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

Descender #1 – Jeff Lemire is pretty much as close as you get to a guaranteed good comic.  Descender is a sci-fi series coming out from Image about a young android trying to survive in a world where android have been banned.  And Dustin Nguyen is doing the art.  I loved his work on Lil Gotham.  Lemire is also doing All-New Hawkeye this week, and I am looking forward to both titles.

SPIRIT OF ‘67 is the first album by Vanilla Fudge in 10 years. The group still retains three of the four original members of the band: Carmine Appice on drums, Mark Stein on lead vocals and keyboards, and Vince Martell on guitars. They’re joined by Pete Bremy on bass, who replaces Tim Bogert. The band continues to be true to their original form of playing covers of some of the greatest songs in rock and R&B. The only difference here is that, when they first started, the covers they did were of fairly current songs; now they are bona-fide classics.

On this album they cover songs that range from the Doors to the Stones, the Who to Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, from Procol Harum to Marvin Gaye, and others, putting their own touch, their own style on every song.

The CW Network has yet another DC Comics show to add to its programming schedule -- but don't expect any crossovers with THE FLASH or ARROW.

iZombie was the creation of comics veterans Chris Roberson and Michael Allred, and was part of DC's Vertigo line of horror comics. In the comics, the lead character was named Gwen, a girl who was a zombie who lived undetected among the living, but she had to eat a brain every month or lose her memories. Fortunately, her job as a gravedigger gave her ready access to food, at the cost of gaining the dead person's memories upon consumption of the brain.

Some critics will scoff at The Million Dollar Quartet for its thin plot and light conflicts. If you see a review of this show somewhere that does exactly that, you should quit reading those critics because clearly they didn’t get it. This is a show based on actual events in which there wasn’t any real conflict. In fact, what conflict there is in this show is probably somewhat inflated if not outright fabricated. Every musical need not be as densely plotted as Rent or as elaborately staged as Warhorse. Sometimes a simple brick backdrop and four talented actors and musicians recreating a magical alignment of budding stars is all you need to keep the audience’s toes a-tappin’ until they raise the roof during the grand finale.

This contest has ended. The randomly selected winner is: RAY P. of SHARON, PA.

A dream is a wish your heart makes. Well, if your heart is making a wish for this beautiful poster for Disney's live-action CINDERELLA starring Lily James and Helena Bonham Carter, then we just may be able to make that wish come true -- no bibbity, bobbity, or boo required.

Archie Comics has made numerous attempts over the years to bring back their Red Circle line of heroes. The biggest problem is that Marvel and DC have pretty much cornered the superhero market, so if someone is attempting to get in on the game, they need to bring something different to the table.

The latest attempt has brought in some big names in the comic industry to put a darker, more mature spin on the characters. This actually is my first exposure to the Red Circle characters. But since I enjoyed Afterlife with Archie and Sabrina so much, I figured it was worth checking this book out.

The Black Hood #1

Written by: Duane Swierczynski
Art by: Michael Gaydos
Cover by: Michael Gaydos
Colored by: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Lettered by: Rachel Deering

Leonard Nimoy, star of stage and screen, and idol to millions of science fiction fans everywhere for his portrayal of the logical Vulcan, Spock, on STAR TREK, has passed away at age 83 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

There will be numerous articles appearing almost immediately detailing Nimoy's illustrious career. This isn't one of those. This is rather my personal remembrances of this actor, author, photographer and -- yes -- singer and musician.

From Deadline:

DC Comics superheroes are uniting in a potential new drama series at the CW, a spinoff from hits Arrow and The Flash that will feature several fan-favorite recurring actors/characters from both shows. I have learned that the network has teamed with Arrow creators Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim for a project eyed for next season toplined by Brandon Routh, Victor Garber, Wentworth Miller and Caity Lotz.

The untitled project, now in development, is described as a superhero team-up show. Routh, Miller and Garber will reprise their popular DC Comics characters  — Arrow‘s Ray Palmer/The Atom (Routh), Flash villain Leonard Snart/Captain Cold (Miller), and Flash‘s Dr. Martin Stein (Garber). Because her Arrow character Sara Lance was killed off, with her sister Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) taking over as the Black Canary, it is unclear whether Lotz will play the same or new superhero.

Will Smith is an easy actor to like. He doesn't interrupt award shows pining for Beyoncé like some people we could mention. He hasn't had a major meltdown on the set or in public. He's gone about his film career about as well as any top drawing actor truly could and yet he hasn't really had a huge hit at the box office for some time, at least in my opinion—2008’s “Hancock” was the last Smith movie I really enjoyed. That's about to change.

I did not see the Doctor Who Christmas Special last Christmas. That is to say, I did not see the Doctor Who Christmas Special, "Last Christmas" last Christmas. Of course I've seen the Doctor Who Christmas Special, "Last Christmas," but I saw it last night on DVD.

The annual Doctor Who tradition traditionally provides some of the best stand-alone episodes of the show. And this one certainly plays with the viewers' heads -- and their hearts. The episode opens with Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) being awoken by such a clatter that has arose on her roof; so she springs from her bed to see what is the matter. When what to her wondering eyes should appear but two elves, a man in a Santa suit, and flying reindeer!

DisneyXD posted up a teaser for Monday's season finale of Star Wars: Rebels, "Fire Across the Galaxy."  I've really been enjoying Rebels, it definitely feels like Star Wars.  I know a lot of people preferred Clone Wars, but I just couldn't get into Clone Wars.  Rebels I was hooked from the first episode.  I really like the characters, especially Sabine and Hera.  I did think that Ezra was annoying in some of the earlier episodes, but even he's developed into a good character over the course of the series.

Watching this show, I really wonder what happens to these characters between Rebels and A New Hope.  It seems very likely to me that they pretty much would all have to die at some point, probably in some kind of act that starts to pull the threads of the Rebellion together. The teaser for the season finale definitely suggests someone will be dying next week, and I think Kanan is the most obvious choice.

Thus far, our plucky village-girl-turned-princess Sofia (Ariel Winter) has been lucky: nobody close to her -- not counting the scheming Cedric (Jess Harnell) -- has discovered that she has magical powers at her disposal thanks to the Amulet of Avalor, which allows her to talk to animals and call any princess to her in a time of dire need.

That lucky streak breaks, however, when her sister, Amber (Darcy Rose Byrnes) catches Sophia talking to her animal friends, forcing Sofia to tell her about the amulet's power. Amber's jealousy drives her to scheme a way to get to use the amulet herself, to call a princess of her own, just to meet her -- she's hoping for Rapunzel. But she is unaware of the amulet's legend:

Open Mike Night

by Mike Maillaro and Mike Weaver

Spider-Gwen #1

Written by: Jason Latour
Art by: Robbi Rodriguez
Colored by:  Rico Renzi
Lettered by: VC's Clayton Cowles
Cover by: Robbi Rodriguez

Published by: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99

From Deadline:

Disney XD is revisiting Ducktales. The network said today that it has ordered a new animated comedy series based on the Emmy-winning series that aired from 1987-1990 as part of The Disney Afternoon daily syndicated cartoon block. The new series is slated to launch in 2017. Produced by Disney Television Animation, Ducktales will again star Disney’s iconic characters Scrooge McDuck, his grandnephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, and Donald Duck.

The new series will follow Scrooge McDuck, his curious and mischief-making grandnephews — Huey, Dewey and Louie — and the optimistic yet temperamental Donald Duck as they embark on high-flying adventures worldwide. Other beloved characters slated to be in the new stories are: Duckworth, Gyro Gearloose, Launchpad McQuack, Flintheart Glomgold, Magica DeSpell & Poe, Ma Beagle and the Beagle Boys (Burger Beagle, Bouncer Beagle), Mrs. Beakley and Webbigail Vanderquack.

Cheap Pops - February 25, 2015

by Chris Delloiacono, Mike Maillaro and Jeff Ritter

This week!

• WWE Fastlane Results

by Mike Maillaro and Mike Weaver

Superman & Batman: Generations

Featured: Earth 38

Written by: John Byrne
Art by: John Byrne
Lettered by: John Bryne
Colored by: Trish Mulvihill
Published by: DC

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

Amazing Spider-Man #15 – Spider-Verse epilogue.  Spider-Verse was a great story, though I did think the end was a bit abrupt.  I’m curious how they are going to wrap up Spider-Ock’s story, so this is a huge issue for me.

As I sit to watch Horrible Bosses 2, I remember the first one being pretty amusing. Jason Sudeikis was one of my favorite recent SNL members, Charlie Day is genius in It's Always Sunny in Philly, and who doesn't love Jason Bateman, the only (fairly) sane Bluth. It's this casting adoration that drew me to the first movie and made me return for the second. However, it IS a sequel. With trepidation, I hit play, knowing sequels are generally regurgitated humor posing as original wit.

The movie opens with the Clash singing Police on My Back, so at least we know someone involved has good musical taste. We jump right in with the lead trio having witty banter, an Austin Powers-seque visual penis gag and vaguely racist humor, that is a strong start so far and sets the tone. There will be no high-minded comedy hiding around here. If only they could shoehorn in a fart joke, we would be set.

Getting middle schoolers to read is as easy as pushing a boulder up a hill with an anvil attached to your back as monkeys bounce on your head. I would know, I teach them. It's just a generalization, but the majority of them claim to have much more interesting things to do then sit down and read a real, page-turning, wood-fiber-smelling, honest to God book. And I'm not too big to admit, when I received the book in the mail, I had wandering thoughts of seeing if I could just download the book on my iPad and read it. Seriously, who carries around a book in the hand anymore? But as soon as I opened the first page and the waft of new book smell carried through the air, I remembered how wonderful it was to hold a book in your hand and feel the weight of the author's words printed on paper. It caused me to wonder if my students ever knew the enjoyment of trying to figure out how to transport books with them so they would have it on hand for any free moments to read just a few more pages.

Spiderwick has an alternative source of facts. Fablehaven has competition. And Hagrid wipes a tear from his eye as he adds a new volume to the summer reading list for the Care of Magical Creatures.

This is all due to one Pip Bartlett, a young girl who lives in America which is exactly like the one we know -- except for the zoology, which has been expanded to include magical creatures. Despite all this magic that people have everyday contact, there is an unshakeable disbelief in Pip's claim that she has the ability to talk with these creatures like some eldrich Doctor Dolittle. Perhaps that's because she can talk with the creatures and understand them, but they're under no obligation to obey what she tells them.