Comics

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s 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!

DC is teaming up with Archie Comics (after teaming up with IDW, Dynamite, and Dark Horse -- gosh is there somebody missing from all the company-crossover fun? Let's marvel over that for a moment...) to bring us the team-up that nobody demanded: Harley & Ivy and Betty & Veronica!

A few years ago, this crossover would have resulted in a fab foursome, and I'd have chunked over good change for it. (Forgive me while I dream over what a Dan DeCarlo page of that story would have looked like.) But this is the new Archie, the now Archie, the edgy-and-hip Archie, and Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are much more friendly with each other than Riverdale's former best buds, who spend their time snipping at each other. The old rivalry has evolved into a cooler-than-chilling frenemy relationship that's built more on tolerance than friendship.

Your name is Bruce Wayne. You're just a kid. And you're kneeling over the broken, bleeding bodies of your parents as their murderer runs away down the alley.

At that particular moment, something happens. Something formative.

A ring appears floating in the air, green, glowing. And it selects you as the next Green Lantern, just as your body is coursing with rage and a desire for vengeance. You catch the criminal, and you exact your will upon him -- a will so strong it overloads every safety protocol built into the Green Lantern ring, allowing it to employ lethal force.

From DC Comics:

Today, at New York Comic Con, DC Publisher Jim Lee, writer/producer/director Reginald Hudlin and Milestone co-founder and artist Denys Cowan announced the return of popular characters of the Dakota Universe in a new collaboration called Earth M in spring 2018. Cowan, Hudlin and Lee were joined by Milestone co-founder Derek Dingle and Earth M collaborators Alice Randall, Ken Lashley and Greg Pak to share details of the re-emergence of classic Milestone characters, including Static Shock, Icon and Rocket, as well as brand-new character creations which will debut in a series of different titles under the Earth M imprint.

Darkness. Deep dark despair. Can you imagine not being surrounded by the light, truth, knowledge of the Gospel as we know it today?

I was enthralled by the vivid displays in words and art of the plight of Martin Luther. Truly this remarkable man suffered much for years before his mind was enlightened by ignoring the benighted teachers of his time. Showing boldness without regard for life, he desired to not just find fault with the misuse of power by the Church, but to declare a new interpretation of the scriptures based on his beliefs.

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s 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!

So here's the thing with DARK NIGHTS: METAL. It's the latest chapter in a continuing idyll that began with FINAL CRISIS and THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE. That's going back to 2009, and continuing on through The New 52 JUSTICE LEAGUE series. That's an 8 year story-arc for those keeping track on fingers and toes.

Basically, when Darkseid sent Batman back in time (FINAL CRISIS), he was seen by the god Barbatos. He landed in caveman days, which we find out is what initially kicked off the Court of Owls. All history has been shaping Bruce Wayne to become Batman and the gateway for Barbatos to enter the physical world from the dark dimensions. And over several of his past adventures, Bruce has been infused with different metals, all of which are necessary for a ceremony to open that gateway. Five are required -- four have been applied.

Tim Drake, aka Robin III, made his debut in a storylne called "A Lonely Place of Dying." Then he became Red Robin in the New 52 version of the DC Universe, retaining that identity into the Rebirth version.

And then he decided to give it up. Which happened almost moments before he was killed.

Except he wasn't killed. He woke up a prisoner of a mysterious man calling himself Mr. Oz. And with DETECTIVE COMICS 965, James Tynion IV brings us back to that story, merging in the revelations from ACTION COMICS on Mr. Oz's true identy -- Jor-El of Krypton.

How much trouble can you attract with just 140 characters?

Since the advent of Twitter, millions of us have been given the chance to find that out, venting our frustrations and clicking the ol' submit button before having a cooler head.

Yesterday was comic book artist Sophie Campbell's turn in the Twitter hotseat. The artist of @IDWPublishing's TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES and JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS took to her account on Monday and began expressing a wish for world peace, for all the children of the world to join hands and sing a song, a cure for cancer, wings for kittens, and the overall betterment of mankind.

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s 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!

Could there be two more kindred spirits that Diana of Themyscira and Conan of Cimmeria? It's too bad they are kept apart by years and publishers.

Waitasec, what am I talking about? This is comic books! And these days most publishers are willing to do a joint venture if they think it'll make them a buck. And the way to make a buck is to give the fans what they want.

And so from DC and Dark Horse Comics, we get WONDER WOMAN / CONAN, written by Gail Simone with art from Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan. With that team of creators, what could possibly go wrong?

Honestly, very little.

Conan, being Conan, allows himself to be bribed into saving a gambler, Kian, from a gang of Vikings, and has to follow him to collect his reward. Their destination takes them into the city of Shamar, where Kian promises to collect on a massive wager against the city's champion, solely because she is a female.

By now I bet you can guess who the female is.

I've been following just enough of METAL to know a little about what's going on. That's enough to enjoy the tie-in books, especially the one that involves two of my favorite characters in the DC Universe, Batman and The Flash.

The story opens with a narrator echoing the words for the classic CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. "World will live. Worlds will die." But that narrative is prefaced by the introductory clause, "Stop me if you've heard this one..." There's only one person in the DC Multiverse who would open a book with that line, And by the time that narrator starts to talk about how "...all it takes is one bad day..." and you're certain that this is some dark mirror version of The Joker. The fact that one of the solicits for all these alternate Batman titles involves The Batman Who Laughs, and I think we know who our unreliable narrator is.

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s 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!

Runaways (2017) #1

Written by: Rainbow Rowell
Art by: Kris Anka
Colored by: Matthew Wilson
Lettered by: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Published by: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99

Warning! This review contains quite a few spoilers!

For a long time now, Superman has been stalked by a mysterious figure calling himself Mr Oz.  There was a lot of speculation who Mr Oz could be.  I have been pretty firm in my prediction that it was Watchmen's Ozymandias, because that seemed to fall in line with what DC has been teasing since the start of DC Rebirth.  Well, in ACTION COMICS #987, we finally got the answer to "Who is Mr Oz?"

Drum Roll Please!

Mr Oz is none other than Superman's father, Jor-El!

Bloodshot Salvation #1

Written by: Jeff Lemire
Art by: Lewis LaRosa & Mico Sauyan
Colored by: Brian Reber
Lettered by: Simon Bowland

Published by:Valiant
Cover Price: $3.99

Warning! This review contains quite a few spoilers!

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s 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 comics coming out and quite a few I want to talk about.

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s 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!

From Marvel:

Las Vegas greets a new quartet of residents in BEN REILLY: SCARLET SPIDER #8 on September 27 and they will thrill long-time Spider-fans. Ben, on the other hand, might just take a little longer to win over.

The Slingers have returned and they do not think Reilly should be wearing the webs and will not hesitate to tell—or show—him so. Unfortunately, matters have been complicated even more they know as one of their own hides a secret under their mask.

Writer Peter David would not pull back that mask fully, but he did offer us a peek in this interview.

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s 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

Fifth week! Always a bit of a smaller week back in the day, but that has changed in recent years. It’s still a relatively short list this week though.