Cheap Pops - July 12, 2015

by Chris Delloiacono, Mike Maillaro and Jeff Ritter

This week!

- Beast In the East Results

- WWE2K16 Cover revealed

Well, that didn't take long.

Batman is going after Superman because he's a threat to the world.

Superman is going after Batman because he's a reckless vigilante.

The fight is real. The reasons are valid. We don't know why Wonder Woman is there yet but she's there and she's kicking ass!

by Mike Maillaro and Mike Weaver

WE STAND ON GUARD #1

I’ve been hyping this ARCHIE relaunch since it was announced back in mid-December. I do think ARCHIE has a certain classic timelessness about it, but there is a TON of room for them to update the title for a new audience. So, now that it's here, is ARCHIE 2.0 going to live up to the hype?

ARCHIE (2015) #1

Written by: Mark Waid
Art by: Fiona Staples
Colored by: Andre Szymanowicz with Jen Vaughn
Lettered by: Jack Morelli

Published by: Archie Comics
Cover Price: $3.99

“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.” - Cersei Lannister

Game of Thrones is the name given to the popular HBO series based after George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels, for which the first book is titled. Ripe with political intrigue and set in a fictional, medieval time which resembles the ‘dark ages’ more than it does a pleasant Renaissance, Game of Thrones has become ingrained in today’s pop culture.

Someone -- and by the word balloons, we know that someone is a Black Lantern -- is chasing Ganthet, who carries with him six rings of power, each a different color. He escapes in the nick of time to another universe... the Star Trek universe!

Specifically, the J.J. Abrams STAR TREK universe, because that's important to people.

Ganthet's fate is discovered by the crew of the USS Enterprise, and the rings are taken for analysis. Of course, this would correspond with the sudden appearance of a Klingon vessel, captained by someone with a mad-on for Kirk. And with emotions running high... people on each side get CHOSEN!

What is pop superstar Taylor Swift doing on the set of X-Men Apocalypse? Writer/producer Simon Kinberg shared a photo of Taylor, himself, Sophie Turner and a bald James McAvoy on his Twitter account.

Haters gonna hate. @taylorswift13 #jamesmcavoy @SophieT pic.twitter.com/f8nwXPETSH

— Simon Kinberg (@Kinberg) July 8, 2015

So let's fill this blank space, starting with the most boring reason and working our way up to the juciest rumor:

Shake it Off - She's simply a fan and happened to be in the area. Her popularity is sure to get her access wherever she goes.

Marvel has announced that Elodie Yung (Jinx in G.I. JOE: RETALIATION) will be joining the cast of DAREDEVIL season 2 as Elektra. 

I will say upfront that I don't know Elodie Yung's work all that much, but she does seem to be an extremely beautiful woman.  Which really isn't a required trait to play Elektra, just a personal commentary from me.  I am definitely a fan of beautiful women.

1969. What does that year make you think of--hippies, Woodstock, Vietnam? If you were a alive and old enough to recognize music you couldn’t have made it through 1969 without hearing Credence Clearwater Revival. John Fogerty, the band’s guitarist, singer and songwriter, was perhaps the most prolific musician ever in a single year. Who else has put out three full albums of all new material in a single calendar year? Not even in the Internet Age does this happen. Credence Clearwater Revival was like a star just bout to go nova—it blazed white hot that year before fading away soon after. Infighting broke up the band and legal battles have kept them from reconciling for decades. Despite the hardships, John Fogerty has endured. He seems pretty happy, just a little more than a month beyond his 70th birthday. He’s got an incredible band on a highly successful tour highlighting the glorious year of CCR and promoting his new book, “Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music” coming out this October.

Yes, you read that correctly: Harry Shearer has decided in the nick of time to remain with the 26-years-running animated comedy series, THE SIMPSONS, and will continue lending his voice to Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders and other characters.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Shearer's contract is not special, being the same as all the other primary voice actors: a four-year deal, with a dollar value estimated at nearly $300,000 per episode.

So rest assured -- the voices of your favorite characters will not be given to another actor. Shearer's deal was done just in time so production would not be affected. THE SIMPSONS will begin their 27th season on September 27th.

Now, FOX, what can you do about getting Phil Hartman back?

Secret Wars #4 by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic

Summary: The Cabal are fighting Thors.  Doctor Strange explains to the liferaft survivors that the old multiverse was created with order by alien entities.  Battleworld was more of an act of desperation with Doom taking the shattered remains of the broken Earths and pulling them all together. The new world is unnatural, and survival is its first and highest purpose.  In needs a god with a firm hand...in other words, it needs Doom.

There's a good chance that if you're reading this, you or someone you know has been touched by autism. It's not often we find ourselves reading about subjects that have nothing to do with us. Only the few seek knowledge in areas they are unfamiliar with, but if not for those select few, we would not gain the wisdom required to understand it better.

If you're one of those people, let me give you a brief introduction to the world of autism.

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

Quite a few books I want to talk about this week!

ARCHIE #1 - The big Archie relaunch starts here. Regular readers of my work will know that I have been talking about this relaunch for a while. This is the book I am most hyped about this week, if just for the creative team of Mark Waid and Fiona Staples. All that said, it is VERY weird to see Archie looking so different after all these years.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – (July 1, 2015) – Call it the duck days of summer, the time when it’s 90 degrees outside and still four months away from hunting season. The Robertson family has come up with a way to chase away those summer blues and benefit deserving charities as well.

SCHADENFREEZERS! by Jason Kreher and Matt Moore

Hardcover - $13.99 ($11.15 on Amazon)
Kindle - $10.37
Published by Adams Media
128 Pages

NEW YORK – July 6, 2015 – Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan will join the critically acclaimed drama THE GOOD WIFE as a series regular during the show’s upcoming seventh season. Morgan will play Alex, a calm, experienced hourly investigator whom Alicia hires. 

"We've loved and admired Jeffrey Dean Morgan for years, and we were thrilled to hear that Julianna did too, so it was a no-brainer to ask him to join our troupe," said executive producers Robert and Michelle King.

It seems like every publication is doing a comic-con variant cover these days. With all of the superhero content hitting the airwaves, it makes perfect sense for TV Guide to get in on the act.

John Connor had it all wrong. Instead of sending his best friend back in time to save his mother, he should've sent someone to round up the dinosaurs.

JURASSIC WORLD, having been in theaters, for several weeks, is still rampaging through the box office. Unfortunately, for the latest rise of the machines, Terminator was crushed under the weight of a movie with an indominus spirit. In an attempt to re-invigorate a once popular franchise, TERMINATOR: GENISYS was unable to meet opening weekend expectations as it failed to exceed $30 million.