Marvel had a red carpet premiere for Daredevil Season 2, last night.  Luke Cage star Mike Coltier was on hand, and he was able to review when Luke Cage would be making it's debut:

"[Our show] going to be action-packed, from beginning to end.  Trust me...I will see the fans on September 30."

To see the whole video, go to Marvel's website!

Inspired by ALIEN HUNTER, a novel by best-selling author, Whitley Streiber, the new SyFy series, HUNTERS, will premiere on Monday, April 11th at 10 pm EST.

The 13-episode series will be executive produced by Gale Anne Hurd (“The Walking Dead,” “The Terminator Trilogy”) and Natalie Chaidez (“12 Monkeys,” “Heroes”), who also serves as showrunner, as well as Emile Levisetti (“Royal Pains”).

Having produced smashing successes like THE WALKING DEAD and a cult hit with HEROES, Hurd and Chaidez will no doubt bring an excellent adaptation to the small screen that should make fans of the novel proud.

It may even draw in some of THE WALKING DEAD crowd looking to follow Hurd onto a new project.

Show synopsis from the press release:

Michael Rennie was ill
The Day the Earth Stood Still
But he told us where we stand
And Flash Gordon was there
In silver underwear…

The Rocky Horror Picture Show FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Campy Cult Classic  by Dave Thompson

Published by Applause Theatre and Cinema Books

Cover Price: $19.99

Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Alpha #1 - by Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz

Summary: A SHIELD agent in a far off outpost has hacked into the mainframe to allow his friends to watch NFL games. Winter Soldier attacks the base, forcing this hacker to help him steal some files and then hide his tracks.  The agent is later interviewed by Steve Rogers.  Rogers is trying to figure out what Bucky is up to.  He’s been attacking SHIELD outposts for six days now.  Steve is concerned that Bucky’s Winter Soldier programming has kicked in.  He realizes Bucky left him a clue at the last attack.

We still have two months to go until Captain America: Civil War hits screens on May 6...but we've got the new trailer, and it's...Amazing!

I’m a bit of a comedy snob. I can’t stand stupid comedy: low brow, “Whoa, Dude, I’m like, whatever!” fare is completely lost on me. I appreciate a more subtle hand in humor, a sly wit, a surprising turn of phrase. The British to be particularly adept at that brand of comedy, so it was much to my delight that I watched NOISES OFF, a stage comedy written by celebrated English playwright Michael Frayn and directed by Melissa Boyer for the O’FallonTheatreWorks. My only dismay is that it took me so long to discover this hilarious play.

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!

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Like an old friend you've just met, Joel Meeks is simultaneously captivating and disarming. When you see him live, whether he's performing by himself or rockin' out with a full band, his stage presence immediately fills the entire room with intense, contagious energy. The combination of his youthful spirit and timeless lyrics convey a distinct flavor of country, blues, and soul that leaves audiences feeling rejuvenated; just like a home-cooked meal.

From a gentle whisper ("When I Used To Think About You") to a bloodcurdling scream ("Rain"), Joel's ability to capture the exact emotion his songs require is unparalleled. He's also a multi-instrumentalist, highly proficient on saxophone, harmonica, guitar, mandolin and washboard. His songwriting is understated and tongue-in-cheek, yet profound and honest. It sends you on a roller coaster ride that allows you to laugh at the absurd one moment and feel the sorrow of lost love the next.

Black Widow (2016) #1

Written by: Chris Samnee and Mark Waid
Art by: Chris Samnee
Colored by:  Matthew Wilson
Lettered by: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Published by: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99

I have a confession to make. I've never read a Gregory Maguire book before. I know the name, I know the fame, and I've even seen the musical, WICKED, based on his novel of the same name. But I just hadn't sought out any of his works to try them in their written form.

And then I saw AFTER ALICE. When it comes to Alice in Wonderland books, I'm much like Mel Gibson's character in CONSPIRACY THEORY who, whenever he saw a copy of CATCHER IN THE WRY, he felt compelled to buy it. So I picked it up and looked forward to another trip down the classic rabbit hole.

THE GOOD DINOSAUR asks the question: What if the asteroid that destroyed the dinosaurs missed? Well, apparently the answer is that the dinosaurs would have learned how to talk, build houses, plow fields, and raise giant chickens, all without the benefit of any evolutionary advances like opposable thumbs.

Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) is the titular dinosaur, the runt of his nest. But his family loves him nonetheless, despite his overwhelming fear of the giant chickens. (I know they're something else, but I'm not a paleontologist, and they are treated like giant chickens so I'm calling them giant chickens.) But until Arlo can pull his weight on the farm, he can't make his mark on the grain silo his father built. So his Poppa (Jeffrey Wright) gives Arlo a special mission -- put an end to the "critter" who is stealing corn from their silo.

The New Line Theatre kicked off their second production in their swanky new digs in the Marcelle Theatre with AMERICAN IDIOT, a mostly sung through musical written by Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer, featuring the entire American Idiot album with a few numbers from 21^st Century Breakdown included too. Obviously, if you’re a Green Day fan you’ll probably love the show. Me, I’m not a huge fan. I don’t necessarily dislike the band; I just don’t typically listen to them. Immediately after the performance, my first reaction was, “Nice performed by some great talents, but I don’t have much sympathy for these presumably upper-middle class suburbanites being self-destructive by cooking their heroin and meth on the silver spoons they were born with.” And yet something deep in my guts said, “Sleep on this one.

Being a child in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s exposed me to the peak years of KISS and their merchandising machine, as well as the launch of MTV.  I like to think I have somewhat eclectic musical tastes these days, but I still love KISS not to mention all those bands that exploded to national fame with some assist by MTV.  You know, bands like Quiet Riot, Def Leppard, and Twisted Sister.  In fact, TS’s “Stay Hungry” album--and I owned it on vinyl--was only the third album I bought that didn't feature Mickey Mouse, Big Bird, or Star Wars characters.  

All-New All-Different Avengers #6 by Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar

Summary: A time displaced Kang attacks the All-New All-Different Avengers.  He reveals there was a glitch in the timestream stranding him in this time.  He recruited villains like Equinox, Cyclops, Radioactive Man, and has taken over the Vision’s programming in order to create a new Kang Dynasty in our time.

Nova has gone to Jersey City to find Ms Marvel after both of them were thrown off the team because of Vision’s manipulations. They realize Vision is the enemy and head back to the team.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—animation is one of the least appreciated visual art forms in this country. In many other cultures, perhaps most notably in Japan, animation is considered in no different light than live acted cinema. In America, animation almost always falls into two categories: Japanese anime, and cartoons. Cartoons, sadly, are often dumped in the children’s bin: Sponge Bob, The Simpsons, if you’re lucky perhaps the classic Bugs Bunny episodes. Of course, there’s also the granddaddy of the medium –Disney. Currently, Disney is on an unstoppable roll. Since they own the Star Wars and Marvel cinematic licenses Disney practically can’t help but make money. They aren’t resting on their laurel, however; they’re still putting some highly entertaining original adventures in the tradition of SNOW WHITE and BAMBI. They will score another huge hit with ZOOTOPIA. Kids of all ages will enjoy it and their parents won’t be bored to death waiting for the credits to roll.

Sony has released the first full trailer for the upcoming Ghostbusters relaunch.  As expected, this has been pretty controversial.  When I posted this, on Youtube there were pretty much exactly as many likes as there were dislikes.

According to comicbook.com Disney announced a 'sequel' for the 2014 hit movie: BIG HERO 6, in the form of a TV series on Disney XD.

While the animation style hasn't been announced yet, given Disney's work on STAR WARS REBELS, it's reasonable to think that BIG HERO 6 will have a similar look. That being said, they could go with more traditional animation as Disney has secured KIM POSSIBLE showrunners Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley to executive produce. The two will will be teaming up with Nick Filippi, who will also serve as executive producer and supervising director.

From Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer of Disney Channels Worldwide

From Short List Magazine: 

The film adaptation of Stephen King's legendary Dark Tower series is finally about to begin: Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey have been confirmed as the two leads.

The news came via a tweet from the man himself:

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!

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