It's that time of year again -- time to take stock of last year's entertainment offerings and decide which was the best of the best (of the best, sir!) (Okay, who let Captain America in here?)

Last year Critical Blast let its readers choose the best among Movies, Television Shows, and Actors in each. This year, we've doubled our categories to include Novels and Comics (selecting the best Writer, Artist and Storyline) for the year.

We put forth nominees in each category (after much careful discussion, a few beers, and one chipped tooth), and presented those to you, our readers -- making sure we also let the readers nominate a write-in candidate that our staff, in its infinitessimal wisdom, might have overlooked.

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Tessa Boyce

To many of us, television is a daily part of our lives. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American watches 2.8 hours of television per day. There's no denying it, we love to escape to distant worlds, laugh at bizarre cartoons, and hold our breath while our favorite protagonists escape zombies — or just ex-girlfriends with unusually large hands.

Andy Lightner developed GAVIN'S GOGGLES: GOGGLES LOST AT SEA based on an experience he had with his family at the beach. In the fictionalized version of events, Gavin's goggles are lost to the tide, and get passed from one aquatic creature to the next as they try to determine what the things are and, later, how to return them to their original owner.

The story is told in a very light manner. Nearly all of the creatures have alliterative names, save for Pincher the Blue Crab and Bella Pelican, which makes it accessible to the very young readers. The book also comes with a set of ready-to-color illustrations at the end of the various sea characters who appear in the story, lending an interactive quality to the book.

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

Music television. From the onset of networks like MTV, VH1, TNN and others, the explosion of what people could watch years ago brought a visual aspect that musical artists had to take advantage of or get steamrolled. If you didn't have at least a concert video to go with your killer song, then you didn't have anything people were talking about -- and worse, nothing they were listening to. As time went by, the networks that built their viewership on music videos have become music networks in name only, with few millenials even realizing what these reality show channels used to be.

The Country Network is looking to buck that trend and get back to the roots of the movement, at least for country fans. We spoke with Tim Eaton, TCN's President and CEO about exactly what his vision is for the revived TCN and how it's going to engage country music fans.

It was announced yesterday that Supergirl would no longer be carried on CBS, despite ratings that stayed strong throughout its freshman season.

With budget concerns looming over the licensing fees for the use of Supergirl, sending the show to The CW makes the most sense. Not only because it's owned in partnership with Warner Bros, but it will align almost all DC properties on one network (GOTHAM remains on Fox).

Milo Manara is an unquestionable master of the erotic female form -- his much maligned Spider-Woman notwithstanding, he work on books like BUTTERSCOTCH and CLICK are highlights of a medium that, understandably, doesn't get a lot of publicity.

In GULLIVERA, Manara takes a distaff view of Jonathan Swift's GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, turning them into a somewhat erotic tour de force while simultaneously incorporating much of the original source material.

Gullivera is a lovely young lady on holiday, taking the opportunity to float out into the water on an inflatable for some nude sunbathing. When she loses her suit, she swims to an odd boat that has been docked in the harbor for some time with no signs of life. When she puts on the tricorner hat she finds, a storm whips up from nowhere and blows the ship to sea.

Thunderbolts (2016) #1

He was an executed man. He now no longer exists. But he is alive -- and being trained to become an assassin.

This is great! I knew there was a rumor out there that Shane Black was going to helm the next REMO WILLIAMS: THE DESTROYER movie, but I didn't think it was coming out this... Wait a minute, that's not Master Chiun. And why are we in The Matrix? Oh my God, someone turn off that Kanye West music!

Okay, so I'm kidding. A little. While the plot of ASSASSIN'S CREED is (cough) similar in its initial concept to Warren Murphy's assassin, it veers wildly from there into a science fiction process of the restoration of genetic memories. The assassin is Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender), and he has been brought to The Animus so that he can relive the memories of his ancestor from 500 years in the past, during the Spanish Inquisition.

Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Omega #1 (Avengers Standoff) by Nick Spencer, Daniel Acuna, and Angel Unzueta

Summary: Kraven’s plan worked, and they are able to capture Kobik in a containment field that turns her back into a Cosmic Cube.

Meanwhile, Agent Kincaid finds out the that curator is really Wendell Vaughn, and the weapon he is hiding are his quantum bands.

Dreamworks has released an all-new trailer for the explosive return of Voltron: Legendary Defender, which makes its debut on Netflix June 10, 2016!

(Skip to the end for the trailer)

VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER is not a reboot, not a continuation but a reimagining of the fan-favorite science-fiction saga, promising action, comedy, and adventure. The series will launch with an hour-long origin story called “The Rise of Voltron,” and will be followed by 10 episodes.

The animation is worthy of a Dreamworks production. As I watched the trailer I laughed, became excited, and I got chills. Yes, I'm a Voltron fanboy and it was one of my favorite cartoons as a child. This new show will be exciting for me and I can't wait to share it with my kids.

From the presser:

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

This week!

Time-Life Records’ new vinyl LP ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME LIVE- Volume 1 contains some fine performances from the past 28 years of induction ceremonies. I will try my best to stave off the urge to soapbox as to my belief that the RRHF should be made to change its name to the Music Hall of fame, because this review is not about the hall, but performances from the ceremonies (some songs of which certainly prove my case). This is about Time Life putting together a collection of songs to appeal to as many people as ever.

By all means, performers on this record deserve to be in a music hall of fame of one kind or another.

With all the hype surrounding CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, and a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, all expectations for the latest Marvel blockbuster were very high.

Many movie-goers were punch drunk from the brutal reviews and controversy that surrounded BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. There was excitement growing to attend a 'fun' Marvel movie once again, after the dark WB offering left people feeling as though they had the life sucked out of them.

Apparently the hype and anticipation wasn't enough to drive domestic audiences to the theater for Thursday previews.

I've written and rewritten this first paragraph numerous times and can't seem to find what I want to say. But now I've got it: this review is brought to you against the best efforts of Charter-Spectrum, the worst internet service provider in the Midwest. If you enjoy paying full price for partial service, inept technicians, frustrating automated systems and bring harassed for weeks about not having their equally atrocious television service, give Charter-Spectrum a call today. Now, about Captain America 3...

From Entertainment Weekly:

When the Power Rangers revival morphs into theaters, the five teenagers with attitude won’t be wearing the original series’ campy costumes to battle Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks). Instead, the new cast — singer Becky G as Yellow Ranger Trini, Ludi Lin as Black Ranger Zack, Dacre Montgomery as Red Ranger Jason, Naomi Scott as Pink Ranger Kimberly, and RJ Cyler as Blue Ranger Billy — will don translucent extraterrestrial armor that crystallizes around their bodies.

On Saturday, May 14 from 9 PM - Midnight, Critical Blast and Iron Room will present the First Annual Post-Con Costume Party in Atlantic City!  So, enjoy the day at ACBC then head over to the Iron Room!  

First off, let's talk money.  And we're talking a lot of money.  There are $1,100 in total cash prizes!  The event kicks off at 9 but judging begins at 10pm in a wide variety of categories.  

Want a breakdown, well check this out:

In a 'worst to first' ranking, I give unto you, the Star Wars movies ranked with nothing to quantify it other than my personal preference.

Episode I: The Phantom Menace - With a child actor who delivers dialogue as bland as the plot and an amphibious alien whose attempts at comedy relief are more distracting than anything else, The Phantom Menace is clearly the weakest of the franchise. Even the fast-paced intensity of the duel between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and Darth Maul can't save this movie from being the worst of the bunch.
When they retconned the force into bacteria, the magic was destroyed.