Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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Reading Comics, Part 7

Brad Hawley continues his series on How to Read Comics. If you missed the previous columns, be sure to start with Part 1: Why Read Comics?
(Or find the entire series here.) Reading Comics, Part 7: Trades, arcs, volumes

by Dr. Brad K. Hawley

In this week’s column, I need to clarify some terms and explain purchasing options so that you can understand the multiple ways comics are issued and reissued.

The first terms to be understood are trade, arc, and the two definitions of volume.

June 29th, 2012. Brad Hawley | Comics, Reading Comics | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Magazine Monday: Fantasy & Science Fiction, May/June 2012

The best story in the May/June issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction is the novella, “”Maze of Shadows” by Fred Chappell. And isn’t it lovely that a man who has won numerous literary prizes, is known for his poetry and essays, and was the poet laureate of North Carolina, is writing fantasy? And writing it beautifully, as well. The novella is one of his series about Falco, who is training to become a shadow master under the tutelage of Maestro Astolfo. A shadow master is one who works with shadows belonging to people and animals to create traps for the eyes,

Reading Comics, Part 6

by Dr. Brad K. Hawley

I would hate to continue writing my essays without recommending a few actual comic books! I would like to recommend two books that are fairly recent; they look back at the beginning of certain superheroes but with a contemporary sensibility, particularly Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross,

June 22nd, 2012. Brad Hawley | Comics, Reading Comics | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |

Magazine Monday: Asimov’s, July 2012

Megan Lindholm’s “Old Paint” is the thoroughly enjoyable novelette about an old car beloved by a family that lets it roam free. The car comes from a time before cars were completely automated, when one could still actually drive them oneself instead of just programming in a destination. It’s so old that its nanotech paint is of a wood veneer on the side of a station wagon. The car is useful, if not exactly a favorite of the teenage boy in the family who’d like something a bit racier. At least, it’s useful up until the time it goes wild because of virus unleashed by a hacker group that did it just to prove they could.

Reading Comics, Part 5

Brad Hawley continues his series on How to Read Comics. If you missed the previous columns, be sure to start with Part 1: Why Read Comics? (Or find the entire series here.) Reading Comics, Part 5: Good Reference Material

by Dr. Brad K. Hawley

In my first four-part essay (see links above), I offered reasons for reading comics and suggested how one go about appreciating the art of comics by paying attention to what often goes unnoticed at first, much as one might not notice how important film angles or film editing is to the art of cinematography.

Magazine Monday: Shadows & Tall Trees, Spring 2012

“A well-wrought horror story is a potent thing, lingering in the mind long after the tale has ended,” says Michael Kelly, the editor of Shadows and Tall Trees, in his introductory note to Issue 3. The magazine strives to be one of “quiet, literate horror fiction,” and on the evidence this issue, it succeeds.

The first story in the magazine, “The Elephant Girl” by Nina Allan, is especially powerful. Brigid is a teacher in a primary school with a new student, Jeanie Henderson, who is an exceptionally unattractive child.

Magazine Monday: 2012 Nebula-Nominated Novellas

I do not envy the awards panel for the Nebula Awards this year. There are two excellent novellas equally deserving of the award in that category.

The first of the novellas I refer to is “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary” by Ken Liu. This story concerns the Pingfang District in China and the infamous Unit 731 maintained there by the Japanese for biological and chemical weapons research before and during World War II. I had never heard of Unit 731 before reading this novella, and was shocked to learn of its existence and the role of the United States in hushing it up after the war in order to profit from the research.

Reading Comics, Part 4

Brad Hawley continues his series on How to Read Comics. If you missed the previous columns, be sure to start with Part 1: Why Read Comics? Reading Comics, Part 4: Mind the Gutter

by Dr. Brad K. Hawley

We could proceed to talk about the way comics use words to tell stories, but in many ways, they share much in common with all fictional narrative. A book on interpreting literature, then, is helpful for reading comics, and it should come as no surprise that I’ve found English majors well-prepared to analyze the way comic books communicate meaning.

Magazine Monday: 2012 Nebula Award Nominees for Best Novelette

It was a treat to reread Geoff Ryman’s “What We Found” to prepare to write this column. As I noted when I wrote about this story for my review on the issue of F&SF in which it originally appeared, Ryman has been writing in recent years of third-world cultures, in such a way that the reader becomes immersed in the culture, surrounded by sights, scents, tastes and sounds of a world so foreign to a first-worlder that it might as well be an alien civilization. This time, the setting is Makurdi in central Nigeria,

Reading Comics, Part 3

by Dr. Brad K. Hawley

Now you know some of the factors involved in the production of this type of art. But how should you go about reading a comic book? How hard can it be if you read novels on a regular basis? Well, if you’re like me, you’ll need this important bit of advice: Look at the pictures.

May 4th, 2012. Brad Hawley | Comics, Reading Comics | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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Reading Comics, Part 7

Magazine Monday: Fantasy & Science Fiction, May/June 2012

Reading Comics, Part 6

Magazine Monday: Asimov’s, July 2012

Reading Comics, Part 5

Magazine Monday: Shadows & Tall Trees, Spring 2012

Magazine Monday: 2012 Nebula-Nominated Novellas

Reading Comics, Part 4

Magazine Monday: 2012 Nebula Award Nominees for Best Novelette

Reading Comics, Part 3

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