ne of the most miraculous aspects of the World Wide Web is its sheer unpredictability. No one who designed the network could ever have forecast the many odd-yet-essential functions it has come to handle. Certainly one of the more humane unforeseen uses of the Web was the creation of online memorials, sites dedicated to preserving the memory of the deceased. These "virtual cemeteries" bring the honorable ancient practices of our ancestors into the 21st century.
Now the SF genre has such an online mortuary of its own: George Willick's Spacelight. Here are arrayed scores of deceased SF authors, ranging from Douglas Adams to Roger Zelazny. Chronologically speaking, their death dates range from those of Jules Verne to the newly deceased Fred Hoyle.
And behind each name, Willick supplies a plethora of facts and links. When available, a photo of the author smiles out from the top of each entry. Then, a characteristic quote from the author headlines a literate, cogent summary of his or her life and career. Vital stats—birth date, death date, place of interment, etc.—give us the hard, sobering reality of their lifespan. And links to online biographies, bibliographies and obituaries further flesh out the vanished individual.
Not only is this site a fine tool for the scholar or researcher, but it also provides for the average fan the same kind of quietude and consolation one experiences when visiting an old graveyard of the physical kind.
— Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week—October 1, 2001
ow many indelible fictional icons has the 20th century produced? Tarzan? Superman? The Lone Ranger? Batman? Charlie Brown? However many you can name, and however valid their claims to immortality, almost every figure will probably be a human. But let's put species chauvinism aside for the moment, and remember one large hairy member of this corps of immortals: King Kong.
Fans of the great ape who loved not wisely but too deeply will find all their needs met at A. Boyd Campbell's King Kong site. This tribute site is well organized and rich with links. The well-conceived FAQ leads one easily into a wealth of Kong material, answering such vital questions as "What color was Fay Wray's hair?" and "What happened to the famous spider-at-the-bottom-of-the-pit sequence?". The roles of SFX gods Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen are explored. A filmography ranges from the core movies to the obscure (1977's Queen Kong, for instance). Online shopping for these films and other Kong memorabilia is facilitated as well. (If anyone wants to purchase my Christmas present early, I'll take the Aurora model kit of Kong clutching Fay Wray, for a very reasonable $16.50.)
I was particularly enchanted by the portion of the site known as "The Sounds of King Kong." Being able to download Kong's mighty roar provides all sorts of inspiration for telephone answering machine messages!
— Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week—September 24, 2001
uperheroes like Spider-Man, Batman and the X-Men are instantly recognizable to most science-fiction fans, yet there are hundreds of comic-book champions that—for good reason—are neither famous nor fondly recalled. Gone & Forgotten: The Worst Comics Ever is a witty Webzine spotlighting those publications which represent "the lowest, the most ludicrous, the least memorable and the downright un-funkified of the whole world of comics."
The bulk of the site is devoted to in-depth features filled with droll observations and sharp insights. Second-rate characters such as Skateman, Black Hood and Fast Willie Jackson are suitably scrutinized, while little-known teams like the Champions and the Dingbats of Danger Street receive similarly perceptive and pointed examinations. A series of articles amusingly outline the brief history of Atlas Comics—a company started in the mid-1970s by Stan Lee's brother, Larry Lieber—noted for its lineup of undistinguished titles (Wulf the Barbarian, Ironjaw, Morlock 2001, etc.). Meanwhile, such works as Super-Heroes Battle Super-Gorillas and Strange Sports (both introduced under the DC Super Special banner) and Marvel Comics' Worlds Unknown Presents The Thing Called ... Killdozer (adapted from a made-for-TV movie based on a Theodore Sturgeon story) receive equally acerbic analysis.
Gone & Forgotten: The Worst Comics Ever also contains a small gallery focusing on outrageous covers and splash pages, along with an entertaining FAQ section and a letters column hosted by would-be DC baddie Bee-Boy. Celebrated superheroes may have captured the hearts of comic-book buffs, but, as this site readily proves, it's the heroic failures that tickle funny bones.
— Jeff Berkwits
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