The shiniest stories on io9 this week

Oh look, it's Bryan Lee O'Malley's interpretation of Emma Frost. How ribald! The White Queen here is kicking off our best of this week, which included reflections on Max Headroom and conversations with Robert Kirkman, Jason Schwartzman, and China Miéville.

12 theories about "Lost" that were better than the actual show
A big part of being a fan of Lost was concocting your own theories, and nobody's guesses were more elaborate than those of Entertainment Weekly's Jeff "Doc" Jensen. Here are 12 Jensen theories that were cooler than the real answers.

The 10 most unnecessary giant monster movies of all time
Not every scifi film can star a Brobdingnagian shark or lizard. Some movies must make due with giant livestock, vermin, and apes who aren't named King Kong. Here are 10 of the most superfluous creature features ever made.

Max Headroom predicted my job, 20 years before it existed
The entire 80s cyberpunk Max Headroom TV series is available today on DVD, and one of the pleasures of rewatching the series is discovering how many things it got right about the future.

Robert Kirkman drops details about his new comic imprint and The Walking Dead
We caught up with Image Comics partner and The Walking Dead and Invincible scribe Robert Kirkman about his new comic line Skybound, how it feels to have his zombies on TV, and what major character almost made the pilot.

China Miéville explains theology, magic, and why JJ Abrams hates you
I had a chance to sit down with China Miéville to talk about his latest novel, Kraken, as well as his thoughts on nerd pop culture. Turns out he's got some pretty strong opinions about JJ Abrams and Joss Whedon.

How can Marvel and DC create the next Smallville?
Everybody's looking for the next Smallville. Both Warner Bros (DC) and ABC (Marvel) are aiming to create the next sensation based on existing comics properties. But given how bad most comics-to-TV adaptations have been, how do you copy Smallville's success?

Oldest piece of Earth's mantle ever discovered dates back to the planet's formation
Earth formed 4.54 billion years ago. But we've never found any rocks remaining from the time when our planet formed. Until now. A piece of ancient mantle is revealing Earth's oldest secrets.

Jason Schwartzman reveals the text message that formed Scott Pilgrim's League of Evil Exes
How would you go about forming your own League of Evil Exes? Jason Schwartzman, who plays Gideon Graves, Ramona's evilest ex-boyfriend in Scott Pilgrim, revealed how this ex got it started. And why he's not such a bad guy really.

Top 10 craftiest smugglers from science fiction and fantasy
If there's one thing space tyrants hate, it's a clever smuggler. When it comes to sticking it to the spaceman smugglers are the secret heroes of space opera. Here are the 10 greatest (and most dashing) science fiction smugglers.

Are physicists just making up dark energy?
In this week's "Ask a Physicist," I get defensive about dark energy. It dominates the universe; it's completely absurd; and it's apparently absolutely necessary.

[Image via Comics Alliance]