Warren Lee – Warren’s Guide

Movie Review – Alita: Battle Angel

First, a quick apology… I’ve been off the radar for a while, and not written many movie reviews (I wrote many for my old blog). It’s something I hope to rectify…

‘Alita: Battle Angel’ tells the story of a ‘young’ woman in the distant future. Her upper, part mechanical body is found in a garbage dump beneath the last floating, elitist human city, by a cyborg engineer, Dr Ido, who lives in the lower-class city formed on beneath it. Ido gives her a new body and name, and the story then proceeds show her awakening, both literally and metaphorically. She has no memory of who or what she was, but learns a little about her past, finds love, and struggles to fight for what she believes in, in a brutal and near-lawless world.

Since Titanic and Avatar, I had stopped expecting James Cameron movies to be great. Not that I hated those films, but they never really grabbed me the way the way previous films did. However, having recently watched ‘Alita’ in IMAX 3D… let’s just say James Cameron (and Robert Rodriguez) have won me over again! Alita is the best big sci-fi action movie I’ve seen in a long time. In an age where we’re just seeing the same plots recycled again and again with interchangeable, soulless super-heroes, I enjoyed the hell out of this. I’m not saying it was perfect, but I was pleasantly surprised. I could have sat in that cinema for another couple of hours, without any worry of boredom, and I can’t remember the last time I watched a big effects movie and felt so completely lost in it.

Although previously aware of Battle Angel Alita (The movie reversed the English-language version of the title), I have never read or watched the original source material, so I had no preconceptions going in. Many of the plot themes and ideas may have been done before, some obvious (**cough** Rollerball **cough**), and some less so, but you can say that about almost any movie. The real question is whether those ideas are packaged in a new, engrossing story with interesting characters. The answer, in Alita’s case, is a big ‘YES’.

(Warning, the rest of this review may contain spoilers)

Rosa Salazar, who plays Alita, is a revelation. The level of emotion she achieves through the motion-capture is astonishing and, quite honestly, puts many live action stars to shame. The large eyes may stem from honouring her anime origins, but you soon forget them, and only see the character. Not only that, but in the context of the story and her past, they feel quite logical and serve to visually amplify elements of her personality (Story-wise you can deduce, without being told, that they’re probably a genetic enhancement for living on Mars, with a low-light environment, or for low-light space combat).

Speaking of Alita’s large eyes, her existence as a totally CG character is one of the main elements of the film, and could have been an off-putting mistake. Luckily, the effects work by WETA (who created other well-known CG characters such as Gollum for the Lord of the Rings movies) is breath-taking. Seeing brief glimpses of Alita in the trailer may leave you on the fence but, rest assured, once you are engrossed in that world and story, you almost forget that she’s different. You simply accept her as the character and want to follow her story. The expressiveness of her face, helped in no small part by the actress, makes her beautiful to watch, whether she’s just gazing in wide-eyed fascination at something she’s never seen before (pun intended), or leaping around in battle.

I’ve read comments complaining that, being a cyborg, Alita should not have a ‘feminine’ form and has been overly ‘sexualised’. I can only presume the critics who’ve said such things haven’t got a clue about storytelling, cinema, or reality (or even sexuality, for that matter). When you’re telling a story about a young woman who is mostly mechanical, a large part of her story is visual. Cinema is a visual story-telling medium with limited time to create characters, situations and worlds. Having Alita look feminine is a clear and simple way to give you a sense of who she is, despite her ‘machine’ existence. She’s a young woman (psychologically, if not literally).

As her character grows throughout the story, it also serves as a wonderful echo of her emotional change. When she awakens, she is an innocent in so many ways, learning the ways of the world. She is emotionally akin to a teenager, and the body Dr Ido provides is a perfect reflection of this, both in shape and texture. Later, when she learns more of who she was, and what she can do, as well as suffering through the brutality and cruelty of this new world, she matures into a stronger character. She becomes a young woman, rather than an insecure teenager. Her new ‘warrior’ body in turn re-enforces this, and the story even explains that her form moulds itself to reflect her mental self-image. Her self-image at that point is more adult. Let’s not forget, that she still has a human brain in there, and presumably had a normal body before becoming a cyborg.

As for the romance in Alita, it’s touching and sweet. It is the epitome of innocent love, again enforced by her mechanical form, since anything more sordid appears impossible. I haven’t said much about the other characters up till now, but Keean Johnson as Hugo, the romantic interest, is himself an interesting character. He’s jaded, having grown up in a brutal and dangerous world, where every day is simply a struggle to survive. Whilst he shows Alita this new world, he also gets to see it through her more innocent and optimistic eyes.

Christoph Waltz as Dr Ido makes for an interesting father figure. His story beats aren’t going to shake the world with originality, but they serve as a foundation for Alita and explain why he brought her back to life and how they both form a father/daughter bond. Meanwhile, Jennifer Conolly as Chiren, an initial enemy of Alita, is a character who has a little more depth than you would expect.

There’s a hefty dose of Robocop to Alita’s story, but in a good way. Whilst Alita doesn’t quite have the same issues regaining her humanity, she has similar problems rediscovering who she was, and learning who and what she is now. Her character has a sincerity and (non-annoying) innocence that all combines to make her a sympathetic hero that you want to see succeed. Despite her strength and abilities, she is still brought low at one point, much the way Murphy was, so that you empathise and don’t feel she is indestructible or perfect.

I can’t say there are any real negatives in Alita, but there are one or two elements I might question. There is scene late in the movie, where Dr Ido helps Alita as she prepares for her first MotorBall competition. Up till that point he appeared to be against her entry, but then jumps to supporting her. The moment doesn’t feel inappropriate, so much as lacking a scene to explain his change of heart (it’s the kind of thing that you suspect may well turn up in a director’s cut or deleted scenes). It could be explained with a few simple lines in which he shows his disapproval, she explains why she feels she has to enter the games, and he then replies that if he can’t convince her otherwise, he will at least help her in what way he can.

Secondly, I did feel that Hugo’s conclusion came too quickly in relation to prior events. His final scene shows his character’s drive to escape the world below, but realising too-late that being with Alita on the ground is better than being alone in the dream of what-could-be above. The drawback is that it all happens too soon after his near death at the hands of another villain, and devalues Alita’s efforts at having saved him from that fate.

Lastly, the end feels a little abrupt. It’s perfectly fitting, and brilliantly leaves you wanting more, but you can’t help wishing you could sit there for another hour or two, to watch Alita’s battle against behind-the-scenes villain, Nova. Then again, it’s a testament to the film that, after two hours in a cinema, I would have happily sat for another two. A lot of movies these days are far longer than they need to be, whereas in Alita’s case, if anything, it’s the opposite. The character and the world are such that you are happy to lose yourself in them, from the quiet emotional moments through to the pulse-pounding action.

So any criticisms are stunningly minor for any movie, let along a modern blockbuster. They’re not really flaws, so much as story-telling beats that I felt could’ve been handled differently. So from my perspective, I can’t recommend Alita enough! This is the kind of blockbuster I hope is successful, because I truly want to watch the sequel.

I can’t wait for the 3D Blu Ray to enjoy this again, and especially watch how it was made. I may even have to see it again at the cinema, before it finishes its run… It’s been a while since I could say that about a big blockbuster!

All work is the © copyright of W.D.Lee and/or the respective companies, individuals or organisations to which the work is related. No infringement is intentional. No reproduction or copying is permitted without express permission.

Movie Review: The Last Jedi

(Be warned, this review contains spoilers)

The Last Jedi is the latest instalment in Disney’s attempt to continue the Star Wars saga.

I managed to resist writing a review of The Force Awakens, a film so bad that my first draft reached about three pages, before I decided I had better things to do. Having seen The Last Jedi, however, I had to write something. TFA may have been a mess of a film, but there was just enough story to criticise. Not so, with The Last Jedi. If The Force Awakens was a flashy car driving off in the wrong direction without a map, The Last Jedi is the remains of the car after they drove it off a cliff without looking where they were going, in a manic, drunken haze.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a huge Star Wars fan. I love all six of the Lucas films, even the prequels with their occasional hiccups. However, I had no preconceptions about where the new trilogy stories should go. I enjoyed the continuation novels when I was younger, but many of them were flawed and I was happy for the films to go in a new direction. The problem is, that direction should be up, not down. Forward, not backward. I don’t automatically dislike ‘new’ Star Wars films because I’m no longer 12. I greatly enjoyed Rogue One, and I love all of the animated Clone Wars saga. My opinions on The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi are based, as much as they can be, on my opinion that they are badly written, poorly thought out stories in general, irrespective of Star Wars.

Having said that, there’s no point even delving into the story or character details of The Last Jedi. Plenty of people have done that, but frankly there’s so little substance or logic to the new movie that trying to criticise individual elements would like trying to criticise a random number generator for not counting sequentially. The Last Jedi genuinely plays out like Randolph and Mortimer had a $1 bet that if they went out of their way to make a nonsensical mess, it would still be a success, hailed for its brilliance simply because it is a main-sequence Star Wars movie. I’m not even exagerating. The film is such a total shambles devoid of merit, that such a revelation would not surprise me if proven true. In fact, it would make more sense than imagining so many talented people thought they were making something worthwhile. All that would be needed is for Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd to jump out, accompanied by Jamie Lee Curtis, screaming “Surprise!” (See Trading Places, if you’re confused).

Nothing of consequence happens in The Last Jedi, apart from the death of a beloved character from the original trilogy (who isn’t remotely like his original character except for the same actor and character name) and the death of a sort-of villain. A villain who, because of his death in this film, served no purpose anyway. Episode 9 could avoid any reference to the events of this movie, and still have no need to explain anything apart from Luke’s fate.

The Last Jedi truly makes films like The Fast and the Furious 7 seem like a logical, character driven drama with accurate physics. So forgetting the story and plot (since there weren’t any), what about the other elements?

One of the surprisingly poor things was the acting. Now, I’m pretty lenient when it comes to acting. For example, I love a lot of cheesy 80s action movies that many people would consider awful. However, some of the efforts in The Last Jedi, especially from Daisy Ridley, were honestly shocking (And having seen her in other things, I know she can act). Do you remember what it was like in school, to see other children acting in plays, where they recite lines in a monotone voice with quick breaths between every other word? I’m not exagerating when I say that is how she delivered many of her lines. Again, I wonder whether it will all be revealed as a big joke – a stretched out clip from a sketch show where they were all having fun lampooning Star Wars and science fiction in general. Only Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill come through with dignity, as consummate professionals despite the dire material.

Okay, even if the acting and story are poor, surely the action is fun? I’m sorry to say, the action scenes lacked any sense of engagement. Even the Transformers movies at their worst, are pulse-pounding eye-candy. I felt not a single quickened pulse or rush of adrenalin with The Last Jedi. The only way I could describe it, is to say imagine an action scene from Robocop or Total Recall, then imagine a scene where a character just fires repeatedly down a shooting range at a villain, neither of them moving. Next, imagine you’re supposed to find the latter every bit as exciting and action-packed as the former. To be clear, I’m not trying to describe the visuals in any literal way. I’m attempting to find a way to describe the emotional engagement of the action in the film.

I have heard a lot of praise for the striking visuals and direction in The Last Jedi, but I found both highly lacking and without any sense of cohesion. There are perhaps three scenes that felt visually interesting, but too consciously so. Perhaps my low opinion of the rest of the movie has tainted my general opinion of the direction and cinematography. One of the strangest things I discovered, which also happened with The Force Awakens (albeit not to the same extent), was a sense of ‘smallness’. Through the magic of story telling, Lucas managed to conjure a sense of the entire galaxy behind his stories, even in the first Star Wars, which was then expanded exponentially as he went. The Last Jedi feels as though it’s an, inconsequential little side-story. The Rebel fleet and the Imperial forces have been whittled down to nothing before the film even starts, and through it all there’s no sense of a wider galaxy beyond a single populated planet visited during the film.

The humour is also ‘off’ in this movie. There has always been hefty dose of tongue-in-cheek humour in Star Wars. It is, after all, a family-friendly adventure, albeit with a thoughtful, philosophical core that lends it depth (during the Lucas era, anyway). Lucas could be accused of taking some of the humour too far in the Prequels, but even the infamous Mr Binks was comedic genius compared to the out-of-place Marvelesque levels on display here.

As with The Force Awakens, sadly John Williams appears to have given up again, where the best moments are simply highlights from the original movies. But with this material, who can blame him?

Was there anything good about the film? Well, the Porgs were cute, though over-used, and the crystaline fox-wolves looked great. There was a single, vaguely interesting character thread, as Rey and Emo-Darth shared a bond through some long-distance communication, yet even that ultimately came to nothing. That’s about all that I took away from this car crash of a movie. The tragic and truly sad thing, is knowing that this was Carrie Fisher’s last outing as our wonderful Princess Leia. She deserved so much better, as did Mark Hamill (who delivered a far better performance than the script deserved).

I thought the only way was up, after The Force Awakens. Boy, was I wrong… Whilst I’ve seen worse films, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a major, mega-budget studio production quite this poor. Even Jupiter Ascending, Suicide Squad or John Carter were less of a mess. Perhaps the worst sin, is that ultimately the film is truly boring. Nothing of consequence happens, and even the moments that should be full of excitement or emotion are simply flat and lifeless. Let us just hope the new Han Solo movie is more like Rogue One, as it looks like the only hope we have for decent Star Wars in the future is from the stand-alone movies. I’m giving The Last Jedi a higher score than it deserves, with a star for both Mark and Carrie.

Movie Review: Alien – Covenant

(Be warned, this review is full of spoilers, intended for those who have seen the film or just don’t care!)

‘Alien: Covenant’ is Ridley Scott’s latest addition to the Alien franchise he began, back in 1979. The shame is that, after all this time, he appears to have difficulty returning to those heights.

First, a quick run-down for those who haven’t seen the film but don’t care about spoilers… (skip to the next paragraph if you’ve seen the film) The Covenant is a colonisation vessel that detects a mysterious yet human signal that leads them to a seemingly safe and habitable alternate world to colonise. The crew consists of your usual compliment of individuals, with small quirks to differentiate them. The replacement captain (after the original dies from an early accident) is religious and worries that the crew don’t respect him, there’s a pilot who wears a cowboy hat so we know he’s a little reckless, there’s an android crew member called Walter, who is identical to the ‘David’ android in Prometheus (the previous film), but with an American accent, so he’s less ‘evil English villain’ and a Ripley replacement who’s just suffered an emotional loss. The rest are disposable. They arrive on the planet, discover the crashed ship from Prometheus, and things quickly go bad. After a rescue by the only sentient inhabitant, the android David, the usual storyline kicks in, whittling down the crew with a variety of gruesome deaths until the last creature is blown out of an airlock. We are then treated to a stunningly poor ‘twist’ (which I’ll get to below).

Before Prometheus, the Alien franchise had somewhat run itself into the ground. The original film sets up both the mystery of the creature’s origin, and the slowly building terror of the creature itself, that tapped so successfully into our most basic primeval and sexual nightmares. Aliens took that set up and ran with it, creating an action movie. Alien 3 was a Gothic horror that became more of an introspective character piece for Ripley. Alien: Resurrection, whilst not perfect, was more about abomination and hubris.

'Space Jockey' from the original Alien — ‘Space Jockey’ from the original Alien

What none of those sequels did, was expand on the mystery of the crashed derelict, the ‘space jockey’ (as the skeletal pilot became known) and the creature’s origins. They concentrated on the horror of the creature, forgetting the origin mystery and losing something in the process. It was an angle I, as a viewer and fan, always wanted to return to.

Ridley Scott bravely made the decision to do that. Where did they come from? What was the skeletal creature in the chair? What kind of culture created the twisted, nightmarish technology of the derelict?

Prometheus was an often beautiful yet stumbling and failed attempt to address some of those questions. It wasn’t just an ‘Alien’ movie, it had the body-shock horror, but it was wrapped in a deeper mystery. The general ideas within Prometheus were good. Ridley Scott’s direction and visuals were, as always, superb. Where it fell over was in the mind-numbingly stupid characters and contrived situations used to progress the story. There’s much to love in Prometheus, that is ruined by those characters and poor plot mechanics (rather than the overall story). Prometheus admirably tried to go in a new direction, which I appreciated.

Covenant is both an improvement in some ways, and, perhaps even more disappointingly, a dreadful step back. Ridley has made the mistake of listening to the crowds who merely want more of the same; creatures running around in the dark killing people. Yes, perhaps that is the core of the Alien movies, but at their best, they rise above that and mess with our expectations. The creatures and their threat are the framework around which other themes are built.

Alien had a deep sense of mystery and sub-conscious terror at how the creature propagates itself, Aliens was about action and the emotional mother/daughter bond, Alien 3 was about the psychological toll events had taken on Ripley, and the hellish nightmare of the beast. Prometheus, despite its flaws, dealt with personal faith and the origins of mankind. All of those films shared the running theme of a struggle to stop soulless human greed that cares nothing for individuals.

The Ripley-a-like runs from scary monsters

Covenant feels as though it wants to be a mere ‘monster’ movie that has to dismissively deal with the burden of the previous story. The best moment of Prometheus, for me, was the conclusion, when Elizabeth Shaw departs in one of those utterly alien vessels, whose design was spawned from the dark, twisted genius of H.R. Giger. She departs to find those ‘Engineers’ who triggered the birth of humanity and also planned to destroy it, to ask the big question: “Why?”

For all its flaws, Prometheus had returned to a deeper sense of a mystery, questions to be answered, terrible-yet-beautiful worlds yet to be seen. Covenant, in a brief flashback, quickly kills off the ‘Engineers’ on the planet to which Shaw arrives with the android David, and then, bit-by-bit, reveals that David has lost his marbles and turned into a mad recluse who wants to create ‘the perfect killing machine’. So you guessed it, Covenant reveals that we humans have ultimately created our own nightmare. David is our creation, who in turn created the Alien from the bio-mechanical technology created by the ‘Engineers’ that were in fact our own creators… Yes, it does become that convoluted. Oh, and he also killed and dissected Elizabeth Shaw in the process for no apparent reason.

In one swift movement, Covenant destroys the point of Prometheus and what it set up. It dismisses those larger questions, renders the establishment of the Shaw character pointless and removes any interesting mystery about the Alien’s origin. Yes, it was us… The most typical and rather boring plot solution you could imagine.

Covenant ends up being the inverse of Prometheus. It corrects many of the mistakes, establishing some of its main characters efficiently and well, it is (somewhat) less reliant on idiocy and contrived situations, and characters are sensibly motivated (if you exclude the stereotypical ‘lonely genius turned evil madman’ that is David).

"I, I can't open the door! Or you might not be trapped so it can kill you!" — “I, I can’t open the door! Or you might not be trapped so it can kill you!”

On the flip side, Covenant seems content to be a monster movie, killing off its characters one by one without any greater questions or mysteries. Not only that, but it falls into the old horror movie traps that the original Alien movies avoided. Characters slip and fall when shooting, so that monsters don’t get killed too quickly, terrified characters close doors too soon, so that other characters can’t escape, people wander off alone to be killed, people conveniently hurt themselves so they can’t run…

Besides dismissing everything that Prometheus (and even Alien) set up, perhaps the two worst moments in Covenant are right at its conclusion. Firstly, Ridley once again goes for the ‘blow it out the airlock’ solution. This has become so tiresome, that I need say no more. Secondly, it has the most choreographed, eyeball-rolling ‘twist’. It is a twist that we, the audience, are clearly supposed to be in-on, but the lead character conveniently doesn’t think about it, until it’s too late.

The David android, and the identical Walter android fight as the human characters try to escape. Just as the final deciding blow is given, the camera cuts away. Yet again, you guessed it. Oh my, when we see Walter again, could it really be David in his uniform? Surely not! This conveniently never occurs to our Ripley replacement until it is too late, as she drifts into hyper-sleep. David is now free to carry on his evil-genius plan to destroy humanity with the Alien.

It may seem as though I hated Covenant, but I didn’t. The action is well staged and pulse-pounding. Ridley Scott can always be relied on to create stunning visuals and fantastic direction. Despite the clichés, up until the waste of Prometheus and the predictable turn of the David character, the build up is fun.

Having said that, the Alien is still poorly used when it is introduced. Alien worked because of the threat of a single deadly predator. Aliens works because they become a threat en masse, rather than individuals. Covenant undermines both of those situations by having two aliens (in addition to some earlier slimy creatures). If the ‘alien’ threat had been concluded with the first ‘proper’ creature, it would have been sufficient. Instead, we get a second that suffers from being too quickly established and killed, so we can have the usual ‘out of the airlock’ final scare/action sequence. It was also a big mistake to go all-CG for the aliens. They just don’t have that ‘reality’, or move correctly. It’s scarier to think that a movie made in 1979, by the same director, had more effective special effects.

Strangely, Ridley Scott even seems to be trying to emulate what James Cameron did in Aliens on occasion, which is all the more face-palm inducing since James Cameron was emulating Ridley’s own Alien with Aliens (just watch the Dropship sequence!)

Another crashed derelict that is not the one from the original Alien

There’s so much potential wasted… Much of Covenant is good, but like Prometheus it ultimately shoots itself in the foot (or, more correctly, crushes its foot in a powered door). In fact, the most interesting and mysterious scene was actually used as a ‘prequel short’, to bridge the gap between Prometheus and Covenant, and only (fully) seen as part of the promotion! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeMVrnYNwus)

Oddly, it’s a marginally superior film to Prometheus but with far less to make you want to revisit it, whilst also making Prometheus feel pointless. Yet another wasted opportunity.

The Christopher Tyson Adventures – Costume Design

Flight Suit Concept

It’s been a while since I had time to post, but I’ve finally got some time and thought I would show you some more concept art.

I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but this young lady has to fly a starship at one point, and needed a uniform. At this point we’re not talking rank insignia or anything like that, but she and her companions need something functional that can be worn aboard ship. I had a pretty good idea in my head, so I created the initial dark-brown leather style costume.

I realised, however, that it was a little too reminiscent of The Rocketeer (admittedly, something I had in the back of my mind when I wrote the original description in the book).

As you can see, I tried a few colour variations and settled on the aquamarine jacket, but keeping the tan trousers and leather boots. On the right hip is a holster for a comm. device rather than a weapon, and a general utility pouch on the left leg. The trousers are meant to imply that the under-suit is lined for temperature control, ready for use with spacesuits, or other circumstances with potentially extreme temperatures.

After finishing, I thought I would see what the character looked like in context, so inserted her into this corridor painting.

Space Radiation and Water Bears – Or: How I came to stop worrying about solar flares and love the Tardigrade

Why do I care about radiation?

bobthewaterbear2 — Image Credit: W D Lee (digital painting)

While the Christopher Tyson books are not intended to be on the same level of realism as, for example, ‘The Martian’, I do want to cover the pitfalls and realities of space travel, albeit of the more fantastical kind. The dangers of radiation in space and how it is overcome will be dealt with (though perhaps not in book one, there’s only so much I can fit in!), and as a result, a recent article on the BBC grabbed my attention (click here).

This is especially interesting in relation to future space travel and the colonisation of other worlds. One of the most troublesome aspects of travel in deep space is radiation. In science fiction there tend to be a small number of solutions. In more fantastical science fiction it is usually covered by a brief mention of shielding (either hull-plating or some form of electro-magnetic field), and in more ‘realistic’ sci-fi the crew of a ship will hide in an area shielded by the ship’s water supplies or similar (water is one of the more effective radiation shields we would have at our disposal).

All too often, however, the matter of radiation is simply forgotten or ignored in science fiction, so I’m going to talk a little about the dangers of radiation in space. If you want to jump straight to the Water Bears, just scroll down!

The dangers of radiation in space

The Earth itself is protected primarily by two things, it’s magnetic field (magnetosphere) and its atmosphere. The magnetic field deflects most of the harmful radiation, and most of what remains is stopped by the atmosphere which, on average over its depth, equates to a barrier of metal about 3ft thick. (click here for more information)

van_allen_radiation_belt-svg — Image credit: Chris Martin

Around Earth, the primary danger is the Van Allen Belt. This has two main belts, the inner one being the worst. These can easily damage the electronics in satellites, (especially modern satellites), and when the Apollo missions went to the moon, they had to avoid the inner belt and pass through the fringes of the outer belt as quickly as possible.

Once you’re beyond the influence of the planet you have radiation from the sun and the rest of the galaxy in the form of sub-atomic particles that will rip through your DNA or damage the information encoded within it (so cell reproduction contains errors, and you effectively get the beginnings of cancer). Radiation can be ionizing (high energy) and non-ionising (low energy). Although both can be damaging, non-ionising is the least dangerous (you can include visible light, ultra violet light, radio waves in this list). Ionising radiation, however, is the most dangerous. This is where you get your x-rays, gamma rays and galactic cosmic radiation. Ionising radiation has the ability to strip electrons from individual atoms, thus causing the damage to our DNA that I mentioned above.

On August 31, 2012 a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's atmosphere, the corona, erupted out into space at 4:36 p.m. EDT. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME did not travel directly toward Earth, but did connect with Earth's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, causing aurora to appear on the night of Monday, September 3. Picuted here is a lighten blended version of the 304 and 171 angstrom wavelengths. Cropped Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram — Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Solar flares are especially dangerous, because they release large quantities of harmful radiation, especially x-rays and gamma rays. Then there are cosmic rays, accelerated to near the speed of light and thought to also have a degrading effect on the brain, similar to Alzheimers over prolonged periods (The origins of cosmic rays are not precisely known, but one source is thought to be the after-effects of supernovae from massive stars).

Water Bears and Space Travel

johann_august_ephraim_goeze1 — Image Credit: Unknown

So why am I waffling on about the dangers of radiation in space? Well, that would be because of Water Bears, of course! The proper name for a ‘Water Bear’ is a Tardigrade, a water-dwelling eight-legged microscopic animal, first discovered by German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773.

Tardigrades are known to be the hardiest form of animal life on the planet. Such creatures are known as ‘extremophiles’ and in the case of Tardigrades, are capable of withstanding boiling and freezing temperatures, as well as… you guessed it! Radiation.

Image credit: Schokraie E, Warnken U, Hotz-Wagenblatt A, Grohme MA, Hengherr S, et al. (2012)

Scientists have only recently discovered how they survive extreme radiation (Click here for more information). Originally, they were thought to repair the damage to their DNA somehow, but what they learned is that the Tardigrades have a protein that attaches to its DNA and protects it from damage in the first place (they have called this Dsup, short for Damage Suppressor).

They have since attached this Dsup gene to human cells and found that they suffer far less damage to their DNA when exposed to x-rays. Already, they’re thinking about how this could be used to protect organisms on the surface of Mars (which has a weak magnetic field and thin atmosphere to protect from radiation), perhaps even helping any plan to terraform the surface.

From my perspective, this begs the question… Could spacefaring humans have this added to their genetic make-up, and would it enable them to survive more safely in space, certainly for longer periods? We all suffer the effects of radiation, as the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere don’t completely shield us (not to mention background radiation from the planet itself). So while something like the Dsup gene wouldn’t protect us one hundred percent, it might, in combination with other conventional methods, provide a realistic way to survive the dangers of lethal radiation in deep space. Could we even line the interiors of our spaceships with layers of wet moss that contain thriving colonies of Water Bears?

It would be quite amusing, if one of the planet’s smallest creatures provided the answer to safely travelling to other worlds in our solar system and beyond…

The Christopher Tyson Adventures – Cover Design

What do you need from a book cover?

I’m working on the cover design for ‘Christopher Tyson – Mark of the Ancestor’ at the moment, and thought I’d let you see some progress.

The old saying that you can never judge a book by its cover is a complete lie. Sure, we can judge a book properly after we’ve read it, but we’re talking about first impressions here. What draws you in? What grabs you to read a book? Unless you already know the name of the author or are a particular fan of a series of books, or they’ve been heavily advertised, then the cover is the first thing you will see. It’s what sparks your imagination, perhaps gives you a hint about the characters or story. The blurb might be what helps you to make the final decision, but it’s the cover and title that get you to the Blurb.

Unlike the analysts and focus groups that publishers trust, I don’t believe you can distill what makes a good book cover or movie poster. At the end of the day, you can only try and create something that appeals to you, in the way that your favourite books have in the past.

I have some general ideas in my head, based on old book covers and movie posters I love. The most important thing I want is a painted cover, even if it’s digitally painted (I haven’t got the time or space at the moment to go the traditional route, but I don’t want to do a straight forward photo composite either). I want something that echoes the fun kids’ adventure movies from the 80s, and the science fiction book covers of the 70s and 80s. So what artists are my main influences and inspirations ?

Chris Foss

When it comes to spaceships, it’s hard to beat Chris Foss’ work, such as the covers he did for a lot of Asimov’s books. His use of bold colours for his spaceships, extreme perspectives and unusual shapes made him very distinctive. You could always tell a Chris Foss book cover. They never hinted at story or character, but they never failed to to grab you and turn your imagination in the direction of grand space adventures.

“There’s always been something about distance and wide-open space that excites me. A lot of my science fiction landscapes are actually western landscapes transported into a space setting. Open vistas are a big influence in my work. A painting has to have an atmosphere; that’s one of the main things I strive to achieve.” – Chris Foss

(Check out http://www.chrisfossart.com/)

Michael Whelan

Michael is well known for exciting, colourful and adventurous covers, often illustrating a scene or setting from the book. My personal favourites are his Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian Tales covers, which is where I first saw his work. To me, his covers were the perfect embodiment of the stories and always sparked my imagination.

Each painting usually had a particular overall colour tone, but with strong, bold colours within that. Take for example the centre painting, almost all in blue but with strongly coloured central characters.

“How do you distill 1200 pages of battle scenes, characters, other worlds, fantasy landscapes, creatures, weather patterns, into one image?” – Michael Whelan

(Check out http://www.michaelwhelan.com/, though the site appears to be down at time of writing)

Drew Struzan

As any film fan will tell you, Drew is one of the most famous movie poster artists, certainly from the 80s. His posters often encompassed an atmosphere of grand adventure, whilst offering a glimpse of the story and characters.

In drew’s posters the main characters/s usually dominate the image, with secondary characters posed around and perhaps a few items from the film if appropriate. There’s always a very strong sense of composition in Drew’s paintings, not just a scene or items from the film.

“I don’t mind computers as a tool but it’s a shame it has not only changed the feeling of the world but also the industry. There’s a lack of the handmade human touch that people enjoy.” – Drew Struzan

(Check out http://www.drewstruzan.com/)

Christopher Tyson – Mark of the Ancestor

Obviously Christopher’s cover is going to be a creation of my own, but I can’t help but be influenced by the covers and posters that have grabbed me over the years. As such, I want something that is colourful, gives you a glimpse of the main characters, and hints at the locations and grand adventures therein. I don’t, however, want it to be an over-crowded concoction, like modern movie posters. I also don’t want the standard ‘enigmatic photo of main character’ or ‘dramatic silhouette’ that so many book covers have these days, especially on young adult books. Christopher Tyson is about adventure, excitement and fun. That doesn’t mean it lacks drama or depth of character (I hope!), but whilst Christopher Tyson may sometimes deal with deeper issues, he’s supposed to take you out of the real world and make you dream.

So here are a few sketches that I started off with. I want to include the main characters on the cover, so that people have an immediate image when they think of them.

That doesn’t mean you can’t imagine them the way you want, but before you start to read those pages, they’ll give you some idea of the characters inside.

I decided to follow up on the top left sketch which, to be honest, was what I had in my head. The characters are forefront but not taking over the image, the spaceships are in dramatic motion, and the rings of Saturn are cutting across at an angle. As you can see with the Michael Whelan covers, I need to take into account an overall image that also works in two halves, with something related on the back, but not as essential and dominating. In this case, I’ve used a city on an alien planet (one of the key locations in the book) that has a ‘space-elevator’ extending from a dominant cone-shaped building. There also needs to be a logical space to put the title on the front and the blurb on the back.

Next, I started messing with how I’ll lay out the titles and blurb, the spine, and even the space for the barcode.

Now it’s a case of painting the elements properly. Let me know what you think!

How do you define a Science Fiction B-Movie?

An Introduction

A classic 50's B-Movie (though technically not a B-Movie in the truest sense) — A classic 50’s B-Movie (though technically an A-Movie at the time, but I love ‘This Island Earth’, and use any excuse to mention of it)

As a sci-fi nut, it probably comes as no surprise that I like Science Fiction B-Movies, so today I thought I would talk a little about them. Not necessarily specific movies (though I’ll take a look at a few examples), but what makes a B-Movie, and what is the attraction? If you have a love of Science Fiction B-Movies yourself, you’ll understand a lot of this, but some of you may just come away scratching your head…

I won’t go into any depth about where the term ‘B-Movie’ came from, instead I will explore what it means to me, and possibly other sci-fi fans (if they agree!). As a quick description:

“A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not an arthouse film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature.”

Just check out the Wikipedia entry if you want more detail. The term is most commonly associated with low-budget 50’s movies (usually horror and/or science fiction). Although I love a lot of 50’s B-movies, almost all early science fiction movies fall into the ‘B’ camp, due to the disregard most studios held for science fiction. They were almost always made on a shoestring. I want to talk more about late 70’s, 80’s and 90’s B-movies, and what constitutes a B-Movie these days.

For me, you can divide them, into three main categories:

Type-1) Movies that have an interesting idea, made with passion and creativity, that simply lack the budget (and often the skill) to make it big.

Type-2) Movies made directly to cash in on big Hollywood releases.

Type-3) Movies with mid-to-large budgets that effectively echo the sentiment and style of a Type-1 B-Movie.

Let’s go in reverse order, so we can leave the best till last…

Type-3 B-Movies

John Travolta in Battlefield Earth (2000) – How can you not have a soft spot for a movie that essentially pits post-apocalyptic cavemen flying harrier jump-jets against spaceship-flying aliens?

Examples of Type-3 B-Movies are ‘Waterworld’, ‘Lifeforce’, ‘Independence Day’ or even ‘Battlefield Earth’. They’re big (or at least medium) budget films, but their core stories are not pretentious or high-brow. They usually have an interesting premise, but they’re essentially all-out fun made with a lot of passion and creativity.

You could describe a lot of modern blockbusters as just explosive fun, but I would argue they don’t necessarily fall into the Type-3 camp, because all-too-often they are specifically produced to be money-making, soulless effects extravaganzas that are visually well made and well acted (Too many superhero movies would match this description). There’s nothing ‘B’ about such movies.

Technically speaking, Type-3 movies aren’t truly B-Movies, but there is enough in their DNA to give them honourary B-Movie status.

Type-2 B-Movies

I’d say there are more of these now than there have ever been, with CGI effects becoming so accessible to even low-budget films, but that doesn’t mean they’re getting better. You only need to look at the awful, mindless stuff churned out by the Syfy channel and studios like Asylum Films (Megashark Versus Giant Octopus, Snakes on a Train, Abraham Lincoln Vs Zombies, A Princess of Mars, the list goes on).

Of course, these types of films have always been around, and a lot of the worst B-Movies from earlier decades are not much better. Sometimes they can have cheesy comedy value, occasionally they can be good (even great), if a director and/or writer who wants to make something of themselves ends up trying to do the best they can with a dubious foundation.

Probably the most infamous producer of these kinds of B-Movies is Roger Corman. What I would argue, however, is that in his early days, Roger Corman pictures often tried to be their own thing, whilst only somewhat echoing the movies they were created to cash in on.

One of the best Roger Corman examples is ‘Battle Beyond the Stars’, a charming space-western created to capitalise on the success of ‘Star Wars’, but taking its inspiration from another Akira Kurosawa film (‘Star Wars’ was somewhat inspired by Kurosawa’s ‘The Hidden Fortress’. ‘Battle Beyond the Stars’ took its lead from ‘Seven Samurai’ which itself was effectively remade as the classic western ‘The Magnificent Seven’). As such, ‘Battle Beyond the Stars’ is still its own film and, by luck, many of the people involved were using it as a way to get into bigger and better things, so there’s a lot of quality work involved. A number of the effects artists are now top people in Hollywood, from the Skotak brothers to James Cameron (who designed the notorious ‘spaceship with breasts’). Even the wonderful and adventure-filled soundtrack was effectively the breakthrough piece for James Horner (If you don’t know some of these names, honestly, where have you been? If you need to, slap your own wrist for not knowing, then go and check them out on IMDB).

To a lesser extent, Corman’s ‘Death Race 2000’ is a good example of a cult B-Movie with some interesting ideas, that was made to capitalise on the big budget flop, ‘Rollerball’ (Both films received modern remakes which amusingly echoed their progenitors. ‘Rollerball’ turned out to be another flop whilst ‘Death Race’, by Paul Anderson and starring Jason Statham, proved enough of a success to spawn several direct-to-DVD sequels).

Another 80’s example would be something like ‘Critters’, made to cash in on ‘Gremlins’, but actually turning out to be a great fun sci-fi movie that spawned a pretty good sequel, and two ultra-low-budget direct-to-DVD sequels (‘Critters 3’ even starred a very young Leonardo DiCaprio! I’ll bet he doesn’t like being reminded of that, even though it probably includes some of his best acting…).

Some of you may point out that there have been a lot of movies that were only green-lit due to the success of, and similarity to, big budget hits. But I’m only including direct cash-ins. For example, I wouldn’t put ‘Saturn 3’ in here because of its surface similarities to ‘Alien’, or the many, many films influenced by ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Alien/Aliens’, that are still very different films.

Unfortunately, the examples above are more the exceptions that prove the rule, and modern ‘cash-in’ movies are more likely to be awful and mindless. Perhaps it’s just me, but very, very few of the modern low-budget B-Movies seem to be made with any heart and soul. They’re just there to fill a gap in the schedule, or gain notorious success through sheer absurdity.

Type-1 B-Movies

Now this is where things get really interesting. These are the films that tend to cause heated debate, because they’re often so easy to criticise and dislike but, for some, contain just the right ingredients to create loveable classics despite the flaws.

For me, a Type-1 B-Movie is something that has a few really interesting sci-fi ideas (sometimes verging on the absurd), and has its heart in the right place. I try to look past the lack of surface polish, the occasional (sometimes frequent!) bad acting and ropey effects, to the weird and wonderful core. There’s a magic to these kinds of B-Movies, because you can feel the individuals behind them, doing their best to bring their dreams to life, even if they stumble in the process.

The budget and quality of Type-1 B-Movies can vary wildly. From shoestring budgets to those nearing mid-range. From directors who went on to bigger and better things, to those who were never seen or heard of again. It’s difficult to describe why they’re so enjoyable sometimes. With the best, it’s because there’s a charm to them, a soul, that big-budget blockbusters can often lack. I’ll fire off a few examples to give you an idea what I mean.

Let’s start with a really low budget film, ‘Moontrap’. This stars Walter Koenig (‘Star Trek’ and ‘Babylon 5’) alongside Bruce Campbell (The ‘Evil Dead’ movies). There’s no denying its budget constraints and occasionally dodgy acting (from co-stars, not the leads), but I love it. There are some great ideas that always spark my imagination, from an ancient astronaut discovered in stasis on the moon, to robots that use human body and machine parts to build larger bodies with which to attack. What more can you ask from a movie? Given the budget, it also has some great effects (for the time) as the creators owned their own effects company.

Then there’s ‘Millenium’, with Kris Kristoferson (Blade) and Cheryl Ladd (Charlie’s Angels). Ever wondered what would happen, if pollution made future generations sterile, and they had to use time travel to steal fertile people from the past just before they ‘died’ in tragic disasters? It’s silly, it’s cheesy, but add mutant-cyborg future rulers, sympathetic robot helpers, 80’s effects, and you get a wonderful, charming romp that is surprisingly quite thoughtful.

Or how about ‘Cyborg’, with Jean-Claude Van Damme (‘Timecop’, ‘Bloodsport’), battling villains (all named after guitars) who want to control the cure to a deadly plague, in a post apocalyptic future?

Or ‘Fortress’, where population control has made breeding without a license illegal, so our hero and heroine get sent to an underground prison. There, the android warden censures their dreams and uses inmates to create killer cyborg guards, whilst the prisoners have explosives in their intestines that will be triggered if they try to escape…

How about ‘Moon 44’ (oddly enough, from the director and writer combo who went on to create ‘Universal Soldier’, ‘Stargate’ and ‘Independence Day’) with a future in which corporations are strip-mining moons and using prisoners, due to their expendability, to pilot defence helicopters against rival company drones, with young navigators who hate them? (It also has an awesome soundtrack by the late Joel Goldsmith, son of Jerry)

Or maybe ‘Robot Jox’, set in a future where wars have stopped, and countries do battle for land by pitching their best warriors against each other in giant mech-suits.

In ‘They Live’, you might even run into a drifter who discovers sunglasses that allow him to see our alien masters, who use hypnotic mind control to live secretly amongst us as the ruling elite, and hide their subliminal controlling words on every billboard, in every magazine, even on your money…

But What About…

There are some movies that are definitely approaching B-Movie status, but I don’t think they quite qualify. For example, apart from his more low-budget films like ‘They Live’, I would find it hard to include John Carpenter’s ‘Escape from New York’ on the list. It certainly wasn’t a big budget film, but for the time it wasn’t low budget either, and is still quite highly regarded. ‘They Live’, on the other hand, was lower budget and although it has cult status and is loved by fans, is certainly not as widely regarded (though one of my personal all-time favourites). On the other hand, John Carpenter’s more recent ‘Ghosts of Mars’ possibly just edges into the region of being a more contemporary B-Movie.

solar warriors (1986) — Solar Warriors (1986)

Then there are films that are on a knife edge. Where, for example, would you classify ‘Solar Warriors’ (‘Solar Babies’ in U.S.), or ‘Saturn 3’? Both films with good actors, reasonable budgets (for their time) and quality production, but very close to being B-Movies. I don’t think I would class them as such, as their quality just edges them out of that categorisation, but they’re so close I could change my mind based on the time of day or direction the wind is blowing. Honestly, I’m changing my mind on ‘Solar Warriors’ as I write this.

There are other grey areas, too. How do you classify low budget but extremely well made, serious science fiction movies? I don’t believe they can be classed as B-Movies, because there is one main feature that defines a B-Movie. You have to be able to look at it, and know that it’s not high art. You know, in your gut, that the vast majority of people will never see it as a ‘great’ movie, even in the cases where it’s a success. The only ones who will see that ‘greatness’ are you and your fellow B-Movie fans… Think of ‘Moon’ or the more recent ‘Midnight Special’ (which was effectively a good but not great remake of John Carpenter’s Starman). Those films, and a few like them, despite being low-budget, are far too slickly made, well acted and critically rated to consider B-Movies. If you disagree, let me know!

In Conclusion

By listing just a few films, I’m trying to give you an idea that, despite the budgets, acting and direction, science fiction B-Movies often have more imagination and ideas than any number of big budget movies, be they special effects blockbuster, ‘gritty’ thrillers or ‘hard-hitting’ dramas.

The beauty of B-Movies, is that every fan will have their own take on what is and isn’t good. Some would look at my list and groan, whilst having favourites for which I would return the favour. More often than not, however, I would bet that the common trend throughout B-Movie fans, is that the films they enjoy are the ones that speak to them with ideas that intrigue, unusual characters that they empathise with, and a passion to put dreams into reality. They’re never soulless, and there’s often a sense of fun that overly-serious films lack.

The amusing thing for B-Movie fans, is that we know the films we enjoy are often terrible (or are at least seen that way by others), but we love them anyway…

Do you agree or disagree? What are your favourite Science Fiction B-Movies?

The Christopher Tyson Adventures – Force Rifle

(Don’t know what the Christopher Tyson Adventures are? Click here before continuing, if you want to know more…)

I’ve been a bit lax in posting anything new, due to that old ‘normal work/life’ thing, but here’s a new snippet to whet your appetites. At one point, Christopher Tyson has to defend himself against an imminent threat with a Force Rifle. Below are the initial design sketches, and the final refined concept.

As usual, the initial concepts were done with pro-marker and fine liner pens, then, using the rough concept art as a guide, the painting was completed digitally.

The final design ended up being 80-90% from the bottom right concept, with the top portion from the top right concept. As the description goes in the book…

   “Quickly.” Dev took Christopher to a rack containing a number of large, cylindrical weapons. “Take one of these, if it doesn’t weigh too much.”
   Christopher pulled one from its mounting, and thought he was going to fall over. It weighed a ton. With difficulty, he managed to use the attached strap so that his shoulder took most of the weight. “This is the right way round, isn’t it?” He searched and found what appeared to be the two main handles, the rear of which seemed to have a conventional trigger.
   “Yes,” Dev nodded, his eyes darting to the doorway as the echoing steps approached. “Flip that panel on top. That’s right. Now slide that back and then forward again. Good, it should start charging now.”
   Christopher’s could just make out the lowest possible hum from the weapon, and he was sure he could feel a static charge. “What does it do?”
   Dev darted to the entrance, peeked around the corner, then tapped something on the interior control panel that killed the room’s lights. “It is a weapon normally used for non-violent crowd control.”
   “You mean like a riot gun?”
   “If that’s what I think you mean, then yes. It emits a concussive wave of energy through the air that will knock over almost anything not fastened to the ground.”
   “Cool.” Christopher hefted the weapon to get a better grip.

The Christopher Tyson Adventures – Introduction and FAQ

Want to be a hero?
You don’t need to be a genius or have super powers.
You just need to learn how to fly a spaceship.

When Christopher Tyson and his friends discover an underground base full of spaceships and robots, watched over by an alien caretaker and his computer, it signals the beginning of an adventure that will take them to the stars.

Will they be able to save the Earth, perhaps even the Galaxy? It’s a lot to ask, when you’re only twelve, but Christopher and his friends must rise to the challenge. Will you join them?

If you’re looking at this blog, chances are, you may be wondering “What are these Christopher Tyson Adventures?” Well, to put it simply, they are a series of science fiction adventure books for children (age 10+). Book one is nearing publication before the end of this year (2016), and shall be accompanied by the release of an ‘art of’ book, which I shall post excerpts from.

FAQ
(Over time, I shall add new information to this FAQ, as it becomes relevant and people ask questions.)

Q) When is book one (Christopher Tyson – Mark of the Ancestor) due for release?
A) Before the end of this year. I can’t be any more precise, depending on how long things take to finalise, but I’m aiming for the end of November.

Q) How long is the book?
A) Just shy of 90k words. This is a little longer than the average children’s book (for example, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone was just shy of 77k). However, I feel the content justifies it and I don’t think it should be limited by the arbitrary expectations of big publishers (Think how much longer the later Harry Potter books were!). If you think it’s too long, feel free to buy a copy, have a read, and let me know which bits should’ve been cut; I enjoy the feedback! 🙂

Q) What formats will the book be available in?
A) It will be available on kindle e-book format, paperback and hardback. There will be a limited number of hardback copies available upon initial release.

Q) What is the content like? How suitable is it for young children?
A) There is plenty of action and adventure, as the title suggests, however (of course) there will be no sex or swearing. Some of the action elements could be considered intense, occasionally creepy, and there will be growing romantic elements as the books progress.

Q) How big is the ‘Art Of Christopher Tyson’?
A) The ‘Art Of’ book is not going to be large. Around ~50 pages, 12cm x 18cm (4.7″ x 7″), hardback glossy. Around the size of the average video game ‘Art Of’ book, rather than the larger format ones tied into movie releases. There is a possibility of extra elements to this, such as pullouts and fun details stuck to some pages, but I cannot confirm this until full costing is taken into account.

Q) What’s in the ‘Art Of Christopher Tyson’?
A) As an artist and designer, I’ve created a lot of concept art as I’ve written the book, in order to visualise the characters, creatures, worlds and vehicles. Some elements will be full-colour paintings, others will be rough design sketches, illustrating the overall creative process. There will also be accompanying text, explaining my thoughts on some of the designs.

Any more questions? Feel free to get in touch, and I’ll try to answer them in here!

The Rebel Review

My first concerted effort at producing my own written works, was a home-made magazine called the ‘Rebel Review’. Why the ‘Rebel Review’? Well, since childhood I have been a Star Wars fan. How much of a fan depends entirely on your perception of such things. Some people would consider me an over-the-top fan with a large collection of Star Wars books (from art-of to fiction), a fair sized collection of the original toys from childhood (ebay tempts, but hasn’t won yet!), numerous collectible items, various copies of the movies from different releases over the years, the list goes on. Then again, some might consider me a mid-level enthusiast, since my interest spreads to all science fiction, fantasy and beyond.

Regardless, I was enough of a Star Wars fan in my teens that when I decided to make my own magazine, I chose to make it predominantly Star Wars related, with short stories and various movie and book reviews. I’m not sure, but I think one of my sisters suggested the title, in honour of the Rebel Alliance (The good guys, for those of you who have lived in an isolation chamber).

There were, of course, lots of other reasons behind it, other than Star Wars. It was an endeavour that combined many of my favourite things.

Star Wars and Science Fiction? Check
Movies? Check
Books? Check
Artwork? Check
Story (and other) writing? Check
Excuse to use my Dad’s computer and photocopier? Check

My father produced the local parish magazine on a monthly basis, using the combination of a rental-purchase photocopier and his new Amstrad PCW8256 computer with 9-pin dot-matrix printer. It was my first true exposure to computers, outside of a friend’s ZX Spectrum and the limited BBC micros at school. To this day, there’s still something strangely hypnotic and unusual about the PCW. The guts of the machine were inside the same casing as the monitor, which itself was green-screen only. I could easily wax lyrical about the hours spent programming games in BASIC from listings in the magazine, creating primitive graphics in LOGO, the unusual 3” disks, or playing Fairlight and Tomahawk into the early hours, only to come away with square eyes and a strange sense of detachment from reality… but those memories are for another time. For now, its miracle was the ability to write and save files using the LocoScript word processor, and print them.

So using word processing software that would be considered less-than-primitive now, I learnt to type and write on a computer. I was fascinated with what my dad was able to do on that machine, and I wanted to produce something of my own.

The first issue was put together in 1990, after the release of ‘Gremlins 2’. I would’ve been about fourteen. I continued producing them until the 7th and final issue was released in 1993. It had huge print runs, of perhaps 10, maybe even 20 copies, which were sold to friends and relatives with plenty of encouragement and praise from my mother. I wrote short stories, created word-searches, quizzes and games, wrote film and book reviews, and gave my thoughts on the latest movie news. I often drew pictures for the covers and the stories. By the final few issues I was even using an art package and mouse on my Dad’s PCW, to produce primitive black and white computer graphics.

It was all enormous fun, most of which was had in piecing together the various items for photocopying. For example, the first issue sported an image of Gizmo from ‘Gremlins 2’ on the front cover along with the magazine title and a couple of small accompanying images (See the start of the article). How did I produce that? I drew a large portrait of Gizmo in pencil, around which I glued two photocopied images from my favourite movie magazine (the recently re-born ‘Starburst’). On a second piece of paper, I printed the title and a couple of other bits of text. I would then photocopy the title page, then run the same used pieces of paper through the copier again, this time photocopying the Gizmo images. Voilà! A title page combing the two.

Gradually my expertise grew. Numerous bits of Blu-Tack or Pritt Stick glue kept images, titles and lines of text on pieces of A4 paper, which were then copied to produce inventively laid out pages. Finally, they were all stapled together to create multiple copies of each issue. The sense of accomplishment at picking up and flicking through a ‘magazine’ created by myself was fantastic. Sure, looking back on them now it’s easy to see them as naïve and primitive, but it’s all part of the knowledge and experience that has taken me to where I am today (Or at least given me some fun childhood memories).

In retrospect, it also provided an unusual form of bonding between my father and I. It was at once a solitary process, either typing away or gluing things to pieces of paper, whilst also being something we could share. I was using all of my Dad’s equipment, from the PCW and photocopier, to his stapler and paper guillotine (which is still going strong in a certain cake shop!). We enjoyed our mutual fascination and enjoyment at using the computer, and he was able to help me when I needed it. On those occasions that I decided to create an issue, my life was suddenly consumed, usually for at least a week or so. I was ever-present in my Dad’s study, taking up space and no doubt getting in the way. When I think back, he must have been incredibly patient!

What did I learn? Plenty, no doubt, but it’s the memories I cherish the most. Childhood enthusiasm and dreams that came to life and became miraculously real, with the involvement of family and friends.

In a way that even photos cannot achieve, I can pick up one of those old issues with their now-yellowing pages, and a host of memories and emotions come flooding back. It conjures up those times when I felt accomplishment (simple and minor as it was) combined with naïve optimism, and it was all shared with loved ones and friends to create something that never fails to bring a smile, even to this day.