Giant-Size Geek

Monster Monday: Neal Adams Deadman

2012-05-21T09:33:00.002-07:00

Here is a commission that Neal Adams did some time ago, featuring Boston Brand.

Did anyone draw agony better than Adams? Carmine Infantino created the costume, but Adams made it work! Nuff Said.

Zatanna and Facebook by Loston Wallace

2012-05-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

In honor of today's Facebook IPO, this little cartoon by Loston Wallace...

Reverse the words to get the joke! Check out Loston's site for more spectacular artwork and take a look at his great Thing comission on Giant-Size Marvel! Nuff Said.

Legion of Super-Heroes by Mike McKone

2012-05-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Mike McKone regularly publishes a series of commissions on his Facebook page. Over a period of time he produced a set of Legion of Super-Heroes illustrations that were very cool. Here is a sampling...

Phantom Girl.

Colossal Boy.

Saturn Girl.

Star Boy.

Ferro Lad.

Nuff Said!

The Shadow by Mike Mayhew

2012-05-13T11:05:00.001-07:00

Mike Mayhew captures The Shadow perfectly in this great painting--love the angle looking up and his red eyes. Check out his deviantART page here! Nuff Said.

Monster Monday: Swamp Thing 1974 pinup by Bernie Wrightson

2012-04-23T09:07:00.002-07:00

Here is a 1974 pinup by Bernie Wrightson of his most famous creation, Swamp Thing! No idea where this came from, but I have this nagging suspicion this illustration was used on the cover for a 70s convention guide? Nuff Said.

Aquaman by Mike Mayhew plus the mystery of the Paul Norris credit

2012-04-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

I found this nice commission by Mike Mayhew on DeviantArt, featuring the DCNu version of Aquaman. I love the rendering here and the splashes of water.

Speaking of Aquaman, I have noticed in the new DC series that the credits page always reads "Created by Paul Norris" in every issue. Very cool! I don't recall ever seeing that before. Norris gets the same credit as Siegel/Schuster or Kane. Checking out Wikipedia, I saw that Mort Weisinger was listed as a co-creator. I wondered why the DC credit does not also extend to Weisinger on Facebook, and Eric Nolen-Worthington (TwoMorrows and Modern Masters historian) answered:

Here’s what Paul told me: He went in to the office one day and Weisinger said, “I want a character named Aquaman,” so Paul went home and designed the character from scratch. Weisinger came up with the name, and he did write the first few stories, so technically he was co-creator, but he didn't imbue Aquaman with any personality really—he didn’t even talk with fish originally—and he gave no input on the costume. Paul sued DC for ownership, and part of the settlement they reached was that Paul would get a creator credit.

Interesting! I googled a bit and found another article on this topic, after Norris died in 2007, on Mark Evanier's site:

...he was at DC Comics where his most memorable assignment was Aquaman, which he and editor-writer Mort Weisinger created. (DC now puts a "created by Paul Norris" credit on all Aquaman comics. The absence of Weisinger's name is apparently a legal problem on DC's end, not a case of Norris squeezing out his former collaborator.)

Some other sites report that DC Comics owed Norris money for each appearance of Aquaman, but only if he was in his classic costume, which led to another lawsuit. Apparently it was all settled? Regardless, I could only wish that every creator was honored the same way. Nuff Said!

Zatanna by Steve Epting

2012-04-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

There is magic in this little number by Steve Epting of Zatanna. This is one version that the Nu-DC 52 Universe did not improve on at all. Please visit Steve Epting's Facebook page for more great comic art. Nuff Said!

The Shadow #1 original art cover by Michael Kaluta

2012-04-09T09:25:00.001-07:00

I am sure all Silver Age fans remember Kaluta's famous 1973 cover to The Shadow #1. I always found the texture and shading on that piece to be different than any other cover I had seen up to that point.

The original cover art to this piece, which looks even better in black and white than full color! The Shadow is rendered with tones, a grey ink wash perhaps? The train and city skyline draw your attention to the figure in the center.

Here is a DC house ad from House of Mystery 217, announcing the forthcoming arrival of The Shadow in July 1973. Doc Savage was already being published by Marvel and Steranko had brought these pulp heroes back into the spotlight from his History of Comics. Nuff Said!

New Legion of Super-Heroes cover by Alex Ross for Back Issue 61

2012-04-06T11:07:00.001-07:00

I just discovered this phantasmagorical cover by Alex Ross, featuring the classic Legion of Super-Heroes, for the upcoming Back Issue #61 from TwoMorrows. Notice all the 1970s Dave Cockrum and Mike Grell costumes, including Saturn Girl's outfit which robs men of their minds. Superboy's look seems to be based on someone, perhaps one of the actors from the 1980s Superboy TV shows?

Alex Ross did this cover as a tribute to Mike Grell's cover for Limited Collectors Edition C-49, from 1976. Ross added many details, including the futuristic city background, and increased the closeup on all the Legionnaires. Back Issue 61 is a tribute to those tabloid sized specials. Sounds great, but we will all have to wait for the end of the year, as this one ships in November 2012! Nuff Said.

Retro Review: H.E.R.O. by Will Pfeifer, Kano, Dale Eaglesham

2012-03-18T12:14:00.003-07:00

I have had one complete series staring at me in my long boxes, begging for a re-read, for some time now: H.E.R.O. by Will Pfeifer. This series premiered in 2003 and lasted for 22 issues but if you have all of them, it makes for a great story. Many Silver Age fans remember Dial H for HERO, a series of short tales featuring young Robby Reed, who discovered a mysterious dial that would transform him into a variety of weird superheroes to save his small town in Colorado. Robby's adventures were the ultimate childhood wish fulfillment. What would happen if an adult had the dial and became a superhero?

Pfeifer's series is a set of short stories for the first 14 issues. In the first one, a young man named Jerry Feldon, a soda jerk going nowhere, find the dial while washing dishes. (Who lost it? A old lady in a senior citizen home who used it to transform herself into a young hero.)

Jerry transforms into a hero and discovers the joy of flight, super-strength, and the ego-boost that comes along with it. But everything goes wrong soon afterward. Jerry can't control his powers, he makes mistakes, even causes his sweetheart to get injured while foiling a robbery. He even tries to commit suicide in a glorious manner.

The artwork in the first year of the run is mostly by Kano. Kano's style and storytelling was perfect, since it required someone good at drawing everyday life and people mixed with the fantastic. The tone of the stories seemed very much in the vein of Will Eisner's Spirit. Some arcs were dark, others humorous. After Jerry's story concluded, the Dial bounces around to a variety of people:

An executive who becomes so addicted to the Dial that he loses his family and job.
A school girl who uses the Dial to become part of the in-crowd.
A group of amateur filmmakers who use the Dial to perform Jackass-like super-stunts.
A heterosexual construction worker who uses the Dial but gets transformed into a woman. Lesson: if you become a babe that Adam Hughes would like to draw, don't drink beer with your buddy. The ending to this tale is not feel good at all.
A third rate crook who uses the Dial to become a super-villain in Gotham City.
A caveman who becomes the first person in history to use the Dial. Why would a Dial with English letters appear so early history? You might blame Pfeifer (like I did) but the answer appears later.

All of these tales are just superb. Brewing in the background as a sub-plot are glimpses of the adult Robby Reed, who is in prison and struggling to learn of the Dial's location. Just when you think Pfeifer is trashing another Silver Age icon and infusing him with Modern Age darkness, all is not what it appears to be. H.E.R.O. #15 brings Robby back into the series front and center, and he becomes the protagonist for the final arc of the book.

Robby locates Jerry Feldon, the character from the first issue, and explains his childhood relationship with the Dial. The last time he used the device it gave him the ability to witness a terrible event in the future--which is about to happen in the current timeline. But the gizmo stopped working for Robby and he threw it away. He married his childhood sweetheart and tried to settle down but discovered that he retained some of his Dial-related powers. Meanwhile, the latest person to find and use the Dial is a serial killer, who shows very little restraint using his powers. Jerry and Robby go on a quest to stop him and the previous users of the Dial are recruited on either side of the battle. The last issue wraps up things neatly and there is a bit of a cool Mobius loop tying everything back together. The artist for H.E.R.O. #15-22 is Dale Eaglesham, who did a very nice job with both the action and emotional scenes.

I enjoyed re-reading this series immensely. Lots of fun and several details hung well together when I read the issues back to back. I remember originally reading the final arc and getting confused about who the returning characters were. Why didn't the book catch on when it was published? Hard to say, the writing and art were top notch and people like Geoff Johns were trying to give it a push. I have to wonder if the covers for the first year or so held it back. These covers were painted and well done, but from far away, you might think this was a Vertigo title. During the Robby arc, they switched to more super-heroish covers by Jason Pearson. But that didn't help sales either. The lack of interaction with the DC Universe might have hurt sales.

Dial H for HERO is back in the spotlight, with news that China Miéville is writing a new series for DC Comics, starting this May. He is a big fan of the Silver Age material and has read Pfeifer's run. It will be interesting to see where he takes this concept. I just wish he would have someone say Sockamagee! every issue. Nuff Said!

Black Canary on a Motorcycle by Neal Adams

2012-03-03T10:36:00.002-08:00

Remember when Dinah Lance drove a mean motorcycle to fight crime?

Neal Adams remembers. Nuff Said!

Monster Monday: Madame Xanadu 1981 poster and cover by Michael Kaluta

2012-02-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

This nifty little poster was a full color glossy insert to Madame Xanadu #1 from 1981.

This special one-shot gave Michael Kaluta's character the star treatment in a story by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers. I believe this special was aimed at the direct market only. The pin-up makes Xanadu look like a Doctor Strange type character.

Here is Kaluta's cover to the special, sans any logos or letters, from the back cover. Englehart and Rogers had more Madame Xanadu stories in the pipeline, but these morphed into the character Scorpio Rose for Eclipse Comics--see They Stole Frazier's Brain for more details. Nuff Said!

John Carter of Mars by Alan Davis

2012-02-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

I just discovered that Marvel released a John Carter of Mars Omnibus featuring all the comics they published in the 1970s.

Here is cover and as you could expect, Davis does a superb job capturing Carter, Tars Tarkas, and Barsoom. Notice that Dejah Thoris here doesn't match the version in the Marvel Comics tales.

Here is the pencil version of this artwork. I am not quite sure but I believe that Davis drew this a while back even before the current JC mania in advance of the movie. Alan writes on his website that "ERB's Mars books have been a favourite for many years and I have often thought about how I might handle the stories. This was one attempt to come up with a slightly different look from the usual comic book versions of the characters."

For more Marvel Comics with John Carter, check out my article on Giant-Size Marvel titled Gil Kane and Dave Cockrum on John Carter Warlord of Mars. Nuff Said!

Wonder Woman versus Ms. Marvel by Mike Deodato

2012-02-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a DC-Marvel fight I wish we could really see one day: Wonder Woman versus Ms. Marvel by Mike Deodato!

Even though he is currently a Marvel guy, I think Deodato has it figured out who would win in this match. Hey, check out another cool Deodato commission on Giant-Size Marvel with Hulk versus Spider-Man! Nuff Said!

Neal Adams and John Carter of Mars

2012-02-07T06:30:00.000-08:00

I am eagerly awaiting the John Carter movie coming out next month. I read the first three novels last year and liked them a lot; the first novel in particular was quite amazing for having been written in 1911. I read the Marvel Comics adaptions in the 1970s and liked those, too. I always wondered what an artist like Neal Adams would do with the John Carter material. There following illustrations give us all a clue as to what that would have been like.

These illustrations come from Heritage Magazine from the 1970s. Was this a preview of a longer story planned for a future issue? Or a graphic album for a publisher? Not sure at all! But the first illustration shows the crash of a spacecraft on Mars. I read that this fellow is Flash Gordon--didn't get that right away but it makes sense.

Second illustration shows Flash getting saved from a sneaky Red Martian. His savior is none other than John Carter of Mars! But wait, what is in that container that Flash is standing over?

It turns out the none other than Tarzan of the Apes is somewhat comatose inside that container! What an awesome team-up adventure this would have been, if Neal Adams had drawn that at the height of his artistic ability!

Questions: do any super-fans out there know why Neal Adams had created these illustrations and what his ultimate plan was? Have John Carter of Mars and Tarzan ever met in any work of fiction? (I know that Philip Jose Farmer had his Tarzan and Doc Savage analogs meet in A Feast Unknown.) Please let me know! Nuff Said.

BBC Being Human Season 4 Episode 1: Farewell Old Friends!

2012-02-06T22:53:00.000-08:00

Warning! Spoilers for the first episode here.

Wow. After months of waiting for the fourth season of BBC's Being Human to start, the premiere finally happened last night. How would the show survive Mitchell's departure? Would we see the birth of George and Nina's baby? And which actors would come into the show to replace Mitchell?

I had heard rumors of other people leaving, too. But I stayed away from those spoilers and was greatly surprised from the very first few minutes of the season opener.

SPOILERS after the break…

The first thing we come to understand is that Nina was murdered by the vampires. I paused the playback to see if I missed an episode or webisode--but no--Nina was killed off camera! A strange choice but I understand that Sinead Keenan decided to leave the show and not return even for a cameo.

George is left alone to care for the baby, which he can't bring himself to name. Poor kid, to make matters worse the crib is covered in crosses to guard against a vampire abduction. George was always a crazy comic relief character for me in this show. Without Mitchell and with the tragedy of Nina's death, George isn't so fun to watch in this episode. Lots of crying and screaming. Annie's trying to keep him together but not having much luck as cups of tea are not enough!

The vampiric Old Ones are on the way over from South America and they want to dance the tango on humankind. In the beginning of the episode we saw a cheesy future ripped off from "Days of Future Past" in the X-Men where the monsters are in control of the world. They want George's kid as a present. Despite the fact that Annie says she killed vamps before, one comes in and snaps up the kid pretty easily!

While I said I stayed away from spoilers, I did hear rumblings about Russell Tovey leaving the show. I assumed that would happen at the end of the year, but no way, it happens in the very first episode this season! He went out heroically but the writers wrung every tear-jerking moment possible in the end, as George named the baby Eve.

The writers did an incredibly gutsy move, getting rid of two of the big stars of the show, leaving only Annie as the original cast member around. Perhaps they were forced into a corner by both of the actors wanting to leave. I am honestly not sure how this will all shake out. Misfits got a bit dull in the third season after Robert Sheehan left. (I only just realized Michael Socha is the brother of Lauren Socha from Misfits.) It will be up to the next episode to see how Hal (Damien Molony) plugs into the cast and their house. Nuff Said!

Monster Monday: Doorway To Nightmare with Michael Kaluta and Madame Xanadu

2012-02-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

I often bought comics just for the cover alone, if the artist was one of my favorites: Bernie Wrightson and Neal Adams were certainly in that group and Michael Kaluta soon joined them. When DC Comics decided to create a new horror anthology title in 1978, Joe Orlando asked Kaluta to design the cover.

Madame Xanadu's first appearance was on the cover to Doorway To Nightmare #1. Kaluta created her at request of Joe Orlando, according to this article on Wikipedia. Unlike the hosts of House of Mystery/Secrets, Xanadu was integral to the self-contained stories in each issue. Usually the plot revolved around a visitor to her Tarot shop and it went from there. The first issue featured a story by David Micheline and Val Mayerik.

The cover to issue #2 makes even better use of the Tarot card motif than the first one. I am not a Tarot guy, everything I know comes from Marvel and DC Comics. The most famous cards being Death, The Devil, and The Hanged Man. After that, I am clueless.

The third issue featured a beautiful night scene making use of different shades of blue. It is Xanadu on the cover but you almost think it could be a different vampire-like character. The story inside does have to do with a woman who falls in love with a vampire.

Here is the original art to the vampire cover. It is beautifully and simply conceived. I love how the bat shrieks and the drop of blood that matches the title of the story: Blood Red Tear.

Doorway To Nightmare #5 has Madame Xanadu playfully running her finger along the top of a bottle that seems to imprison a demon. And here is why Xanadu is a great creation that has grown since her 1978 debut. She can be spooky and mysterious but at other times can be playful and mischievous. Xanadu isn't overly buxom but she is sexy in a classy way.

Here is the original art to that cover. The line work that Kaluta put into this is amazing. I always wondered how much artists like Wrightson and Kaluta got paid for covers. I read somewhere it definitely helped them pay the rent.

I haven't read any of the Madame Xanadu Vertigo series that came out a few years ago. I have enjoyed her recent appearances in Justice League Dark. Nuff Said.

Movie Posters: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai

2012-02-03T09:16:00.000-08:00

Last week I found Phantom City Creative among a new batch of Planet of the Apes movie posters. PCC also did an amazing job on this poster for the Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai!

Amazing job, right down to the electric logo and the likenesses of all the movie actors. John Lithgow's expression is priceless. Peter Weller looks geeky, even though we all know Weller as a tough guy now from his recent roles on Dexter and Fringe.

Here is the theatrical movie poster from 1984 when the movie was released. Everything about that jacket and tie on Peter Weller screams the 1980s. They dressed Robocop like he was Madonna's boy toy.

Buckaroo Banzai was sort of like an American Doctor Who combined with the pulp sense of Doc Savage. He didn't have just five amazing guys but a large team of geeks and freaks. Motifake's poster with Team Banzai is a perfect example. Nuff Said!

Barry Smith 1975 Robert E Howard Portfolio: Conan, Solomon Kane, and more!

2012-02-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

Last week I showed off a few plates from Barry Smith's pen and ink Tupenny Conan portfolio from 1974. A year later in 1975, Smith published this full color portfolio of assorted Robert E Howard heroes.

Conan of Cimmeria. Barry Smith draws very detailed backgrounds and the stained glass on the side makes Conan pop out of this scene. Notice the fountain on the lower left, which reminds me of the Tower of the Elephant from Conan the Barbarian #4.

Solomon Kane. We've seen Kane stories illustrated by a number of artists, but this plate makes me wish Barry Smith had drawn a Kane short story for Marvel. Smith adds a lot of details to make us believe this Puritan is equipped to fight evil.

Thoth Amon, Conan's wizardly adversary. He resides in a resplendent city state, unlike Conan, who camps out in the wild.

Valeria of the Red Brotherhood. If you read Marvel's adaption of Red Nails in Savage Tales, you would recognize this lady immediately. I always liked her, perhaps even more than Red Sonja, because she was an interesting character and a formidable fighter.

For more Barry Smith splendor, check out Cap'n's Comics post last week, and my own ever lovin' site Giant-Size Marvel! Nuff Said.

The Shadow "Lamont Cranston & Margo Lane" poster by Michael Kaluta

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

I recently came across this gem that was published as a poster in 1976.

Lamont Cranston (aka The Shadow) and Margo Lane enjoying a night out on the town, with his alter ego hanging over them in the painting. I remember this one fondly as I painstakingly tried to copy this in pencil for a high school art class. I could not match the mastery of Michael Kaluta! Nuff Said.

Planet of the Apes: New posters by Martin Ansin and others

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

Back in 2010, I reveled in artist Martin Ansin's trippy portrayal of The Flash. This week, SlashFilm brought to my attention this poster to make any film fan go Ape!

Ansin's poster for the very first 1968 Planet of the Apes film was done for a marathon at the Alama Drafthouse. Now this will be going on sale today as part of a set of posters, then later it will be sold individually.

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes by Phantom City Creative. I love this film the most out of the entire series, even though I think the first one was the best written and directed. The poster captures all the key elements: Caesar, Lisa, the Gorilla rebels, and the climactic scene at the end with Breck.

Escape from the Planet of the Apes by Rich Kelly. This artist chose the perfect scene to illustrate, the moment the Apes remove their helmets and reveal to the world that they are not human!

The prints will be sold as a set on Thursday, January 26th for $230. Any remaining individual prints will go on sale on Friday, January 27th. Follow @MondoNews for on sale announcements. Nuff Said!

Barry Smith's Tupenny Conan Portfolio

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

I recently found these scans of Barry Smith's Tupenny Conan Portfolio from 1974 on Heritage Comics auctions. What a great discovery--I always wanted to own this item as a kid but couldn't afford it!

The cover to the portfolio is striking because of the intricate line work on the background with the leaves and vegetation. Conan ought to be completely hidden, but he pops out subtly, due to Smith's mastery with light and shadows. Looking at this I wanted to be a master craftsman like him with a pen. I had a different type of career instead, but just looking at the image again I feel the same way.

Conan hunting through a flatland covered with vines and grassland. This is a great artist who can make you feel something looking at the main character through blades of grass that he painstakingly drew. This reminds me of an illustration used for an advertisement in Savage Tales #2, which I wrote about on Giant-Size Marvel.

You may recognize this illustration, as it was used for the cover and back cover to Marvel Treasury Edition #4 in 1975. You can only really see the fine detail in the original black and white version.

This plate featured Conan on a horse against the backdrop of a sweeping vista. There is a storm brewing in the clouds, in the horse, and Conan is the guy who can master all of it. If you want to see another cool Conan illustration, check out my article on King-Size Conan #1.

I originally thought that I had a pretty good scoop here with these scans. Now I see Cap'n's Comics posted even more scans last year on his site, do check those out when you get a chance! Nuff Said.

Monster Monday: Uncle Creepy by Berni Wrightson

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

I regularly bought all kinds of Warren Magazines in the 70s. When I knew that Bernie Wrightson, the artist behind DC Comics Swamp Thing, was a semi-regular contributor, that meant I kept a sharp lookout for any work by him. Wrightson did great stories for Warren but he also drew the frontispiece illustrations featuring the mascot character, Uncle Creepy!

Uncle Creepy's head sits on top of a book, adorned by a melting candle, in Creepy #68 from 1975. The color works well here on this one. Some of the other inside covers were limited to one or two colors.

Creepy #64 from 1974 featured a more intact Uncle standing by a rotting corpse.

The line work from this illustration in Creepy #75 (1976) is nicely detailed with Wrightson's style. He has a theme going on here, with people losing their heads!

This bicentennial themed illustration from 1976 Creepy #76 features a rare collaboration between Walt Simonson and Wrightson! According to what I read, they were all pals during this period and hung out together frequently. I think this is an interesting blend of their two styles, which I never would have thought to put together.

In looking up assorted facts on this material, I discovered that Dark Horse published a collection last year, Creepy Presents Bernie Wrightson, which contains all of his stories and pinups in one volume. Nuff Said!

Jack Kirby Fourth World Gallery: pinups by Byrne, Simonson, and more!

2012-01-21T11:38:00.000-08:00

Whenever I feel a bit down, the best therapy is always to go explore my long boxes. A couple of weeks ago, I came across the 1996 pin-up special, Jack Kirby Fourth World Gallery!

New Gods assembled by Walt Simonson. I really think Simonson drew my favorite interpretation of these characters after Kirby. Orion of the New Gods was a great series and still holds up to reading today.

Orion by John Byrne. Of course, Mr. Byrne was no slouch at capturing the power cosmic of these Kirby characters as well. Love how he draws Orion coming out of an exploding galaxy here.

Lightray by John Byrne. Magnificent vista of New Genesis in the background! Lightray has to be the most positive character in the history of comics.

Mister Miracle by Steve Lightle. Funny that Lightle resisted the urge to go for a full profile shot and instead drew this image of Scott Free in space. Was this a rejected cover for an earlier series?

Forever People by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding, who do a pretty good job of drawing these timeless hippies alongside the Infinity Man.

Seeing these images makes me feel good about the original incarnations of these characters. I usually like Grant Morrison's work, but I feel his re-imagining of the New Gods in Seven Soldiers was a huge mistake. Even worse were the final fate of the New Gods in Final Crisis. I am sure someone is planning for their return in the New 52 DC Universe. Will it be the classic versions or Morrison's weird take? Let's wait and see. Nuff Said!

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

2012-01-03T08:08:00.001-08:00

I just finished reading Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
as part of our Beyond Reality book club reading group on GoodReads. I definitely thought the premise behind Spin was a great SF concept: the Earth gets wrapped in a membrane which cuts it off from the Sun, satellites, and the stars. As time proceeds normally on Earth, outside the membrane time is accelerating at mind boggling speeds. Aliens, or whoever caused the bubble, seem to have propelled the Earth on the fast track to the end of the solar system.

As a kid I always shuddered to think of the Sun expanding and consuming the Earth. And then I would feel some relief when the teacher said, this won't happen for billions of years! This book taps into that fear and it propelled me through to the end. Several of the concepts that Wilson has created around this are fascinating, involving time displacement, a Martian colony, nanotechnology, etc.

The main narrator is a doctor, Tyler Dupree (swear that name sounds like it came from another novel), who is not a genius but is the best friend of the mercurial genius who helps solve the mystery of the Spin membrane, Jason Lawton. Jason has a twin sister, Diane, who Tyler loves but can't have because he's poor and they are rich. This part of the novel is a good classic structure: an outsider who observes great epic things happening and can tell us all about them in the novel. The Spin event occurs when they are kids and their whole lives are defined by it. Jason becomes the head of an agency that works with Nasa to analyze the Spin membrane and what is happening outside the Earth. Diane becomes involved in a religious cult that sees the apocalypse coming down the horizon. Tyler becomes a doctor and takes a job as Jason's personal physician. The main problem I had with this book, which prevented me from giving it 4 or 5 stars, were these 3 characters. They didn't seem that vibrant to me. Tyler spends decades pining away for Diane, resisting all but one other relationship. Diane seems like an idiot, involved in a stupid cult that almost kills her. Jason is the least well developed, he's just there to be the genius who figures it all out, with no relationships of his own other than the one with his father.

I am still glad I read the book. With cool SF concepts and a sprawling plot that spans decades, I can see why this novel won the Hugo award. Three out of five stars. For more discussion on Spin, check out The Incomparable podcast episode 11 (To Be Continued). They made an interesting comment about how many of the SF concepts in Spin had been previously used in other works. Nuff Said.