It’s 2050, and an unnamed virus that’s already killed thousands has the human race cornered unless a “dream team” of scientists allow a supercomputer called DEINDE to enhance and store their problem-solving skills in the hopes of working out a usable vaccine. Playwright August Schulenberg easily convinces us of the stakes of his science-fiction drama Deinde and then takes us (with just a few hiccups) through a disturbingly convincing reality where humans, as they do, abuse this power.

Schulenberg’s ensemble of talented actors are aided by strong source material that establishes the scientists’ complex web of relationships from the get-go, from platonic and romantic affection to an age difference that underscores the entire story.

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Mac Rogers’ new play Blast Radius — the second installment in his sci-fi series The Honeycomb Trilogy — had me on the edge of my seat, and not only because of the giant bugs that took over Earth at the end of the trilogy’s first play Advance Man. Rather, the undeniably human conflicts at the center of the play provide an incredible catharsis that had most of the audience unabashedly crying.

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In an era when current sci-fi projects vacillate between the beloved Star Trek remakes and the laughable “space jail” adventure Lockout, Lionsgate and Gary Ross have brought us a fascinating piece of speculative fiction that is an utterly disturbing commentary on human evolution and survival. The Hunger Games is not the next Twilight; if anything, it brings to mind the last two Harry Potter films, but even then, it stands alone as a parable about war as entertainment.

In the four years since Suzanne Collins’ novel was published, fans have hatched theories about the Capitol and what led Panem to institute this annual deathmatch pitting its young citizens against one another. We’ve probed the physical and figurative borders of the twelve districts and pondered Katniss as a romantic heroine and a mentally ill antihero. This film will only further that conversation, with undoubtedly thoughtful meditations on the characters, customs, and conflicts of the trilogy.

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If you want to make an argument for bringing science fiction to live theater, look no further than Mac Rogers’ Advance Man, both a compelling family drama and a bleak vision of Earth’s future.

Advance Man is the first play in Rogers’ Honeycomb Trilogy, a veritable sci-fi epic running as part of the BFG Collective’s six-month residency at the Secret Theatre. (The BFG Collective is made up of three theater companies, including Rogers’ company Gideon Productions.) The play centers on the family of Bill Cooke, world-renowned astronaut who led the first successful manned mission to Mars. It’s been three years since Bill and his crew returned, with one member dead and the other, Conor, mentally handicapped from an unexplained accident.

What appears at first to be a story about Bill caught between the intimate, closely guarded secrecy of his crew and his curious, flawed family becomes a slow-building thriller concerning the illicit cargo that the astronauts brought back with them from Mars.

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Put a check mark in the “successful American remakes” column: Like The Office and The Ring, David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo revitalizes its Swedish source material while presenting a damn entertaining mystery and probing deeper into the enigmatic character of Lisbeth Salander.

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Those who grew up reading Herge’s comic book adventures of Belgian boy reporter Tintin will be delighted with Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation, but newbies will also find plenty to enjoy in the rich animation and witty voice acting.

The plot is simple enough: Tintin buys a cool-looking model ship, only to learn that it contains a secret clue. Before he knows it, he’s caught between the evil Ivan Ivanovich Sakharine and rightful heir Captain Haddock.

[A note-perfect fun adventure film]

You wouldn’t believe that a show set in a small theater in Chinatown, NY could so penetrate the imagination, but Qui Nguyen’s She Kills Monsters—a partnership between his troupe Vampire Cowboys and the Flea Theater’s resident company The Bats—has you believing that you’re in playing Dungeons & Dragons with your friends. A three-dimensional version of D&D, complete with hot elves, harrowing battles, and a terrifying dragon.

“Average Agnes,” an uptight college grad (Satomi Blair), returns home when her family is killed in a car crash. She regrets never being closer with her younger sister Tilly (Allison Buck), an adventurous but nerdy girl who was regarded as a weirdo. But when Agnes stumbles upon Tilly’s D&D module and begins a campaign, it’s like she’s opened her sister’s diary: Playing the game reveals her sister’s friendships, conflicts at school, and thoughts on perfect Agnes herself.

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Martin Scorsese’s new film Hugo is a delight, mostly because it transcends its contemporaries—that is, other children’s movies—in looks and smarts. It helps that it’s an adaptation of Brian Selznick’s novel/picture book/graphic novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the 2008 Caldecott Medal winner for its innovative style and well-researched historical fiction. The movie is equally comfortable in its own skin of 1930s Paris; the screenwriters didn’t feel the need to throw in anachronisms or hip pop-culture references to draw in prepubescent audiences. The story is simply that of an orphan who winds up the clocks in the Paris train station and seeks to fix a machine his father left behind. Simple, but emotionally complex.

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You can’t go see the latest Twilight movie alone. Really, none of the movies were made for single viewership; they have to be enjoyed in a theater with screaming preteen girls, preferably at midnight. So as long as you drag some friends along to Breaking Dawn, Part 1 and keep an open mind, you’ll be set.

If you’re a diehard fan, this is the culmination of waiting patiently for years to see Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward’s (Robert Pattinson) perfect wedding and hellish honeymoon. If you’re a newbie, you might as well skip the other movies and start at the most dramatic one. If you’re looking to mock this one, you won’t be too disappointed.

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National Novel Writing Month, more affectionately known as NaNoWriMo, started its thirteenth year last night/this morning at midnight. You have a month to write a 50,000-word novel — just creating, no editing or backtracking — and you’ve got 200,000 people working alongside you on their own passion projects. A wonderful component of NaNo is the public “write-ins” with your fellow novelists in your town, or online with other writers. There’s nothing like a shared goal to inspire you.

It also helps that there are a number of success stories where NaNo drafts eventually became published novels. And would you believe me if I told you that one of them was adapted into a 2011 movie starring Twilight’s Robert Pattinson?

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As if pioneering the new Halloween tradition All Hallow’s Read — where you share scary books with friends and family — wasn’t enough, Neil Gaiman is making more strides in connecting people with wonderful books they might have missed. He’s teamed up with Audible to create his own curated line of audio books, called Neil Gaiman Presents, and already there are five books for you to enjoy.

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[Update: It’s really happening. Check the bottom of the post for more information.]

Joss Whedon’s been saying for a while that he wants to return to making art on the internet. Could the movie poster that several members of the Whedonverse tweeted tonight be his Shakespearean follow-up to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog?

All weekend Shawna Trpcic—costume designer for Firefly, Dollhouse, and Angel—has been hinting at a surprise she would unveil on Sunday night. A little before midnight tonight, she tweeted the link to a website called Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, and a peculiar poster featuring a lot of famous names. If you’re taking this at face value, it would appear that Joss Whedon found the time to take on Shakespeare.

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According to husband-and-wife creative team Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett, comedy makes history more palatable. And sometimes, real photos (with some creative Photoshopping) reach out to geeks more than the pages of a graphic novel. That’s how they came up with Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel, which allows readers to experience key moments of the 20th century through the titular robot’s adventures. A cheeky style and fascinating mythology behind our hero elevates the work from coffee-table-book status.

But who is Boilerplate? From NYCC’s panel “Comics Studies Conference 5: Boilerplate: History of a Victorian Era Robot,” here are 5 things to know before you can start traveling through history with him.

[The World’s Fair, Teddy Roosevelt, and World War I]

When Star Trek’s latest Spock, Zachary Quinto, came out of the closet last weekend, it struck me that there are a lot of prominent geek actors who also happen to be gay. In the older generation, you’ve got Ian McKellen — who’s played two iconic characters, Magneto and Gandalf, and sports the awesome shirt above — and the original Star Trek’s George Takei. Neil Patrick Harris (Dr. Horrible), John Barrowman (Torchwood), and Sean Maher (Firefly) are all out. And while he denies the rumors, Hugh Jackman’s (X-Men’s Wolverine) sexual orientaton is under constant scrutiny despite having been married to his wife for more than 15 years.

Do you know why I was surprised to come up with so many well-known actors? Because in the geek community, sexuality seems to be a non-issue. I have to believe it’s because a group that’s used to being marginalized is much more welcoming of alternative lifestyles. According to at least one self-described geek, I’m on the right track.

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Because New York Comic Con’s The Avengers panel was taking place at the same time as the “Girls Kick Butt: Strong Female Heroines in Young Adult Fantasy” panel Saturday evening, I figured that I’d have no trouble getting into the latter. That was where I made my mistake: The Avengers attendees were mostly male, which left all the women to cluster outside the room for an hour beforehand.

And why not, when the panel included fantasy author Tamora Pierce (The Protector of the Small series, the Beka Cooper series), Esther Friesner (Nobody’s Princess and other novels that reimagine ancient princesses like Helen of Troy and Cleopatra), and Caitlin Kittredge (The Iron Codex series)?

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A challenge that most geek subcultures face is when they start to creep into the mainstream… or when the mainstream starts to creep into their sphere. Hot off Tor.com’s Steampunk Week,tThis was the main topic of discussion at the “Steampunk 101” panel on New York Comic Con’s first night. A history of the community was hardly necessary, so instead a lot of the discussion focused on how steampunks feel when newbies and Hollywood start to explore their world.

[Steampunk’s quick rise, Forever 21 clothing, and place in Orlando Bloom’s career]

New York Comic Con’s panel “Demonic Hotspots, Infernal Pit Stops, and the Badlands: The Great American Road Trip to Hell” featured an impressive panel of today’s urban fantasy authors: Kim Harrison (The Hollows series), Rachel Caine (the Outcast Season series), Patricia Briggs (the Mercy Thompson series), Anton Strout (the Simon Canderous series), Christina Henry (Chicagoland), and Edward Lazellari (Awakenings).

Because their books place vampires, witches, and demons in actual U.S. towns, they face a two-pronged challenge: Not only to create believable creature mythologies, but also to depict these recognizable cities — Cincinnati, Boston, New York City — accurately.

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For the most part, we’re used to seeing Hugh Jackman’s characters as champions in their fields, representing the pinnacle of human achievement: A superpowered mutant, a star magician, the original vampire hunter. But in the recent Real Steel, he represents the other end of the spectrum: The boxer past his prime. His character Charlie Kenton gets passed over not because of his age or physical condition (in fact, he’s in prime shape), but because in this future, even the strongest human is useless.

[Six types of “evolution,” internal and man-made]