Comics

From DC:

Following the sales and critical success of titles like Batman/Elmer Fudd, more of Warner Bros classic cartoon characters will get the DC Universe treatment this August as DC revealed new quartet of DC/Looney Tunes special one-shot issues, written and drawn by some of the top names in the DC talent family. Each 48-page issue hits comic book retailers on Wednesday, August 29, includes both a main and bonus story featuring the title characters and will sell for $4.99.

This zany title lineup includes:

CATWOMAN/TWEETY AND SYLVESTER SPECIAL #1
Written by GAIL SIMONE, with art by INAKI MIRANDA
Backup story written by SHEA FONTANA, with art by WALTER CARZON
Cover by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO

From BBC:

Marvel have a new film "in the works" in the shape of Muslim superhero Ms Marvel.

It won't be the studio's first female-led film - Brie Larson is already set to enter the franchise as Captain Marvel in 2019.

Avengers Infinity War producer Kevin Feige told the BBC: "Ms. Marvel... is definitely sort of in the works."

He explained she is "another character in the comic books, the Muslim hero who is inspired by Captain Marvel".

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s long-running weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!

Comics shipping this week

Lots of Marvel books I want to talk about this week…

Crowdfunding is the new method of gaining investors for a pet project. It's easy, it's popular -- and it works. When fans clamored for a VERONICA MARS movie, Director Rob Thomas took the project to Kickstarter to prove to Hollywood executives there was a demand. He raised funds in excess of the target in record time, hitting their $2 million goal in less than a single day.

A similar success story is playing out in the comic book industry these days. Comic book critic and perennial thorn-in-the-side of the industry experts, Richard C. Meyer, has taken on the challenge of "those who can't, critique" and set out to publish his own graphic novel, JAWBREAKERS: LOST SOULS.

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s long-running weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!

Comics shipping this week

While it is still probably a bit too long, I did trim down my pull list considerably in the last few weeks. There are still a lot of comics I am excited about though.

From Entertainment Weekly:

The Mad Titan is coming for Fortnite.

This isn’t one of those fun fan-made mashups for the YouTube crowd. Epic Games and Marvel have an unprecedented crossover event in the works, and EW can exclusively give away the deets! Thanos, the villain of Avengers: Infinity War, will drop into Fortnite‘s Battle Royale mode for a limited time starting Tuesday, May 8

...

The “Infinity Gauntlet Limited Time Mashup” mode for Battle Royale will feel just like a standard slugfest — with one major difference: One hundred players will descend upon the map and fight until one player is left standing, as usual, but this time you’ll do so with the Infinity Gauntlet in play.

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s long-running weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!

Too often in comic book stories, the villain is motivated by greed or power. They not only are evil, but they know they are evil, and you will submit to them or fork over all your cash, depending on the depth of their megalomania.

The best villains, however, see themselves as the heroes of their own story, and act accordingly. Thus it is with Thanos, in a lifetime achievement role for actor JOSH BROLIN. All Thanos wants to do is eliminate poverty, make sure there are plenty of resources for people to live on, and see the universe at peace. And to do this, the only thing he needs to do is simply cut the existing population in half.

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s long-running weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!

Comics shipping this week

Female plaintiff joins #MeToo movement with claims of assault, battery, violation of the Illinois Gender Violence Act, emotional distress and civil conspiracy against Stan Lee

CHICAGO – Apr. 23, 2018 – Maria Carballo, a massage therapist based in Cook County, has filed a complaint against renowned comic book creator, Stan Lee, and his assistant, Mac Anderson. Ms. Carballo’s complaint contains five counts, including assault, battery, violation of the Illinois Gender Violence Act, emotional distress and civil conspiracy.

The suit states that during the weekend of April 21-23, 2017, Ms. Carballo performed two massage therapy sessions for Lee in his hotel room at a Hyatt Regency in Chicago. Records indicate that the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo was taking place that weekend at the neighboring McCormick Place convention center.

The Riddler (CORY MICHAEL SMITH) teaches a lesson in betrayal with this episode of GOTHAM. Having agreed to perform a series of bank robberies for Lee Thompkins (MORENA BACCARIN), the proceeds of which are distributed among the impoverished of The Narrows, GCPD Captain James Gordon (BEN MCKENZIE) and Harvey Bullock (DONAL LOGUE) suspect Nygma's cleverness behind the thefts.

They're not the only one. Oswald Cobblepot (ROBIN LORD TAYLOR) and Butch Gilzean (DREW POWELL) are also on the trail of The Riddler. They want in -- by force -- and they want half of the take. When Oswald sees that Nygma is lending his brilliant mind in the service of Thompkins, he plants doubts in The Riddler's mind about Lee using him, doubts which fester when the mirrors are turned on Riddler, who is now taunted by his alter ego, Nygma (where it used to be the other way around).

Riverdale fans who follow the fictional Instagram account of Kevin Keller (played by CASEY COTT) were given the news that Midge Klump (EMILIJA BARANAC), who was last seen impaled on the set wall of CARRIE: THE MUSICAL, is indeed dead.

Kevin writes, "Sometimes it takes tragedies to put things in perspective. RIP Midge you’ll be missed." This all but confirms that a major character has been written off of the series.

"The Gift" leads up to the wedding of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle by taking us, after the events of METAL and all the various universes to -- you guessed it -- another alternate universe. In this case, it's an alternate timeline -- a BoosterPoint universe.

Gotham City is unrecognizable. Jokers -- plural, and way more than just three -- run amok in the streets. Tim Drake has a cubicle job, Jason Todd sells tires, and Duke Thomas is a mental invalid. And where is the Batman?

He's armed to the teeth and killing superheroes who come to Gotham so they don't get "Jokered." Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is at a party, dancing with his mother on her anniversary.

That's right. Bruce Wayne and Batman are different people, all because Booster Gold time-travelled in an attempt to recreate "For the Man Who Has Everything" as a gift to Batman for his upcoming wedding.

From Marvel

He put Frank Castle in the War Machine armor for Marvel Legacy — but that was just the start. Now writer Matthew Rosenberg discusses his plans to take the Punisher’s war on crime to the next level in a brand-new series!

Marvel: In the new Punisher series, Frank will no longer have the War Machine armor. Is this, then, a back-to-basics approach?

It's here! Action Comics #1000 is available today and we're covering yet another previously released story right out of the pages of the landmark issue!

"Five Minutes" is written by Louise Simonson with art by Jerry Ordway. Listen in as I discuss my thoughts about this self-contained story as well as share in my excitement for Action Comics #1000. Wednesday, April 18th will forever be a holiday for Superman fans, as it's the 80th anniversary of Action Comics #1.

From Valiant:

Not sure if you've heard by now but Action Comics #1000 comes out tomorrow. On the same day that Action Comics #1 debuted.

In AC1K Tom King (Batman, Grayson) tells a tale about the end of days for the planet Earth, and how Superman is visiting for one final goodbye to his parents. It's a beautiful homage to Ma and Pa Kent who took in an alien immigrant and raised him as their own. Loved him like he was born from them.

Then King ruined it with one panel. Give a listen to the latest "Superman Talk" and I'll explain why. If you haven't read his story yet and can't wait for tomorrow, you can read it for free here.

The modern political landscape is a labyrinthe so torturous and dizzying that those who live outside it are often happy they do not understand it. Ignorance, after all, is bliss, and those who do completely understand the inner workings of the machine never seem all that happy about having the knowledge.

For all the misery that comes with political knowledge, there sure are a lot of books on the subjects -- and an awful lot of people buying them, depending on the season. Case in point: Peter Schwiezer's point-by-point takedown of the Clinton Foundation during the 2016 campaign, which was greatly anticipated, hotly debated, and, now, nearly antiquated (such is the speed of the news cycle).

While much was made of the anecdotes relating to UraniumOne, Rosatom, and Ericsson, the overall gist of the book was to demonstrate a pattern of enrichment, following the players and the flow of money across a blurred-line overlap of political favors and charitable donations. 

Action Comics #1000 4-page preview of Brian Michael Bendis story, chock full of Jim Lee art! Also: Pre-Order numbers for Action Comics #1000 and DC Nation #0!

Tune in to tonight's episode to hear what I have to say about the newly released 4-page preview and how big the pre-order numbers are for Action Comics #1000. DC Nation #0 has twice as many pre-orders and could be twice as important for the future of DC Comics. Listen in and check out the preview below! Also as an added bonus, the cover of the FREE DC NATION #1 featuring Rogol Zar!

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s long-running weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!