I’m sorry to report that Fanboy.com is now on hiatus: We’re currently thinking of relaunching the site in the future, but for now no new stories will appear. We will still be posting links we love on a regular basis on our Facebook page so please keep in touch with us there.
I first registered this site on a lark in the 90s, but then started blogging almost 9 years ago in 2006 and found it to be a very rewarding experience. However after about 3,000 or so posts I got a bit burned out, however I was very lucky in that I found a few folks who were willing to put in the work to keep the site alive (namely Ben Huber, Bob Muir and Tim Sheehy) and to them I owe a great deal of thanks. I also would like to thank you the readers of this website for coming back to us over the past few years. In the meantime we’ll keep this site up for anyone who would like to see our old stories until further notice.
When we first mentioned Marc Zicree’s Space Command kickstarter back in June, the project had already hit its goal of $75,000. I knew early on that the project would prove popular but I didn’t expect the fundraiser to be quite this successful. By the time the kickstarter came to its conclusion, Zicree had managed to collect nearly three times that amount for a total of $221,267 — a rousing success to say the least. Not only will they be producing the first film, but hopefully this outpouring of support will allow them to continue to create more down the line. Now, all we have to do is hope they deliver what we’ve all come to expect — a task Zicree and his team are more than suited for. For more information on the project, check out their kickstarter page or click here.
I don’t often write about Kickstarter projects. It’s not that I don’t support independent artists, or productions, but within the last year, we’ve seen a proliferation of mediocre projects that often over-promise and under-deliver. There’s, of course, those projects out there which could easily be produced on shoe-string budget, but for whatever reason, the artist or individuals responsible would rather take a chance with other peoples money.Fortunately, Space Command is not one of them. No, instead, it’s an effort by insanely talented individuals who have an extensive background in creating science fiction for television and film to bring us a brand new science fiction saga, while Hollywood sits on its proverbial thumbs. So what sets this project apart from the rest? Find out after the jump.
The public television show Day at Night ran in the 70s and featured in depth interviews with a wide range of people from nuclear physicist Edward Teller to legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. This wonderful interview with science fiction author Ray Bradbury is from 1974 and he goes into wonderful detail on what inspired him: Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Oct 9, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
I’m a big fan of literary mashups, and also a big weird fiction fan, so obviously a combination of Dr. Seuss and H.P. Lovecraft is right up my alley. Not only did DeviantArt user DrFaustus take up Seuss’ artistic style, he also turned Lovecraft’s famous story The Call of Cthulhu into Seuss-style rhyming couplets! It’s some kind of adorable eldritch gift from beyond time and space. Can’t wait to see more of these pages as they’re released. He should tackle At the Mountains of Madness next; imagine Elder Things drawn all Seussically. Read more…
I confess that of the 16.2 zillion reruns I caught as a kid, the 1950s’The Lone Ranger isn’t one I particularly took to— I was more of a Zorro girl— but plenty of nerds grew up with Kemo Sabe and Tonto, whether as a new radio/television series or in rerun form, and I was certainly interested in Johnny Depp’s take on the character (I haven’t reached critical mass on Depp flicks, apparently).
He’s done it again. Check out one of the latest sets of Star Wars customs from Sillof’s Workshop. This time the theme’s centered around 1940s pulp sci-fi. He does a fantastic job of capturing that retro aesthetic made popular by serials like Buck Rodgers and Flash Gordon. Come to think of it, I’m sure if Star Wars had been filmed in the late ’30s or early ’40s, Buster Crabbe would have been cast as a dashing and slightly cut Luke Skywalker. I’m not sure I’d want to sit through a trilogy of him dressed in tanned tights, but I suppose it wouldn’t look as gaudy if it were in black and white. Any way, check out the rest of these fantastic figures at Sillof’s official website. I just wish he’d strike a deal with Lucas Arts to manufacture them. Who wouldn’t totally buy these?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 20, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
Author Tim Maughan has just released a new collection of science fiction short stories titled Paintwork. The stories have a wonderful range of interesting characters from augmented reality street artists to two young Cubans caught up in video game tournament which turns out to be much more than that. The book is available at Amazon in the US and Amazon in the UK and at Smashwords.
Posted by Michael Sacco on Jul 8, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is considered to be the authoritative guide on the genre, but it’s oddly resisted the siren song of the information age. Until now, anyway! The Encyclopedia will be going digital, according to a press release on their website. All text will be free and available online, though admittedly that leaves the question of what won’t be free. Multiplatform users will appreciate that the Encyclopedia staff is investigating ebook and app versions of the tome as well. And for those who still love the feel of a book in their hands, fear not — a gargantuan physical version of the book will still be published. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Jun 10, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
Yes, the headline only makes sense as a pun if you pronounce “noire” with two syllables instead of its more correct one-weird-syllable method. But listen, it doesn’t matter. You can get LA Noire: The Collected Stories, the tie-in novel to bestselling video game LA Noire, for zero dollars this week. Amazon.com, BN.com, and iTunes are all offering the ebook for nothing and for the portable reading device of your choosing. So get on it, copper! That’s the only way you’ll catch that dame. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Jun 10, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
Legendary “weird fiction” writer H.P. Lovecraft spawned a mythos that continues to thrive well after his death, and its nihilistic, uncaring universe is populated with aliens, extradimensional beings, and regular old earthbound monsters. The funny part about most of these creatures, though, is that few words are usually used to describe how they actually look. That hasn’t stopped artists from trying, though. My first introduction to Lovecraft was my copy of Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials I got as a kid, wherein the titular Wayne Barlowe drew his closest approximation of what Lovecraft’s Elder Things — the aliens from “At the Mountains of Madness” — looked like. Michael Bukowski continues in Barlowe’s grand tradition by drawing pretty much every one of Lovecraft’s numerous horrors, using creative license to fill in the blanks that Lovecraft’s proclivity for dramatic obfuscation left behind. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 18, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
Check out this lovely painting by Weta Workshop’s Ben Wootten, who once served as both artist and concept designer for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. You may recognize his work from the various DVD extras and art books included with the various releases over the years. WETA recently made his work available for sale in the form of large poster art prints. Each individual 23.7″ x 11.7″ print sells for roughly $35 plus shipping and comes high quality satin paper, and while you may have missed our chance to receive a hand-signed copy, I can assure you each poster is more than worth that price. Unfortunately, the more I look at them, the more I find myself pining away for The Hobbit. Until then, we’ll just be left craving for more. For an closer look at the poster, or to order one of your own, check out the WETA store for more information.
Posted by Michael Sacco on May 13, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
No, not that kind of song, and not that kind of cover either! We’re talking book covers here. George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is getting a Japanese translation via Hayakawa Publishing, and a few well-known manga and video game artists have provided covers for the series’ run. Ken Sugawara and Yasushi Suzuki have some of my favorites on here; it’s pretty great to see such a different take on the characters compared to HBO’s recent (very successful) Game of Thrones TV series. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Apr 10, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
If you’re reading this site, you’re probably comfortably familiar with the old trope of dragons hoarding treasure, given that it’s been present in almost every fantasy setting ever. But have you ever given much thought to how much some of those hoards would be worth in real dollars? Probably not. Forbes did, though! In fact, they’ve compiled a list of the 15 wealthiest fictional characters, and Smaug’s hoard, calculated with lots of easy-to-understand math formulae, puts him squarely in the 7th position on the list. For an explanation as to how the total value of his hoard ($8.6 billion) was estimated, check out Michael Noer’s very entertaining Forbes article. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Mar 12, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
We consider the genre a staple nowadays, but back in the 30s, science fiction was still a relatively new thing. It hadn’t even been coined “science fiction” yet — “science romance” was a popular term, along with “pseudo-scientific” and “scientifiction” (which sounds like some kind of chemical reaction). Time Magazine reported on the very first World Science Fiction Convention in 1939, and now, thanks to the miracle of the internet, you can read the original article. It’s a doozy, an openly condescending take on the “shamo-scientifics” that were so popular in the pulp fiction world at the time. It directly refers to the venerable Hugo Gernsback as a “shrewd, fat old man.” Don’t miss it. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Mar 4, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
The next book in George R. R. Martin’s much-loved A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Dance with Dragons, has been due for quite a while. It’s had release dates from 2007 all the way through this year! But fans of the series can now rejoice — a hard release date of July 12th, 2011 has been set for Dance. Judging by Martin’s rate of producing work, it’ll be some time before you get the next book in the series, so you should enjoy this one while it lasts. And at 900+ pages, that should be quite a while. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Jan 16, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
If you’re like me, while strolling through your local Ikea, you’ve thought to yourself “this black leather chair is nice, but if only it had an enormous octopus built into it…” Maximo Riera clearly feels the same way, as he’s designed this downright Cthulhuesque…Cthulhoid…Cthonic…Cthulhu-lookin’ chair. Perfect for not being dead, but lounging eternally. Alternatively, reading the writings of the mad Arab Abdul Al-Hazred and summoning horrors from beyond space and time. Really, the world is your oyster with this thing. Or at least the chair is your octopus. Read more…
It wasn’t that long ago that Christmas shopping for me included two essential stops: Virgin Megastore and Tower Records. Both retail chains which had been pillars of the industry vanished overnight. And I now find myself wondering if during Christmas 2011 if the same thing will happen to Barnes & Nobel and Borders? Just as Napster and later iTunes devastated chain record shops I’m already seeing the signs that the Kindle and the iPad are delivering body blows to huge book stores. Read more…
I’m always happy for a geeky excuse to talk about Glee. And last time, I demanded that the writers of the show plug in a Rocky Horror Picture Show number. But now that it’s actually happening, I find myself a little skeptical about how the show that is essentially High School Musical for a slightly older set will manage to pull it off. Read more…
Last week, famed comic-artist and illustrator Al Williamson passed away at the age of 79. I do find it difficult to sum up my feelings regarding his passing, but perhaps I can provide some perspective for those of you who may not already be familiar with the man. As both an artist and inker, Williamson’s work meant a great deal to both readers and fellow artists alike, and I feel it’s safe to say it has had a tremendous impact on comics as we know them today.
This is a sneak preview of the new series The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! which is coming to PBS Kids in September. The show isn’t based on the original Dr. Seuss books but an education series of books that feature the cat explaining life, the universe and everything to kids. What I like about this show is that the animation studio did a nice job of staying true to the designs of the cat in the books.
H.P. Lovecraft was great at spinning a good yarn and I think he would have been quite charmed by this little guy! This Holy Guacamole Cthulhu Baby is suitable as either a key chain or backback buddy. Designer UglyGerbil also makes a wide range of these guys available in almost every color of the Cthulhu rainbow. Read more…
Twitch recently posted this photo of a supposed Godzilla prototype from the upcoming American remake, and it’s been floating around the net for the last week. Unfortunately, popular horror site Bloody Disgusting managed to confirm that the model in question is not from the upcoming Legendary Pictures remake after all — a shame, considering how fantastic the model actually is. I’m not really sure what to expect from the upcoming remake, as the production staff behind the film are also responsible for the travesty that was Terminator: Salvation, but I do hope that they’ll give the franchise the treatment it deserves. After all, the last thing we need is another Emmerich-esque bomb. Read more…
