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

A streak has been broken. While CW's THE FLASH has taken this award for 2014 and 2015, the so-called Fastest Man Alive gets beaten this year by a horde of shamblers.

When I saw the covers for Darkrose Studios' TREADWATER graphic novels, I knew exactly what I was getting into. Skin tight suits, strange flying crafts, mid-air explosions. Surely this was a space opera war along the lines of Michael Tierney's WILD STARS or Van Allen Plexico's LUCIAN.

I could not have been further off, at least in setting if not in flavor.

Continuing our series of announcements for all the Best of 2016, as voted on by the readers of CriticalBlast.com, we come to our Best Television Actor of 2016 award.

Among the nominees, the CW made a powerful, powerful showing. Nominated for this award were both Carlos Valdes and Grant Gustin for their roles on THE FLASH, Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards for their work on ARROW, and last year's winner, Melissa Benoist, for SUPERGIRL. Also in the running this year were Kit Harrington for GAME OF THRONES, Thandie Newton for WESTWORLD, and -- Sweet Christms! -- LUKE CAGE made a last minute entry, garnering Mike Colter a nomination for that series!

The boys play BATMAN RETURNS for the SNES, and things get heated! No seriously: there's a level where you are surrounded by fire!
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Thanks for watching! Any view that we get is a shining moment for us but let us know how this episode made you feel because we are here to keep you entertained.

NBC's POWERLESS has coasted to it's third episode, where 'Da Boss' Van Wayne hopes to get Atlantis to sign an agreement with Wayne Securities after losing his firms biggest client Ace Chemicals.

In a very Michael Scott (THE OFFICE) way, Van Wayne continues his incompetence by dropping the ball with Ace Chemical company. When he forgot to forward an important email to Emily, they built something that Ace didn't want; this led them to take their business to LexCorp.

Not wanting to disappoint his father, Van taps Emily for advice. Meanwhile the team tries to figure out if the new guy, Alex, is actually a superhero in disguise.

Continuing our series of releases for the Best of 2016 Awards, we now come to the category for Best Novel of 2016. And, boy, did we have a selection of choices in titles and genres!

However, there were three standouts who topped the list, starting with THE CROWN by Keira Cass, which came in third, edged out by BORN A CRIME by Trevor Noah -- both really excellent books and neither one anything at all alike. That's just a taste of the kind of range faced by our readers who voted in this poll.

The boys continue another What If situation, while Zach struggles to keep Mario alive.
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Thanks for watching! Any view that we get is a shining moment for us but let us know how this episode made you feel because we are here to keep you entertained.

Today’s teens have it tough. There, I said it. Lots of times, kids hear “Well, when I was your age,” or “You think it’s bad these days.” As parents, we often lament that today’s kids are either lazy, or misdirected, or they are getting into all sorts of shenanigans that we could not have even dreamed of. And we are kind of right. Let’s look at some statistics, shall we?

1. Drugabuse.gov says that almost 5% of 12^th graders have used Ecstasy, also referred to as MDMA or Molly.

2. According to dosomething.org, 50% of high school seniors do not think it’s harmful to try crack or cocaine once or twice, and 40% believe it’s not harmful to use heroin once or twice.

Saw this posted on Star Wars Facebook feed and thought it was kind of cool.

Your first look at The Last Jedi product packaging dropping out of hyperspace on September 1 for Force Friday II

Continuing this week's theme of revealing the winners in our Comic Books category, we wrap up with the Best Comics Artist of 2016.

Several deserving talents were in the running this year. Sana Takeda made the cut for his work on MONSTRESS, the only title that was a nominee in Best Comics Storyline and Best Comics Writer, so that ought to tell you something if you're not already checking it out. David Marquez  (CIVIL WAR II), Stuart Immonen (EMPRESS), and Cliff Chiang (PAPER GIRLS) was also in the running, as was the late great Steve Dillon for his work on PUNISHER.

Ira Bloom's HEARTS & OTHER BODY PARTS reads with such fluidity and magnetism that it's difficult to believe this is a debut novel. It's a YA romance novel that blends urban fantasy with modern reality to the point that it is neither one and better than both.

Esme, Katy and Ronnie Silver are sisters attending the same high school. Esme is an intellectual overachiever, Ronnie is a natural beauty and knows it, and Katy is an everygirl whose fun to have around. They're also witches. Real spell-casting, potion-brewing, hex-tossing witches. And, no, they're not attending Monster High, tempting though it might be to draw the comparison. Middleton is an average high school filled with everyday kids -- and three witches.

We've had competitions that were squeakers before, but this is probably the closest it has ever come.

In the running for BEST COMICS WRITER of 2016, we had several nominations from our staff and our readers, covering several different publishers and titles. From Mark Millar for his work on EMPRESS to David Walker on SHAFT, from Tom King's VISION to Marjorie Liu's MONSTRESS. James Robinson got in there for his work on THUNDERBOLTS, as did Charles Soule for DAREDEVIL. And, of course, there's always a showing by Other.

But the main event came down to two huge names in the industry right now, both of which are turning their respective titles on their heads in new ways. Over at DC, Greg Rucka is once again at the helm of WONDER WOMAN, and his work there earned him a whopping 25.33% of all our votes. But it just wasn't enough to topple the man behind Avengers Idea Mechanics, the group behind Marvel's NEW AVENGERS!

The boys try to continue Mario Galaxy and it just gets harder and harder.
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Thanks for watching! Any view that we get is a shining moment for us but let us know how this episode made you feel because we are here to keep you entertained.

Critical Blast is pleased to present the first of several announcements in our annual "Best Of" awards, as nominated and selected by our readers. Reader participation in these events continues to grow, and we were all were very excited by the turnout this year.

So with no further ado (and as if you haven't already figured it out), we give to you the award for BEST COMICS STORYLINE OF 2016: AVENGERS: STANDOFF!

Starting out at Pleasant Hill, this story crossed over into several Marvel Comics titles, telling the story of a special S.H.I.E.L.D. facility where some of Earth's worst villains were rehabilitated through means of a Cosmic Cube, rewriting their realities and personalities from hardcore bad guys to milquetoast small town neighbors. When Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers and Captain America get involved, shortly after some of the villains begin to remember their previous lives, it turns into a physical and ethical confrontation.

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s weekly look at what new comics you should check out.   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

Zach once again digs up another great gem from his past in hopes the two will enjoy some classic SNES time together.
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Thanks for watching! Any view that we get is a shining moment for us but let us know how this episode made you feel because we are here to keep you entertained.

Ever made a super sweet move on your favorite game and wished your friends -- heck, the world! -- could have seen it?

Now you can, with the Elgato HD from Elgato Gaming. This nifty little device captures your game play, and you could find yourself the lucky winner of one, courtesy of the boys at Game Jab, who assure me they didn't just "find" it.

So what do you have to do to be worth of such a fine addition to your gaming station? Honestly, not a whole lot. Just take the options below to be entered. Every option is another entry -- and one of them lets you put an entry in every day. Shoot, subscribing to the boys' YouTube channel earns you a whopping five entries! Which begs the question -- why are you still reading all this stuff instead of clicking the buttons below?

This is it, folks. This is what those action-packed six issues of JUSTICE LEAGUE VS SUICIDE SQUAD were leading up to: an all new JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA book.

Right up front, I expect to like this book. It's pencilled by Ivan Reis, who has never done a book that has left me disappointed. And his linework in this issue is just as good as ever.

So, Mr. Reis, this is not your fault.

Let's look at the book from it's basic precept: Batman wants to form a new Justice League. I don't know yet if he's informed the actual Justice League of his plans, but let's assume he hasn't because (a) he's Batman, and (b) it sets things up (again) for another Justice League vs. Justice League confrontation. His justifications are simple. He wants a League that ordinary people can look up to and aspire to be like -- one comprised of "humans, not gods."

***THE VIDEO IS THERE.***
SKIP TO 00.30 IN THE VIDEO TO START THE EPISODE. SOMETHING WENT WRONG IN THE EDITING PROCESS.