spandex and monster (cosplay, comics, paranormal, and fetish items from Jerry Williams))

Happy 40th Dungeons and Dragons, Labyrinth Lord. Knight Chills, and the Gamers triology David A. Trampier's iconic artwork for the first AD&D players handbook 2014 is the forty year anniversary of the iconic table top role playing game Dungeons and Dragons.  Originally created as a role playing supplement to his miniature war campaign game, Gygax's creation would become a juggernaut that would become a part of the pop culture.  Dungeons and Dragons complex rules of combat and role playing also became a lightning rod for people convinced that the game was occult in origin and was satanic.  It also paved the way for computer games, and eventually was influential in other areas...roleplaying is now a well known tool for character reaction from the corporate to the scientific to possible intelligence operations. the medieval miniature game that would eventually morph into dungeons and dragons Gary Gygax had several cameos on the animated show Futurama ...

Michael Keaton as Batman (1989) Few characters evoke such primal reactions as Batman.  Created from violence, Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to fighting crime.  His adversaries are a rolling register of  flamboyant criminals that are carnival mirrors of the madness lurking in the human soul.  I love the cosplay culture, but there is a darker world where some lose track of reality.  You could argue about that point with any pop culture aspect, and I still remember the frantic mania of people convinced my time at roleplaying games would led to madness, and craziness from alleged backward music on those judas priest tapes.  For the record, I had a blast role playing, and the hysteria involving dungeons and dragons along metal music was just smoke and hot air,  Hysteria is the shortcut sometimes when it comes to cosplay, comics, and other pop culture items.  The media will create a slot if one doesn't exist and now that roleplaying games a...