The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the Century America by David Baron (2025) In August of 1892, Earth’s orbit set it closer to Mars than it had been in 15 years, giving astronomers the chance to learn more about our closest neighbor. High atop Mount Hamilton in California, the astronomers at the Lick Observatory reported seeing something strange: three lights appearing to glisten coming from the planet, arranged in a perfect triangle. Thought to be a signal from its inhabitants, the yellow press quickly latched on to these claims, beginning America’s fascination with the possibility of life on Mars. Before these reports of lights, astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli began studying the red planet in 1877, with the goal of mapping the lines and streaks he observed on the surface. In his reports, Schiaparelli described them using the Italian word “canali” meaning channels. Mistranslated as “canals” by the English language press, this led to the belief of waterways on Mars, and in turn, life. These developments along with the book, The Planet Mars and Its Conditions of By Hana Zittel Habitability by French astronomer Camille Flammarion — a strong believer in the possibility of extraterrestrial life — found their way to the aristocrat Percival Lowell. Born into wealth, Lowell took a less traditional professional path than his counterparts in society, spending his youth traveling through Asia, coming to his interest in astronomy without formal scientific training. His obsessive personality and extravagant means let him dive deeply into his new fascination with the red planet, quickly funding the creation of an observatory in Flagstaff to be ready by the next approach of Mars in 1894. During his observations in Arizona, Lowell witnessed these canals and began to sketch his observations. Through a combination of his background, readings, vivid imagination and desire, Lowell began to craft a theory of the inhabitants of Mars and their lives, processes and connection to humanity, feeding an obsession that captivated the culture, influencing art, science, and technological development. David Baron’s The Martians captures the complexity of the transition between the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era. As science advanced, humanity’s ability to understand reality, spirituality and the meaning of life rapidly changed, resulting in a range of reactions and, in the case of the Mars craze, the belief that our advancement would connect us to those on another world. A story rife with the preeminent scientists and writers at the time, Baron chronicles how a scientific misinterpretation influenced a generation and how the imagined Martians impact us to this day. The Martians is a skillful, well-researched slice of scientific history, conveying the influence of belief, delusion and progress on our collective imagination and quest for meaning. The Skin You’re In: A Collection of Horror Comics by Ashley Robin Franklin (2024) In eight horror comics — some previously published as mini-comics — Ashley Robin Franklin shows their true love of the genre. Leaning on classic tropes like campfire tales turning into horrific nights, they twist their unique storytelling into each of these stories. In One Million Tiny Fires a souring relationship is given new life when Bri’s partner has their body inhabited by an otherworldly creature after something crashes outside their rural home. In #plantmom, told mainly in Instagram frames, a plant lover starts growing a mysterious plant that starts to consume more than its caregiver’s love and attention. One of the strongest selections is No Bones Nancy, where a group of young girls on a camping trip tell a group of boys the tale of a woman who haunts their town only to lead the boys to their demise. Craftly told and leaning into the eeriness of the outdoors and body horror, Ashley Robin Franklin’s collection is a spooky trip through modern horror stories. Franklin released their previous graphic novel, The Hills of Estrella Roja, a young adult horror graphic novel in 2023. No. 142
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