When DC Comics brought in Brian Michael Bendis to take over writing duties on the Superman comics, they brought in arguably one of the best in the industry.

And he has big plans.

Not only will he be re-launching (sort of) the Superman comic book, but his story in Action Comics #1000 will be the foundation for much of what is changing going forward. He will also be penning a MAN OF STEEL weekly book in May which builds off of his story in the pages of the historical 1000th issue.

In an interview with Men's Health, actor Cameron Cuffe talked about how he added 15 lbs of muscle in order to bear the weight of being Superman's grandfather.

It's been a very good year this year for DC Comics at the annual Critical Blast awards.

First, they take the prize for Best Comic Book Storyline of 2017 with DARK NIGHTS: METAL.

Then they get more notoriety when BATMAN and MISTER MIRACLE SCRIBE, Tom King, is awarded Best Comics Writer of 2017.

Well, DC fans--the streak isn't over yet!

To celebrate the centenary year of Mickey Spillane, Titan Comics is excited to announce Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer, a brand-new Hard Case Crime comic book series, based on a story originally written by Mickey Spillane and adapted by Max Allan Collins (Road To Perdition, Quarry’s War) – coming in June 2018.

Following his debut novel, I, The Jury in 1947, Mickey Spillane became one of the best-selling novelists of all-time, with more than 225 million copies of his books sold internationally. Famed, yet controversial for the depictions of sex and violence in his novels, Spillane created Mike Hammer, one of the most famous of all fictional detectives, and even starred as Hammer in one of the many movies made from his books.

The Best Book category was probably one of the closest, most hotly contested races of the entire Best of 2017 awards. And why shouldn't it be? Every nominee was an excellent title, as we let the genres and styles all battle it out for a single trophy. The YA and the SF, the adult books vs. the kids books -- if it had pages and was bound, it was a book and thus eligible for nomination.

When the dust settled, it was hard to tell the winner at first. The top five were clearly included Gerald Welch's SHATTERED PROPHECY (the latest in THE LAST WITNESS saga). However, pinning him down was David J. Pedersen's BURNING WITH ANGST (of Pedersen's ANGST series).

What did we talk about on Critical Blast this week?

Bombshell of the Month Sofy Frezer

Comics writers do a lot of double-duty. They generally aren't assigned one specific title, but they usually only shine for one.

This year was exceptional, however, in that several of our nominees for Best Comics Writer of 2017 were nominated for their work on more than one comic. Charles Soule came in for both ASTONISHING X-MEN and CURSE WORDS. David Walker was nominated for OCCUPY AVENGERS and LUKE CAGE.

As an avid board game player and a fan of Jason Bateman, I was eager to see Game Night, the new comedy by directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein, the fellows that brought you Horrible Bosses. As usual, I avoided previews so I wasn't really sure what I was going to see. The premise is actually pretty similar to the brilliant Michael Douglas thriller The Game, but this time done as a farce. As with most farcical films, they tend to be better if everyone goes all in on the conceit. Game Night does exactly that.

Alex Garland, who received a lot of praise for his first directorial effort, Ex Machina (2015) and wrote and produced one of my favorite comic book adaptations with Dredd (2012), is a way ahead of me. I like to think I’m a pretty sharp guy. I can usually spot the twist nobody saw coming just before everyone else. I generally am aware of the nuanced use of the color palette and lighting to achieve mood and heighten tension.  I can appreciate a slow, thoughtful pace. I most certainly can applaud the predominant casting of strong, capable women in this film. Yet I cannot even begin to tell you what Garland’s latest picture, Annihilation, is really about. I just can’t. I didn’t get it. I mean, virtually none of it. So this is going to be one strange flick to discuss.

If there was a motto to my life, it would probably be this: So many comic books, so little time.

2017 certainly had its share of memorable storylines. Valiant's BLOODSHOT: SALVATION reinvigorated the character. DC Comics' THE OZ EFFECT has people guessing about the identity of the enigmatic Mr. Oz, while PAST TIMES AT SUPER HERO HIGH was a fun adventure with the cartoon-version of some of our favorite super heroes (in high school). Over at Marvel, fans continue to fall in love with MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR, while SECRET EMPIRE set fandom on its ear with the idea of an evil Captain America taking over the country with Hydra.

When an art dealer (GREG KINNEAR) is discovered to be cheating on his wife (RENEE ZELLWEGER), she forgives him on the condition they try to fix their relationship. For Ron Hall, this means he will be joining Debbie in assisting at a homeless shelter, not by writing a check but by using his hands and putting in the effort to get to know the people there and help them one-on-one. It is here that they meet Denver Moore (DJIMON HOUNSOU), a violent man with a criminal past. He also looks exactly like the man Debbie has been having dreams about, and she focuses on finding out more about him.

The "Best Actor in a Series" category is probably one of the most hotly contested in this year's Best of 2017 awards. It's not just that there were so many nominees to choose from, but every one of them comes with a solid fan following, and the shows they appeared on represented a myriad of genres. Just about everyone on THE ORVILLE got at least one vote, attesting to the ardent following of that series. Also in the running were all the leads from the CW super-shows -- ARROW's Stephen Amell, THE FLASH's Grant Gustin, and SUPERGIRL's Melissa Benoist -- as well as comedies like YOUNG SHELDON's (Iain Armitage), medical dramas like THE GOOD DOCTOR (Freddie Highmore), and dystopian science fiction like THE HANDMAID'S TALE (Elisabeth Moss).

One of the greatest things about an event like Wizard World is that no matter how many times you've been to a convention, there's always going to be someone new doing something new.

Such was the case when I bumped into Brian Bradley, president of Kingdom Comics and publisher of THE ANOINTED 7, a superhero team that's a combination of JUSTICE LEAGUE meets LEFT BEHIND. It's supernatural evil opposed by supernal good, as no less an entity than God Himself intervenes through human emissaries granted superhuman powers, like Samson but in four-color action.

To get the full scoop on The Anointed 7, we spoke with Brian to find out exactly who these people were, and what kind of world it is they inhabit.

Who are the Anointed 7?

The Anointed 7 are a group of seven individuals who have been anointed by God, with the purpose of standing against Lord Christopher and his violently aggressive new world order. They are a super-powered fighting force.

From Polygon:

New series, new creative teams, new directions and new beginnings, promises a short announcement video on Marvel Entertainment’s YouTube account today.

...

Probably harder to select than the Best Movie of 2017 is the Best Serial of 2017. Because let's face it -- not only do we watch a lot of shows on our devices, but there are so many new outlets creating original content. It's not like the old days of the early 21st century when your favorite shows were generated by a cable network (and don't even get me started on my antediluvian childhood woes of only having three broadcast networks to pick from, plus a UHF channel you could pick up if the weather was clear).

As a result, there were a ton of contenders vying for the spot of Best Serial of 2017. But in the end, there could be only one -- and it was a close shave! GAME OF THRONES put in a strong second place, taking 20 percent of the votes.

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!

February is that month where we tell those we love how much we love them. Sure, some do that on Valentine's Day, and that's important. But here at Critical Blast, we use the whole month to pass the word along to those who create the movies, shows, comics and books we all hold so dear.

After taking votes all through January from you, our readers, the votes have been tabulated and we begin our series of announcements with the BEST FILM OF 2017. And since this year, the category shares so much with the BEST ACTOR OF 2017, we're offering them to you here as a two-fer!

At Toyfair today, Hasbro announced the next series of Power Rangers will be called Beast Morphers!  The toys will be available in Spring 2019 (Hasbro takes over the license in April as we reported yesterday).  This new series will be an adaptation of the 2012 Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters...this is actually the first time they have gone backwards when they have adapted a Sentai series over to Power Rangers. 

Here is the description Hasbro released:

A few days ago, we reported that Bandai would no longer be doing the Power Rangers toys.  Today Hasbro released the following press release: