What did we talk about on Critical Blast this week?

Reviews

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.

The Book of Monsters, aka Monstrox (MARK OLIVER) has been defeated. Jestro (VINCENT TONG) has been freed from his influence and is back to doing poor jokes for the kingdom of Knighton. And the Nexo Knights have earned their well-deserved rest, with Lance Richmond (IAN HANLIN) co-starring as a morning talk show host and Macy Halbert (ERIN MATHEWS) taking on more duties as a Princess.

I received an interesting email from WWE this afternoon asking if I would be interested in a survey about "premium content" for the WWE Network.   There was nothing in the survey that said it was confidential, so I decided to share it.  Some really interesting ideas here, including audio content, and even content from RoH, TNA, and NJPW.  I suspect most of this is just a red herring, but I still thought it was interesting enough to share.  I am terrified by the idea of original dramas and comedies from WWE...

For the record, I am happy with my $10 a month, but I rarely get to watch the network.  If they raised the price much, I am not sure I would still be a subscriber.  BUT, this all seems optional.

From Archie Comics:

Sabrina the Teenage Witch is back – like you’ve never seen her before.

Get ready for an intense look into the world of magic and witchcraft with THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA, a new one-hour dark drama/horror project based on the classic Archie Comics character. The new project is eyed to debut in The CW’s 2018-19 television season as a companion to RIVERDALE.

Calling all alien races, VOLTRON is recruiting for the upcoming war against the Galra and they want YOU!

That's the overarching theme for season 4 of the hit NETFLIX series, VOLTRON. As the paladins learn their new roles on the team (spoiler: Shiro's in the castle/Alura's in the Blue Lion) and adjust to the new dynamic, they begin to spread the word and use Voltron to inspire others to rise up against the Galra. They're building a Voltron "Coalition"

Meanwhile Lotor is about to be confronted by Zarkon, who has awoken from his coma.

Are there truly individuals in politics that care more about service to country than themselves? Is it ever possible to take ambition, greed, hypocrisy, broken promises, and distrust out of Washington? Probably not, right? But what if you destroy every member of Congress, the entire Presidential Cabinet, Supreme Court, and their staff in one fatal blow? Who is left standing?

The Designated Survivor! The Lone Ranger--truth justice and the American way, but with a tie.

Boxing, the Sweet Science if you will, was a frequent distraction in my formative years in the ‘80s. There were so many brilliant fighters and they were constantly battling each other for supremacy. They were legends like Hagler, Duran, Hearns, Holmes, Tyson, Holyfield, Foreman, and Leonard. Giants of their profession no matter the weight class. Perhaps even greater was the generation from the ‘60s and ‘70s known by many as Kings. Men like Frazier, Arguello, Monzon, Ali, not to mention Duran & Foreman who spanned both groups. Having been born in 1973, I just missed being a first hand witness of that glorious age for boxing. My window into that time was replays, interviews, and highlights. Honestly, it made the men and their actions slightly more mythical in my mind.

If you have children...

No. Scratch that. Trigger warning, I'm about to go sexist for a half a second.

Ahem.

If you have young boys in your home, you are likely no stranger to that dynamic figure in the tighty-whiteys, Captain Underpants. (If you're not, just check under their mattress, so long as they're still under 13.) That jaunty gentleman of justice who makes brief work of supervillains has starred in countless books (okay, they could actually be counted, but I'm kinda lazy) has now leaped off the page and onto your screens in an epic movie flush with adventure and clogged with laughter! (Okay, maybe I should leave that to Mr. Pilkey.)

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton is an un-put-down-able story of friendship and the price of success, set in a New Orleans inspired world where physical beauty is prized above all – and comes at a cost.

In the city of Orleans, every person is born with gray skin, red eyes, straw-like brittle hair, and “ugly” features. The wealthy receive regular beauty treatments, during which their skin color, hair color, facial features, and body structure are magically (and painfully) altered by Belles, young women born with the ability to change a person’s appearance through their Arcana. These treatments are pricey, but coveted (skin returns to gray after a month or so, requiring constant upkeep).

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!

According to the Heroes and Villans Fan Fest website, they hope to "revolutionize the comic con landscape". Boasting that "it's not just fandom, it's family", the two-day event is full of like-minded fans swarming to one location where their favorite actors and actresses await to meet them.

For a price.

Arriving about an hour after the event started, for non-VIP pass holders, my family and I were eager to get inside. Living in upstate New York, the opportunity to see celebrities doesn't come along very often. So our expectations were pretty high. I've heard stories about how nice the actors are. There's quotes from fans on the website about how they'll just come up to you and start interacting.

Collectible blind boxes have really gotten big in recent years.  I am usually pretty reluctant to buy them, because I am specific about exactly what I want when it comes to collectibles.  My wife is a huge Star Trek: The Next Generation fan, so I had bought her two TNG Blind Boxes...and they were both Deanna Troi.  Not exactly getting my money's worth there.

It's been widely reported today that Bobby "The Brain" Heenan has passed away at the age of 72.  Bobby Heenan spent his entire life in professional wrestling, working for the World Wrestling Association, American Wrestling Association, WWF, and WCW.  He is probably the greatest heel manager of all time, having managed everyone from Angelo Poffo and Nick Bockwinkel to Andre the Giant, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson.  He is also one of the best heel commentators of all time, especially when he was partnered up with Gorilla Monsoon, and later having a run on commentary in WCW.  On the July 31 episode of his Podcast, "What Happened When," Tony Schiavone did a whole episode on Bobby Heenan, and I would really reccomend checking that out.

Wonder Woman, the Amazing Amazon might not be the first superhero you name when asked to list off some of DC's pantheon of superheroes. But thanks to Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot, that's definitely changed. Coming off the heels of BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, which had mixed reviews, expectations for WONDER WOMAN had to be shaky.

But Patty Jenkins has delivered what is likely the best DC comics-to-screen film in the company's history -- and I'm including Richard Donner's SUPERMAN and both Tim Burton's and Christopher Nolan's BATMAN and BATMAN BEGINS / THE DARK KNIGHT.

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!

Was flipping through Twitter and came across this:

Thanks to my awesome mother, I was raised on horror movies and Stephen King books!  Of all the amazing 80's horror movies, HALLOWEEN was always my favorite.  Just something about that mask, that slow lumber, that memorable music...  HALLOWEEN has always been a big part of my life in the strangest ways. 

What did we talk about on Critical Blast this week?

Reviews