SFX

Puppets have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Thanks to my mother – and growing up with two younger brothers – I was introduced to The Muppets from a very early age. At some point I became a lifelong fan of The Dark Crystal, though

Things have been a bit sparse in the world of Doctor Who action figures recently, but Character Options are making up for lost time (lords) with no less than eight new figure sets, exclusive to B&M stores in the UK, making their debut in late August.

VIEWERS WILL GET TO SEE A GLIMPSE OF the new Star Trek: Picard series sooner than they might have thought – only it won’t exactly be the show they’re expecting. That’s because Picard’s first outing will be part of the next set of Short Treks – mini-e

1 This new Amazon Prime series is set in a Victorian fantasy world where humans coexist with immigrant mythological creatures. Their homelands were invaded by mankind, and now they struggle to live alongside them – forbidden to live their lives as be

MADE UP OF ONE-PAGE STORIES by 80 different creative teams, Marvel Comics #1000’s release coincides with the 80th anniversary of the August 1939 publication of Marvel Comics #1 by Timely Comics, which later evolved into Marvel. But the one-shot does

It was surely just a matter of time (and space), but Donna Noble’s finally landed her own spin-off series. The former companion of David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor will be flying the TARDIS, alongside her own companion, in a new set of audio adventures f

CELEBRATING ICONIC SCI-FI STARS 154 MICHAEL KEATING Vila from Blake’s 7 Almost 40 years since the rebel heroes of Blake’s 7 were gunned down by the Federation in the show’s final episode, the BBC space opera still lives on in the form of Big Finish a

“There’s a story linked to this season that provided Dud more of a material goal, with the scrolls and Mexico… That being there helped have a bit of direction in a material way that last year didn’t have. The direction was much more existential, in t

This year doesn’t just mark the 50th anniversary of the actual Moon landing, it’s also 20 years since Moonbase Alpha blasted away from the Earth in Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s Space: 1999 – well, in the TV show’s fictional world, at least! To celebra

MEET THE COMPLIANCE MANAGER BEHIND YA FANTASY NOVEL KINGDOM OF SOULS Tell us about your protagonist. Arrah hails from a powerful family of witchdoctors, but doesn’t have magic of her own. When the Demon King threatens her kingdom, she must trade year

SINCE LONG BEFORE HE MOVED TO DC Comics in 2017, Brian Michael Bendis has been plotting how to resurrect the Legion of Super-Heroes, whose last monthly title concluded in 2013. Now he’s bringing back the 31st century stalwarts, starting with next mon

BORN IN LONDON BUT raised in Nigeria, Tade Thompson’s Yoruban heritage means that he’s in a unique position to shine new light on the well-worn concept of alien invasion, with Africa having been colonised by Europeans in past centuries. Now his debut

THERE IS A WELL-KNOWN NUGGET OF ADVICE for writers: show, don’t tell. This is an incomplete notion: show, don’t tell… unless telling is better. Of course, no advice or how-to manual is supposed to provide iron-clad pronouncements. Yet sometimes peopl

HOT TOPIC Your views on the month’s big issue Just got back from seeing Spider-Man: Far From Home, the perfect tonic for Endgame melancholy. A fond farewell to the heroes who won’t return and a warm reminder that Peter Parker is still a boy, with a l

Kieran Larwood revisits this fantasy about a mouse monastery PERHAPS THE HARDEST element of being a children’s writer is finding a way back across that invisible boundary between childhood and adulthood to tap into something that speaks to their worl

SOMEWHERE, IN AN old industrial warehouse near Slough… It’s May 2018 and SFX is getting Fraggle Rock flashbacks. Not so much for that famous bassline as for the sight of a mundane building being revealed as the gateway to a magical fantasy world. Bec

You’re the lead puppeteer on Rian, one of the main Gelfling. What does that involve? You do the head, you operate the mouth and his main body movements. All the sets are raised up by four feet, so you hold him above your head, and then you walk aroun

You’re a bit of a fan of the original Dark Crystal movie… It’s the only part where I’ve known I was going to accept it before opening the email! The original Jim Henson film, like all of Jim Henson’s work but especially this and Labyrinth, were huge

What’s Seladon’s backstory and where does she fit into this world? Seladon is the eldest of the Gelfling princess sisters, with Brea and Tavra. She’s got a lot of attitude, she’s very assertive and quite bossy amongst the siblings. There’s a bit of r

Did you see The Dark Crystal when it was first released in cinemas in 1982? Yeah, I saw Dark Crystal in the same theatre that I watched Star Wars, Raiders Of The Lost Ark and E.T. It was where I saw all my formative films; it was the ABC in Glouceste

THE FACADE OF 29 NEIBOLT Street is even less inviting in 2016 than it was in 1989, but the seven members of the Losers’ Club made a promise. If It – an ancient cosmic evil that takes the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown – returned to the town of D

JUST HOW MUCH NIGHTMARE fuel can one film put in the tank? “It’s a home invasion movie with a disaster movie invading your house,” says director Alexandre Aja, relishing the genre-splicing hazards of Crawl. “But the water doesn’t come alone. The wate

People ask, ‘Do you play strong female characters to inspire little girls?’” says Kaya Scodelario. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but also to inspire little boys.’ I want my son to grow up and see Wonder Woman and Sarah Connor and Haley in Crawl, knowing that

The Critters are supposed to be little horrific bastards,” director Bobby Miller tells SFX. “They’re terrifying until they do something dumb. And when they do something dumb, that’s when we’re allowed to be a little funny.” Almost three decades have

FORGET ANY COSY CHILDHOOD memories you may have of the Banana Splits. The four furry animals are back in a new feature film from director Danishka Esterhazy, and this time they’ll do absolutely anything to keep their show on the air. Yes, even killin

IT’S BEEN LITTLE MORE THAN a year since we all got our first look at the next-gen She-Ra, an Adora reborn for the Dreamworks Animation revival, She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power. With her anime-inspired look and inventive approach to diverse issues,

HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS at Universal Studios Park in Orlando is the world’s biggest Halloween event. SFX asked Creative Development Show Director Patrick Braillard about how they bring the world of Stranger Things to life ahead of a brand-new haunted

THE STORY BEHIND THE SF AND FANTASY OF YESTERYEAR 1979 – 82 Is the word “transuranic” part of your vocabulary? Do nursery rhymes send a shiver down your spine? Have you ever had a nightmare about being attacked by a pillow? Then you’re surely a fan o

RELEASED OUT NOW! U | 99 minutes Director Lino DiSalvo Cast Anya Taylor-Joy, Gabriel Bateman, Jim Gaffigan, Daniel Radcliffe It’s easy to be cynical about a film featuring toys your kids will be begging you to buy the second you step out of the cinem

RELEASED 30 AUGUST Also on Blu-ray/DVD from 2 September 15 | 93 minutes Director Alexandre O Philippe How do you find a new angle on Alien? Alexandre O Philippe, who previously analysed Psycho’s shower scene in 78/52, was clearly determined to find a

UK StarzPlay, TBC US Epix, Sundays Showrunner Bruno Heller Cast Jack Bannon, Emma Corrin, Paloma Faith, Jason Flemyng FIRST LOOK EPISODE 1.01 What’s it all about, Alfie? Pennyworth is a Batman prequel series from the team behind Gotham, which focuses

UK/US Amazon, streaming now Showrunner Eric Kripke Cast Karl Urban, Elizabeth Shue, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Anthony Starr, Jessie T Usher EPISODES 1.01-1.08 There’s nothing new about the idea that superheroes might secretly be jerks, but nobody ha

US The CW, Sundays from 6 October UK TBC Showrunner Caroline Dries Cast Ruby Rose, Rachel Skarsten, Dougray Scott, Camrus Johnson FIRST LOOK EPISODE 1.01 We love a strong female lead, but we love a strong female villain more, and Batwoman delivers bo

RELEASED OUT NOW! 2019 | 12 | Blu-ray/DVD/download Director Justin Copeland Cast Jason O’Mara, Jennifer Morrison, Jerry O’Connell, Rebecca Romijn Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s acclaimed arc from the early ’00s is the latest comic book run to be stripmined

RELEASED OUT NOW! 1999 | 15 | Blu-ray Director Spike Jonze Cast John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich 20 years since its release, there’s still nothing quite like the film that made screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s name, the tale

RELEASED OUT NOW! 1932/1960 | PG | Blu-ray Cast Enrique Riveros, Lee Miller, Jean Cocteau, Édouard Dermit BLU-RAY DEBUT French poet/playwright/artist/filmmaker Jean Cocteau’s best known works – La Belle Et La Bête and Orphée – are already on Blu-ray.

RELEASED 26 AUGUST 2019 | 15 | Blu-ray/DVD Director Bobby Miller Cast Dee Wallace, Tashiana Washington, Jaeden Noel, Steve Blum While the recent Shudder series, Critters: A New Binge, put a more humorous spin on the ’80s franchise, this made-for-TV m

RELEASED 19 AUGUST 2019 | 15 | Blu-ray (4K/standard/steelbook)/DVD/download Director Neil Marshall Cast David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane Eleven years since his last big-screen outing, Mike Mignola’s devilish comic-book hero gets

RELEASED 5 SEPTEMBER 288 pages | Hardback/ebook Editor Ian Edginton Publisher Abaddon Books When Herbert George Wells first imagined “intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic” coveting the Earth, he could hardly have predicted how influential his p

RELEASED OUT NOW! 464 | Hardback/ebook Author VV James Publisher Gollancz Sanctuary is being described as “Big Little Lies meets The Craft”. You could think hard for a month and still fail to come up with a better description – and it’s clearly entic

RELEASED 5 SEPTEMBER 224 pages | Hardback Author Ian Nathan Publisher Palazzo Editions What with movies of It: Chapter 2 and Doctor Sleep incoming, it’s an ideal time for a coffee-table guide to the wild world of Stephen King films and TV shows. Cove

RELEASED OUT NOW! 336 pages | Paperback/ebook Author Breanna Teintze Publisher Jo Fletcher Books Of all the jobs you read about in fantasy novels, you have to feel for the mages. Take Corcoran Gray. He can do all sorts of fancy magic just by writing

RELEASED 15 AUGUST 288 pages | Hardback/ebook Author Yoko Ogawa Publisher Penguin First published in Japanese in 1994, Yoko Ogawa’s The Memory Police is an allegorical tale about how we are defined and maintained by our memories. The protagonist is a

RELEASED OUT NOW! Publisher Image Comics Writer Jeff Lemire Artist Dustin Nguyen ISSUES 1-3 Sequels so often settle for delivering more of the same that it’s always a pleasure when a follow-up goes in a more unexpected direction, as is the case with

RELEASED OUT NOW! Publisher Image Comics Writer Robert Kirkman Artist Charlie Adlard FINAL ISSUE Turns out it really was about Rick Grimes all along. (Spoilers ahead!) Robert Kirkman has long said that The Walking Dead is bigger than just his protago

The closest my tiny local library came to holding a book of dark and secret knowledge was Mysteries Of The Unknown. Published by Usborne, specialists in educational books for kids, this particular grimoire anthologised three titles first published in