Showing results by narrator "Colby Elliott" in All Categories

Comic book superheroines bend steel, travel across time and space, and wield awesome forces. These mighty females do everything that male superheroes do. But they have to work their wonders in skirts and high heels. The Supergirls asks whether their world of fantasy is that different from our own. Are the stories of Wonder Woman’s search for an identity, Batwoman and Power Girl’s battle for equality, and Manhunter’s juggling of a crime fighting career and motherhood also an alternative saga of modern American women?

Often, we treat games like work. We buy shelves of thick books. We plan detailed adventures. We memorize rules. In Play Unsafe, Graham Walmsley explores what happens when you throw the serious stuff away: when you stop working, stop planning and start playing. This book explains how to make role-playing less like work and more like play; stop killing other players' ideas and build on them instead; and put stories at the heart of your game.

Ruins of the Grendleroot is a collection of 10 short, easy-to-run adventures for the fifth edition of the world's most popular fantasy role-playing game. Designed for characters of first to fifth level, these adventures take place in the caverns, chambers, tunnels, and ruins of the mountain known as Blackclaw, within which lurks the Grendleroot - a strange and otherworldly sentience.

Big-shot ad exec Dan Steele feels entitled to the best life has to offer - even if he has to live way beyond his means to acquire it. But there's hope on the horizon. Dan has just stolen what's sure to be an award-winning idea for a multimillion-dollar account. If he can keep the creditors at bay long enough, he'll get the keys to the executive restroom and all his problems will be solved.

Depending on your point of view, Fender Benders is either a skewed look at the country music industry or a clear-eyed view of a damn screwy business. It's a Grand Old Opera complete with murder, treachery, greed, drugs, twangy music, a love triangle, and the best fried swimps you'll ever put in your mouth.

How do you become a television writer? What does it take to create your own show? Did the writers of Lost really have a plan, or were they making it all up as they went? In a career spanning far longer than he cares to admit, Javier Grillo-Marxuach has not only written for some of your favorite (and not-so-favorite) shows.

Mr. Jonathan Chambers senses that something is very wrong. The walk he takes every night is suddenly, slightly shorter. All around him things are vanishing. Is it because of the recent war or famine in the world? Does the scandalous theory that cost him his job hold the key? Or is it just the slowly unhinging mind of a recluse?

We think we know Betty and Veronica, but we don’t. Far more than just Archie’s girlfriends, the girls have grown beyond simple archetypes to become compelling, relevant characters for each new generation over the past eighty years.

Collecting the two first stories in the Dark Prairie Universe, Dark Prairie and Use Yer Brains tells the tales of two western Nebraska lawmen, from two different ages, and how they go about keeping the peace in Platte City. Some bad things crawl outta the ground, while others are brewed up in the local saloon and descend like a bolt of lightning. Whether it's the 1800s or the late 1900s, keep yer wits about ye, and yer six-shooter handy.

Peter Ambrose is a struggling jazz musician who earns some extra income installing brain prosthetics on the side. One day, someone from his hidden and forgotten past turns up dead - and Peter has to reluctantly go out and find out who might want to eliminate the surviving members of the Nimbus Project. Nimbus is both dark and funny, a blend of science fiction, noir, cultural satire, and suspense.

First there was Buffy the Vampire Slayer; then its spin-off, Angel; then the cult hit Firefly and its follow-up film, Serenity. They all had two things in common: their creator, Joss Whedon...and their surprising psychological depth. Revisit the worlds of Joss Whedon...with trained psychologists at your side. What are the psychological effects of constantly fighting for your life? Why is neuroscience the Whedonverse's most terrifying villain? How can watching Joss' shows help you take on your own psychological issues?

When does the band you love cease to be the band you love? Taking such disparate elements as the writings of Plutarch and the power ballads of 80’s rockers Foreigner, screenwriter Javier Grillo- Marxuach (Lost, The Witcher, Medium) examines what it means to be a creator of art during the Big Feelings of youth and how those feelings mature into collaborating and getting the work done in middle age.

Using examples from Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World, George Orwell’s 1984, and the writings of Neil Postman, screenwriter Javier Grillo Marxuach (Lost, The Witcher, Medium) examines the utopia/dystopia binary and what it means live in the modern social media landscape.

My Peculiar Family is an anthology of Gothic horror and unusual stories like none ever published before! Combining New York Times best-selling authors (Christopher Golden, Tracy Hickman), Amazon best-selling authors (William Meikle, Derrick Belanger, Rob Watts), award-winning authors (James A. Moore, Stacey Longo), and emerging talents, this anthology unites these authors, who have sold millions and million books between them, to come together for a common cause.

Journey to the castle of the mad scientist and hear tales of imagination to both amaze and astound! In the grand traditions of the late night horror movie and 1950s scary comics comes an anthology for those who love Science Fiction. Hear unearthed classic tales from authors such as Fritz Leiber, Harry Harrison, and other masters of the genre. Your host may also let you poke around the lab a little. But be careful…those tanks contain beasties best left suspended in their animation!

Jake Trapper isn’t your average organ acquisition specialist. He’s the best in LA. But Jake has a soft spot for underdogs, and his current case is Angel, a young girl from a broken home. She needs a kidney. So Jake makes a deal with a broker and gets seduced into the kidney business. When a potential organ donor is killed, Jake meets LAPD Homicide Detective Megan Densmore, who enlists Jake to help with the investigation.

In this follow-up to his first collection of essays - Shoot This One - television writer and producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach continues to overshare about his misadventures in the small screen to a degree that will make you fear for his future employment. The essays in Shoot That One offer both a tantalizing glimpse into the inner circles of the entertainment industry, as well a management lesson disguised as a juicy tell-all.

Welcome to Comic-Con: where the future of pop culture comes to life. Every summer more than 130,000 comic fans, gamers, cosplay enthusiasts, and nerds of all stripes descend on San Diego to mingle with the top entertainment celebrities and creative-industry professionals in an unprecedented celebration of popular culture in all its forms.

When Cole Ellis hits a coyote late one night on I-80, he has no idea how his life will change. Now he travels to a dream realm every time he falls asleep…but all is not well in the drowsing world. There’s mystical talking animals, mysteriously bruised houses, and massive hulking monsters to deal with. How can a stay-at-home dad hope to save the neighborhood by naptime’s end?

It’s no secret that amazing television starts with a great script. But what makes a television screenplay compelling? An effective screenplay is a blueprint, a loan application, and work order. But first and foremost, it must be a work of art and a captivating read all on its own. Using his script for the proposed reboot of Xena, Javier Grillo-Marxauch (Lost, The Witcher, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) shares what he does to make a fascinating television screenplay, from the first slug line to the final fade to black.