Fantastic Universes

Review by Adam Ray The phenomenon of the adult coloring book has been longstanding since maybe the mid-2010s. During my time, I've seen variations themed on awesome popular culture, and others featuring pretty fractal patterns, to relax and meditate. There has been an epic tier piece of loot that's finally fallen out of a treasure chest, that adventurers everywhere can be excited about. The Dungeons and Dragons Coloring Book features 80 pieces of black & white art, including the inside title pages, with detailed line-work, featuring some classic Dungeons and Dragons artwork and characters. To the untrained eye, everything swells with fun fantasy flavor, but to one as well clued in as I am, there are many hidden gems. Fans will recognize pages given over to some fan-favorite characters from the Forgotten Realms storyline; like Strahd, Minsk, and Boo. The surprise, yet pleasant appearance of characters like Tasha, Mordenkainen, Acererak, and even the Xanathar makes for some...

"I Am Stan" A Graphic Biography of The Legendary Stan Lee Written, Drawn, Colored, and Lettered by Tom Scioli Published by Ten Speed Graphic (an imprint of Ten Speed Press) Distributed by Penguin Random House ISBN: 9781984862020 Review by Steve J. Ray Let me start this review by saying that I’m a comics fan, and have been for over 45 years. This means that I know who Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster are, I know how Will Eisner changed the game, and will forever sing the praises of Bill Finger. Thinking about things, though, however legendary the aforementioned talents are to me, to most people around the world their names may not mean anything… but there is one name, one man, one comics icon who’s recognized by millions, and his name is Stan Lee. I Am Stan is his story. In the words of the author, this book is: "Not approved by Stan Lee, his estate, his family, Marvel Comics, or any other person/corporate entity depicted within its pages” Believe it or not, this is a huge p...

“George R.R. Martin Presents: Wild Cards: Now And Then” Writer: Carrie Vaughn Artist: Renae De Liz Inker and Color Artist: Ray Dillon Book Designer and Letterer: Thomas Napolitano Wild Cards: The Drawing of Cards  excerpt written by Paul Cornell, penciled by Mike Hawthorne and Enid Balám, inked by Adriano De Benedetto and Lee Townsend, colored by Ruth Redmond, and lettered by VC’s Cory Petit Published by Bantam Books and Available from Penguin Random House Review by Steve J. Ray Wild Cards: Now And Then  is a brand new graphic novel based in an alternate reality and shared universe co-created by George R.R. Martin, the man behind the now legendary  Game Of Thrones  TV show, and the books that inspired them. This alone makes this book intriguing, but the writing, art, colors, design, and lettering by the amazing creative team would still make this volume an essential purchase, whether Martin’s name appeared on the cover, or not. I’ve not played the game, or read any o...

We here at Fantastic Universes are huge fans of the original, classic fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings . We can always expect the fascinating lore of Tolkien's epic to be laid out in a rich and exciting way, so we're very excited to announce the upcoming release of 'The Hobbit Encyclopedia, in October 2023. THE HOBBIT ENCYCLOPEDIA By Damien Bador, Vivien Stocker, Coralie Potot, Dominique Vigot FRANCES LINCOLN PUBLISHING | 26TH OCTOBER 2023 | £28.00 | ISBN 978-0711288980 | HARDBACK & EBOOK AN INDISPENSABLE AND COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO JRR TOLKIEN’S THE HOBBIT COVERING ALL THE CHARACTERS, PLACES AND OBJECTS INCLUDED IN THE SEMINAL BOOK THAT FIRST INTRODUCED THE WORLD OF MIDDLE EARTH. As the prequel to The Lord of the Rings (1954), The Hobbit (1937) is an extraordinarily rich work that sets up the fantasy world that would be built upon at greater length in Tolkien’s later books. Peter Jackson's trilogy of films based on this single work have helped to create a new g...

DC has been bringing a great many new games for us comics fans to take in, and some games are announced so far in advance, that we have a lot of time to get excited. A new strategy game is coming next year, and our friends at FunPlus has much to tell us about DC: Dark Legion!  FunPlus is excited to announce the upcoming release of DC: Dark Legion , a strategy game set in the DC universe. Fans can look forward to fighting evil with their favorite DC characters when DC: Dark Legion releases for Android and iOS in 2024. Watch the “Face the Darkness” DC: Dark Legion Announcement teaser trailer here . Licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment on behalf of DC, DC: Dark Legion is an action-packed strategy game where players can recruit their favorite DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains to fight for survival, justice, and freedom in a global multiplayer battle. Players will be immersed in an all-new story set in the DC universe as they find themselves embroiled in an epic strug...

Article by Adam Ray Those who enjoy the classic console games featuring Batman bashing the bad can rejoice. In the following Press Release, we've been given the great news that the Batman Arkham games are finally coming to the Nintendo Switch. WARNER BROS. GAMES AND DC ANNOUNCE  BATMAN™: ARKHAM TRILOGY  FOR NINTENDO SWITCH™   Compilation of Critically Acclaimed  Batman: Arkham Asylum ,  Batman: Arkham City , and Batman: Arkham Knight  Released for the First Time on Nintendo Platform, Bundled with All Previously Released DLC in One Iconic Package     Burbank, Calif. – June 21, 2023  – Warner Bros. Games and DC today announced  Batman: Arkham Trilogy  for Nintendo Switch ,   a compilation of Rocksteady Studios’ award-winning videogames that brings together the critically acclaimed  Batman: Arkham Asylum ,  Batman: Arkham City , and  Batman: Arkham Knight  in one iconic package.  Batman: Arkham Trilogy ...