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

“Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan” from Arrow Films is a documentary directed by Gilles Penso on the storied career of undoubtedly the greatest special effects icon the world of motion pictures has ever known, and perhaps ever will know.

The video is chock full of memories and interviews with not only Ray (all the way up to his 90^th birthday!) but a veritable “Who’s Who” of great modern movie magic creators, all of whom have the same central theme running through their interview: Ray was not only instrumental in fostering their love of special effects; he was for many their initial spark, and to this day they consider what he did to be in many ways better than anything being done today.

BELLADONNA OF SADNESS is the acid dream of ASTRO BOY creator Osamu Tezuka. Directed by his collaborator, Eiichi Yamamoto, this psychedelic, psychosexual dose of cinematic psilocybin was, believe it or not, an early influence on much of the anime seen today, although in places it appears more like a violent porn version of YELLOW SUBMARINE meets WIZARDS.

The story is of Jean and Jeanne, two lovers who get married but cannot pay the tribute to the lord of the land. So he takes payment in the form of droit du seigneur. The violence of the act is probably more disturbing in its metaphorical depiction than any literal depiction could ever make it.

It is after this invasive injustice that Jeanne has a nighttime encounter with an imp (who looks like a bit of male anatomy), who seduces her and promises to give her the power she craves. She resists, but allows for just a little bit of power -- enough to save her ailing husband.

Not for the first time are people viewing the world through the lens of their smartphones. We've been at live appearances by our idols, yet never saw them except on the screen in our hands as we recorded them talking or singing or eating their lunch. We text while we're walking so much that some apps had to come up with transparent screen technology just so we could at least see our feet as we sent out that important "WTF? LOL, IKR?"

And now we're looking at the world through screens once again, looking for superimposed cartoon characters that we can zap into our digital prison, thanks to the widespread phenomenon of POKEMON GO.

            Buckle up – this review comes with a vent.
            By now, you’ve probably heard about Paul Feig’s summer Ghostbusters reboot, featuring the classic theme song, lots of pestering ghosts, and a quartet of newbie ghost hunters – oh yeah, did I mention that this time, the Ghostbusters are all ladies?
            Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon star as the Ghostbusters in this 2016 reboot of the 1984 classic. Three scientists and a street-smart subway worker team up to take down a man hell bent on releasing an army of ghosts all over NYC, all while proving their credibility amidst a sea of nonbelievers. Sounds awesome, right?

            Enter Ghostbros.

            What is a “Ghostbro?”

            When I spoke with my dad on the phone and told him I was going to see Ghostbusters, he responded with: “Well, I loved the original – but isn’t the new one getting really bad reviews?”

Noticing a tremendous culture shift in store traffic, the San Francisco based clothing retailer, Betabrand, has transformed it's headquarters into a massive lure for Pokémon players.

Most businesses frown upon people loitering outside their store, but Betabrand is inviting them to do so and getting increased exposure in return.

According to Betabrand founder Chris Lindland, "By Tuesday, I'd already lost my staff's attention to the game, so if you can't beat Pokémon, join Pokémon."   By Thursday, the retailer rolled out a fan photo studio, refashioned its storefront, and turned its flagship into a magnet for gamers and bemused passersby.

I use my smartphone when I'm driving. Sometimes I use it for GPS. Sometimes I use it to dictate a text. Sometimes I even use it to have a telephonic conversation. (I know, how very old school of me.)

Yesterday, I used a different form of GPS: the latest craze to sweep the world, POKEMON GO. I initially wanted just to see how many Pokestops I would drive by (Pokestops are places on the map where you can recharge your Pokeballs, so you can capture more Pokemon) and where all the gyms were. Plus, I just wanted to see the little guy on the map run at 65 miles per hour.

I passed a few Pokestops. They were also mile marker signs -- not places I would expect walking crews to pass while their on their quests to "catch 'em all." I didn't find many gyms near the Interstate, however, so that was a promising sign.

And then the phone buzzed. I didn't have an incoming call. I didn't have a text alert.

Following almost exactly a month after CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA #5 comes the totally unexpected CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA #6.

Okay, if Archie Comics will continue a proper schedule, I'll lay off the jokes about the intermittent releases of this title and it's sister, AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE. Because as much as I kid, I truly love and enjoy this twisted take on the teenagers we all grew up with in the funny pages.

But there's nothing funny about this Sabrina. In fact, this title has all the right stuff in it to have some parents going, "You know, that old Fredrick Wertham fella may have had a point." Most ironic, the title comes from the publisher helmed for the longest time by Comics Code Authority stalwart, Michael Silberkleit.

Captain America: Sam Wilson #11 by Nick Spencer and Daniel Acuna

Summary: Both Captain Marvel and Iron Man approach Sam Wilson about supporting their side in the Ulysses debate.  Sam decides that he’s with Stark, reluctantly.  He plans on giving a nuanced speech about it, but there is an emergency so he says “**** future profiling.”  The emergency is that Rage has started fighting back against the perceived racism of the Americops.  Sam is worried that this will all blow up, so rushes to intervene.  

Meanwhile, we find out USAgent is active overseas fighting terrorists. He gets a call from the US Senate…

Since the launch of the popular smartphone game, Pokémon GO, people everywhere have either caught Pokémon, or attitude for trying. Whether you're a player or patronizer, the game has had an impact on society. But has it been for the best?

We live in a time where technology has taken over a large part of society. Gone are the days where kids went outside and played for hours on end. Why bother when they can sit in front of a video game, computer or smart device?

Just plug in and the world is at their fingertips. Right?

Pokémon GO has gotten people out of the house and in front of other people once again. And sure, they still have their smartphones in-hand, but once again mankind is traveling in packs and on foot. Exploring the world around them in ways that many of us thought would never happen again.

It's another winning team-up between DC Comics and LEGO in their latest release, JUSTICE LEAGUE: GOTHAM CITY BREAKOUT.

When Batman gets an unsurprising surprise party for the anniversary of his first appearance, he's gifted with a vacation trip, along with Nightwing and Batgirl. (The party includes LEGO appearances of Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire, hinting that maybe a Teen Titans LEGO set might be in our futures.) The real surprising part to everyone is that Batman accepts the vacation, leaving Gotham in the protective hands of Superman. Of course this will be no challenge for Superman at all, as Batman's villains aren't of the super-powered variety. How hard could it be?

Critical Blast has your first 'lettered' look inside the pages of Valiant's next unstoppable hero as 4001 A.D. continues with: WAR MOTHER #1 (due out August 3rd)!

4001 A.D.: WAR MOTHER #1 will contain the first full appearance of a formidable new force in the future of the Valiant Universe. Rocketing out of the aftermath of the summer's most ambitious crossover event, this standalone issue will be a must-read tale; torn from the lawless frontiers of the 41st century!

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

I've often thought to myself, "Self, our life needs theme music." I hope it gets composed by Danny Elfman or Hans Zimmer, but I'm afraid it might get done by Arthur Korb.

These are the thoughts I now think as I listen to the tracks from The Music of DC Comics, Volume 2. Now, I know, comics are printed on paper and don't usually come with musical accompaniment. These are (mostly) from animated and live-action adaptations, smart-ass. And what an eclectic mix it is, starting with "The Baby from Krypton" from the 1940 SUPERMAN radio show, all the way through the opening theme credits for CW's LEGENDS OF TOMORROW.

The world of spies and foreign intelligence has always intrigued me. I suppose it comes from growing up in the Cold War era, with the Watergate scandal, President Reagan telling Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, and that suave, debonair secret agent of British intelligence, James Bond, in regular rotation on early cable. Even though “my” Bond will always be Roger Moore, I was hooked from the first moment. Gadgets, hidden weapons in secret compartments, remote listening devices, enigmatic codes, I devoured everything I could find on the subject of spycraft. I soon learned that the life is not nearly as glamorous as Hollywood makes it out to be. Maintaining relationships based on trust is difficult when your very life hinges on the fact that you can trust no one.

Would you believe that bedtime could be the start of a great adventure?

That's the underlying theme of BEDTIME FOR BATMAN, the picture book from Michael Dahl and Ethen Beavers that tells two parallel stories using the same set of text and contrasted images.

On one page, you see the young protagonist, as he makes his preparations for the night. On the other page, there is Batman. For the boy, the signal is the clock (cleverly drawn), while for Batman the signal is the spotlight that shines his symbol on the clouds. Both have to clean things up and lock things away, and the juxtaposition of the images is genius -- and engaging -- turning bedtime into adventure time.

Diamond Comic Distributors Inc has released their monthly report for the top selling products in June and, despite the mixed social commentary about DC's 'Rebirth', the company outshined it's top competitor, Marvel Comics.

While only two of the 'Rebirth' titles landed in the top ten, they were issues containing DC's flagship characters: Batman and Superman. And, even though Wonder Woman's 'Rebirth' title was absent, Princess Diana of Themyscira made an appearance as the first issue of her series landed in the #9 spot.

Caldecott winner Mary GrandPre may be best known as the illustrator of the US prints of the HARRY POTTER series, but her work extends far beyond the boy wizard's adventures, including pieces in the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, and the Wall Street Journal. However, CLEONARDO, THE LITTLE INVENTOR is the first time I can recall that GrandPre is also the author as well as the illustrator.

Cleonardo Wren is a young girl who comes from a long line of inventors, including her father Geonardo, her grandfather Leonardo -- all the way back to their ancestor, Neandernardo! She loves helping her father in his workshop, but with the town's Grand Festival of Inventions coming up, she finds she's more hindrance than help as her father tries to come up with a winning idea. So she takes to the forest to build things on her own out of the materials nature provides.

Fresh from Scholastic's Graphix imprint comes this full-color graphic novel, DREAM JUMPER: NIGHTMARE ESCAPE. And what's even better, while it's a series, it's the first of the series, so you're getting in at just the right time.

DREAM JUMPER tells the story of Ben Maxwell, a kid who has trouble sleeping because he is plagued with strange dreams. But they're not just his dreams -- he also enters the dreams of others, like his best friend who knows of Ben's ability and thinks they should incorporate to capitalize off of it.

Marvel announced a new series titled CHAMPIONS, a title in which they reached an agreement with Heroic Publishing to use, and young Scott Summers seeks to be a member.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, series creators Mark Waid and Tom Breevort discussed the new series, artist Humberto Ramos, its members, and the concept.

This comic book nerd, however, is all about how it affects his favorite marvel mutant: Cyclops!