Fantastic Universes

Article by Eric Lee For those who may not have heard, the DC Pride 2022 one-shot is an anthology special that features and celebrates LGBTQ+ creators and characters. Amongst the many short stories, the one that perhaps stands out the most is the autobiographical "Finding Batman", written by Kevin Conroy . The short story lays out Conroy's tragic childhood and experience as a gay actor. It details how he missed many acting opportunities due to his sexuality or times when others in the industry casually threw homophobic slurs at him. In addition to being a gay man in a time when Hollywood was less accepting of homosexuality, he also came from a broken home. His father was an alcoholic who attempted suicide, his parents divorced, and his brother struggled with mental illness. Not only did he have to "mask" his sexuality from others, but also "mask" his own personal pain. How Batman Resonated With Kevin Conroy Interestingly, Conroy elaborated that all of

Review by Adam Ray Writers: Devin Grayson, Stephanie Williams, Ro Stein, Ted Brandt, Jadzia Axelrod, Alyssa Wong, Tini Howard, Greg Lockard, Stephanie Phillips, Travis G. Moore, Danny Lore, Ivan Cohen, Brittney Williams, Kevin Conroy Artists: Nick Robles, Meghan Hetrick, Lynne Yoshii, W. Scott Forbes, Evan Cagle, Giulio Macaione, Samantha Dodge, J. Bone Color Artists: Triona Farrell, Marissa Louise, Tamra Bonvillain, Enrica Eren Angiolini Letterers: Aditya Bidikar, Ariana Maher, Frank Cvetkovic, Lucas Gattoni DC Pride 2022 , much like  last year’s special , is a grand parade of these characters, at their best, showing readers straight and queer the kinds of heroes to be proud of. I once heard a very cynical person on the internet once say that companies ultimately do not care what we, the consumer think; they will push their product on us in a way that panders to what we want, or what we believe that we want, so that we align ourselves with them, and buy their products. During the mont

Article by Eric Lee Over the past year I've really started thinking about David Bowie's hit single Starman ... like  a lot . The lyrics, the melody, and the way the electric guitar riff really climaxes at the perfect point all really emotionally resonate with me. It's a somewhat random piece of music to get emotionally moved by, particularly when you consider that I was born 20 years after the song first hit the radio. I wouldn't even call myself a music nerd, by any stretch of the imagination.  My first exposure to the song was in the Ridley Scott-directed movie The Martian . It's from a scene where we see an uplifting montage of Matt Damon's astronaut character being stranded on Mars and working hard to find a way to summon his crew to rescue him.  While the movie shows being stranded on a deserted planet by yourself as harrowing, it's not a horrific survivalist film.  Instead, the story focuses on the importance of unity and how, if the world finds a com

Article by Steve J. Ray MCM Comic Con London  returned to the ExCeL on May 27th-29th 2022 for an epic three-day celebration of all things pop culture. It was, without doubt, the biggest pop culture show of the year so far; with celebrity guests, panels, gaming and so much more. Kite Man... Hell, Yeah! Batman lives! Riddle Me This! Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos! Harley Quinn from James Gunn's 'The Suicide Squad' Batdad and Robin Batman '89 Forever A Not So Dynamic Duo Red Hood Nightwing For fans returning to cons for the first time since the end of UK lockdowns, including myself, the three days were a complete blast. The atmosphere was great, fans and cosplayers were out in full force, and the list of guests covered a broad spectrum. The classic TARDIS console Exterminate! Dalek 2005 TV Dalek Dalek army Vintage 1970s Dalek Davros, creator of the Daleks A Weeping Angel Attending as a card-carrying member of the press was fantastic, as I got to meet and chat with a wealth of f