The second issue of the Reasonably Priced Comics anthology is now available, and I can promise that the issue’s price agrees with the book’s title and that the book is more than worth the money. This issue has three short stories, including the ongoing tale Voyaga by series editor Brandon Barrows.

Before jumping into the reviews of the individual stories, let me quickly say that the cover art is absolutely incredible. I’ve been paying close attention to artist Ionic’s cover work, and I can’t get enough of it.

Voyaga – In this issue, we see lead character Dean Kirkland in a version of Earth in the distant future that has survived what appears to be the end of mankind. All of man’s architecture is left behind, but decay has set in over the hundreds of years since the construction of these buildings.

Voyaga continues the tradition of many science fiction stories like Planet of the Apes and I am Legend with the lone man facing a deserted world, and the short story reads like a scene from a novel. Barrows uses heavy narration to give readers a peek into the mind of the character, and the use of the first-person point of view throughout gives the text a sense of immediacy.

Artist Ionic simply kills on art, and his illustration of future environments and oversized, feral house pets is very entertaining. Even in moments of quiet exploration, the art catches the reader’s attention with an unusual angle or an extra level of detail. Barrows and Ionic work well together, allowing the art and the text to comment on one another without simply feeling repetitive.

My Way – Leppy Jooker would be a washed-up Vegas headliner if he were human. Instead, he’s an alien performer at the Starlight lounge in deep space, and he’s in trouble. Leppy only has a week to pay back his loan shark.

The art on this story is more cartoony than the first story, and it suits the mood of the light-hearted tale of heists and mobsters. Artist Robert Durham does a great job including a variety of aliens in music clubs in a Star Wars type manner.

There is a lot of text to squeeze into these panels, and the art felt a bit crowded at times. And even though the ending of the story was not really a surprise, Leppy is an entertaining character with wonderful dialogue. My favorite part of this entire story is the bits of lyrics we read from some of his hit songs, including the line “And that’s why there’s no ‘I’ in space.” No real explanation… it’s just there. And I love that type of humor.

The Communicators – The Communicators is mostly a silent tale showing the two men who lead virtually identical lives with drastically different attitudes. I don’t want to say too much about the plot in fear that I would ruin it for you, but the story is worth a close study. The story says a lot about man in very few words.

The creative team of Nichols and Calloway make great use of the page to show the duality of man. Readers can visually compare these two men through a series of snapshots all the way through their lives.

Final Verdict

Issue 2 of Reasonably Priced Comics is a strong anthology with solid stories and a great variety of themes. Check out Reasonably Priced Comics, and pick up an issue.

Ok, so this guy thinks he can actually change the past through a fancy computer program? From the trailer, it seems as if he isn’t actually going and experiencing the past; it’s just a digital recreation of events. But that’s really the fun of this whole movie. Are these experiences real or not?

Jake Gyllenhaal is certainly no stranger to sci-fi / fantasy films, with Prince of Persia, The Day After Tomorrow, and Donnie Darko under his belt. And Michelle Monaghan has several action films to her name, including the film Eagle Eye, which seems to share a similar tone to Source Code. Both films appear to be high-action, modern-day sci-fi romps, and both films seem to have a mass appeal that extend beyond the geek culture.

I’m embarrassed to admit as a sci-fi nerd that I still haven’t seen Moon, director Duncan Jones’ previous film. From what I’ve heard, Jones certainly has the talent to make his newest film work, but Source Code is vastly different than his previous effort.

What do you think? Is Jones perfect for the job? Will Monaghan and Gyllenhaal have a better chemistry than she did with Shia LeBouf in Eagle Eye? (I hope so!) Let us know in the comments below.

The movie Paul seems like it’s been getting some good reviews from critics so far, and it looks like it could be a ton of fun for a geek like me. With sci-fi usually attempting a serious, dreary tone, it’s exciting to see something as whimsical as Paul, yet with adult comedy rather than the sitcom-friendly humor of shows like Eureka. I am a huge fan of both Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, so I have high hopes that actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost will deliver some wacky laughs in Paul.

Have you see Paul yet? Are you considering seeing it theaters? Make a comment below.

Skipjack is a webcomic / comic book that I found at the recent New Orleans Comic Con. Written by Ryan Christopher Lord and drawn by John Stephen Lord, Skipjack is the story of a human crew of pirates in space. No, not “of the Caribbean” type, but the type that is only a step removed from Han Solo in Star Wars and the crew of the Firefly from Joss Whedon’s TV and movie series.

I bought the first printed issue of the series, but it is available to read over at Registration Comics for free. This is the type of book that I am happy to have in my collection and not just on the computer screen because of the quality of the art. Strong coloring can make a tremendous difference in the look and feel of a series, and Skipjack looks amazing. On a couple of occasions, the sunflare effect is used with fantastic results, and the art switches between subdued, secretive color schemes and bright, explosive color schemes at the right moments.

Most importantly to me, Skipjack has a strong storyline filled with twists and intrigue along the way. I was particularly by the characters. The captain of the ship has a roguish charm that easily compares with Han Solo and Mal Reynolds, but he is still his own man. He is active when he needs to be but happy to let his crew shine in their skill areas.

Buying indie books at a convention is always a bit risky, and I was very happy that Skipjack turned out to be so much fun.

Free Mars

Free Mars is a punk rock gritty sci-fi story of the futuristic rock band The Sisters Grimm. After their new hit song was picked up as the anthem of the revolutionary group Mars Liberation Front (MLF for those keeping track), the Sisters are forced into hiding.

Free Mars is a fun comic that is tongue-in-cheek about many of its sci-fi names of places and groups (like Amazonis Prime), but they also consciously work on the linguistics of this future culture with different words for time and expressions of praise and curses. My favorite is the use of the word “sol” as an indication of time, complete with variants like “lastsol.”

The story is, at times, humorous and also action-packed. The creators of the comic are easily able to switch back and forth between whimsical moments and full-on scenes of war between the MLF and the government in control.

Free Mars should be intended for an older audience than Skipjack, but both comics are great examples of sci-fi webcomics.

Critters.org – The Critters Workshop describes itself as “an on-line workshop/critique group for serious Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror writers.” You’ve got to actually do some work to be involved in this group, but I believe it’s worth it. Each member must complete at least one review per week in order to keep the community viable. I haven’t had one of my stories reviewed yet, but I have been able to review one and to begin some interesting conversations with other authors online. If you’re like me, you probably have trouble finding friends and family willing to take a look at the latest stories after reading so many in the past. Give them a break, take it online.

Bubbl.us – Bubbl.us makes my inner organizational nerd squeal with delight. They describe their service as “a simple and free web application that lets you brainstorm online.” It’s a quick and easy way to create a diagram to get all of those ideas out on a screen. You can let your ideas branch off in any direction, and you can even color code the levels to make it more quickly accessible. I mapped out a plotline using Bubbl.us, and I’m hooked. Imagine how many scraps of paper I’m going to save.

An executive on the run from the law has to make some new friends if she is going to avoid the authorities. Sci-Fi Corporate Crime.

With their pulses pounding in their ears, Madeleine and the stranger ran. They were ill prepared for a sport of such vigor, but the threat of pursuit overrode their former agendas. The business woman and the shabby man had arrived at the market separately, but they fled together in the opposite direction of the patrolling World Union enforcers.

Their feet splashed through the puddles in the streets as their legs churned with urgency. Madeleine would have laughed under different circumstances. “A drought for twenty years, and now we have so much extra water we let it pool up,” she thought to herself. She had never been in Newhaven, and she had been quite surprised at the priorities of the politicians in this dying town. Shops and homes stood in ruins, but a few basic provisions in excess were supposed to cure all ails.

Madeleine’s now slippery designer boots gave out as she rounded the corner of the next pock-marked brick building, and she panicked as she fell. The stranger was so close behind her that he could not avoid catching her. He fought to get her back on her feet, but not before Madeleine was nearly overwhelmed by the smell of stale sweat on his body. For a woman that prided herself on first class living, she would have to lower her standards if she was going to get any help from this man.

In fact, she didn’t even know if he was willing to help her. She had not had time to work any of her charms on him, but he had been more than willing to join in her run at the sight of armed World Union officers. Citizens with outstanding warrants always tried to escape the reach of WU scanners. The devices were worn on officers’ forearms, and they continually checked DNA patterns of individuals within a three hundred meter radius against patterns of suspects. The man who ran with Madeleine now was certainly not innocent and perhaps quite dangerous, but this kind of man might know the best way out of a dirty little city like this through some illicit means of transportation.

As Madeleine continued to scheme, she heard her newly acquired companion wheezing. She led the two of them into a covered corner of an alleyway and tried to let him catch his breath before the next break for cover. Upon closer inspection, the corner was covered in large splotches of black mold and reeked of sewage. “What a lovely town,” Madeleine thought to herself.

Half hunched over, the man looked as though he were ready to collapse. Large spots of sweat showed through his already stained shirt. Madeleine was beginning to doubt that this was the mastermind criminal she had envisioned when he coughed twice then vomited all over the pavement beneath them.

“How much did you have to eat?” she asked.

He coughed and vomited bile in response.

“All right. I think I can find my way from here on my own.”

He spit to get the taste out of his mouth and said, “You never flown in space before?”

“Sure. I took an orbit trip once. I was fine.”

“Not a pleasure cruise, dammit,” he said as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “I’m talking about running deliveries to Jupiter’s moons on a freighter.”

“Jupiter?”

“Yeah. Takes a while. Re-entry to Earth gravity is a bitch.”

The man poked his head back out into the alleyway. Once he was assured it was clear, he set the pace this time. Madeleine looked back to see if anyone had spotted them, but the streets were still empty. She had seen enough police drama vids to know that the officers were not finished with their pursuit but only waiting on their backup. The hover carriers were probably rounding up scores of officers right now. Soon enough, the narrow streets would be covered with armor clad police toting “shock sticks” and laser pistols.

Keeping any tone out of her voice that might betray her, Madeleine asked, “Are you freighter pilot or something?”

“Naw, just a deck hand. At least I was, before the WU cracked down on IGS. A handful of pricks cost me my job and made me a suspect.”

Madeleine had been following the news very closely. She knew all about the Inter-Galactic Shipping scandal. Corporate executives were caught in collaboration with black market czars from all over the world. IGS provided cheap, safe transportation for any sort of cargo: in this case illegal drugs, weapons, and any other contraband that needed to get out to the newly settled planets. In exchange, several prominent members of the underworld granted special favors to the company. Sometimes payment came in huge cash bonuses; other times IGS was granted a greater dominance of the industry through “unfortunate accidents” befalling competing shipping companies.
The stranger slowed his pace on the street before bending down to squeeze between two crumbling walls. Madeleine fought back her apprehension and did her best to follow. She hated tight spaces, and she only barely managed to get through the tendrils of rusted beams and piles of rubble without her ripping her leather jacket.

She had already been lucky today. WU agents had raided the IGS corporate headquarters that very morning and had apprehended nearly all of the responsible parties in the scandal, but Madeleine had been on vacation with a certain someone. She had lied about a tour of the Orient in order to protect her lover’s marriage, and now she had spent the day distancing herself from anyone who could recognize her and turn her in. Professions of love were so easily rebuked amidst promises of fame and fortune for the correct informer.

Though less than a day old, the IGS scandal was quickly the crown jewel in the World Union’s Re-Beautification Project. With Earth realty plummeting, the Union had unanimously voted on a stern effort to clean up the planet: both physically and ethically. If the Union could at least present an illusion of safety, property value would once again skyrocket like it had in the days of old, before off-planet residences came in vogue. Therefore, anyone who even worked with IGS would be detained to determine the extent of corruption inside the company. IGS would be an example, and anyone with information would be richly rewarded. In fact, if Madeleine’s current guide through the city knew that she were responsible for his current unemployment and trouble with the law, he could turn her in and probably walk away a free man… a rich free man.

A personnel carrier swooped just over the rooftops of the buildings surrounding the alleyway. The man in front of Madeleine took off at a dead sprint. Shocked at the sudden burst of speed, she did her best to keep up. Was he trying to lose her? Madeleine exercised at all of the best gyms, but she had decided as a young woman that she wasn’t built for endurance training.

She followed her guide into an even narrower entryway, and they squeezed between two buildings. Halfway down the dark corridor, he stopped. Madeleine thought that the man was frustrated or that he was going to be sick again. He started banging on the wall, and Madeleine backed up for the next round of vomiting.

Surprisingly enough, the wall popped open, and a surly man in a dirty t-shirt pulled the two of them inside. Even after he had shut the door, the man never said a word. He put his back to the door, folded his arms across his chest and stared at the two of them.

“H-hello,” Madeleine stammered out. “Thank you for your help…”

From off to the side, a booming voice cut her attempt at friendliness, “Gavin! You finally back on planet to stay a little while?!”

Madeleine glanced over to look at the man. Knowing a man’s name put him in a completely different light. “Gavin, huh? What kind of crowd have you been running with?” she thought to herself.

With a sour face, Gavin replied, “Yeah, Pits. Thought I’d swing by and see how you’re doing.”

Madeleine heard the coarse laughter. She was surprised to see how skinny the appropriately named Pits actually was. His large voice had apparently belonged to a man who used to weigh much more, but the telltale signs of Dry Well Syndrome were obvious. A sort of perpetual dehydration sucked out the moisture from one’s body, leaving a person with a gaunt, hollow look. Such people were always hooked to a medical unit similar to Pits’.

“So those WU personnel carriers overhead have nothing to do with your decision to stop by?” Pits jeered from his ratty couch. The faded green upholstery fought to keep the springs and cushions inside.

“I thought that, maybe for old times’ sake, you could help me out this once,” Gavin replied. Madeleine started to see the lines in his face and how the years were wearing on him when he spoke to Pits.

“You know Pits doesn’t do nothing for free, old man. Medical bills don’t pay themselves.” To emphasize his point, Pits wound the tubes of his hydration machine around his fingers as though they were loose threads.

Madeleine could see where this was going. She stepped in, “We need your help, and we’re willing to pay substantially for it.”

“What kind of scam you got this time, Gavin? You were normally just a muscle kind of guy, not a hustler.”

“I’ve hired him as my muscle,” she snapped.

Gavin vomited again. She pressed on without acknowledging his inability to intimidate.

“You can see the situation. Neither of us wishes to be apprehended. I’ll give you one thousand credits right now to get us out of here.”

Now Pits laughed again. “One thousand? You can’t expect me to go against the WU for less than ten.”

Madeleine laughed this time. “Ten? Are you paying for the city’s WU officers yourself?”

She loved a good negotiation.

Pits’ face grew red. “Yeah. Ten. They can kick me off this little planet just as quickly as they can kick you off.”

“But, that’s where you’re wrong. They’ll kick me off so that they can strip me of my privileges and my considerable finances, but you have nothing worth taking. You’re not worth their effort unless you’ve raped someone or something. I’ll give you five to get us out of here.”

“I’m not doing nothing for less than eight. You can get your little stuck-up ass caught for all I care.”

“Seven.”

“Seven-five.”

She pulled out the credit chips and tossed them to the man on the couch. He slapped them into a scanner. “Christopher Yaeger, huh? That supposed to be you?”

She smiled, “No. That’s supposed to be an untraceable identity. His background will check out, and you’ve got no risk. Happy shopping.”

Pits scowled at her. “High society doesn’t like to get its hands dirty. Who did this for you?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just get us out of here.”

The scrawny man used the slender plastic credit chips to tap out a steady rhythm in the palm of his hand. “Who are you?”

Madeleine shifted, “I’m someone who’s in a hurry, and we need to move this along.”

“I need to know what I stand to lose. Maybe you’re just running ‘cause you cheated on your taxes, but maybe you killed somebody. That makes a big difference. A murderer’s a lot harder to hide,” Pits explained.

He began to pace within the range that his medical equipment would allow. He took his time, enjoying the discomfort of his potential business partners. “I’ve taken a lot of time to build up my connections, my reputation, all of that. Why are you worth the risk?”

She was losing her patience. “Listen, you arrogant little toothpick! I have to get…”

A loud banging on the door cut her off. The amplified voice rang through the building from the unseen forces outside. “World Union! We’re authorized to come in, so get down on the ground and put your hands on the back of heads.”

Pits smiled. “They’re probably planting small explosives now. The alleyway is too narrow to allow for a battering ram, but the blast charges are just as effective. That door will blow off, and you’re going to have a lot of questions to answer. Or,” he stretched out the word to bring the maximum dramatic tension. Madeleine hated him as he did. “Or you can just tell me. What does it matter now?”

Gavin made a gesture that said, “Get on with it, and let’s get out of here.”

If she told now, Gavin might just leave her here, or he might be the first to turn her in. Looking around at the hell hole where he used to work, Madeleine could see how far he had come. Apparently, he had been in trouble with the law before, but he had gotten himself on the right track. He contributed to society. He was actually a decent person, but getting arrested now would only drag up the past and make things even more complicated for someone with a prior record.

A scraping sound at the door reminded her of her other option. She was guilty for embezzling, aiding and abetting in smuggling and in planning corporate espionage and sabotage.

She looked back to Pits. He had a gleam in his eye as he saw that she was ready to break. She could hear the explosives technician giving the warning for everyone to clear the door.

“All right,” she nearly screamed. Even Pits took a step back. “I helped embezzle money at a corporate level. I was one of the executives involved in a plot to manipulate an entire company, but I saw the news this morning. I saw IGS get taken down, and I knew the same thing could happen to us. I took my share and told my partners I was out. I realized that my actions could hurt too many people if I kept going with all of the lies.”

The best deception contains bits of truth.

Pits smiled in victory. Gavin looked on with sympathy. Madeleine looked back with a continued act of defeat.

The first small explosive on the door popped.

Pits got down to the ground and instructed the pair. “Gavin, you know the way to the chute. Get her out of here.”

They scrambled through the small opening in an instant, and Gavin pulled the hatch shut just before the troops stormed into the building. They climbed down a ladder quickly and fled through a series of connecting tunnels. Looking backwards every few minutes, they sloshed through ankle deep sludge until they reached another series of ladders. They climbed down another set to hide even deeper within the bowels of the city.

Madeleine looked to her exhausted partner, “I’m so glad that I met you. I could have never done this on my own.”

“You could have told me you had that kind of money earlier. Anybody can get out of trouble in a hundred different ways with credits like that to throw around.”

“A woman never reveals all of her secrets.”

Gavin looked ahead at the endless circuitry of tunnels spread out before them. “It must have been difficult to leave your partners behind.”

Madeleine thought of her colleagues who were, no doubt, sitting in a WU detention cell at this moment. She refrained from smiling as she said, “I knew that we were heading in a bad direction, and I just couldn’t be a part of it any more.

“Gavin, once you get me out of here, I think I can find my way out of this town. But I’ve got a couple of thousand credits to thank you for your troubles.”

“You don’t need to pay me. I didn’t really do that much.”

Looking at Gavin with one of her killer business sale smiles, Madeleine replied, “I like to settle my debts. Just accept it as a heartfelt thank you.”

So, if you’re into the extraterrestrial or supernatural and you’ve ever been thinking about joining the FBI, this is the year to do it according to this fall’s TV shows. Let’s take a look at some offices around the country.

Boston – Apparently, there are plenty of positions in this office that are working on “fringe science” cases. Sure, the leaders of these investigations are holed up over at Harvard and they keep a cow in the office, but they utilize resources from the main office all the time. And, now that they’re all buddy-buddy with the higher-ups, they can pretty much get any of the resources they need any time.

Los Angeles – If you’re interested in investigating matters of quantum physics and flashforwards, check out the L.A. office. Though the higher-ups are a little less enthusiastic about the FBI running point on this investigation (did the president try to kill them?), the L.A. office still has enough pull to get overseas trips authorized and international prisoners released.

New York – This is a pretty tough gig to land, and your life will constantly be in danger if you decide to cross the V’s. Still, you’ll have a chance to work alongside an alien unknowingly for years. And, even after attempting to kill your partner/alien enemy, you’ll get to work with other embedded alien(s) without your knowledge. Not exactly a lot of job security, but it’s a tough economy.

The FBI would like to offer Stargates, but that’s the Army. They could work with vampires, but they’ve wisely chosen to steer clear of the dangerous fields of high school. Teen Drama… now that’s scary.

For the sake of the article, we’re going to define “One and Done” shows as episodic programs that depend on little or no previous knowledge about the characters or situation in order to understand the show. Case in point: pretty much any sitcom on air. The Office is just people working in an office. Funny things happen. You might understand the jokes more if you watched previous episodes, but viewers can catch on pretty quickly.

“Epic” shows are those programs in which viewers must invest their time if they are to enjoy the episodes. These shows absolutely depend on prior knowledge of the show in order to make each episode relevant. Case in point: soap operas. Did Jonny really fall off the cliff? Will Betty Sue realize that she is just a clone of Suzy Q? Tune in next episode to find out.

Stargate Universe

“One and Done”

Strengths

• Easy for new viewers to jump on. If someone missed the entire first three seasons, he or she can start watching in the fourth season and catch up with the main idea quickly.
• These shows often follow a predictable pattern that allows viewers to know what to expect. A murder mystery will start with the crime, the detective will explore the crime and invariably solve the case by the end of the episode.
• Resolution. A viewer begins a situation (crime, joke, etc.) and gets to see how that situation ultimately plays out (the killer gets caught, or the joke backfires to reveal the prankster).

Weaknesses

• Boredom from repetition. By not creating a linear path that flows from episode to episode, viewers may get bored of the same routine and tune out.
• Difficult to introduce new elements. Because of a show’s establish pattern, viewers often do not appreciate big changes in the way the plotlines play.
• Changes are more likely to be undone to maintain the status quo. If the hero dies, one can almost always expect that death to be undone or explained later.

Battlestar Galactica

“The Epic”

Strengths

• Shows like Lost and Battlestar Galactica have the opportunity to create enormous, interconnected plotlines that reward the faithful fan.
• Because these shows function more like an extended movie or novel, the show does not have to follow such a clearly established pattern. Once characters knew what was inside the hatch of Lost, the writers could not make more episodes where viewers were expected to guess what was inside.
• Ideally, each episode matters. Each episode should be getting the audience closer to that big payoff of the finale.

Weaknesses

• These shows can feel too complicated to the casual observer.
• After a few seasons, these shows can seem unapproachable to any new viewers who might be interested.
• Delayed resolutions. These shows frequently choose not to wrap up single story threads in order to entice the viewer back to the next episode.

Very rarely do shows completely fall in one category or the other. For example, Fringe has many episodes that fit the “one and done” style, but they have a few overarching plotlines that seem exactly like the epics. However, Fringe does not depend on viewer loyalty nearly as much as shows like FlashForward or Lost.

So, which do you prefer?