Showing results by narrator "Colby Elliott" in All Categories

The staying power of the world's most dashing secret agent and the evolution of the James Bond franchise are explored in this smart yet nostalgic collection of essays. Leading writers, including Raymond Benson, J.A. Konrath, Raelynn Hillhouse, and John Cox, discuss the 10 sexiest Bond girls, the best villains, and the controversy surrounding the latest actor to play James Bond. Topics covered range from the playful - how to build a secret lair and avoid the perennial mistakes made by would-be world dominators - to the thought-provoking.

First there was Buffy the Vampire Slayer; then its spin-off, Angel; then the cult hit Firefly and its follow-up film, Serenity. They all had two things in common: their creator, Joss Whedon...and their surprising psychological depth. Revisit the worlds of Joss Whedon...with trained psychologists at your side. What are the psychological effects of constantly fighting for your life? Why is neuroscience the Whedonverse's most terrifying villain? How can watching Joss' shows help you take on your own psychological issues?

Depending on your point of view, Fender Benders is either a skewed look at the country music industry or a clear-eyed view of a damn screwy business. It's a Grand Old Opera complete with murder, treachery, greed, drugs, twangy music, a love triangle, and the best fried swimps you'll ever put in your mouth.

James Lowder, veteran editor and author in the horror genre and comics field, collects some of the biggest names in the zombie genre, along with other top horror and comics writers, to discuss the series on both page and screen.

This close look at Wonder Woman's history portrays a complicated heroine who is more than just a female Superman with a golden lasso and bullet-deflecting bracelets. The original Wonder Woman was ahead of her time, advocating female superiority and the benefits of matriarchy in the 1940s. At the same time, her creator filled the comics with titillating bondage imagery, and Wonder Woman was tied up as often as she saved the world.

Mr. Jonathan Chambers senses that something is very wrong. The walk he takes every night is suddenly, slightly shorter. All around him things are vanishing. Is it because of the recent war or famine in the world? Does the scandalous theory that cost him his job hold the key? Or is it just the slowly unhinging mind of a recluse?

Did you ever want to attend the biggest popular arts festival in the United States? Come along on a 5-day odyssey of all things nerdy. Part travelogue, part love letter, Colby Elliott and his traveling companions give you a badge holder’s eye view of the amazing spectacle that is Comic Con. And find the answer to the question: Just how many miles do you actually walk when you’re at Nerdopolis?

Joe Odin is the world's greatest guesser, a carnival legend who can tell you your weight, your profession, or your favorite brand of whiskey with nothing but a glance and a grubby dollar. He uses his flamboyant style of deduction to peer into small-town secrets and unravel his favorite puzzles of all - murders.

Peter Ambrose is a struggling jazz musician who earns some extra income installing brain prosthetics on the side. One day, someone from his hidden and forgotten past turns up dead - and Peter has to reluctantly go out and find out who might want to eliminate the surviving members of the Nimbus Project. Nimbus is both dark and funny, a blend of science fiction, noir, cultural satire, and suspense.

The year is 1938, after the Fall of San Francisco, and Captain Lance and his squadron, The Werewolves of War, are America’s last-best hope against the disintegrating flame and acid bullets of the United Slav Army. It will take luck, guts, and some fancy flying to carry out The Torpedo Plan, foil the enemy spies, and win freedom and glory for America in this science-fiction pulp-adventure classic.

Story of youthful adoration, spanning 20 years, science and urban fantasy, set in a slipstream world, following forth from existentialism.

Captain Sylvestre de Greybagges is your typical seventeenth-century Cambridge-educated lawyer turned Caribbean pirate, as comfortable debating the virtues of William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, and compound interest as he is wielding a cutlass, needling archrival Henry Morgan, and parsing rum-soaked gossip for his next target. When a pepper monger’s loose tongue lets out a rumor about a fleet loaded with silver, the Captain sets sail only to find himself in a close encounter of a very different kind.

Using examples from Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World, George Orwell’s 1984, and the writings of Neil Postman, screenwriter Javier Grillo Marxuach (Lost, The Witcher, Medium) examines the utopia/dystopia binary and what it means live in the modern social media landscape.

Sometimes we love a work of art, not in spite of it flaws, but because of them. And a wish that that work of art could be better. Screenwriter Javier Grillo Marxuach (Lost, The Witcher, Medium) peers through the lens of the ill-fated Disney science fiction epic The Black Hole to show us what we can learn from a flawed gem as it waxes into nostalgia and why it has such a subtle hold on our hearts.

Every writer learns the basics elements of storytelling. Whether it’s The Heroes Journey, the Three Act film structure, or even the performing of a magic trick it’s all there. Even when telling a simple joke. Using these three basic elements, screenwriter Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost, The Witcher, Medium) breaks down the anatomy used for so many of the stories we love, from Raiders of the Lost Ark, to Gone With the Wind.

When does the band you love cease to be the band you love? Taking such disparate elements as the writings of Plutarch and the power ballads of 80’s rockers Foreigner, screenwriter Javier Grillo- Marxuach (Lost, The Witcher, Medium) examines what it means to be a creator of art during the Big Feelings of youth and how those feelings mature into collaborating and getting the work done in middle age.

It’s no secret that amazing television starts with a great script. But what makes a television screenplay compelling? An effective screenplay is a blueprint, a loan application, and work order. But first and foremost, it must be a work of art and a captivating read all on its own. Using his script for the proposed reboot of Xena, Javier Grillo-Marxauch (Lost, The Witcher, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) shares what he does to make a fascinating television screenplay, from the first slug line to the final fade to black.

Staggered by the terminal illness of his next-door neighbor and predecessor, Jack, the Stay at Home Shaman, finds himself unable to dream and enter the world of the Overlay. But with best friend Zeke’s help, the two embark on a mission to the dream realm to stop the corrupting chain-lightning and the mysterious flying V-shape menacing the neighborhood. But this challenge won’t be overcome without the greatest sacrifice of the Shaman’s career.

We think we know Betty and Veronica, but we don’t. Far more than just Archie’s girlfriends, the girls have grown beyond simple archetypes to become compelling, relevant characters for each new generation over the past eighty years.

As winter takes hold of the neighborhood, Cole witnesses a brutal attack while patrolling The Overlay. Bizarre, inky-black creatures glide through the air devouring those in their path, seemingly coming from nowhere. What loosed these creatures on the Dream Realm and why do they hunt in Big Bluestem Park?