Jessica Jones #1

Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Art by: Michael Gaydos
Colored by: Matt Hollingsworth
Lettered by: VC’s Cory Petit

Published by: Marvel
Cover Price:  $3.99

At the end of our last episode, our heroes had become disperse, reunited, and ended up in 1942 to save New York from being hit by the Nazis with an atomic bomb, courtesy of Damien Darhk and Eobard Thawne (MATT LETSCHER), aka the Reverse-Flash, a time-traveling speedster from the 25th century. And when the dust had settled, the Legends team was confronted by a secret military force known as the Justice Society of America.

Picking up where we left off, the team's newest member, historian Nate Heywood (NICK ZANO) recognizes the JSA from his studies, particularly Commander Steel (MATTHEW MACCAULL). We later learn that this is because Steel is Heywood's grandfather, and Heywood still wears his grandfather's dogtags around his neck.

JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK is based on Lee Child’s series of books, featuring the titular hero, Jack Reacher. Starring Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Danika Yarosh, Patrick Heusinger, and Robert Knepper, this sequel to the 2012 hit JACK REACHER was directed by Edward Zwick, who Tom worked with in THE LAST SAMURAI.

NEVER GO BACK was a different type of action movie than is predecessor. In the first movie, which also starred Tom Cruise, the action seemed to flow from start to finish; Jack was a force to be reckoned with and he knew what was going to happen before his adversaries did. In NEVER GO BACK, it was the opposite. There were times Jack seemed unsure of what he was doing, or how to handle a particular situation. He didn’t have that all-knowing persona that I liked in the first movie.

ARROW fans, are you ready?

Beloved readers of Critical Blast, are you ready?

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, fans of all ages...are you ready to rummmmmmmmbllllllle?

Yes, I'm stealing from Michael Buffer, and why shouldn't I? This is the episode for the fans who cross the borders of ARROW and World Wrestling Entertainment. This is the episode where Stardust -- aka Cody Runnels, aka CODY RHODES -- enters the Arrowverse.

When I get home from where I've spent the prior ten hours, I like to grab something cold to drink out of the fridge, and sit down in front of the tube to watch cartoons.

Then I look at the cartoon I'm watching and realize that it's celebrating a 50th anniversary -- and my bubble pops. I'm not coming home from school and grabbing a Hi-C anymore. I have a job, and the drink in my hands is one I wasn't allowed until I turned 21. My cartoons are old, and I've gotten old with them.

CHARLIE BROWN'S ALL STARS! is the cartoon in question today, released on DVD for it's 50th anniversary. It doesn't get as much fanfare as the holiday classics (among which I happen to include the Easter and Thanksgiving cartoons), but story-wise I rank it as much better than any of those. There weren't long gaps of no dialogue filled with music and dancing. This was Charlie Brown engaged in one of the things he loved most, and looking at having to give it up: baseball!

On January 11th, 2017 Titan Comics will launch KHAAL - a brand-new, violent space opera of warring clans, gladiatorial arenas and political intrigue.

The first issue of KHAAL will be made available with variant covers from the industry's top talents including; Marc Laming (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Nick Percival (Assassin's Creed), Adam Gorham (The Violent), Steve Kurth (Iron Man Legacy) and series artist Valentin Sécher.

A bold new comic series written by Stephane Louis (Husk). With art from Valentin Sécher (The Metabaron), KHAAL takes place on an ancient prison ship, floating alone in the void, left behind by a galaxy decimated by a brutal war.

Critical Blast and Game Jab are partnering up to bring both our audiences some of the most videogame reviews and game play. The crew at Game Jab operates through their YouTube Channel, and you can go there to see their past season of videos.

Episode 303 of THE FLASH introduces us to another new character, Magenta, because she flashes things with a purple color. No wait, that's not right. She affects metallic objects like a magnet, so they call her Magneta. No, that's not right either.

You can see why Frankie Kane a.k.a. Magenta is not one of my favorite characters in DC canon. She comes across like a dyslexic Magneto (who thankfully isn't called Magento). Frankie (JOEY KING) is a foster child living in an abusive home. When we first meet her, the father comes home from work in what we assume to be a typically disgruntled mood. In fact, the scene is almost a direct lift from CONSTANTINE Episode 102. Having had all she can, Frankie's dissociative personality, Magenta, takes over, and pulls in a lamp post from outside the house to beat her foster father into the hospital.

If you thought this season of SUPERGIRL was going to suddenly move slower than a speeding bullet, you were wrong. Monday night's episode was full of changes that demonstrated a willingness to adapt to their new location.

That location is The CW.

I know we're beating a dead horse here but it's crucial to be reminded that SUPERGIRL's inaugural season began on CBS. And while it started strong and ratings remained good enough to warrant a second season, moving to The CW was a point of concern to some level.

The Syracuse Comic-Con is growing. Bringing in top talent is the best way to draw the attention of out-of-town con goers, ultimately increasing attendance and notoriety.

According to a tweet, posted to Ron Marz's official twitter account, he will be attending the Syracuse Comic-Con.

Having long-time comic book writer, Ron Marz, in attendance will certainly help. Known for his work on Silver Surfer and Green Lantern, Marz has tackled many different projects for both DC and Marvel. As versatile as he is creative, he has found himself writing for lesser-known publishers 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

Ben Affleck is an actor I probably ride harder than I should. He’s certainly not bad. I thought he was easily the best part of BATMAN VS SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, but I suppose that’s not the strongest endorsement. Seriously, though, he’s quite capable of great performances and his ability behind the lens may even be better. Sadly, he was not behind the lens for THE ACCOUNTANT.

The CW superhero show LEGENDS OF TOMORROW started out last season with potential that was, largely, unrealized. The fact that it didn't end its season with an alert from Gideo about time changes being wrought by The Flash (see "Flashpoint") seemed to be an obvious connection that should have been made, but instead we fluttered through time tracking Vandal Savage.

The good people at Valiant and Catalyst were kind enough to send us a review copy of Valiant Universe: The Deckbuilding Game. I’ve been reading Valiant almost as long as I have been reading comics; since Valiant relaunched in 2012, I have not missed a single issue.  Also, I really enjoy deck building games, including Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game and Star Realms.

Over the next few weeks, I will be doing more of a formal gameplay review once I get my gaming group together and get a few plays in, but I did want to give some of my early impressions of the game.

Let's not kid ourselves. As much as Batman has been used for merchandising, it's always been that the toys were based off the character. With BATMAN UNLIMITED, it's clearly a case of the story being designed to foster a base for the merchandising. It's an advertisement wrapped in entertainment.

The plot: Mr. Freeze (ODED FEHR) is providing asylum to Penguin (DANA SNYDER) at his arctic retreat. But drilling in the region prompts Freeze to respond by siccing a giant monster of his own creation on the crew.

That Freeze can do this gives Penguin an idea, and he encourages Freeze to return to Gotham City and turn it into an icy wasteland for himself, while creating an impossible enemy for Batman. But first they must break out some Arkham inmates (which do not include The Joker, although he gets two cameos voiced by Troy Baker).

(story submitted by Ronald Green)

"Stranger" is good for Marvel's upcoming movie DOCTOR STRANGE as it now banks on the comic book panels that fans have loved since the 60s.

DOCTOR STRANGE's first few teasers were a bit perplexing because the director seems to have taken his inspiration from Christopher Nolan's INCEPTION. Bending cities have so far been the theme of the previous DOCTOR STRANGE teaser clips. Now, it would seem that the creators have decided to show that the movie will be sticking to its roots; the Doctor Strange that Steve Ditko created.

Below is the latest DOCTOR STRANGE clip.

Last week, we saw the first appearance of the big bad whom we assumed to be Prometheus. This episode, he confirms the name, but again only in the brief amount of time that we see him. However, that time is enough to conclude affirmatively that he has a grudge against Green Arrow, with the warning that he gives to the new criminal kingpin in town, Tobias Church (CHAD L. COLEMAN).

But that's not the focus of this week's episode, "The Recruits." Oliver (STEPHEN AMELL) decides he can't go it alone after all, and relents to recruiting local would-be vigilantes Wild Dog (RICK GONZALEZ) and Evelyn Sharp (MADISON MCLAUGHLING), as well as volunteer Curtis Holt (ECHO KELLUM). His training is harsh, and harkens back to yet another "5 Years Ago" flashback when Oliver was infiltrating Russian gangs.

Naturally, they hate him for his methods, and almost quit.

From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, with Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel are producing, with John Knoll and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” opens in U.S. theaters on December 16, 2016.

While I really enjoyed Doom Patrol, Young Animal's second book just didn't win me over.  This isn't the worst comic I have ever read, but it felt very middle of the road.  In a crowded marketplace, there wasn't enough here to keep me engaged as a customer.

Whenever you think of metal bands your first thoughts may be Metallica, Iron Maiden, Slayer and so on but even Christians love to get down and head bang for the Lord. An uprising Christian metal band, Analyzed Within is releasing their latest album and showing just how heavy metal Christians can truly be.

Analyzed Within is comprised of three very talented members.