Fantastic Universes

Article by Adam Ray Ixalan Standard was defined by the strength of the rampant Energy Midrange decks. Temur and Sultai, and a deck that somehow smashed both decks together have been the clearest and strongest holder of the crown of 'Best Deck in Standard'. I live contrary to the fashions of mortal men. Since Aether Revolt, the Blue/Red Control shell has been making my soul happy. Pro Tour Amonkhet and the printing of Sweltering Suns put the deck into the limelight. Once rotation came, the loss of Wandering Fumarole made the mana so much more shaky, and the heavy play of Abrade meant that Torrential Gearhulk was an equally shaky road to victory. Control players were left confused and searching for the new build of the archetype. Control after rotation led people to pair Blue with its ally colours. Azcanta and Opt meant the Black versions could dig for The Scarab God better and that White can get a thick tan with Approach of the Second Sun. Before Ixalan rel...

Article by Steve J. Ray Hawk and Dove have arrived... and they look amazing! Since the first cast announcement of Teagen Croft as Raven in the eagerly anticipated Titans TV show, excitement has been ramping up. We now know six of the cast members, the characters they'll be playing, and are now even starting to see images of them in full costume . Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, and Greg Berlanti are the creative team behind the series. Brenton Thwaites will star as Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing, alongside Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, Ryan Potter, Alan Ritchson and Minka Kelly. The actors will be playing Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, Hawk and Dove respectively. The great news is that the new Hawk and Dove costumes, which hit social media just today, are every bit as cool as the one modelled by Brenton Thwaites. As a fan of the Titans for over three decades, I am very excited. It’s common knowledge that over the course of the series we w...

Article by Steve J. Ray Being a teenager and comics fan in the 1980s meant growing up with Frank Miller’s  Batman: Year One,  and Marv Wolfman & George Perez’  New Teen Titans . We’ve seen Batman on the big screen, in animation and live action. The Titans - led by Dick Grayson - have only ever been seen in comics and animation… until now. Titans  - produced by Greg Berlanti - is due to hit DC’s online streaming service in 2018, and I am so excited. Wolfman and Perez’  Titans  is one of the greatest comics ever. Don’t just take my word for it! It showed Dick Grayson finally leave the nest as Robin, and grow into Nightwing, and gave us a team that was so much  more  than a young Justice League. Classics like   Young Justice  from DC and  Runaways  from Marvel, would not exist without  The New Teen Titans . Tales Of The Teen Titans Alongside Batman, Dick Grayson is one of...

Writer: Scott Snyder Artists: Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, FCO Plascencia   Review by Steve J. Ray Do you remember the days when comics were fun? 20 pages of cosmic battles; heroes, villains, explosions, and danger? When they weren't angst and misery, but it was all about entertainment? With this series, and with  Dark Nights: Metal  #4, those days are well and truly back. I’ve been loving this series, maybe more than many. I’m an insane comics die-hard, after all. I get nearly every reference, I know every character, and I get a giggle out of every in-joke… I’m lucky. But the beauty of this series is that, even if not everyone  does  have the same level of geektastic experience, there’s still so much to enjoy. Warning: Some minor spoilers await you. Scott Snyder’s script is tight, but the black humor is refreshing, the characters are real and the settings may be cosmic, but they’re emotional, and thought-provoking too. His handling of Batman h...