Comics

Comic books and graphic novels

Tue
03
May

The Longbox Short-List - Week of May 4, 2016

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

Mon
02
May

Front Lines - Mini-Reviews (Week of April 20) - Avengers Standoff, Super-League, Apocalypse Wars, Spider-Women

Action Comics #51 (Super League) by Peter J. Tomasi and Paul Pelletier

Summary: Superman goes to rescue Supergirl from a DEO office in National City, but finds out that she’s not a prisoner.  When Savage took away Superman’s powers, Supergirl’s powers seemed to have vanished as well.  DEO had been helping her recover her powers for short bursts.  

Meanwhile, “Fire Superman” believes that he is Clark Kent, and ends up causing some serious damage to the Daily Planet to anyone who thinks otherwise.  Lois ends up taking him out with a taser.  

Wed
27
Apr

Strange Directions: One Billion Chinese Can't Be Wong

Ancient One Doctor Strange Tilda Swinton Benedict Cumberbatch Wong

Marvel comics hasn't been shy about making movies that stray from the comic book canon. And with the degree of success they've been having, one can hardly fault their logic.

None of which truly explains away the rationale behind the casting of Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One in the upcoming sure-to-be-blockbuster DOCTOR STRANGE.

In the comics, Doctor Stephen Strange is a brilliant but obnoxiously arrogant surgeon. He's Tony Stark with an M.D. (Although since Tony did heart surgery on himself during his origin, his own medical credentials are more than trifling). When Strange suffers a horrible, deadly accident, he encounters the spirit of The Ancient One, a mystic Tibetan who sees potential in Strange to become the next Sorcerer Supreme.

Tue
26
Apr

The Longbox Short-List - Week of April 27, 2016

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

Mon
25
Apr

Front Lines - Mini-Reviews (Week of April 13) - Avengers Standoff, Super-League, Spider-Women, and more

Batman/Superman #31 (Super-League) by Peter J. Tomasi and Doug Mahnke

Summary: Superman goes to see Batman in Gotham.  Superman tells Batman that he’s dying, and he needs Bruce’s help in finding Supergirl.  Superman and Batman are attacked by monsters representing the Chinese Zodiac.  The heroes defeat the monsters, though Superman’s wounds are not healing.  Batman has tracked Supergirl to National City.  We find out that she’s being held in some kind of machine there.

Thu
21
Apr

Open Mike Night: Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files - Wild Card #1


Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Wild Card #1

​Written by: Jim Butcher and Mark Powers
Pencilled by: Carlo Gomez
Colored by:  Mohan
Lettered by: Bill Tortolini
Cover by: Carlos Gomez and Mohan

Tue
19
Apr

The Longbox Short-List - Week of April 20, 2016

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

Mon
18
Apr

Open Mike Night: Jackpot #1 and C-3PO #1


Jackpot #1

​Written by: Ray Fawkes
Art by: Marco Failla
Colored by:  Stafani Rennee
Lettered by: Comicraft’s Jimmy Bentacourt
Cover by: Brain Stelfreeze

Published by: Aftershock
Cover Price: $1.99

Thu
14
Apr

Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber have THE FIX for cliche crime comics

THE FIX #1

Written by: Nick Spencer
Art by: Steve Lieber
Colored by: Ryan Hill
Lettered by: Nic J. Shaw

Published by:Image
Cover Price: $3.99

Warning! This review contains quite a few spoilers!

Wed
13
Apr

Front Lines - Mini-Reviews (Week of April 6) - Avengers Standoff, Super-League, Apocalypse Wars, Spider-Women

Uncanny X-Men #6 by Cullen Bunn and Ken Lashley  

Summary: Psylocke is still looking for any sign that Warren has any consciousness left.  She scans him and finds a vast wasteland in his mind. She believes she’s starting to get through to him. He appears to her as a true Angel. He says that he's here to tell her prophecy.  This wasteland was the town of Green Ridge if she can’t stop Warren.  She sees an army of archangels descending on the destroyed town. And this it is only the beginning.

Wed
13
Apr

Dynamite gives another attempt at bringing back Turok, Solar, and Magnus in Gold Key Alliance #1

It's sad that there have been so many failed attempts to bring the Gold Key characters back. Gold Key was a comic company that started way back in 1962. In addition to licensed books like STAR TREK, they would also put out several new characters in a wide variety of genres, like Magnus Robot Fighter and Turok Dinosaur Hunter. Valiant brought back some of these bigger characters in 1991, to some success. But in later years, Accliam, Dark Horse, and even Dynamite all tried to make another go with these characters only to have them fail badly.

When I think of Gold Key, I can't help but think of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, another old-school property that has made many failed attempts at relaunches over the years.

 

Wed
13
Apr

Mark Millar and Stuart Immonen take us back to Pre-Human Earth in EMPRESS

EMPRESS #1

Written by: Mark Millar
Penciled by: Stuart Immonen
Inked by: Wade Von Growbadger
Colored: Ive Svorcina
Lettered by: Peter Doherty

Published by:Icon
Cover Price: $3.99

Warning! This review contains quite a few spoilers!

Tue
12
Apr

The Longbox Short-List - Week of April 13, 2016

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

Fri
08
Apr

Front Lines - Mini-Reviews (Week of March 30)

X-Men ‘92 #1 by Chris Sims, Chad Bowers, and Alti Firmansyah

Summary: Xavier has announced that the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters would be accepting new students to be trained by the X-Men.  Many of them came from Cassandra Nova’s facility.  The school is pretty chaotic with students rollerblading in the halls and a new overpowered Danger Room.  Beast is teaching the students X-Men 101 when Maverick bursts through the window screaming “X-Men!  They’re coming for you!” He manages to add “It’s all a game” and passes out.

Fri
08
Apr

Solid Independent Film FOUR COLOR EULOGY Hits Big Screen in St. Louis April 8-14

FOUR COLOR EULOGY runs April 8-11 at Ronnie's Theater

There are some things you never bring up in polite conversation with mixed company: politics and religion at the forefront. Everyone has very personal views on both matters and anything contrary to those views can draw ridicule, exasperation or outright anger from the opposite party. Then there are topics that even within a tight circle of friends and family can be contentious. Mortality is a good example. What if someone in the family doesn’t want to be buried but cremated? What if they don’t want to be resuscitated or live solely on life support? What if they don’t want to fight a difficult but potentially beatable disease like cancer? Coming to grips with how a loved one wishes to meet their end on their own terms is an emotional and difficult experience. Now you might think this is a crazy notion, but comic books can be almost as emotional and contentious as death itself. Don’t believe me?

Tue
05
Apr

Wizard World 2016 a bigger attraction than the Arch

Wizard World Saint Louis 2016

This past weekend, Wizard World descended upon Saint Louis in an epic blaze of glory that had this nerd and the throngs of nerd-dom far and wide in 7th Heaven.

 

Tue
05
Apr

The Longbox Short-List - Week of April 6, 2016

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

Thu
31
Mar

Front Lines - Comic Mini-Reviews & DC Rebirth

Extraordinary X-Men #8 (Apocalypse Wars) by Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos (backup by Jeff Lemire and Victor Ibanez)

Summary: Storm has a lot of concerns about the current state of the X-Men.  Are they mutantkind’s saviors or just witnesses to the end? She admits her doubts to Old Man Logan.  They seem to be getting pretty close.  Forge comes in, telling them that Cerebra has located 600 new mutant signatures in a warehouse in Tokyo.  The X-Men team is spread pretty thin, so Colossus decides to take some of the students along with them.  

Tue
29
Mar

The Longbox Short-List - Week of March 30, 2016

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

Tue
22
Mar

Top 10 Superhero Standoffs

Top 10 Superhero Standoffs

Everyone who has ever read superhero comic books knows that the creators always cut loose for the fight scenes -- and there have been some slobberknockers over the past decades! Superman vs. Doomsday. The Thing vs. The Hulk. Superman vs. Captain Marvel. And does anybody remember the standalone independent nothing-but-a-fight-scene comic called DESTROY?

Now with BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE hitting the theaters, we -- with help from the fine folks at www.morphsuits.com -- want to provide a look back at some of the greatest superhero standoffs that have happened on film. So without further ado, Critical Blast is proud to present:

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