Bloodshot U.S.A. #1

Written by: Jeff Lemire
Art by: Doug Braithwaite
Colored by: Brian Reber
Lettered by: Dave Lanphear

Published by: Valiant
Cover Price:  $3.99

There are two words that will always make me pick up a book to read it: "Scott" and "Westerfeld." So it was a given that when Scholastic sent me the advance of HORIZON, I was going to read it. And now that I have, I can safely say, "So should you."

HORIZON is more than the name of the airline that crashes early in the book, carrying a high school robotics team among other passengers. But this is no ordinary crash. The survivors survive because they were chosen to survive, crashing in a jungle that is passing strange -- and not just because the plane was flying over the North Pole (en route to Japan) when it went down.

Are they wildly off course? Are they even on Earth anymore? The questions and theories build as this unique group of kids encounter unusual plants, unrecorded species of animals, and technology that defies anything known to man.

I have to say, MARVEL’S DOCTOR STRANGE was probably the most visually stunning Marvel movies I’ve ever seen. It was like INCEPTION and HARRY POTTER had a baby and it grow up to be the coolest kid ever!

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Dr. Stephen Strange, an outstanding neurosurgeon who, due a tragic car accident, loses the use of his hands. Dr. Strange learns about a possible way to get the use of his hands back, so he can return his beloved profession. Strange’s quest to repair his hands takes him beyond his wildest comprehension when he meets The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton). Thanks to Dr. Strange’s photographic memory, he catapults from student to being center stage for all the action.

Deadline is reporting that Universal Studios has inherited a live action VOLTRON project, when they inked a deal with DreamWorks Animation.

It was already in development behind the scenes, but Universal now has writer David Hayter (X-Men, Watchmen) and producer Tom Engleman on board. While David Hayter has an extensive list of credits to his resume, Tom Engleman's IMDb page is rather bare.

The promos for this episode of LEGENDS OF TOMORROW were geared toward it being Halloween week. Thus, the focus was on the zombies that got created during the U.S. Civil War when a time-pirate crashes there with a bioweapon.

But the really intense story here wasn't the involvement of Sara (CAITY LOTZ) and Nate (NICK ZANO) assisting General Ulysses S. Grant (JOHN CHURCHILL) against confederate zombies (oh where oh where is Selena Rosen when I need her?), nor is it in the drama that finds Ray (BRANDON ROUTH) and Martin (VICTOR GARBER) trapped aboard the Waverider with a zombified Mick (DOMINIC PURCELL).

Like the fictional Fox Mulder of THE X FILES, I want to believe. Since I was a kid I would eat up all the writings of J. Allen Hyneck and Erich von Daniken. It didn't hurt that it was the heyday of Stephen Spielberg's wildly successful CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and the television film adaptation of Barney and Betty Hill.

So I've read just about everything that could possibly be interesting about UFOs. Not.

Because now David J. Hogan has released the UFO FAQ through Backbeat Books, and it lives up to its subtitle: All That's Left to Know About Roswell, Aliens, Whirling Discs, and Flying Saucers.

I can’t honestly say when I first discovered Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, in the pages of Marvel comics. It might have been in the early days of The Defenders, where he teamed up with Namor of Atlantis, the Hulk, and the Silver Surfer. It might have been in a cameo with Spider-man in Marvel Team-Up or The Avengers. I know I didn’t start with the Steve Ditko classics. I was a huge fan of the Roy & Dann Thomas run with artist Jackson Guice. Those issues are etched in my brain forever. That run was always going to be the perfect embodiment of Doctor Strange as far as I was concerned, until this lanky bloke named Benedict Cumberbatch came along.

“There will be no music, dialogue or poetry from the film Love Jones in this production,” said MC Lyte. “Now sit back and enjoy the LOVE JONES: THE MUSICAL.”

Say what? There’s certainly no shortage of musicals adapted from hit films: SISTER ACT, DIRTY DANCING, A CHRISTMAS STORY and THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY have all graced the stage of the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis, with varying degrees of success. SISTER ACT was fantastic. The others were…well, SISTER ACT was fantastic! LOVE JONES certainly wasn’t as horrible as some reviews have made it out to be – I was entertained by it. Yet I do agree that there’s no real reason to name this production after the film if it eschews most of what made the film resonate with its audience.

I didn't have to read a synopsis to know that this week was going to expand the DCW television universe just a tiny bit more. "Human Target" just had to be a reference to DC Comics' own victim-for-hire, Christopher Chance, aka The Human Target. And I'm happy to say that I was right, with the character played by WIL TRAVAL (ONCE UPON A TIME, JESSICA JONES). (Fun fact: The Human Target has had two previous incarnations in television -- once in 1992 played by RICK SPRINGFIELD and again as recently as 2011 played by MARK VALLEY.)

Warner Brothers has released the official trailer for the Patty Jenkins helmed WONDER WOMAN, and there are only two words that come to mind.

Nailed it.

The title of this episode is "Monster," but where it may directly apply is something that is up in the air throughout most of the show. Certainly it could be most aptly refer to the 3-story kaiju that's mysteriously appearing and disappearing in the streets of Central City. But as the episode progresses, there are a few more opportunities where the title could merit application -- or narrowly miss it.

First potential monster: H.R. Wells (TOM CAVANAGH)

Just in time for the release of Marvel's latest superhero epic, DOCTOR STRANGE, comes this DK tome dedicated to THE MYSTERIOUS WORLDS OF DOCTOR STRANGE.

As with nearly every DK book I've ever read, this collection by Billy Wrecks and Danny Graydon (with a foreword by comics writing icon, Roger Stern) succeeds in being exhaustive yet condensed, providing the reader with access to just about everything that has touched Doctor Stephen Strange's life since he became the Master of the Mystic Arts. Hardcover with gilt-edged pages (a nice touch!), this oversized book takes readers on an encyclopedic tour of Strange's origins, his allies, his associates, his enemies, and the notable turning points in his life.

As often as we comic fans like to say that Batman is supposed to be a benevolent fascist, and battle whether our favorite is Nolan's "Dark Knight" or Miller's "Dark Knight" or one of the post-60s comic book incarnations, there will always be a special place inside each of us that regards Adam West as the Batman. Alas, as the Caped Crusader is well into his Golden Age, it's unlikely we'll ever see him play the role again.

But wait! What's this!

Could it be?

A new Adam West Batman?

The resurgence of the Boy Wonder?

Catwoman triumphant?

Halloween 2016 is officially in our rearview mirror, but that doesn't mean that dressing up is out of vogue -- not for us, anyway! And that's something we can all be thankful for -- apropos, as November is the month we officially give thanks!

Our November Bombshell, Jamie Krakover, hails from the Midwest, and draws upon film and television for her cosplay inspirations. Whether she's battling the forces of a galactic empire or fighting crime in the streets (that's her Speedy to the left -- an archer at the Gateway Arch!), Jamie combines imagination and intellect to call forth positive female role models in her cosplay.

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

Happy Halloween! In the spirit of the spookiest time of the year I was pushed by many people to finish Sister Location and I'm happy to say I have finished the game and if you have been waiting to see the ending then sit back, relax and prepare to get some good jumps and spooks because I know I did.

Since her introduction in Batman: The Animated Series, Harley Quinn's popularity has continued to skyrocket into cult status. What happens when that popularity spills over into the minds of young girls?

Known as the bubbly and villainous sidekick to the Joker, Harley Quinn was a seemingly harmless character back in the 90's when Bruce Timm's Batman: The Animated Series was on every television after school. But back then it was clear she was a villain so it was easier to cope with. Nobody would want their child to aspire to be a villain. Eventually her likeness made the jump from cartoon to comic book.

Which is where DC began fleshing out her background and her popularity began to grow.

The latest Star Trek film in the rebooted franchise bears the curious title STAR TREK BEYOND. Science fiction fans may have looked at this and thought it might be a peer into the far future of the Federation, akin to BATMAN BEYOND. Others might have expected the Federation to bo beyond...well, something. The galactic rim, perhaps.

Some may say what the world needs now is love, not another Frank Zappa Greatest Hits compilation. And some may say, well, why not both?

ZAPPAtite from Ume (Universal Music Enterprises) is the latest in a long line of “greatest hits” albums of one of rock’s most eclectic and off-the- beaten-path musicians ever to come down the pike.

I’m not going to take time here to talk about who Frank Zappa is/was, and what he has accomplished. It would take too long. If, by chance, you have been living under a rock for the last 50 years or so, or were brought up in some sort of sheltered sterile world where originality was not embraced and so you might not have not heard of him, then I would urge you to do some Google searches and sit back for a couple of days to read, read, and read more, then listen, listen, and listen more. While I can’t help you out on the reading part, the CD here can help you out on the listening part.

If you have a polarizing figure with a history of controversy and thrust him to the forefront of a Presidential campaign, it should be pretty hard to screw up a documentary about him -- but Director Jim Gufferson, Screenwriter BC Furtney and Producer Jason Winn 'J.B. Destiny' Bareford managed to do just that.

ONE NATION UNDER TRUMP sounds from the title like it might be a political prognostication in the vein of Dinesh D'Souza's HILLARY'S AMERICA. Could it be a dystopian view of the rise of a megalomaniacal magnate? Could it be an optimistic view of a nation united under a political outsider who castigates corruption?

Could it at least tell a story?