Fantastic Universes

"Admission" - by Julie Buxbaum Review by Tony Farina Julie Buxbaum, best selling YA novelist is back. Her latest work, Admission, will be released from Delacorte Press on December 1st . I was given an advanced reader copy by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. The premise of this book is pretty familiar. A few years back, in America, the news broke that many children of privilege were admitted into elite colleges and universities because their parents paid for test scores, transcripts and extracurricular activities to be falsified. This meant that, essentially, they were taking a spot from a more deserving student. Everyone remembers this story because it involved a few famous actresses. The outrage, rightfully so, was palpable. What everyone forgot, during that time of righteous indignation, was that behind the selfish acts of rich, white elites, were children who most likely, had no idea what was going on. Buxbaum asks readers to take a step back from that feeling ...

  Article by Adam Ray It's been far too long that we've been away from your ear buds and your imagination, ladies and gentlemen, trees and nonbinaries. It's with great pride and excitement, we here at Fantastic Universes can proudly announce that the Fantastic Universes podcast has boldly returned with one of its key titles. Wayward Rewatch  was a joint venture suggested to me by collaborator and dear friend Fay . Just a little way to catch up with a long and winding show like Supernatural  from the very beginning. Eager to do it, she was at a loss for a name, and I gave her the title of the show as a means of saying, yes I'm in. In our latest instalment, we talk about season three in its entirety. The demise of Gordon, Bela Talbot, the first mentions of Lilith, and the heartbreaking drag of Dean to Hell, left us reeling, despite being longstanding fans of the show. To hear our chatter yourself, you can find it on Apple podcasts right here , or wherever you normally get...

"Ghost Stories"- Part Two Writer: James Tynion IV Artists: Danny Miki, Guillem March & Carlo Pagulayan Colour Artist: David Baron Letterer: Clayton Cowles Review by Max Byrne Setting the narrative along two different time periods is a well worn comic book trope, but certainly here - within the pages of Batman #103 - it works a treat. By bringing in a red hot new protagonist in the form of Ghost-Maker, James Tynion IV has made the wise decision to flesh out the history shared by this man and The Bat. With such high stakes in the present day, the depictions of the past really add meat to the proverbial bone. Make no mistake, this worthy foe is still shrouded in mystery, as Tynion is certainly playing the long game when it comes to revealing who this enigma of a man truly is. At odds with Bruce's ideology, both in the past and the present, this, if handled correctly, could be a rivalry for the ages. There's a real sense of substance to their relationship that makes ...

  The Spider-Man Clone saga is one of the most reviled story lines ever. It featured the return of Spider-Man's clone Ben Reilly, but also dragged Spider-Man through one of the strangest, series of conspiracies and narratives that the franchise have ever seen. But... is it really as bad as the internet would have you believe? Come with us as we review the Clone Saga story arc by story arc as we uncover how one of comics' most infamous series holds up today. "The Promise"  Spider-Man #71 Writer: Howard Mackie Artist: John Romita Jr. Review by Eric Lee We pick on the Don Fortunato plot line again. The guys who were supposed to kill Hammerhead in Spider-Man #70 are being punished for letting him escape. Do we shoot them for incompetence? Nope. Don Fortunato literally throws them to the wolves. Hardcore, dude. But I guess if you're a new crime boss, you need to stand out from the other guys. At the hospital, Peter Parker is getting worse. Fortunately, Cur...

"The Problem With Napkin Man" Writer: Dan Jurgens Artist: Ronan Cliquet Color Artist: Nick Filardi Letterer: AndWorld Design Review by Steve J. Ray Nightwing  #76  broke my heart. No, that’s not a spoiler, as anyone who has eyes, or who is reading this review, can see the gorgeous Travis Moore cover that’s sitting very close to this sentence. I’m a big softy, at heart… I LOVE love. So, Nightwing,  KGBeast , and more importantly, Dan Jurgens… shame on you. The turbulent tale of Ric Grayson comes to a final end in this issue, but – as with all the really great stories – nothing ever really ends. The last two years of Nightwing comics have been divisive, but on the whole I’ve loved them. This chapter, however, I didn’t like. Yes, I knew it was going to happen, yes it was handled more delicately than I thought it would be, but it still happened. I’ve said, right from when Dick lost his memory, that it would eventually return, and that everything would revert back to how it wa...

"Death Metal" - Book Five - "Man of No Tomorrow" Writer: Scott Snyder Artists: Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion Color Artist: FCO Plascencia Letterer: Tom Napolitano Review by Steve J. Ray Dark Nights: Death Metal  #5  has changed the game. I’ve frequently used phrases like “brilliantly bonkers”, “shenanigans”, and “insanity” to describe this series, but this issue was one of the most thoughtful, and thought provoking, comics I’ve read in a long, long time. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a veritable truckload of chaos and carnage to be found in these pages, as the beautiful preview art below clearly demonstrates, but what this issue has at its core – which is something some naysayers have said that this story has been lacking – is heart. We have cosmic powered villains, universes shattering stakes, and colorful characters aplenty, but  Dark Nights: Death Metal  #5 looks at the souls of them all, shining a light on what makes them great now, and what alw...