Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 01/16/2018 - 17:09
THE SPIRIT: THE CORPSE-MAKERS #5 – Yikes this issue was ridiculously late. I really like Dynamite’s SPIRIT books, but I always hate when a mini-series has a massive delay. Just seems like bad business, get the mini-series done before you solicit it. Hopefully this isn’t the last we see of SPIRIT in Dynamite…but next time, I hope it comes out in a reasonable time frame.
There've been a ton of fairy tales reimagined in the Grimm Fairy Tales universe from Zenescope Entertainment. So many, that it's hard to believe they've gone this long without tapping the iconic Beauty and the Beast for inclusion.
Meet Belle: a girl who's strange but special, and most peculiar. She's the latest caretaker in the family business, which happens to be monster hunting. Assisted by her mentor and director, Candlestick, we watch as this lithesome masked beauty takes out a minotaur before hopping onto a tricked out cycle to take it to a centaur appearing elsewhere the same night. And on the ride, we get treated to Belle's thoughts, which help explains her world and her place in it.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Sat, 01/13/2018 - 13:36
In Marvel Legacy and Avengers: No Surrender, we are led to believe that a character named Voyager has retconned herself into Marvel history. But unlike Sentry or Blue Marvel, it seems that everyone in comics' memories have been rewritten to believe that Voyager was there all along (Blue Marvel and Sentry were written as if they were always there).
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Fri, 01/12/2018 - 19:16
From Marvel:
Today, Marvel Entertainment and Conan Properties International are excited to announce the iconic CONAN franchise will make its grand return to Marvel next year.
With over 650 issues from 1970 to 2000, Marvel brought fans the adventures of Conan The Barbarian, Conan the Adventurer, Conan the Savage, and Savage Sword of Conan, among other popular titles.
Mister Miracle -- Scott Free -- is a character that has had me puzzling over him ever since I first encountered him in Jack Kirby's Fourth World comics. Oh, I got his schtick: world's greatest escape artist, so naturally anyone he fought would try to trap him rather than just shoot him or fight him hand-to-hand. And I got that he was in love with this amazon-like Big Barda who used to work for the bad guys. And I even got that he was supposed to be a god -- one of the new ones -- even though he seemed to be the least godlike, relying on tools and technology rather than exhibiting anything remotely deific.
But what I never understood was, how does his mask conform to his face so perfectly? I mean, look at that thing! It curves to his lips, and goes right inside his mouth! He can eat, he can smile, he can shout -- the mask never slips! I have a ski mask. I can tell you, that's not natural.
Submitted by S.J. Mitchell on Wed, 01/10/2018 - 11:31
Van Helsing vs Robyn Hood is a 4-part mini-series that has the vampire hunter crossing paths with the "otherworldly fixer-for-hire".
The story starts off with an action sequence as Van Helsing quickly dispatches a few low-level vampires. Business as usual for her, as she almost appears to be enjoying herself. Until one vampire in particular seems to be trying to send her a message:
"Find Von."
He seems to be struggling to fight "the hunger" but fights it long enough to give Liesel (Van Helsing) a clue as to who infected him. After killing him, she notices a crown tatoo on the side of his neck.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 01/09/2018 - 09:21
From the Hollywood Reporter:
The “mystery” member of Marvel Entertainment’s upcoming comic book series Exiles has been revealed, and it’s a character never before seen in comic books … kind of.
The fifth member of the group, which is made up of alternate universe takes of familiar Marvel characters, will be a new incarnation of Valkyrie that closely resembles Tessa Thompson’s version of the character from last year’s Thor: Ragnarok.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 01/09/2018 - 08:20
Welcome back to Critical Blast’s long-running 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!
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Wed, 01/03/2018 - 19:59
From Marvel.com:
Few matters can force a super hero into exile. And even fewer can cause that hero to return.
But when a mysterious threat puts an alternate future in jeopardy, the teleporting X-Man named Blink—who once fought alongside a classic collection of outcasts, mutants, and strangers—joins a new group in an attempt to save the multiverse. This April, writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Javier Rodriguez leap into the future with EXILES!
In this brand-new ongoing series, the man once called Nick Fury—now known simply as the Unseen—observes Earth from his abode on the moon. When a strange force imperils all of existence, the Unseen recruits Blink, Khan, Iron Lad, Wolvie, and an as-yet-unseen hero to save the past, the present, and the future.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 01/02/2018 - 08:42
Welcome back to Critical Blast’s long-running 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!
When I reviewed the first issue of DOOMSDAY CLOCK, I gave it a bit of a gush. After all, this was my favorite limited series coming into contact with my favorite universe. How could I not be giddy about it?
That review was written by Doctor Jekyll. Mr. Hyde's come to play now, so let's open up the second issue of DOOMSDAY CLOCK and rip it a new one now, shall we?
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 12/26/2017 - 09:58
Welcome back to Critical Blast’s long-running 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!
If you're a reader of Marvel's comic book line (you know, those things they keep producing in order to maintain the trademark over the characters that make bank in the movies), then you're probably already aware that the publisher has elected to cancel a good sized handful of their titles.
One of the titles on the chopping block is ICEMAN, the solo adventures of one of the original X-Men. Drake's character first courted controversy when a time-traveling younger version of himself was outed in ALL-NEW X-MEN as gay. This contrasted with nearly 40 years of history where the character was demonstrably -- in word, deed, and (because this is comics) thought -- heterosexual. But Brian Michael Bendis threw in the twist, and there we had it. Bobby Drake was now gay, past and present.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Thu, 12/21/2017 - 09:22
When the solicits came out for March 2017, there were several Marvel books MIA. This led to a lot of speculation about series being cancelled. Over the last few days, various creative teams have confirmed the cancellation of several books, and there are rumors of more to come. CAPTAIN MARVEL was one of the books now solicited for March, but series riter Margeret Stohl tweeted out, ""Concerned Citizens: nope Captain Marvel has not been canceled & we are hard at work on all things Carol Danvers even now!"
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 12/19/2017 - 08:53
Welcome back to Critical Blast’s long-running 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!
Editorial cartooning. It's been the hallmark of American politics since before we even signed the Declaration of Independence. It can be on point, humorous, and skewer the opposition just as viciously as any sword. A picture, truly, is worth a thousand words. God bless the First Amendment!
But just because speech is protected from being silenced doesn't mean it's protected from criticism. When Sarah Palin famously put cross-hairs on states that were having elections, urging people to get out and vote, it was seen by many as an advocation of violence. Cross-hairs, after all, were indicative of guns, and guns meant shooting. Thus, it was reasoned that Sarah Palin was calling for violence against the opponents in these states.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 12/12/2017 - 10:15
From the Hollywood Reporter:
Fire up your 2-Way Wrist TVs! Heat Vision can exclusively reveal that Archie Comics is bringing Dick Tracy back to comic books with a new series focusing on his early days as a detective, launching next April.
The monthly series will be co-written by Archie Comics co-president Alex Segura and Michael Moreci, whose résumé includes Image Comics’ Roche Limit and Hoax Hunters and the upcoming novel Black Star Renegades, with art from New York-based illustrator Thomas Pitilli, who has previously worked on covers for Riverdale and The Archies.
