John Fleskes, president and publisher of Flesk Publications, teams up with renowned portrait photographer Greg Preston to produce a special book created on the showroom floor of the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live event, held May 9-11th in Kansas City, Missouri.

Sessions: Spectrum Fantastic Art Portraits will feature the art, a brief bio, and a portrait created by Greg Preston of at least 50 of the creators behind today’s best contemporary fantastic art.

This project is a singular opportunity that YOU can make happen, and as an added bonus you are invited to witness its creation.

Continue reading Sessions: Spectrum Fantastic Art Portraits by Greg Preston →

When Captain America: The First Avenger was released in 2011, I felt like it was the best example of a comic book movie done right to that point. Grounding it in Captain America’s WWII roots and keeping the focus of the story in that time period lent it a weight that overshadowed the admitted silliness inherent in all comic book superhero films.

The combination of solid storytelling with the performance of Chris Evans, who surprised me after his more narcissistic portrayal as The Human Torch, made it easy to enjoy the movie for what it was. I was largely unfamiliar with the comic book character, but came away from the film with the opinion that it was one of the best, if not the best, superhero films I had seen to that point.

That opinion has not changed.

Over the last three years I have soured somewhat on superhero movies. I believe this has more to do with the fact that we have been inundated with these films than it does with the quality, although any weak entry into the canon, regardless of which company we are talking about, colors that opinion. That being said, I am happy to report that I continue to have a very high opinion of the Captain America franchise after viewing Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Strong performances by the principal actors, coupled with some nice story elements ensure the that over-the-top action sequences and implausible moments don’t detract from an enjoyable film experience.

Continue reading Captain America: The Winter Soldier →

If this cover image looks familiar, it is because it made the list of cover illustrations that caught my eye for the April Cover Story post. If not, check it out. You are missing some great art.

At any rate, it is Friday and with that I am doing my weekly gig as an irregular over on SF Signal. Today I review the four original works of short fiction in the most current issue of Clarkesworld. This month’s stories were an interesting mix and worth checking out, particular if you are of the mind that too often alien races are depicted as not all that differentfrom humans. Trust me, you will never look at worms the same way again.

There are two classic reprint stories and some nonfiction articles, including one by popular author Daniel Abraham, so be sure to give it a look.

Hope everyone has a wonderful, story-filled weekend.

Welcome to the April 2014 Edition of Cover Story, the monthly feature showcasing genre cover art for works scheduled for publication within said month. I do judge books by their covers, at least on the first pass. It was the art on science fiction book covers that drew me in as a young reader, and I believe it is important to promote the artists and designers, and the book companies that employ them, for the efforts made to keep alive the grand tradition of eye-catching genre cover art.

(Monthly Disclaimer: I am not an art critic and have no formal artistic training. “Eye-catching” means exactly what it says, these images caught my eye and drew my attention to the works they grace, compelling me to search out more information about the book. Opinions contrary to mine, and suggestions for works that I missed that caught your eye, are always welcome.)

With those formalities out of the way, let’s get to the cover art, shall we? I have some really nice variety for you this month.

Continue reading Cover Story: April 2014 →

Well, the die is cast…or rather, my nominations are. It is official, I have participated in the nomination process for the Hugo Awards for the very first time.

I am excited.

I, Hugo.

In the interest of full disclosure, here are the categories and the nominees I chose in each category. Following that I have a few notes. If you’ve voted, and/or if you have an opinion about any of my nominees, I do hope you’ll share.

Continue reading The 2014 Hugo Award Nominations: Full Ballot →