Editorials (263)
"You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? The perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility... I admire its purity. A survivor... unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.
Greeting, fans of a galaxy far, far away!
In thinking about the paths that our heroes take in the Star Wars saga - for the original trilogy, that of Luke Skywalker, and for the most recent trilogy, the tale of Rey (now Skywalker) - my mind is awash with questions and conflicts. As a child, seeing Luke turn Vader in the end was a heroic action. He fought against the dark side of the Force to save his father from a death that would have disconnected him with all living things.
Greeting, fans of the Alien franchise!
Since the late 1970s, the Alien franchise has terrified audiences with its iconic and nightmarish extra-terrestrial creatures, but, since that very first film, a far more insidious horror has always been present throughout the series. While it's easy to understand why the xenomorph and its blood-chilling life cycle have always stood out as the defining fiend of the franchise, there is no argument that Weyland-Yutani (often referred to simply as "The Company" in a sign of their monolithic absolute dominance over human society) is the true monstrous presence throughout the film series, most notably when it comes to the first three entries and the story of Ellen Ripley (portrayed by Sigourney Weaver).
The first images that come to mind when I think of H.R. Giger aren’t necessarily of the Xenomorph. The first images are of human frames (mostly female) meshed with robots and alien lifeforms, penetrating each other in all sort of ways. Giger’s Biomechanics is haunting, beautiful, and terrifying. Thanks to the popularity of the Alien series, these images are scrawled into my brain.
While the movie Alien was released in 1979, the first video game adaptation of the science-fiction horror experience came three years later with Alien for the Atari 2600 home console in 1982. Developed and published by Fox Video Games, a subsidiary to 20th Century Fox, the game can be described in generous terms as being within the “Maze Chase” genre, or in more accurate terms as a “Pac-Man clone.” Alien does not feature power-pellets or ghosts, but it does feature a Flame Thrower. I sense your tracking device is pinging with questions, so it might be best if you read the narrative set-up from the back-of-the-box first:
Plough Publishing Press recently released the genre-bending poetry comics anthology, Poems to See By: A Comic Artist Interprets Great Poetry, by cartoonist Julian Peters, coinciding with National Poetry Month in April. (Fanbase Press' interview with Peters may be found here.) The publisher has been very generous to the Fanbase Press staff, as we are now able to share an exclusive excerpt from the book!
Every March 25th, J. R. R. Tolkien fans around the world honor the renowned creator for "Tolkien Reading Day," a day set aside for reading and sharing their favorite passage from one of his stories. This year, Fanbase Press Contributor Claire Thorne shared her passion for Tolkien's stories in the below editorial. We invite you to join Claire and the Fanbase Press team in commemorating the geeky holiday by sharing your favorite excerpts in the comments below.
As the end of 2019 draws near, the Fanbase Press staff and contributors wanted to take a look back at the year's media from our very own geeky perspectives. Much like our readers and fans, one way we view and connect with the world around us is through the stories, characters, and heroes that we enjoy or look up to, and it’s always interesting to hear other’s opinions when it comes to their favorites of the year. After much consideration, below are a number of moments, stories, creators, and fandoms that we here at Fanbase Press believe were worth highlighting.
