Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 09/29/2015 - 03:00
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!
SECRET WARS #9 (of 9) by JONATHAN HICKMAN & ESAD RIBIC
Mike: Secret Wars finally comes to an end. About 3 months after Marvel has already started their relaunch. Great planning there. I am just sort of bummed out we will still be doing “Front Lines” into December, just because Marvel can’t get their act together. I love the column, but I thought we would be long done by then.
Submitted by Critical Blast Staff on Sat, 09/26/2015 - 05:00
September 26, 2014 marked the 75th anniversary of the first appearance of Batman in DETECTIVE COMICS #27. I knew the year was the anniversary, but I didn’t pay much attention to the actual date. So when I saw the solicits that 9/26/15 was BATMAN DAY, I tried overly hard to figure out out. “Okay, I get ‘May the Fourth” as STAR WARS DAY, and ‘March the Fifth’ as National Jim Beam Day (am I really the only one who celebrates that?), but what was the archaic, numerological meaning that marked these numbers as BATMAN DAY. Boy, was I let down when there wasn’t some clever number-play going on, and it was simply an anniversary date -- the 76th one at that.
Still, they say every dog has its day, so why not at least one bat? The Critical Blast geeks decided to sit around the cave and discuss the whys, wherefores, and woes of being a Bat-Fan.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 09/22/2015 - 08:43
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!
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 09/15/2015 - 07:06
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!
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Thu, 09/10/2015 - 09:45
Logged on this morning to a nice surprise! We finally got a release date and a teaser trailer for Marvel's Jessica Jones. It will begin airing on Netflix on November 20. It also looks like they stopped calling the show AKA JESSICA JONES.
Jessica Jones is an adaptation of Bendis and Gaydo's brilliant comic series ALIAS. Jessica Jones (played by Krysten Ritter) is a former superhero who has become a private investigator. The series will also feature:
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 19:34
I have been looking forward to this comic for a long time now. I will admit, I had sort of lost interest in STAR WARS for a while, but with REBELS and all the hype for THE FORCE AWAKENS, I have been in a STAR WARS mood lately. Thankfully, I don't have as much free time as I did when THE PHANTOM MENACE came out. My wife and siblings spent way too much time driving me all over the place to find STAR WARS toys and cup toppers from Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Thanks, Gina, Patti, and Chris. You are terrible enablers.
Instead of toys, this time I am acting out my obsession with comics and books. I have bought every STAR WARS comic Marvel has put out so far, and slowly I'm working my way through the novels that have come out the last few years that Disney declared official canon. And SHATTERED EMPIRE sounded like it was going to be a real good one.
Submitted by S.J. Mitchell on Tue, 09/08/2015 - 13:28
Valiant has provided Critical Blast with a textless sneak preview of WRATH of the ETERNAL WARRIOR #1. In the wake of BOOK of DEATH, all-star creators Robert Venditti and Raul Allen launch an odyssey of war, love, and honor in the darkest reaches of the Valiant Universe. Based on the images provided, it looks like we'll get a senses tingling adventure! The art looks superb and the layouts look downright cinematic in nature.
WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #1 – Variant Cover by Lewis LaRosa
WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #1 – Interior Art by Raul Allen
Submitted by Critical Blast Staff on Tue, 09/08/2015 - 08:19
Front Lines by Mike Maillaro, Mike Weaver, Grey Scherl, and Gina Maillaro
AGE OF APOCALYPSE #3 by Fabian Nicieza & Gerardo Sandoval
Summary: Dr. Nemesis is interrogating Jean Grey, who was brought there by Sabretooth and Wild Child to have him interrogate her to find out what the humans are planning. At the same time, Essex is interrogating Carol Danvers. And the X-Men are interrogating Cyclops.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 09/08/2015 - 03:00
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!
Submitted by S.J. Mitchell on Fri, 09/04/2015 - 14:13
Marvel's latest attempt in their continued march towards a more progressive and diverse lineup of characters, has Amadeus Cho becoming:
Totally Awesome HULK
Amadeus Cho is a Korean-American. One of the most endearing parts of this concept is that we're given a Korean-American creative team to go along with it: Greg Pak (writer) and Frank Cho (artist).
Hulk is now a 'person' of color. Although, technically he's always been that way hasn't he? The jade giant has been rampaging through the pages of comic books for over 50 years now. We've seen several different 'colored' versions of HULK over the years (Red, Gray etc.). But this change isn't about giving that classic muscle car a new paint job, it's about finding someone new to drive it. Someone who will take the wheel and push the limits.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Fri, 09/04/2015 - 03:00
Scribner is best known for publishing novels, and now they have decided to get into the graphic novel business. INTRO TO ALIEN INVASION is their first release. I will admit, this book caught my eye because it was co-written by Owen King. I am a huge fan of Stephen King (Owen’s dad) and Joe Hill (Owen’s brother, who this book is dedicated to), so I figured why not try this one too. I also think it’s great to see more companies getting into graphic novels. Scribner (which is part of Simon and Schuster) has a lot of marketing muscle they could put behind a project like this. Too many people think of comics as only superheroes put out by Marvel or DC, and that is just such a limited view. And that is coming from someone who loves Marvel and DC superheroes.
INTRO TO ALIEN INVASION
Written by: Owen King & Mark Jude Poirier Art by: Nancy Ahn
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Thu, 09/03/2015 - 12:00
Yep. ALIENS/VAMPIRELLA! A comic no one would have ever thought to ask for, but once you hear the title, you can’t help but want to check it out. At least it’s not another zombie book…
In case you are a casual fan, the monsters from the ALIEN franchise are called Xenomorphs, and that is what I refer to them throughout this review. Also the VAMPIRELLA universe has a bunch of different vampire types. In recent issues of her series, she was made Queen of the Nosferatu, who basically look like creepy vampires from the old movies.
For my own part, if I'm going to watch the animated Teen Titans, I'm going to go with the YOUNG JUSTICE series. Following that, the Filmation shorts, and then the Cartoon Network's TEEN TITANS -- all of which I would forego for a DC Universe animated movie of THE JUDAS CONTRACT, but let's not go there while there's still another BATMAN adventure to make. Watching TINY TOON ADVENTURES acted out by cutesified versions of superheroes wouldn't really top my list.
The seven-year-old boy who has taken up (and taken over) residence with me has other ideas. He thinks they're hilarious. He loves the butt-jokes. He even has a little crush on Raven. (When he grows up and sees Tara Strong, who provides the character's voice, he'll still have it and we'll have something in common.)
So while I wouldn't choose to watch TEEN TITANS GO! I nonetheless have viewed it and...I survived. In fact, some of it was actually fun, and funny.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 09/01/2015 - 08:43
Huge thanks to my friend Greg Manuel for bringing this to my attention!
One of my favorite things about writing for Critical Blast is that we spend a lot of time looking into indy comics. There are plenty of sites where you can get your Marvel and DC fix, but at Critical Blast, we always want to find something new to talk about. And that is what brought us to RAISING DION.
color. Although, technically he's always been that way hasn't he? The jade giant has been rampaging through the pages of comic books for over 50 years now. We've seen several different 'colored' versions of HULK over the years (Red, Gray etc.). But this change isn't about giving that classic muscle car a new paint job, it's about finding someone new to drive it. Someone who will take the wheel and push the limits.
