Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 04/14/2015 - 03:00
I think Valiant has been very smart about limiting the number of books they put out at one time. There have been some new series, but for the most part, they have kept their number of books very consistent. The original Valiant seemed to expand way too quickly, and as a result, they had a lot of books put out by weak creative teams. Valiant seems to have a good plan in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
One thing that’s odd about the comic industry is that in order to help sell books, we get to see solicits of upcoming titles months in advance. So that tends to diminish some shocking moments. For example, at the end of The Valiant, before she dies, the Geomancers last act is to free Bloodshot from the nanites in his system, turning him human again. But, since we already knew there was an issue called Bloodshot Reborn, coming out a few weeks later, it was obvious this wouldn’t stick.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 04/14/2015 - 03:00
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!
Fox #1 - Black Hood has been excellent, and The Fox has an extra bonus of being written by Mark Waid. So this is definitely my early pick for book of the week...though there is a lot of competition.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Mon, 04/13/2015 - 12:39
This is the trailer Marvel posted this morning. It definitely looks like it will live up to the terrific movies Marvel has been putting out the last few years. I'm still not sure Ant-Man needs his own movie, but at least the movie does look pretty awesome. I laughed when Lang says "my days of breaking into places to steal stuff are over. What do you want me to do?" and Pym replies, "I want you to break into some place to steal some stuff."
If nothing else, the effects look incredible. And the Yellowjacket costume looks incredible. I was actually thinking that Pym was going to end up having a split personality and secretly be Yellowjacket, but the trailer definitely suggests otherwise.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Sun, 04/12/2015 - 03:00
Convergence: Speed Force #1 by Tony Bedard and Tom Grummett
About a year ago, Wally West and his twins felt something calling them to Gotham. They arrive there just in time for the dome to appear stranding them from Linda and taking away their powers. A year later, Wally has been spending his time trying to break free. Once the dome falls, Flash is supposed to fight Flashpoint Wonder Woman, but he decides to break the rules and races off to try and help other cities that were taken here by Telos. He ends up in El Inferno, which has already fallen. Telos warns Flash if he refuses to fight, his family will fall too. Flash races through the various cities trying to find his way back to Gotham. He encounters Fastback, a speedster turtle from Captain Carrot's world. Fastback proposes all the speedsters team up, but they are interrupted by the arrival of Wonder Woman and an army of Amazons.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Sat, 04/11/2015 - 03:00
As I was sitting down with my tablet trying to figure out which Convergence titles I wanted to review this week, I suddenly had the idea “LET’S DO THEM ALL!” This probably was a terrible idea, and speaks to mental illness, but let’s try this! I am posting this in two parts. Convergence 0, Convergence 1, and the first five issues today (alphabetically) and the rest tomorrow.
Submitted by Critical Blast Staff on Fri, 04/10/2015 - 03:00
by Mike Maillaro and Mike Weaver
Maillaro: This column might look a little familiar. Last week, we reviewed Convergence 0 and 100 Bullets Vol. 1. Both books left us in a place where it felt like there was more to talk about as the two series continued, so we decided to give Convergence 1 and 100 Bullets Vol. 2 a shot this week.
Picking up from the ashes of SON OF BATMAN, BATMAN VS ROBIN pits father against son in one of the most dysfunctional family dynamics that could be imagined.
Damian Wayne (Stuart Allan) is a ten-year-old assassin, trained by the best in the business. His bloodlust is potentially inborn, what with having Talia al Ghul as a mother. United with his father, Bruce Wayne (Jason O'Mara) for the first time has been tumultuous at best, as Damian is eager to accompany his father in the battle against crime as Batman and Robin. Only this Robin has to be reined in to keep him from killing the bad guys.
As BATMAN VS ROBIN opens, Robin has gone off on his own in search of some missing children taken by The Dollmaker ("Weird Al" Yankovic). It is during this encounter that Robin meets Talon (Jeremy Sisto), who fights like Batman but isn't timid about crossing the line of taking lives. He offers Robin an opportunity to join him, which Robin begins to seriously consider.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Wed, 04/08/2015 - 03:00
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!
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 04/07/2015 - 09:18
When I did my review of Legenderry Green Hornet, I mentioned that I loved Dynamite’s out-of-the-box crossovers like Legenderry and Song of Sorrows. Writing this review, it occurred to me that I completely forgot to mention Masks. Huge mistake on my part!
Masks was a team-up of many of Dynamite’s pulp characters. This year, Dynamite decided to up the ante with Masks 2. Masks 2 is going to feature pulp heroes from the 30’s, 70’s, and modern day all dealing with the same threat, a new villain called The Red Death. I actually still have not read Masks, but when I saw Cullen Bunn was doing Masks 2, I decided to check this series out. I am a huge fan of Bunn's work, and he is the perfect fit for this kind of pulp adventure.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 04/07/2015 - 03:00
When someone asks "which comic company does the best licensed comics?" my typical answer has been IDW. IDW has a wide range of titles from Star Trek to G.I. Joe to My Little Pony, and they are adding Disney titles in the upcoming months. But in the last few weeks, I've had a chance to check out some of Dynamite's offerings, and I have to admit, IDW has some serious competition here.
IDW Publishing, CBS Consumer Products and DC Entertainment announced today that they will boldly go where no one has gone before…in brightest day, in blackest night.
Two iconic franchises will meet this summer in a legendary crossover event with the release of a six-part comic book miniseries, STAR TREK/GREEN LANTERN: THE SPECTRUM WAR. Both Star Trek and Green Lantern are known for their strong cast of interstellar characters, and when they come together for the first time this July, fans new and old are sure to experience a galaxy-sized thrill.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Sat, 04/04/2015 - 12:50
Star Wars Rebels has provided fans with a look at the early days of the Rebellion. At times, it's been a little strange watching Rebels, because I keep find myself wondering what happens to the characters between now and A New Hope. I assume most of them have to have been killed at some point, maybe some kind of huge sacrifice that helped move the Rebellion to the next level. Otherwise, maybe we will get Disney Special Editions with the Rebels characters being added via CGI to the original trilogy. I am not advocating for that idea...please put down the pitchforks.
Throughout Rebels first season, Kanan has been pretty stingy about giving his back story. We knew he was a Jedi at some point, but not much else. This miniseries is set during the Clone Wars and looks to fill in some of the blanks.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Fri, 04/03/2015 - 10:41
It has to be ridiculously difficult to do to a project like Batman Eternal. 52 issues weekly, with a massive creative team and several major plot threads that had to all be tied together in a neat little bow. Not to mention because of the structure of the story, many Batman stories that came out during Batman Eternal ended up being set AFTER Batman Eternal.
So, I have to give the editorial team a huge round of applause for the work they did here. Batman Eternal truly is a masterpiece, one of the best Batman epics I've ever read. I had all but given up on Batman over the last few years, but between Batman Eternal, Tomasi's work on Batman and Robin, and Snyder's run on Batman, I have found myself enjoying the Batfamily more than I have in a long time.
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Wed, 04/01/2015 - 12:17
I will admit, I had never heard of Masked (or the original French series which was called Masqué). But Titan had sent us a press release saying it was like "Superman meets Blade Runner." So I decided to check it out.
This collection is translated versions of Masqué 1-4. Clearly the originals were not "full length" comics, as we tend to view them in America. This entire collection is only 48 pages.
Masked Vol. 1 - Anomalies
Written by: Serge Lehman Penciled by: Stephane Crety Inked by: Julien Hogonnard-Bert Colored by: Gaetan Georges Lettered by: Kirsten Murphy Translated by: Edward Gauvin
Published by: Titan Cover Price: $14.99
Warning! This review contains quite a few spoilers!
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 03/31/2015 - 03:00
My go to website for Comic Releases was down the last few days, and I am posting this long in advance because I will be away. I got this from Comixology, and I can see one big mistake on it already. They list Secret Six #4 as coming out, and issue 3 still hasn't come out. So BUYER BEWARE!
It's a huge week for DC with the three weekly series ending (Batman Eternal, World's End, Future's End) and Convergence starting. I have said a few times that it felt like these series were dragging a little to get to the end, but for the most part I've really enjoyed them. I hope they all come to satisfying ends!
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Tue, 03/24/2015 - 03:00
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!
Submitted by Mike 'Ace' Maillaro on Sat, 03/21/2015 - 03:00
Mark Millar's writing tends to be hit or miss for me. I think he has a ton of great ideas, but sometimes his execution leaves me a little flat. BUT, Mark Millar is actually one of my favorite people in the comic industry. He seems to love the fans and always seems to be having a good time. I met him in Columbus, Ohio at a comic convention years ago during a nasty rainy, snowy weekend. The fire alarm kept going off at the convention, and the fire department kept evacuating us out into the rain and snow. Despite this, Mark Millar stayed in good spirits, continuing to sign autographes, draw sketches (my wife asked him to draw Batman, and he did it without hesitation), and tell hilarious stories. Just for that alone, I will pretty much always give his book a fair shot.
Last year, he launched two mini-series for Image: MPH and Starlight. Both books were great. So when I heard he was doing a time travel series named Chrononauts, I had to check it out.
Submitted by Grey Scherl on Fri, 03/20/2015 - 14:44
So the other night I’m sitting around with my best friend, and I’m gushing about the finale of Spider-verse...which isn’t as easy at it sounds. See, she’s not a regular reader, and when it comes to Spider-Man, she’s a never-reader. This means I had to break down the context for each and every individual thing I wanted to gush over. Not a problem! I do that kind of shit for fun! The real trick, and this is the accomplishment, is afterwards when she asks me for a reading order so she can get in on it.
Submitted by Critical Blast Staff on Thu, 03/19/2015 - 10:08
Amazing Spider-Man #16.1
Written by: Gerry Conway Penciled by: Carlo Barberi Inked by: Juan Vlasco Colored by: Israel Silva Lettered by: VC’s Joe Caramagna Cover by: Arthur Adams and Sonia Oback
Batman Eternal #52
