Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2026

This Video Proves That Real Life Would Be Terrible as a Video Game

We use video games as a way to escape the everyday mundane activities of our own lives. Even with the few “life analog” exceptions–like The Sims or Second Life–there’s still a healthy dose of escapism involved. We prefer not to be ourselves and instead we choose to swing on webs, mow down zombie hordes, and craft various mines for more gratifying alternatives to the real world. In short, there’s a reason that video games aren’t very much like real life. And this video really drives that point home.

The puppet masters over at Glove and Boots beautifully demonstrate just how truly tedious our lives would be if “Life” was a video game. They give us a world where we have to choose our character each and every morning and slog through normal everyday tasks at the pace of poorly designed step-by-step gameplay. Waiting for the bathroom to load, laboriously clicking through way too many steps in cut-scenes resulting in weird outcomes, and the constant annoyance of being asked to go on side quests for anyone you happen to meet during your day.

And sure, everyday real life may lack a lot of the grandiose action sequences, mystery, and super powers that video games afford us but at least we have the agency to ignore or avoid the dreaded “read my screenplay” side missions that come our way. Still, the occasional hints on loading screens would be very helpful in real life.

What do you think of “life” as a video game? What other life tips would be good on loading screens? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

Images: Glove and Boots

Go to Space with a Marvel INFINITY WAR Tattoo Sleeve

Josh Webb’s grandfather had a degree in aerospace engineering and helped build Disneyland‘s Space Mountain. He inspired Webb’s love of science and astronomy. All of that meant Webb wanted to get a tattoo with a central theme of space. He took that setting and decided to work with his tattooist and friend Aaron Bowholtz to populate the space sleeve with Marvel characters. It turned into an Infinity War design.

“The design process was a little crazy,” Webb told Nerdist. They knew Thanos was going to be the center piece for the tattoo and went from there. They worked with artist Javier Avila to use an image of his for Thanos and after that, Webb said, “We just kept searching for images of characters and chose the ones that were set in space.”

They used cosmic imagery and easter eggs such as Loki‘s helmet to fill in the area around the characters. It wasn’t always possible for Webb to visualize how the finished product would look. “I had to leave certain sections open for the next session, which means at times it looked like certain things were just kind of floating there for no particular reason, but after the background and outer space was added everything made much more sense,” he explained.

The Thanos portion of the tattoo took 12 hours since it was the most detailed and has the most line work and easter eggs. “Vision took about seven hours, Galactus took about nine hours, Eternity took around eight hours. All in all, it took about nine sessions, ranging from 4-12 hours. The vast majority of them were late nights, though.”

Make a trip to the gallery below to see the sleeve from different angles and to get a closer look at each character. Be sure to visit the tattoist’s Instagram feed to view all sorts of tattoos.

If you have nerdy ink on your skin or you’re a tattoo artist that applies pop culture, STEM, music, or other nerd-inspired ink (tl;dr: I want to see basically all of the tattoos) on a regular basis, then please hit me up because I’d like to highlight you in a future Inked Wednesday gallery. I’m especially interested if you have a sleeve or other large tattoo. You can get in touch with me via email at alratcliffe@yahoo.com. Send me photos of the tattoos you’d like me to feature (the higher resolution, the better) and don’t forget to let me know the name of your tattoo artist if you have it, as well the name of the shop he or she works out of. If you are the tattoo artist, give me links to your portfolios and/or Instagram accounts so I can share them with our readers.

Images: Josh Webb

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING’s Tom Holland Shares His Favorite Dance Song and Sexiest Time of Day

If you’re an actor playing a superhero as lovable as Spider-Man, it’s helpful if you also possess those same lovable qualities yourself. From all accounts, it is safe to say that Sony and Marvel Studios found a winner with Tom Holland, who debuted as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War and returns to the character in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming. 

Holland showed off his adorable personality in an interview with People EW Network’s Editorial Director Jesse Cagle, enduring what was dubbed the “Cagle Exercise.” Not one to be shy, the Homecoming star dished on things like what song always gets him dancing and when he feels his his sexiest.

.@TomHolland1996 tells us when he feels the sexiest. https://t.co/KL106vJCF8 pic.twitter.com/ofWjy1v7qa

— People EW Network (@PeopleEWNetwork) July 5, 2017

Unfortunately, Cagle and People EW Network weren’t quick enough to get Michael Jackson‘s “Smooth Criminal” on the speakers to see what Holland advertised would be “an amazing performance.” Holland being an avid dancer shouldn’t come as a surprise after his roaring performance with Spider-Man: Homecoming costar Zendaya on Lip Sync Battle.

As for more Holland trivia: The movie that the actor has seen the most is, as a matter of fact, 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield. One would think the actor watched the film for research purposes, but Holland professes to watching it as a fan. Another eye-opening question dealt with a time when Holland feels his sexiest, to which he replied, “After the gym.” Something tells me all his time spent in the weight room to hone his Spider-Man physique is the reason for that answer.

To bring the interview full circle, Holland revealed that as a child, he always dreamed of becoming Spider-Man. The “Spider-Man Dream” began around the age of eight or nine, after seeing Spider-Man 2. In fact, the love of Spider-Man runs so deep in his family that his younger brother still sleeps in Spider-Man 3 bedsheets. Now that is the sign of ultimate fandom.

So did the interview turn you into even more of a Tom Holland Fan? Let us know in the comments below!

Featured Image: EW People Network

Tim Adams is a freelance writer who loves comics and the TV and movies that feature them. Follow him on Twitter!

YOU’VE GOT PROBLEMS is a Card Game for People Who Want to Ruin Their Friends’ Lives

Whatever games we have at our disposal, the best way to pass time with friends is with those fun, weird thought experiments like “Would You Rather” or “What Would You Take to a Desert Island?” I don’t know if my favorite of the bunch had a name but it went sort of like this: On the one hand, something amazing will happen to you (like you’ll be beautiful forever). On the other hand, that prize is contingent on something equally awful happening to you (like you’ll have to wear a T-shirt that says “I’m With Stupid” for the rest of your life). The objective is choosing whether or not it’s worth it to accept both. This time-honored thought experiment basically became a meme with the advent of “Will You Press the Button,” and now its being adapted into a new Cards Against Humanity-style game called You’ve Got Problems.

According to publisher Jack Dire’s Kickstarter project page, the gameplay is relatively simple. You have perk cards and problem cards, which spell out awesome things and terrible things that will happen to you. During each round, one player is selected to be the judge, and everyone else tries to put down their best perk cards, all the while adding their own worst problem cards to their opponents’ perks. Then the judge picks their favorite selection and the cycle continues.

The OG version of the game comes with 600 green cards, but according to the Kickstarter page there’ll also be two 100-card expansion packs in the near future–one with orange geeky cards, and one with red R-rated cards. And you don’t have to worry about whether or not this game will actually get made; as of writing it’s already $16,000 over its goal, and Jack Dire already has plenty of experience bringing Kickstarter-backed games to life. In fact, this is his third; he also created Superfight (which is a time-honored Nerdist favorite), Red Flags, and Blank, Marry Kill, and is currently working on another game called Business Panda Beach Party.

Of course, even though the game has hit its goal, donating a few bucks might get you a fun Kickstarter perk, like a special Early Bird core deck that comes with 18 extra cards, or one of those awesome expansion decks. Which one would you want to get first, the nerdy one or the raunchy one? Tell us all about it in the comments!

Images: Jack Dire on Kickstarter

BATMAN AND HARLEY QUINN Gets a Comic Book Prequel…AND Sequel.

Fans of the classic ’90s Batman: The Animated Series cried tears of joy recently (and not just because the new Batfleck movie will be more of a detective story) when it was announced that the upcoming DC Animated original film would return to the style and world of the DC Animated Universe once more with their upcoming Batman And Harley Quinn movie. Not only is Batman: The Animated Series creator Bruce Timm back on board, but so are the voice talents of Kevin Conroy and Batman/Bruce Wayne and Loren Lester as Nightwing/Dick Grayson.

Now DC Comics has announced that both a prequel and a sequel to the upcoming animated movie Batman and Harley Quinn are coming soon, only this time in comic book form. The five-part digital-first prequel Harley Quinn and Batman title is coming from writer Ty Templeton and artist Rick Burchett, and will launch July 31. The mini-series follows Harley as she attempts to strike out on her own, out of the shadow of both the Joker and Poison Ivy, and establish herself as an A-List super-villain in her own right, and not just somebody else’s sidekick or girlfriend.

About the new series, creator Ty Templeton said in statement, “Batman and Harley, Joker and Ivy, Nightwing and Catwoman. Is there a better cast of characters anywhere in fiction? I spent some of the best years of my career working with these icons and could not be happier to be returning to Gotham City and their adventures. And to top it off, I get to work with the incomparable Rick Burchett again! Pinch me, I’m dreaming. We’re getting the band back together!”

Templeton and Burchett had previously collaborated on DC Comics’ various animated tie-in comics to Batman: The Animated Series back in the ’90s. “I spent quite a few years working with these characters in this art style,” said Burchett. “It’s like visiting old friends. For me, though, the best part is having the opportunity to work with Ty Templeton again. It’s been way too long.”

The digital series will launch Monday, July 31, with the five chapters being released bi-weekly. Then, Beginning in October, seven sequel chapters will be released digitally each week, and for the sequel series the name has been flipped to Batman and Harley Quinn. This will be a collection of stories tied to the events of the film.

These chapters will feature stories and art by Jeff Parker, Craig Rousseau, Luciano Vecchio, Amanda Deibert, David Hahn, Dario Brizuela, Matthew Dow Smith, Sandy Jarrell,  Ty Templeton and more. All 12 chapters will be collected in trade paperback in summer 2018. Digital chapters will be available for download beginning July 31 via the DC Comics App, readdcentertainment.com, iBooks, comiXology.com, Google Play, Kindle Store and Nook Store. The Batman and Harley Quinn movie will receive its debut at SDCC this summer, before hitting digital on August 15, and DVD and Blu-ray on August 29.

Batman: The Animated series, and by extension the entire DC Animated Universe, is still one of the most beloved iterations of the DC Universe even 25 years later. For many people of a certain generation, it was these animated shows in the ’90s and early 2000s that introduced them to the heroes and villains of DC Comics. Although the DCAU technically ended with the end of Justice League Unlimited back on 2006, fans have been clamoring for more from this universe for years. Could this Batman and Harley Quinn comic be the first in an ongoing comic book extension of the DC Animated Universe?

Imagine if DC Comics were to do a entire line of comics set in the Timm-verse, starting with Batman, Superman, Batman Beyond (which they already kind of do), and Justice League Unlimited. Perhaps with Bruce Timm “executive producing” the line of comics similar to how Joss Whedon is the godfather of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer titles over at Dark Horse Comics. I could easily see something like this becoming a big hit for DC Comics, and something their fans who grew up on the shows in the ’90s would eat up with a spoon. Is this the first step towards something like that? We definitely have our fingers crossed! You can make it happen DC!

Are you excited for this return to the world of the DC Animated Universe? Let us know what you’d like to see in the comments below.

Images: Warner Brothers / DC Comics

POCKET MORTYS Will Get Updates for Every RICK AND MORTY Season 3 Episode

As even semi-dedicated Rick and Morty fans know by now—after months and months of waiting for word about the show’s third season—we have hit a new golden age for Rick and Morty stuff. There’s a special merch truck driving around the country. There’s a virtual reality game. There’s a premiere date and trailer. And of course, there was the early Season 3 premiere. Now it turns out that as the third season of the show evolves, Pocket Mortys, the Rick and Morty mobile game that’s basically Pokémon, is going to grow right alongside it.

Multiplayer features were introduced today, and as the third season gets underway (on July 30), weekly updates will be rolled out to coincide with the new episodes, although the first of them will be available on July 23.  Every week, new avatars will become available for players to collect, some of which include Commander Rick, Judge Morty, Summer, Tinkles, Scary Terry, and most excitingly for me personally, Ants in My Eyes Johnson.

Also, in case you missed it, it was also recently announced that Pocket Mortys is getting its own comic book (the first issue actually just went on sale today), so the world of battling Mortys is really coming into its own.

While waiting for the new Pocket Mortys updates to roll out, revisit our review of the game when it originally came out here, and let us know in the comments below which avatars you’d most like to see included in the game.

Featured image: Adult Swim

Why Cersei Lannister Deserves to Die in GAME OF THRONES Season 7

“Valar morghulis,” but some people really have it coming, like Cersei Lannister.

The current ruler of Westeros ascended the throne only after there was no one else left standing, a situation due in large part to her nefarious actions. She’s a rotten, scheming, hate-filled human who has never met an ally she couldn’t turn into a foe.

We know plenty of people are going to die this year on Game of Thrones, and there are those we really hope earn a date with the Stranger. That list starts with Cersei, the queen who has crafted a resume of wickedness and sorrow that makes her more than deserving of dying in season seven.

She’s a Connoisseur of Torture

Sansa suffered thanks to Cersei even before she became her prisoner in King’s Landing. This all started when the queen ordered the Sansa’s direwolf Lady killed because Arya stood up to Joffrey. But the mental torture and cruelty really started after Ned Stark was imprisoned, when Cersei, Sansa’s future mother-in-law, toyed with her “little dove.”

That’s still better than what she did to Ros, who she falsely believed was Tyrion’s secret lover. However, Ros’ physical torture and imprisonment is nothing compared to the horrors we imagine Septa Unella is currently going through at the hands of the zombie Mountain. “Shame” is right.

She Rewarded Ned Stark’s Mercy By Destroying His Family

Sure, it was stupid of Ned to give a Lannister a heads up on anything, but he did show Cersei and her bastard children unimaginable kindness by giving her time to escape Robert’s wrath. And for that merciful gesture she had Ned arrested as a traitor and subsequently dismantling all of House Stark. No good deed goes unpunished, especially when you do something nice for Cersei, a woman who views the world only with vitriol.

She Sabotaged Her Family’s Most Important Alliance

During an attack on King’s Landing, Cersei was about to kill herself and Tommen before her father burst into the Throne Room announcing Stannis’s forces had been defeated in season 2. That victory was only possible thanks to their new alliance with the Tyrells. When Margaery then married Joffrey (and then Tommen), that should have strengthened House Lannister’s monumentally important partnership. Instead, an insecure and power-hungry Cersei did everything she could to undermine it, eventually going so far as to have the High Sparrow arrest both Margaery and Loras. At least that blew up in her face.

She Mistreated Tyrion His Entire Life

Hopefully so will her lifelong mistreatment of her youngest brother, who she blames for “killing” their mother during childbirth. She began by torturing him in his crib when he was just a newborn, and that continued for the rest of his life. Even as Tyrion was saving their house from complete disaster during the Battle of Blackwater, she was working against him. Her blind, irrational hatred for Tyrion led her to put together a sham trial to have him executed for Joffrey’s murder. Unfortunately for her, he now sails alongside the Mother of Dragons, and they are heading right for Cersei’s throne. Oops.

Her Children Were All Bastards of Incest

As Tyrion once said, Cersei’s love for her children is her one redeeming quality. (“That, and your cheekbones.”) But because everything she touches is perverted, even her kids are in violation of the laws of gods and men, since they are bastards born of incest with her twin brother. Game of Thrones might have numbed us to lots of awful things, but incest is still vile. And remember, when Jaime wasn’t around, she opened her bed to her young first cousin Lancel. How’d that work out for him?

The Mad Queen is a Mass Murderer

But Lancel Lannister was one of many, many, many victims the day she blew up the Sept of Baelor with the Mad King’s hidden cache of wildfire. In one massive explosion she killed the High Sparrow, Margaery, Loras, and Mace Tyrell, as well as her own uncle Kevan, alongside hundreds of other Faith Militant and King’s Landing residents. All because Cersei didn’t want to answer for her crimes, crimes she was totally guilty of.

She was accused of committing incest with Jaime, and of having her husband, King Robert Baratheon, killed. She did both of those things, and it was entirely her fault, and for a short while the High Sparrow seemed in control of her fate. So to clean up her mess she murdered hundreds of people–and then she laughed about it. (And that doesn’t even include her having Maester Pycelle killed, or her despondent son jumping to his death because she murdered his wife).

What will she do with the rest of the Mad King’s wildfire when she’s besieged by enemies on all sides? Hopefully someone will stop her the way he stopped Aerys II was years ago. That would be a glorious end

She’s A Jerk

Cersei’s a jerk–a humorless, conniving, misanthrope. The Seven Kingdoms is miserable enough for most people without some a-hole who was born with a gold spoon in her mouth treating them like crap all of the time.

But does this mean that her time is near? Will we finally see her demise in season 7? What do you think? Does Cersei deserve to die, or do you hope she survives yet again? Use our comments section below to swear your thoughts to the old gods and the new.

Images: HBO

Garbage’s Musical History Celebrated in THIS IS THE NOISE THAT KEEPS ME AWAKE

It’s safe to say that once rock bands hit the 20-year mark, there are usually more skeletons in their closet than good vibes. This isn’t the case with Garbage–well, at least not entirely. The four members–Shirley Manson (vocals), Steve Marker (guitars, keyboards), Duke Erikson (guitars, keyboards), and Butch Vig (drums, loops)–proudly wear their skeletons on their sleeves in their first oversized, autobiographical book This is the Noise That Keeps Me Awake via Brooklyn-based publisher, Akashic Books.

Die-hard fans and alt-rock aficionados, prepare for 208 pages of archived photographs, studio memories, cocktail recipes, and candid tour moments from their 22-year history together, as well as their individually careers, all leading up to the creation of their own label, STUNVOLUME, and the release of their sixth studio album, 2016’s Strange Little Birds. Accompanying the members’ trips down memory lane are helpful tidbits supplied by music journalist Jason Cohen, making for an especially informative super-long chill studio session.

The band’s vast discography of singles, B-Sides, and albums are all given equal attention in This is the Noise, which takes its title from a lyric from”Push It,” one of the band’s most popular singles off their 1998 album Version 2.0. Chapter one opens with a line from Vig’s personal studio notebook/journal from 1993, “I hope that all this garbage will become something beautiful,” obviously the impetus for the band’s name and later the title of their third (and most underrated) studio album, BeautifulGarbage (2001).

Across the book’s eight chapters, each member recalls their fears and struggles alongside the rising tide of the Digital Age in the music industry. Additionally, an epilogue covers the enthusiastic first stages of the recent Strange Little Birds era. It’s all compressed between Garbage-themed cocktail recipes with wicked names like “The Vodka with Everything” and “Bad Boyfriend Sauvignon Blanc” and random full-page factoids like that one time Manson was a badass T-1001 doubling as Zeira Corp CEO Catherine Weaver on the Fox series The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Among the book’s more poignant memories is the following anecdote: Eleven-year-old Ruby Maker and five-year-old Bo Violet Vig–Marker and Vig’s daughters respectively–laid down the background vocals for the chorus of the title track. Young Ruby eventually found herself standing on stage with her father, Aunt Shirl, and the rest of the guys, singing that outsider’s anthem to an awe-struck crowd in Berlin. Manson says in the book, “Ruby kept me sane in the middle of a close-to-a-nervous breakdown. She was just a little girl, and I used to come over to Steve’s house, and she’d be so excited to see me. All my troubles went out the door.” If that doesn’t melt your metal heart, I don’t know what will!

For a band that didn’t initially want to tour after their debut album was released, Garbage is a group best served by live performance. The last pages are lined with every single tour date up to December 17, 2016–spoiler alert, they’ve toured A LOT since 1995. These were bittersweet pages for me as I looked through all the Houston, TX dates, silently cursing the rock gods for all the times I missed them growing up and giving thanks for having finally caught them live during their Twenty Years Queer tour in 2015. Trust me when I say you won’t want to miss them with Blondie for their epic Rage and Rapture Tour this summer.

It’s clear from the start of this trip down memory lane that Garbage is a family affair between four flawed but extraordinary misfits. Manson states towards the end of the book, “We all said ‘I do’ twenty years ago. We had a honeymoon, a trail separation, and now we’re back again together–for better or worse!” Through thick and thin, break-ups and illnesses, Garbage thrives on their connectivity to one another, their worldwide fans, and their background support system of family and friends. And even though the years ahead look bleak and troubled, we’ll always have Garbage to remind us that we’re all strange little birds of a feather inside this big, bright world.

This is the Noise That Keeps Me Awake goes on sale July 4th. There’s also an extremely limited edition bundle (see our featured image) with the book and a 12″ vinyl featuring six never-before-released live tracks from the past decades.

Images: Akashic

JUSTICE LEAGUE Animated Series Voice Cast Reunites for a Live Read

Thirteen years ago, the Justice League animated series wrapped up its two-season run before becoming Justice League Unlimited. Both incarnations of the show are considered to be among the best DC adaptations to date, and they remain fan favorites. Over the weekend at the Denver Comic Con, almost the entire voice cast of Justice League came together for a memorable reunion which is now available to watch!

Denver Comic Con has posted the Justice League Animated Reunion panel, which features veteran voice director Andrea Romero welcoming George Newbern (Superman), Kevin Conroy (Batman),  Susan Eisenberg (Wonder Woman), Phil LaMarr (Green Lantern), Michael Rosenbaum (The Flash), and Maria Canals-Barrera (Hawkgirl) back to the roles they portrayed on the series. Unfortunately, Carl Lumbly was unable to be there, so Brian Cummings stepped in to play the Martian Manhunter.

For the occasion, the performers did a live-reading of “Starcrossed,” the three-part series finale that exposed the truth behind Hawkgirl’s presence on Earth while exploring her complicated romance with Green Lantern against the backdrop of an alien invasion led by her own people, the Thanagarians. The Walking Dead‘s Khary Payton also participated in the event as Hro Talak, Hawkgirl’s lover and the leader of the Thanagarian invasion force.

 

Note that the cast skipped ahead of several parts to finish the live-reading in under a half-hour. However, the emotional high points remain intact and the iconic scene of the Justice League revealing their identities to each other was also included. Following the panel, the performers took a few questions from the crowd and they appeared to have way too much fun trying out different accents for their characters. There was also an amusing story about Clancy Brown and Michael Rosenbaum from the episode where Lex Luthor and the Flash had their personalities swapped.

The entire cast seemed very enthusiastic about a potential revival of the Justice League animated series, with Eisenberg noting that if it worked for Young Justice it can work again. Towards that end, Romero encouraged fans to let Warner Bros. know what they want on social media.

We had an incredible Justice League reunion read-through for fans at Denver Comic con! pic.twitter.com/0AxqIBv5y2

— Kevin Conroy (@RealKevinConroy) July 3, 2017

What did you think about the Justice League reunion panel? Let us know in the comment section below!

Image: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

MY HERO ACADEMIA is the Perfect Anime for American Comic Book Fans

Though many anime stories revolve around specifics in Japanese culture that may not translate seamlessly to audiences outside the country, one new series has managed to marry elements from the East and West to appeal to readers all over the world. At the forefront, My Hero Academia is a traditional shonen action manga, but it’s also a traditional Western superhero comic with tributes to the heroes that American fans will surely know and love.

My Hero Academia centers on a boy named Izuku who lives the life of the nerd and gets bullied for his weakness. In a world where 80% of the population has a superpower, he is constantly ridiculed for having none. Izuku’s only dream is to become a great hero like his favorite, All Might. Through twisted circumstances and a turn of fate, Izuku gains a power of his own and is set off on a journey to become the greatest hero there ever was. Together with his friends and teachers, he will stop at nothing to rescue those in need—even if it costs him his life.

Sound familiar? It should, since all of the ingredients to your favorite superheroes in the west are there. Nerdy kid? Check. Bullied for being different? Check. Gains power and becomes a hero? Check. Honestly, we could just as easily be talking about Peter Parker instead of Izuku. And this is no accident, since Kōhei Horikoshi, the creator of My Hero Academia, is a well-known Spider-Man fan.

Though American comic books are not as popular in the East due to the lack of translated material, Horikoshi became a comic book reader and merged his love of Western comics into his love of manga. He became acquainted with Spider-Man and fell in love with the portrayal of Western heroics after seeing Sam Raimi’s first movie in 2002.

In an interview with Shonen Jump, Horikoshi explained his affection for the web-slinger: “To me … he is the only hero that I think of, that defines the title. The concept of [My Hero Academia] is built around that hero in mind, a hero to me is somebody that helps and brings reassurance to others. In Spider-Man’s case the first experience I had with this character was the movie, in which there were a lot of scenes with him rescuing people, which I felt that was really cool.”

That said, My Hero Academia embraces analogs of other famous American comic book characters. Horikoshi’s creation All Might represents every aspect of the pure heroic ideal in the same way that the Silver Age Superman did. In fact, most of Horikoshi’s characters adhere to the same black-and-white morality that the Silver Age of comics embodied. All Might always fights to the bitter end while never giving up, and he’s willing to throw his life on the line for innocents with a smile on his face. As an extra nod to American heroes, each of All Might’s attacks are named after major American cities and states, like his “Detroit Smash” and “Carolina Smash.”

On the other side of the same coin, My Hero Academia‘s villain Stain is a direct nod to every ’90s villain/anti-hero that Todd McFarlane ever drew. He’s got the crazy hair, the wild posture, tattered rags that are almost alive, and thousands of pouches for blades all over. Other characters have similar powers to American heroes or similar designs, and all of these little details help bring a sense of cultural familiarity for western audiences.

Stain's a Ninja Turtle with a prehensile symbiote tongue, Sam Kieth posture & a death wish. He's Horikoshi mocking early 90s antihero excess pic.twitter.com/vixYJ98S4b

— Minovsky (@MinovskyArticle) June 26, 2017

My Hero Academia does a lot to lure American readers in, but what makes it astounding is how much it remains true to its Eastern influences as well. The story takes place in Japan and the shonen ideas of perseverance, a strong will, a sense of justice, and a pure heart are ever present in each chapter. Every page is full of dynamic expressions and epic effects that are the backbone of the Japanese illustration style.

Throughout the story, obstacles are overcome with deep feelings and epic battles, and that’s where the true beauty lies. Both American superhero and Japanese Shonen comics are the same types of stories where individuals overcome unstoppable odds with the help of their allies in order to save the general public and the people they love. They are stories that inspire us to feel more and push harder than we ever knew we could. And whether it’s in a traditional inked piece full of speed lines or one of Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia covers where he blends that style with Western digital coloring, the story still touches the hearts of those who know what it’s like to be marginalized, but still persevere for the sake of others.

My Hero Academia is the best blend of everything great in both mediums. If you’ve ever liked American comics, then this is your best gateway into the manga scene. My Hero Academia is currently published in Weekly Shonen Jump and you can find English volumes in your local bookstores today. The anime is currently airing its second season on CrunchyRoll and Hulu. You can find the first season in English on Hulu.

Images: Studio Bones and Weekly Shonen Jump

Alex Tisdale is a writer and illustrator who runs on coffee and pop culture. You can find him covered in ink and rambling on his website or on Twitter.