The publishers say the “160-pages of black and white photographs shot with the soon-to-be-extinct Type 55 Polaroid film captures the intensity of the male subjects.”

And boy, what subjects. . .   Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights), Ian Somerhalder (Lost,Vampire Diaries), Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood),  Jerry O’Connell (Crossing Jordan), Justin Chon (Twilight, New Moon), Justin Hartley (Smallville), Mark Wystrach (Passions), Gilles Marini (Sex and the City),  Victor Webster (Mutant X),  Will Estes (American Dreams), Jim Caviezel (The Prisoner), Travis Van Winkle (Friday the 13th, Transformers), Jesse Metcalfe (Desperate Housewives),  William Fichtner (Prison Break, The Dark Night) and lots more. Sadly, the only thing missing from this book are either one of those Supernatural boys.

About Face is cloth bound, 160 pages, 10.25 x 12.50 inches, and signed, with a limited-edition of 1500 copies and so it does come with a hefty price tag — but hey, that’s what holiday gift giving is all about.

You can see some of the photography and order a copy at Pixie Press Worldwide. The publisher will be donating a portion of the profits to the children’s charity Smile Train.

Book cover courtesy of Pixie Press Worldwide via Newscom.

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Stargate

The issue focuses on Stargate Universe and includes a guide to the new show, inside the writers’ room, and interviews with stars Robert Carlyle and Louis Ferriera.

There’s also a salute to Daniel Jackson, an interview with Ben Browder and a look at the Wit and Wisdom of Rodney McKay. That’s a little something fans of every Stargate incarnation.

To download this Stargate Magazine: Special Download Edition, visit:
http://www.titanmagazines.com/stargate

While you’re there, sign up for the special Stargate sweepstakes to win a “money-can’t-buy” prize!

Photo courtesy of Titan

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What classic scifi show do you think this Time magazine reviewer was referring to? You’ll find the answer when you read Mark Phillips’ blog covering what the critics had to say about early scifi TV.

Mark and I “met” virtually when we both began pitching stories about Irwin Allen’s TV shows to magazines such as Starlog in the early 90’s. Since then, he’s made quite a career out of tracking down crew members and guest stars — just about everyone who ever worked on an Irwin Allen production as well as other classic shows.

Together with his partner Frank Garcia, Mark wrote an extensive encyclopedia covering 62 scifi shows always trying to be as objective as possible about the material. During his research, he uncovered tons of critiques written when these shows were new and now he’s publish bits of them on his blog.

From the critic who said Lost in Space star Jonathan Harris gave the worst single performance of the year to the one who said Star Trek was a “dreary mess” — check out Mark’s blog and don’t forget to tell him that Cynthia sent you.

Photo: Amazon

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Says Fitzgerald of his encounter with a ghostly child, “I believed she knew who it was and we needed her to give us the name of the killer. I asked a leading UK EVP specialist to help and low and behold she gave us a name, but the reluctance of the police force stopped any further development and all our investigations were halted immediately. She is still there and the killer is still free.”

Read Alison’s full interview at Screamstress.com.

Pictured: (clockwise from bottom left) – Dustin Pari, Brandy Green, Angela Alderman, Joe Chin, Barry Fitzgerald, Robb Demarest — SCI FI Channel.

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Claudia’s quite the mixed bag, isn’t she? How would you describe her?

Allison: Claudia’s a complex chiquita. She’s smart and sassy and kind of a child prodigy with IT.  She was orphaned at a young age with her brother and twelve years ago he was lost in a freak teleportation accident that involved an artifact.

But thanks to Claudia’s determination and Artie’s know how, he’s been rescued from that “neither here nor there” world.

Allison: Shooting that episode, while it was a major challenge time wise and with all the effects, was seemingly effortless because Saul Rubinek and I clicked immediately. It was like we’d been working together for thirty years and the writing — I just connected with it. I thought it was fantastic; it was not a difficult task to settle in. And Claudia is, witty, but she’s also; she’s passionate, she’ll go after her goals with 100% commitment. As you saw, she didn’t rest for twelve years trying to get her brother back, that’s actually a bit of a crisis that goes on after the episode-so small spoiler, Claudia trying to figure out what to do with her life.

The writers had said that they tried to take from something from the actors to put into the stories. Is there anything of you in Claudia?

Allison: Oh absolutely. I mean, I’m sort of a sass in life. I’m fluent in sarcasm, so I’m definitely given the freedom to riff. The first thing I was told when I visited the writers room after I got the part was okay, we’re a bunch of guys in our late twenties and thirties writing for an eighteen year old girl, so if we got something wrong, go ahead, put your Allison flavor on it, because you know better than we. But more often than not they just gave me hilarious little Claudia-isms to establish from. If I share anything with my character I think it’s wit. Hopefully.

The Claudia episode is pretty heavy, but it looks like you lighten up some in the future.

Allison: That was the tricky part of Claudia. Balancing, the humor that was written with the emotional stakes of  the action going on and the ultimate goal which is to get Joshua back, which was, as you saw, very dangerous. So, yeah, once Claudia settles into the warehouse, she definitely finds her groove and finds her confidence; likes to have fun, sometimes at the expense of the warehouse and always at the expense of Artie’s nerves. But also brings her new-age, steam-punk skill set to the IT system.

I saw some promos you filmed with Saul and you’re like an old Vaudeville team, the two of you.

Allison: That was such a fun day. We had a blast doing that. We’re like, wow that’s exactly how it feels, we can just kind of riff non-stop. You put us in our characters and in a situation and we just go. He’s the best.

Saul’s quite the trooper, what have you learn from him and has he learned anything for you?

Allison: I have learned a ton from Saul. I think Saul has probably learned a bit about how to handle his daughter by being around me. With Saul, I mean, he’s just… you know with stories, of the good ole days and his past, fifty-some-odd year career, sage advice. He talks a lot, I spend half the day talking to Saul, but I’m never tired of it. I definitely learned a lot from Saul, he’s a guru, a friend, a mentor. Our on-screen relationship has definitely crossed over into life.

Talk to me about Joanne and Eddie. Whenever I see them together, they come off like loving, bantering brother and sister.

Allison: Yeah, If the foursome is a family then Eddie is my older, goofball brother.  Joanne’s the focused, hardworking, detail-oriented, overachieving sister, I’m the middle child, no I’m not, well yeah! I am, Eddie’s kind of a little kid. And then Saul is our providing patriarch. It did not take long for us to fall into those family roles.

It sounds like your on-screen and your off-screen roles fit rather well together.

Allison: They absolutely do. The line blurred, it is totally blurred.

The whole premise of the series is about the cursed objects, but I wonder if you had an object that could give you some really great power. What would you want it to be?

Allison: If I could have one artifact, I think I would like Marilyn Monroe’s lipstick.  I have a feeling that Marilyn Monroe’s lipstick once applied would make any man fall in love with you.

Now to my favorite random questions:

What’s something you’ve done that you’re never going to do that again?

Allison: Oh my goodness… never do again? Wow. I gotta think about this one. I don’t think I regret anything. Isn’t that weird?

It doesn’t have to be a regret. It could be something really fantastic that its not likely you’ll get a chance to do again…

Allison: Oh well! I did just get back Hawaii. And I learned how to surf in Hanalei Bay which is right around the corner from where Puff the Magic Dragon lives.  And it was just the perfect setting to learn. To try out the waves and stuff. But it’s a totally different animal trying to surf in California, the water’s freezing, it’s dirty, you have to have a wetsuit… so as much as I would love to make that a habit, realistically, I don’t think I’m getting in that freezing, dirty water.

What is something that you have kept since you were a kid?

Allison: Oh my goodness. I could be honest and give the really dorky answer…? Or… aw man, I want to have a cool public image so badly. What have I kept that is not dorky?

Dorky’s endearing. Come on…

Allison: Okay, alright, alright. I’ll be honest. When I was 3 months old, my grandmother gave me a little stuffed dog that I named Fifi and I still have her.  She’s my security blanket, in preschool, if a  kid dared me to go up on the monkey bars, I’d just consult with my little white dog… oh no, I’m sorry, Fifi doesn’t want to, she’s afraid, you understand. Fifi belongs in the warehouse I think. If you clutch her tight to bosom, she bestows a feeling of joy.

Which is kind of funny because Allison has the same effect on people. Sweet, endearing, with a “nothing can stop me now” attitude, she’s a great addition to the Warehouse 13 family.

Watch Warehouse 13, Tuesdays at 9:00 on Syfy.

SCI FI Channel Photo: Justin Stephens

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Haikasoru launches with two titles,  The Lord of the Sands of Time, a time travel adventure that begins in ancient Japan and moves to the 26th Century, and All You Need is Kill which has been called “science fiction for the adrenaline junkie.”

“SF, manga and anime fans will definitely enjoy these debut titles from Haikasoru,” says Masumi Washington, Editor-in-Chief of Haikasoru at VIZ Media. “These novels present science fiction that is engaging, imaginative and exotic and we’re very excited to offer a whole new genre of Japanese literature to readers in the U.S.”

Haikasoru is scheduled to publish twelve books a year with four books coming out this summer.  For more information look behind the cut then visit www.haikasoru.com.

ALL YOU NEED IS KILL by Hiroshi Sakurazaka
Cover illustration by Yoshitoshi Abe
Price: $13.99 U.S. / CAN $16.00
When the alien Gitai invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor called a Jacket and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On his 158th iteration, he finally sees something different, something out of place—a female soldier known as the Full Metal Bitch. Is she the key to Keiji’s escape or his final death?

THE LORD OF THE SANDS OF TIME by Issui Ogawa
Cover illustration by Bukichi Nadeara
Price: $13.99 U.S. / CAN $16.00
Sixty-two years after human life on earth was annihilated by rampaging aliens, the enigmatic cyborg Messenger O is sent back in time with the mission to unite the humanity of past eras—during World War II and in ancient Japan, even back at the dawn of humanity—in order to defeat the alien invasion before it begins. But amidst a future shredded by war, love also waits for O. Will O save humanity only to doom himself? THE LORD OF THE SANDS OF TIME was nominated for the prestigious Seiun Award, the leading award for Japanese science fiction, the winners of which are selected each year by members of the Japanese National Science Fiction Convention.

Cover Art Courtesy of Viz Media

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Neptunian News says, “Eclectic Gypsy should be required reading” while the Skaro Telegraph says it’s utter nonsense and author Dave Thompson should be exterminated.

Well, you can’t please all of the creatures all of the time, can you?

Eclectic Gypsy is subtitled “an unauthorized biography of Doctor Who” but it’s so much more than that. This book is probably the only volume ever written that follows the Doctor from birth through his early school years to his travels on Planet Earth. It’s a comprehensive dossier built from scraps of information found in newspapers and pamphlets from across the galaxy, personal interviews with acquaintances and modern news footage. You may think you know the Doctor, but do you really?

Did you know that the Doctor was so fascinated with Planet Earth in his early years that whenever he had to date an incident in history class he gave the Gallifreyan chronology, the local reference and the Planet Earth date? A quirk that did little to endear him to his fellow students.

That’s just one of hundreds of little tidbits of trivia that you’ll find in this book. Dave Thompson has done his homework here, following up on every mention of the Doctor dating back more than 700 years. And even more captivating than the news clips are the personal interviews with the Doctor’s early professors, his young granddaughter who traveled with him for a time and even Za, a caveman has something to say about this amazing traveler.

If you’ve ever sat around a star bar listening to stories about the Doctor, wondering if they were true — then this is the book for you. See how the man became the myth when you read Eclectic Gypsy by Dave Thompson.

Book cover from Amazon and special thanks to Collector’s Guide Publishing for supplying a copy of this fascinating biography.

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Doesn’t look like a leaked copy of the film sans special effects had any impact, unless it was to increase anticipation for the finished product. Bringing in that kind of cash, it’s almost a certainty we’ll see more X-films. As a matter of fact, as long as these things keep making money, X-Men Origins:That Mutant That Was In One Scene in X-Men 2 is not out of the realm of possibility.

Heroes star Ali Larter is turning heads in Obsessed, a thriller that paints her as a psychopath trying to steal Beyonce Knowles’ man.  Ali Larter or Beyonce? Only in the movies are men faced with such decisions. Obsessed cost only $20 million but has already pulled in nearly $50 million.

As for our favorite mutant, he will likely only have a one week reign at the top as a little Star Trek movie opens next week. It is a great time to be alive, SFUniverse faithful.

Image: Bauer-Griffin

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We learn more about the history between Wolverine and Sabretooth, the Weapon X program and there are a few cameos from other mutants such as Cyclops, Deadpool and Gambit.

The commercials say that “summer begins here” and in terms of the summer box office, that is probably not an untrue statement. It’s certainly anticipated to be the summer’s first blockbuster. As journalists, we’re watching to see what impact the leak of an unfinished cut will have on the box office, if any. Readers, do you plan to spend at least part of your weekend with some X-Men?

Images: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, TM and Copyright 20th Century Fox Film Corp.

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This year VIZ Media has something truly special planned, it’s a 32-page Shonen Jump sample (rated T for teens) featuring one chapter of Ultimo, one of the newest serialized manga adventures in the best-selling monthly manga anthology.

Manga, you say? But not just any manga. Ultimo is the historic collaboration between comic book legend Stan Lee, creator of many iconic superheroes, including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, and Hiroyuki Takei, the creator of the popular Shaman King manga series. The new series, which is serialized in Shonen Jump, is an incredible collaboration of East and West with the majesty of manga and the sultan of superheros.

Also included in the Sampler is a special look at every single SHONEN JUMP manga series, an Ultimo pinup (of a character that may look familiar to Stan Lee fans), and an insightful interview with both Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei.

So make sure you stop by your local comic book shop this Saturday to pick up the special Shonen Jump sampler and all of the free comics. For more information visit www.shonenjump.com or stop by www.freecomicbookday.com to locate a participating location near you.

Cover art courtesy of VIZ Media.

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