Comic-Con: Carla Speed McNeil on the Difference Between Fantasy and Sci-Fi

Carla Speed McNeil writes the Finder graphic novels, a work that in many ways blends science fiction and fantasy. With a hybrid work, she's had to confront some of the definitional questions of the genres: • Superhero comics are not SciFi. They're stories of emotion and character embroidered with these scientific ideas. • Fantasy and Sci-fi are both speculative fiction, but approached from different angles. Where Sci-fi builds on physics and chemistry and the laws of nature, fantasy, when done well, draws from the "softer sciences" (McNeil's phrase) like sociology and anthropology. When I think about the fantasy novels I've read, at least the good ones, I think she's spot on. Also, by this rule, superhero stories like Spider-Man and Superman are works of fantasy, not works of science fiction. • I asked her thoughts on the question of breaking the rules that I raised in yesterday's post. She pretty ...