Present Tense »

• Getting lost in a Lost theory

  May 20, 2008 @ 1:22 pm | by Shane Hegarty

  There are many, many theories that attempt to explain what the hell Lost is all about, but for fans with half an hour to spare, here’s the complex but fascinating Time Loop Theory*. The gist? That the island had been deliberately kept in 1996, meaning that all the crash survivors reverted to their 1996 selves (no cancer for Rose; Locke being able to walk). But it goes far deeper than that. Far, far deeper.

  * As first heard of on Sky One’s excellent Lost Initiative podcast.

• Reading

  May 8, 2008 @ 1:57 pm | by Shane Hegarty

  I’ve started ploughing my way through Brian K Vaughan’s Ex Machina, a comic book series in which the world’s only superhero becomes New York City’s mayor in a post 9/11 America. An alternate history, political satire and down-to-earth superhero tale (well, as down-to-earth as you can get with a superhero), it’s smart, snappy and well-plotted. It’s easy, then, to see why Vaughan was made co-producer of Lost so that its flabby plot could be tightened up. (More on that here.)

  Vaughan’s other big work is Y: The Last Man, a recently concluded graphic series following the only male to have survived a plague that wiped out all the rest. It’s an expensive business catching up on collected comic books; Ex Machina averages at about €15 per paperback of five issues. But it’s damned addictive. You can download a free PDF of Ex Machina #1 at DC’s website. And you can download Y: The Last Man‘s first issue here.