District 9 (2009) – Neill Blomkamp

  So the Neill Blomkamp is next up in the Sci-Fi Chronicles book (I am loving this thing) with his first feature film, District 9, that was produced by Peter Jackson. As a commentary on race, apartheid, and just how badly we as a species can exploit and hurt others, District 9 may be more…

The 5th Wave (2013) – Rick Yancey

  I’m not often disappointed by a book, and can usually let things slide when I’m not completely wowed by something, but this one just let me down. I didn’t know much about it until I saw the trailer for the upcoming film, and decided to read it. I like most of the premise, the…

Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) – Ryuhei Kitamura

  It’s time to dive back into the Sci-Fi Chronicles book… and spend some more time with that big green monster, Godzilla. This time around, it’s his 50th anniversary, and the 2004 feature wanted to pull out all the stops as Godzilla confronts almost all of his old enemies but also a new one known…

Issues Vol. 18

It’s a quiet week for me at West End Comics, but Kirk still had a couple of interesting titles to throw my way, so without further ado let’s see what I was reading this week… Wild’s End: The Enemy Within (Boom Comics) issue 1 (of 6), written by Dan Abnett, art and letters by I.N.J….

Doctor Who (Tom Baker) – Pyramids of Mars

  Aliens are using Earth’s mythology to put themselves in the roles of gods in this four-part story written by Stephen Harris (a pseudonym for Robert Holmes and Lewis Greifer) that ran from 25 October to 15 November, 1975. Trouble starts when a shocking discovery is made in an Egyptian tomb in the year 1911….

Toronto Fringe: I Love You, Judy Merril

Jim Smith takes to the stage of the Theatre Passé Muraille Backspace to pay homage and share his memories of science fiction writer Judy Merril. A writer, I’m ashamed to admit I had not heard of, especially when confronted by the list of titles she’d penned. Merril crafted tales during the heyday of pulp science fiction…

The Greatest American Hero (1981) – Pilot

  In 1981, I was living in Kingston, Ontario, I had fallen in love with Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Return of the Jedi was still a long ways off!! Television, of course, still continued to entertain me, and Stephen j. Cannell was right there keeping an occasional evening occupied with his take on…

Doctor Who (Jon Pertwee) – The Curse of Peladon

  The Curse of Peladon is a four-part story that aired from 29 January to 19 February, 1972. It was written by Brian Hayles, and sees the Doctor (Pertwee) and Jo (Jo Katy Manning) end up on the planet Peladon, suggesting that the Time Lord has gotten the TARDIS back in somewhat working order. On…