Interviews

DC's Super Hero Girls. A property fashioned by DC in partnership with Mattel toys. On the surface, it appears like nothing more than a way to market toys to young girls. But, when you start digging, you unearth so much more when you reach the foundation.

The theme, 'Get Your Cape On', has a music video on both YouTube and DC’s Super Hero Girls website. Accompanying the video are inspiring lyrics, written and performed by singer/songwriter, Jordyn Kane.

Superman has been under some heavy criticism since he's been depowered. Most of the criticism is due to a mythical ideology of the character being a 'boyscout' . Superman/Wonder Woman writer, Peter J. Tomasi says those views are why the 'boyscout' is 'boring'...

In an interview with comicbook.com, Tomasi touched on why the 'brawler' version of Superman is the better version:

"What it is for me is that I've always loved that brawler, impetuous Superman. When he gets to be too much of a boyscout, when he gets to be too "Everything is black and white," there are certain things where I like that brawler Superman from the early Action Comics and Superman comics from the '30s and '40s."

Archon, like many other science fiction conventions, is a showcase for cosplay. Here are just a few of the folks who are having a blast with critical blast at our con this year.

Few men in the genre of science fiction stand as tall as does Harlan Ellison. From anthologies to comic books to television episodes to movies, if it's science fiction Harlan Ellison has been there, done that.
 

It was my distinct privilege and honor to speak with Mr. Ellison has he attended Archon 39.

Back in July, composer Frederik Wiedmann’s work on SPECTRUM was covered here. It was a masterful piece of music that took us on a journey through the senses. After the release of the soundtrack that accompanies JUSTICE LEAGUE: GODS and MONSTERS, we had an opportunity to chat with the talented composer and ask him a few questions about his experience, process and whether or not Bruce Timm has him on ‘speed dial’.

I’d love to consider myself to be some great investigative reporter, who scoops big stories and has sources to provide inside information. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. That being said, through the power of social media I am occasionally presented with something so amazing I need to write about it.

Enter singer/songwriter, Larissa Lam.

She had shared her song, ‘Wonder Woman’, with me on twitter and, as a comic book nerd, I had to listen. Needless to say, I loved it so much I had to know more about the woman who used her talents to write and sing a song that references DC’s Power Couple.

The difficulty with transcribing an interview with comics writer Mark Millar is not one of attuning the American ear to the Scottish accent. Rather, it's in the judicious editing out of all the exclamation points you find in your notes. Mark, like the comics he produces, is a high-energy personality, and every utterance comes across with a sense of excitement and urgency.

And why shouldn't he be excited? He's had several of his comic book projects turned into films, with more of those on the way, and he's living out the dream of playing daily with superheroes, and getting paid to do so!

The owner and operator of Millarworld sat down with CriticalBlast for a few moments to talk about his latest graphic novel venture, CHRONONAUTS, as well as drop some knowledge on us about some of his other projects he has coming down the pike.

Austin Basis has a long and varied career in acting -- and lately a lot of it has been at the CW. As the newest season of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST gets underway, we spoke with the actor about his career and where things are going for his character on this fan-favorite television show.

You’re a very persistent actor. You’ve taken the traditional route from playing unnamed characters and bit parts, and worked your way up the ladder. Which I actually like to see over the “I just discovered somebody, let’s cast them and write them a million dollar check.”

So you have a new music single and video debuting, "Havana," and I understand that this is inspired by the story of your parents coming to America from Cuba. Can you elaborate on that story a little bit?

My dad came from Havana. My mom came from Santiago. There was just a lot of crazy things that happened and challenging sacrifices they had to make to get to this country. You know, in pursuit of the American dream.

TNT's MAJOR CRIMES succeeds because it doesn't have a single star -- it has a constellation of stars that put all their light on telling the story, and let the show be the object of focus. One of these terrific actors is Raymond Cruz, who portrays Detective Julio Sanchez. We stole of few moments of Cruz's time to talk about his character's evolving story on MAJOR CRIMES, which airs Monday nights on TNT.

The big question for MAJOR CRIMES fans right now is, "Does Julio Sanchez have a grip on his anger issues?"

You know, he's working on that. [laughs] As you know, things don't happen overnight. What's great and fascinating about the show is you get to see someone who has to deal with things in real time, over a period of time. He just returned from a five month suspension without pay, he's attending counseling, he's living with his mother.

With all of the hype surrounding the recent release of the trailer for FALLOUT 4, I decided it was time to start getting myself back into the mindset of an open-world, first person RPG. I had recently been on a racing game kick, and with my anticipation for FO4 being kicked into overdrive, I grabbed my copy of FO3 and went to work.

Typically, after grinding a game for a few hours, I like to grab a FAQ and see everything I've missed. You can call me a cheater if you must, but I still get loads of enjoyment by playing with a handy-to-reference guide.

Young Adult Literature. It's been officially a thing now for a handful of years, offering up stories that appeal to young and old alike, featuring young protagonists in a variety of plots.

Paula Stokes is carving out her own place among the pantheon of YA authors, with two novels, LIARS INC and THE ART OF LAINEY from Harper Teen. I first met Paula in St. Louis, and was glad to get in touch with her on the release of LIARS INC to discuss the YA market and get some insights into her own process.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the early proofreaders on LIARS INC, what feels like so long ago. What was going on back then that provided the inspiration of Max's story?

One of the things we love to do at Critical Blast is provide a platform for artists who haven't had much exposure -- the people you haven't heard of yet, but the people you'll likely hear of in the future.

One of those people is Kris Mobley, who's taken a unique approach to the subjects who sit for his portraits. They're monsters. And Mobley toys with them.

Fortunately for Mobley, these monsters are plastic figures. Let's find out what's behind all that.

It's not unusual for graphic artists to do portraits of classic monsters, but you're approach is to use the toy versions of them as models -- and retain the toy appearance. What drove this decision, and why the REMCO models as opposed to items like the Aurora model kits?

I love to browse Kickstarter for cool new inventions, clever board games and exciting graphic novels. Recently I came across Heathen, a new graphic novel project from Oklahoma-based artist Natasha Alterici. After reading the synopsis, I immediately backed her project. I then contacted Natasha to learn more about the project, her interest in comic books, and herself. 

Tell me a little about yourself and how you came to be doing a Kickstarter for this graphic novel project? What drew you, no pun intended, to the comic medium? And who are done of your artistic influences? Your style on Heathen reminds me of Ashley Wood, which isn't a bad thing!

Anniversaries. They have a nasty habit of just sneaking up on you without notice. Some of them seem to come faster than others, and even The Fastest Man Alive has to eventually succumb to them.

While much has been made of Batman's 75th anniversary, we're now leaving behind the year of the bat and entering the era of the lightning. And with a hot new television show burning up the airwaves, it's never been a better time for fans of The Flash. So we sat down for a little conversation with current FLASH scribes, Robert Venditti and Van Jensen to get some insight into being at the helm of the Scarlet Speedster at this pivotal point in his history.

How fun is it -- or how scary is it -- to be at the helm of THE FLASH at what has to be his most visible point in 75 years?

For all the spectacle of a San Diego Comic-Con or a Wizard World, there' something that's been slowly slipping away from the concept of the comic book convention: the comic book. Oh, it's still there, but now it's become a mecca for video game developers to show off their latest beta releases and Hollywood movie studios to generate buzz for their next year's action movies.

Mike D'Alessio is no stranger to comic conventions. He may not be known to the fans, but to the industries who attend these conventions, he and his Promoguys Marketing Group are major -- nay, invaluable -- players. Now D'Alessio is bringing all his experience and klout to bear as he brings the first annual Atlantic City Boardwalk Con to New Jersey -- but this isn't just another comic book convention, as you'll see as we talk with Mike about what's going to make this convention bigger and better.

To say that the Internet has revolutionized society is a saying so commonly obvious that even the television gecko and camel sneer at me for saying it. But for fans of comics and fantasy, it truly is a whole new world -- or rather a doorway to whole new worlds -- as it allows new artists to have their material seen by millions of people at once. I've seen my share of struggling artists showing off their talents (and, sometimes, lack thereof), but I was particularly taken with the work I started to see from a name I hadn't encountered.

If you're looking for someone with the longsuffering patience needed to deal with a room full of children, Gordon Ramsay probably isn't going to be on your list. But that unexpected mix is part of what makes MASTERCHEF JUNIOR such a fun watch for viewers.

Representing my home town of Saint Louis, Missouri, is Ayla, an eleven year old whose already got a signature dish in her culinary repertoire: Corn and Pumpkin Soup. "I learned from my mom's cooking school," says Ayla. "It ws the first recipe that I had to learn and master."

But there's a distinct difference between what she does best and what she likes most. "[Pumpkin and Corn Soup] is definitely the think I make the best," says Ayla. "But my favorite thing to cook is Chocolate Souffle."

Joshua Mills has been in the recording business for fifteen years now, but only this year released his first Christmas album. Focused on a theme of miracles -- and the desire to bring miracles back to Christmas -- affected not only the album title, CHRISTMAS MIRACLE, but several of the tracks, which are a blend of original songs and traditional standards.

With Christmas fast approaching, we spoke with Mills about his album as well as the unique production methods involved in making it happen.

How daunting is it to set out to do brand new music for a seasonal niche that's packed with some pretty long-standing standards?

Zenescope has carved out a niche in the comics industry through their unique and sexy adaptations of fairy tales. In their Grimm Fairy Tales universe, they've established realms for adaptations of Wonderland, the titular Brothers Grimm characters, Neverland, and others.

Standing apart from these intersecting worlds of fantasy is Zenescope's THE JUNGLE BOOK, now entering it's third miniseries with FALL OF THE WILD, In anticipation of the advent of this new chapter in the adventures of Mowglii on the island jungle of Kipling, we corralled series writer Mark L. Miller for a little Q&A about some of the mysteries of Mowglii.

THE JUNGLE BOOK: FALL OF THE WILD is advertised as the third book of the trilogy. Was it planned to be a trilogy from the beginning, or is it something that just evolved that way after it had begun?