The weather is warm, the sun is shining, and it's time to get outside and get active. Everyone's getting into the athletics -- even Mickey Mouse and the Clubhouse gang as they assemble or the first ever Sport-Y-Thon! There are all kinds of games to play -- even Martian Mickey, Martian Minnie and Pluto from Pluto have showed up to participate. And there lies the mechanism for the episode's lesson: Mars doesn't have sports, so the visitors have no idea about what it means to show good sportsmanship and put in extra effort. Not that they're mean whiny cheaters, they just don't know better. So Martian Minnie has to learn that using a jetpack in a basketball game isn't fair, Pluto from Pluto has to learn he has to let other players participate in Volley-Bop, and Martian Mickey has to learn not to give up in a relay race just because it's hard work. In the end, everyone wins -- including color commentary provider, Donald Duck.

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 guess summer comic season has officially started, because this is a massive week for me with lots of real big books.

Everything is looking up -- up and away, that is, for former GLEE alum Melissa Benoist. The rising star not only found herself wearing one of the most recognized and respected symbols ever to come out of American pop culture, not only found herself the lead on a hot CBS property...but as SUPERGIRL she won the hearts of our readers and flew off handily with our Best TV Actor of 2015 award.

Benoist plays Kara Danvers / Kara Zor-El, Superman's cousin sent to Earth ahead of him to care for the infant Kal-El upon his arrival. But due to science fiction space travel and timey-wimey things, she ended up getting here several years later after he'd already grown up. Taking on an adorkable human guise, she works as an intern for media mogul Cat Grant (Callista Flockhart), hiding the fact that she has the same abilities as her more famous cousin.

The results are in from this year's Critical Blast Best of 2015 Reader's Poll, and lightning has struck twice for the fan-favorite television show, THE FLASH.

After having defeated the Reverse-Flash in Season One, the second season of THE FLASH finds the hero, Barry Allen (played by Grant Gustin), opening a rift to an alternate Earth -- Earth-2 -- paving the way for an historic meeting of the Flash of Two Worlds, bringing Jay Garrick (Teddy Sears) into the cast. But with a new hero comes a new villain, and Earth-1 is now the potential new battleground for Zoom -- a speedster who is faster than either Flash.

This week!

Whether it be countless interviews, numerous books, or through documentaries, the making of the first STAR WARS film has been told in exhaustive detail.  It's really difficult to frame the film’s making in a novel way.  We've heard the details from George Lucas, the principal cast, most of the supporting players, as well as many of the folks that worked behind the cameras.  Unless you've been to conventions, a less frequently told tale is from the point of view of the tertiary cast and bit players.  ELSTREE 1976 attempts to remedy that omission with the story of ten cast members mostly from the first film.  

On Saturday, May 14, Geek Time Entertainment, Critical Blast and The Iron Room presented the First Annual Costume Party in Atlantic City!  The party served as a thrilling capstone for the day's events at ACBC Con.  Seriously, is there anything better than a cool party after an exhilarating day on the convention floor?

The winners always go home with an extra special smile, but just about everyone in attendance seemed to have a great time.  Here is a rundown of the winners:

I remember once, when I was a kid no higher than a grasshoppers knee, and I was taught a simple lesson. Our television, in its black and white glory, loudly played an interview between a seemingly elderly man and some subject who’s name and face were completely forgotten by a small child. As I sat on the floor at the foot of my father’s easy chair, I heard words that my tiny, inexperienced ears knew should be paid attention. “Now there’s a guy I could trust”, I heard.

When it was announced that SUPERGIRL was moving to The CW, I predicted a four-part crossover event that brought all the DC shows together. Today, comicbook.com is reporting that the crossover event is in the works.

While I may not have been accurate on the 'four-part' comment, it only makes sense for these shows to each get a chapter in the crossover. Starting with Supergirl on Monday and ending with Legends of Tomorrow on Thursday.

That's almost a whole week dedicated to one continuing storyline! It is my sincerest hope that there is some mention of the JSA (Justice Society of America).

With roots in Ireland, Australia, and now based out of New York, traditional singer-songwriter Vincent Cross exemplifies the folk song tradition by drawing inspiration from old and modern sources. 

Old Songs for Modern Folk, is a record in the truest sense, in that there is no editing, overdubbing or enhancement with each song recorded completely straight to tape in one take: no effects, no autotune. “I created the album I wanted to hear, raw and honest,” says Cross.

This contest has ended.

The winner is PAM G. of Southaven, MS.

It's that time of year again -- time to take stock of last year's entertainment offerings and decide which was the best of the best (of the best, sir!) (Okay, who let Captain America in here?)

Last year Critical Blast let its readers choose the best among Movies, Television Shows, and Actors in each. This year, we've doubled our categories to include Novels and Comics (selecting the best Writer, Artist and Storyline) for the year.

We put forth nominees in each category (after much careful discussion, a few beers, and one chipped tooth), and presented those to you, our readers -- making sure we also let the readers nominate a write-in candidate that our staff, in its infinitessimal wisdom, might have overlooked.

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Tessa Boyce

To many of us, television is a daily part of our lives. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American watches 2.8 hours of television per day. There's no denying it, we love to escape to distant worlds, laugh at bizarre cartoons, and hold our breath while our favorite protagonists escape zombies — or just ex-girlfriends with unusually large hands.

Andy Lightner developed GAVIN'S GOGGLES: GOGGLES LOST AT SEA based on an experience he had with his family at the beach. In the fictionalized version of events, Gavin's goggles are lost to the tide, and get passed from one aquatic creature to the next as they try to determine what the things are and, later, how to return them to their original owner.

The story is told in a very light manner. Nearly all of the creatures have alliterative names, save for Pincher the Blue Crab and Bella Pelican, which makes it accessible to the very young readers. The book also comes with a set of ready-to-color illustrations at the end of the various sea characters who appear in the story, lending an interactive quality to the book.

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

Music television. From the onset of networks like MTV, VH1, TNN and others, the explosion of what people could watch years ago brought a visual aspect that musical artists had to take advantage of or get steamrolled. If you didn't have at least a concert video to go with your killer song, then you didn't have anything people were talking about -- and worse, nothing they were listening to. As time went by, the networks that built their viewership on music videos have become music networks in name only, with few millenials even realizing what these reality show channels used to be.

The Country Network is looking to buck that trend and get back to the roots of the movement, at least for country fans. We spoke with Tim Eaton, TCN's President and CEO about exactly what his vision is for the revived TCN and how it's going to engage country music fans.

It was announced yesterday that Supergirl would no longer be carried on CBS, despite ratings that stayed strong throughout its freshman season.

With budget concerns looming over the licensing fees for the use of Supergirl, sending the show to The CW makes the most sense. Not only because it's owned in partnership with Warner Bros, but it will align almost all DC properties on one network (GOTHAM remains on Fox).

Milo Manara is an unquestionable master of the erotic female form -- his much maligned Spider-Woman notwithstanding, he work on books like BUTTERSCOTCH and CLICK are highlights of a medium that, understandably, doesn't get a lot of publicity.

In GULLIVERA, Manara takes a distaff view of Jonathan Swift's GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, turning them into a somewhat erotic tour de force while simultaneously incorporating much of the original source material.

Gullivera is a lovely young lady on holiday, taking the opportunity to float out into the water on an inflatable for some nude sunbathing. When she loses her suit, she swims to an odd boat that has been docked in the harbor for some time with no signs of life. When she puts on the tricorner hat she finds, a storm whips up from nowhere and blows the ship to sea.

Thunderbolts (2016) #1

He was an executed man. He now no longer exists. But he is alive -- and being trained to become an assassin.

This is great! I knew there was a rumor out there that Shane Black was going to helm the next REMO WILLIAMS: THE DESTROYER movie, but I didn't think it was coming out this... Wait a minute, that's not Master Chiun. And why are we in The Matrix? Oh my God, someone turn off that Kanye West music!

Okay, so I'm kidding. A little. While the plot of ASSASSIN'S CREED is (cough) similar in its initial concept to Warren Murphy's assassin, it veers wildly from there into a science fiction process of the restoration of genetic memories. The assassin is Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender), and he has been brought to The Animus so that he can relive the memories of his ancestor from 500 years in the past, during the Spanish Inquisition.