In recent years, AI has become a subject of major discourse, with deeply concerning ramifications for art, technology, ethics, labor, economics, and probably countless other areas.  But instead of worrying about whether all our creative endeavors will be replaced by computers or the events of Terminator will come to fruition, let’s instead focus on what sci-fi fans have known for decades: self-aware robots are really, really cool (at least, in fiction).  Of course, few media embrace these quite like comic books. We’ve selected some of our favorite sentient androids, A.I.s, and other ..read more

A product of the boom of comic book antiheroes in the 1970s (that also included Punisher, Ghost Rider, Moon Knight, Judge Dredd and Deathlok, to name a few), Wolverine has managed to retain greater popularity than many of his contemporaries. Debuting in the final page of 1974’s Incredible Hulk #180—released 50 years ago this week—Wolverine would start his comic book career as a rather one-dimensional figure who was wild, impulsive, and mostly unsympathetic. In 1975, Wolverine would appear in Giant Size X-Men #1 by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum, putting him on the path to becoming the fan-favorite ..read more

June 24th and July 2nd are both referred to as World UFO Day (it’s complicated). The June 24 date recognizes the first widely reported UFO sighting in 1947 by aviator Kenneth Arnold. The July 2 date commemorates the incident that took place the same year in Roswell, New Mexico.  Written record of humans sighting unexplained objects in the sky exists prior to 1947, but after the Arnold and Roswell incidents reports increased dramatically and the investigations of these unusual sightings began in earnest. Astronomer Josef Allen Hynek began studying these events and eventually wrote several ..read more

Sure, Halloween is prime horror movie season, but a strong argument can be made that summer is not far behind. I mean, think about it: summer is when you leave the safety of your home for the outdoors (monsters, ghosts, and murderers love the outdoors—especially the woods). Travel and road trips take you to strange, unfamiliar places (monsters, ghosts, and murderers love unfamiliar places—well, places unfamiliar to you). Plus, there’s just something so poetic about running into unimaginable terrors during the time of year when you’re supposed to be relaxing and soaking in the warm weather (is ..read more

Before the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic kept peace in the galaxy far, far away. In the shadows, veiled forces worked to sow chaos and destroy the Jedi. Embark on a dark and mysterious journey with these books set before and after The Acolyte, the newest Star Wars live-action series available to watch on Disney+. path of destruction star wars: the high republic: tales of light and life|star wars: the high republic into the dark light of the jedi a test of courage edge of balance star wars, the high republi ..read more

When the late George Pérez passed away in 2022, superhero comics lost one of its most iconic artists. With a career that started in the early 1970s at Marvel, where he drew some notable issues of The Fantastic Four and The Avengers, Pérez would go to DC in the ‘80s to work on two of the most important superhero comics of all time with author Marv Wolfman: The New Teen Titans and Crisis on Infinite Earths. The former pulled off the impossible by competing with Marvel’s unstoppable Uncanny X-Men for monthly sales, while the latter changed event books and multiversal storylines forever—and its i ..read more

Once again, the nominations for the Eisner Awards have been announced, highlighting its selections for the best comics released in 2023. There are some predictable names (Jeff Lamire, Mariko Tamaki, Tom King), some pleasant surprises (how cool is it that Transformers is up for best continuing series?), and some industry icons with incredible late-career artistic offerings (Bill Griffith writing about Ernie Bushmiller? Be still my heart). Overall, a fascinating mix, much of which is actually quite good, despite the gatekeepery nature of such awards. Of course, these comics represent the tastes ..read more

A darker, more gruesome, and, frankly, more pessimistic counterpoint to Star Wars, the first Alien film was released 45 years ago this week to impressive box numbers and somewhat mixed reviews. In the almost five decades since hitting the big screen, Alien’s status has only continued to rise, not only joining the annals of sci-fi and horror movie history—and movie history in general, for that matter. By taking the “final girl” trope as seen in films like Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, subverting it, and transposing it onto a bleak sci-fi setting that is both futuristic and familia ..read more

World Goth Day is May 22, which is weirdly meaningful even to us goth-adjacent folks who like weirdly dark stuff and that one song by the Cure. This is a crowd who knows how to, well, not party really, but maybe more like loom suggestively in ways most of us can’t pull off? I heard a great quote once about someone who got a little carried away with piercings looking like they fell face-first into a tackle box, and now I can’t un-hear that every time I see over-exuberant facial piercings. So yeah, May 22, fire up that goth playlist, maybe catch up on rewatching Wednesday, and most of all, let ..read more

Today, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a pop culture institution. They’ve been the subject of countless cartoons, live-action films, toys, games, and basically any other material item on which you can slap an image of a turtle. They’ve teamed up or crossed over with Batman, He-Man, the Power Rangers, Star Trek, Ghostbusters, Garfield, Archie, Savage Dragon, Street Fighter, Stranger Things, the X-Files, and of course Usagi Yojimbo (and that’s not even counting the fan fiction—not that you want to go down that rabbit hole). Yes, there’s been an overwhelming amount of Turtle media for decad ..read more