Sexual harrassment at science fiction conventions

Yesterday Elise Matheson - someone whom I have never met - posted online about her experience reporting sexual harassment at Wiscon, an American science fiction convention. It's incredibly bold and powerful reading, and anyone who attends science fiction conventions should go and read it. In response to Elise's post, Alisa Krasnostein - somebody I have met and for whom I have an enormous amount of respect - posted about her own experiences with this sort of awful behaviour. I applaud and support both women for speaking out about this. I needs to be spoken about.

I love science fiction conventions, one annual convention in particular, and will probably keep attending them for the rest of my life. They're not just an event to me, or a gathering of friends. To a large extent it feels like family; people I may only see that one weekend for the entire year, but with whom I immediately pick up where we left off as if time wasn't an issue. They mean a lot to me, these conventions. They have a big problem, however, and we all need to fix it.

The Pull List: 26 June 2013

The JL3K Superman (design by Howard Porter)

Since the New 52 launched in September 2011 DC have periodically introduced new monthlies to replace books that weren't selling very well. It's been a real mixture of promising ideas and boneheaded cock-ups (really, DC? You thought a Vibe comic would sell?), but overall I've really appreciated the company's attempts to push their lines out into new characters, or even bringing back half-forgotten cult favourites like Amethyst.

The sales on these new books generally aren't there, however, and it's difficult not to notice a pattern developing among DC's new and upcoming monthlies. Earlier this month they released Superman Unchained, a third monthly Superman book (the fourth if you count the out-of-continuity Adventures of Superman, and the sixth if you count Superboy and Supergirl), and this week they released Batman/Superman (which is the seventh Superman title and the fifteenth Batman franchise monthly) and Larfleeze (the fifth Green Lantern monthly). On the horizon are Justice League 3000, a Legion of Super-Heroes replacement that becomes the fourth Justice League franchise book, Sinestro Corps, a sixth Green Lantern book, and Superman/Wonder Woman, a second Wonder Woman book and also an eighth Superman book.

Basically this means that - assuming we only look at New 52 books - the Batman, Superman, Justice League and Green Lantern titles will account for more than 50 per cent of DC's entire superhero output.

Launching a new title is hard, I get that. I applaud DC for giving chances to new properties like The Green Team (reviewed below) and The Movement. I don't think expanding existing books and lines is the answer, however; it runs a risk of cannibalising sales and damaging their properties (six monthly Green Lantern books? Really?). A case in point: I really enjoyed the first issue of Batman/Superman (also reviewed below): can I afford to pay another US$3.99 a month for another Batman book when I could easily spend that money on buying Lazarus (also below)?

What do you think? How many books for a character is too many books?

This was a bizarrely packed week for comics, so under the cut please find (take a deep breath) reviews of All-New X-Men, All-Star Western, Aquaman, Batman/Superman, Daredevil, Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time, The Flash, The Green Team, Hawkeye, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Journey into Mystery, Lazarus, The Massive, Star Wars Legacy, The Wake, X-Men and Young Avengers. (Not reviewed: Prophet, as I'm already one issue behind and read that book digitally on a tablet I keep forgetting to recharge.)

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys: "Hercules in the Underworld"

In his fourth TV movie adventure, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) investigates a crack in the earth that seems to lead directly to the Underworld. When his wife Deianeira is threatened, Hercules must bargain with the God Hades to save her life.

I've been rather tardy in reviewing this TV movie, because it's the worst kind of thing a reviewer can write about: something average. It's not as good as "Hercules and the Circle of Fire", and is certainly much better than "Hercules and the Amazon Women", but on its own merits it just kind of hangs there in an awkward fashion - too poor to recommend but too good to condemn. It's just... it is what it is.

Under the Dome: "Pilot"

Bless Australia's Ten Network for arranging to broadcast Under the Dome in this country less than a day after it's US broadcast: it's been obvious for years that this is the best strategy to combat online piracy, yet for the most part Australia's networks have resisted the urge to do this. I think this was the first full hour of commercial television I have sat through since 24 ended.

Under the Dome is a 13-episode adaptation of Stephen King's science fiction novel, in which a small American town is mysteriously enclosed within an impenetrable dome and cut off from the rest of the world. While key residents of the town look for a way out or a means of destroying the dome, some begin to use the isolation to their advance and others begin to slide into a pit of madness and murder. The series is produced by King alongside Steven Spielberg, while the head writer (and the writer of this pilot) is Brian K. Vaughan of Saga and Y: The Last Man fame.

For the most part this pilot is very, very good. It does have a few poor elements, and we'll get to those in a moment.

Cool World: Shek O

Hong Kong is a crazily busy city, and it often doesn't take long there for the average visitor to start craving a bit of piece of quiet.

Last October I was delighted to visit Shek O, which was - in mid-morning on a weekday - delightfully peaceful and quiet. It's a seaside village on the south-east corner of Hong Kong Island, and has pretty much all the open air cafes, corner shops and deckchair vendors you would expect from a seaside village. It's also got a lovely view of the South China Sea.

I didn't go swimming - to be honest, any city where they recommend you check the paper for daily pollutant levels before jumping into the ocean is probably not a city where it's worth going for a swim. For the record, the Hong Kong SAR government rates the beach quality as "Grade 2", which is pretty much average as it's a three-point scale. The beach is fitted with a shark net.

While I didn't try swimming, I did have an explore over the rocks: you can see them in the photograph above and they're populated with a charming species of colourful blue crab (all of whom moved far too quickly to photograph.

Bodacious Space Pirates: "The Odette II Leaves Port"

Marika and Chiaki fend off the hackers from taking over the Odette II's systems, then take their yachting examination and finally set off with their class on a sail around Tau Ceti.

You're possibly waiting for a "and suddenly they are attacked by pirates", or somesuch; certainly I spent most of this episode waiting for the exciting action to kick in. It doesn't. This is an oddly sedate episode, spending its time on the characters in a more relaxed setting rather than filling the screen with explosions and chases. It isn't bad, it's just a bit unexpected. With another 23 episodes to go, it's probably a smart idea to ensure the audience really do know who the characters are and what they're like.

Who50: "Remembrance of the Daleks"

Who50 counts down to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who by reviewing my favourite episodes and serials over the history of the programme, counting down from #50 to #1. Today, #19: "Remembrance of the Daleks", a 1988 four-part serial written by Ben Aaronovitch and directed by Andrew Morgan.

I always found it funny that Doctor Who's 25th season featured an officially declared 25th anniversary story, "Silver Nemesis", that featured silly Elizabethan time travellers, a talking statue, elderly Nazis and a very small-scale Cyberman invasion of Windsor, and in the same season but not representing the 25th anniversary, was this outstanding four-part serial featuring the return of the Daleks, fresh questions about the Doctor's past and true identity, UNIT-style action and a period setting in Coal Hill Secondary School where Doctor Who started all the way back in 1963.

Enterprise: "The Crossing"

The Enterprise is overtaken at warp speed and captured inside a massive alien spacecraft. There they encounter a mysterious species of non-corporeal life forms capable of temporarily possessing human bodies, while the human consciousness detaches and experiences a paradisaical life beyond their own physical form. Commander Tucker wants everybody on the ship to try the experience - but Captain Archer suspects that all is not as it seems.

And, of course, all is not as it seems, which means I suppose that things are as they seem since we'd never expect the aliens to be entirely benevolent - otherwise it would make for a pretty boring episode. Instead this is a tightly written, tense little thriller as the Enterprise is gradually taken over by an alien intelligence and there doesn't seem to be a thing Archer can do about it.