I'm used to seeing Archie Andrews with red hair. I'm used to seeing him drive a red car.

But I never thought I'd see him with a red Solo cup.

But that's just how things roll in RIVERDALE, the edgy, angsty version of the classic comics characters where everybody is broken, everyone has a secret, and the best people are the ones who live in the morally lighter gray areas than others.

At issue this week is Jughead's birthday party. The thing is, Jug (COLE SPROUSE) doesn't like celebrating his birthday. He really doesn't like celebrating it. So when Betty (LILI REINHART) decides she's going to throw him a party, Archie (KJ APA) tries his best to talk her out of it. But Betty is headstrong and won't be denied, so Archie volunteers his house -- which is going to be empty this weekend, because his dad (LUKE PERRY) is out of town to finalize divorce papers with his mom! So, yeah, Archie is at the top of his angst game right now.

The New York Yankees played the Orioles close in their last series until finally breaking through with a win in the final game.

Since entering fatherhood, I have encountered a new phenomenon in publishing. Well, it's new to me, anyway. Prior to my graduation, books were things that had a cover -- either hard or soft -- and pages in between. Sometimes pictures. (Okay, quite often lots of pictures. I read a lot of graphic novels.)

Once the short human took up residence, however, I found completely different kinds of books. Not just the kind where each and every page was a half-inch thick cardboard slab (that he still managed to chew the corners off of; beaver DNA, don't ya know?) . No, these were "activity" books. They had compartments in the back to store things, like miniature charactes and a roll out map of a scene on which the characters would play. Where was this when I was trying to map out troop movements while reading LORD OF THE RINGS?

Thomas Pavitte's MARVEL: SPIDER-MAN 1000 DOT-TO-DOT BOOK makes anyone able to render drawings of their favorite Spider-man characters. Featuring twenty scenes -- including a double-sized spread pull-out -- and printed on heavy stock, single-sided pages, each of these pages will keep you busily entertained for hours.

Yes, hours. Did I fail to mention there are 1000 connections in each drawing?

Now, any kid who's done dot-to-dots before can tell you -- the more dots you have, the more detailed your finished drawing will be. So you can imagine the kind of results you'll get with 1000 dots! The good news is that the pages are huge -- 9 1/2" by 14" -- so there's a large canvass to work on. The bad news is that, well, there are 1000 dots! And since some of the lines trace back over themselves, there's a handy color-coding in place so that you don't get lost.

Oh, Aimee Ray. You have such confidence in my cutting, stitching, and stuffing talents where I know there is none. Nevertheless, your project kit, MARVEL UNIVERSE FELT, appeals to me.

This boxed kit contains nearly everything you need to complete ten projects, each producing a huggable hero. Using the templates and the sheets of colored felt, you can cut out the pieces for Iron Man, Falcon, Rocket Raccoon (ohhhh yeahhh), Black Widow, Hulk, She-Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange -- presented in increasing order of difficulty. The kit also provides the stuffing and sewing floss, as well as instructions so simplistically presented that even I could follow them! All you need to bring is your scissors, your needle, and your willingness to take on the projects.

The Triforce is real, the legend is real... THE STRUGGLE IS REAL! OH MY GOD THE STRUGGLE!

Continuing the project of using DC Superheroes as object lessons for young readers such as BEDTIME FOR BATMAN and GOOD MORNING, SUPERMAN, author Michael Dahl delivers an example for young girls with BE A STAR, WONDER WOMAN!

With delightful illustrations from Omar Lozano, BE A STAR, WONDER WOMAN! focues on a young Hispanic girl facing the challenges of her school day while, in parallel, Wonder Woman takes on the challenges of a fight between two monsters controlled by her foe, Circe. Readers will learn the lessons of peacemaking and bravery, while being shown that it's okay to ask for help from your friends when its needed (making way for a cameo appearance from Supergirl, Batgirl and Bumblebee in Wonder Woman's adventure).

ENTER THE WARRIORS GATE is a certifiable bomb. It probably won't even score above 30% on Rotten Tomatoes. As a matter of fact it already opened in China to a paltry $3.2 million; which means I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Luc Besson made this movie for me.

A trailer for the movie, whose most recognizable actor isn't even its main character, takes us on a journey that gamers would appreciate.

Just read the plot synopsis so you understand what I mean:

Look! Up near the sky boxes! It's a Raven! It's a Viking!

No, it's all those things and more -- because at Wizard World Saint Louis, fans got to meet professional cosplayer, Super Kayce!

During the mayhem that constitutes a media convention like Wizard World, I was able to meet up with Kayce for a few moments to ask her about her art. The exchange has been recorded for posterity and presented for the readers (in this case, viewers) of Critical Blast.

Burbank, CA, April 11, 2017 – Bring home the year’s funniest family adventure when “The LEGO® Batman Movie,” arrives onto Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD. The film features Will Arnett who reprises his starring role from “The LEGO Movie,” as the voice of LEGO Batman, aka Bruce Wayne.

The film also features Zach Galifianakis (the “Hangover” films, “Muppets Most Wanted”) starring as The Joker; Michael Cera (TV’s “Arrested Development”) as the orphan Dick Grayson; Rosario Dawson (TV’s “Daredevil”) as Barbara Gordon; and Ralph Fiennes (the “Harry Potter” films) as Alfred.

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

It was once said that there are two kinds of people in this world: people from Brooklyn, and people who wish they were. In the newest album from Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights, BROOKLYN BABY, we have a kids’ record by a bona fide Brooklynite, with many songs centered on kids growing up and living in that wonderful corner of the world.

Marv Wolfman and George Perez's NEW TEEN TITANS: THE JUDAS CONTRACT is one of the seminal stories in comics history. Not just a four-part tale, the story served as an endcap to a long-running plot, revealing that one of the Teen Titans had actually been operating undercover as a spy for Deathstroke, the Terminator.

While this story couldn't be captured accurately in the DC Animated Universe, writer Ernie Altbacker and director Sam Liu came as darn close as they could to the feel of that story and its touchstones, while also staying true to the established DCAU continuity.

The film opens with a vignette of the original Teen Titans: Robin (the Dick Grayson incarnation), Speedy and Kid Flash, with Beast Boy and Bumblebee taking the places of Aqualad and Wonder Girl. The scene details their first encounter with Starfire as they find her in battle with aliens. It's also the first kiss between Robin and Starfire, since Tamaranians absorb language through kissing.

One of the real pleasures of attending a convention is to take in all the cosplay -- the good and, yes, the bad. And among the most impressive cosplayers this year at Wizard World St. Louis had to have been Ashe Lynne, who spent Friday saluting the fans as a stunning Captain Marvel.

We caught up with Ashe on Saturday, when she had transformed herself into X-Man Jean Grey in her White Phoenix of the Crown aspect.

Offline, we spoke more about her Disney experiences, so if I'm ever in a parade, I know exactly how to get the wave correct. ("Wipe the window. Get the spot.")

Wizard World St. Louis was the weekend place to be to find fan art, celebrity signatures, fantasy weaponry, iconic vehicles, and sundry other geeky goodies. But it didn't put the slightest strain on your wallet to enjoy the free show that was brought to the Dome at America's Center by the attendees who took advantage of the event to show off their talents at transmogrification, bringing to life some of our favorite comic book, animation, video game and television characters. It's all part of the phenomenon known as cosplay -- a portmanteau word of 'costume' and 'play' -- and it's serious business for a lot of the attendees. This isn't a pair of red shorts and a bathtowel tied around your neck and calling yourself "Superman." Utilizing body paint, plaster casting, rubber molding, rivets, stitchery, and every other manufacturing method available, cosplayers pull out all the stops to make their characters look as off-the-page and out-of-the-screen as possible.

As a kid growing up, I was very fond of Nickelodeon cartoons. This was during the good days, before it all became preteen Junior High drama shows for kids learning about the cruel fate that awaits them all as they climb on up there. Nickelodeon used to host a wide variety of amazing cartoons which where ahead of their times, like ROCKO'S MODERN LIFE, ANGRY BEAVERS, CATDOG, and my all time favorite REN AND STIMPY. But there was one show that gave REN AND STIMPY a run for it's money, and that show was none other than INVADER ZIM.

The Internet is buzzing today with the release of the trailer for perhaps the least anticipated film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe: THOR RAGNAROK.

So before we tell you about it. why don't you just watch it for yourself?

The first thing I have to ask is: Did Thor really just pull a record-scratch/freeze-frame meme to introduce his trailer? Seriously? Who knew Thor was that up on his 4chan? He may be a God of Thunder in Asgard, but he's a full-on /b/tard when he's slumming it in Midgard.

The next thing I want to know is what makes Hela so worthy to be able to pick up Mjolnir? Okay, technically she didn't "pick it up" so much as caught it in mid-flight, but still.

And finally -- "He's a friend from work?" What, The Avengers is just another day at the office for the Norse god?

Heading into the weekend the Bronx Bombers were fighting through some rough starting pitching and playing in a dome that causes every pop-fly to be a nightmare. When they arrived in Baltimore, their starting pitching continued to struggle. Going against an Orioles team that had yet to lose a game, the Yankees had a tough series ahead before they could set their sights on going home.

Let’s take a look at how they did...

The boys ask the age old question. What would you do if you won the lottery? If you would like to play along then please feel free to leave a comment down below.
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Thanks for watching! Any view that we get is a shining moment for us but let us know how this episode made you feel because we are here to keep you entertained.

Spring is here, which means it’s that time of year again--the time when newness and life spring forth. For those so inclined it means baseball, but for those of us more eclectic types in the Saint Louis area it means one thing above all: It is time for the now apparently annual Wizard World Convention at the America’s Center.