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.

There’s a big WrestlePro show Friday Night (February 10) at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey and on Saturday night in Brooklyn at St Pat’s CYO.  Starland Ballroom is one of my favorite places to catch a wrestling show (or concert), and I’ve had my tickets for this one for a long time now.

Here are our predictions on how the Starland show plays out!

Ryback Vs Brian Cage

The introduction to this episode is delivered by Mick Rory (DOMINIC PURCELL), and it's the most brilliant thing ever! If anything sets the tone for this series, this did it. "Who writes this crap, anyway?" That's just genius.

Rip Hunter (ARTHUR DARVILL) has returned -- only he's not Rip Hunter any more. No, he's not "Phil" the hippy movie director either. The Legion of Doom have restored his memories from a backup, but not without having made some alterations to his personality. He's now no longer the hero he used to be -- he's with the Legion of Doom, and to attract the attention of the Legends team, so that he can retrieve the portion of the Spear of Destiny from them, he decides to make a big change to history. He assassinates General George Washington on Christmas Day, 1776. And he arms the British soldiers with automatic weapons. The United States now will never exist.

Kids by day. Superheroes (and villains) by night. When the sun goes down, these students slip into their PJs and into action as the PJ Masks -- Owlette, Gekko and Catboy!

This Disney Junior original series taps into the superhero inside all of us, as Amaya, Greg, and Connor discover problems at school during the day and then make them right at night as the PJ Masks team. And they do it not with their super powers (although they certainly help!) but with teamwork, sacrifice, and other life lessons that make them role models for younger (and older) viewers everywhere.

Hark! What is this vision which dances before me? Is it Drama personified, grounding us with her stories of maidens, men and honored beasts? Nay! ‘tis Brother Comedy in his smiling mask of gold, sustained by the richness of my laughter. SOMETHING ROTTEN! ‘tis a rose by another name, but sweeter than the forbidden fruit of Eden, for the gods of jests and conspiracies have transported my soul upon the stage of the Fabulous Fox Theatre, and given voice to a belief most fundamental to my divine spirit: “God, I Hate Shakespeare!”

The evolution of Kid Flash (KEIYNAN LONSDALE) continues this episode as Barry (GRANT GUSTIN) works on furthering the training of his protégé. To that end, "Untouchable" opens with a race between the two, with sensors around the city set up to track their movements back at S.T.A.R. Labs, where Cisco Ramon (CARLOS VALDES) is taking bets on the outcome, quoting HUNGER GAMES. We learn that gambling was banned on Earth-19 after an unfortunate incident with Vice-President Al Capone), but H.R. (TOM CAVANAGH) nonetheless seems quite adept at it. It's neck and neck, despite all the talk that persists about Wally getting faster at an accelerated rate, but in the end Barry cross the finish line first by vibrating through a building while Wally has to run up the wall. He still hasn't learned how to phase yet, and it's something that Barry tells him he's going to have to learn if he's going to defeat Savitar in a few months and save Iris.

In the comic books, Colleen Wing is a descendent of a family of Samurai who avenged her grandfather's death with the help of Iron Fist. In the latest promo, we get to see her take down two thugs.

One of the big draws to the NETFLIX series IRON FIST will be the martial arts action. Fight choreography will be essential to it's success and even though there's no shortage of inspiration to draw from, many times fight sequences fall flat. That's not the case in the latest promotional video released for the upcoming series.

The boys get in deep with a stimulating conversation about personal growth, and boy does Zach get chatty in this episode!
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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.

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

Quite a few comics I am buying this week, though not a lot of big exciting books to talk about.

It's here! And it's HOT! With a little over a month before it's release (3/17) on NETFLIX, the official trailer for Marvel's IRON FIST packs a punch!

The opening sequence has Danny returning to reclaim his company, only to face some opposition from security, and he doesn't take lightly to be manhandled. While security is just doing their jobs, his instincts kick in and immediately takes them down in a heartbeat. Like brushing dust off his shoulder he easily moves past the security team.

There's enough action and mysticism in the trailer to give you the full effect of what to expect from IRON FIST. We're even treated to the activation of his chi as he destroys walls and crushes a room full of opponents with a single fiery punch to the ground.

I've been a fan of Batgirl ever since I first saw Yvonne Craig don the tights when I was just a wee lad laying on the floor with my chin propped up on my hands watching a 17 inch color television. (I couldn't reasonably go outside as the Earth's crust was still cooling, obviously.) Over the years I've added numerous odds and ends to my Batgirl collection, including first appearances of both Batgirl and Bat-girl in comics, some statues, and a couple of autographed stills from the television show.

You'd think there'd be nothing in BATGIRL: NEW HERO OF THE NIGHT, the latest in Scholastics DC COMICS BACKSTORIES line, for me to learn. In fact, given the tenure of the hero, I scoffed a little at the "new" in the title.

Given that the focus of this episode is on the so-called Legion of Doom -- comprised of Damien Darhk (NEAL MCDONOUGH), Malcolm Merlyn (JOHN BARROWMAN) and Eobard Thawne (MATT LETSCHER) -- it's fitting that this episode's introductory narration would come from Darhk's perspective. We get to see a repeat of eight months back, when Darhk was killed by Green Arrow. The video of the events are being watched by a morose Malcolm Merlyn, live as they happen, which is when he is approached by Eobard Thawne and Darhk. We know now that the Damien Darhk we are seeing in the series is from earlier in the time stream than that moment, and he is trying to change his future. Merlyn has been taken from the present so that he might be able to change his past. And Eobard?

Well, we learn quite a bit about Eobard's motivations in all this as well.