Author Archives: The Geek Curmudgeon

Fantastic Fest 2015 Preview Day Five

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It’s that time again for my sojourn to Fantastic Fest, the annual Alamo Drafthouse week long love letter to horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world. This year’s festival runs from Sept 24-October 1, here in Austin at the South Lamar location.

As in year’s past, I begin my coverage with a multi-part/day preview.

 

Fantastic Fest Preview Day Five

 

The Missing Girl

Mort lives a lonely and disillusioned life. In debt, single and unable to make ends meet, he relies on his brother and mother for loans, still drives his dad’s old car and spends most evenings listening to self-affirmation tapes that he personally recorded. However, there’s one ray of hope within his life: the new employee he’s hired for his comic book shop. Ellen is everything Mort is not, a smart, aspiring graphic novelist with an acerbic wit. However, Ellen also has her own share of secrets, and the return of Mort’s bullying high school friend will be the catalyst for events that will change everyone’s lives forever.

THE MISSING GIRL is the new effort from genre director A.D. Calvo, who, for the first time, expands his efforts into something very, very different: the story of everyday people. It’s a smart character study, a black comedy with a genuine heart.

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Fantastic Fest 2015 Preview Day Four

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It’s that time again for my sojourn to Fantastic Fest, the annual Alamo Drafthouse week long love letter to horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world. This year’s festival runs from Sept 24-October 1, here in Austin at the South Lamar location.

As in year’s past, I begin my coverage with a multi-part/day preview.

 

Fantastic Fest Preview Day Four

 

The Deathless Devil

Channeling the spirit of early Hollywood serials and ingeniously combining it with the most outrageous elements of science fiction, THE DEATHLESS DEVIL is a love letter written in the language of Turkish exploitation.

Director Yilmaz Atadeniz’s brilliant magnum opus opens as scientist Professor Dogan discovers the new ‘tangayt’ metal, which allows him to remotely control all cars and technology. However, the news of his discovery soon gets him in the crosshairs of the mysterious Dr,. Satan who wants to rule the world with an iron fist. The only man who can stop the situation is Tekin, putting on his father’s Copperhead costume and taking up the mantle of fighting crime.

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Fantastic Fest 2015 Preview Day Three

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It’s that time again for my sojourn to Fantastic Fest, the annual Alamo Drafthouse week long love letter to horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world. This year’s festival runs from Sept 24-October 1, here in Austin at the South Lamar location.

As in year’s past, I begin my coverage with a multi-part/day preview.

 

Fantastic Fest Preview Day Three

 

April and the Extraordinary World

In an alternate reality, Napoleon doesn’t die at the Battle of Waterloo. Instead, while attempting to engineer an indestructible super soldier, he meets his demise in an accidental laboratory explosion. In the wake of this catastrophe, his heirs maintain control of France, and by 1941 it’s Napoleon V who has come to power. Ever since the death of Napoleon I, however, scientists and scholars have mysteriously gone missing, leaving behind a world deprived of their technological innovations. A thick cloud of pollution hangs over Paris, a result of the use of coal and steam power. Operating in secrecy, a young teenage girl named April, together with her sharp-tongued talking cat Darwin (long story), searches for her abducted scientist parents while attempting to continue their research. But the police, led by the boorish but tenacious Detective Pizoni, are also interested in April’s whereabouts. With the shortage of great minds, all non-abducted scientists are forced into labor for the state war machine. If she can stay one step ahead of Pizoni and his goons, April may just hold the key to the world’s salvation. Then again, she might also trigger its destruction.

Beautifully animated, APRIL AND THE EXTRAORDINARY WORLD is an adaptation of the work of famed French comic artist Jacques Tardi, creator of Adele Blanc-Sec among other works. Drawing inspiration from everything from Dickens to Jules Verne to Miyazaki, APRIL AND THE EXTRAORDINARY WORLD is colorful and funny, but with more than a hint of melancholy and sociopolitical commentary. The greed and gluttony from those in power has trickled down creating an overwhelming cloud of sadness and despair, not unlike the thick pollution that hangs over the city. APRIL’s titular character may wallow in this dark, grimy soot-stained world, but she maintains a bright and shiny hope for the future. (Luke Mullen)

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Fantastic Fest 2015 Preview Day Two

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It’s that time again for my sojourn to Fantastic Fest, the annual Alamo Drafthouse week long love letter to horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world. This year’s festival runs from Sept 24-October 1, here in Austin at the South Lamar location.

As in year’s past, I begin my coverage with a multi-part/day preview.

 

Fantastic Fest Preview Day Two

 

Victoria

You say the words “the film is one shot,” and that’s enough to stop most people in their tracks and entice them to see them movie. VICTORIA, however, is much more than that one accomplishment. You can count the number of films that have legitimately pulled off this feat on one hand, and VICTORIA may be the best yet. Sebastian Schipper’s latest film is a technical achievement worthy of the highest praise, elevated by a wonderful performance from lead Laia Costa, who this year became the first Spanish actress to win the Best Actress award at the German equivalent of the Oscars (called the Lolas – which VICTORIA won five of this year, including Best Picture and Director). Costa plays the titular character, a free spirit with an infectious charm. She’s trusting, eager to meet new people, experience new things and is seemingly free of judgment. She’s capable of being both your best friend and an object of desire, and can surprise you at any moment.

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Fantastic Fest 2015 Preview Day One

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It’s that time again for my sojourn to Fantastic Fest, the annual Alamo Drafthouse week long love letter to horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and just plain fantastic movies from all around the world. This year’s festival runs from Sept 24-October 1, here in Austin at the South Lamar location.

As in year’s past, I begin my coverage with a multi-part/day preview.

 

Fantastic Fest Preview Day One

 

The Lobster

David has recently become single. The rules of The City dictate that he must be taken to The Hotel, where he will have 45 days to find a matching mate. If he does, he can go back to his life. If he fails, he’ll be transformed into an animal of his choice and sent into The Woods. However, there’s a splinter group of renegade Loners living within The Woods who oppose this system violently. With a ticking 45 day clock, David will struggle to survive and maybe just maybe find his true love.

Yorgos Lanthimos continues the singular vision he presented in his previous films DOGTOOTH, ATTENBERG and ALPS with a dystopian science fiction tale that’s as funny as it is twisted, dark and insightful. A brilliantly deadpan exercise, THE LOBSTER is surreal wonder at its best.

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Polish edition of STEAMPUNK inspires national pride

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While doing my weekly search for online mentions of Tachyon books, I ran across a review of the Polish edition of Ann & Jeff VanderMeer’s Steampunk. While reviewer Anna Siemomysła at Ziarno Myśli, czyli wynurzenia Siemomysły didn’t care much for the book (“an anthology of ‘Steampunk’ is a good compendium of the mainstream, but in my opinion, unfortunately this is not a collection of good literature”), she made special mention of my contribution.

After twelve texts we receive are two articles (by Rick Klaw and Bill Baker), from which we can learn about the fact that steampunk is not just literature. Such pop compendium of knowledge about what and how and where to look. Rick Klaw recalls, for example, about our native Retrostacji what I personally introduced a state of national pride;)

(All translations courtesy of Google.)

For those that don’t have their copy of Steampunk handy (or *gasp* don’t own a copy), here’s the mention that got Siemomysła excited.

The English language version of the Polish site Retrostacji, Steampunkopedia (steampunk.republika.pl) offers the most comprehensive steampunk works chronological bibliography available on the web along with numerous links to steampunk-inspired videos. Sadly, the site stopped updating in February, 2007.

 

While the Polish edition sports a great cover, obviously inspired by Joe R. Lansdale’s contribution “The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider Get Down,” Joe is not mentioned on the cover. Weird.

It’s ArmadilloCon time once again: Where I’ll be reading, talking, etc.

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rayguns cover actual med

Cover by Rocky Kelley

 

It hasn’t rained in forever, the mercury is hitting triple digits, and we’re just passed the halfway point of the baseball season. It must be time for ArmadilloCon once again!

This year’s con, the 37th such affair, takes place this coming weekend (July 24-26).

Guest of Honor – Ken Liu

Special Guest – James Morrow

Editor Guest – L. Timmel Duchamp

Fan Guest – John DeNardo

Toastmaster – Stina Leicht

Artist Guest – Rocky Kelley

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As I have for roughly the past 25 years, I’ll be in attendance and because apparently the con organizers have learned nothing, I’ll be sitting in on several panels.

SF TV Shows We’re Anticipating
Fri 9:00 PM-10:00 PM Ballroom F
Allen*, Frank, Klaw, Oliver, Rountree

The Expanse, Man in the High Castle, Minority Report, etc.: Which looks the most interesting and exciting? How faithful can the ones with literary origins be to their source material?

 

Reading
Sat 10:00 AM-10:30 AM Southpark B
Rick Klaw

(Not sure entirely what I’ll be reading but most likely from The Steampunk Bible,Geek Confidential, and/or The Apes of Wrath.

Cover by Alex Solis

Cover by Alex Solis

SF Movies from Last Year
Sat 9:00 PM-10:00 PM Southpark A
Cargill, Clarke, DeNardo*, Johnson, Klaw, Wright

The good, the bad, and a few movies more.

(Should be interesting since I haven’t seen that many SF movies this year)

 

Comic Books on TV
Sat 10:00 PM-11:00 PM Ballroom F
Bey, Eudaly, Klaw, Lalumiere, Porter*, Rogers

From “Look, up in the air!” to “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” to “I’m the fastest man alive!”.

 

Autographing
Sun 1:00 PM-2:00 PM Dealers’ Room
Klaw, Lalumiere, Ledbetter, Leicht, Maresca, Prevost

 

Book Covers: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Sun 2:00 PM-3:00 PM Ballroom F
P. J. Hoover, Kelley*, Klaw, Moyer, W. Siros, Weisman

How does a cover artist balance creative impulses with the imperative to create a cover that sells books? What are the notable successes and failures?

Mark Finn, Rick Klaw, and Doug Potter at Armadillocon 26

Mark Finn, Rick Klaw, and Doug Potter at Armadillocon 26

I hope to see everyone there.

Houston, here I come…

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This coming Memorial Day Weekend, I am guest at Houston’s Comicpalooza. The traditionally comic and media heavy convention as decided to venture into literary programming. Hence, my invite and appearance on several panels.

Friday, May 22

4PM Essential Horror: The Books You Should Be Reading

From Frankenstein and Carrie to the Wayward Pines trilogy; what are the best stories a true horror fan should read? Our panelists share which books and authors are on their list and why. Danel Olson, Rick Klaw, Jacqueline Patricks, Chun Lee, Gabrielle Faust

Saturday, May 23

11:30AM Essential SF: The Sci-Fi You Must Read

What are the books you should read to have a well-rounded knowledge of science fiction? Come learn which works and authors our panel of experts thinks you should know and maybe you can give them a few suggestions as well! Raymond E. Feist, D.L. Young, Rick Klaw, K. S. O’Neill, H. C. H. Ritz, C. D. Lewis

4PM Cyberpunk in Books and Movies

From Neuromancer to Blade Runner and Elysium; cyberpunk fiction has influenced countless novels and films with its high-tech; low-culture worldview. Join the discussion on the roots of cyberpunk and its influence on sci-fi over the last 30 years. D.L. Young, K. S. O’Neill, Rachael Acks, Rick Klaw, Gabrielle Faust

Monday, May 24

4PM Sci-Fi Writing on TV: The Best (and Worst)

The Twilight Zone; Orphan Black; Star Trek; Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Doctor Who” what are the all-time best (and worst) of television’s science fiction shows; and what makes them so great (or not so great)? Come and participate in the discussion! C. D. Lewis, Rick Klaw, Wayne Basta, C. Stuart Hardwick, Diana Dru Botsford

Hope to see everyone one there.

Graphic novels received 5/16/14

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Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

91JEhqxM+HLThe Michael Moorcock Library Vol.1: Elric of Melnibone
Script & adaptation by Roy Thomas
Art by Michael T. Gilbert & P. Craig Russell

Promo copy:

Collecting the first volume of the classic adaptation of Michael Moorcock’s bestselling fantasy saga, Elric of Melniboné marks the perfect introduction to the series’ iconic antihero, his fabled blade, Stormbringer, and his harrowing adventures across the Dragon Isle. Adapted by former Marvel Comics editor, Roy Thomas, and beautifully rendered by longtime comics illustrator, Michael T. Gilbert, and the multiple Harvey and Eisner award-winning P. Craig Russell, this definitive collection marks an essential read for all fans of sword and sorcery and brings the Moorcock’s epic tales to life with luxuriant imagination.

On the book’s title page they get the artist credits wrong. It’s attributed to Michael T. DAVIS rather than GILBERT.

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At last, RAYGUNS OVER TEXAS goes digital

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Cover by Rocky Kelley

Cover by Rocky Kelley

At long last, Rayguns Over Texas comes out in an ebook format.

“In spite of the title, which implies freewheeling space opera, there’s only one raygun to be found in Rayguns Over Texas, an original anthology edited by Richard Klaw; most stories here don’t take us off Earth, and most don’t have anything to do with aliens (attacking or otherwise) or armadas of battling spaceships. That doesn’t mean that the anthology isn’t fun, though.” – Gardner Dozois, Locus Mag

“I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did.” – Bruce Sterling, from his introduction

“I love the cover by Rocky Kelley (no relation)! Bruce Sterling provides a wonderful Introduction. Scott Cupp’s essay on his SF reading is masterful. Neal Barrett, Jr., Joe R. Lansdale, and Michael Moorcock wrote my favorite stories in this collection, but there are plenty of other enjoyable stories here. Pick up a copy soon before they’re all gone!” – George Kelly,GeorgeKelly.org

 

Since the end of the Civil War, Texans have played an essential role in the history of science fiction. Acclaimed and influential writers such as Bruce Sterling, Michael Moorcock, Howard Waldrop, Walter M. Miller, Jr., Marion Zimmer Bradley, Gene Wolfe, Neal Barrett, Jr., L. Sprague DeCamp, Chad Oliver, John Steakley, and Elizabeth Moon all called The Lone Star State home.

Continuing this proud tradition, Rayguns Over Texas features 17 original and two classic tales that reflect the current creative state of Texas sci-fi, alongside historical essays and an introduction by Hugo award-winning, Texas ex-pat Bruce Sterling.

Whatcha waiting for? Hustle you way over and pick up your copy today at Amazon.