comics – Kristen Brand

5 Favorite Vintage Sci-Fi Tropes

Did you know January is Vintage Science Fiction month? I didn’t until I saw the hashtag on Twitter, which piqued my interest, because I love old sci-fi. You can feel the enthusiasm and energy in a lot of those old space travel stories, written in a time where mankind was just venturing beyond Earth’s atmosphere, and everyone was excited about the possibilities.

January is also great timing, because I’ve got a retro sci-fi short story coming out in Broadswords and Blasters Issue 12 later this month. You might find more than one of these tropes in it. Or not. Read it and see. 😉

Space Fashion

Are you venturing into the cold reaches of space and don’t know what to wear? No need to worry. Just pop a fishbowl over your head, and you’ll be fine.

Planet Comics Issue 36 Cover — The helmets won’t protect you from evil green space giants, obviously, but they will shield you from the void of space.

Continue reading 5 Favorite Vintage Sci-Fi Tropes

Autumn Tag – Are you Ready for Sweater Weather?

It still feels like summer here in Florida, but I adore autumn. So when I came across the Autumn Tag over at Perfectly Tolerable, I knew I had to jump on that bandwagon, even if I’m a bit late.

Rules: Answer the questions, link back to the creator, and tag other people.

1. Hot Chocolate – what is your comfort book?

When I’ve had a bad day and find myself in need of a comfort read, I usually turn to fanfiction instead of books. I don’t know what it is about some fics that’s so soothing and comforting–exactly like a cup of hot chocolate. I love crossovers especially, and nothing’s better than an epically long story that’s actually completed. And boy, oh boy, have I read a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction in my time. Continue reading Autumn Tag – Are you Ready for Sweater Weather?

5 Supernatural Superheroes who Deserve more Spotlight

October is finally here, and that means a month filled with jack o’ lanterns, witches, and ghosts.

Although, to be honest, I don’t limit that spooky energy to October. I get my fix year-round by reading paranormal fiction. There’s something about things that go bump in the night that I just can’t get enough of in stories, especially when it comes to the heroes who fight them.

Comics has no shortage of the supernatural, and it’s one of favorite niches in both the Marvel and DC universes. Though I have my complaints about the Doctor Strange movie, I love that it introduced magic to the MCU, and Legends of Tomorrow got twice as awesome when they started fighting demons and introduced John Constantine.

Those two characters along with Blade, the Scarlet Witch, Zatanna, and a few others are what I consider the A-list of magical/supernatural superheroes. (Though I don’t think Zatanna has had a live-action appearance since Smallville. She really needs her own movie.) Today, I want to shine a spotlight on some paranormal superheroes who may be less popular but are all awesome characters who deserve more attention. Continue reading 5 Supernatural Superheroes who Deserve more Spotlight

Turn Back the Pages: Secret Six

Turn Back the Pages is a feature where I spotlight a comic that is not fresh and new. It may have come out a few months ago or even a few years ago. Maybe it was hyped and popular, or maybe it was an underappreciated gem. Whatever the case, it’ll be a great comic that’s well worth a read.

Ah, villains. Some, we love to hate. Others, we hate to love. And some, we just can’t get enough of because despite their poor decisions, twisted moral code, and tenuous grip on sanity, they’re just so darn charismatic and fun.

Enter the Secret Six.

Continue reading Turn Back the Pages: Secret Six

Sisterhood and Superheroes

I’m lucky enough to have two incredible sisters (one of whom also writes books that you should read), so I’m naturally interested in depictions of sisters in media.

And is it just me, or are a lot of superheroes only children? Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Iron Man… The list goes on. And I feel like “Hero with a Treacherous Brother who wants to Murder him for the Throne” deserves its own category.

But you can find some great depictions of sisters in superhero media if you know where to look. On the big screen, my recent favorites are Gamora and Nebula. Continue reading Sisterhood and Superheroes

Turn Back the Pages: Gotham Academy

I love gothic mysteries. I love Batman. I really should have read Gotham Academy sooner.

This book is full of gothic tropes. Gotham Academy is old, mysterious, and has a dark history. One building is even boarded up and abandoned for secret reasons. The girls’ dorm is possibly haunted. A group dressed in cloaks and masks conducts arcane rituals on campus in the dead of night. There’s even a vampire! (Okay, so he’s a bat-mutant made by science, but he looks super vampiry.) It’s seriously the best. Continue reading Turn Back the Pages: Gotham Academy

10 Female Supervillains (who are Cooler than most Heroes)

Superheroines can be powerful role models for girls. They show that women can be brave, smart, and control their own stories, which is an excellent lesson for both girls and boys. I can only imagine the impact movies like Wonder Woman and comics like Ms. Marvel and Moon Girl have on kids. Superheroes have always been beacons of hope, symbols of what humanity could achieve if we strove to be better. Though they may be fictional, superheroes can truly change the world.

But supervillains have more fun.

So if you’re in the mood for destroying the world rather than saving it, here are ten of my favorite female supervillains—and let me tell you, it was hard to narrow the list down to just ten. These ladies are powerful, brilliant and terrifying, and while they’d probably murder us in real life without a second thought, they’re super fun to read about. Continue reading 10 Female Supervillains (who are Cooler than most Heroes)