Date set for Issue #2 of comic adaptation of William Shatner's 1996 novel Man O'War

Comic book company Bluewater Productions recently announced that the second issue of Man O’War, its adaptation of the eponymous 1996 science fiction novel by Star Trek actor and bestselling author William Shatner, will be released in March 2010. Written by CJ Henderson and illustrated by Pat Broderick in consultation with Shatner, the storyline for the comic series will be a continuation of the established plot in the novel, as opposed to a direct adaptation. Here’s how Bluewater describes Issue #2:

Diplomat Benton Hawkes is fighting mad and on his way to Mars. Someone is tampering with his life, and he's determined to stop them. He just may be able to, if he can stop the shipful of space pirates out to kill him, that is.

Issue #1 of Man O'War is scheduled to be released in Feb 2010.

Pictured: Cover of Man O'War, Issue #2.

Actor Gene Barry, star of 1953 film War of the Worlds, dies at age 90

Television, film and stage actor Gene Barry died Wednesday, December 9, 2009, age 90, in Woodland Hills, California, according to an obituary in The New York Times. Among his many accomplishments was his lead role as scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester in the George Pal film production of War of the Worlds (1953), based on the classic 1898 novel by H.G. Wells. Barry also made a cameo appearance as Tom Cruise’s ex-father-in-law in the Steven Spielberg remake of War of the Worlds (2005).

Pictured: Gene Barry as Dr. Clayton Forrester.

Review of Theodore Judson’s 2008 novel The Martian General’s Daughter

Mahesh Raj Mohan of Strange Horizons has written an interesting review of Theodore Judson’s recent novel, The Martian General’s Daughter (Pyr, 2008), a science fiction work which tells the story of Peter Black, the last loyal general in a sprawling empire that is rapidly crumbling, as seen through the eyes of his illegitimate daughter. Mahesh Raj Mohan concludes that “Narrative ‘frustrations’ aside, however, The Martian General’s Daughter is a well-researched and engaging novel, with a vibrant milieu, and definitely worth a look.”

Thanks to editor Lou Anders, you can read the first two chapters of The Martian General’s Daughter on Pyr’s website.

Podcast of "Martian Chronicles," the new YA Mars story by Cory Doctorow (Part 4)

Thanks to Canadian blogger, copyright activist and SF author Cory Doctorow, you can listen to Part 4 of his podcast of “Martian Chronicles,” a new Young Adult short story that he is writing for Australian editor Jonathan Strahan's forthcoming YA Mars anthology, Life on Mars (2010). According to Doctorow, “It's a story about the colonization of Mars by free-market absolutists and the video-games they play.” Download Part 4 (MP3, 22 min.) from Archive.org, or stream it through this toolbar:



In case you missed them, here are the links to download the MP3 files for Part 1 (7 min.), Part 2 (15 min.) and Part 3 (14 min.) from Archive.org. Enjoy!

Son of artist Frank Frazetta arrested for stealing his father's paintings

Sadly, Frank Frazetta Jr., the son of renowned SF&F artist Frank Frazetta, has been arrested for stealing 90 of his father’s paintings, worth about $20 million, from a family-owned museum located in the Pocono Mountains region of northeastern Pennsylvania. If you can believe this, the son and two accomplices used a backhoe to break into the museum. A family dispute seems to be at the center of the theft. This story is being reported at the local, national and international level.

Several of Frank Frazetta’s paintings were used as the cover art for later editions and reprints of the legendary Barsoom series of Mars novels written by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Pictured: John Carter of Mars and Martian princess Dejah Thoris. Artwork by Frank Frazetta.

[via Mike Glyer of the fanzine File 770]

Cities of Martian Rails: Argyre City

Martian Rails, the new board game made by Mayfair Games about railroading on the Red Planet in which players build tracks and haul freight, has a long list of interesting cities that players can utilize to generate revenue for their rail companies. For example:

Argyre City -- A medium town in the south central section. The town is located in and named for the Argyre Basin, a large impact basin in the southern deserts.

Martian Rails is loaded with references to Mars and Martian SF!

An interview with writer D.B. Grady

Freelance writer and Louisianaian D.B. Grady, whose debut novel Red Planet Noir (2009) was recently published as a paperback original by Brown Street Press of Lexington, Kentucky, is interviewed over at the blog On the Brink of Love and Life! A hard-boiled detective tale written in the pulp tradition of the 1930s, Red Planet Noir is “a Raymond Chandler mystery in a Robert Heinlein world.” Sound interesting? Read Chapter 1 (PDF) for free!

Ace to reprint Robert A. Heinlein’s classic 1963 novel Podkayne of Mars

Robert A. Heinlein’s classic novel Podkayne of Mars (1963) is scheduled to be reprinted as a trade paperback in early January 2010 by Ace Trade. One interesting point about the cover for the forthcoming reprint: the style and size of the font almost make it look like her name is “Pookayne.”

“No Child of Mine,” a new Space Western story by Filamena Young

Twenty-something writer and new mom Filamena Young recently had her short story “No Child of Mine” (2009) published online at SpaceWesterns.com. Set on an isolated homestead on the Red Planet, “No Child of Mine" revolves around a lonely old woman who longs to be a mother again. Here are the opening lines:

“I said ‘get’ and go on out.” Geraldine told her unwanted intruder.

Terry, a young wife from the homestead down the road stood looking slack-jawed as Geraldine shuffled her slowly back into the red sands and cold winds of the Martian landscape.

“And you can tell that son of mine, if he wanted to check up on me, he could do so his own damn self.” That wouldn’t happen, of course. The Companies had their contracts with the miners. Six months on, six months off. All in all, it was a fine deal for the miners. The wives tended to be less convinced. ...

“No Child of Mine” is the follow-up story to Young's “Mars Ain’t No Place for Ladies” (2007), another Space Western.

Old time radio: Adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s 1950 short story "Outcast of the Stars"

Back in January 1952, the radio program NBC Presents: Short Story broadcast “The Rocket,” a 30-minute adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s short story “Outcast of the Stars” (1950, variant title "The Rocket"), which was originally published in the March 1950 issue of Super Science Stories magazine. According to old time radio aficionado Bob Camardella, the adaptation is about “a poor man who runs a junkyard [and] wants nothing more in life than to travel to Mars." Enjoy!

The Call of Ktulu

This post has nothing to do with Mars, but I’m learning so much from Tor.com’s Cthulhu Month that I decided to play along with this awesome ten-minute music video of heavy metal band Metallica performing its classic 1984 instrumental tribute to cosmic horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, “The Call of Ktulu,” live with Michael Kamen conducting the San Francisco Symphony, recorded in April 1999 at the Berkeley Community Theatre.



If you're shopping for a younger metalhead with classical music training this holiday season, consider buying him/her the CD or DVD of Metallica's monumental S&M live album (1999).

Mars story runner-up in 2009 Medical SF Contest

Congratulations to James H. Dawdy, whose short story "Mars Rescue" (2009) won Second Place in the 2009 Medical Sci-Fi Contest sponsored by Medgadget, an internet journal of emerging medical technologies written, edited and published by a group of MDs and biomed engineers. Loaded with medical technology, Dawdy’s story is about the rescue of a field geologist from Valles Marineris.

A gallery of Gunner Cade cover art

In memory and honor of all those who were killed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, I have compiled a gallery of Gunner Cade cover art on Flickr. Written by Cyril Judd (joint pseudonym of Cyril M. Kornbluth & Judith Merril) Gunner Cade is a military SF story partially set on Mars. It was first serialized in Astounding Science Fiction magazine in 1952 and then published as a novel later that year. Note the 1979 French edition in the gallery, which misspelled Judith Merril’s last name. Additions or corrections are welcome.

Martians, Go Home, a new comic adaptation of Fredric Brown’s classic 1955 novel

The first issue of Martians, Go Home, a new six-issue comic book adaptation of science fiction author Fredric Brown’s classic 1955 “paranoia” Sci-Fi novel, was scheduled to be released last week by Sequential Pulp Comics. Written by Martin Powell and illustrated by Mike Manley, here’s a description of Martians, Go Home:

That's right, real Martians. Seriously. Suddenly, without warning, one billion Little Green Men are everywhere. The Martians are on your street and in your house, all of them knowing your deepest and darkest secrets. Untouchable as ghosts and obnoxious as hell, their sinister agenda remains a mystery. Perhaps their plan is simply to drive the entire human race insane, for that is exactly what they're doing.

From flop house to the White House, no one is above, or below, the torment of the alien invaders. All is lost. Or is it? Only our unlikely hero, Luke Devereaux, a burnt-out science-fiction writer with nothing left to lose, knows how to defeat the Martians . . . but he has already lost his mind!

Writer Martin Powell, whose career was inspired by Ray Bradbury and who has corresponded with the literary legend over the years, revealed in a January 2009 interview that the comic adaptation of Martians, Go Home is the most rewarding project of his professional career.

Equally interesting is this March 2009 interview with artist Mike Manley, in which he stated that he first became aware of Fredric Brown's 1955 novel "as a teenager mostly through the cover art that Kelly Freas painted."

Although I don’t particularly care for the cover of Issue #1 painted by artist Bret Blevins (pictured above), the interior art is simply amazing. Check out some of Mike Manley’s sketches and finished pages for Martians, Go Home on his blog, Draw!

New Zealand crew finishes shooting short SF film Last Flight

A film crew in New Zealand has just finished shooting a short science fiction film entitled Last Flight, which revolves around the last woman alive on Mars and her dwindling air supply. Written by director Damon Keen and starring Kassie Watson as a female astronaut, the project’s budget is only about $20,000 NZD. Nevertheless, read the script (PDF, 62 KB), view the final storyboard (PDF, 5 MB), relish some of the set photos from beautiful New Zealand and stay tuned for release info.

Auf Zwei Planeten, 1897 novel by Kurd Laßwitz

Auf Zwei Planeten, by Kurd Laßwitz (1897)

At left: Paperback (New York: Popular Library, 1971), 383 p., 95¢. Translated from German by Hans H. Rudnick. Epigraph by Wernher von Braun. Afterword by Mark R. Hillegas. Here is the piece from the back cover:

Seeking the North Pole, the tiny band of explorers found instead a Martian settlement on earth, an artificial island with a floating ring space station, populated by ideal beings with light hair and shining powerful eyes -- peaceful, civilized creatures who wanted to educate men in advanced Martian ways. In return, they sought only air and energy from earth’s bountiful supply. But human folly provoked the Martians to war, and their easy victory spelled separation for Joseph Saltner and La, lovers from two planets whose happiness personified the possibilities of universal peace. The utopian vision of this remarkable and important novel had a profound influence of German astronomy and the American space program. Its astonishing fantasy has for decades captured the imagination of European readers. One, Wernher von Braun, writes "I devoured this novel with curiosity and excitement as a young man. ..." Here is the first English translation.

A “lost science fiction classic,” Two Planets is the English translation of Kurd Lasswitz’s novel Auf Zwei Planeten, which was originally published in German in 1897 and abridged by his son, Erich Lasswitz, in 1948 and 1969.

Interestingly, a review of Two Planets by Theodore Sturgeon in the May 14, 1972, issue of The New York Times mentions that “the book was banned by the Nazis as ‘democratic.’"

Auf Zwei Planeten is one of author Kim Stanley Robinson’s 10 favorite Mars novels.