Tonight gets a new season kicked off with the early premieres of Vampire Diaries and Nikita on the CW (for more on the new season, check out our Fall Preview Page). And with a new season starting, you know what will follow shortly behind: cancellations. Every year we go through it. That outdated system of the Nielsen ratings indicates that a new or returning show is struggling and the network execs get nervous and pull the trigger on the cancellation order. And Science Fiction and Fantasy shows tend to find themselves on the hit list pretty quickly because they usually cost more to produce and the broadcast networks have repeatedly demonstrated that they do not understand the genre or its fans. And while we can scream about the Nielsen ratings system all we want, the networks continue to stand by it and that continues to provide the leading indicator on whether a show will get the axe. I have been following the ratings on a weekly basis for several years now and have been giving my predictions of a show’s fate based on them and I have had a pretty high success rate at pegging which shows will survive and which ones are in trouble. So now as the season begins, I will give my early predictions on this season’s slate of genre entries. And then each week I will monitor the ratings numbers and adjust my predictions based on how they track. This year’s Cancellation Watch will combine the separate Ratings Results column that I did last year since they both track basically the same things. The ratings for the prior week will be posted each Monday along with my updated Cancellation Alert predictions on a five level scale: Low, Moderate, Medium, Elevated, and High. So if you want to know if your favorite show is in trouble, then tune in each week to see how it is tracking and if you have reason to worry. In the meantime, here are my pre-season predictions:

Shows in Their Final Seasons (Allegedly):
Smallville (CW)
Supernatural (CW)

Cancellation Alert – Low:

Vampire Diaries (CW) – This show gave the struggling CW its biggest hit in years and you know they will do what they can to keep it viable. The only issue will be whether its attention span-challenged young audience has already moved on to the next thing.

Nikita (CW) – This one gets the plum spot following Vampire Diaries and should attract that audience as well as the male viewers who watched Supernatural at this time last year (that one has now moved to Fridays). Count this as one of the safest newcomers this year.

The Walking Dead (AMC) – This one only has a six episode order for its first season, but word is that AMC feels so confident about it that they are on the verge of giving it a second season order. Expect that to come before it debuts October 31st.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network) – As long as George Luca keeps cranking episodes of this show out, the Cartoon Network will continue to air them.

Sanctuary (Syfy) – This one seems to have found a stable audience that should stick with it through another season.

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Cancellation Alert – Moderate:

Fringe (FOX) – Consider this one Low to Moderate, but it really struggled in its Thursday night slot last year. FOX showed patience, but I’m guessing they want to see the numbers improve at least some this year. If the ratings improve by just one or two ticks, it should get a fourth season. But if they go the other way, consider this a bubble show.

Chuck (NBC) – This show lives on the edge and seems to thrive there. And the impressive lineup of guest stars should draw some extra viewers this year. Should NBC’s prospects improve this season and the network’s overall ratings rise, then that might work against Chuck. But if they stay solidly in fourth place, then expect this one to stick around.

Stargate: Universe (Syfy) – The third entry in the Stargate franchise did not deliver the ratings that Syfy expected during its first season, but at least pulled decent enough numbers to get a second season nod. If it falters this year, though, it could be in trouble.

Undercovers (NBC) – This looks like it will provide the light-hearted sort of action/adventure show, with a bit of romance added, that should play well to Prime Time audiences. It’s Wednesday 8 PM EST timeslot seems like somewhat of an odd scheduling decision, though.

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Cancellation Alert – Medium:

The Event (NBC) – This show may be able to grab the people out there looking for something to fill the void that Lost and 24 have left. But serialized shows have not done well of late, so if this falters early it could be a goner.

No Ordinary Family (ABC) – Do people really want another superhero show? Especially one that gives us a live action retread of The Incredibles? It does seem to have a decent cast and it could catch on, but ABC hasn’t had any notable success with Science Fiction and Fantasy shows since Lost.

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Cancellation Alert – Elevated or Higher:

Medium (CBS) – I’ve heard rumors that CBS intends this to be the final season for this show, but have not seen any confirmation. It barely made the cut the last two seasons (getting saved by CBS after the 2008-9 season then getting the nod over Ghost Whisperer last season), so one way or the other this one will almost certainly be gone after its current run.

Human Target (FOX) – I loved this show last year and FOX execs seemed to think favorably of it as well giving it the greenlight for a second season despite its mediocre ratings. But then they move it to Fridays and you have to ask what’s the point? Well, I’m just happy to get thirteen more episodes.

V (ABC) – This series saw a drastic decline in its ratings throughout its first season (though never sinking quite as low as FlashForward). I don’t expect it to turn its numbers around this season and it will likely be thirteen and out for this one.

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Last Season’s Canceled Shows:

Eastwick (ABC), FlashForward (ABC), Ghost Whisperer (CBS), Dollhouse (FOX), Past Life (FOX), Heroes (NBC), Legend of the Seeker (Syndication)

Read Johnny Jay’s Recommendations for Which Shows to Watch and Which Shows to Avoid This Season

Catch Up With Last Season’s Shows on DVD:

By Sam Christopher

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

TW Brown is a good writer. I reviewed another book of his a few months ago, Zomblog, which was an excellent novel written in the form of a diary. That novel began a little before the rising of the dead and continued through to a cliffhanger ending that I really want to see the continuation of someday (hint, TW, hint). I thought the characters in that book were well fleshed out and interesting, although I also thought the story had a bleak outlook on humanity as a whole. An outlook I usually only share completely if I delve too deeply into our political structure, but that’s a story for another time. The point is that Brown knows how to structure a story and keep it moving, along with providing good, believable characterization.

But then we have this book. Dead: The Ugly Beginning is basically a series of vignettes centering on the early days of the zombie rising. It’s not… well, it would be easy to say it’s not as good as Zomblog, but it would be more accurate to say I just liked the other book better. There’s nothing wrong with this book at all, I just liked the one continuous story of the other book better. That’s just a personal preference. This book has good characters and some really interesting situations, I just thought it would have been better if they could have been developed more than the episodic nature of the book allowed. But that’s what we have. I guess my real complaint here is that there is no resolution to any of the “major” vignettes. The smaller, couple page tales are usually resolved in one fashion or another but the longer ones, the ones we go back to, are not. Although at least the guys made it out of their “pilgrimage” to Pittsburgh—Romero’s hometown—alive. Again, this is a personal complaint, having nothing to do with the quality of writing.

I don’t want to give the impression that I didn’t like the book. I did. Very much, actually. My complaints have more to do with not getting enough from the book as opposed to not liking what we did get. I just wish we knew what happened with Steven and Thalia and crew after they narrowly escaped the Army camp massacre, Juan. Mackenzie and Margaret (if the two women didn’t eventually shoot him anyway), Kevin and Mike—two of the boys from the Pittsburgh excursion mentioned above—and whether or not they managed to find the three kidnapped women… Have I piqued your interest? I hope so. This is a book that deserves to be read, and I look forward to anything else this author puts out in the future.

Buy This as an eBook from Amazon.com

By John J. Joex

Book Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars (Highest Rating)
Audio Book Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars (Highest Rating)

I Am Legend is a seminal work in the Zombie sub-genre, even though technically it has no zombies in it.  For those unfamiliar with the book, it came out in 1954 as one of Richard Matheson’s earliest works about a post-apocalyptic world overrun with living and undead vampires.  It has had three film adaptations and it has also inspired a host of books, movies, comics, etc. with similar themes such as George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead.

The book centers around one man, Robert Neville, who survived a plague that has by all appearances wiped out humanity.  This virus has turned all of the living humans into vampires and also caused many of the recently deceased to re-animate as zombie-vampires.  Neville is immune to this virus, apparently because he was bitten by a bat that had the virus though he never succumbed to it.  Now, he spends his days trying to wipe out as many vampires as possible, they are dormant when the sun is up, and his nights fighting back their siege on his fortress.

Even though this was one of Matheson’s earliest works, his writing is well developed and engages the reader.  The book really is a page turner as we follow Neville’s battles with his vampire foes, while also fighting against his own internal demons and the apparent hopelessness of his predicament.  To keep himself from going off the deep end, he decides to research the cause of the plague in an attempt to find a cure and save humanity.  In so doing, Matheson presents a potential scientific explanation to vampirism and suggests that legends of vampires may have been based on actual cases of people infected with this disease that wiped out the human population.

The apocalyptic setting and sense of despair help set the tone of Matheson’s excellent book and have reverberated throughout the sub-genre that I Am Legend has helped inspire, most notably in George Romero’s Dead movies as well as more recent works like 28 Days Later.  Some may quibble that this is more of a vampire novel as opposed to a zombie book, but don’t let that stop you from reading it.  It has plenty of both vampires and zombies and you can easily see where many of the themes of the book carried over to the Zombie genre.  And in any case, this truly ranks as a classic in Science Fiction / Horror literature.

I Am Legend has received three movie treatments.  The first was the low-budget, yet mildly interesting The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price.  The second was the well know 70’s movie Omega Man starring Charleton Heston which diverged significantly from the novel.  The most recent was the big-budget Will Smith vehicle I Am Legend which I have yet to see.

Richard Matheson himself is somewhat of a legend in the Science Fiction and Fantasy field.  In addition to this and several other short stories and novels in the genre, he contributed heavily to the original Twilight Zone and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.  He also contributed to other Science Fiction and Fantasy television shows including the original Star Trek and Boris Karloff’s Thriller.  He also wrote the screenplay, based on his own short story, to the television movie Duel which a young director named Steven Spielberg helmed as his first full length movie.

The audio book version is read by narrator Robertson Dean who does an excellent job of bringing the story to life.  It is available at a reasonable price under $20 online at Barnes and Noble vs. the $50+ price you usually see for books in this format.  Amazon.com no longer carries it as they want you to buy it from their affiliate Audible.com.  The audio book service available through eMusic.com also has it available for download.

So if you have never taken the opportunity to read I Am Legend or if it has just been awhile, I highly suggest picking it up.  It’s a relatively quick read (or listen), and whether you are a fan of the Zombie genre or just a Science Fiction and/or Horror fan in general, this book really delivers.

Buy I Am Legend Now from Barnes and Noble

High Interest:

The Walking Dead (AMC, Debuts Oct 31st) – This series, based on the zombie comic book of the same name, has received a lot of advanced buzz and I just finished reading the first TPB (The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye) that collects the first six issues of the comic (which was a can’t-stop-turning-the-page affair). The advanced trailer for this looks good as well and AMC has already pretty much rubber-stamped a second season for the show.
Readers’ Interest Level: High – 62%, Low – 24%, Medium – 14%

Human Target (FOX, Returns Oct 1s) – In its first season this over-the-top action/adventure romp was just good fun and added a revolving door of genre vets as guest stars to up the ante. Don’t like FOX scheduling it on Fridays and I don’t know how well the new female co-star (Indira Varma) will mesh with the three male leads, but I will still tune in each week.
Readers’ Interest Level: Low – 42%, High – 34%, Medium – 24%

Outcasts (BBC America, Debuts Dec 5th) – This sci fi/western sounds like it will mix elements of Firefly and Earth 2, but should definitely be worth a look. As far as cable channels go, BBC America has been out sci fi-ing Syfy for well over a year now.
Readers’ Interest Level: High – 67%, Medium – 30%, Low – 3%

Fringe (FOX, Returns Sept 23rd) – I’m still on the fence with this show, but I do admit that when it is hitting on all cylinders it really excels. If they can finally steer clear of the X-Files-clone episodes this season and stay focused on the central story arc, this show could work its way into the upper-echelon of genre shows.
Readers’ Interest Level: High – 80%, Medium – 11%, Low – 9%

Supernatural (CW, Returns Sept 24th) – I consider my interest level medium-high on this because I felt like the show fell short of delivering the apocalypse it promised last season and has not really left itself much to work with this year (mostly the CW’s fault for not letting Eric Kripke end it after its fifth season like he wanted). Still, I got to check in on the guys and see what they are up to.
Readers’ Interest Level: Low – 45%, High – 36%, Medium – 19%

The Event (NBC, Debuts Sept 20th) – Another medium-high interest show, NBC’s new conspiracy-theory series is hoping to fill the Lost/24 void this season. I will give it a few episodes, but after wasting my time on Persons Unknown throughout the Summer (which started out promising then went absolutely nowhere), I’m taking a quick exit if this one does not show promise early.
Readers’ Interest Level: Medium – 36%, Low – 36%, High – 28%

Stargate: Universe (Syfy, Returns Sept 28th) – Yet another at medium-high on the interest scale, I loved this show when it first started last year, but it really began to meander and lose steam as the season progressed. I’m hoping it can return to form with the new season, though.
Readers’ Interest Level: High – 66%, Medium – 21%, Low – 13%

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Medium Interest:

Chuck (NBC, Returns Sept 20th) – I’m not a Chuck fanatic, but this show is always good for some light-hearted fun. Plus, Season 4 has lined up an impressive slate of genre-friendly guests stars like Linda Hamilton, Harry Dean Stanton, and Lou Ferrigno, so there should be plenty of reasons to tune in.
Readers’ Interest Level: High – 46%, Low – 41%, Medium – 13%

Smallville (CW, Returns Sept 24th) – I have never followed this show previously and have not been too impressed when I have sampled some episodes (though I liked last season’s “Absolute Justice” special which brought the JSA into the fold). But this season (Number 10 and allegedly the last) will pit Clark and his compadres against Darkseid, so I got to tune in for a few eps at least and seen how that pans out!
Readers’ Interest Level: Low – 49%, High – 27%, Medium – 24%

No Ordinary Family (ABC, Debuts Sept 28th) – Ho hum, another superhero show and this one looks like a small screen derivative of The Incredibles. I will at least give it a shot, though.
Readers’ Interest Level: Low – 53%, Medium – 32%, High – 15%

$#*! My Dad Says (CBS, Debuts Sept 22nd) – Yeah, it’s not a Science Fiction show, but you know you want to tune in to see what sort of shit a cranky old William Shatner will be spouting.
Readers’ Interest Level: Low – 51%, Medium – 30%, High – 19%

Undercovers (NBC, Debuts Sept 22nd) – This marginal genre entry comes to us from J.J. Abrams and he returns to the spy/espionage territory he previously covered in Alias. Consider this one medium-low on the interest scale.
Readers’ Interest Level: Low – 61%, Medium – 24%, High – 15%

Nikita (CW, Debuts Sept 9th) – Another marginal genre entry with spy/espionage elements, this time from the CW. Medium-low interest, just like Undercovers.
Readers’ Interest Level: Low – 40%, Medium – 35%, High – 25%

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Low Interest:

V (ABC, Return date not set) – I realize that V had (slightly) better numbers than FlashForward, but it was a much worse show. This one should never have received a second season order.
Readers’ Interest Level: Low – 45%, High – 30%, Medium – 25%

Sanctuary (Syfy, Returns Sept 28th) – This could have really been a great show and it had promise during its first season. But it just keeps cranking out cheesy, formulaic, uninteresting episodes.
Readers’ Interest Level: Low – 44%, High – 40%, Medium – 16%

Vampire Diaries (CW, Returns Sept 9th) – It may have given the CW its biggest hit in years, but it appeals to a completely different age-group than the one I fall in.
Readers’ Interest Level: Low – 82%, High – 10%, Medium – 8%

Medium (CBS, Returns Sept 24th) – A lot of people think highly of this show, but it has never won me over. Not a bad show, just not one that interests me.
Readers’ Interest Level: Low – 81%, Medium – 17%, High – 2%

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network, Returns Oct 8th) – When this one turned out better than expected at the start of its first season, I had high hopes for it. But it never has done much since then, cranking out mostly indistinguishable, formulaic episodes.
Readers’ Interest Level: Low – 54%, High – 24%, Medium – 22%

You see, Marvel entered into a licensing agreement back then with Toei Company that allowed for Japanese adaptations of several of their better known comic book characters. The Japanese company started with Spider-Man and produced a 41 episode series with the character whose costume and powers closely resembled the Marvel version, but the similarities quickly diverged from there. This web crawler has alien origins and he gets his powers from his 400 year old “brother” from the planet Spider (where else?) and must fight the sinister Professor Monster who commands the Iron Cross Army. Along with his customary powers, Spider Man has at his disposal the giant Shogun Warrior-like robot “Marveller”, a super-high tech car, and a vast assortment of other useful little gadgets.

The series quickly heads into Power Rangers type absurdity with episode titles like “To the Flaming Hell: See the Tears of the Snake Woman”, “The Hero’s Shining Hot Blood”, and “From the Unexplored Amazon: Here Comes the Mummified Beautiful Woman”. It’s all great cheesy fun and definitely worth seeing as Marvel is currently streaming several episodes of the show on their website. And we can only hope this one will get a good DVD treatment before too long as it would be great viewing late at night with a group of friends and plenty of alcoholic beverages!

The Box Office tallies above reflect the four day holiday weekend.  Note that these numbers are estimates of the weekend performance and the dollar amounts and position ranks will change slightly when the final tally comes in. You can see the full Box Office results from the weekend at Box Office Mojo.

Check Out Our Fall/Winter 2010 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Preview at This Link

Great Stories from SF/Fantasy History in Comics:

First, there’s the continuing saga of Ender Wiggin, the hero of the seminal novel Ender’s Game, in Marvel’s Orson Scott Card: Ender in Exile #3. Here we see Ender and Valentine still on course for Shakespeare Colony, with all the scheming and plotting surrounding the future governor of that colony. Alessandra listens to her mother and nearly ends her friendship with Ender, while her mother, of course, is also scheming to get hitched to Admiral Morgan. They’re playing both sides of the fence, although Alessandra only peripherally gets that. Then there’s Admiral Morgan himself, with his plot to take power on Shakespeare, usurping it from a kid he thinks can’t possibly be up to the task. He thinks this kid just can’t be devious enough and hard enough to take true power and control of a colony. Boy, is the admiral in for a surprise! Adapted by Aaron Johnston with Pop Mhan handling the artwork, this is another fantastic chapter in the Ender chronicles.

Then there’s the final chapter in the Joe R. and John L. Lansdale-led, Kevin Colden drawn IDW adaptation of Robert Bloch’s fantastic tale Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper #3. Wow! What a great story! And I never have read it before. I guess I was thinking about that one for Dangerous Visions. Hollis and Jenny talk to John about Eustace. Was that cryptic enough? This is another great tale that I really hate to say too much about because you really should read it, especially if you haven’t read the original story. It may be too late now to get the first couple issues but there’s a trade coming, I have no doubt. If you didn’t get this series, get the compilation. Or you could call me and I could read it to you the way Andy used to read bedtime stories to Otis the Drunk: “Fe Fi Fo Fum”, said the giant. “I smell the blood of a Englishman.” Poor Jack—he didn’t know what to do… Sorry, that scene just stuck in my head a day or two ago and won’t leave. Anyway, read this story first chance you get—Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper not Jack and the Bean Stalk. You won’t be disappointed.

Finally, we have the ultimate installment of IDW’s adaptation Bram Stoker’s Death Ship: The Last Voyage of the Demeter #4. This was an excellent story when set to art and comics movement. In this final chap we get to see the captain, as last man aboard the ship, do his best to confound the monster that has beset his crew. The end is touching, and even the captain’s confrontation with the demon is interesting in its own way, with a hint of dreaminess and subtle sadness. There was something profound in this story and this adaptation that punched through the four-color vulgarity that permeates this uniquely American art form. Something… beautiful that is difficult to quantify. Writer Gary Gerani and artist Stuart Sayger have done a magnificent job with this book. If you haven’t been getting it two things: One, I told ya SO! And two, get the TPB!

The Gods of Marvel:

Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente wrap up the story of Vali, the Prince of Mischief, trying for ultimate power in Prince of Power #4. This wasn’t a bad story but Amadeus Cho’s secret plan for stopping Thor from stopping Cho was lame. And I mean extremely lame. “You can’t hurt me with lightning because I’m holding a capacitor”? Come ON! I loved the whole thing with Delphyne talking to Athena and working her way out of the clutches of the Olympus Group, and I, of course, loved the ending, which wasn’t at all unexpected. Well, other than it being the springboard to another storyline starring… well, that would be telling. I also enjoyed Thor’s likening Cho to Loki; I thought that was very good storytelling and also very true in Marvel’s interpretation of Loki and their characterization of Cho himself. Anyway, very good and a lot of fun. Other than the “capacitor” thing. Just lame.

Thor walks through Hell to find the sword that Loki forged in Thor #613. More, Tyr, the doubting God of War, and Hela, the resigned Goddess of the Dead, stage a holding action against the Disir while Thor tries to find the one weapon the Disir fear. Meanwhile, back in Asgard, Kelda pines away for Bill and this leads to her having some less than happy thoughts about the current ruler of the realm. And this leads me to wonder about Heimdall. He’s been keeping an eye on Kelda, knowing her grief, and I’m wondering how he doesn’t know what she’s planning. Of course, it could be that the intrigues and privacies of his fellow gods have long ago caused Heimdall to “tune out” much of what he would normally hear and see so he can concentrate most of his abilities on the performance of his duties at the end of Bifrost. However that turns out to be explained—if writer Kieron Gillen thinks to explain it at all—I am looking forward to the fruition of this particular thread. I don’t even mind if they drag it out a few issues. I think it’ll be worth it. Back to Thor’s quest through Mephisto’s realm: I loved the way he answered the riddle at the beginning, I loved the way he figured out the whole thing with his mother, and I looooooooved the ending of the quest. I had a feeling, though, that would be the way it ended. I also loved what Mephisto said to him, too. And then there was Tyr’s screwing up of his courage in the face of a certain fate that is worse than death. This is just more of the excellence we’ve come to expect from this writer on this book. And Richard Elson’s artwork, while lacking the majesty that characterized the Djurdjevic days on the book, is very well done and brings out more of the human side to the gods.

Bob Layton’s ending to his own Hercules saga comes to us in the pages of Hercules: Twilight of a God #4. As final issues go this one is a doozy. Herc figures out a way to stop the Galactus Black Hole from devouring the entire Andromeda Galaxy, while the grandchildren meet the leader of the terrorists. We also see the Recorder’s new look and Skyppi finally figures out what he wants “deathlock” himself into. There’s so much here, so much that looks so cosmic and so cool, with new characters and old characters in new forms… I loved it. I loved this whole series but this ish especially was just so much fun to read. It reminded me of the earlier Herc series from Layton, and the graphic novel. The end was just perfect, too, for this kind of story. It made me want to see more although we most probably never will. And that’s too bad. Mr. Layton, Ron Lim, I salute you both. If you need encouragement you definitely have my vote for another series, too.

And then there’s Thor For Asgard #1. This out of continuity story seems to take its cue from the Reigning storyline that basically killed the last Thor series, the one before the current one. Here we have Thor on the throne of Asgard and Balder dead, Asgard in the middle of its worst winter in godly memory (so much for global warming) and Odin gone to Midgard to try and find an answer. We also see the gods trying to keep the Jotuns at bay and… well, this was good, and I will check out the next ish, but it’s nowhere near the fun that Thor Mighty Avenger is. This is written by Robert Rodi with decent though unexceptional art by Simone Bianchi.

Invaders #1 (of 5)

Due out Sept 8th from Marvel Comics

TFAW.com Product Description: The greatest super heroes of World War II blaze into action-this time in the modern world! For the first time in decades, the original Invaders are alive and active at the same time! But what mysterious force has drawn them all together…and how does it relate to the darkest moment in Invaders history, an event so horrifying it threatens all life on Earth today?

Featuring: Captain America! The Sub-Mariner! The original Human Torch and Toro! The Golden Age Vision! Spitfire! Union Jack! And Steve Rogers!

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Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities and the Ghastly Fiend of London #1

Due out Sept 8th from Dark Horse

TFAW.com Product Description: The world believes the notorious outlaw Billy the Kid was killed by Pat Garrett, but in reality the Kid is very much alive, the hired gun of Fineas Sproule’s traveling spectacle of biological curiosities–or “freaks,” as Billy calls them. In their latest adventure, Billy and crew confront their most vicious challenge yet: Jack the Ripper!

In London to visit a true Elephant Man, Billy, Sproule, and the company learn about the Whitechapel murders and the fact that disfigured people are being blamed for the killings and targeted for mob justice. As the group applies themselves to the case, Sproule looks for information at every bar in the city, while Billy tags along to drink whisky and flirt with prostitutes at each one-which might be a better way to find the Ripper than he realizes.

* Includes Goon backups by Eric Powell!

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Star Trek Burden Of Knowledge #4

Due out Sept 8th from IDW

TFAW.com Product Description: After answering a call for help from a most unexpected source, Captain Kirk and the Enteprise return to the site of a previous mission, where they make a shocking discovery, one that may for James T. Kirk to make a decision like no other!

It all comes together here! From the creative team behind Spock: Reflections.

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Weird War Tales (One Shot)

Due out Sept 8th from DC Comics

TFAW.com Product Description: Three sensational short stories from three exceptional creative teams! Whether it’s soldiers risen from the grave, horror beneath the sea or battles among dinosaurs, war has never been weirder than this!

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Also, Check out this Week’s 1 for $1 Selections from Dark Horse:

1 for $1: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

1 for $1: Magnus, Robot Fighter

Plus, More New and Recent Releases in Comics from TFAW.com

All Star Trek fans know Jonathan Frakes as the person who scowled his way (with and without the beard)  through seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation as Commander William Riker and who also played the character in the TNG movies (and even showed up in the final episode of Enterprise). But what, you may wonder, has happened to Frakes ever since he took off his Starfleet uniform?

He has since decided to go behind the camera and has built up an impressive resume of film and television directing gigs. He got his start with his directing career when TNG was still running as he helmed eight episodes of that series. He then went on to direct two of the TNG movies, First Contact and Insurrection, as well as several episodes of Star Trek: DS9 and Star Trek: Voyager. He has also crossed over to other genre shows having directed one episode each of Dollhouse and the recent remake of V, and he also helmed three episodes of NBC’s Summer conspiracy series Persons Unknown. In addition to his directing, he has done some voice work in animation, most notably on the popular Gargoyles animated series that ran throughout the mid-90’s where he voiced the character David Xanatos. He has also hosted the popular paranormal anthology series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction (echoing Leonard Nimoy’s gig on In Search Of) as well as the History Channel series That’s Impossible.

A few more choice tidbits about Frakes’ varied career: In the 1970’s he worked for Marvel Comics and appeared at conventions and other PR events dressed as Captain America. Also, TNG fans will remember that Riker played the trombone from time to time during the series, and Frakes actually knows how to play the instrument from this college marching band days (“I remember this one time at Starfleet Band Camp . . . “). He put this skill to use appearing on the album Hoist by Phish which came out in 1994. So don’t fret for Frakes, because he has remained quite busy since retiring from Starfleet and you just may see his name in the credits as director of an episode of one of this season’s upcoming television shows.

Axiom’s Edge Featured Columns:

The Must-Watch List: The best of the best in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror genres.

The Anti-Blockbusters: Movies that bucked the Hollywood Blockbuster trend and still managed to deliver a superior viewing experience.