(courtesy AFTERSHOCK) Staring down the existential barrel of oblivion as we currently are, thanks to an epidemic, climate change, AI, encroaching fascism and a thousand other malodorous life-ending ailments, we have become well used to storytelling that inhabits a future apocalyptic/dystopian storytelling landscape. Usually these stories operate as a weird Continue Reading
Graphic novel
Graphic novel review: Vern – Custodian of the Universe by Tyrell Waiters
(courtesy Penguin Random House) There is something deliciously liberating, no doubt for the creator every bit as much as the reader, of a premise being seized by the lapels with alacrity and enthusiasm and taken to some narratively imaginative and epic but emotionally intimate places. It’s rare that two play Continue Reading
Graphic novel review: Once Upon a Time at the End of the World – Book one: Love in the Wasteland by Aaron, Tefenkgi & Loughridge
(courtesy Simon & Schuster) Apocalypses are, even by the sound of the word, loveless, thankless, dark and ugly affairs. That makes sense – aliens/zombies/nuclear-crazed warmongers or climate change-stoking fossil fuel addicts have ended the world and with it, all the things we loved and that made the ugly hand of Continue Reading
Graphic novel review: Agnes from S.P.A.C.E. chapters 1-3 by Sean Hall
(courtesy Artithmeric (c) Sean Hall) Sci-fi storytelling is always an escapist joy to read because it can pretty much go anywhere. In a universe where anything goes from lifeforms to defiance of physics to alternate universes without count, the narrative shackles are off and stories can be taken wherever the Continue Reading
Existence is absurd: Trailer and poster arrive for the fabulous weirdness of Strange Planet
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTWhat happens when you mush the everyday and the extraordinary to the most absurd level? Based on The New York Times No. 1 bestselling graphic novel and social media phenomenon of the same name, Strange Planet is an hilarious and perceptive look at a distant world not Continue Reading
Show the world what love is made of: Full trailer and poster drops for Heartstopper season 2
(courtesy IMP Awards) SNAPSHOTNick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke) navigate their new relationship, Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) face unforeseen challenges, and Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney) work out if they can ever be more than just friends. With exams on the horizon, a school Continue Reading
Comics review: Star Trek – Discovery – Adventures in the 32nd Century by Mike Johnson, Angel Fernandez and JD Mettler
(courtesy IDW Publishing) SNAPSHOTExplore the far future of Star Trek in these adventures set after the U.S.S. Discovery’s jump forward in time at the end of Season Two! Uncover new stories of four fan-favorite characters! First up, Grudge—who is very much a queen and NOT a cat—works tirelessly to keep Continue Reading
Graphic novel review: We Live (Volume 1) by The Miranda Brothers
(courtesy Aftershock Comics) We live in age of apocalypse – not so much a literal one although the quickening march of climate change and increased geopolitical fractiousness may soon, alarmingly, change that – but a storytelling one with the hopefulness of the post-World War Two having long given up its Continue Reading
Graphic novel review: Star Trek – Lower Decks #1 by Ryan North and Chris Fenoglio
(courtesy IDW Publishing) SNAPSHOTEnsign, report to the bridge! Board the U.S.S. Cerritos for a mission to the enigmatic Qvanti system as the hit Paramount+ animated series comes to comics! Captain Carol Freeman leads her crew on an expedition aimed to build bridges and advance Federation technology, but she and the Continue Reading
Graphic novel review: Out of time adventures continue with Paper Girls V 3 & 4 by Brian K. Vaughan (writer) and Cliff Chiang (artist)
And this, ladies and gentlemen and non-binary figures from an indeterminate future, is why we can’t have nice things. Specifically, time travel. Almost from the moment Qanta Braunstein, born on the very auspicious day of 25 November 2016 – it’s the birth day, if not year, of this reviewer and Continue Reading