‘Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse’ Review: Graphic Doom

A conventional documentary about a distinctly unorthodox figure, “Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse” has a lot going for it, mostly its title subject and his circle of cool pals and champions. Intimate if oddly unrevealing, it offers an overview of Spiegelman’s life, times and inspirations, charting how a Queens kid created “Maus: A Survivor’s … Read more

Why Did It Take a Fire for the World to Learn of Altadena’s Black Arts Legacy?

Saar, whom White would eventually recruit to teach at Otis, grew up in Altadena in the 1930s and ’40s. Her neighborhood’s paperboy, she told me, was Jackie Robinson, who lived down the street. Her local landmarks included the five-and-dime store, where she bought trinkets and art supplies. Though she would eventually settle in Laurel Canyon … Read more

Why We Love to Get Lost in Games: The Enduring Appeal of Metroidvanias

A planet-size eyeball blinks in celestial light before the hero in Ultros awakens on a spaceship amid alien shrubbery the color of an acid-dipped rainbow. Traipsing about winding, overgrown passageways, grand halls and resplendent stained-glass altars, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by this strange place. Ultros belongs to the cryptically named genre of video … Read more