What do Aaron Copeland, Carl Orff, Modest Mussorgsky, and Johann Sebastian Bach all have in common?  They all have music arranged and played by the greatest power trio of progressive rock ever: Emerson Lake and Palmer.

Is there a better opening song to a concert than “Karnevil 9-1^st Impression Part 2?” Or better opening lyrics than “Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends?" In all my concert going and musical listening, I think not (well, maybe with the exception of Alice Cooper’s “Hello Hooray”); but anyway, how apropos for this band who, even at the time of this show in 1997, had been around, despite a break-up in the early 80’s, for decades?

The NFL is in full swing today, and while many people were figuring out their fantasy football draft last week, there were other things happening. So whether you were trying to decide what round to draft ‘Gronk’, or getting hyped for your team’s season, we took care of tracking down pop-culture views, news and reviews. Grab your morning coffee because it’s time for your…

Since there have been 13 different Doctors and 50+ years of Doctor Who, it can be a bit overwhelming.  So, we’re going to give some quick information about each incarnation of the Doctor and some of the best episodes starring each Doctor. We decided to start with the “modern Doctors,” since all of that is currently on Netflix and easily accessible.

The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann)

Late last night, WWE made the following announcement on their Instragram feed:

Pokémon, Niantic and Nintendo are teaming up to create the ultimate FREE gaming experience.

Pokémon GO will use your phone's GPS to hunt down Pokémon as you walk around parks, neighborhoods and hiking trails. And, if you haven’t lost touch with your friends while searching for that elusive Gengar, you’ll be able to trade and battle!

But don’t worry, if you have no friends left, you can always battle the nearest opponent in range.

In an exclusive interview clip, provided to Comicbook.com via Lary King Now, Michael Shannon offers some inside information regarding his role in Batman v Superman. And it doesn't involve flippers, as he once suggested.

Being under a lot of pressure to reveal secrets about his role in the film, Shannon offered up a quote that led many rumor mongers to shotgun speculation all over the internet. During his interview with Larry King, he admitted to essentially trolling everyone. Then he went on to compare his role in BATMAN V SUPERMAN to that of Russell Crowe's Jor-El as 'kind of like a ghost'.

Logged on this morning to a nice surprise!  We finally got a release date and a teaser trailer for Marvel's Jessica Jones.  It will begin airing on Netflix on November 20.  It also looks like they stopped calling the show AKA JESSICA JONES.  

Jessica Jones is an adaptation of Bendis and Gaydo's brilliant comic series ALIAS.  Jessica Jones (played by Krysten Ritter) is a former superhero who has become a private investigator.    The series will also feature:

We got another pair of JOURNEY TO STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS books to review today, with one featuring Luke Skywalker and the other with Princess Leia. As I mentioned in my review of AFTERMATH, the bulk of these books are set during the Original Trilogy, not in the JOURNEY TO STAR WARS timeframe.

Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens - The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure by Jason Fry

Hardcover - $12.99
Kindle - $6.46
Published by Disney Lucasfilm Press
192 Pages

I have been looking forward to this comic for a long time now. I will admit, I had sort of lost interest in STAR WARS for a while, but with REBELS and all the hype for THE FORCE AWAKENS, I have been in a STAR WARS mood lately. Thankfully, I don't have as much free time as I did when THE PHANTOM MENACE came out. My wife and siblings spent way too much time driving me all over the place to find STAR WARS toys and cup toppers from Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Thanks, Gina, Patti, and Chris.  You are terrible enablers.

Instead of toys, this time I am acting out my obsession with comics and books. I have bought every STAR WARS comic Marvel has put out so far, and slowly I'm working my way through the novels that have come out the last few years that Disney declared official canon. And SHATTERED EMPIRE sounded like it was going to be a real good one.

Back in July, composer Frederik Wiedmann’s work on SPECTRUM was covered here. It was a masterful piece of music that took us on a journey through the senses. After the release of the soundtrack that accompanies JUSTICE LEAGUE: GODS and MONSTERS, we had an opportunity to chat with the talented composer and ask him a few questions about his experience, process and whether or not Bruce Timm has him on ‘speed dial’.

Valiant has provided Critical Blast with a textless sneak preview of WRATH of the ETERNAL WARRIOR #1. In the wake of BOOK of DEATH, all-star creators Robert Venditti and Raul Allen launch an odyssey of war, love, and honor in the darkest reaches of the Valiant Universe. Based on the images provided, it looks like we'll get a senses tingling adventure! The art looks superb and the layouts look downright cinematic in nature.

WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #1 – Variant Cover by Lewis LaRosa

WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #1 – Interior Art by Raul Allen

Last Friday was Force Friday! As part of their build up for THE FORCE AWAKENS, Disney released a lot of new Star Wars merchandise, including boatloads of new toys. One thing that got a little lost was they also released several new novels set in between RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE FORCE AWAKENS, under the umbrella title of JOURNEY TO THE FORCE AWAKENS. There is also a comic mini-series coming out on Wednesday called SHATTERED EMPIRE that falls under this banner.

As he walked on stage to music playing and thousands of screaming fans, Nick Jonas wasted no time with introductions. Leading off with the hit song, "Chains", he rocked the packed crowd in Syracuse, NY. Jonas planned to take over the New York State Fair and he did just that. It was hard to tell if there was a wicked drum beat, or if it was the collective heartbeats of his adoring fans.

Front Lines by Mike Maillaro, Mike Weaver, Grey Scherl, and Gina Maillaro

AGE OF APOCALYPSE #3 by Fabian Nicieza & Gerardo Sandoval

Summary: Dr. Nemesis is interrogating Jean Grey, who was brought there by Sabretooth and Wild Child to have him interrogate her to find out what the humans are planning.  At the same time, Essex is interrogating Carol Danvers.  And the X-Men are interrogating Cyclops.

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

The ROCKS DONINGTON 2014 “Limited Edition” set from Eagle Rock Entertainment is a 3 LP/single DVD set of the live outdoor show Aerosmith performed in 2014.

The band consists of the familiar as family line up of:

Steven Tyler

Joe Perry

Brad Whitford

Tom Hamilton

Joey Kramer

It’s Labor Day! A day to celebrate the contributions that workers have made to the strength and prosperity of our country. This means many of us get an extra day off. The pop-culture news and reviews may take a back seat to barbecue’s, so why waste time when there’s so much to do? We’ve compiled some top stories, you may have missed this past week, to get you started. So kick back, grab that morning cup o’ joe and enjoy your...

The machine-gun patter of clicks was interrupted rhythmically by the ding and zip of the manual carriage return, advancing the page another line and preparing for another string of text. The room was close, cloying with the June humidity of 1963. In a corner, the radio provided background noise with the help of The Chiffons. Over the writer's shoulder, his friend and partner leaned in, peering at the latest completed paragraph before grunting editorial approval. The writer continued at a feverish pace -- a few more strings of machine-gun clacking, a few more dings and zips, and he grabbed the top of the sheet, pulling it free with a whine of protest from the typewriter roller.