[Comics]
Hello, and thanks for visiting my portfolio!
I've covered pop culture news for over a decade, including 10 years writing breaking news, high-profile reviews, and thoughtful/interesting features at The AV Club. My work has also appeared at Primetimer, IGN, and Collider, and I have experience writing for SEO, working with various content management systems, collaborating with a team, and meeting tight deadlines. During my career, I've covered video games, movies, TV, comic books, and even regular books.
I have also contributed to the massively successful The Hustle daily newsletter, writing tech startup news in a fun/informative way for its millions of readers. I'm also a published poet and short story writer, if that's interesting to you, and I canonically exist in The CW's Arrowverse universe of superhero shows (ask me how).
The following is a curated list of some of my favorite pieces that I've worked on, both as a writer and editor, and they're organized by subject matter. I have *thousands* of additional examples, so let me know if you'd like to see more!
Subscribe to The Untitled Comic Book Newsletter, my weekly essay on a random-ish comic book:
https://untitledcomicbook.beehiiv.com
Reach me at sambarsanti19 [at] gmail [dot] com
You can also click the button below, and that should work.
[Comics]
My weekly newsletter, covering a random-ish comic with every installment.
IDW shares exclusive artwork from writer Scott Snyder's new anthology series Dark Spaces
Penguin Classics' new Marvel collections are decidedly prestigious, if understandably incomplete
2022's best new anime shows are also a good way to get into manga
[Fiction]
A horror story I wrote that was recorded and published by The NoSleep Podcast. It features dialogue and (in my opinion) a neat time loop structure.
A flash-fic horror story I wrote that was recorded and published by The NoSleep Podcast. It's based on a true story, more or less.
[Tech/Startups]
The oversized, plush characters are the newest marketing trend for brands.
Proving your humanity is getting harder as AI takes over.
No one wants to crawl through stinky sewers - which is why one Michigan county is using drones.
The Baltimore Orioles' high-tech, AI-forward approach isn't getting it done on the diamond.
TVs will soon be able to read your emotions to sell you stuff.
[Video Games]
A review of (arguably) 2023's most important video game, the stunning-yet-safe Starfield.
A review of Death Stranding, a groundbreaking artistic achievement in video gaming.
Are these video game relationships as two-dimensional as the characters themselves? That's exactly what we're here to find out.
Control is a fascinating work of video game storytelling that levitates above its limitations
Happy anniversary to Kirby Super Star, the best game ever made
[TV]
For 40 years, Optimus Prime has brought non-toxic masculinity to children's programming.
Murderbot faithfully adapts its source material into a surprisingly warm story about choosing to make connections.
A eulogy for The CW's longrunning world of superhero TV shows.
The anime continues to offer an intriguing new take on the iconic video game.
A surprise through and through, Skeleton Crew deserves a spot in the upper ranks of Star Wars' Disney era.
[Movies]
Is The End Of Evangelion an undeniable masterpiece or nonsense for nonsense's sake?
Teen Titans Go! To The Movies takes on the whole superhero genre with joyous absurdity
An anime fantasy about a cool demon girl and an exhaustingly dull human boy.
A gleefully (and knowingly) stupid tribute to anime and American superheroes, Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League doesn't care what you think - it's here to have fun.
Thirty years ago, Akira predicted the chaos of 2020
[SEO]
Netflix's The Woman in Cabin 10 with Keira Knightley is the latest in a long line of attempts to live up to Alfred Hitchcock's brilliant Rear Window.
Godzilla Minus One is finally getting a sequel, Godzilla Minus Zero, so now's the time to go back and remember why the original is a masterpiece.
It's easy to see why Ender's Game failed, but star Harrison Ford still thought it had interesting things to say about the military and responsibility.