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January 2010
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March 2010

The Week in Geek: Feb 21 - 26

Here's what you might have missed this week!

676-550x-Superman-v-Batman Deadwood's baddest badass Ian McShane was cast as Blackbeard in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  This is particularly exciting because the next Pirates movie will be based (very loosely, we hear) on Tim Powers' excellent novel On Stranger Tides.

Clark Kent scored the most recent victory in the ongoing battle for comic supremacy between Batman and Superman.  A copy of Action Comics #1, the Man of Steel's first appearance, sold this week for a record-breaking $1 million (over the internet, of course).   Batman's first appearance, also up for sale, is expected to net a paltry $400,000.

Our latest draft - Christian Superheroes - has received some interesting (Aslan! Buffy?!) responses. The draft ends on Monday, so take part soon if you want your name in the drawing for the James Purefoy autograph.

Pornokitsch friend Little Kid with a Beard got a crack at the next Steph Swainston, Above the Snowline, and liked it.  You can read his review here.

TattooineThe BBC released the premiere date - April 3rd - for the next episode of Doctor Who, which will also be Matt Smith's first full-length episode as the eleventh Doctor, and mark the beginning of Stephen Moffat's tenure as showrunner.  (But you knew that already.)  April 3rd, however, also happens to fall during Eastercon.  Your Pornokitsch editorial staff are torn about whether to brave watching Doctor Who in a crowded auditorium or just skip the Con that day and go watch the show with friends - preferably friends with comfy sofas and sleepy kittens.

The Captain America movie, helmed by Joe Johnston, is moving into the casting phase.  Apparently five actors are going in for screen-tests to play Steve Rogers, including Friday Night Lights' Scott Porter and The Office's John Krasinski.

In other movie news, David Goyer has been hired to write the new Superman movie.  David Goyer is a Pornokitsch favorite, having both Blade and the two recent Batman movies to his credit.

A Chicago-based graphic designer has released some seriously cool Star Wars-themed faux-vintage travel posters.  You can check them out and read an interview with him here.  (My favorite is definitely the Death Star.)




New Releases: Horns by Joe Hill

Horns: A Novel Horns, released this March, is the heretical and daring new book from bestselling horror author Joe Hill. 

When Ig Perrish wakes up after a night of drunken self-pity, he finds a pair of enormous horns sprouting from his forehead. 

This is only the first in a series of uncomfortable transformations: people share their darkest secrets with him, he can flawlessly imitate other voices, snakes gaze at him longingly and there's even a bit of awkward fire-breathing.

The demonization (literally) of Ig Perrish is only the latest thing to go wrong for him. Ig's been the town outcast for a year - ever since his girlfriend was found raped & murdered on the edge of town. Merrin had just dumped Ig (in public), so the popular sentiment has varied between 'string him up' and 'set him on fire first'.

Continue reading "New Releases: Horns by Joe Hill" »


PK Draft: Christian Superheroes

Solomon Kane With the release of "Solomon Kane", Robert E. Howard's strangest creation hits the big screen. Kane is a Puritan action hero - slaughtering everything in his path, then feeling really shitty about it afterwards.  

He's also (see: "Puritan") a serious Christian.

Geekliness and Godliness have always been strange bedfellows - which leads us to our next draft: Your favorite Christian hero or superhero? 

To liven things up... We've got a copy of Solomon Kane (the novelization), signed by star James Purefoy and director/screenwriter Michael Bassett. 

Enter before 1 March for a crack at it - we'll draw everyone's name out of a hat, and send it to the winner.

Rules & Whatnot below. Get picking!

Continue reading "PK Draft: Christian Superheroes" »


Doctor Who, Finally

It's only taken us here at Pornokitsch Towers five years, but as of this weekend (and a marathon session in front of the TV), we're finally caught up on our Doctor Who.  Well, the new stuff.  We still haven't seen a single episode of the original show. But it's nice not to have to leave the room when our friends start talking about the show anymore.  (One of our number may or may not suffer from an irrational fear of spoilers.)

See you April 3!


The Week in Geek (Feb. 15 - 21)

Here's what you may have missed this week in geek!

Gail Carriger outed herself as a fan of Pornokitsch favorite John D. MacDonald.  Viva la Travis!Contest2

Joe Abercrombie interviewed Chris McGrath, the artist responsible for the controversial cover art on the reissues of his First Law trilogy.  What follows is an absolutely fascinating look at what kind of control artists and authors have over their cover art (short answer: not much) and suggest that, once again, the power responsible for all those perplexing decisions that have long left book geeks shaking their heads in confusion is the marketing department.

The Pornokitsch editorial staff discovered (and spent countless hours exploring) Fallen London. Don't laugh - Jared's Dangerous (actually, not that Dangerous. But very Watchful), and Anne's got a dead rat on a string.

Kate Beaton (Never Learn Anything from History) has posted the second in her ongoing series "A Book by its Gorey Cover," in which she revisits novels (in comic form) for which Pornokitsch favorite Edward Gorey designed covers long ago.

Mark Charan Newton inspired an great conversation in his blog about grittiness in modern fantasy novels, both what it is and what it means as a marketing and as a psychological category.  And if you feel like giving one of his stories a spin - literally - he's invited readers to "remix" something he's written to see what they might come up with.

London's Prince Charles Cinema is making a strong case for its inclusion on the Pornokitsch London GeekMap with this week's double-bill of Aliens and Predator.  (There were costumes!)

James_purefoy_1_440x330James Purefoy (Rome, Solomon Kane) looked foxy at Forbidden Planet. Very. Foxy.

Peter V Brett (The Painted Man, Desert Spear) gave our London GeekMap a thumbs up on Twitter - saying it'll be handy on his upcoming April visit. Celebrity endorsement AND advance news of Desert Spear signings? Awesome.


Underground Reading: Maisie Dobbs and Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

-13 I'm an avid reader of the vintage tea cozy mystery, from the inspired puzzles of Agatha Christie to the quiet grace of GK Chesterton's books to the sublime "novels-with-detective-interruptions" of Dorothy L. Sayers (my all-time favorite author).  As prolific as many of those authors were, however, they just aren't writing any more books.  So I occasionally pick up modern tea cozies, in the great good hope that I might have found another author or series to help stretch out the time in between rereading Gaudy Night.

Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series has not proven to be such a stopgap.

Continue reading "Underground Reading: Maisie Dobbs and Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear" »


New Releases: The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman

The Left Hand of God The first truly hyped release of 2010, The Left Hand of God has a lot going for it - at least, on the surface. Gritty, dark fantasy cover art, great word of mouth & a tantalizing plot all add up to a lot of sound and fury. And, to give it credit, Hoffman does write a very more-ish book, fast-paced from start to finish.

The book's protagonist is Thomas Cale, an orphan in the care of the Redeemers. The Redeemers are a sinister, reclusive religious order that stress penitence & punishment (also torture and the occasional bout of pedophilia). Although the orphans are cut off from the world, it doesn't take much for Thomas to figure out that the abandoned kids are being trained into an army of killers. 

The first part of the book (and probably the best), takes place in the Sanctuary. Cale and his friends scuttle around like rats - survival is their only goal. Oddly, I've always enjoyed the opening "before the prophecy happens" sections of high fantasy epics, and this is a pretty good one. Compared to Garion's kitchen or Frodo's farm, Cale's miserable orphanage is quite a change.

Continue reading "New Releases: The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman" »


Memory x Opportunity

"In six weeks, [Hard Case Crime] is going to publish Donald E. Westlake's unpublished novel, MEMORY. Both Publishers Weekly and Booklist have given it starred reviews, calling it "a significant final work from a master" and "absolutely a must-read." 

The book hits stores at the end of March -- but if you're reading this message you have a chance to get a copy sooner than that. At the start of March we're going to be sending 12 free advance copies of the book to randomly selected people from our mailing list. Interested in throwing your hat into the ring? Well, we don't need your hat -- just send your name and the address to which you'd like the book mailed if you're chosen to [email protected] before 5PM (New York time) on February 28."


  
- Charles Ardai, Hard Case Crime


Friday Five: 5 Graphic Novels About Heroes Gone Wild

New StatesmenThe idea of heroes gone wrong is a popular one - there's nothing more compelling than a fallen star.

Historically (in a comic book sense), the caped ones were teflon-coated. Heroes were heroes, and that always shined through.

But what if they weren't?

Watchmen (1986) is, of course, the king of this genre. The entire theme of the book is (superish)heroes gone wrong - unchecked power and ego leading them to sins small & large. Still, Watchmen isn't the only great example of this genre. 

Here are five more... Agree? Disagree? Read our list, have your say, and abuse us in the comments. 

Continue reading "Friday Five: 5 Graphic Novels About Heroes Gone Wild" »