I've been ambivalent about this whole "Joker War" going on in the BATMAN books. Tynion's run has been a welcome change of pace from the eternal misery of the previous eighty issues, and the premise of the arc has been a solid one. Basically, Joker has always known the identities of the Batman family, and has taken advantage of a long-planned heist that puts him in charge of the Wayne fortune -- as well as the company and real estate, giving him access to not just the money but the research and development areas -- that is, the weaponry of the Batcave.

Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear move beyond the cartoon short form that has been their norm to headline their first Cartoon Network movie.

The bears' rush to the grand opening of food truck selling poutine leaves a trail of chaos in their wake -- and a slew of angry townspeople. Determined to make amends, the bears attempt to become popular by making the greatest viral video ever, by combining elements of every popular meme of the last twenty years. But when this ends in disastrous results, it grabs the attention of the no-nonsense Agent Trout from Fish and Wildlife. He's determined to bring the bears in and relocate them to a bear sanctuary.

And so begins the greatest road trip of all time, as the bears go on the lam in a police van, intent on crossing the border into Canada for freedom, love, and universal health care.

Slightly edging out Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in bringing the archetypal detective and his military doctor partner to a modern audience, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law -- under the direction of Guy Ritchie -- gave us a very action-oriented Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Not merely content with armchair deductions and lording his grasp of the obvious (to him) over Scotland Yard, This Holmes enjoyed getting into physical confrontation, and in both films -- SHERLOCK HOLMES and SHERLOCK HOLMES; A GAME OF SHADOWS -- much detail is given to Holmes's foresight and planning for where to land punches and predicting his opponents' moves.

The CATS & DOGS franchise operates on the conceit that animals can all talk, and that cats and dogs work together to operate a high-tech MI-6 inspired operation to protect the world from other cats and dogs who have evil plans for the world. Using voice actors and CGI, it was an entertaining franchise for children to watch, and had enough of a plot to keep the adults awake.

With this third installment, PAWS UNITE, the notion of an engaging plot has been thrown out with the kitty litter.

One of the best cartridges you’ll ever hear that you never heard of and it comes from a land down under!

Talk to any child of the 80s about what made that era so great, and eventually talk will come around to THE GOONIES, the Steven Spielberg production that brought a motley group of outcast kids together on a treasure hunt that pitted them against criminals and clues in an effort to save their homes from a greedy real estate developer.

In addition to being the first big-screen appearances for actors Sean Astin and Josh Brolin, THE GOONIES featured Corey Feldman, who was already an accomplished actor but who certainly came to prominence due to this film, and Anne Ramsey, perfectly cast as Mama Fratelli, the leader of a family counterfeiting gang that sets up operations in an old restaurant that happens to sit atop the entrance to a series of underground tunnels used hundreds of years ago by pirates -- pirates whose treasure is fabled to still exist somewhere in the catacombs.

Every month the staff at Critical Blast combs the cosplay community for up-and-coming cosplayers who deserve to have a broader audience for their work, taking into account not only costuming skills and spirit, but also how they use that ability in service to others. Through this, we've not only met some talented cosplayers, but also some fine human beings.

This month, we extend our reach across the globe to Russia, where we find a talented cosplayer who works hand in hand with an equally talented photographer. The results are bewitching, and we couldn't be happier to share with you, our readers, the...

With JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK: APOKOLIPS WAR, the interconnected DC Animated Universe was brought to a close -- or a new beginning, depending on your perspective.

SUPERMAN: MAN OF TOMORROW may be that new beginning, as it gives viewers a Superman who as not yet even put on the cape. 

Clark Kent (Darren Criss) is an intern for the Daily Planet, yet to have his own byline. Lois Lane (Alexandra Daddario) has only just broken into the ranks of the press, having been responsible for the downfall of corrupt magnate Lex Luthor (Zachary Quinto). The world is only just getting introduced to the idea of superheroes, what with the rare glimpses of Superman's exploits as the "flying man" wearing the aviator helmet and goggles, and the even rarer shots of the Bat Man of Gotham City.

One of the fun activities while attending comic and scifi conventions is heading off to one of the side rooms to watch fan films. These range from the basic no-budget stories shot on a smart phone while making it up as you go along, to large budget Star Trek stories with special effects and -- sometimes -- actors from the actual series. Mostly they're a mix, with a modest budget, inexperienced actors, and a simplistic plot. The goal overall is just to have fun watching them as well as making them.

The Associated Press has been informed that Chadwick Boseman, who portrayed the groundbreaking and inspirational superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, BLACK PANTHER, and AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, has passed away today at the age of 43 from colon cancer.

Boseman was diagnosed with the illness four years ago, about the same time CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR introduced the Black Panther to live action audiences. He never spoke publicly about his condition, choosing instead to continue filming.

The Boseman family statement to the press said that Boseman was 'a true fighter,' “Chadwick persevered through it all and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much; from MARSHALL to DA 5 BLOODS, AUGUST WILSON'S MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM, and several more — all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy."

"It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in BLACK PANTHER.”

EMPEROR is inspired by the legend of Shields "Emperor" Green (Dayo Okeniyi), a descendant of African kings turned outlaw slave in the pre-Civil War South. Seeking freedom for his family, Emperor fights his way north, joining the daring raid on Harper's ferry and helping alter the course of American history.

Starring Kat Graham, Naturi Naughton, Ben Robson, James Cromwell, and Bruce Dern, EMPEROR is an inspiring story of courage and determination. Keyaira Boone of Essence says "Emperor is Taken meets Django Unchained."

For your chance to own this DVD, use the options on the form below. We always remind our readers that we do have a Rules and Regulations page for all our giveaways that you may find informative.

Get to clicking, and best of luck!

Fans of the soaps GUIDING LIGHT and ONE LIFE TO LIVE are well acquainted with actress Crystal Hunt, who played Lizzie Spaulding and Stacy Morasco on each show, respectively.

But the actress has kept consistenly busy since her time on the daytime dramas, putting in work in films as well as other serial entertainment, suc as HILTON HEAD ISLAND for Pure Flix.

With MOOD SWINGS, Hunt gets to bring the full range of her experience to bear; not only is she acting in the Pure Flix situation comedy, she's also the creator, serving as writer and producer. With an ensemble cast featuring Robin Riker, Cristina DeRosa, Sophia Gasca, and Donna Mills, MOOD SWINGS draws its inspiration from THE GOLDEN GIRLS, and it's not hard to begin to draw the parallels between the characters once you see them.

It was a long, loud, and violent night for the residents of Kenosha. The citizens of the Wisconsin city on the shores of Lake Michigan, following the news and footage of the police shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, may have thought they were prepsred for the protests that would come. After all, they had seen what had happened after the George Floyd incident in Minnesota, and in Ferguson after the Michael Brown shooting.

Riots were the expectation.

But sometimes reality overwhelms expectations. Such was the case for Victor Estill, founder of the Gravity Gaming Lounge, which posted the following on their Facebook page in the wake of the devastation.

Jeff Daniels narrates WASHINGTON, a three-part miniseries for The History Channel that mixes re-enactment with seated interview segments that do a deep-dive into the events in the life of George Washington, the first President of the United States.

Nicholas Rowe (YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES) plays the titular founding father in program that strips away the folk history to reveal the man beneath, complete with flaws and failures. From his first military command -- which resulted in an embarrassing attack on a French diplomatic party with Washington signing a confession branding him as an assassin -- to his tactical decisions as the Commander in Chief of his own army in the American Revolution, WASHINGTON is a story of growth and maturiing, of making mistakes and learning from them. Rowe presents a stoic Washington throughout, even when forced to make hard decisions such as hanging deserters or having mutineers execute their leaders in a firing squad.

If you're a dyed-in-the-wool Lucifan, you've probably already binged the first eight episodes of the fifth-and-final season of LUCIFER released on Netflix today. I mean, what more could you truly desire?

How about all the great music that we've heard these past five seasons?

Part of the charm of LUCIFER has been Tom Ellis sitting down at the piano now and again as Lucifer Morningstar, entertaining (or, sometimes, depressing) the crowds at his nightclub, Lux. And sometime later into he series, we find that Lesley-Ann Brandt -- Lucifer's right-hand demon, Mazikeen -- also sports an exquisite set of pipes, as she's allowed to strut her stuff with some sultry numbers like "Fever" and "I Want to Be Evil."

Particular highlights of this set include the duet of Brandt and Ellis performing "I Will Survive," and Ellis's emotional interpretation of Beck's "Creep" which opened up the fourth season when the show made it's Netflix debut.

2020 was meant to be the biggest year ever for CW's THE FLASH. From the very first episode when viewers got teased with that headline from the future, we knew the series was building toward the legendary "Crisis on Infinite Earths" story -- a story which, in comics, rebuilt the entire DC Universe from scratch at the cost of the lives of The Flash and Supergirl. And while it seemed unlikely that the showrunners were going to sacrifice two of their titular characters for the sake of telling the story, expectations among fans were nonetheless high.

The Short Answer 

No.

The Longer Answer

On July 30, 2020, our esteemed competition in reporting on comics and entertainment, Bleeding Fool, published the second part in their ongoing series of articles investigating the so-called "Whisper Network,"  And while the bulk of that article continued to delve into the secret Facebook group, Women in Comics, it led with a blockbuster accusation that had been completely excluded -- and, in fact, in the case of one website, completely deleted -- from coverage. That accusation came from comic book writer Bill Willingham (FABLES, ELEMENTALS), when he claimed that Stephanie Cooke, working at the time as his assistant, embezzled in excess of $10,000 from his accounts.

Biblically-inspired comic book stories are not a new thing. One could argue they go as far back as Superman himself, as an allegory to the tale of Moses. But that doesn't mean some of them can't feel like a new thing, and when they do it truly captures the imagination and runs wild with it.

This is the case behind DOMINION: FALL OF THE HOUSE OF SAUL, created by Dr. Barron Bell and co-written by Daniel Hancock. It's very much a re-interpretation of the Old Testament book of I Samuel, beginning with Saul already established as king and having  beaten the armies of the Amalekites one year prior. However, DOMINION gives this story a twist in that it is told using anthropomorphic beasts in an extra-galactic setting, making it a "Star Wars in Narnia" event.

From its very preconception, BATWOMAN seemed to be a project destined for failure on the CW. From the inflammatory pre-show trailers to the shoe-horned identity-driven approach to storytelling, the series was determined to trip over itself to be something rather than letting an organically told story do the work for them, ultimately resulting in the lead actress, Ruby Rose, opting to leave the role of Kate Kane -- the titular hero -- after the freshman year.

DC's STARGIRL has been nothing short of stellar throughout its 13-episode freshman season. The latest entry into the Arrowverse (the show was teased at the end of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover, so we're counting it), the show has been one of the most consistently fun, fresh, optimistic, adventuresome, straight-up superhero shows to have graced the CW network. There's a respect and an adherence to the source material -- not just to the STARGIRL comic book heroine herself but to much of the DC Universe in general. The costumes, the props (there's a green lantern seen more than once that I'm still waiting to see get fired up!) and the name-drops have all been enough to make a comic book fan giddy to his core.