Fantastic Universes

“Together” Writers: Bryan Edward Hill & Gabriel Stanton Director: Meera Menon Starring: Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, Ryan Potter Review by Adam Ray This episode has the longest “Previously, on…” for a TV show that I’ve ever seen. However, it’s possibly the strongest chapter in the series thus far.  Episode four  treated us to the Titans finally coming together, whereas this instalment presents them as a dysfunctional family. We get to see the methods of the mysterious Doctor Adamson, and find out that more is going on than we at first thought. All of that, a change in dynamics, and a shocking guest appearance makes this episode all the more exciting. The transparency of the team is what will bring them together. Each member gives us a display of powers to show just who can do what. This works very well to raise our excitement. To see all the Titans together, surprised to see a green tiger or fire beings, makes thi...

Director: Sarah Boyd Writers: Jonathan Butler & Gabriel Garza Starring: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Danielle Panabaker, Tom Cavanagh, Chris Klein, Reina Hardesty, Liam McIntyre, Lossen Chambers, Islie Hirvonen Review by Steve J. Ray The Flash has proven that he’s no fair weather friend; he’ll be there for you come rain or shine. In the latest episode there’s a storm brewing! This week Barry, Iris, Nora and the team battle the elements, discover that there’s more than one super-powered family in town, and life’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Faster Than Greased Lightning Last week Nora finally made peace with her mother, but as one door closes… It’s no secret that the life of a superhero is tough, sacrifices need to be made which are not conducive to family life. Nora and Barry come to grips with this, leaving their relationship on shaky ground. This episode is brilliantly structured, showing diverse families and the different dyna...

Director: Chris Peppe Writers: Kristen Kim & Joshua V. Gilbert Starring: Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Danielle Panabaker, Tom Cavanagh, Jesse L. Martin, Danielle Nicolet, Hartley Sawyer and Kyle Secor Review by Steve J. Ray “The Icicle Cometh.” The title itself is a spoiler for long-time comics fans… or a nice hint of Caitlin’s potential future, for viewers who just love  The Flash  TV show. Whichever side of that imaginary fence you find yourself on, this episode has something for everybody. The Icicle, much like Killer Frost, is a character that has appeared a few times, with different aliases, over the course of DC Comics’ history. Seeing an all-new version of the character on TV, and tying him to Caitlin was a really nice touch. Daddy Issues For the non comics geeks out there I won’t give too much away, but one of the season’s sub-plots comes to a head this week. I must say that it was pretty well handled. One of my...

Writer: Jeph Loeb Artist: Tim Sale With Harvey Dent's house destroyed, Batman and Gordon get to the bottom of the plot. However, as Batman digs deeper, he may unearth a more disturbing conspiracy under Gotham. The comic opens with a visual callback to the start of issue #1. But instead of Bruce Wayne saying: "I believe in Gotham City.", Batman morbidly states: "Harvey Dent is dead." For a lesser writer, the mirrored visual motif ends there. But writer Jeph Loeb takes it a step further, making it work on a couple levels. The opening from issue #2 is a visual and thematic callback from the opening of issue #1 We know that Dent is not really dead, the opening splash panel is an ironic foreshadowing of Dent's Two-Face turn. When readers compares  the openings to issue #1 and #2, it also foreshadows Batman's character arc for the rest of the storyline. As the story progresses, Batman goes from being idealistic and optimistic to becoming h...

Review by Fay Clark I decided to pick up The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. There were a few reasons for this, one of the main ones being I met this lovely author at the YALC (Young Adult Literature Convention) back in July. I hadn't read anything she'd written before, so I felt like a bit of an impostor. The other reason is why we met her in the first place; my bookish friend had fallen in love with this book so she wanted to meet Becky to get her copy signed. My mate has never steered me wrong, and we can officially chalk another one on to the "Thank you for making me read this" board. The book is quite a long one, coming in at roughly 500 pages, so there was a lot to get through. While it looked rather intimidating, within the first 20 pages I was already invested in the characters that I'd met and wanted to see where this long journey was going to take me. I guess that The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet  falls into the genre of...

Katana In “Revenge Of Kobra” and Suicide Squad Black In “Rota Fortuna” Writers: Mike W. Barr and Jai Nitz Artists: Phillipe Briones and Scot Eaton & Wayne Faucher Review by Philip Clark This comic comes with two stories in one! What more could you ask for? Both these tales revolve heavily around the use of magic, or powers behind our understanding. The first story follows Katana as she struggles to fight against the souls within her sword, as well as trying to assimilate a powerful entity into our society. The second adventure centres on Suicide Squad Black, who are in over their heads trying to protect the world from a magical threat. A Taskforce For This, And A Taskforce For That It would seem that Waller is taking a page out the Justice League’s book and creating a number of Taskforces. Each with the ability to combat a certain threat. With the main Taskforce X currently on their way back from a top-secret operation, ...