Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 03/10/2015 - 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 Tricia Delloiacono on Tue, 03/10/2015 - 02:00
Wait, are you telling me you haven't read Bone? Really? Okay, stop reading this right now. Go! Go, buy Bone. Go buy this trade right now and come back. I'll wait here.
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Oh, you're back? Great. Now, let me tell you why you need to keep buying Bone for your grandparents, your parents, your children, your nieces and nephews, and for yourself. I originally read Bone in black and white about a decade ago. Simply put, I loved it. It was funny, heart-warming, and sweet. I was in college at the time and remembered loving the simple, but wonderfully written story about this little creature, Bone, and his adventures. It brought me back to a time of well-crafted fairytales. Jeff Smith weaves a web that enthralls the reader into needing “just one more issue!” Going back to it a decade later, I knew there was no way the story could possibly hold up to the standards I had set in my head years ago.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Sat, 03/07/2015 - 11:04
I actually wasn't sure if I was going to pick this series up or not. I think Bendis has done a really good job with Guardians of the Galaxy, but I do think the market might be a little oversaturated with Guardians books right now. You have the core Guardians of the Galaxy series, Guardians 3000 (which was sadly unreadable), Rocket Raccoon, Starlord, and now Guardians Team-Up. But, I do try to give most #1's a read...if just for the purposes of reviewing them. So I decided to give it a look. If nothing else, I knew I would enjoy seeing Art Adams drawing both teams.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Fri, 03/06/2015 - 15:34
From Deadline:
CBS and Warner Bros. TV have released the first images of Supergirl star Melissa Benoist as the super heroine. Gone are the bleach blonde locks and the skimpy, midriff-baring cheerleader outfit from the Supergirl comics.
The more conservative mesh garb in muted colors is very similar to what Henry Cavill wears in the Warner Bros. Supeman movies — maybe DC and the studio are eying a potential crossover of the cousins in matching outfits?
The CW also is going for consistency, with the Supergirl costume created by the same designer who also did the costumes for the other two CW/WBTV DC superhero series, The Flash and Arrow: three-time Oscar winner Colleen Atwood (Alice in Wonderland, Memoirs Of A Geisha and Chicago). “In designing Supergirl, I wanted to embrace the past, but more importantly, thrust her into the street-style action hero of today,” she said.
Submitted by Critical Blast Staff on Fri, 03/06/2015 - 07:25
By Gina and Mike Maillaro
Mike: We have a special guest this week! My wife agreed to help create "fill-in" issues for if Open Mike Night was running behind schedule.. This was actually written a few weeks ago in case of emergencies. And this week, I was out of town for most of the week and then Weaver's internet was down. Our regularly scheduled column should be up early next week.
My wife is an OG comic geek. Her first comic was Kingdom Come. She hasn’t read comics in a while, but she’s still got a lot to say. Hi, honey!
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Thu, 03/05/2015 - 08:52
When the New 52 was announced, Justice League Dark was one of the titles I was most excited about. Part of that was that I really loved Shadowpact, and this seemed like the natural evolution of that series. And adding the Justice League name would be good on getting that book a little more attention. I also liked Peter Milligan's work on X-Statix and Human Target, and Mikel Janin is one of my favorite artists.
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.
