Comics

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

Some awesome news coming from The House of Ideas this morning…

For most kids, finding out your folks belong to a world-dominating cabal of super villains would be about the craziest thing in the world—but they’re not the Runaways! Back in 2003, Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona introduced us to a book called RUNAWAYS and a cast of characters that we instantly fell in love with. The adventures of Nico, Karolina, Chase, Molly, Alex, and Gertrude grabbed a faithful fan following that led to a number of volumes as well as appearances in other books like AVENGERS ARENA and A-FORCE.

Big happenings over at Amazon if you are a Marvel fan!

All of their Marvel graphic novels and trade paperbacks are on sale for 80% off!  This is creating some incredible deals!  Head over to Amazon and check it out!  Note: this link just takes you to Amazon, there is no direct home page for the sale, unfortunately.

No idea when this sale is ending.  And remember, if your Amazon and Comixology accounts are linked, any digital comic you buy on Amazon, you can read in the far superiour Comixology app.

Vysion_of_books on GameFAQ's made a list of some of the deals:

$6.00
Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Old Republic Vol. 1

Unstoppable Wasp #1-5

Written by: Jeremy Whitley
Art by: Elsa Charretier
Colored by: Megan Wilson
Lettered by: VC's Joe Caramagna

Published by: Marvel
Cover Price:  $3.99 each issue

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

Traditionally, fifth weeks are usually when comic companies release specials or annuals. But more and more, Marvel just spreads their books across all five weeks of the month. Still overall, this is pretty a small week for me.

From Entertainment Weekly:

The New Mutants, the long anticipated X-Men spinoff movie, is going to be a comic book film that goes in an unusual direction. “We are making a full-fledged horror movie set within the X-Men universe,” director Josh Boone says. “There are no costumes. There are no supervillains. We’re trying to do something very, very different.”

Game of Thrones‘ Maisie Williams has been cast in the role of Wolfsbane and Split actress Anya Taylor-Joy as Magik. Sources close to the production say that Henry Zaga, seen most recently in 13 Reasons Why (where he played Tony’s boyfriend, Brad), will soon be announced in the role of Sunspot. (Unconfirmed chatter has it that Rosario Dawson is currently in talks as well.)

Having established critical successes with both ARROW and THE FLASH, CW broke even more fertile ground by utilizing their webisode engine, CW SEED, to expand the Arrowverse with the premier of VIXEN.

Vixen, aka Mari Jiwe McCabe, is voiced by MEGALYN ECHIKUNWOKE, who later played the real life role on ARROW in the episodes "Lian Yu" and "Taken," is the creation of comic book veterans Gerry Conway, Curt Swan and Bob Oksner. Her powers are those of the animal kingdom, granted her through her "Tantu Totem," which has been renamed in this feature as the Anansi Totem.

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

"The superman exists, and he is an American."

With those words, the world of WATCHMEN learned of the existence of Doctor Manhattan, formerly Dr. Jon Osterman, after he survived a quantum experiment at the Rockefeller Military Research Center. Gifted with inconceivably godlike powers, Doctor Manhattan found himself further and further removed from humanity as the years went past. Of particular interest was his view of time -- not as a line, not as a waveform of potentials, but as a multi-faceted, immutable solid that could not be changed. Everything was predestination, even his own actions (according to himself).

Touted as "not just a re-telling" of the classic Macross saga by Harmony Gold, Robotech is back this July with all-new adventures by writer Brian Wood and artist Marco Turini.

As a big fan of the 80's cult TV series, I was skeptical when I learned that Titan Comics would be releasing a comic book. I've seen the entire series and own it on DVD. I dismissed it as just something for a new generation of fans.

This isn't the ROBOTECH you grew up with though. It's being pitched as a re-telling and all bets are off, in regards to the safety of each character. With long form comic book storytelling, the characters we know and love can have their story fleshed out a little more. We can get a deeper look into Rick and Roy's relationship and maybe even dive deeper into the romantic confusion that Rick experiences between Minmay and Lisa.

FLASH 22 concludes "The Button," but it's a conclusion that brings with it little in the way of a conclusion. Flash is still in the dark about everything that has gone on, including the death of Eobard Thawne, and Batman is giving serious consideration to chucking the whole Batman thing on the advice of his Flashpoint reality father. (Show of hands: Who thinks he will do it? Hint: Does DC still have solicitations for Batman, Detective, and half the rest of their publication lineup? Right.)

This was teased a while ago, but I was so glad to see the return of Jay Garrick in this week's Flash!   I've been a fan of the character since he served as Impulse's mentor for a while. Amd yes, I know this was spoiled on the cover, but I still totalled geeked out at this panel!

In the comic, Barry Allen doesn't recognize Jay Garrick, so he ends up vanishing back into the speed force, but we've been getting a lot of teases about JSA returning in recent months, so I am taking this as just a quick tease of things to come.

In a tweet put out yesterday, Geoff Johns expressed that everything he's done in comics has led to November's big event: DOOMSDAY CLOCK.

In an interview with SyFyWire, Geoff Johns wanted people to know that the big event was not a sequel to WATCHMEN, and that it will not crossover with any other titles. It will be a self-contained story with "No watered down one-shots or mini-series". That being said, he made sure to note that it will "affect everything moving forward and everything that has come before".

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

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

Photo: "Superman Through the Ages" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Helgi Halldórsson/Freddi
 

Ahead of this year’s long-awaited JUSTICE LEAGUE movie, which features yet another appearance for Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel, we’re here to take a quick look at the few men lucky enough to pull on those famous red underpants for either TV or the silver screen.

The storied history of the Superman character now spans over 80 years, and it’s safe to say there have been quite a few portrayals during that time. Originally conceived by writer Jerry Siegel and illustrator Joe Shuster as a comic book strip, it took a little over a decade before Superman made the all-important leap into the world of cinema.

When The Flash and Batman began to follow the trail of radiation left behind by Eobard Thawne and the mysterious yellow bloodstained smiley-face button, it led them into the past. But the past wasn't what it used to be -- it was the Flashpoint past, a timeline that should have ended when The Flash undid the historical changes he wrought.

But Flashpoint continues to exist, and the two heroes have landed themselves in the Batcave, headquarters of Thomas Wayne who became the Batman when his wife and son were gunned down in an alley. Thomas is in the midst of a suicidal Hail Mary, as the cave is about to be besieged by soldiers from both Atlantis and Themyscira. Batman and Batman fight them off while Barry rebuilds the Cosmic Treadmill, which powers up on its own as soon as its complete, forcing The Flash and Bruce to beat a hasty exit.

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

photo credit: Clint & Jillian Cosplay and Photography with Fali Ruiz-Davila

A moment of honesty is called for here. I could not just dive in and give a simple, glib introduction with something clever about our monthly Bombshell's representation or about whatever holiday might be coinciding with the timing of our publication.

Florencia Sofen's story, just as much as her skills, put me in a position of awed admiration. Her courage to leave her country for one halfway across the world, and her passions that drive her cosplay journey are inspirational.