“You hit me! Picard never hit me.”
“I’m not Picard.”
-- Q and Commander Sisko
Just in case you have no idea who the Star Trek universe’s Q is, I’ll explain. First, though, how’d you end up here? Are you lost? Wait here and I’ll go and get a police officer to take you home, and, for the last time, stop mixing your medication with scotch. Anyway, Q is a godlike alien being who walks the line between mischievous and malevolent and takes special delight in bothering Captain Picard. As played by John de Lancie, Q is one of the more popular and recognizable elements of the twenty-year period of Trek that comprises TNG, DS9, and Voyager. Me, I’ve never cared for Q. Nothing against de Lancie or the writing, I just prefer my godlike aliens to be more strange and less preteen-who-really-could-use-his-Ritalin. It might be because I look at Q as the physical representation of the Trek brass (a.k.a. Rick Berman and Brannon Braga). Wherever their attention is, like the Eye of Sauron, Q will soon appear, bringing his special brand of malicious whimsy.
The following is an interview with comic book writer Tom Pinchuk (Hybrid Bastards!, Unimaginable), the author of the all-ages comic book Max Steel: Volume 3, which is the official comic book version of the Mattel animated series. In this interview, Fanboy Comics Managing Editor Barbra Dillon chats with Pinchuk about what first intrigued him about the series, how writing for animation prepared him for the project, and what fans can anticipate for Max Steel in the third installment.
This interview was conducted on April 9, 2014.
You've got to love a book that includes the tagline, "Get in on the ground floor of Marvel's next big franchise." To be honest, it's hard to get excited about anything "new" and/or "big" from either of the Big 2. DC New 52, Marvel Now? Yawn. But, when Joe "Freakin'" Maduriera is drawing The Inhumans, you show up to the party.
MINOR SPOILERS BELOW
“Die with honor, O’Brien.” -- Tosk
From the very beginning, the Gamma Quadrant was DS9‘s most tantalizing promise. An entire sector of unexplored space, in which anything could be waiting. In the early going, it was pretty clear that the show wasn’t quite sure how to fulfill that promise. By the second season, the team of writers led by Ira Steven Behr would surpass it, but, for the time being, it was to be used for the kinds of episodes more suited to TNG. Just instead of going to the new life and new civilizations, they would have to come through the wormhole to the cast.
What do you get when you combine time travel, comedy, and epic sword fights? You get Pike and Trident, an action/sci-fi/comedy web series from producers/actors Kim Turney and Patty Jean Robinson, which is currently holding an Indiegogo campaign to raise the necessary funds to produce their new episode.
Filmmakers (and comic strip lovers) Dave Kellett and Frederick Schroeder recently sat down with FBC Managing Editor Barbra Dillon to discuss their film, STRIPPED, which brings together the world's best cartoonists to talk about the art form they love and what happens to it as newsprint fades away. The film premiered on March 26th, 2014, in Hollywood, CA, to an exuberant crowd, and it skyrocketed to #1 in the Documentaries section of iTunes on the first day of its launch. Co-directors Kellett and Schroeder were very kind to chat with Fanboy Comics again following the release of their film to discuss its continuing and overwhelming success, their experiences at the premiere, and where the film will go from here.
This interview was conducted on April 3, 2014.
“Who said anything about volunteering? We can haggle over price later.” --Quark
The mysterious plague episode is the baked potato of the Star Trek franchise. It’s the staple, presumably what the writers do when they don’t have anything better on the agenda. “So, what’s the plan this week?” “I dunno, Ira, how about a mysterious plague?” “GOLD! You’re spinning gold right now!” It might seem shocking that DS9 dipped into that well so quickly, but they showed more restraint than TNG whose “Naked Now” was the very second episode ever. Fortunately, this doesn’t feature Denise Crosby with bizarre ‘80s hair either.
The following is an interview with comic book editor and creator David Leach regarding the upcoming release of Psycho Gran, a digital comic that follows a five-foot high, mauve-haired, bespectacled psychotic granny with a pan-dimensional, sentient handbag called Percy, a flying dog called Archie, and a pathological loathing of rudeness. In this interview, Fanboy Comics Managing Editor Barbra Dillon chats with Leach about the initial creation of the Psycho Gran comic book series, his experience in various aspects of the comic book industry, and what new and returning fans may expect from the rambunctious granny!
This interview was conducted on March 28, 2014.
Fanboy Comics' Sam Rhodes chats with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. lead actor Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson) about how he approaches the role, his love for Lola, and more at the PaleyFest red carpet in Hollywood, CA.
The following is an interview with James Renner and Marco Arsenault regarding their work with StoryShift, an exciting, new app that allows readers to participate in the storytelling process of an author by voting on the direction of the story. In this interview, Fanboy Comics Managing Editor Barbra Dillon chats with Renner and Arsenault about the inspiration for StoryShift, how it enhances the storytelling process for the author and the reader, and where interested individuals can find the app.
This interview was conducted on March 26, 2014.
