Book Reviews: The Book Of Alien And Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual

It has been said that when I get my teeth into something, I just don't know how to unhinge my jaw and let it go to live its life properly. Let's just presuppose for one moment that Ridley Scott's game-changing sci-fi flick Alien was one of those things I've spent the better part of thirty years clamped down on and obsessing over. Space Jockey! Derelict ship! What was that that? A distress signal OR a warning? GAH!

Anyway... This may be the reason why I shot directly to the moon as if there were rocket boosters attached to my ass when the Alien books arrived via UPS yesterday.

In my sweaty little hands I held The Book Of Alien by Paul Scanlon and Michael Gross and Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual by Lee Brimmicombe-Wood. These are two very different but equally compelling takes on every minute detail you could ever hope to read about the making of the original film and the inner workings of the Colonial Marines from James Cameron's sequel Aliens.

The Book Of Alien is a behind-the-scenes look at the development, design, and creative genius that went into crafting the original Alien film with preliminary sketches, photos from the set, and talks with key people (H.R. Giger and Ridley Scott, just to name a few). Because the movie was and is so visually stunning, it's a treat to see the highly realistic and haunting images that eventually made it to your local movie theater to scare the crap out of you. I will tell you that you should be eternally grateful that some of Giger's original concepts and creations were not used or toned down a bit for whatever reason. It's truly the stuff of nightmares.

The Book Of Alien is an absolute must for everyone who ever had heartburn and secretly wondered if they were going to reenact the chestburster scene at the dinner table with Mom and Dad.

For true die-hards and Cameron fans, there is Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual. Ah, the US Marines. Is there anything they can't do? Why, funny you should ask: they got their asses kicked pretty hard on LV-426 thanks to the diabolical dealings of that shady Weyland-Yutani Corporation.

So, nearly every single person who saw the almighty James Cameron's fast-paced and action-packed sequel to the original Alien loved the high-capacity futuristic firearms and kick-ass attitude of the doomed soldiers on a "bug hunt." This book gives you an in-depth look at the technology, weaponry, and vehicles that this futuristic version of our own men in uniform might use when they make the jump to space. We're talking detailed diagrams, schematics, explanations, and photos. Nothing is forgotten.

Even with all this and the smarts of the unit dispatched to check out a colony planet riddled with Xenomorphs, the end result was horrific. The only way to be sure is to take off and nuke the sight from orbit.

Book Review: Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion

It's not fair for me to review of a book containing essays about geektastic entertainment mastermind Joss Whedon's contributions to pop culture.

There's really no way for me to be objective about this collection because I'm an unabashed Whedonite. Think überfan.

In 1997, I sat down and watched my first episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, mainly because it was Saturday afternoon, I was home, and I didn't want to go jogging. I watched an episode about a cheerleader who beat the crapski out of a gang of vampires, all while being sarcastic and super funny the whole time. Ok, I thought. Clever. I like clever. Then I watched a few more episodes and realized that this quirky little horror/action/comedy was also extremely well-written, and dripping with pathos. I quickly became a major Buffy fan.

Then a couple years later, an Angel fan. Then Firefly, winner of the Cancelled Too Soon Award. Then during Hollywood's writer's strike, someone pointed me towards Dr. Horrible on YouTube. Even the disjointed Dollhouse enthralled me. Hell, I even followed Whedon into the world of comic books. And of course last month I was all over The Avengers, Whedon's most recent writing/directing film success. So truly, I'm not the most objective person to review a book devoted to all things Joss.

Dividing Whedon's career one iconic creation at a time, Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion (Titan Books) taps a roster of very professorial-sounding writers to wax intellectual about their favorite show, character, or storyline. Most of the contributors have PhDs. The essay titles themselves sound pretty pretentious, I have to admit: "Buffy And Dollhouse: Visions Of Female Empowerment And Disempowerment." "The Death Of Utopia Firefly And The Return To Human Realism In TV Sci-Fi." "Heroic Humanism And The Humanistic Heroism In Joss Whedon's Shows." There are essays on Feminism, Masculinism, Religious Studies, and Psychology. Some are accessible for those of us who – ahem – are more used to reading Cliff's Notes for class. Others are a bit more dense.

The table of contents sounds like required reading for the coolest course on campus, but you need to enroll willingly to enjoy the book. If you already worship at the altar of Whedon, you'll love this stuff. You'll get a kick out of seeing how highbrow intellectual types dissect minor characters and plot minutiae that you and I could totally identify in a Whedon Geek-Off. If this isn't your pop culture area, this won't work for you. The Complete Companion isn't a primer meant to introduce you to the Whedonverse. It's for those of us who already live there.

From Deadites To Zombies: Our Interview With Dana Fredsti

I recently had a chance to read Dana Fredsti's Plague Town, which I really enjoyed. Dana's resume is pretty great: as an actress with a background in stage combat, she was an assistant armorer on Sam Raimi's Army Of Darkness, and as a writer, she's written some sexy books like What Women Really Want In Bed and Secret Seductions. She's got a vast knowledge of pop culture and zombies, and all this really informs her latest work, Plague Town. Dana was kind enough to answer a few questions for us here at Culture Brats.

Hi Dana, I read the book and really enjoyed it. Thanks so much for agreeing to do this interview!
Hi there, and thanks for having me as your guest. I'm delighted you enjoyed my book! You know just what to say right off the bat. :-)

I did some digging on your Goodreads author page and noticed that you have a previous title, Ashley Drake, Zombie Hunter (A Plague On All Houses) that looks really similar to Plague Town, but is listed as a "zombie romance." What led you to essentially rewrite the story as a more straight-up horror story?
Well, the Ravenous Romance eBook originally had more horror/gore in it, but it was deemed too icky for romance audiences so it was taken out in the final edit before being released. All the "interludes" from either the zombies' or victims' point of view were removed. When the series sold to Titan, I took out some of the more overt romance novel tropes and added more horrific elements back in. We wanted Plague Town to appeal to fans of both paranormal romance and hardcore zombie/horror readers so... hopefully it worked!

It's easy to understand why vampires are so very popular: there's a built-in danger and sex appeal in the very foundation of the myth. Why do you think zombie stories hold so much appeal?
Well, I've liked zombies since I first saw Dawn Of The Dead (the original) on the big screen the day it was released back in the... well, let's just say back in the mists of time. :-) I think part of their appeal has to do with the whole "wouldn't it be fun to be able to raid a shopping mall?" scenario that comes with any post-apocalyptic disaster, having the world at your fingertips. Then you have the zombies, which are a great universal monstrous stand-in for just about any fear or issue a person has. I've heard them compared to Communism, consumerism, loss of identity, et cetera. For me, there's no ickier or scarier way to die than getting eaten alive, be it by mammal, shark, reptile, or flesh-eating ghoul. And zombies have no personality or humanity. They're basically a force of nature and their only goal is to eat you. You can run, but they'll keep chasing you. I personally find that very scary. And I like being scared so there you have it, at least from my point of view!

Book Review: Dee Snider, Shut Up And Give Me The Mic

Dee Snider's autobiography, Shut Up And Give Me The Mic, details the rise and fall (and rise and fall and rise and fall) of Twisted Sister and his person struggles along the way. You'll find yourself rooting for Snider, even though you're already aware of the outcome.

The book deals with many important parts of Snider's life: his childhood, Twisted Sister, and his lifemate, his wife Suzette. Above all, Snider's love for his wife is evident throughout this tome and helps to paint Snider as the anti-rockstar: a frontman who doesn't drink, doesn't do drugs, doesn't party, and who has been happily married for over 30 years.

But this ain't no love story. We learn that he and Suzette's relationship hasn't always been roses; there have been plenty of thorns as well. We also learn about the many highs and lows the band faced over the years, and the many false starts and glimpses of fame the band had before finally hitting the big time with the release of Stay Hungry. We learn of Snider's intense dedication to his art, as well as the people that helped Snider realize his dream (Motorhead's Lemmy, various producers and record company executives). Snider takes the reader along the way as he battles the PMRC, his bandmates, his demons, and obscurity for one hell of an entertaining ride!

Verdict: This book rocks!

Book Review: Plague Town

When I was offered a chance to review a zombie book, I was excited. When I learned that the author was in one of my all-time favorite films, Army of Darkness, I was REALLY excited, but nervous as the potential to suck was high. I'm glad to report that my nerves were wrong. Plague Town, by Dana Fredsti, is an incredibly fun, not to mention funny, zombie apocalypse story.

The story goes something like this: Ashley Parker is a college student in a small college town in a fictional Northern California town where they're having a problem with a pretty awful strain of flu. One afternoon Ashley goes on a picnic with her boyfriend and they run into, well, zombies. Ashley's bitten and collapses upon rescue. It turns out that Ashley is a one in a million kind of girl who is immune to the zombie virus, what the government calls a "wild card." She's now got enhanced abilities and is recruited by the government to help eradicate the zombies infecting her small town. She and several other people from the town, who also are identified as wild cards, go through zombie bootcamp (montage!) and earn mad zombie slaying skills. There are government conspiracies, zombies, ancient history (this is far from the first ever outbreak), and a bit of a twist. The overall story is seeping with snarky humor and pop culture references out the wazoo. In short, Dana Fredsti is my kind of woman. I mean, any story that has a quote from Big Trouble In Little China at the top of the prologue totally gets my vote. It's funny, scary, gory, sexy and goes a mile a minute.

If you're looking for a fun read, grab a copy of Plague Town. It's the first of a planned series and I for one cannot wait to get my non-rotting hands on book two.

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Book People Unite

This cute "get your nose in a book, kids!" PSA features the talents of The Roots, Jack Black, Fun.'s Nate Ruess, Levar Burton, Jason Schwartzman, Regina Spektor, John Legend, Jim James, Melanie Fiona, Carrie Brownstein, Consequence, and Coldplay's Chris Martin. (Actually, this reads kind of like my Fantasy Dinner Guest List.)

Comics Review: The James Bond Omnibus Volume 003

Everyone has their favorite James Bond; most of us who grew up in the '70s and '80s are still divided over Sean Connery and Roger Moore.(Which is a ludicrous debate, of course: Connery, with his rough-and-tumble bare-knuckle brawling and Super Brow could wipe the floor with Moore.) The younger folk might remember Pierce Brosnan's respectable suavity in the '90s, and most seem to agree that Daniel Craig brought some fresh pathos and great abs to the role in the new century.

The consensus tends to be that our favorite Bond is the always one we saw first. As movie people, we sometimes forget that Bond started in, uh, books. But in addition to novels and films, Bond was also... a daily comic strip.

In fact, James Bond's comic strips debuted in 1957 in the UK newspaper The Daily Express, five years before the first Bond flick (Dr. No), and ran until early 1983.

Who knew?

In 1957, Ian Fleming gave his reportedly guarded blessing to The Daily Express, allowing them to transform his super spy into a daily comic. Who knows whether he was pleased with the result, but the strip ran for almost 30 years in England. Now, Bond fans on either side of the pond can read the long-running serial in three collected volumes, the latest of which just hit the shelves: The James Bond Omnibus: Volume 003.

I'm a fan of daily comics and I've always liked the constant cliffhangers of serial storytelling. Before newspapers went extinct, I remember following the long-running adventures of Spider-Man. (The musty soap operas Mary Worth and Rex Morgan, M.D.? Not so much.) So I cracked opened this collection, looking forward to reading the seven novel-ish stories included, with sensational titles like "River Of Death," "The Golden Ghost," and "Double Jeopardy." Fun stuff, yes? Each one a full cinematic tale, broken down and told in three-panel bites. And with everything collected omnibusily, I wouldn't have to wait a day between each strip.

When Dirty Star Trek Fanfiction Becomes A Runaway Best Seller: An Interview With Kitty Glitter

Oh, he has something to smile about alright.

When you hear a book titled Wesley Crusher: Teenage Fuck Machine, do you think, my god, I must read that right away? Word of mouth, and perhaps honest curiosity, has made the aformentioned Kindle single appear on the top ten bestseller list on Amazon.com. And that's no measly feat: Kindle has sold more than two million Kindle singles to date.

The short story, which follows the adventures of Wesley Crusher (the character played by Whil Wheaton on Star Trek: The Next Generation, duh) and his partner in crime Meow Solo (think of Han Solo crossed with a LOLcat), written by Kitty Glitter, has been discussed on blogs and tumblr and such since it appeared on Regretsy and mentioned by much-trafficked websites io9 and The Awl. Wil Wheaton, the man that brought Wesley Crusher to life, has even tweeted about it.

Of course, I gave it a go. (Was there even a question if I would read it or not?) Unfortunately (or possibly fortunate to some), the title is the smuttiest part of the book, even though inter-species coitus and defiling of the corpses of teenagers in a convenience store are part of the plot. To wonder if this is a "good" book is not a way to judge it; it needs to be judged not in direct comparison with most literature. What I read was not necessarily something that Oprah would endorse; what I read was a pure, unrestricted, ode to sci-fi in which I could tell the author had a blast writing.

Speaking of the author, just who is this overnight sensation named Kitty Glitter? According to her Amazon author page, "Her husband, Champagne, is doing 15 years upstate and she is trying to raise five kids by herself. On top of working three jobs Kitty is trying to sell some ebooks." Glitter's other works include A Case Of Dicklessness, in which "Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes's son track down Jack the Ripper with the help of the douchiest horse ever" and My Red Self, my personal favorite, in which "A smear of vaginal blood comes to the aid of a bullied teenage girl." I think this is the start of a new genre.

I couldn't help myself from emailing the author, and she was more than willing to answer a few questions:

Book Review: Tales From Development Hell

Once upon a time, the general public was not largely aware of how movies were created. Mind you, this was before the internet and Entertainment Weekly magazine peeled back the protective shell of Hollywood and let the common folk see how the sausage was made. These days if anyone is interested in the inner workings of studio movies, there are many resources that detail every aspect of the creative process. One of those resources is the book Tales From Development Hell by David Hughes, which has just been republished in an updated edition from Titan Books.

In the movie world, "development" is the period of time in which an idea is put on paper and reworked and rewritten until it's deemed fit to film. "Development Hell" is the term given to the many projects that never break free from this process and have little to no hope of ever getting made. David Hughes's book chronicles in painstaking detail the road of a dozen or so projects that lead them to Development Hell.

Shooting a movie is the sexy side of the business where elaborate sets are brimming with high tech equipment capturing the actors acting and things blowing up. What's less glamorous, but I think more interesting, is the road the movie took to get there. Each chapter in Development Hell outlines a particular project's twisted journey through the studio system, from Total Recall 2 to James Cameron's take on Fantastic Voyage and many more. They all begin with a great idea and lofty intentions but soon become victims of bad input by producers or executives, talent dropping out, or the lack of enthusiasm from a director. Every story is different, but they all pretty much end the same way: with a potentially good project that never gets off the ground.

Book Review: One Model Nation

When I started reading the graphic novel, One Model Nation (written by Courtney Taylor-Taylor of The Dandy Warhols, art by Jim Rugg (Street Angel), and produced by Mike Allred (Red Rocket 7)), I immediately realized that I did not know enough about post-World War II Germany. I mean, I knew a little; I had heard of the Baader-Meinhoff Gang and the band Kraftwerk, but most of my knowledge of that period of Germany was very vague. And that made me really think about the gaps in my history education. My education, even in college, basically stopped including global history after WWII. However, the period that this graphic novel covers, the mid '70s, was just as tumultuous and critical in Germany as it was anywhere else where political and civil liberties were being tested. While I do think as a story One Model Nation can stand on its own, it also really piqued my interest to learn more.

The premise of One Model Nation is that it is following a fictional art rock band in the '70s, but the authors have also included a "what if" scenario of violence breaking out at concerts, raids at parties, and the turmoil of political unrest. The band, One Model Nation, is getting held up by the media as so-called leaders of the extremist political movement when in actuality they are not part of it at all. They are simply musicians who are part of the same generation of youth that are attending their concerts, and some of that youth are joining the terrorist organization. Overlaying this scenario onto the music scene of the time lets the author explore the convergence of political and artistic tensions, the collective German guilt over the previous Nazi regime, and an unhappy youth who feel suppressed and anger towards the older generation. And most importantly, what happens to the artists who get caught in the middle.

One of my favorite aspects of the comic was the art done by Jim Rugg. The members of the band One Model Nation are pale, sketched in, almost unfinished looking throughout the novel, while other characters in the comic, such as Ulrike Meinhof the terrorist, and the brief appearance of David Bowie, are drawn in detail with more vivid coloring, almost popping off the page in comparison. The contrast between the two is a wonderful symbol of the band getting swept away by events outside of their control, as if they are already fading away. This is reiterated in the final scenes of the novel, that almost seem anti-climactic, but uphold the theme that in the tumult of the time the artists are the ones that are forgotten. It is a haunting, rather sad ending.

All in all, I really enjoyed this graphic novel even without knowing the background history. But I think I liked it more once I read up on the history. I also equally enjoyed the Foreword by Michael Allred and the story behind the story by Courtney Taylor-Taylor. I think collectively it built up to a really interesting graphic novel, and its power is in the way it stays with you later. I would recommend this to those especially interested in the way art and music emerge into their environment.