by Alex Dueben

“I wanted it to be the kind of book that I love to read”
– G. Willow Wilson

G Willow Wilson first made a name for herself in comics in 2007 when the graphic novel Cairo which she wrote was published by Vertigo. It made quite a splash, combining fantasy and realism in an attempt to capture life in Egypt’s capital city. She followed it up with the series Air, which was illustrated by her Cairo collaborator M.K. Perker. Her other comics work includes Superman, The Outsiders, Vixen, and most recently Mystic. She’s also published nonfiction in many places including The Atlantic Monthly and The New York Times. In 2010 her memoir The Butterfly Mosque, was published about her move after college to Cairo where she met her future husband and came to fall in love with the country.

Her new book, Alif the Unseen, is her first novel. It tells the story of a hacker in an unnamed Arab Gulf country, and involves the jinn, a battle with the state security services overseen by “The Hand,” the nature of storytelling, the power of the internet and climaxes in a revolution. It’s also a book that was written before The Arab Spring erupted last year. We caught up with Wilson and spoke about the book and the current political climate in the Middle East following the Egyptian Presidential election.

Read our exclusive interview with G. Willow Wilson on SuicideGirls.com.

by Lee Camp

We already treat war like it’s some kind of game without real world consequences. So why not take it that next step? Introducing “War: The Gameshow!” If you’re the last to die, you win a camouflage Snuggie! Hosted by funnyman Howie Mandel!

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by A.J. Focht

Following the tremendous success Joss Whedon’s The Avengers found in theaters, Whedon has been signed on to write and direct the second film. Even more exciting, Whedon is helping develop the unnamed ABC television series set in the Marvel universe. The top current theories as to what show might be are either the Hulk show or a spy series based on S.H.I.E.L.D.

Thor: The Dark World is set to release on November 8, 2013. Aside from incorporating the Dark Elves, not much is known about the storyline. Former Dr. Who Christopher Eccleston has been cast as one of the film’s villains, and the current rumor mill suggests he will be the king of the Dark Elves. According to Rene Russo, Thor and Loki’s mother, Frigga, will also have a larger role in the movie.

Marvel’s got a lot of movies in the works, and the next new original project is going to be Guardians of the Galaxy. Three-time Black List writer Chris McCoy has been hired to pen the script. Guardians of the Galaxy will be the cinema premier for several of Marvel’s lesser known characters. The announced cast of heroes includes: Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Groot, and Rocket Raccoon. The movie is scheduled in theaters in August 2014.

Marvel and Fox Studios have been working trade deals all week. The original offer consisted of extending Fox’s rights to Daredevil on the condition that they let Disney/Marvel take back Galactus from Fantastic Four. Fox has decided to turn down the offer and they are talking about letting the rights revert to Disney, unless the home of the Mickey Mouse is interested in co-financing a Daredevil movie.

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises recently hit theaters, but that hasn’t stopped Warner Bros. from thinking about the next Batman reboot. The Batman reboot is rumored to take flight just four years from now in 2016. Thought to be titled The Batman, it will take place in the Justice League universe of DC’s planned 2015 Justice League movie. The Batman won’t be an origins story, but instead will follow Batman’s second year of crime fighting.

The long awaited World of Warcraft movie has gained some recent movement. Sam Raimi recently confirmed he would not be directing as has been suggested as far back as 2009. Writer Charles Leavitt has been hired on to direct the script. There is no mention of release dates or cast lists, but this bit of information at least lets us know the project isn’t dead.

Speaking of movies we haven’t heard about for a while, Bryan Singer’s Battlestar Galactica film is also still on the table. The last big news was that John Orloff had been brought in to write the movie, now Singer has confirmed he is looking through Orloff’s script revisions. Singer didn’t have much more to say other than “it’s very cool” and that the movie would exist “quite well between the Glen Larson and Ron Moore universes.”

The ground breaking 48-frame release of The Hobbit is actually going to be quite limited. Warner Bros. might be convinced that high-frame rates are the way to the future, but their first high-frame release won’t even make it to all major cities. This won’t be their last chance though. Not only does The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey have one sequel already planned, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, but there is the possibility of up to two more sequels. New Line has registered two potential movie titles: The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The first Hobbit is set to release on December 14, 2012, and the second a year later on December 13, 2013.

by Alex Dueben

“It was bitter for all of us when Brandon Lee was killed”
– John Shirley

John Shirley may not be a household name, but for three decades he’s been an incredibly influential and prolific writer. He was one of the most important early writers in the movement that would later be called cyberpunk, and William Gibson and others have paid tribute to his influence. Shirley’s novel City Come A-Walkin’ and his later trilogy A Song Called Youth – which has recently been re-released in a single volume omnibus edition – remain among two of the best cyberpunk works ever published. Shirley is also an award winning horror and fantasy writer perhaps best known for novels like Demons, Bleak History, and Dracula in Love, and short story collections like Heatseeker and In Extremis: The Most Extreme Short Stories of John Shirley.

A singer/songwriter who’s fronted a number of bands and has written lyrics for bands including Blue Oyster Cult, Shirley is also a screenwriter who’s worked in film and television. He was the original writer on the movie The Crow and has written episodes of TV shows including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Profit, “VR.5, Poltergeist: Legacy, Batman Beyond, and The Real Ghostbusters.

Shirley’s newest project is The Crow: Death and Rebirth, a comic miniseries released by IDW, the second issue of which has just been released. Shirley spoke with SG over e-mail to talk about his return to the concept of The Crow, which also marks his return to cyberpunk.

Read our exclusive interview with John Shirley on SuicideGirls.com.

by Lee Camp

It all seems to be coming together into one. 90% of our media is owned by only six corporations. Every movie is about a super hero, and we act like the President is the only lawmaker who matters. How much further can things condense? Are we headed towards a cultural singularity? An end point?

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by Daniel Robert Epstein

“Every good director makes his actor think every idea was his own creation.”
– Jeremy Irons

Jeremy Irons is best known for starring in the David Cronenberg film, Dead Ringers. But of course that was back in 1988, now Jeremy Irons is transporting us even farther back in time by starring in The Merchant of Venice which is directed by Michael Radford. Irons plays Antonio to Al Pacino’s Shylock.

Read our exclusive interview with Jeremy Irons on SuicideGirls.com.

by A.J. Focht

A benefit in aid of the Aurora shooting victims is being put together by All C’s Collectibles, a local comic shop which is not far from the theater where the tragic event took place. There has been a tremendous outpour of support to help get the event off the ground. It will be held over two days on August 25th and 26th, and will include a silent auction and in store appearances by several fantastic comic creators. Many amazing supporters have stepped up and made donations towards the silent auction, including most of the major comic companies.

DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, POW Entertainment, Top Cow Comics and many more have all made contributions. There have been some fantastic donations so far including a signed Amazing Spider-Man movie poster from Stan Lee, and a poster and guitar donated and signed by Scott Ian from Anthrax. Several comic artists have also given original artworks for the auction. These incredible items and more will be auctioned off on Saturday, August 25 at 6:30 PM. The silent auction will be located at a donated space in the Embassy Suites. All the proceeds from the auction will go to the Alex Sullivan Fund and the Aurora Victims Relief Fund.

Many prominent comic writers and artists have agreed to come out for an in-store signing on Sunday, August 26. Comic icon Steve Niles, author of 30 Days of Night, Dark Days, Criminal Macabre, and many more, will be in attendance. Dark Horse Comics legend and creator of Hellboy, Mike Mignola has been confirmed. Writer of the current The Invincible Iron Man run, Matt Fraction will also be joining, as well as All-Star Western artist Mortitat. More writers and artists have been in contact with the benefit and there are more appearances to be announced over the coming weeks.

Aurora Rise has begun to spread far beyond the city limits of Aurora, Colorado. There has been an overwhelming interest across the comic community to extend the event to future conventions and throughout other cities. So far, there is talk of branches at Dragon Con in Chicago, and even in the UK. There will also likely be a second event held in Aurora at a later date, probably mid-September, to accommodate more artists and writers who could not make it out for the first benefit signing. Volunteers associated with Denver Comic Con have set up Aurora Rise on Facebook, Twitter, and with its own website. They are currently working on setting up the infrastructure to expand the charity program through the Community First Foundation.

Related Posts:
Back Row Perspective Part 1: An Aurora Theater Survivor’s Message To The Media
Back Row Perspective Part 2: An Aurora Theater Survivor’s Message To The Politicians
Back Row Perspective Part 3: An Aurora Theater Survivor’s Message To The Online Community