Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

Superheroes are everywhere at the moment – but there are a few that may have escaped the attention of the more casual fan who’s simply caught up with the big screen adventures of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe – although if they’ve not got Spider-Man Homecoming or Wonder Woman yet, then they’re obvious choices! (Blu-ray review of Spidey here, and Wonder Woman here.)

If you enjoy The X-Men, then you need to check out Legion, the very different Fox show that goes to places that other shows haven’t. To get a flavour, check out our reviews starting here.

And there’s a rapidly expanding universe of DC heroes on the small screen with recent seasons of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and team-up Legends of Tomorrow all available on Blu-ray and DVD.

Stephen King seems to be nearly as ubiqitous now as he was in the 1980s. If you’ve not read Sleeping Beauties, the novel he co-wrote with his son Owen, then you should – read our review here – while his return to Castle Rock, Gwendy’s Button Box, penned with Richard Chizmar, is a short and powerful tale (our review here).

And don’t miss out on his other son’s latest collection – Joe Hill’s Strange Weather, reviewed here.

The long gestating movie The Dark Tower (reviewed here) finally came out this summer saw Idris Elba as the Gunslinger, crossing between the worlds.

Horror fans are very well served by two recent books – Christopher Frayling’s Frankenstein: The First Two Hundred Years, an in depth look at everything connected to Mary Shelley’s creation, and Stephen Jones’ The Art of Horror Movies (our review here). Neither is cheap, but well worth every penny.

Speaking of artwork, there are many other great collections but Discworld fans may well want to keep an eye out for Imaginarium, the collection of Paul Kidby’s art that has just been published by Gollancz. This includes over three dozen previously unseen pieces.

Finally, in this section, something for the retro fans.

Both The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons celebrated their 50th anniversaries earlier this year, and those who love the former should certainly seek out the documentary In My Mind (reviewed here) that sheds new light on the series’ star. Captain Scarlet fans gained their own Haynes Manual (reviewed here) and both shows have been celebrated by audio experts Big Finish with new adventures for The Prisoner (reviewed here) and long-forgotten tales for Captain Scarlet (reviewed here). (While you’re on the Big Finish site, take a look at their continuations of Terry Nation’s Survivors, and 1970s horror tale The Omega Factor, amongst many others – they don’t just do Doctor Who and Torchwood!)

Other classic British shows have made it (finally!) onto DVD: Simply Media have brought out Edward Woodward’s excellent 1990 (our review here), while Network have reopened the Hammer House of Horror. Again, have a browse through their websites, as there’s plenty of brilliant and often overlooked gems there.