Nobody is dealing all that well with the way the Batman / Catwoman wedding went -- or, rather, didn't -- particularly Batman himself. In typical Batman fashion, whenever something traumatic happens to him, he buries himself in his work.

Now, normally, this would mean a trail of busted jaws and broken ribs stretching across the length and breadth of Gotham City, lasting until someone finally beats some sense into him. This time is different, however. As he relates to Commissioner Gordon at the scene of what seems a mundane murder, "Lately I may have gotten over my head. I need to reset. Bottom line, this is a mystery and I'm a detective."

Calling the Beatles "influential" to rock and roll is an understatement. They were as essential to music as oxygen is to life. I was seven years old when John Lennon was taken from the world, forever ending any chance of a Fab Four reunion. As time marched on, seeing at least one Beatle perform live had become a "bucket list" item. Thanks to Ringo Starr, that box is finally checked.

At 78 years of age, you might think Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band would be a show that relies on nostalgia over musicianship. Rest assured, Ringo, aka Sir Richard Starkey, is still the infectiously charming performer he's been since the Beatles early days. As a drummer he's been immensely influential and inconceivably still underrated by "experts" in such matters. All of Ringo's many talents were on display as the thirteenth iteration of the All-Starr Band played a lively show at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis.

MACGYVER was one of those classic 80s shows that are often imitated but never duplicated. Attempts to make movies of THE A-TEAM never took off, and remakes of KNIGHT RIDER just didn't have staying power.

In one of the many iterations of SCOOBY-DOO, way back in the days of Saturday Morning cartoons, Scooby and the gang used to meet celebrities. Granted, they were celebrities who had enough free time to show up and do some voice acting for Hanna-Barbera, but they were still celebrities. Don Knotts, Mama Cass, a handful of others.

I was reminded of that series with this new release, SCOOBY-DOO AND THE GOURMET GHOST. The story finds the gang going to stay with Fred’s Uncle Bobby — Bobby Flay, whom Fred apparently didn’t know was a famous chef, much to Shaggy and Scooby’s disbelief. Flay is opening up a cooking resort with tons of “only in the cartoons” mechanical helpers that make cooking a breeze for anybody. He’s assisted in this by other celebrity chefs, including Giada DiiLaurentis, who is presented here as a sort of Wonder Woman in training as far as her surprising capabilities go.

Callie is an only child of a world-renowned taxidermist.  She helps her father in his shop as his assistant.  Callie’s mother and father are divorced and, since the divorce, this is about the only time she spends with her dad. 

Cosplay inspires the imagination of so many people. Some do it just for a lark, and some get bitten by the cosplay bug big time, churning out some truly stunning transformations that not only bring the characters out of the fantasy and into reality, but simultaneously bring the fans out of reality and into the fantasy.

Whether it's video games, comic books, or animated fantasies, there are always so many characters to pick from -- and our September Bombshell of the Month is one who can take them on from all media, as you will see.

So now, Critical Blast is proud to introduce to you our...

Critical Blast Bombshell, September 2018

Ginger Punk Cosplay

(What is this ComicsGate thing you keep hearing about? To some, it's a hate group, symbolizing old white guys whining about comics turning into political agitprop for social agendas. To others, it's a movement of fans who just want to read good comics again without having to endure stories where the writer's personal ideologies and philosophies have been shoe-horned into their favorite character's makeup.

It's a pretty big thing, and it's a pretty volatile one as well, with some comics professionals (so-called) making threats of violence (or at the very least wistful wishes of agonizing death and disease) against anyone who dares to align themselves with the movement.

Some people talk through their ass. And then there are those who surpass the metaphor.

Case in point: Robbi Rodriguez, formerly of SPIDER-GWEN and newly appointed illustrator to Zoe Quinn’s Vertigo title, GODDESS MODE. In a moment of drunkenness poor decision making, Rodriguez decided to send a message to fellow comics professional, Ethan Van Sciver, involving an image of his opened gluteus maximus.

As time passes by, things change, and recently one thing that has begun to take a new direction are princess stories.

Okay, I freely admit I’m an exploitation/sexploitation, sleazy/cheesy 1970’s movie junkie, and when I saw this DVD from AGFA I thought, "Oh yeah, this will be a dandy!"

Well…

Let me start this way: this movie was made in 1977 and directed by James Bryan and was written and produced by Renee Harmon, so the credentials were there for what should have been a prime example of the genre. It ain’t, even by low standards. I give credit to AGFA for releasing it, though, as it is something to be seen…once…and then locked away somewhere.

The DVD features the movie in a new 2k scan from the only surviving 35mm theatrical trailer (one can only surmise the others were burned) and tells the story of a woman named Linda Allen (Renee Harmon) a cop hot on the trails of the thugs who killed her twin sister.

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s long-running 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!

The following statement has been released by Rose McGowan:

I would first of all like to start off this statement saying thank you for your patience. A lot of people have been demanding answers and a response to the recent events surrounding Asia Argento’s sexual assault case. Many people believe that because we have been close in each other’s lives over the past year that perhaps I am affiliated with this incident or being complicit. I am not. 

For all it's many (many, many) plot faults, the fourth season of THE FLASH is one of my personal favorites. It's not just because the big bad of the season finally wasn't another speedster who was faster than the titular "fastest man alive," or because the villain was (at least at first) one scary AF adversary. No, the real joy of this season of THE FLASH comes from the introduction of HARTLEY SAWYER as Ralph Dibny, aka The Elongated Man. In the Silver Age of comics, Barry Allen and Ralph Dibny were best friends, and teamed up often on cases, so it was nice to see that relationship begin to develop in the television series, even if it did begin on strained terms. The special effects for Ralph's powers were also better than anticipated, and will hopefully be even better and more creative going into the fifth season.

Warner Bros. Television, CBS and Chuck Lorre Productions released the followung statement this afternoon:

"We are forever grateful to our fans for their support of The Big Bang Theory during the past twelve seasons. We, along with the cast, writers and crew, are extremely appreciative of the show’s success and aim to deliver a final season, and series finale, that will bring The Big Bang Theory to an epic creative close.” 

Over the weekend at Power Morphicon 2018, we finally started to get a little more information about Power Rangers Season 26.  We had announced earlier that the series would be calling Beast Morphers, and now we have the casting announcements and a teaser!
 

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s long-running 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

Sorry for the brief column this week, but I am just getting back from vacation and dealing with a severe injury. Hopefully will be back to normal next week,

You did it, Lucifans!

After Critical Blast broke the news that the box art had been changed for LUCIFER's third season to remove the "final" reference, hope was renewed that everyone's favorite little devil wasn't going to be condemned to the pit of cancellation.

Now that the orgies and exultations are over, celebrating LUCIFER's fourth season coming soon, we can sit back and re-watch the third season without all the anxiety about what loose plot threads might not get wrapped up.

And to thank all the Lucifans that swarmed us with #SaveLucifer tweets, we'd like to give something back: the opportunity to win this copy of LUCIFER: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON on DVD.

Marinka is twelve-years-old and lives with her Baba, or grandmother, and her pet bird, a jackdaw named Jack.  Marinka’s grandmother is a Yaga, a Guardian who guides dead people through “The Gate” so they can return to the stars and complete the cycle.  Marinka never meets people who are alive, as they must keep their distance from the living, but she yearns for a real friend and a normal life with the living.

The most unusual and amazing thing about Marinka’s life is her house.  Her house is the home to The Gate; it cares for, comforts, and protects Marinka; and moves on chicken legs at will.

Following the shocking second season finale, BLINDSPOT returns for its third season Jaimie Alexander stars as Jane Doe, a mysterious woman found in Times Square with her memory erased and her body covered with a series of coded tattoos. As Jane and the FBI team who discovered her work to decipher, investigate and solve the clues behind her tattoos, an ever-widening web of conspiracy and corruption is revealed, as is the truth behind Jane’s true identity and the organization that sent her to the FBI in the first place. Season 3 jumps two years forward. Agent Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) finally tracks down Jane, who's been on the run. After the two discover a new set of luminescent tattoos planted on Jane’s body, Jane is forced to return to the FBI. Weller, Jane, and the FBI team set out to solve these new puzzles and stop the dangerous conspiracies they reveal. But the tattoos also expose the team's darkest secrets...