For many people, knowing what Dungeons & Dragons is and finally getting on board with Game of Thrones is about as deep into the realm of fantasy as they've gotten. But there's no denying — between the wildly resurgent popularity of titles like The Lord of the Rings, Dragon Age and Zelda, and the proliferation of adventure-themed movies, books, role-playing and video games — that this is a huge moment in our culture. It might be time to learn more about it. That's where the ambitious “Fantasy Art” group show opening this week at Meltdown Comics can help. Curated by Meltdown maven Satine Phoenix (who runs the place's weekly D&D group and cosplay life-drawing classes), it features more than 35 contemporary artists offering homages to the mythologies that make these alternative universes spin. From 7 to 8 p.m., Liz Katz models from Time of the Faeries for your life-drawing pleasure, and throughout the night, pop-up performances by the Labyrinth of Jareth masquerade crew and surprises courtesy of the new quarterly adventure gaming magazine Gygax keep things interesting. Cosplay is encouraged, but the simply curious are welcome to come sans costume.

April 5-18, 2013

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