Book-A-Day 2018 #351: The Love and Rockets Companion edited by Marc Sobel and Kristy Valenti

Any fictional world that runs long enough and has enough fans will eventually develop ancillary materials. It may be fan-made maps of a long-running fantasy series, or scholarly treatises on the families of Yoknapatawpha County, or K/S stories in some obscure internet archive. But the urge to understand, to systematize, and to make the loved thing exactly the way you want it will come out in the end.

Publishers know this, of course, and harness that force when they can. Those books of maps of fantasy worlds, or encyclopedias of Middle-Earth, or sharecropped novels by "the Killer Bs" were all official, all really licensed, all putting coin back in the pockets of the original copyright holder. And big anniversaries provide almost irresistible opportunities for those kind of ancillaries...even in these latter days, when the best guide to an on-going fictional world is a website or wiki that will get updated when the next set of stories comes out.

That brings me to The Love and Rockets Companion, published in 2012 to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the first Fantagraphics issue of Love and Rockets. (Which was a year after the first self-published issue, but anniversaries can be of any thing you want, to make them work.) It was edited by Marc Sobel and Kristy Valenti, two critics and writers-about-comics, and it's pretty miscellaneous. It also, since Love and Rockets keeps being published, becomes a little more outdated every time there's a new issue -- and there have been three or four of the New Stories volumes plus six issues of the latest series since this book came out.

There's no attempt at criticism in this Companion: it starts off by reprinting two long interviews with the Hernandez Brothers from The Comics Journal (owned by Fantagraphics, publisher of Love and Rockets and this book, and so probably free) from 1989 and 1995, and then adds a new interview by Sobel done for this book. That takes up nearly two-thirds of the book, and the rest is the kind of thing that a wiki would definitely do better: timelines of both Locas and Palomar, character guides for both worlds, and a checklist of all Love and Rockets stories by all three brothers, followed by what I think is meant to be a comprehensive list of their non-L&R work as well. (In the middle there is a small section titled "Letter Column Highlights/Bros.' Favorite Comics," which is cute but pretty fanzine-ish.)

The book is paperback, roughly the trim size of the older Love and Rockets collections, with a heavy dust jacket that folds out. On the outside is a jam piece by both Gilbert and Jaime (or maybe something assembled by others from their artwork from various places) with what looks like all of their major characters. On the inside are charts of the relationships of both worlds, family and friends and more complicated connections.

This is obviously a book only for huge Love and Rockets fans, preferably in 2012, so they can get it when it's new and shiny and up to date. It would have been a useful thing for me to have when I started "I Love (And Rockets) Mondays," but I only got it towards the end, and I'm not planning to double-check the list of stories against the published books and see if I can ferret out anything missing. I found it faintly disappointing: I'd like some kind of critical assessment, or even just a more journalistic listing and examination of the storylines over the years. As it is, this Companion is much more like something from the publisher of Amazing Heroes than the publisher of The Comics Journal.

Hear Him, Hear Him

Joshua Bilmes is wise about the Hugo ceremony:

If you don't think the Hugo Awards should go on for three hours, and they most certainly should not, you have to do away with the damned clips for the dramatic presentation. If you're going to leave in the clips, then I want people to read one-minute excerpts from the nominated pieces of fiction. Believe it or not, the Hugos are supposed to be a literary award, so none of these damned clips for the dramatic presentations.

 (I wasn't even there, so I have no particular axe to grind.)

Hugo Nominees!

Copied and pasted -- with only the slightest of formatting edits -- from the e-mail that Anticipation sent out earlier this evening, below is the official Hugo Nominee press release. I expect I will do my usual attempt at handicapping the winners, sometime closer to the date. (I usually don't post that until after the voting deadline, just because.)


Anticipation is pleased to announce the Hugo nominees for 2009. For more information about the award and the voting process consult our website.

The Hugo Award, first presented in 1953, celebrate the best in the field of science fiction and fantasy. Recipients are chosen by members of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). The Hugos are presented each year at the World Science Fiction Convention.

799 Total Ballots cast

Best Novel (639 Ballots Cast)

• Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury)
• Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor)
• Saturn's Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit)
• Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)

Best Novella (337 Ballots Cast)

• ‘‘The Erdmann Nexus’’ by Nancy Kress (Asimov's Oct/Nov 2008)
• ‘‘The Political Prisoner’’ by Charles Coleman Finlay (F&SF Aug 2008)
• ‘‘The Tear’’ by Ian McDonald (Galactic Empires)
• ‘‘True Names’’ by Benjamin Rosenbaum & Cory Doctorow (Fast Forward 2)
• ‘‘Truth’’ by Robert Reed (Asimov's Oct/Nov 2008)

Best Novelette (373 Ballots Cast)

• ‘‘Alastair Baffle's Emporium of Wonders’’ by Mike Resnick (Asimov's Jan 2008)
• ‘‘The Gambler’’ by Paolo Bacigalupi (Fast Forward 2)
• ‘‘Pride and Prometheus’’ by John Kessel (F&SF Jan 2008)
• ‘‘The Ray-Gun: A Love Story’’ by James Alan Gardner (Asimov's Feb 2008)
• ‘‘Shoggoths in Bloom’’ by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov's Mar 2008)

Best Short Story (448 Ballots Cast)

• ‘‘26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss’’ by Kij Johnson (Asimov's Jul 2008)
• ‘‘Article of Faith’’ by Mike Resnick (Baen's Universe Oct 2008)
• ‘‘Evil Robot Monkey’’ by Mary Robinette Kowal (The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Volume Two)
• ‘‘Exhalation’’ by Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
• ‘‘From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled’’ by Michael Swanwick (Asimov's Feb 2008)

Best Related Book (263 Ballots Cast)

• Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn (Wesleyan University Press)
• Spectrum 15: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art by Cathy Fenner & Arnie Fenner, eds. (Underwood Books)
• The Vorkosigan Companion: The Universe of Lois McMaster Bujold by Lillian Stewart Carl & John Helfers, eds. (Baen)
• What It Is We Do When We Read Science Fiction by Paul Kincaid (Beccon Publications)
• Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008 by John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)

Best Graphic Story (212 Ballots Cast)

• The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle Written by Jim Butcher, art by Ardian Syaf (Del Rey/Dabel Brothers Publishing)
• Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
• Fables: War and Pieces Written by Bill Willingham, pencilled by Mark Buckingham, art by Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy, color by Lee Loughridge, letters by Todd Klein (DC/Vertigo Comics)
• Schlock Mercenary: The Body Politic Story and art by Howard Tayler (The Tayler Corporation)
• Serenity: Better Days Written by Joss Whedon & Brett Matthews, art by Will Conrad, color by Michelle Madsen, cover by Jo Chen (Dark Horse Comics)
• Y: The Last Man, Volume 10: Whys and Wherefores Written/created by Brian K. Vaughan, pencilled/created by Pia Guerra, inked by Jose Marzan, Jr. (DC/Vertigo Comics)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form (436 Ballots Cast)

• The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer, story; Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, screenplay; based on characters created by Bob Kane; Christopher Nolan, director (Warner Brothers)
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army Guillermo del Toro & Mike Mignola, story; Guillermo del Toro, screenplay; based on the comic by Mike Mignola; Guillermo del Toro, director (Dark Horse, Universal)
• Iron Man Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, screenplay; based on characters created by Stan Lee & Don Heck & Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby; Jon Favreau, director (Paramount, Marvel Studios)
• METAtropolis edited by John Scalzi; Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, John Scalzi, and Karl Schroeder, writers (Audible Inc.)
• WALL-E Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter, story; Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, screenplay; Andrew Stanton, director (Pixar/Walt Disney)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form (336 Ballots Cast)

• Lost: “The Constant”, Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof, writers; Jack Bender, director (Bad Robot, ABC studios)
• Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Joss Whedon, & Zack Whedon, & Jed Whedon, & Maurissa Tancharoen, writers; Joss Whedon, director (Mutant Enemy)
• Battlestar Galactica: “Revelations”, Bradley Thompson & David Weddle, writers; Michael Rymer, director (NBC Universal)
• Doctor Who: “Silence in the Library”/”Forest of the Dead”, StevenMoffat, writer; Euros Lyn, director (BBC Wales)
• Doctor Who: “Turn Left”, Russell T. Davies, writer; Graeme Harper, director (BBC Wales)

Best Editor, Short Form (377 Ballots Cast)

• Ellen Datlow
• Stanley Schmidt
• Jonathan Strahan
• Gordon Van Gelder
• Sheila Williams

Best Editor, Long Form (273 Ballots Cast)

• Lou Anders
• Ginjer Buchanan
• David G. Hartwell
• Beth Meacham
• Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Best Professional Artist (334 Ballots Cast)

• Daniel Dos Santos
• Bob Eggleton
• Donato Giancola
• John Picacio
• Shaun Tan

Best Semiprozine (283 Ballots Cast)

• Clarkesworld Magazine edited by Neil Clarke, Nick Mamatas, & Sean Wallace
• Interzone edited by Andy Cox
• Locus edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, & Liza Groen Trombi
• The New York Review of Science Fiction edited by Kathryn Cramer, Kris Dikeman, David G. Hartwell, & Kevin J. Maroney
• Weird Tales edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal

Best Fan Writer (291 Ballots Cast)

• Chris Garcia
• John Hertz
• Dave Langford
• Cheryl Morgan
• Steven H Silver

Best Fanzine (257 Ballots Cast)

• Argentus edited by Steven H Silver
• Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
• Challenger edited by Guy H. Lillian III
• The Drink Tank edited by Chris Garcia
• Electric Velocipede edited by John Klima
• File 770 edited by Mike Glyer

Best Fan Artist (187 Ballots Cast)

• Alan F. Beck
• Brad W. Foster
• Sue Mason
• Taral Wayne
• Frank Wu

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (288 Ballots Cast)

• Aliette de Bodard*
• David Anthony Durham*
• Felix Gilman
• Tony Pi*
• Gord Sellar*

*(Second year of eligibility)


The 67th World Science Fiction Convention, known as Anticipation, will take place in Montréal, Québec, Canada from Thursday, August 6th through Monday, August 10th, 2009.

More information about Anticipation, including current membership rates, is available on our web site; you can also write to us for more information.

My Lunacon Plans

These are from the preliminary programming schedule, and subject to change. But it's what I expect to be babbling about in a little over two weeks, in the lovely, confusing Escher Hilton in the Town of Rye:

Friday: 7:00:00 PM, Poplar
Title: So It's Your First Con
Description: What to expect from an SF convention, along with fun things you might not know to look for. A sort of orientation meeting for first-time congoers.
Participants: Jan Howard Finder, Sean P. Fodera[M], Angela Jones-Parker, Crystal Pretzman, Andrew Wheeler

Saturday: 12:00:00 PM, Brundage B
Title: Classics of S-F: Algis Budrys's Rogue Moon (1960)
Description: Probably Budrys’ most famous novel, existential, gripping, both more and less bleak than it seems, it has love and learning, death and determination, and as Vladimir Nabokov said, “the precision of poetry and the passion of science.”
Participants: John Douglas[M], John Hertz, Dennis McCunney, Darrell Schweitzer, Andrew Wheeler

Saturday: 3:00:00 PM, Odelle
Title: Evil Lair Building
Description: What to do and what not to when building your evil lair. From the basics of pitfalls to the way to stop gymnasts from flipping through your lasers to whether the best place is a volcano, deep space or the moon, we can show you the best accessories, placement and style for your lair.
Participants: Paul Calhoun, Esther Friesner, Lawrence M. Schoen, Andrew Wheeler[M]

Saturday: 5:00:00 PM, Brundage A
Title: Illegal Aliens
Description: What's the difference between a Replicant and a Migrant Worker? Why isn't "Men in Black"s Manhattan island a Warsaw Ghetto for aliens? Is "Alien Nation" a liberal or conservative's wet dream?
Participants: Nick Pollotta, Steven Sawicki, Lawrence M. Schoen, Jeff Warner[M], Andrew Wheeler

I see that I need to re-read Rogue Moon before then; it's probably about time anyway.

Another Way to Make a Best-of-the-Year List

Someone named Damon at BookSpotCentral -- whose age I will not attempt to estimate -- has chosen three book covers for each month of 2008 on the basis of how attractive the [paintings of] women on those books are.

In his defense, he did manage to avoid calling his list the "Hottest Books of 2008." But he is speaking as if to the women on the covers, as if they were real, which is not typically the sign of a man who is mentally well.

Now: I like book covers, and I like attractive women. I even like attractive women on book covers. But this is rapidly heading into CILF territory, where I will certainly not follow.

[via Neth Space]

Update: BookSpotCentral doesn't have the courage of its convictions; they've pulled the article.

Bad form: the worst thing you can do on the Internet is "un-publish" something because people complain about it. At the very best, you look weak and indecisive. And, at worst...well, you look like those guys.

Slave Leia Pillow Fight

Yes, I'm practically just copying this Topless Robot post -- but he already had the perfect headline, and I can't pass up the opportunity to post more pictures of multiple Slave Leias.

A world that contains this is a good world -- that's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

Responses to Hugo Handicapping

Mike Glyer thinks I'm making "a public display of contempt" in my comments about the fan categories. It's certainly his prerogative to have any opinion he wants, but I like to think that -- unlike some Hugo-watchers -- I actually notice that there are fan categories, and try in some small way to understand them. (He's quite right that I don't know much about those categories, but, if I'm going to run down the list of Hugos, they're on the list and need to be addressed somehow.)

And that entire post was based on received wisdom and common knowledge; that was the whole point of it. There was no research involved -- it took long enough without any. I didn't Google to be sure that Frank Wu removed himself from contention; I also didn't mention that Donato Giancola did the same in the Pro Artist category. It was not intended as an even-handed, sober consideration of everyone's chances, and I deliberately held off doing it until after voting closed.

If Mike wants to see me actually expressing contempt, I'd suggest that my various comments about the Dramatic Presentation Hugos (and the similar "Best Script" Nebula) are a better fit. When it comes to fan Hugos, "bemused ignorance" is closer to the mark.

Possibly The Nerdiest Thing I Have Ever Posted

This keeps popping back into my mind like a bad penny, even a month later, so I expect that I need to write it down to settle it.

In the movie Juno -- which I blogged about last month -- the title character says "Thundercats Are Go!" when her water breaks.

This of course is a conflation of two entirely separate geeky catchphrases:

• "Thunderbirds Are Go!" from the '60s Gerry Anderson "Supermarionation" show
• "Thundercats Ho!" from the '80s animated show that has driven many of my generation into the horrifying recesses of furrydom

It is unclear whether Juno herself -- far too young to know either of these minor pop-culture icons in their heyday -- made this error, or if it was a slip on the part of the screenwriter, Diablo Cody. (I suppose it could also be a deliberate mistake.) But now the record has been set straight, and I can stop thinking about this very stupid minor point.

Whiny Trekkies Want To Go To Space

So you're a Trekkie -- you've wasted many of the best years of your life being a fan of a (to put it charitably) series of mixed artistic success, and you not only haven't gotten into space, you don't even have a flying car.

What do you do?

Yell at Paramount, and threaten to hold your breath and pout if they don't donate some of their money for space exploration.

This is exactly why I make fun of space enthusiasts. Please note that they're not even threatening not to see the new Trek movie; the most they can promise is that they won't see it on opening weekend. I bet that Monday will see a lot of middle-aged loners with Spock ears slinking into theaters nationwide.

There's a word for people like this, and it's "loser."

[via Pat's Fantasy Hotlist]

Blog in Exile: As They See Us, 6/19

The Student Operated Press reports on ApolloCon, an annual SF convention in Houston, Texas. Unless I'm blind, they seem to have neglected to tell us when this convention will occur.

Blog in Exile: As They See Us, 6/11

The (Australian) ABC has a short article about the 46th Australian National Science Fiction Convention, Convergence 2, which was held this past weekend in Melbourne.

The (American) ABC reports on a fan wedding outside last weekend's AdventureCon in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Dominion-Post reports on New Zealand's 29th annual National Science Fiction Convention.

The Oklahoman reports that SoonerCon begins today...in whatever Oklahoma city The Oklahoman is headquartered in. ("Today" being Friday, June 8th, the day the story ran.)