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Daniel Dockery

@dandock.bsky.social
6.2K followers 1.3K following 13K posts

Writer at Crunchyroll, Polygon, WIRED, Vulture, GamesRadar, Inverse, Pokemon, Paste Magazine and other places / Rep'd by Aevitas Creative / Author of MONSTER KIDS ('22), I AM THE NIGHT ('26) and LIFE FINDS A WAY ('28) / Picked Charmander

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Reposted by Daniel Dockery
Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 13h
It's been a month since the release of my latest book, which means that my promotion will be slowing down. That said, I want to do one more thread. Because this book isn't just about BTAS, but about how valuable animation is as a creative medium. Here are my seven favorite pieces of animation:
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
It's a shame that The Spectacular Spider-Man only lasted 26 episodes. The way it melded four decades' worth of Spider-Man history into a cohesive distillation of why the character works in the first place is a triumph on its own.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
If we're being honest here, I think Godzilla might be my best friend
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 13h
1) With Paranoia Agent, the late Satoshi Kon delivered a sweeping look at how fear can force society to devolve and an intimate glimpse into how we bear the weight of that tension in our everyday lives. Modern anxieties blend with primordial terror in 13 fantastic episodes.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 13h
2) Proof that adaptation can sometimes enrich the source material, Batman: The Animated Series is, to many, the definitive version of the Dark Knight. Over the course of 85 episodes (and two films) BTAS gave us a glimpse of Gotham City that was both nightmarish and empathetic.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 13h
3) Made with go-motion, Phil Tippett's Prehistoric Beast is a dialogue/narration-free glimpse into the late Cretaceous that sees a "Monoclonius" stalked and eventually attacked by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. With atmosphere to spare, it remains one of the best dinosaur films of all time.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 13h
4) The ultimate tribute to movement and sound in animation, Fantasia is as transfixing today as it was in 1940. In a way, it feels a little like the Disney equivalent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film that you must allow yourself to be swept away by.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 13h
5) The Hand is a Czech stop motion short about an artist working under the rule of the titular authoritarian "Hand." It's a troubling (and sometimes morbidly funny) look at how fascism restricts and manipulates art for the purpose of its own glory.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 13h
6) Scavengers Reign is a thrilling, violent sci-fi tale that does extraordinary things with its environmental worldbuilding. The way it details the various cycles of life and balances them with this desperate, claustrophobic depiction of mankind makes it ceaselessly rewatchable.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 13h
7) There's no better look at how we create our own little fantasy worlds as children than My Neighbor Totoro. How we invent a dream logic for ourselves that adults will never understand (and often beg us to grow out of.) It's simultaneously whimsical and poignant and is Miyazaki's masterpiece.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 14h
"Growing Pains" is one of the most chilling, sad Batman stories ever told. Robin meets a young girl on the run from her terrifying father, a man whose secret will shake the Boy Wonder to his core. The kind of episode that you watch as a kid that haunts you for the rest of your life.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 14h
The earliest Naruto/Linkin Park AMV was uploaded onto YouTube in 2005. The earliest One Piece/Linkin Park AMV was uploaded in 2006. Here's why that's culturally important in anime history...(1/986)
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The Batman: The Animated Series aesthetic takes its final bow with Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero. It's a good time, and while not as generally solid as Phantasm, it allows the series to go out with an adventure bang. And Mr. Freeze keeps pet polar bears! That knocks it up a point.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Batman: The Animated Series concludes with the relatively Batman-less "Batgirl Returns." In it, Batgirl faces off (and teams up) with Catwoman to finally take down the unscrupulous Roland Daggett. It's a perfectly acceptable episode, but Daggett's downfall is immensely satisfying.
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pauline value-added consumer incentive @spacehunterm.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
"Deep Freeze" features the long-awaited return of Mr. Freeze. This time, he's offering the secret of frozen immortality to a Walt Disney-esque billionaire in exchange for the resources necessary to cure his wife. It's a haunting, underrated episode and provides an excellent send-off for Freeze.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"I'm crazy enough to take on Batman, but the I.R.S.? No, thank you!" Based on a 1952 comic, "Joker's Millions" is TNBA in full-on caper mode. If you're looking for a deep dive into the agony of the human soul, look elsewhere. If you want Mark Hamill eating up every line of dialogue, check it out.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
As it turns out, some Batman villains are capable of "going straight." The Ventriloquist's former gang (and the specter of Scarface) convince him to return to a life of crime. However, this fun episode ends with Wesker being the one to pull the trigger on his old "dummy" boss.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Nightwing makes his official debut and we're treated to the New Batman Adventures reinvention of Catwoman in "You Scratch My Back." It's a fun, flirtatious ("He's a big Boy Wonder now. A man Wonder, in fact") adventure tale that hints at just how much Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson have fallen out.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"Never Fear" is a fun twist on the Scarecrow's tactics, but what's really neat here is the redesign of the Scarecrow himself. Blending a hangman and Leatherface, it's the best the character has ever looked. And with a voice from Jeffrey Combs!? A horror fan's dream!
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 12h
What are you talking about
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Chris Adamson @invalidname.me · 12h
I just reached the index today. Great job with all the sources and interviews.
“I Am the Night” cover in Apple Books, with a completion label indicating that I have finished reading it.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 13h
It's been a month since the release of my latest book, which means that my promotion will be slowing down. That said, I want to do one more thread. Because this book isn't just about BTAS, but about how valuable animation is as a creative medium. Here are my seven favorite pieces of animation:
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Craig Jenkins @craigsj.bsky.social · 14h
yes and it's more i nudged him toward bringing up the amv stuff www.vulture.com/2023/04/mike...
vulture.com
‘We Were Obsessed’
Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda didn’t plan to revisit the band’s 2003 album Meteora — until he found a lost demo.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 14h
The earliest Naruto/Linkin Park AMV was uploaded onto YouTube in 2005. The earliest One Piece/Linkin Park AMV was uploaded in 2006. Here's why that's culturally important in anime history...(1/986)
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It's hard to imagine a world where Big Trouble in Little China was immediately and overwhelmingly successful (and didn't eventually become a cult classic.) But in the decades since its release, it's revealed itself to have much more staying power than its stiff-lipped adventure peers.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Here it is on GoodReads as well: www.goodreads.com/book/show/24... And Storygraph: app.thestorygraph.com/books/08d721...
goodreads.com
I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Ba…
A narrative history of the popular television show The…
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
My latest book, I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series, has been out for almost a month, and if you've enjoyed it, I'd love if you could take the time to drop a couple of stars (or even a review) for it! www.amazon.com/dp/125040965...
amazon.com
Amazon.com: I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series: 9781250409652: Dockery, Daniel: Books
Amazon.com: I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series: 9781250409652: Dockery, Daniel: Books
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
One great thing about having grown up watching Wishbone is that I can't read classic literature without picturing the show at least once. You're neck deep in Frankenstein, a story about a guy stitching body parts together, and you think "Awww, and he's stitching them with his widdle paws."
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It's hard to imagine a world where Big Trouble in Little China was immediately and overwhelmingly successful (and didn't eventually become a cult classic.) But in the decades since its release, it's revealed itself to have much more staying power than its stiff-lipped adventure peers.
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Willow Catelyn Maclay @willowcatelyn.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
It is one of the greatest honors of my life to say that I helped with @arrowvideo.bsky.social upcoming 4k release of BLUE VELVET. I wrote an essay to accompany the film. www.arrowfilms.com/p/blue-velve...
arrowfilms.com
Blue Velvet Limited Edition 4K UHD | Arrow Films
Shop Blue Velvet Limited Edition 4K UHD at Arrow Films. Free UK Delivery
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
The "Old Man" shouting "Look what your brother did to the door!" in Texas Chain Saw Massacre is an excellent little bit of dark comedy amid violent chaos, but it also does more to give depth to this family of cannibals than any amount of painstaking backstory ever could.
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SHUM @shum138.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This is really good! I'm saving the last chapter like a dessert to be savoured because I don't want it to end 😣 (PRH only shows the Audiobook as available, my LCS said it was the same in the retailer backend, I was able to get it a big box but just fyi) www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/839406...
penguinrandomhouse.com
I Am the Night by Daniel Dockery: 9798217414345 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A narrative history of the popular television show Batman: The Animated Series, including exclusive interviews and never-before-shared stories from the making of the series. At a time when televised ...
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Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Lord of the Rings Sauron: this city is the dread Kazamür Dür in the region of Alzadior Silmarillion Sauron: this town is now named Kick Ass City and its mayor is an evil cat
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
One of the reasons why I love Ray Harryhausen's stop motion work so much is that it not only feels alive, but a very specific kind of alive. Many of his monsters have such unruly energy, as if they threaten to nip at the hands of the man arranging them.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
My latest book, I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series, has been out for almost a month, and if you've enjoyed it, I'd love if you could take the time to drop a couple of stars (or even a review) for it! www.amazon.com/dp/125040965...
amazon.com
Amazon.com: I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series: 9781250409652: Dockery, Daniel: Books
Amazon.com: I Am the Night: The Ultimate Unauthorized History of Batman: The Animated Series: 9781250409652: Dockery, Daniel: Books
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Ryan @ryanwright.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This is how I remember the order of Henry VIII’s wives.
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maddie ★ othatsraspberry @othatsraspberry.com · 27/09/2026
safety first in silent hill
silent hill 2 comic
James looks onto Silent Hill and a monster: "yeugh this place is creepy gross, I better be careful"
he picks up a syringe off a dirty table and jams it into his arm
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In Otter News @in-otter-news.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
After a long day at the aquarium, the otters help tidy their toys away. Payment is made promptly and entirely in ice cubes.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Years later, having watched the dino flick go in and out of popularity, Harryhausen remained upbeat. He'd tell Animato that Spielberg had shown him some of the "effective" computer animation from the upcoming Jurassic Park. "I love the story, very logical. I wish we'd thought of it years ago!"
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Gwangi lacks a lot of the pathos of something like Kong or even Harryhausen's own Ymir from 20 Million Miles to Earth, but it makes up for it with some really fun, ferocious energy. As soon as the cowboys enter their dusty "lost world," it's on. The dinosaur movie was not going out without a fight.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
(Just to clear things up - just as important as King Kong's original 1933 release was its 1952 re-release where it earned an even bigger box office. That successful re-release would not only inspire the creation of films like Harryhausen's The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, but Godzilla as well.)
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
One of Harryhausen's first major gigs was working under O'Brien as a technician on Mighty Joe Young, a classic example of that genre. Harryhausen would end up being O'Brien's heir apparent in fantasy cinema (especially as the latter's career experienced a drastic, tragic downturn.)
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
The idea that became "The Valley of Gwangi" didn't originate from Harryhausen. Rather, it was an idea conjured by his late mentor Willis O'Brien, the stop motion master who never tired to the story structure of "fearsome beast gets captured and brought to civilization, only to break out."
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
I adore The Valley of Gwangi. It was Ray Harryhausen's final "dinosaur" film and it features some of his liveliest stop motion creature work. Though it was far from a massive success, it also helped bring a central part of his career full circle.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Anyway, there's more, but I have stuff to do. I love watching cartoons with my son! That is all!
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
He likes all the villains except for the Joker, who tends to upset him a little bit. He's just too mean! He doesn't really like the 1992 X-Men cartoon. But he adores whenever we put on Evolution. He asks questions about Rogue like a dude hinting that he wants a girl's phone number.
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
He's been watching Batman: The Animated Series and I forget that he hasn't had 30+ years to let it marinate in his brain. "Feat of Clay Pt. 2" impressed him the most. When the hospital cop was revealed to be Clayface, he leapt with a big "WHAT???"
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
He likes What's New, Scooby-Doo?, but Mystery Incorporated (my personal favorite) goes over his head. He despises Yogi Bear. He watches The Flintstones like an HGTV home renovation show ("Oh, she vacuums with a mammoth. That must really keep the house clean.")
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Daniel Dockery @dandock.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
He enjoys Scooby-Doo but is VERY particular about it. Original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!? Perfect. Could watch it for hours. Anything with Scrappy in it? Get that little mongrel out of here. 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo? I like explaining why Vincent Price was such a big deal.
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