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May 5, 2021 Comics

May 3, 2021 Comics

ABQ Science Fiction Society perseveres through thick and thin

The Albuquerque Science Fiction Society (ASFS) is a literary-oriented club focused on all things sci-fi as well as other related genres like fantasy, horror and more. Like most other organizations, the ASFS has been virtual for the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic but continues to persevere in its 55th year in operation. The group has been meeting monthly on Zoom with events like movie viewings and author visits, co-executive secretary Craig Chrissinger said. The society also puts out a newsletter five times a year with awards, events, books reviews and more.

Only Native-owned comic book store in the world resides in ABQ

Lee Francis IV, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, is the owner of Red Planet Books and Comics, the only Native American owned comic shop in the world. Francis opened Red Planet Books and Comics in June 2017. The store is located near 10th Street and Central Avenue in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “The shop’s first titles were used books by Native authors that came from Francis’ own collection,” Red Planet’s website says. “Now he sells children’s books (quickly bought out whenever the Librarians of Color are in town for a conference) and, of course, comics.”

OPINION: Disappointing end of the ‘Star Wars’ Skywalker saga has fans wondering what’s next

“Star Wars” has transformed from a three-part film series that began in 1977 with an eponymous first movie to a mammoth franchise spanning several generations. While there is much debate over which film or set of films is best, the one sure thing is that “Star Wars” is a defining icon of the 20th and 21st century. As an avid fan of more than a decade and a dedicated viewer of most things Star Wars, I have to say that over the course of the last five or so years, my excitement and general interest in the films has steadily declined. Unfortunately, the awe I felt watching the first three “Star Wars” films has yet to be rivaled.

UNM hosts virtual 'Star Wars' Day on May 4

Star Wars Day, a decade-long tradition at the University of New Mexico, continues with virtual events to celebrate this year’s “May the Fourth be with you.”  On May 4, there will be two main activities: a craft session with stormtroopers and a free movie available to stream all day. Free craft kits have been available for students to pick up prior to the event, and kits picked up on select days had special Star Wars cookies included. The last opportunity for students to get a craft kit will be on May 4 in the Student Union Building. Printable coloring pages are also available online.

UNM Health administers 100,000th vaccine at The Pit

University of New Mexico Health reached a major milestone in its fight to vaccinate the New Mexico community by administering its 100,000th vaccine dose at The Pit on April 28. The basketball arena has been host to a mass vaccination site since January, with over 100 volunteers at work each day.  The recipient of the 100,000th vaccine was a recent UNM graduate, Kiara Herzer, who received her second dose of the vaccine.  “I am very surprised and honored as well, it’s just exciting ... I’m so excited by how many people have gotten their shots, so that’s awesome we are at 100,000 so far,” Herzer said.

REVIEW: “Crying in H Mart:” Finding who you are through what you eat

For musician Michelle Zauner, the death of her mother is her life’s most critical moment, both breaking her from the inside out and propelling her into the most successful period in her career.  In the memoir “Crying in H Mart,” Zauner details her experiences with loss, Korean American identity and how food connects the two. Zauner has years of experience with artistic expression through her music under the alias Japanese Breakfast, and her newcomer status in the world of writing makes this book all the more impressive. Despite this, Zauner makes it look easy, carrying the story of her life with poignant, witty and skillful prose from start to finish.

REVIEW: Stowaway: A meddling contemplation of a complex moral dilemma

This review contains spoilers. If you were stranded on a desert island with three other people with only enough resources for three of you to survive until help arrived, what would you do? This is the question that “Stowaway” seeks to solve. The twist is that instead of an island, you’re in space and instead of discussing all possible options, the filmmakers restrict you to one scenario but throw in a few twists and turns as a treat.  The film opens with the crew taking off on a mission to Mars. We hear the different intercoms from mission control and the crew performing final checks and confirmations before they finally embark on a two year journey to the red planet.

April 26, 2021 Comics

April 28, 2021 Comics

OPINION: A year as bizarre as 2020 deserves an Oscars ceremony to match

What started out as a promising night turned into what can only be called a disaster of epic proportions — and #OscarsSoWhite wasn’t even trending.  The 93rd Academy Awards aired over two months later than usual due to complications caused by the pandemic, resulting in the three-hour-long show falling on the evening of April 25. However, the logistical changes weren’t what made the evening an infamous affair.  The most egregious oversight was certainly the handling of the nomination of late actor Chadwick Boseman, who passed away in August 2020 after battling colon cancer for the previous four years. 

Albuquerque theaters barely surviving difficult season

Local theaters in Albuquerque continue to scrape by as closure remains constant due to state safety mandates. Along with the continuous loss of employees, many local theaters are now relying on virtual operations and new sources of funding to prevent a permanent shutdown. New Mexico is currently operating under a county-by-county tiered color-coding system that’s dependent on the amount of cases per 100,000 inhabitants, as designated by the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH). The levels are red, yellow, green and turquoise, each with varying levels of restrictions. Theaters, which are considered a large entertainment venue, may reopen with public audiences at a 25% capacity when counties hit the green level. Bernalillo county is currently at the yellow level, which only allows theaters to operate without a physical audience at a 25% maximum capacity in order to record or broadcast, according to the NMDOH. Because of this, local theaters in Albuquerque, such as the Guild Cinema and the Albuquerque Little Theatre (ALT), have turned to online streaming as a solution.

LETTER: UNM must lead the way in addressing climate crisis

The climate crisis will not be solved unless we make changes – personal, social, economic and political. We know that if we continue to burn fossil fuels temperatures will rise to unacceptable levels within our lifetimes. Indeed, New Mexico is already in a megadrought, and forests are disappearing due to wildfire, drought and beetle infestation. So far this year, we have received less than half of the normal precipitation.

LETTER: Dr. Dennis Jackson of the SHC turns 80

Dr. Dennis Jackson, otherwise known as Den, worked at the University of New Mexico Student Health Center for 40 years. That being the case, he’s somewhat of a legend around Albuquerque; many have visited him for medical advice and know his characteristic look from seeing him on and around campus. Den was born on May 6, 1941 and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. He has five brothers, as he’ll sing-songily tell you the order: Biff, Den, Steve, Robert and Randy. His father, Frank, was also a physician (as was his father before him), and his mother Kathleen a nutritionist. They met at Bellevue in New York City while studying in their respective fields. He can recall historic moments growing up, like the civil rights marches in Montgomery with Martin Luther King Jr. and play dates at his friend’s house whose nanny was Rosa Parks. Den attended Vanderbilt University for medical school then eventually made his way west to find more progressive culture after a lifetime of witnessing much racism in the south.

Prolific LA photographer returns to roots at UNM photo department

Mark McKnight is an artist and assistant professor of photography at the University of New Mexico. Working primarily in black-and-white analog photography, the works showcased on McKnight’s portfolio website variously depict jagged desert landscapes, nude figures, sex acts and cloud-spotted skies. “Landscape, body, transcendence, or even the spiritual, the erotic, my identity — I’m brown, Nuevomexicano, but also mixed-race, so I have a complicated relationship to identity — if I had to sum it up with one word, it would be the subjective,” McKnight said, describing the concepts his photography portrays. “As a being in the world, I can only speak for myself. My work is a reflection of my subjectivity, which is, I think, what it is for everyone,” McKnight said. 

REVIEW: ‘Mortal Kombat’ delivers a much anticipated reboot

This review contains spoilers Fans of the video game franchise have been eager to have someone take another chance on making a live action film since the release of the original in 1995. The wait is now over as “Mortal Kombat” (2021) is now available in the U.S on HBO Max and in theaters as of April 23. The film serves as an origin story, setting up character arcs for Hanzo Hasashi (aka Scorpion), Bi-Han (aka Sub-Zero) in the 1600’s, Jax and a newly added character to the franchise, Cole Young, a descendent of Hasashi.

UNM LEAF calls for climate action at Earth Day Rally

“Divest from polluters, invest in the future,” protesters chanted on April 22 at an Earth Day rally and march at the University of New Mexico. The event was hosted by the campus organization UNM Leaders for Environmental Action and Foresight (LEAF). UNM LEAF is a group of UNM students and staff dedicated to addressing climate change and potential actions to take to lessen humanity’s impact on the natural world, according to the organization’s website.  The event started on Johnson Field, where signs were given out and opening statements were made by UNM LEAF’s Director of Operations Kineo Memmer and Director of Student Outreach Sofia Jenkins-Nieto. The crowd then split into smaller groups to comply with social distancing and began to march their way further into campus.

'There must be other names for the river:' A sonic call to action

“There Must Be Other Names for the River” greets visitors of the virtual exhibit with this sentence: “The river is the reason we can live in this part of the arid high desert. It’s why there are animals and plants, villages and cities. And it’s drying up.”   The exhibition consists of a “22 minute sound performance,” with recordings of six different singers, each embodying streamflow data, numerical data collected to analyze the flow of the Rio Grande, collected from the 1970s to now and into “possible futures.” The audience is given the choice to listen to these recordings simultaneously or individually. The tracks consist only of the one singer interpreting the streamflow data using their voice as well as different audio effects, like distortion or reverb. 

April 21, 2021 Comic