While people are choosing their content digitally in droves, there's still an enormous market out there of people who like to have something tangible in their hands when it comes to books, comics, and movies. I know my own DVD collection was getting to be something unweildy, taking up a whole wall of shelving in my house. It really became a hassle when we'd be out and see a Blu-ray or a DVD of a movie we loved, and couldn't remember if we already owned it. I've bought some accidental duplicates on more than one occasion.

RIVERDALE tosses in another callback to the comics this episode as Archie (KJ APA) grows more anxious about the murderer on the loose. Now with Moose Mason (CODY KEARSLEY) and Midge (EMILIJA BARANAC) have both been attacked while parking (they're okay; Moose protected Midge with his body and took a bullet for her), Archie seeks a way to be more pro-active in his hunt.

Meanwhile, we learn that squeaky clean Kevin Keller (CASEY COTT) has been taking late night jogs through the local forest, cruising for gay hookups. He was doing this when he heard the gunshots involving Moose and Midge, and helped get them to safety. But his story doesn't ring true to Betty (LILI REINHART), who cautions Kevin against such activity, particularly with a fugitive on the loose. This causes a rift between the two friends, as Kevin feels like this is his only option for hooking up with other gay guys (although to be honest, for a small town, he hasn't had much of a problem so far in Riverdale).

2017 marks the 50^th Anniversary of the release of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention’s iconic, off-the-beaten-path album ABSOLUTELY FREE. Unlike another, more famous album that got a 50^th anniversary remastered and rereleased, this year, this one is actually worth owning and listening to!

Whereas the “other one” was played with far too much so that it hardly resembled the original at all, the marvelous mastering here seems to have sought out and achieved making the original sound better, but not different, on that magical 180-gram vinyl.

In Seattle 2042, Time Bureau agent Gary (ADAM TSEKHMAN) sends out a distress call when he fails to stop an assassination. That call gets intercepted and answered by the Legends.

In this time period, ARGUS has tossed away their covert nature and taken over, turning the country into a police state. Metahumans are outlawed, as is religion. The guards were trying to take Zari Adrianna Tomaz (TALA ASHE) to their prison, when the transport was interrupted by Kuasa (TRACY IFEACHOR), a metahuman who can transform her body into water. Zari gets away, but is tracked down by the Legends for protection -- which she rejects.

Last December, I talked a bit about THE LAST WITNESS.  As a big fan of THE DESTROYER, I was eager to read the spin-off series LEGACY by Warren Murphy and Gerald Welch.  While I was waiting for the next LEGACY book, Welch had mentioned to me that he had another series called THE LAST WITNESS.  I liked it so much, I ended up reading the first four books of the series over a long weekend. 

THE FLASH continues its fourth-season winning streak with this episode, featuring the advent of Rebecca Sharpe, aka Hazard (SUGAR LYN BEARD), a girl with notoriously bad luck who finally has the tables turn thanks to her becoming a metahuman.

After we learn through The Thinker (NEIL SANDILANDS) and The Mechanic (KIM ENGELBRECHT) just how important Rebecca is to The Thinker's overall plans, we jump to S.T.A.R. Labs, where a breach is opening, and Wally West (KEIYNAN LONSDALE) awaits with a stuffed teddy bear and a bouquet of flowers. But it's not speedster Jesse Quick who comes through the warp, but her father, Harry Wells (TOM CAVANAGH). He's delivering something to Wally: a break-up box. And he's very uncomfortable doing it.

A few years back, I got to speak with cartoonist Tom Batiuk about the fortieth anniversary of his strip, Funky Winkerbean. And then something happened that doesn't often happen to comic strip artists.

Tom got nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. And then he was a finalist for the award.

The notice came for Tom's work on the Funky Winkerbean strip that focused on a longtime favored character developing breast cancer. The strips were collected into three volumes, to bring LISA'S LEGACY to the world.

So when I was told that Tom was going to be in St. Louis on a book signing tour, I jumped at the opportunity to talk with him a little bit more (and couldn't resist bringing my first four volumes of THE COMPLETE FUNKY WINKERBEAN with me, because it couldn't hurt, right?) about this incredible journey he's been taking through the funny pages.

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!

In 1987, Richard Simmons was a phenomenon. The health guru made a splash by going from fat to thin, then turning his exuberant personality loose on America to inspire millions of others to join him. And it worked! Everyone found a way to follow Richard's advice.

One of the more famous methods Simmons employed to get people up and moving was his video excercise course, SWEATIN' TO THE OLDIES, which was a group excercise method of dancing to classic rock songs. With Richard at the lead, and a group representative of a variety of body types (unlike so many excercise videos where it's you and the perfectly scuplted instructors), fans across the country were getting up off the couch and onto their feet, getting their heart rates up and their weights down.

It was so successful that it expanded four more times, so that there were ultimately five collections of excercise dance routines.

As Lucifer (TOM ELLIS) works on getting back to the Devil he used to be, he's caught in flagrante delicto with a judge's wife (KELLY DOWDLE). But Lucifer being Lucifer strikes a deal with the judge (TEEN WOLF's JOHN POSEY) for what the judge really desires -- which, at his age, is a nap and to get back with his ex-wife rather than the several-years-younger yoga instructor. Lucifer is happy to oblige, but now the judge owes him a favor.

At the precinct, Detective Chloe Decker (LAUREN GERMAN) asks for more responsibilities from her CO, Lietenant Marcus Pierce (TOM WELLING). She wants to be the new union rep, and Pierce shoots down her request without explanation. But a new body has dropped, so he tells her to get on that instead. Ella (AIMEE GARCIA) oversees the meeting and thinks the body language indicates that Pierce is very into Chloe, which Chloe sincerely doubts.

When the weather starts to turn crisp and the leaves start to fall, you know you're in for three months in a row of...Charlie Brown?

If you had the right kind of upbringing, then that's how you think. There's a whole generation of us out there who had their childhood holidays shaped by the television specials that came with them. (This is back in the day when they only came on once a year, did not repeat, were not recorded on any medium, and could not be purchased. Prehistoric, I know.) Chief amont those specials were the jazz-filled comforting animated cartoons of Charle's M. Schulz's PEANUTS characters.

Starting with October, it was IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN. A month later, it was popcorn and jellybeans for A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING, all leading up to the big kahuna of the trilogy, A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS.

Jump up, kick back, whip around and spin in another exciting season of LEGO NINJAGO. Yes, it's a LEGO animated series, and, yes, that means it comes with all the requisite silliness inherent in the LEGO universe of stories. And yet, the NINJAGO episodes somehow also carry a certain soap opera element to them that draws you in. Kids and adults alike will get sucked into the plot, actually caring about the characters and being surprised at plot twists.

The story begins 40 years in the past, when a younger Master Wu (Paul Dobson) and his elemental ninja friends batted two of their own: twin brothers Krux (MICHAEL DAINGERFIELD) and Acronix (IAN HANLIN), who were the masters of the element of time and felt they should control everything. The nina defeated the twins -- or so they thought. Krux disappeared, and Acronix was sucked into a time portal.

From BBC:

Jodie Whittaker, who takes over as the 13th Doctor next year, will be joined by Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill, as well as Sharon D Clarke in a returning role.

Walsh will star as Graham, Cole will play Ryan and Gill will play Yasmin.  Walsh said he was looking forward to being part of the show - some 50 years after first becoming a fan.

---

Bradley Walsh

This is just another interesting career move for the man with one of the most varied CVs in showbusiness.

Walsh is best-known for hosting game shows like The Chase and Wheel of Fortune, and will be familiar to Coronation Street fans for playing Danny Baldwin between 2004-06.

When The Masked Ace was looking at the card for TLC, he was not all that impresed.  There were two big draw matches: the Shield VS Miz, Cesaro, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, and Kane in a TLC match and The Demon Vs Sister Abigail.  But, the Universal, Intercontinental, and Tag Titles were not being defended.  And the rest of the card was three women’s matches (one featured the debut of Asuka on the main roster) and two cruiserweight matches.

Season Four finds Queen Mary rising to the challenge, taking back her country and establishing her rule in Scotland. The land of Mary's birth has become a wild and foreign nation, boasting a new court with new players, including her half-brother, James, and new suitors. The French court has changed ranks too, with Catherine's high-strung brood constantly at each other's throats.

While the pageantry of an ambitious wedding and a royal birth distracts from passionate exploits and a rising body count behind castle walls, England's Queen Elizabeth seeks to topple Mary's throne. As the regal rulers make strategic choices and brutal sacrifices, their fates become increasingly entwined.

REIGN's final 16 episodes teem with high stakes and unexpected betrayals that will change history forever. Long live the queen!

Ever since Butch Gilzean (DREW POWELL) was shot in the head, and we learned his true name was Cyrus Gold, fans have been waiting for him to resurrect as Solomon Grundy. Tonight, that wait is over.

As is typical in Gotham, no one is ever truly dead. Must be something in the water. That's certainly the case for Butch. He wasn't killed, but was put into a coma and kept at the hospital for six months. But space is at a premium, and if you've been there long enough, the hospital has a policy of transferring patients "upstate." Which is code for taking them by amulance to Slaughter Swamp and dumping their bodies into the water. But tonight there truly is something in the water: toxic waste, leaking from barrels that are clearly marked INDIAN HILL. (Isn't it nice of companies to plainly label their illegal dumping so it can be tracked back to them so easily?) 

What did we talk about on Critical Blast this week?

Reviews

Since running for (and subsequently winning) the office of President, Donald Trump has been compared to many things and called many names. Most of them have not been very nice. And even the nice comparisons have never equated the man with a cuddly bunny.

Every administration spawns collections of political cartoons that critique the administration and the policies. But Timothy Lim, Mark Pellegrini, and Brett R. Smith have gone against that grain, and produced a collection of, quite frankly, adorable anthropomorphic cartoons documenting the Trump administration in three acts, beginning with the declaration, then the campaign, and finally the inauguration.

This episode of RIVERDALE takes its name from the famous Edward Hopper painting; appropriate, since most of the action of this episode centers around Pop's Chock'lit Shop. It should be a "come together and save a landmark" kind of uplifting chapter in the series. But this is RIVERDALE, and so this is perhaps the darkest, most non-Archie-like episode yet.