Comics

A-Force #1 by Marguerite Bennett, G. Willow Wilson, and Jorge Molina

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!  We're way behind this week (damn holiday weekend), so this one is going to be quick.

Comics Shipping This Week

We spend so much time talking about Secret Wars and Convergence, so I am starting off this week with the "other" summer crossovers.

It's been a week now since we bid adieu to the first season of CW's THE FLASH -- and we still can't stop talking about it! So rather than keep the discussion just around the Critical Blast virtual water cooler, we thought we should let our readers in on the conversation.

Have something to add? That's what the Disqus comments below are for. Please, throw your thoughts into the pot!

R.J. Carter: This is where it was all supposed to come together and make sense. And yet, I’m left with more questions than ever. Is Barry living in an alternate timeline ever since he stopped the tidal wave? Did he just disappear from that Central City? And if Eobard Thawne is out of the picture -- might we still see Harrison Wells in Season Two?

Amid a somewhat tamer St. Louis Comic Con this year, one of the highlights was the Behind the scenes with CW's The Flash with Liam McIntyre and Rick Cosnett panel. Rick (Eddie Thawne) and Liam (The Weather Wizard) were all smiles when they entered the room and immediately started joking with the crowd. Rick even sent Liam into the audience saying this was his panel, but Liam quickly returned to the microphone.

Liam started by asking Rick, "I hope you can talk a lot, because I can talk a lot." Rick continued on by asking who had seen the season finale to which most the hands in the room went up. Then he apologized to those who hadn’t because he was sure there would be spoilers.

And spoilers there were. (**SPOILER WARNING** if you haven't seen The Flash season finale you might want to stop reading until you have).

It's been said that every comic book is somebody's first comic book. I guess a corollary to that is that every superhero is somebody's favorite superhero.

Case in point: The Human Torch. This hotheaded member of the Fantastic Four started out as a teenaged, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian, just like his timid sister. And he's been that way pretty much since the 1960s, save for some very minor adjustments to his age.

I have been to all three of the Wizard World Comicons here in Saint Louis, and I have mixed emotions about this one. The second year was better than the previous. I know not every year can always be better and at best it is all subjective anyway. Still, since this was only the 3^rd time for the event here in St Louie, I was expecting it to be at least as good and as star studded as the others.

It seemed, though, as the year progressed leading up to this weekend, that the talent that was being signed, while good, was not up to the caliber of the previous two years. Again, I know this is all subjective but compared to who I saw was going to appear at the other WW Comicons throughout the country, the show here in Saint Louis was not getting those who I consider A-Listers. Maybe because this year it was being held on Memorial Day weekend and everyone had plans? I don’t know.

I've been a regular at comic and sci-fi conventions, or whatever you want to call them these days, since the '80s.  The experience has changed quite a bit in those decades.  In the past, they were mostly a place to shop for merchandise and meet creators.  Today cosplay, video games, movies, and, most especially, celebrity signings, are the predominant aspect of cons.  Geek has inherited the Earth and everyone wants to take part in the fun.  That popularity has caused ticket prices to spike, show floors to be overcrowded places impossible to navigate, and worst of all, it's increasingly difficult to get tickets for San Diego Comic Con or New York Comic Con.

Thor #8 finally reveals who our mysterious new Thor is. More on that later. So many people discussing this issue (really this whole series) have only focused on the mystery, but I also want to point out that Thor has been an excellent comic series. Jason Aaron continues to give us a fresh and creative look a Thor’s mythology each and every month.

Thor #8

Written by: Jason Aaron
Art by: Russel Dauterman
Cover by: Sean Chen
Colored by: Matthew Wilson
Lettered by: VC’s Joe Sabino

Published by: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99

Warning! This review contains quite a few spoilers!

Blast of the Week -  What do you think about Marvel and DC’s upcoming film projects?

Mike Maillaro: After all that talk about Avengers: Age of Ultron last week, I couldn’t help but think about all the movies Marvel and DC have already announced over the next five years.  These slates are pretty ambitious to say the least….21 movies already announced and scheduled.  

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

Convergence Week 7 - Only two weeks left of Convergence. Honestly, week 3 was probably my least favorite of the first issues, but there are still some I am really looking forward to. Batman and the Outsiders, Justice League America, New Teen Titans, Wonder Woman.

by Michael Maillaro, Michael Weaver, and Guest Writer Graham “Grey” Scherl

Captain America and the Mighty Avengers #8 (Secret Wars: Last Days) by Al Ewing and Luke Ross

by Michael Maillaro, Michael Weaver, and Guest Writer Graham “Grey” Scherl

Front Lines is Critical Blast’s weekly roundup of all the Convergence and Secret Wars action going on.  We do this so you don’t have to.

You’re welcome!  

Special thanks this week to Grey who jumped in to help out with our main reviews!

Maillaro: We really needed a break from all the EVENTS we’ve been covering lately, so we retreated to cover some Image stuff.   This week, we hit Ellis’s new series, Injection, and flash back to look at the first Saga trade.

I know what everyone's going to say at the end of this trailer: How come everyone in the cast already seems to know that Kara is Supergirl? Her sister, her boyfriend, James (not Jimmy) Olsen (played by Mehcad Brooks), the DEO agent. Didn't THE FLASH take a whole season to do that (and he's supposed to be the fast one)? Seems the only one who doesn't know is Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) who named the Maid of Might after her initial appearance.

I really loved Peter Capaldi’s first season playing The Doctor. I even took the time to review every episode as they aired, something I plan on doing again this season. I was fortunate enough to get the first issue of this series at New York Comic Con before it was available for sale, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. When Titan reached out to us about reviewing the first collection, I had to take advantage.

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: Volume 1 - Terrorformer

Written by: Robbie Morrison
Art by: Dave Taylor and Mariano Laclaustra
Colored by: Hi-Fi and Luis Guerrero
Lettered by: Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt

Published by: Titan
Cover Price: $19.99

This collection contains Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor #1-5.

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

From Yahoo News:

Archie Comics, the acclaimed and bestselling comic book publisher that is home to some of the best-known pop culture creations in the world, including Archie, Jughead, Betty & Veronica, Josie & The Pussycats, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the hit AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE series, announced today that it would launch a historic crowdfunding campaign via the popular Kickstarter platform.

The Kickstarter campaign’s call to action is a simple one: Help Archie Comics build a New Riverdale. Specifically, the Kickstarter will ask fans to help fund a slate of titles that build off the surefire success of ARCHIE #1 ­­­­­— the debut issue of a new, ongoing ARCHIE series from writer Mark Waid (Daredevil, Kingdom Come) and artist Fiona Staples (Saga). The series will be crafted by some of the biggest names in the comic book industry and feature the most beloved characters in comic book history.

Blast of the Week -  What did you think of Avengers: Age of Ultron?

By Mike Maillaro and Mike Weaver

Convergence:  Nightwing and Oracle #2 by Gail Simone and Jan Durrsema

By Mike Maillaro and Mike Weaver

Front Lines is Critical Blast's weekly look at the "reality changing" events going on in the DC and Marvel universe.  For the first month, we had a little bit of a cushion as we were only talking about Convergence. But now Secret Wars is in full swing too, so May is going to be a VERY busy month for your Front Lines team.

Secret Wars