Comics

Dynamite's reimagining of the Gold Key heroes -- Magnus, Robot Fighter; Turok, Son of Stone; The Mighty Samson; Solar -- reaches its third chapter in GOLD KEY: ALLIANCE. And while there's not an alliance to be had as yet, as none of the characters has even met, let alone have been proven to co-exist in the same story universe, Phil Hester has still set up some interesting plots that are starting to make the separate adventure have a cohesion.

When Magnus hunts down the kidnapped Leeja, he has to battle past a giant android. During the battle, he begins to see himself as a robotic prize fighter in a ring, not an agent in a street fight. His reality returns to him just in time to find Leeja at the mercy of the Mekman -- but what was this vision about?

The BBC instant hit series, SHERLOCK, has already seen adaptation into manga. However, unless you can read Japanese, you probably did not know this nor did you care.

But now Titan Comics has released the English language version of the story for the first time in the US and the UK -- and the game is afoot. Okay, technically it's a comic, not a foot, but you get the idea.

SHERLOCK: A STUDY IN PINK is a straight up adaptation of the television pilot episode, released in chapter format. The script by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss loses none of its urgency under the adaptive care of Jay (just Jay). The minimalistic manga rendition of the characters nonetheless manages to completely capture the likenesses of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in their roles of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in crisp, bold lines.

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

Wacky Raceland #1 - Wasn't expecting to put this on my list, but I really enjoyed Future Quest and Scooby Doo, so figured why not give it a shot. Take Wacky Races, set it in a Mad Max like future, and you have one hell of a strange concept for a comic. 

Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 by Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz

Summary: Captain America is tracking down a Hydra cell that hijacked a train and are looking to use it to detonate an explosive device in Penn Station.  Rick Jones is assisting him looking to counter-hack the Hydra agent controlling the train. Cap and Rick (along with Jack Staff and Free Spirit) manage to save the day, though the Hydra agent on the train sets off a suicide vest to kill himself.  Cap feels some compassion for this kid who had a rough life and was manipulated by Hydra.

Scooby Apocalypse #1

Plots and Breakdowns: Keith Giffen
Dialogue: JM DeMatteis
Pencils and Inks: Howard Porter
Colored by: Hi-Fi
Lettered by:Nick J Nap

Published by: DC
Cover Price: $3.99

DC Rebirth #1

Written by: Geoff Johns
Art by: Gary Frank, Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Phil Jimenez, Matt Santorelli
Colored by: Brad Anderson, Jason Wright, Hi-fi, Gabe Eltaeb
Lettered by: Nick J. Napolitano

Published by: DC
Cover Price: $2.99

The Superman/Wonder Woman 'status quo' was a point of contention since it's inception back in 2012. Whether you were shipping the "power couple" or "Clois", the line was clearly drawn among fans as to which love story would prove to be the greatest of all.

And while recent events have put a damper on the future of the "power couple", in 2015 one thing was very clear: Their story was well received by fans of Superman/Wonder Woman. Taking in a whopping 45% of the vote, with the runner-up coming from the pages of Zenescope's Robyn Hood, the winner of Critical Blast's 'Best of 2015' award for best comic book story is:

When Image Comics launched the epic space opera/fantasy series, SAGA, they may not have known the kind of cult following it would accrue. Never mind the fact that series artist Fiona Staples had already been an Eisner Award nominee for her work on NORTH 40. However, since its inception in 2012, the series has skyrocketed in popularity and has become one of Image’s most talked about titles.

Between 2103 and 2015, series artist Fiona Staples has won multiple Eisner and Harvey awards for her beautiful work. The multi-talented Staples not only handles pencils for SAGA, but she’s also the inker and colorist as well.

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

Okay, I'm going to start out saying this: Do not toy with my emotions, Archie Comics! Do not make me wait almost another year for the next installment of this series! I'd been told by my local comics shop guy that the series had been cancelled. I'd gone through my however-many stages of grief and had come to terms with the fact that the best series in all of comics simply had ceased to be.

And then, like the zombies who populate this new world of Riverdale, the series shambled back onto the shelf -- having lost none of its quality, none of its spirit, and none of its overall creepiness. Maybe I will get to find out the rest of the backstory to the Blossoms. Maybe I will get to see more of Jughead's ghost. Maybe I will get to see AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #10 in my lifetime.

At least, I'd better!

When it comes to writing, the most challenging format has probably got to be writing comics for an established character. You don't have a blank slate, you've got players with a history of interactions, burdened with years of baggage that you can't just shrug off; characters who have seen it all, done it all, showed it all -- and you're tasked with using them in new ways for an audience that has read it all.

It can be done, but rarely, and when it is, it gets people's attention.

Scott Snyder, you've got our attention.

Action Comics #52 (Super-League) by Peter J. Tomasi, Dale Eaglesham, and Scot Eaton

Summary: Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman are heading back to the Batcave to try and get a lead on “Fire Superman.”  Superman’s powers are fading; he even ends up almost falling out of the sky while trying to fly.

Mae #1

I'm old. No, I mean I'm ancient. Yesterday I rounded the corner on forty-nine, and for my birthday DC put out a bunch of books. Never mind that it was a Wednesday anyway. I'm old, let me think what I want to think.

Being old, I'm jaded. I was a comics reader -- a DC reader -- at the twilight of the Silver Age, into the dawn of the Bronze Age. And, God help me, I've tried to stick with it through the years, through all the twists and turns, the bad decisions and some good ones. I'd pretty much given up through the New 52, reading only a very few titles that still made sense to my history-filled mind that wouldn't let go of the past. So when I saw that DC was going through a "Rebirth" my initial reactions were cynical: "Well, that sure lasted a long time."

So, everyone has seemed to have lost their shit today with the reveal of Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 that CAPTAIN AMERICA HAS BEEN HYDRA FROM DAY ONE!! 

Now, I do plan on writing a review of this issue in next week's Front Lines column, I have had to argue against this stupidity all day, so I figure I would do it on my home turf.  I love how worked up people are about this. You can tell none of them actually read the comics that lead into this. Avengers Standoff offers at least three possible explanations for how this comic went down.

1. Red Skull mind implant after their encounter in Avengers Standoff

Announced on EW.com the digital comic service, comiXology, has launched a new NETFLIX-style service that allows users to read unlimited digital comic books for a flat monthly fee.

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

I guess summer comic season has officially started, because this is a massive week for me with lots of real big books.

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

Milo Manara is an unquestionable master of the erotic female form -- his much maligned Spider-Woman notwithstanding, he work on books like BUTTERSCOTCH and CLICK are highlights of a medium that, understandably, doesn't get a lot of publicity.

In GULLIVERA, Manara takes a distaff view of Jonathan Swift's GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, turning them into a somewhat erotic tour de force while simultaneously incorporating much of the original source material.

Gullivera is a lovely young lady on holiday, taking the opportunity to float out into the water on an inflatable for some nude sunbathing. When she loses her suit, she swims to an odd boat that has been docked in the harbor for some time with no signs of life. When she puts on the tricorner hat she finds, a storm whips up from nowhere and blows the ship to sea.

Thunderbolts (2016) #1