For certain movie fans, the phrase “Directed by Guillermo del Toro” elicits a certain tingling of expectation and excitement. Del Toro is one of the most forceful auteurs currently working in the speculative fiction film industry and while his early films were relative flops and are popular now only in a cult and fan market, Del Toro’s name now...

Sparkleton is the new album from Grown Up Avenger Stuff, an alternative rock group out of  North Carolina. This is the second release from the four piece ensemble and it boasts captivating, super energetic pop rock rhythms with a driving and razor sharp edge reminiscent of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs isn’t the only element of “reminds me of”...

In the culture of democratic publishing created by the Internet, just about anyone can put out an indie comic book.  While this gives rise to a whole new generation of fresh and exciting talent, it also means the indie comic industry is saturated with amateurs, hacks and wannabes. Fortunately Frank Candiloro, a comic artist, writer and animator out of...

Recently, someone encouraged me to write a few science fiction pieces with a positive outlook, maybe because there is a dominance of dystopian science fiction; a preponderance of horror and gloom within the genre. I get told that science fiction is often too gloomy in its outlook, needlessly creating bleak visions of the future as if to deter our...

Shadowland is an indie comic written by Tobias Elmore and illustrated by Ken Bastard. It’s by and large a cop story with a mysterious supernatural undertone, and for a self-produced indie comic, Shadowland has some admirable qualities although there’s a lot of room for improvement overall. The story opens with Detective Ian Gates waking up in hospital where...

Who are the most powerful women in popular culture? Before you look at any of the names below, how many truly powerful women in popular culture can you think of? Chances are that when the most influential creators in pop culture are considered, most of those names – the most powerful filmmakers, comic creators, music artists, TV creators – are going...