The Masked Ace has returned, and I have your Wrestlemania predictions here!

André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal for the André the Giant Memorial Trophy

The Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis is host to the national tour of Hamilton, April 3 – 22, 2018. It’s easily the most anticipated show to hit our town’s venerated stage since perhaps the first tour of The Lion King. Over the last few weeks, theatre-minded friends have been talking about the show nonstop. Some have seen it on Broadway. Others have made road trips to catch the tour at stops prior to St. Louis. Many have memorized the cast recording and added hundreds of hits to various YouTube clips. It wasn’t until the night before the performance I was slated to see that I started to get a little apprehensive. The hype for Hamilton has been ridiculously high. How could it possibly live up to the hype?

Hey DJ, gimme a beat…

Hamilton was created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who was inspired by Ron Chernow’s book about one of the founders of America.

As the Sagittari crack down on Seg's home district, Seg and Adam race against time to locate the probe that Brainiac sent to Krypton; it may already be too late.

Seg brings the probe that Adam and Kem found in the outlands to have Val-El run analysis on it. Adam meets Val's hologram for the first time and is rather impressed by it. They learn that the probe is just a shell that contains a parasitic sentry that will seek out a host. This host will be used to transmit all available data about the planet back to Brainiac.

When they open the probe to extract the sentry, they discover that it has already been released.

The first thing to know when picking up JETSONS #6 is this: George Jetson is dead, having sacrificed his life doing a Bruce Willis in ARMAGEDDON to destroy a meteor on a collision course with Earth.

The other thing you need to know: It's not a meteor, and George Jetson is not dead.

As Jane, Elroy, and Judy gather for the last three minutes of Earth, they are shocked when the hurtling meteor comes to a dead stop outside the atmosphere. Inside, George is just as shocked to be floating in an empty space with his mother -- who is no longer Rosie the Robot but in her human body and about in her mid-thirties.

I could build this up, but why don't we just forego with the niceties and small talk and delve right in.

I think it's safe to say if we had to guess at the sexuality of any of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters (yes, we're actually having this discussion), probably nobody would bat an eye at the suggestion that, at the very least, Snagglepuss would be gay. The stereotypes were all there. So that fact that he's a gay character in DC Comics EXIT STAGE LEFT: THE SNAGGLEPUSS CHRONICLES is anything but a surprise, and a perfectly acceptable notion for the character.

It's the rest of the world that, quite properly, falls under the category of WTAF.

Snagglepuss is gay.

Huckleberry Hound is gay.

Quickdraw McGraw is gay.

I've got Kurt Cobain singing "All Apologies" in the back of my head now.

Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars) and Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf) lead the cast of Blumhouse’s Truth or Dare, a supernatural thriller from Blumhouse Productions (Happy Death Day, Get Out, Split). A harmless game of “Truth or Dare” among friends turns deadly when someone—or something—begins to punish those who tell a lie—or refuse the dare.

Directed by Jeff Wadlow (Kick-Ass 2), the thriller co-stars Violett Beane, Hayden Szeto, Landon Liboiron, Sophia Taylor Ali and Nolan Gerard Funk. The film was produced by Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and executive produced by Wadlow, Chris Roach, Jeanette Volturno and Couper Samuelson.

The countdown continues to the wedding of the century between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. With BATMAN 44, "Bride or Burglar," things slow down just a bit in order for Selina to do some woolgathering while trying on dresses.

But it can't be as simple as that.

The Berlin Wall is built overnight splitting Berlin in half.  Gerta remains in communist East Berlin with her mother and older brother, Fritz, where the government and rules are very strict.  Gerta’s father and her other brother, Dominic, are caught on the democratic western side while visiting.  To Gerta, the western side of Berlin represents freedom and independent thinking.

Will Gerta’s family ever be reunited?

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!

In the DC Universe, there is an afterlife. That's not a philosophical debate, it's an actual thing, and it presents a number of sticky problems that the players have to deal with, not always in a fashion consistent with the ramifications of there being a Heaven and a Hell. It's the focal point of this latest DC Animated Universe release, SUICIDE SQUAD: HELL TO PAY.

Spring has sprung! The flowers are blooming, and we kick off the month with the Easter celebration! And what an Easter egg we have for our readers this month, as we introduce to you our latest cosplay master.

And with Easter on everybody's mind, what better and cuter way to hop right into things than with Judy Hopps, the feisty police bunny from Disney's ZOOTOPIA? Sure, it's not Peter Cottontail, but nobody among our peeps have been complaining.

Gentle readers, it is with great pleasure and delight that we introduce to you our...

Critical Blast Bombshell, April 2018

RavenGlitch

Judy Hopps (ZOOTOPIA)
photographer: Roberto Fioravanti

What did we talk about on Critical Blast this week?

Reviews

GOTHAM is getting its groove back in this trailing half of the fourth season. With a breakout at Arkham, we don't have time to think about the fallout of Sophia Falcone's shooting or Lee Thompkins' role in it. We don't care where Solomon Grundy is, or what Oswald and Nygma are up to. No, because three of the most dangerous lunatics ever to grace the Gotham streets have busted out, and brought hell riding with them: Jonanthan Crane (DAVID W. THOMPSON), Jerome Tetch (BENEDICT SAMUEL), and Jerome Valeska (CAMERON MONAGHAN).

Is there a proper escape from reality? Wouldn't it be wonderful to live a life of dreams rather than face the consequences of life's choices? If only the technology existed to find a way to gratify the desires of the flesh, or to discover enjoyment in safely pursuing a hobby, alter-ego, or living a lifestyle exceeding our own personal potential.

The creation of a true virtual reality, where anyone could do or be anything limited only by the imagination, seems like a syfy movie or television series. But wouldn't the existence of this technology be a great advancement, for all mankind? Science focusing on the betterment of our human existence controlled by corporate greed. Can you only imagine!

Escape from Reality: Enter the Oasis. 

I'll admit up front that I have not watched a lot of SUPERNATURAL. And by "not a lot" I mean I've seen perhaps two episodes.It's not a taste or preference thing, I just haven't added it to my overwhelming list of things to watch. But when I learned they were doing a team-up with Scooby-Doo and the gang, I made watching this special episode, "Scoobynatural," a priority.

Sam and Dean (JARED PADALECKI and JENSEN ACKLES, not the musical duo) Winchester are fighting a giant stuffed dinosaur when the episode opens, setting the tone for the silliness that is to follow. In payment for saving his life, the grateful toy store owner gives Dean the widescreen television off his wall, which Dean uses open up "The Deancave." But it turns out the television is also a cursed object, like the toy dinosaur, and almost instantly the brothers are sucked into the screen and animated.

Brainiac and Phantom Zone and Rao...oh my! Episode 2 titled "House of El" hits the ground running by picking up right where the pilot ended.

The pilot established the world and society of Krypton, as well as laid the foundation for the characters. This allowed episode 2 to breathe. Krypton doesn't talk down to its viewers by feeling like it needs to explain every minute detail. But when its necessary to set up a significant plot point, it does a very good job doing so.

From Marvel:

Four heroes. One team. They’re back.

Reed, Sue, Ben, Johnny: welcome home.

After a spacefaring foray into the unknown, Marvel’s First Family returns this August with FANTASTIC FOUR #1.

Written by Dan Slott with art by Sara Pichelli, Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Thing, and the Human Torch reunite this summer.

From the "Oh Yeah, They're Still Doing That" Department: DC Comics DOOMSDAY CLOCK #4 continues the story that brings the universe of WATCHMEN into that of the DCU proper, as the hunt for Dr. Manhattan continues. Slowly.

I appreciate that Geoff Johns is going for the "slow burn" in storytelling, but the slow burn only works well when the story overall is fast paced in terms of overall delivery and production. Having to wait two months between issues lets the burn fizzle out. 

What we do get this issue is the origin of the new Rorschach, as he muddles his way through life in Arkham Asylum. And no, I still haven't processed the fact that Batman has admitting privilieges to Arkham to the point that he can commit an inmate there without trial or even a psychological exam from a licensed psychiatrist. That's probably his scariest non-super power to date!

The melodrama of RIVERDALE continues, as some of our story threads draw together -- fitting, as the episode is titled "The Noose Tightens."

The plans of Hiram Lodge (MARK CONSUELOS) are threatened when two of his mobster associates show up in town. They're concerned about Hermione (MARISOL NICHOLS) running for mayor, as it puts too much of a public profile on the business. But like all good businessmen, they'll overlook it -- for a 25% take of the private prison Lodge is funding to be built in Riverdale. Archie (KJ APA) has to summon his inner capo to stand up for Mr. Lodge when it is determined that all his allies have left him to work for other men, including "Agent Adams" who appears wearing a very triggering black hood.