Critical Blast wraps up its spate of announcements for the Best of 2019 awards with the revelation of 2019's Critical Blast Bombshell of the Year, as decided by our readers.

Every month, Critical Blast evaluates the cosplay skills of various participants in the hobby, looking for those who stand out not just in their costuming skills but also in how they apply that talent. And every year those twelve cosplayers are added to our annual ballot to determine who will take the next step from Bombshell of the Month to Bombshell of the Year.

Voting in this category was fairly even, with the topmost vote-getters separated only by a percentage point each.

If you've never attended a New Line Theatre musical, Head Over Heels, a fun “jukebox” musical conceived and written by Avenue Q's Jeff Whitty and adapted by James Magruder, would be a great place to start. It's based on a 16th century book called The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia, by Sir Philip Sidney, and while never wildly popular itself, it has endured to influence even the Bard himself, William Shakespeare (or whoever really wrote King Lear). After reading it in college, Whitty had a flash of inspiration. He conceived of a mash-up, that modern day concept of combining two things you wouldn't think would work together yet magically do just that. You can spend hours browsing song mash-ups on YouTube. Whitty took it to a whole new level, mashing 16th century prose with the music of 80s punk-pop favorites, The Go-Go's.

You only have to go a few pages in to STRANGE ADVENTURES #1 before you know you're in a Tom King book. The traditional hallmarks are there -- the repetitive cycles of daily life that become a routine of ennui, even in the life of someone who regularly participates in the extraordinary.

Adam Strange is Earth's first spaceman. An archeologist by trade, Adam chanced upon an encounter with a Zeta Beam, a transportation ray that strikes Earth at specific times and teleports whoever it hits across the galaxy to the planet Rann, ravaged by pollution and in perpetual war with itself. Naturally, he becomes a hero, being a virile man of Earth. It's reminescent of Edgar Rice Burroughs' JOHN CARTER series in that respect.

It's not uncommon that a film have a theme. In fact, it's expected. You watch the film, you digest the plot, and you come away with the idea that, "This was a metaphor for this particular idea."

With CHARLIE'S ANGELS (2019), the theme is explicitly stated up front, and then slowly moves on from there to hammer that idea home. And that idea is this: Men are bad.

In this Elizabeth Banks take on the CHARLIE'S ANGELS franchise, the Townsend Agency has been taken international, just as John Bosley (Patrick Stewart) is retiring. As a tribute of sorts, every agency's lieutenant is given the rank of "Bosley," which doesn't get confusing at all. So Elizabeth Banks' character in this film is called Bosley as she directs the activities of her Angels while also directing the actors playing them.

GHOST KILLERS VS. BLOODY MARY is designed to appeal to the fans of cult, independent gross-out gore flicks. If you have a collection of Troma titles and early Peter Jackson works, then this is an edition that will fit nicely onto your shelf.

The basic plot of the story involves a YouTube ghost hunting group that is struggling for clicks as they overact and overemote while faking the ghosts they are seeking to destroy. When a high school student is hospitalized after a purported encounter with an urban legend spook, the principal calls the group in to do their thing and make the local parents feel better. He doesn't believe there really is a ghost, but he's heard of their YouTube channel and he thinks that putting on a good show will help people relax. And the Ghoul Hunters are more than happy to take the money to put on a show.

Tom Holland and Chris Pratt lead this charming Disney Pixar road-trip / buddy movie in a literal quest for magic.

ONWARD presents a world that was initially sword-and-sorcery, and allows it to evolve into one of modern convenience while retaining its culture and creatures. Unicorns are nusance animals, small dragons are kept as pets, and the ways of magic have been long forgotten for smart phones.

It's been a while since indie comics pro Tess Fowler has claimed another career in the comics industry. That dry spell may be over now, depending on how events shape up after today's astonishing announcement from DC Comics writer/artist Sean Gordon Murphy, the driving force behind the best-selling BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT franchise.

In fact, reception to the WHITE KNIGHT line has been so encouraging to DC that they gave him the reigns to his own little universe -- the Murphyverse -- with power to hire talent for issues that would appear between extended runs.

In the category of Best Film of 2019, we had, perhaps, the most competition of any other category in terms of the number of nominations each vying for the vote of our readers. But there were only three films that cracked the barrier into double-digit percentages of the prize pie.

Coming in for the third place position was the Quentin Tarantino blockbuster with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD, and its fictionalized account of actors who fell into the orbit of Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate, just before the Manson family murders.

Bounding out of the pages of Amigo's ROGUES comes BARBARA THE BARBARIAN in this first issue, which tells the savage swordswoman's origin in flashbacks while putting her on the path to a new adventure -- with old traveling companions and old adversaries.

Accompanied by her fun-seeking partners, Blast and Clenk, Barbara sets out for a new city with plans to hide out and maintain a low profile. It's a pipe dream at best, given the impulsive nature of the two men. But it ends up being Barbara who blows their cover when she chances to encounter Hocker, a fence for stolen goods, leading to a chase that brings her back into confrontation with a trio of female warriors who she has bested in combat before.

We've written before how so many of our Best of 2019 contests were nail-biters, close calls, and photo finishes.

That certainly wasn't an issue when it came to the readers selecting who they thought the Best Film Actor of 2019 was. In fact, the field quickly narrowed so that the only significantly reportable actors became a club of five.

Rosa Salazar and Brie Larson made up the superhero contingent of the pack, for their roles in ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL and CAPTAIN MARVEL, but both were overtaken by Taron Edgerton for his exuberant performance in the Elton John musical-biopic, ROCKETMAN. 

Comics fans run both hot and cold. One of our favorite activities is kvetching about how some of the big comic stories are going in odd, strange, uncomfortable, or flat-out wrong directions. But ask us what our favorites are? Well, then we'll switch gears and tell you all why those exact same stories are captivating our attention and why you should be reading them too!

And so it that we had quite a number of votes for our nominees for Best Comics Story of 2019, starting with some independent titles who made some impressive debuts, like WHITE WIDOW (Absolute Comics) and BIGFOOT BILL (Doug TenNapel).

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.

Our newest cosplayer caught our attention with her unique ability to portray characters of different genders, pulling off male and female characters with equal alacrity and skill. We had to share with our readers her talents at both costuming and modeling our favorite heroes, and we believe you will be as impressed as we are.

And so, dear readers, we at Critical Blast are pleased and proud to present to you, our...

In the five years of running the Critical Blast Best Awards, we've never sweated bullets as much as we have over this year's Best Comics Artist category. Every day we peeked in on the results, the top spot would belong to someone different, and the margins were nearly microscopic! And while there was a minor skirmish going on at the lower end of the poll between independent crowdfunding publishers Doug TenNapel and Ethan Van Sciver (who won this award for 2017), the real battle was taking place between Gary Frank (DOOMSDAY CLOCK), J. Scott Campbell (BLACK CAT) and Ivan Reis (SUPERMAN).

Up for grabs this week is an official theatrical poster for Disney-Pixar's ONWARD. This poster is not your typical store-bought licensed poster -- this is the exact same poster the theaters get for display in their lobbies in lightboxes. You want to know why those colors pop so much in those posters? because the print is double-sided, with the image printed in reverse on the back, so there's no plain white back to wash out the colors when the light shines through it! 

This poster is full sized, and printed on sturdy stock. It will make an excellent addition to your media room or Disney den!

We will be picking TWO winners in this contest, so be sure to share the link with your friends!

Be sure to check out our rules and regulations before proceeding, then... well... proceed. Take one or more options on the form below and get entered for this unique piece of movie memorabilia.

Looking back over 2019, there were a number of high-profile comic arcs that caught the attention of the fans. Some of those were the annual event or non-canonical runs, like Tom Taylor's DCEASED, which brought a zombie apocalypse to the DC Universe. Geoff Johns' sequel to WATCHMEN, DOOMSDAY CLOCK crossed universes to tell it's tale, while Jonathan Hickman received critical acclaim for his remastering of Marvel's mighty mutants in HOUSE OF X. 

But there were also notable runs this past year in your ongoing series that focused our eyes on the people crafting the latest twists and turns in the lives of our favorite characters. Brian Michael Bendis stunned us by having Superman reveal his identity publicly to the world, while Donny Cates and Kelly Thompson enjoyed the increased readership on their titles, VENOM and CAPTAIN MARVEL thanks to the appearance of their characters in theatrical films.

While fan response to the Disney STAR WARS films has been more starkly divided than the philosophies of the Jedi and the Sith, one thing everyone can seem to agree on is that the first ever STAR WARS live-action series, THE MANDALORIAN, is a unifying (wait for it) force. A western adventure set in another galaxy, the series is an original to the Disney Plus streaming service, and has been pleasing fans since its debut -- perhaps, in no small part, due to the presence of The Child, universally known to all as "Baby Yoda."

It used to be that we voted on the best actor of a television series. But ever since the advent of streaming services, we've struggled for what to call the collective shows that are available many different ways. Sometimes we still catch ourselves saying "Best Actor in a TV Series" even if the show, technically, didn't get shown on a traditional television broadcast.

The past year was a surfeit of choices for pop culture fans, especially if you wanted some live action superhero drama. And while some of the streaming shows got a nod, it was still the tradional broadcast media that led the pack this year, with RIVERDALE's Cole Sprouse taking 16 percent of the votes, just trailing Jean Smart for her portrayal of Agent Laurie Blake in HBO's WATCHMEN.

Heads up, Sonic fans! We are giving away THREE prize packs in one contest. 

Use the form below for your chance to enter. The FIRST prize winner will receive everything shown in the photo -- the mini-poster, the bucket of Sonic Slime, the light-up Sonic rubber ball, and the Sonic embroidered stocking cap!  SECOND and THIRD place will win all the above, minus the stocking cap.

Be sure to check the rules and regulations, and then get to it. And remember: Gotta. Go. Fast.

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There's a power vacuum at the hallowed halls of DC Comics, home to supehero icons such as Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. On Friday, February 21, a late-day announcement was made that Dan DiDio was no longer the co-publisher of the stable of titles.

Speculation immediately spread throughout the fandom, wondering what this might mean for DC Comics. What was the reason for the sudden departure? Would a replacement be named? What impact would this have on DiDio's pet project, the heavily touted "5G" or "Generation 5" launch coming later in the year?

While those are questions for which we await answers with bated breath, we thought it would be a fun little exercise to look at some of the candidates in the industry that might find themselves suddenly getting a call to interview for the open position.

Tom Taylor's DCU Zombieverse marches -- or perhaps, I should say -- shambles on with this new chapter set in the strange new world of the zombie apocalypse...with superheroes!

After Darkseid released a corrupted anti-life equation (which killed him and all of Apokolips), Cyborg became the seed for infecting the rest of the Earth when it broadcast from him to every digital device on the planet. If you looked at a screen, you saw the equation. If you saw the equation, you became a zombie...who could, of course, make other zombies by scratching, biting or otherwise enountering another human being. Or Themysciran. Or Kryptonian.