So, what was the best genre-related (SF/F/H) item you enjoyed in 2009. This does not have to be something that came out this year, just something you read/watched/played and really dug. Book, TV, Movie, Album, Game, Comic…whatever. Drop us a comment and let us know.

John Picacio

Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist by James Gurney: My favorite art book of 2009. Despite the title, it’s not a ‘how-to’ book as much as it is a window into how a great illustrator solves problems and makes pictures. Gurney offers the kind of practical info that all illustrators, novice to professional, covet when they talk shop or visit each other’s studios. His writing is concise, generous, and personal, and he’s a great example of the truism that great artists never stop learning. His book feels less like a “voice of authority” laying down absolutisms and more like a friend inviting you into his studio for the day. I wish it was available in hardcover because it’s a keeper.

Sanford Allen

26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss by Kij Johnson. I’m going to cheat and name something that was released in 2008. I rationalize this in two ways: First, so uninformed am I that I wasn’t aware of its existence until this year. And second, it won the 2009 World Fantasy Award for best short story. “26 Monkeys” is about a woman who buys a travelling monkey show then tries to figure out the secret behind the primates’ nightly disappearing act. But, as with other great short stories, it’s about more than that. Namely learning to work through grief and loss. As shitty as 2009 was for many of us, “26 Monkeys” has special resonance for that reason. And there, I suppose, is a third way to rationalize my cheat. Read it online at Kij’s website.

Mistah Pete – Left Foot Red Productions

Film: if you miss 80s action movies like I miss 80s action movies, you must see Punisher: War Zone, out now on DVD. The most subversive Hollywood action movie since Robocop. All blood and neon and exploding chest cavities, but fun. If you’re of an artsy stripe and can get past the subtitles, I strongly endorse Tokyo! It’s one of those anthology movies, where three directors make short films about their favorite city. Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Joon-ho Bong: if you’ve seen anything by the famous first and last ones, you know how incredible it is when I tell you that the middle one is just as groovy. And The Men Who Stare at Goats is one of those divisive movies that some people love and some hate. Despite the Star Wars references, it’s not strictly science fiction. It purports to be docu-drama. Me, I don’t care if it’s true; there’s psychic phenomena, a cast I’d go gay for, and it makes me laugh at 80s cock-rock in a whole new way, and that’s enough for me.

TV: Television has become so much better than movies. If you watch Mad Men or Dexter or Battlestar Galactica, that’s probably not news to you. But what might surprise you is how much better kiddie TV has become. Chowder and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack are two new fantastical entries from Cartoon Network that are not just amazing to watch, they give you hope that a generation of children will grow up demanding their entertainment be this good. Coming soon is Adventure Time! which promises to make me just as giddy.

Comics: Scud: The Whole Shebang is a collection of Rob Schrab’s incredible series, Scud the Disposable Assassin. He started it in the early 90s, then quit, leaving fans with an impossible cliffhanger. This new volume includes the entire run, along with the final four issues that wrap the story up ten years later, in a most satisfying way. You start reading for the zombie dinosaurs and robot sex and psychotic devil-worshipping American forefathers, but you stick around for the story of a killer robot in love. This is one of the great achievements in funnybooks, and it’s finally available in one big volume.

Crystal Shedrock-Rangel, President – Doctor Who Fans Unite

David Tennant/Doctor Who: Looking back on 2009, the one thing in the Sci-Fi realm that stands out in my mind is that this is our last year with David Tennant as Doctor Who. Tennant cemented himself in the hearts of many fans after portraying the 10th Doctor for the last four years. Season 4 ended with a spectacular finale and left the Doctor without a companion. Beginning at the end of 2008, the BBC ran a series of specials throughout the year: The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead and Waters of Mars. Though many fans loved these specials, I felt that they were missing something. Could it be that the news of Tennant leaving skewed my opinions or does the Doctor just function better with a regular companion? Now at the close of 2009 we find ourselves standing at the end of time itself. Part 1 of The End of Time aired on BBC America last Saturday night and part 2 airs this upcoming Saturday. This is Tennent’s farewell with Matt Smith waiting in the wings to take his position as the 11th Doctor.

Though we will be losing Tennant, the series will be taken over by Steven Moffat as head writer and executive producer. Moffat wrote the award winning episodes, Blink, The Girl in the Fireplace and The Empty Child, to name a few so the Doctor’s prospects look good. Part 1 of The End of Time left me guessing, but I didn’t find myself reaching for a kleenex. I am very curious to see where outgoing writer Russell T. Davies is taking this story line because right now I have no idea. He has a lot of questions to answer in part 2. For a complete review of Part 1 check out Geek Speak.

Doctor Who Fans Unite is not going to let Tennant leave without a proper farewell. On January 20th we will screen both Parts 1 & 2 of The End of Time at The Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes. It will be an event not to miss. We will be celebrating his departure with blow out bash. There will be: Trivia Contest, 10th Doctor Era Costume Contest, Special Doctor Who Art, Shirts, Buttons and Adipose will be for sale.

Frank Zieglar - KiDDandGEEZER

I watched Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica this year. I don’t have cable television, so I got the DVD’s from the San Antonio Public Library and watched everything they had on both. I never watched the original Doctor Who as a kid, but this new series makes me wish I had. Now my teenage daughter considers herself a Whovian. One of these days we’ll make it a showing at the Drafthouse. I did, however, watch the orginal Battlestar Galactica as a kid and it helped me appreciate the new version even more. Now if I could only get my daughter to watch it…

I loved the Watchmen movie that came out in March. I’ve been a fan of the graphic novel for years now, and thought the movie was very well done. Faithful to the source (mostly) while still being it’s own independent creation. Last but not least was Star Trek. I thought this movie was so well done, including lens flares. Sure, there were a few minor things to overlook, but this movie ROCKED! One of my favorite scenes is Spock (Zachary Quinto) fighting with Kirk, because it feel like I was a kid watching a young Leonard Nimoy again.

Michael Mehl – Fotoseptiembre USA

Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue: The best example of SF/F/H I’ve seen (but not read) in a long time.

James Hartz – Film Classics Productions

Doctor Who: I recently became hip to Dr. Who this past year via my friend’s involvment in Dr. Who Fans Unite. I came into the series cold. All I knew about it was that is about a time-travelling alien who has adventures throughout the universe. I saw one episode (“The Girl in the Fireplace”) and was hooked. The show is stylish, witty, and most of all, fun, which is something you don’t see in a lot of sci-fi these days. Dr. Who embraces its silly campiness and still manages to deliver heartfelt stories with well-developed characters. One of the best things about the show is that it doesn’t condensend to it’s audiaunce. Dr Who throws a lot of high concepts out there very quickly without getting bogged down by explaining every little thing or holding the viewer’s hand. Dr Who brings you along for the ride instead of just watching it.

Paul Vaughn

I finished (sorta) two great series of books this year. Kim Stanley Robinson‘s excellent Mars Trilogy: Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars. These books present the concept of colonizing and terraforming Mars in brilliant detail with compelling characters. Spanning more than 200 years, the series follows the three aspects of humanities efforts on Mars, from colonization by an elite hundred (Red Mars) to terraforming (Green Mars) and finally to the long term results (Blue Mars).

Along a different tact, I also read George R.R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series…at least all of the books that are out. The first four books (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows) spin an intricate tale of a noble family’s struggle to survive in an epic fantasy world filled with treachery, intrigue and just enough of the fantastic. Each chapter follows a specific character and I was continually spurred to get back to favorite characters only to discover that every character is fascinating. I found myself talking to the book, not believing where the story was going but unable to set it down. The last book of the series, A Dance with Dragons is long overdue, but with HBO filming an adaptation due to air in 2010, Martin should have heavy incentive to get the book out the door.

Jeff from Hyperbubble

The Mighty Boosh by Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding: First off, any show that draws inspiration from The Goodies is already on the right track. The Mighty Boosh pick up where The Goodies, at their peak (the Kitten Kong episode), left off and then crank the volume up to eleven. Their TV series has gotten braver and weirder with every episode, and has now reached a point where anything can happen. The show is impossible to describe in a paragraph, so I’ll use the age-old “recipe” bit: Put Gary Numan in a blender with Monty Python, add a dash of Flight of The Conchords, sprinkle gently with The Mahavishnu Orchestra, top it off with Freddie Mercury’s hairstyle from Queen II, and you’re still only halfway there. There was some stiff competition this year from Tim Exile’s album Listening Tree, but the Boosh boys make the top of my list for their excellent cast, costuming, concept, and for televising the ultimate sci-fi synthpop band, Kraftwerk Orange.

The Sound of Drums: The Master arrives in the 21st Century—as Harold Saxon, Prime Minister—and the world enters a period of terror when contact with an unknown alien race whom the Master calls the Toclafane is announced.

Last of the Time Lords: One year after the events of The Sound of Drums, the Master has conquered the Earth and enslaved its population. He holds the aged Doctor prisoner, and prepares warships for a new Time Lord Empire. Now it is up to Martha Jones to carry out the Doctor’s plan and save the universe.

As always, Doctor Who Appreciation Night admission is free. Come for great food, a vast assortment of beer on tap and the Doctor Larger than life on the big screen! Plus be greeted by various Doctor Who Characters!

The Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes is at 1255 SW Loop 410, San Antonio, TX 78227 and you can ring them up at 210.677.8500. You can also check out the details and RSVP to this meetup online.

If you didn’t know it before, the Alamo Drafthouse features free anime every Monday with trivia and giveaways. Seating begins 45 minutes prior to show time. Arrive early to enjoy the preshow entertainment and for the best seats! Upcoming shows include:

• December 7th ~ The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis Of Uruk
• December 14th ~ El Cazador de la Bruja
• December 21st ~ VIEWER’S CHOICE
• December 28th ~ The Law of Ueki

Star Trek: Of Gods and Men stars Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols (Uhura and Chekov of the original series) and Alan Ruck (Captain John Harriman of the 7th Trek feature film, Star Trek Generations) along with Grace Lee Whitney (Janice Rand of the original series). Joining them are Garrett Wang (Star Trek: Voyager) and Ethan Phillips (Star Trek: Voyager as well as Star Trek: The Next Generation); Cirroc Lofton, Chase Masterson and JG Hertzler (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Gary Graham and Crystal Allen (Star Trek: Enterprise), Herb Jefferson (Battlestar Galactica) plus Tim Russ (reprising his role as Tuvok from Star Trek: Voyager), who also directed. The same team that created the hit Roddenberry on Patrol, currently in DVD release, and also directed by Russ, is producing the webisode mini-series.

Inspired by the high quality fan films produced by New Voyages, Exeter and Hidden Frontiers, Executive Producer Mac McRoberts proudly states, “I can’t think of a better way to honor the 40th anniversary of the original series than to produce an original three-part mini-series premiering on the internet for Trek’s millions of fans world-wide! Nichelle Nichols, who is reprising her famous role of Uhura states: “Gene Roddenberry would be so proud of this film…its message…the love and dedication that went into its creation. Gene would have been thrilled by the fact that a Star Trek film will be seen by millions of fans utilizing a technology envisioned on Star Trek: personal computers and the internet! This is not a coincidence.”

Producer Sky Conway and Deep Space Nine freelance storywriters Jack Trevino and Ethan H. Calk wrote OGAM. Director of photography is Doug Knapp. In addition, many artists in the fields of makeup and lighting have joined them for what is sure to be a history-making event.

Star Trek: Of Gods and Men was produced in association with Star Trek: New Voyages and was filmed in part on the “New Voyages” sets in New York. In addition, numerous location scenes were filmed in and around the Los Angeles area, including the famous Vasquez Rocks, a familiar location seen in many episodes of the original series.

More than 50 film professionals (all Star Trek fans) have worked tirelessly to produce this labor of love!

The Empty Child

This month’s Doctor Who Appreciation Night at Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes features a one storyline spanning two episodes from series 1 of the modern incarnation of the show. The event is scheduled for October 21st at 7:30 PM. Admission is FREE, but you can order food and drinks while at the show.

Doctor Who Appreciation Night is put on monthly by Doctor Who Fans Unite. For the month of October they will be screening the two parter The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances. These episodes won the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form and mark the very first appearance of Captain Jack Harkness who went on to get his own show, Torchwood. Both episodes feature the 9th Doctor, Christopher Eccleston.

A synopsis of The Empty Child from the BBC’s Official Doctor Who site: London, 1941, at the height of the Blitz. A mysterious cylinder is being guarded by the army, while homeless children, living on the bombsites, are being terrorised by an unearthly child. But when Rose meets the dashing Captain Jack Harkness, has she found a hero better than the Doctor himself?

Continuing in The Doctor Dances: The Child’s plague is spreading throughout wartime London, and its zombie army is on the march. The Doctor and Rose form an alliance with the intergalactic con-man, Captain Jack, but find themselves trapped in the abandoned hospital. The answer lies at the bomb site, but time is running out…

Doctor Who Fans Unite has a very limited quantity of orange t-shirts that read “Are you my mummy?” (the memorable line from The Empty Child) on the front. These are left over from last Halloween. If interested, email Crystal the size you need and she’ll let you know the details.

They will also have Bad Wolf T-shirts and The Angels Have the Phone Box T-shirts available for $15.00-$17.00. The Alamo Drafthouse will be selling exclusive Doctor Who pint glasses for only $5.00! Simply order one through your server and get them while you can! If you purchased an Adipose last month, you will be able to pick them up. They will be for sale again as well. These little guys range in price from $12.00-$15.00. Check them out.

The full lineup goes like this:

SHORT FILM CATEGORY
SCREENING SELECTIONS

• “Hypocrite” - Eric Garcia (3:26)
• “Muse in Repose” - Eduardo Ruiz Healy (7:10)
• “Delirium” - Alfonso Emiliano (10:35)
• “Journey of the Opportunist” - Mark Walley & Angela Guerra (8:00)
• “Change” - Ya’ke Smith (1:30)

JURY SELECTION

• “Shaken” - Sylvia Rincon (16:00)

JURY PRIZE

• “Trash Day” - Sam Lerma (3:30)

GRAND JURY PRIZE

• “Death Rattle” - A.J. Garces (19:30)

YOUTH CATEGORY

• “Kid Station” - Raul Flores (1:00)
• “Beijing Bear” - Nephtali Valdez (2:25)
• “Lucha” - Justin Gallegos (7:55)
• “Malaria” - Andrea Sanchez & Juan Miranda (1:27)
• “Art, or Something Like It” - Jassiel Gomez (8:03)
• “The Change Project” - Class Project-Various Animators (5:00)

and BEST FEATURE FILM

• “The Boys of Ghost Town” - Pablo Veliz

ALSO FEATURING

• “Dénouement” - Alejandro DeHoyos (8:15) - Winner of the 2009 48 Hour Film Project
• “Fantasy Inc.” - Bryan Ortiz (8:00) - Audience Choice of the 2009 48 Hour Film Project
  (Ortiz and James Hartz were the subject of a previous Made in SA feature)
• “Filthy Dancing” - Cheap Soup Films -Audience Choice of the 2009 Summer Remake Challenge

Saturday, October 10, 2009 at the Alamo Drafthouse, Westlakes with screening at 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm. Ticket prices are $10 at the Door. You can find out more on the SAL Film Fest site or at this article from the San Antonio Current.

The Alamo Drafthouse: FREE ANIME NIGHT featuring Nabari No Ou
Monday September 21 at 7:30 PM
ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE (1255 SW Loop 410, San Antonio, TX 78227, 210.677.8500)

Set in the modern age, the story is about Miharu Rokujou, who just wanted to live a normal life and inherit a Okonomiyaki restaurant. At the moment, his biggest problem was the constant pestering from Kouichi Aizawa and Durandal Thobari Kumohira, who started a Nindō (忍道?, lit. “Way of the Ninja”) Club. Miharu wanted nothing to do with “ninjas” and turns them down every time. But soon, he is attacked by an actual group of ninjas and is protected by Kouichi and Kumohira. There, Miharu learns of the hidden ninja world Nabari, the roles of his classmate and teacher in that world, and of the secret art Shinra Banshou (森羅万象 Shinrabanshō?, lit. “all things in nature”) within him. The secret art, containing all the world’s knowledge, is sorely coveted after in Nabari. And because of that, Miharu cannot return to his normal life. He must become the “Ruler of Nabari” to survive.

Worlds Collide: The Mighty Boosh at The Lion & Rose British Restaurant & Pub
Saturday September 26 at 1:30 PM
The Lion and Rose British Restaurant & Pub (5148 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209, 210-822-7673)

Have you been hearing about The Mighty Boosh? Are you intrigued and want to know more, or are you an expert fan who just loves the show? No matter what you are, come join us at The Lion & Rose British Restaurant & Pub to watch The Mighty Boosh episodes, “The Legend of Old Gregg” and then we will vote on the second episode.

What’s better then watching the British show The Mighty Boosh with friends while eating British food and drinks? Nothing!! So don’t make us send The Hitcher after you–come join us

**Even though this is a pub, it is also a restaurant–all ages are allowed in**

A.C.E.S. (Anime Culture Enthusiasts Society): Evangelion 1.0 You Are not Alone
Sunday September 27 at 7:00 PM
Rialto Cinema (2803 Austin Highway, San Antonio, TX 78218)

We will be meeting outside the theater and look for a group of people standing together and ask if they are part of ACES. We should also have a sign that says ACES with us. We are going to be meeting in front of the theater at 7pm but the movie is going to start at 7:30pm so don’t be late!

Here is the description:

Shinji Ikari is sent for by his estranged father, Gendo. As he wanders around the town, which has been shut down over an emergency announcement, he is caught in the crossfire between the U.N. army and 4th Angel. Rescued by Lt. Colonel Misato Katsuragi, Shinji is brought to Tokyo-3 and NERV headquarters, where he is guilted by Gendo, NERV’s Supreme Commander, into piloting the Evangelion Unit-01 against 4th Angel because the other Evangelion pilot, the mysterious Rei Ayanami, is too injured to do so. After the initial fight, Shinji is taken in by Misato as her new housemate and enrolled in middle school. The film portrays Shinji’s attempts to “settle in” with his newfound life alongside Misato, Rei, and the other characters while continuing to defend Tokyo-3 and the world from the coming Angels. Find out more.

The Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes: EXPONENTIAL MOVIE NIGHT featuring ROBOCOP
Sunday September 27 at 7:30 PM
ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE (1255 SW Loop 410, San Antonio, TX 78227, 210.677.8500)

Detroit – in the future – is crime ridden, and run by a massive company. The company have developed a huge crime fighting robot, which unfortunately develops a rather dangerous glitch. The company sees a way to get back in favour with the public when a cop called Alex Murphy is killed by a street gang. Murphys body is reconstructed within a steel shell and named Robocop. The Robocop is very successful against criminals, and becomes a target of supervillian Boddicker.