Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 03/03/2015 - 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!
Descender #1 – Jeff Lemire is pretty much as close as you get to a guaranteed good comic. Descender is a sci-fi series coming out from Image about a young android trying to survive in a world where android have been banned. And Dustin Nguyen is doing the art. I loved his work on Lil Gotham. Lemire is also doing All-New Hawkeye this week, and I am looking forward to both titles.
The CW Network has yet another DC Comics show to add to its programming schedule -- but don't expect any crossovers with THE FLASH or ARROW.
iZombie was the creation of comics veterans Chris Roberson and Michael Allred, and was part of DC's Vertigo line of horror comics. In the comics, the lead character was named Gwen, a girl who was a zombie who lived undetected among the living, but she had to eat a brain every month or lose her memories. Fortunately, her job as a gravedigger gave her ready access to food, at the cost of gaining the dead person's memories upon consumption of the brain.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Sat, 02/28/2015 - 03:00
Archie Comics has made numerous attempts over the years to bring back their Red Circle line of heroes. The biggest problem is that Marvel and DC have pretty much cornered the superhero market, so if someone is attempting to get in on the game, they need to bring something different to the table.
The latest attempt has brought in some big names in the comic industry to put a darker, more mature spin on the characters. This actually is my first exposure to the Red Circle characters. But since I enjoyed Afterlife with Archie and Sabrina so much, I figured it was worth checking this book out.
The Black Hood #1
Written by: Duane Swierczynski Art by: Michael Gaydos Cover by: Michael Gaydos Colored by: Kelly Fitzpatrick Lettered by: Rachel Deering
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Fri, 02/27/2015 - 11:04
From Deadline:
DC Comics superheroes are uniting in a potential new drama series at the CW, a spinoff from hits Arrow and The Flash that will feature several fan-favorite recurring actors/characters from both shows. I have learned that the network has teamed with Arrow creators Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim for a project eyed for next season toplined by Brandon Routh, Victor Garber, Wentworth Miller and Caity Lotz.
The untitled project, now in development, is described as a superhero team-up show. Routh, Miller and Garber will reprise their popular DC Comics characters — Arrow‘s Ray Palmer/The Atom (Routh), Flash villain Leonard Snart/Captain Cold (Miller), and Flash‘s Dr. Martin Stein (Garber). Because her Arrow character Sara Lance was killed off, with her sister Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) taking over as the Black Canary, it is unclear whether Lotz will play the same or new superhero.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Wed, 02/25/2015 - 08:41
From Deadline:
Disney XD is revisiting Ducktales. The network said today that it has ordered a new animated comedy series based on the Emmy-winning series that aired from 1987-1990 as part of The Disney Afternoon daily syndicated cartoon block. The new series is slated to launch in 2017. Produced by Disney Television Animation, Ducktales will again star Disney’s iconic characters Scrooge McDuck, his grandnephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, and Donald Duck.
The new series will follow Scrooge McDuck, his curious and mischief-making grandnephews — Huey, Dewey and Louie — and the optimistic yet temperamental Donald Duck as they embark on high-flying adventures worldwide. Other beloved characters slated to be in the new stories are: Duckworth, Gyro Gearloose, Launchpad McQuack, Flintheart Glomgold, Magica DeSpell & Poe, Ma Beagle and the Beagle Boys (Burger Beagle, Bouncer Beagle), Mrs. Beakley and Webbigail Vanderquack.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 02/24/2015 - 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!
Amazing Spider-Man #15 – Spider-Verse epilogue. Spider-Verse was a great story, though I did think the end was a bit abrupt. I’m curious how they are going to wrap up Spider-Ock’s story, so this is a huge issue for me.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Mon, 02/23/2015 - 09:21
I actually am amazed that Batwing lasted as long as it did. The fact is managed to reach 34 issues (36 if you count the 0 issues and the Future's End special) is a pretty astonishing feat. Batwing seemed perpetually on the low end of the sale's chart, but DC stuck with it for a long time. Batwing started as a member of Batman Inc stationed in Africa who would deal with villains and problems in that region. It was a very unique book, and I thought Judd Winick did a great job with it.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Sat, 02/21/2015 - 03:00
There have been quite a few comic series lately that have expanded on or continued TV series. Smallville, Arrow, Flash, Young Justice, Buffy, Angel, X-Files, and Charmed come to mind. Most of these series have been very good. In fact, I was never even much of a fan of Smallville, but the comic series was excellent. I actually like this trend, and hope we see it more for TV series, especially those that ended far too soon.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Fri, 02/20/2015 - 07:13
From Variety:
Aquaman has officially landed.
Director Zack Snyder tweeted the first photo of Jason Momoa as DC Comics superhero Aquaman on Thursday night.
Momoa, ex-star of “Game of Thrones,” will appear in Snyder’s upcoming film “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” as well as the future Justice League films.
In the DC comic books, Aquaman is the king of the seven seas, hence the poster slogan.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” hits theaters March 25, 2016.
During Grant Morrison's rather insane run through the BATMAN series a while back, there were two issues that seemed a little off: BATMAN #666 and BATMAN #700. These featured a rather violent Batman a generation into the future. We learned that this Batman was the grown Damian Wayne, and he seemed a little off in the head (he talks to a cat named Alfred) and he's got a bit of an invulnerability power not seen before. Morrison seemed to be messing with our heads with this, because some time after that, in current continuity, Damian was killed at the hands of his mother, Talia al Ghul.
With Damian's recent resurrection -- and with super powers, no less -- it seems almost a certainty that this Batman is an established future, much the way that Jason Todd's death became an established past with statements made in Frank Miller's BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS.
Submitted by Mike Weaver on Wed, 02/18/2015 - 07:50
What’s this now?
As part of Critical Blast’s journey through the DC Multiverse, Open Mike Night will be expanding to showcase some of the comics that helped shape DC’s many, many worlds. We have some pretty cool features planned here, so keep coming back.
As Marvel keeps rolling out their Secret Wars plans, we will probably be expanding to include some of those worlds too. More on that in the coming weeks!
BATMAN: BLINK collects two stories from the inventive concept that was LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT, a series where Batman stories could be told without regard to where in the current continuity any of the other Bat-books might be.
In this volume, written by the late, great Dwayne McDuffie, readers are introduced to a blind man who has the ability to see through the eyes of others if he touches them. To date, he's been using this ability to live the good life -- just wait until the last 'touch' pays their bills, then use the information about their checking account to funnel money to another account. It was a pretty sweet con... until his last 'touch' puts him behind the eyes of a wanted serial killer, and he witnesses the next victim's capture. He stops this from happening, but in doing so makes himself a suspect.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 02/17/2015 - 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!
MPH #5 (Of 5) – I have to admit, I actually had forgotten that this series hadn’t finished yet. When you’re doing a short mini-series, why don’t you just finish the series before you release them? MPH has been an excellent series from Millar about super speed pills falling in the hands of some small time criminals. Starlight and MPH were two of my favorite series last year, so I am really looking forward to Chrononauts in the coming weeks.
It's a big chapter in the (after) life of Lenore, the cute little dead girl, as creator Roman Dirge delves into the Secret Origin of Taxidermy. No, not the art of mounting dead animals (and I don't mean... oh, just for get it!), but Lenore's chilling and sinister friend with antlers, who has a penchant for killing.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Mon, 02/16/2015 - 09:52
Announced on Newsarama over the weekend:
Looks like someone at S.H.I.E.L.D. is getting a promotion.
Deadline is reporting that Adrianne Palicki, who has guest starred recently on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Bobbi Morse (a.k.a. Mockingbird), has been upped to series regular. Palicki debuted in the role in the second episode of the show's second season, and will be seen next in the mid-season premiere on March 3.
In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Palicki's character of Bobbi Morse was introduced as a HYDRA operative who had secretly been working as a double-agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. Morse's ex-husband, Lance Hunter, remains a HYDRA agent.
If the first volume of SECRET ORIGINS makes anything else clearer about the continuity of the New 52, it is this: It's a Batman world, and we're all just living in it.
This set kicks off just the way it should for a new series of origins of DC characters -- with Superman, whose origin comes courtesy of Greg Paks and Lee Weeks. It's a unique way to tell the age-old story, as Paks chooses to come at it from the point of two mothers, each carrying the same message despite being galaxies apart. Tony Bedard and Paulo Siqueira deliver the origin of the other Kryptonian sporting the crest of the House of El, Supergirl. This provides a detailed look into her family history, including the military and scientific roles played by her parents, and how those roles conflicted.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Sat, 02/14/2015 - 03:00
Spider-Verse has been going on for about 30 comics and 6 months now. All together, it was a really good event. It was pretty epic in scale, and you can tell the creative team was having a lot of fun throwing together different versions of Spider-Man and seeing what would come out of it. We got to see some characters I really miss take the spotlight like Mayday. We've also gotten some interesting new characters added to the mix, like Silk and Spider-Gwen, both will be receiving their own series in the coming weeks. And we finally got to see some confrontations between Peter Parker and the Superior Spider-Man. I also thought the Inheritors were impressive villains, and it was great to see something done with the lore JMS had built up during his run. So I was really looking forward to seeing how this story would play out.
