Fantastic Universes

Writer: Jeph Loeb Artist: Tim Sale Review by Eric Lee Welcome to our year long retrospective of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's seminal classic Batman story: The Long Halloween. Each retrospective will be released on a monthly basis. We will provide literary analysis and insight on one of the best Batman stories ever. Is The Long Halloween  as good as its reputation? Read on to find out! Batman and 'The Godfather' The story starts off with the writer Jeph Loeb homaging the opening to  The Godfather. Just like Don Corleone, Bruce Wayne boldly proclaims: "I believe in Gotham City." Bruce Wayne's character arc summed up in one sentence. The sentence is simple, but an important statement that defines Batman's character arc for the whole series. He has just completed his first year as Batman and his promise to rid Gotham of crime may be in his grasp. Bruce is uncharacteristically optimistic in not only his own abilities, but the power of the city...

Article by Adam Ray When I woke up this morning, the forger of this site - my father - showed me a tweet from Terry Pratchett's estate. Some news was coming today. We've heard it ladies and gentlemen, grab your flowery shirts, we're off to Ankh-Morpork! BBC America, the network that broadcasts  Doctor Who to billions of American fans, has scored rights to adapt The Watch  into a television series. The arc of of City Watch stories in the novels: Guards! Guards!, Night Watch, Men at Arms, and Feet of Clay, feature the recurring, treasured characters Captain Sam Vimes, and Lady Sybil Ramkin. To see these characters on-screen, with the length of time that only TV can give, means we can really explore the stories Terry wrote. It's been said so far that the aesthetic of the show is a "Punk rock thriller." This three word combo to describe a genre already has me excited. You'd never expect to combine the two; the noise of punk with the grit of thrille...

Article by Adam Ray MCM was an unexpected hall of treasure. For fans of near everything under the sun you can find every kind of memorabilia. Comics Alley is a staple of the convention; tables with the works of many independent comics creators. I had the pleasure of meeting Neil Gibson at his stall, and we had a lovely conversation about his body of work. Working on various comics projects since 2012, Neil is best known for his deep horror vignettes in his  Twisted Dark collections. Finding his origins in his mid twenties, with what felt like comics being stuck in the superhero genre, reading Alan Moore's Watchmen changed a lot. For many of us, that one story still changes exactly what kinds of stories can be told in the comics medium. Working on Twisted Dark  over a period of nine months and it's quick acclaim allowed him to continue creating up until today. The horror stories of the Twisted series all come from a place of disturbing realism. Creating them, he says ...

Article by Adam Ray Escape Hunt  is the UK's biggest builder and manager of escape rooms. They're run all across the country and have the strong goal of making each one really feel like an immersive experience. When you step inside, and interact with their sets, you really feel like you're transported to another time or place. Escape Hunt teamed up with the BBC to make the world's first officially licensed Doctor Who Escape Room. With the great buzz around Jodie's excellent run as The Doctor, now is the perfect time to bring a little sense of TARDIS drama into the real world. To promote this new room, fans attending the MCM Comic Con on the 26th-28th of October the BBC had their very own spot on the main floor of the convention, near one of the entrances. Jodie Whitaker's TARDIS was there at the corner with books and shirts featuring all the Doctor's faces on the shelves. Across from the TARDIS, Escape Hunt had set up a side room, for us to test ou...

“Eye of The Beholder” Writer: Scott Peterson Artists: Kelley Jones & Michelle Madsen Review by Steve J. Ray Be afraid, be  very  afraid. We left the last issue of  Batman: Kings Of Fear   with Batman under attack and fully in the grip of The Scarecrow’s fear gas. This a toxin the comics fans know is both silent,  and  deadly… ... sorry. Both the Dark Knight and his adversary use fear as a weapon, but which of these figures of terror will emerge as the true King Of Fear? Issue two takes us a step closer to the answer. I really enjoyed the first chapter of this story, but this second issue really pushes the action forward and steps into high gear. Scott Peterson once again proves that he’s a writer that can craft a tale, yet lets the artist play to his strengths. Just like last month there are sections of this book that are completely wordless, where the art tells the whole story. Kelley Jones is one of the foremost artists ...

“Ghost Sector” – Part 2 Writer: Joshua Williamson Artist: Stjepan Šejić Review by Adam Ray The adventures in deep space continue. We learned in  issue #1  that some members of the Justice League were drawn to the Ghost Sector. Darkseid, now younger and slightly less dangerous compared to how he once was, called out to Cyborg, Starfire, and Azrael. Our heroes are told, by a figure that they really shouldn’t trust, that they’re revered as ancient gods by beings from a planet they’ve never even been to. That’d disorientate anyone. It’s nice for us readers to connect our confusion with that of our heroes, out in the Ghost Sector. The issue is very easily split down the middle. First there’s the half where the Justice League members discuss the situation with Darkseid. I use the term discuss very lightly. While it’s true that the former ruler of Apokolips isn’t the all powerful conquering entity he once was, he’s still a figure of great power that absolutely cannot...

“The Final Joke” – Part One Writer: Dan Jurgens Artists: Cully Hamner, Marco Santucci & Val Staples Review by Adam Ray It’s very rare for an issue to feel like it’s on this grand a scale. For the twenty fifth anniversary instalment, Dan Jurgens has stuffed in extra greatness, not just extra pages. The entire issue is a gift to the readers. We see a sweeping history of Batman, from his earliest days with an eager young Dick Grayson beside him. We see the story of how Gotham grew from the seat of depravity that it was, into the technological marvel of the future. All the while we see a reunion and a memorial, but the joke is on Batman this time around. It’s a real testament to Jurgens that he’s able to understand a lot of things all at once. His knowledge of exactly where certain characters are as time passes and his complete understanding of current comics continuity, allows the seamless move from past to future. Understanding how something as rooted in the city of Gotha...