Volume 28 Number 11 Issue 341 April 2016

Volume 28 Number 11 Issue 341
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR
March was busy.
We had our picnic which was fun as usual. The
pictures should be up on Facebook.
That same weekend was Conjur. A fun con with a lot
of friends old and new. I spent most of the time in the Dealers
Room which is good way to see a con.
The International Conference for the Fantastic Arts
(ICFA) was also in March. There were great papers and ideas
presented. I also got a lot of Advance Readers Copies and
magazines to give away at OASIS. There were also some nice
remembrances for David Harwtell.
I finished my Hugo nominations. Finalists will be
announced on April 26.
Next month Maybe tight do OASIS but I would like to
try a review.
Events
Hurriccane Who: Bon Voyage Paradox
April 1-2
Florida Hotel and Conference Center
1500 Sand Lake Road
Orlando, FL 32809
Friday $52.24, Saturday Free
·
Guests: Peter Davison (5th Doctor, Doctor Who)
·
Katy Manning (Jo Grant, Doctor Who)
·
Frazer Hines (Jamie, Doctor Who)
·
Terry Molloy (Davros, Doctor Who)”
Ian McNeice (Churchill, Doctor Who)
www.hurricanewho.com
Spooky Empire Retro
April 1-3
Wyndham Orlando Resort
8001 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819
$65 for 3-days at the door
Guests: Alice Cooper (Rock Legend)
Paul Sorvino (actor)
Kelly LeBrock (actor, Weird Science)
April 2016
Anthony Michael Hall (actor, Weird Science)
Ilan Mitchell-Smith (actor, Weird Science)
Tsutomu Kitagawa (actor, Gojira films)
Kenpachiro Satsuma (actor, Gojira films)
Bin Furuya (actor, Ultraman)
And many more
www.spookyempire.com/
Space Nerd Fest
April 16-17
Hilton Melbourne Rialto Place
200 Rialto Place
Melbourne, Florida, 32901-3092
$15 pre-reg, $20 at the door 1 day
$22.50 pre-reg, $30 at the door 2 Day
Guests: Ricou Browning (actor, Creature from the Black
Lagoon)
Julie Adams (actor, Creature from the Black
Lagoon)
Michael Winslow (impressionist)
Marc B. Lee (Master of Ceremonies)
Winston Scott (NASA Astronaut)
www.spacecoastnerdfest.org/
First Coast Comic Con
April 24
Ramada Inn 3130 Hartley Rd.
Jacksonville, Florida 32257
$5 at the door
Information on Facebook page
Recon 2015
April 28-May 1
International Palms and Resort
6515 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819
$15 pre-reg, $25 at the door (HMGS members)
$25 pre-reg, $35 at the door (non HMGS members)
http://www.hmgs-south.com/
OASFiS Event Horizon Vol 28 Issue 341 April 2016. Published Monthly by the Orlando Area Science Fiction Society (OASFiS). All rights reserved by
original Authors and Artists. Editor: Juan Sanmiguel, 1421 Pon Pon Court, Orlando, FL 32825. Subscriptions are $12.00 per year and entitle the
subscriber to membership in the Society. Attending Memberships are $20.00 per year. Extra memberships to family members are $6.00 per year
when only one newsletter is sent to the household. To subscribe or join OASFiS, send a check or money order to: OASFiS, PO Box 323, Goldenrod,
FL 32733-0323. To submit Articles, Artwork or Letters of Comment to the Event Horizon, send them to the Editor's address above or
[email protected]. For additional information, call our Voice Mail at (407) 823-8715. OASFiS is a state chartered not for profit corporation
whose goal is the promotion of Science Fiction in all its forms. All opinions expressed herein are solely those of the Author(s) and in no way represent
the opinions of the Society or its members as a whole.
Page two
April 2016
OASFiS People
April OASFiS Calendar
OASFiS Business Meeting
Sunday, April 101:30 PM, Brick and Fire Pasta and Steve Cole
Pizza Parlor (Downtown Orlando, 1621 South Orange Ave
Susan Cole
Orlando, Florida 32806 407-426-8922). Come join us as
we discuss works we are reading and watching and do
Arthur Dykeman
some con planning
To contact for more info:
OASFiS Business Meeting
Steve Grant
407-823-8715
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
WARNING SPOLIERS
This is a film fans have been asking for years, a live
action team up with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
This is not a perfect or a great movie. It has some gems that are
in the jumble of a story and action sequences.
The film starts at the end of Man of Steel, from Bruce
Wayne’s (Ben Affleck) point of view. He is trying to save the
lives of his employees during the battle between Superman
(Henry Cavill) and Zod (Michael Shannon). Wayne sees the
destruction caused by the battle close up. Eighteen months later
Lex Luthor (Jessie Eisenberg) discovers a substance (kryptonite)
from one of the wrecked Kryptonian ships that can neutralize the
invulnerability of Kryptonian cells. He wants government
support to get more kryptonite, but is stalled. Bruce, concerned
about Superman’s potential threat, wants the kryptonite as well.
Superman is trying to build goodwill, but incidents in Nairobi
and Washington DC make people doubt Superman’s sincerity.
Luthor forces Superman to fight Batman. At the same time Bruce
discovers a woman (Gal Godot) also investigating Luthor’s
affairs.
Luthor’s plan does not make sense. He seems to want
Batman and Superman to fight each other for no reason. His
operatives kidnap Martha Clark to force Superman to confront
Batman. Luthor promises to free Martha if Superman kills
Batman. Why? When this fails, he releases Doomsday (a
resurrected Zod spliced with Luthor’s DNA). Was he going do to
this anyway? Was he trying to eliminate both heroes? There are
implications this maybe part of an even bigger plan, but it is not
clear in the movie.
Snyder knows how to do action. There are many
elaborate action sequences throughout the film. Despite most of
them being in the dark, they are easy to follow. Each action
sequence displays the characters powers properly.
Zack Snyder’s Superman is mopey. He does not know
his place in the world. After the attack in Washington DC rather
than defending himself Superman withdraws from the world. The
messages Superman gets from his parents is that getting involved
with the world is doomed. Superman only reengages when he has
personal stakes involved. This far from the Superman who is the
moral center of the DC Heroes. That Superman always knows
what is the right thing to do and inspires others. We see a little of
this towards the end of the film but again it is due to dire state of
the circumstances.
Batman is more traditionally portrayed. He does act
very extreme, but it is for the greater good and no innocents are
Mike Pilletere
David Ratti
Juan Sanmiguel
Patricia Wheeler
407-275-5211
[email protected]
407-275-5211
[email protected]
407-328-9565
[email protected]
352 241 0670
[email protected]
[email protected]
407-282-2468
[email protected]
407-823-8715
[email protected]
407-832-1428
[email protected]
in danger due to his actions. Affleck does well as both Batman
and Bruce Wayne. His Wayne has the needed charm and
sophistication. His Batman has the right intensity. Affleck’s
Batman’s voice is right and does not grate like some of the Nolan
films.
Amy Adams is perfect as Lois Lane. Lois is
investigating what happened in Nairobi. She is put in danger in
order to be rescued, but she is also Clark’s connection to
humanity. She sees him as we do, a beacon of hope. Lois wants
Clark to be the Superman we want him to be.
Wonder Woman is one the big strengths of the film. Gal
Godot is perfect for the role. Her Diana is very cool and in
control while investigating Luthor and dealing with Wayne.
When the threat of Doomsday arises, without hesitation she joins
Superman and Batman to deal with the problem and holds her
own during the battle. Hans Zimmer gives her a powerful theme
tune. For the first time since the 1970s, we finally have a live
action version of Diana of Themyscira.
There is one inspired moment in the film. When Batman
is about to kill Superman, Superman pleads for his mother by
name (forget asking why he calls her by first name). Clark’s and
Bruce’s mother have the same name, Martha. Neil Gaiman once
noted in an introduction to The Dark Knight Returns, that
Batman sees the glass half empty. No matter how many villains
he stops or how many lives he saves, Bruce’s parents are still
dead and he cannot change that. Traditional Superman is the
complete opposite. When their fight stops, Bruce will rescue
Martha while Clark confronts Luthor. Saving someone’s mother
with the same name may give Bruce some much-needed closure.
It is rare that Batman gets a chance at this.
The DC first string heroes are very easy to define.
Superman (1938), Batman (1939), and Wonder Woman (1941)
have always been in print since their debuts while other heroes
have come, gone, and comeback again. Seeing the DC trinity
together is worth the price of admission.
The planned Justice League film is on its way.
Hopefully Snyder will get the point and lighten up the film. Dark
and gritty can only go so far and only for characters that are
(Continued on page 4)
Page three
April 2016
Pictures at Conjour
Top Row: Catwoman from DC Comics, Starfleet officer from Star Trek, Sith Inquisitor from
Star Wars, Dream finder and F igment from Disney
Bottom Row:: Zombie, Phoenix and Cyclops from Marvel’s X-Men, Jack Skellington and
Sally from A Nightmare Before Christmas, Pirate
Page four
April 2016
(Continued from page 2)
designed for it like Batman. The other Justice League members
are lighter. Writer Darwyn Cooke pointed out that the Justice
League is composed of individuals who could conquer the Earth
but every month they risk their lives trying to save it for our
entertainment. Would someone please get this message to Mr.
Snyder.
Letter of Comments
1706-24 Eva Rd.
Etobicoke, ON
CANADA M9C 2B2
I will be doing the same. I am going to binge watch the series in
May
It’s hard to believe that this is the 50th year of the Nebula
Awards. I was asked if we were going, but we are saving for our
big trip to England in August, and a side trip to Chicago just isn’t
in the cards. Great Stoker list, but ChiZine won big last year, and
I don’t see anything from them in this year’s ballot. However,
Edge is there with Nancy Kilpatrick and Caro Soles, so I hope
they get something good.
Most of the Nebula short fiction is available online.
So many conventions where you are, and there’s plenty here, too.
I a week and a half, Toronto Comicon will be downtown, and we
hope to meet up with Jason Isaacs, aka Lucius Malfoy. The
beginning of April sees the Kitchener Comic Con down Highway
401 from us, where we will have a dealer’s table, and then our
home convention, the one we’ve been going to for 35 years, Ad
Astra 2016, where we will have two tables.
March 10, 2016
Dear OASFiSians:
Issue 340 of the Event Horizon is here, and while new zines flow
into my IN box, some have got to go out, and this issue is the
Many thanks, take care, see you with the next issue.
next one! Here come some comments…
, Lloyd Penney.
We haven’t been able to keep up with The Magicians…perhaps
when this first season is done, we can watch them online, and get
caught up.
Pictures at ICFA 37:
Believing in Science Fiction:
A Tribute to David Hartwell
Gary K. Wolfe (moderator), Joan Slonczewski, Kathleen Goonan, Daryl Gregory, Marco
Palmeri, and Kevin Maroney
Page five
April 2016
Pictures at ICFA 37
Clockwise starting at the top left:
Delia Sherman reading Guest of Honor Terri Windling’s speech
Writer Gail Carriger
Opening Ceremony Panel– Wonder Tales (left to right): Gary K. Wolfe (moderator), Joan Slonczewski,
Kathleen Goonan, Daryl Gregory, Marco Palmeri and Kevin Maroney
OASFiS
P.O. Box 592905
ORLANDO, FL 32859-2905
Joe Fan
123 Sesame Street
Orlando, FL 32805