INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez

Excitement Level: 4 out of 5 – I really like this Iron Man design.  I am amazed that even though Marvel is constantly changing Iron Man’s look, for the most part, I typically always enjoy what they come up with.  There was a lot of speculation on who would be wearing the Iron Man armor after SECRET WARS, but the teaser images for this book definitely look like Tony Stark to me. 

Today is part 4 of our All-New All-Different Marvel coverage.  The remaining books weren’t particularly easy to group, so I just lumped them all together and will post them alphabetically.

AGENTS OF S.H.I.EL.D. #1 by Marc Guggenheim and Mike Norton

There isn't enough epic horror in the world. Almost every horror story is a killer offing the cast one-by-one, or it ends up with a small group holed up somewhere trying to survive. When I say epic, what I'm talking about is a work like Stephen King's THE STAND, a continent-spanning adventure with multiple settings and dozens of characters. Some would say that's THE WALKING DEAD, but I wholeheartedly disagree with that assertion. It's just a group of characters hiding in various places talking season after season. It's not grand or epic in any way.

You can love it. You can hate it. But you can't deny it's success or sheer popularity among fans.

The first graphic novel covering Superman/Wonder Woman, sub-titled: Power Couple has received the distinction of being the winner of 2015's Stan Lee Excelsior Award!

The Stan Lee Excelsior Award was established in 2011 to "encourage reading for pleasure amongst children and teenagers". It also was intended to "raise the profile of graphic novels and manga amonst school librarians and teachers". With hopes of the awards bringing awareness to schools for graphic novels that deserve to be included in their libraries, it has brought graphic novels to over 77 schools just one year later.

This year's 3 finalists were (in order of placement):

Marvel has been announcing their post-Secret Wars plans.  I'll be posting them up over the next few days with some commentary.  I tried to break them up by theme.  Today, we’re talking Avengers.  I will admit that I should probably have included , SCARLET WITCH, CAPTAIN MARVEL and VISION as “Avengers” books, especially over ANT-MAN, but we had a lot of titles to cover and I needed to break them down as best I can.

Marvel has been announcing their post-Secret Wars plans.  I'll be posting them up over the next few days with some commentary.  I tried to break them up by theme.  Today, we’re talking X-Men.   For months now, we’re heard the rumors that Marvel was going to be getting out of the mutant business.   I’ve called BS on those rumors all along, and I think that this lineup of books SHOULD put that to rest.  These are some terrific, top-notch creative teams and should be a strong indicator that Marvel still has a lot of faith in their mutant line.

This contest is over. The randomly selected winnier is SHANNON B. of EMMETSBURG, IA.

The Who's 1982 tour would prove to be their last with Kenney Jones on drums and the band wouldn't do a full scale tour again until 1989. The tour promoted the then recent IT'S HARD album, which had been released in June 1982, and the set list included a number of tracks from that album, some of which the band would only ever play live on this tour.

The main film features the show from the second of their two nights at New York's Shea Stadium on October 13, 1982, with bonus tracks from the first night.

The Who remain one of the finest live rock acts of all time, and this show will be a great addition to any fan's collection.

Marvel has been announcing their post-Secret Wars plans.  I'll be posting them up over the next few days with some commentary.  I tried to break them up by theme.  Starting today with Spider-Man.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 by Dan Slott and Guiseppe Camuncoli

Cheap Pops - June 30, 2015

by Chris Delloiacono, Mike Maillaro and Jeff Ritter

This week!

• TNA Resurgence?

• What does Bret Hart think of the WWE?

• Best in our World - Managers

• NXT Results

• Lucha Underground Results

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

Reviews by Mike Maillaro, Mike Weaver, Gina Maillaro, and Grey Scherl

AGE OF ULTRON VS MARVEL ZOMBIES #1 by James Robinson and Steve Pugh

After having said it so often on THE APPRENTICE and it's spinoff, CELEBRITY APPRENTICE, Donald Trump must find it ironic to hear his trademarked expression thrown back at him. But it's true. The real estate mogul turned Presidential nominee was told to pound sand by NBC after his comments regarding illegal immigration included the words "rapists" and "drug dealers."

The network sent the following message to Talking Points Memo earlier today clarifying their announcement:

Your baby has been kidnapped by a force from an erased timeline. Your immortal father arrives moments after in a time-traveling spaceship to help you get her back from where she was hidden in time -- but only after she's been allowed to grow up into an adult, alone, because somehow during her new life she stops Earth from being annihilated.

What do you do?

We’re doing a double dose of Superman books this week!  

SUPERMAN #41 by  Gene Luen Yang and John Romita Jr.

WAIKIKI, HONOLULU, HAWAII – Outrigger Resorts is proud to announce a partnership with the iconic Blue Note Entertainment Group, with music clubs in New York, Washington D.C., Milan and two locations in Japan, to bring world-class music performances to Hawaii. Blue Note Hawaii will serve as the state’s premier venue for world-renowned artists, from jazz and blues to Hawaiian favorites.

Located in the former Society of Seven showroom inside Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort, Blue Note Hawaii will feature a wide range of musical entertainment – from local talent to international sensations – for limited engagements. As a part of Outrigger’s ongoing commitment to the musical arts, the performance venue will undergo an extensive, multi-million-dollar revitalization, creating a brand new venue in the heart of Hawaii’s most famed beach resort destination. Blue Note Hawaii is expected to open no later than early 2016.

Kyle Wincott (THE FLASH's Robbie Amell) is a U.S. Marine. He serves with another U.S. Marine, Max -- who just happens to be a very highly trained dog.

When Kyle is killed in an attack trying to save Max, the PTSD-stricken dog is taken out of service, and will be put down unless Max's family takes him. The Wincott family -- hard-as-nails former Marine and father Ray (Thomas Haden Church, HEAVEN IS FOR REAL), mother Pamela (Lauren Graham, GILMORE GIRLS), and cynical teenage Justin (Josh Wiggins, HELLION) -- are willing to take Max in because they see him as a family member.

But Max has a secret. One of Kyle's hometown buddies and fellow Marine was running guns, and is to blame for the attack that got Kyle killed. When he comes home to work his deals stateside, he blames Max for Kyle's death, putting the dog in a whole new light to the family, particularly to Ray.

I have a hard time reviewing movies like TED 2, the new comedy from writer/producer/director/star Seth MacFarlane. Most reviews delve into the plot a little, give a rundown of the principle cast and maybe touch on a couple of points such as the score or special effects that really interested or disgusted the reviewer. Some might talk about the nuanced performance of a scene-stealing supporting actress or offer up a particularly lousy turn as a nominee for next year’s Razzie Awards. If that’s what you expect, the next paragraph is just for you.

Being born in 1973 means icons like Bruce Lee, Jackie Robinson, Steve McQueen, Muhammad Ali, and Evel Knievel permeated my life basically from the womb until today. These men had all accomplished many of their greatest feats before I was born, or, if nothing else, at a time when I was still sucking my thumb. Yet through reruns, playground antics, highlights, and toys they became some of my greatest celebrity influences. On Spike! I have seen "I Am..." films for McQueen and Lee, but I somehow missed their recent special devoted to the daredevil some dubbed The Last Gladiator.

I've been a fan of THE WHO since I was a young boy. No, I'm not straight out of their '60s heyday, but I was bopping around in the late '70s and '80s getting an education in the best rock music from my father. I was exposed to "Tommy" at an early age, heard all their best tunes, knew all about the guys destroying their equipment, and always was amazed when my Dad told me he saw THE WHO open for HERMAN'S HERMITS. Can you imagine seeing one of the most legendary bands in history before they were famous?

HEROES is returning to NBC this fall as HEROES REBORN.  The show will be debuting September 24, but we got a first look at the trailer:

Commentary: Lots of action, but not a lot of information here yet.   One thing I love is seeing Masi Oka as Future Badass Hiro.  Masi Oka seems to always get typecast as a nerdy little character (Franklin from SCRUBS or Max from HAWAII FIVE-O....not to mention "normal" Hiro in HEROES).  But, he actually looks great when they show him as Badass Hiro.