Swords of Sorrow: Masquerade & Kato

Written by: G. Willow Wilson and Erica Schultz
Art by: Noah Salonga
Cover by: Billy Tan
Colored by: Dinei Ribiero
Lettered by: Erica Schultz

Published by: Dynamite
Cover Price: $3.99

Warning! This review contains quite a few spoilers!

When high school football coach Jim White is fired, again, he and his family end up in the poorest town in California -- McFarland. The population is almost entirely Mexican immigrants who work as pickers, Their football team is a pushover -- and it isn't long before he loses his position as an assistant coach for them as well!

What he does notice, however, is that these kids can run -- fast, and for long distances. As Jim (Kevin Costner) relates his plan to Principal Camillo (a much-slimmed Valente Rodriguez, THE GEORGE LOPEZ SHOW), the kids carbo-load on rice and beans, and then run miles to their jobs in hot dry weather. They're natural fits for cross-country running.

Putting together a team of seven is a challenge, and White has many obstacles keeping them together. Ultimately, however, his work has a lasting impact on the runners, their families, White's family, and indeed the entire town.

From Pixar Animation Studios, “The Good Dinosaur” opens Thanksgiving 2015.

"The Good Dinosaur" asks the question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? Pixar Animation Studios takes you on an epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend. While traveling through a harsh and mysterious landscape, Arlo learns the power of confronting his fears and discovers what he is truly capable of.  Cast includes: Lucas Neff, Frances McDormand, Bill Hader, John Lithgow and Neil Patrick Harris.

So just how much of Hollywood has Marvel taken over?

The folks at MorphCostumes have put together this handy-dandy infographic ranking Marvel Comic Book adaptations that have made it to the silver screen (including Disney's BIG HERO SIX and FOX's X-MEN movies, among others). While some of these won't surprise you, there's certainly fodder for conversation here to fuel a good fan rant about which movies deserved to make more money.

(Having trouble viewing? Click to enlarge)

I love a good con movie. From THE STING through LEVERAGE, if it's done well, I'm pulled in.

FOCUS starts off with great promise, and the fact that the filmmaker's brought in the master, Apollo Robbins, as a consultant, shows they at least had their hearts in the right place going into this. The film stars Will Smith and Margot Robbie (who will pair up again in the already overexposed SUICIDE SQUAD next year) as Nicky, a master con man, and Jess, a would-be pickpocket who crosses his path. He takes her in, mentors her in the finer points of the grift, and lets her take part in some of his current cons. And then, without notice, he cuts her loose. All that buildup, all those wonderfully filmed scenes just go poof as we realize this was just backstory to the film that's only just now getting started well into the movie.

There's only one way I can think of to do justice to the The Threepenny Opera, a show that debuted in Germany in 1928, features no real hero and is a stark commentary on man's tendency to bring out the worst in himself. The world is going to Hell and humanity is to blame, a sentiment that still rings true today, sadly enough. So with apologies to dramatist Bertolt Brecht and composer Kurt Weill, and even Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin, here we go...a one and a two and a three and a four...

(To be read by the tune of "Mack the Knife," by Bertlolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. Sorry fellas.)

Oh, the show has a strong cast, dear,
And they showed their skills this night;
Terrific costumes by Sarah Porter, dear,
Keeps them looking out of sight!

When the show starts with Filch and Peachum, dear,
Stark reality starts to spread;
Played by Jeremy Hyatt and Zachary Allen Farmer, 
And Sarah Porter's Mrs. Peachum shares his bed!

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

Archie #666 - I am not 100% sure, but this might be the highest numbered American comic right now. And this is the last issue to make way for the Archie relaunch by Waid/Staples. I buy Archie on and off when something interesting is going on, and I will definitely check out this last issue. I am really looking forward to the Archie Relaunch!

I can't deny, my childhood was pretty great.  My parents gave me everything I needed, and a lot of what I asked for.  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a spoiled brat, but I was mostly happy.  That said, my teenage years were a bit of a mess.  There were years of ennui and general angst.  Much of it was from a lack of female companionship at a young age.  It took me time to grow into myself and develop enough confidence and personality to get out and meet people.  I grew up in the '80s and early '90s which was a time of huge changes in pop culture and politics.  In my mind, it's every bit as seminal a time as the late '60s.

Front Lines: By Mike Maillaro, Mike Weaver, Grey Scherl, and Gina Maillaro

Secret Wars Journal #1

The Arrowhead by Pru Sgen and Ramon Bachs

Front Lines: By Mike Maillaro, Mike Weaver, Grey Scherl, and Gina Maillaro

Convergence #8

Young Adult Literature. It's been officially a thing now for a handful of years, offering up stories that appeal to young and old alike, featuring young protagonists in a variety of plots.

Paula Stokes is carving out her own place among the pantheon of YA authors, with two novels, LIARS INC and THE ART OF LAINEY from Harper Teen. I first met Paula in St. Louis, and was glad to get in touch with her on the release of LIARS INC to discuss the YA market and get some insights into her own process.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the early proofreaders on LIARS INC, what feels like so long ago. What was going on back then that provided the inspiration of Max's story?

This contest has ended. The winner is:  ANN F. of WAPPINGER FALLS, NY.

For fans of Gone Girl, I Hunt Killers, and TV's How to Get Away with Murder.

Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?

When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.

by Chris Delloiacono, Mike Maillaro and Jeff Ritter

This week!

• Elimination Chamber Predictions

• Women of NXT  Roundtable

• NXT Results

There's more than once in my life that I've engaged in the schadenfreude that comes with some personality's fall from grace. But in the case of the Duggar family and the recent cover-up scandal of sexual misconduct by a (then) 14-year-old Josh Duggar, I'm overcome with disappointment.

It's saddening, and not without its own "ick" factor, when one considers some of the victims were his sisters -- which may hardly be surprising given that they were fairly much the only girls with whom he had constant contact while going through puberty in a structure that proscribes any form of dating. Hormones are a hell of a chemical.

There's a certain mathematical elegance to the Wachowski's JUPITER ASCENDING. Given infinite space and infinite time, someone will be born somewhere with the exact same genetic sequence as someone who already existed. Multiply those infinite chances out, and that previous person might have been the Queen of the universe, who owned the Earth and willed it back to herself should she ever be genetically reassembled.

Of course, if the Queen of the Universe had children who covet the Earth because they're getting ready to harvest the people there to make their special water of life (the daughter is over 14 millennia old), then you might want to watch your royal back.

Last week was a very good week to be a Vampirella fan. Dynamite had three books out featuring Vampi, and all three were real good!

Warning! These reviews contain quite a few spoilers!

Vampirella #12

Written by: Nancy Collins
Penciled by: Patrick Berkenketter
Cover by: Mike Meyhew
Colored by: Dievei Ribeira
Lettered by: Rob Steen

Published by: Dynamite
Cover Price: $3.99

By Mike Maillaro and Mike Weaver

This week: A fond(?) farewell to Convergence.  90 reviews in 8 weeks!

Convergence #8

Okay, here’s the deal. I have been around a long time, and have seen many of the greatest musicians and bands from multiple genres live many times over. I have over 2000 LPs and 500 CD’s and listen to music dedicatedly every day. And I am also a bona-fide Laurie Berkner fan!

It started several years ago when my now teenage daughter was in single digits. We bought her many children’s music CDs from many artists, some with words, some without, and there was one artist in particular that rose to the top of her/our playlist: Laurie Berkner. Her music was/is so catchy, so upbeat, so tuneful that it didn’t matter if you were a kid or an adult, it sticks in your head and you can’t help but sing her songs to yourself. Then we’d see her videos on Nick Jr and that just let us enjoy her music all the more, because you could see just how much she enjoyed playing it.

USA Network just released the pilot of one of their new shows entitled Mr. Robot. The description intrigued me, despite never having heard of it before today. The blurb reads, “A cyber-security engineer by day and a vigilante hacker by night…” and is accompanied with a cool comic-esque image to boot. I’ll admit though I was initially a little weary due to the terrible title for a show. Mr. Robot. I feel like the title song should be song by Styx and it gives the impression of a slapstick comedy troupe. But, ok, USA, you have my interest since I’m always willing to give you the benefit of the doubt because of our past together.

Ripper Street: Season Three is set to hit the streets on DVD and BluRay on June 23^rd, and if you’re a fan of the Leman Street good guys you’ll mark this date down on the calendar! I was hooked on Ripper Street half-way through the first episode of season one and I haven’t stopped loving every episode since.

Season Three is 8 episodes in length, and starts out four years after Season 2 ended. It takes the events that ended in season two and progresses them outward to what we see they’ve become four years hence. Things have not been so cozy in the time that has elapsed.

Bennet Drake (Jerome Flynn) left Whitechapel and moved to Manchester to start over again and become the police officer/man he always wanted to be, foregoing violence to become a man of peace. Having risen quickly through the ranks, we see him here now as Inspector Drake.