Popverse's top stories

• How Critical Role’s fan community helps Matthew Mercer remember a decade of storytelling
• Inside the "gutsy decision" by Marvel to kill the Ultimate Marvel imprint, and why they were worried continuing it would be wrong
• Every Final Fantasy game is different, but these are the things that always stay the same [Gamify My Life]

One of the most exciting things about attending conventions is meeting your favorite actors, writers, and artists. Of course, that comes with its own bit of anxiety. After all, what do you say to someone that shaped your childhood. While we can’t give you a script for what to say when you meet celebrities, we can tell you what to avoid.

For example, if you meet Goosebumps author R.L. Stine, don’t tell him that his books help you sleep.

“Yesterday a woman gave me the worst compliment I ever had in my life,” R.L. Stine tells Popverse’s Grant DeArmitt at New York Comic Con 2025. “She came up to the table, and I’ve never had a compliment this awful. She thought she was complimenting me. And she said, ‘Your books really help me sleep.’ What can you say? I said, ‘Oh, nice.’ She said, ‘Yes, I read your books, and right to sleep.’ That was her compliment. That’s great, right?”

For more from R.L. Stine, check out the full interview below:

Just like yourself, the Popverse staff spends a whole lot of time with our respective noses in respective books. It's why we've come up with stuff like:

• The hottest upcoming fiction
• Queer romance to add to your reading list
• A genre fiction literary column called If It Bleeds, We Read

...and a whole lot more. Join our metaphorical library, won't you? There are no late fees and you can be as loud as you want, so long as the people you live with are OK with it.