Yeah, so it had been a while since we’d been over to eastern Washington and we had both kind of forgotten that you have to worry about that sort of thing over there. Yet another reminder of why it’s safer to stay inside. We were across the mountains for the Spokane ComiCon and we had a great time, risk of rattlesnakes aside. We’ll be talking about what we saw at the con and playing the interviews we got with all the cool people there in this Thursday’s podcast.

The big news for TV is, of course, the Lost finale. What with Spokane ComiCon, the day job and all I HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET. Fair Warning: If anyone says ANYTHING to me about it, I will personally climb through the internet and give that person an atomic wedgie. The good news is that if you’re in the “haven’t seen the Lost finale” boat along with me you can read the Monday News without having to worry about spoilers.

Anime

• The first season of ‘Ah! My Goddess’ is coming to XBox Live. The first episode of the series based on the Kōsuke Fujishima manga (the title of which is usually translated “Oh!” instead of “Ah!”) will be available for free from May 27th until June 3rd. XBox subscribers will be able to watch all 26 episodes of the first season, also starting May 27. The animated series follows the manga closely and has been a fan favorite since its release in 2005.

Books

• I’m not exactly sure what this will turn out to be, but it sounds awesome. Neal Stephenson and Greg Bear have teamed up for a new project called The Mongoliad. The project’s website appears to be little more than a placeholder at the moment but there is a bit more information on Facebook. It appears that it will be
  

  a sort of serialized story, created by Neal Stephenson, and written by Neal, Greg Bear, Nicole Galland, and a number of other great authors. It will be told via custom apps on iPad, iPhone, Kindle, and Android, and will be something of an experiment in post-book publishing and storytelling.

  They will be showing their first demonstration of the project at the SF AppShow this Tuesday.

• Paula Guran, the editor of Pocket Books fantasy imprint Juno, will be editing the first volume of The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror. The anthology will be published this October by Prime Books and will feature stories from “some of today’s best-known writers of the fantastique as well newfound talents”. SF Scope has the full list of stories that will be included.

Comics

• Planning on going to San Diego this year? Think you’re interesting and geeky enough to be in a documentary about it? Well this may be your chance. Straight from the press release;
  

  Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, producer Thomas Tull, comic book icon Stan Lee, writer/producer Joss Whedon, and film guru Harry Knowles have joined together to bring audiences the feature-length documentary COMIC-CON EPISODE FOUR: A FAN’S HOPE – a documentary celebration of all things con-tastic!

  We are looking to cast original, eccentric, funny, touching, and mildly obsessive people that will capture the excitement, enthusiasm, joy, and passion of comic book, anime, sci-fi, and fantasy lovers everywhere.

  If Comic-Con International will be the highlight of your year and you have a story to share about your passion, let us know. Join the fellowship, take part in this epic documentary, and write us at ComicConDoc@gmail.com. Include your name, phone number, a picture, and tell us your story.

• Famed science fiction writer Harlan Ellison has written a 10-page story featuring Wil Eisner’s classic golden age hero The Spirit. According to Comic Book Resources Ellison and Eisner were friends for years but this is the first time that Ellison was written for The Spirit. The story, which features black and white art by Kyle Baker, appears in issue #2 of The Spirit from DC Comics which is on sale now.