal territory in Wyoming. Geronimo must protect the men or renege on his agreement with Roosevelt. He offers Doc one year of restored health in exchange for taking on this mission.
Welcome to the birth of American paleontology, spearheaded by two brilliant men, Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, two men whose genius is only exceeded by their hatred for each other’s guts.
Now, with the aid of Theodore Roosevelt, Cole Younger, and Buffalo Bill Cody, Doc Holliday must save Cope and Marsh not only from the Comanches, not only from living, breathing dinosaurs, but from each other. And that won’t be easy.
Justice
Orbital Vol. 5
Script by Sylvain Runberg
Art by Serge Pellé
Promo copy:
A new volume that confirms this series and its mix of intergalactic politics and action-diplomacy as one of the great sci-fi comics series
Following the Kuala Lumpur incidents, which almost prevented the Human-Sandjarr reconciliation ceremony from being held, the situation on Earth is increasingly tense. The mood has turned ugly, resulting in attacks against aliens and assassinations of isolationist personalities. Meanwhile, the circles of Confederate powers are afire with political manoeuvring, and Mezoke is on trial for high treason, a convenient scapegoat. But when the judges request that Caleb be brought out of his regenerative coma to testify, the Sandjarr agent’s loyalty is put to the test…
Bestiary 4
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
Cover by Wayne Reynolds
Promo copy:
The mightiest monsters and foulest foes of nightmare and legend rampage into your Pathfinder Roleplaying Game campaign with Bestiary 4! This collection of creatures shatters all past thresholds of danger and destructiveness with phenomenally powerful beings like demon lords, kaiju, juggernauts, and Great Old Ones – including invincible Cthulhu! Terrors like nosferatu vampires, clockwork dragons, twisted fleshwarps, and sadistic tooth fairies number among the more than 250 monsters collected to challenge heroes of every level of play – from first-level novices to mythic champions. New familiars, player-friendly races, and other allies also rise to aid characters in combating this host of horrors, while new templates – like mummified and fungal creatures – breathe fearsome new menace into your existing monstrous arsenal. Strike fear in the hearts of the mightiest heroes and shake the foundations of your campaign with Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 4.