Arrow - Vertigo

Both Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Laurel (Katie Cassidy) step in to help after Thea's (Willa Holland) arrest for driving under the influence of a new street drug named Vertigo. While Laurel gets her father (Paul Blackthorne) to talk with the judge (Serge Houde) who throws out a plea arrangement to make and example out of one of Starling City's elite, Oliver calls on the help of an old friend working as a vice cop (Janina Gavankar) to find the mysterious Count (Seth Gabel) who is supplying the city with the powerful hallucinogenic compound that 56 people died to perfect.

Paperman

Disney's Oscar-nominated short "Paperman" (originally released with Wreck-It Ralph) has finally hit the Internet. It skews to a slightly older audience than most of Pixar's shorts (making sense as to play to the older, nostalgic, video game audience for Ralph), but it's no less enjoyable. If you haven't seen it, or even if you have, you should take a look.

The Lying Game - A Kiss Before Lying

As Sutton (Alexandra Chando) reclaims her life Emma (Chando) grows restless tutoring Ethan (Blair Redford) at the cabin, and things get really interesting when Alec (Adrian Pasdar) and Rebecca (Charisma Carpenter) arrive for their long-delayed honeymoon. Forced to head to a cheap motel she learns Sutton is hiding a secret about her time in the same hotel and finally decides to leave the lies behind and jump a bus to Los Angeles to be with Thayer (Christian Alexander). However, when she arrives unannounced to find Thayer alone with his new half-naked blonde surfer friend (Kasey Stevens) she realizes she may have made a very big mistake.

Pretty Little Liars - Out of the Frying Pan into the Inferno

As Aria (Lucy Hale) and Emily (Shay Mitchell) discuss whether or not to tell Spencer (Troian Bellisario) that Aria's father (Chad Lowe) saw Melissa (Torrey DeVitto) outside Alison's (Sasha Pieterse) house the night she disappeared, Spencer deals silently with the revelation that Toby (Keegan Allen) has been working for A the entire time they have been dating. Further shaken by a text message she believes to be from Aria, Spencer makes the mistake of revealing the truth to Ezra (Ian Harding) about Maggie (Larisa Oleynik) and his son - the truth Aria has been keeping from him for months.

White Collar - Brass Tacks

While looking into the case that destroyed Neal's (Matt Bomer) family and his father's (Treat Williams) career as a police officer, Neal and Peter begin an investigation into Senator Pratt (Titus Welliver). Not only do they believe Pratt is one of the a former dirty cops who was on the Flynn's payroll, but it's also highly likely he is the man responsible for Ellen's (Judith Ivey) death. While Peter gets the measure of the man, Neal uses his charm to get a look at the Senator's itinerary from his attractive assistant which allows Diana (Marsha Thomason) to place a bug on the man's phone.

Fables #125

With Bigby and Stinky off on a road trip in the magical car that used to be an evil witch (remember, the one introduced in the opening arc of Fairest) searching for Bigby's missing cubs, Snow White has her own troubles to deal with with the unexpected arrival of old friends.

There's quite a bit of fun here involving Bigby learning to drive a flying car that move between various worlds and dimensions (and nearly crash into several of them). Aside from the car, the comic also brings in Briar Rose fresh from her own Fairest arc to spend some quality girl time with the troubled Snow White.

However, Snow White's troubles are just beginning as Bigby's wife is surprised by the return of Prince Brandish, "protector of the realm, marshal of the west, and the first and one true husband of Snow White." I think things are about to get interesting. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $2.99]

The Following - Chapter Two

With serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) in custody, newly reinstated FBI Agent Ryan Hardy'a (Kevin Bacon) work is just beginning as one of Carroll's disciples (Steve Monroe) commits his first triple homicide and three others (Valorie Curry, Nico Tortorella, Adan Canto) have kidnapped Carroll's young son (Kyle Catlett) in an effort to force his ex-wife (Natalie Zea), and Ryan's former lover, to visit the killer in prison.

Bones - The Twist in the Plot

As Daisy (Carla Gallo) returns to the Jeffersonian intern rotation for the first time since breaking up with Sweets (John Francis Daley), Booth (David Boreanaz) and Bones (Emily Deschanel) investigate the murder of the death duola of a cancer victim who was buried with the young woman in a shallow grave. Sweets talks with the cancer victim's husband (Larry Dorf), as Bones and Booth talk with the new age alternative burial director (Chuck's Vik Sahay) about the murder and burial of his former partner. With a focus on character and murder (rather than yet another quirky plotline) the show succeeds in finding a little of its old magic for the best show of the season so far.

Winter Soldier #14

Ed Brubaker's run on Winter Soldier ends with the final issue of the "Black Widow Hunt." Although I'm happy to see someone else get a crack at Captain America, I fear Bucky's status in the Marvel Universe could take a hit with Brubaker's departure, particularly with the choices he makes here.

The first third of the comic is pretty much set-up and the retelling of Bucky's war with the Soviet sleeper agent Leo Novokov who has brainwashed the Black Widow into believing she is once again an agent of the KGB. I'm not saying the amount of pages spent on catching everyone up are wasted, but it does mean the final battle between Novokov and the Winter Soldier feels rushed and anti-climactic.

More concerning however is Novokov's victory. Although the Avengers are able to restore nearly all of Natasha's memories, they can't make her remember Bucky at all. Aside from making no sense, this certainly opens up new possibilities for the character (including the teased pairing with Hawkeye to mirror the movie characters), but it also means a huge piece of what made this book work will be absent for the foreseeable future. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $2.99]

Tiffani Thiessen shows off her place

Tiffani Thiessen is the latest celebrity to open her home to Esquire's Me in My Place series, pose for some pics in her underwear, and talk about being a sex symbol for two decades, her recent pregnancy, and trying out to be a Bond Girl. You can find more pics inside.

House of Lies - Man-Date

After Tamara's  (Nia Long) snafu with Pinkus (Kevin Dobson), Marty (Don Cheadle) and Clyde (Ben Schwartz) try to make the best out of their trip to Las Vegas by partying with the douchebag nightclub twins (Evan Hart, Taylor Gerard Hart) in hopes of getting a meeting with Michael Carlson (Mather Zickel), a self-made Vegas millionaire with a renown hatred of consultants.

The Mentalist - The Red Barn

Jane (Simon Baker) and Cho (Tim Kang) discover ties to Red John while investigating the discovery of three bodies hidden in the basement of a barn for more than 25 years, and 10 years before the first documented Red John murder. When the victims turn out to be members of Visualize, which also owned the barn back in 1988, Jane and Lisbon (Robin Tunney) head to the Visualize HQ to talk with the cult's second-in-command Jason Cooper (Robert Picardo).

Supergirl #16

I'll be honest, I haven't looked at the current Supergirl title since the first days of the New 52 and I haven't been keeping up with Superman, either. That means I felt a little lost at the beginning of this "He'l on Earth" tie-in, but what I really picked up the issue for, Supergirl going one-on-one with the Flash, the comic delivered.

From what I could understand there's an alien named He'l who wants to travel back in time to save Krypton. A somewhat smitten Kara is in favor, while Superman is not. While the Man of Steel and (apparently) the Justice League are busy with He'l this issue focuses on the Flash fighting, and trying to talk some sense into, Superman's stubborn cousin.

There's plenty of action along with a couple humorous surprises for the Scarlet Speedster as his discovers that Superman not only has a zoo in the Fortress of Solitude but also a dog. The story does a good job explaining how the Flash can keep up with Kara by choosing to focus on how the hero thinks and moves faster than everyone, even Kryptonians.

Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness - Shoot the Messenger

Mistaking an important messenger looking for Shifu (Fred Tatasciore) to peruse a peace treaty for one of his fans, Po (Mick Wingert) accidentally signs his name to the document in the worst possible manner. The Dragon Warrior and Tigress (Kari Wahlgren) to set out to stop the messenger before he delivers Po's message of to "Always keep fighting, never surrender," to the two warring  gorilla armies ready to plunge all of China into their feud.

The Imposter

The Imposter is nearly impossible to believe, even when you know going in it's a documentary of real events. The British film focuses on the story of a young American teenager named Nicolas, who reappears in France years after his disappearance. But that's only the beginning.

For those who haven't heard much about the film I'm hesitant to give too much away. Needless to say not everything about Nicholas is exactly what it seems. Told through a mixture of first-person accounts and recreations, The Imposter has a bit of an Unsolved Mysteries feel to it, but it's far more bizarre than any tale Robert Stack brought to viewers' attention.

Director Bart Layton's documentary is a disturbing look at a story so unbelievable Hollywood would have to make it up if it wasn't already true. Filled with several twists and turns, the film will continue to surprise, even if you already know the big twist (although it's given up pretty earlier in the film I won't spoil it here).

Superman...

...has a dog?

Young Justice - Fix

Stuck aboard Black Manta‘s’ (Khary Payton) ship under the guise of Tigress, Artemis' (Stephanie Lemelin) world gets far more complicated when Manta informs her that Psimon (Alan Tudyk) is about to start rebuilding Aqualad's mind. On one hand that means she will get her friend back, but that also means Psimon will discover her true identity and that both she and Aqualad have been working against Manta and The Light the entire time. Manta also informs her that he is going after Miss Martian (Danica McKellar) personally for leaving his son in his current vegetative state, meaning she will also have to find a way to warn her friend as well.

The Lone Ranger #12

The Lone Ranger #12 is a fitting, if uneventful, conclusion to the "Native Ground" arc from Ande Parks and Esteve Polls. The Lone Ranger returns to the Ute tribe with their healer, a Mormon woman who spent many years with the tribe as a slave and eventually a medicine woman, after being betrayed the the Native American warriors.

By the end of the issue the Masked Man will have his faithful companion back at his side and a far better understanding of the loss which still haunts him. Although the arc doesn't give us any more of Tonto's backstory, such as continuing his tale to the fateful day at Bryant's Gap where he came upon a single surviving Ranger in the midst of a slaughter, the arc does conclude with the Ranger growing to know the person who has become his truest friend a little better.

The arc lasted a little too long for my tastes, so I'm glad to hear the comic is following "Native Ground" with a series of one-shot issues featuring the adventures of Lone Ranger and Tonto. For fans.

[Dynamite, $3.99]

Nikita - Aftermath

As Nikita (Maggie Q) and Owen (Devon Sawa) head into the field to take on a dangerous rogue Cleaner named Liam (Pedro Pascal) working for the head (Julio Oscar Mechoso) of a drug cartel, Michael (Shane West) deals with the loss of his hand, his growing frustration with the limitations of his new robotic replacement, and his jealousy at watching his fiance work closely with a man he's never really trusted.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series - Loss

The signing of the peace treaty between the Guardians of the Universe and the Red Lantern Corps sends Hal Jordan (Josh Keaton), Kilowog (Kevin Michael Richardson), Aya (Grey DeLisle), and Razer (Jason Spisak) back to the Red Lantern homeworld of Ysmault, but before returning the crew of the Interceptor make a short stop on Razer's former homeworld.

Glee - Sadie Hawkins

In New York Kurt (Chris Colfer) attempts to adjust to life as a new student at Miata which back home in Lima Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) leads the girls of the Glee Club to organize the school's first Sadie Hawkins Dance. In honor of the occasion Finn (Cory Monteith) allows the female members of New Directions to choose and perform the songs of the week to the boys they wish to take to the dance, creating some hurt feelings and unusual pairings.

Young Justice #24

Things aren't going well for the Young Justice team in either the past or the present. In the flashbacks the team attempts to stop Deadshot's assassination attempt. And in the present things aren't looking much better as the scattered members of the team deal with an alien invasion and it's effect on the populace of Metropolis.

Superman,Superboy, Captain Atom, Captain Marvel, and Wonder Woman continue to try and fight off Braniac‘s crystallized minion in space as the Atom, the Martian Manhunter, and the Flash's attempt to sneak aboard the ship slowly shrinking Metropolis fails in spectacular fashion, nearly costing the three heroes their lives.

Although Nightwing and his team of Zatanna, Blue Bettle, and Wonder Girl are far more successful in their attempt to infiltrate the ship, they are unprepared for what awaits them. While trapped in the city, Black Lightning tries to keep the peace and clamp down on the rioting and looting as Batgirl tries to hold off the Supeboy clone Match all on her own.

Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness - A Tigress Tale

Mistress Mugan (April Winchell), one of the most important and revered Kung Fu masters in all of China, makes an unexpected visit to the Jade Palace looking for a replacement for the head warrior of the Garnett Palace. Much to the surprise of the rest of the Furious Five, an increasingly frustrated Tigress (Kari Wahlgren) is won over by the fish's sales pitch of "absolute discipline and dedication to Kung Fu."

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters offers audiences the further adventures of Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton), the young brother and sister first introduced by the Brothers Grimm 200 years ago. After a brief retelling of the classic fairy tale (with one or two important tweaks) in which the young children fight off and kill a powerful witch living in a candy house in the woods, we catch up years later with our hero and heroine after they have become the world's most famous witch hunters.

The plot by Tommy Wirkola (who also directs) and Dante Harper isn't all that imaginative as Hansel and Gretel are pitted against a grand witch (Famke Janssen) with plans to use the rare event of a Blood Moon to make her coven invincible. What makes the film work, often in spite of itself, is its sense of humor and constant awareness of what it is. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is dumb fun embracing the ridiculous with witches more than a little reminiscent of Deadites and a pair of likable heroes that get knocked around repeatedly over the course of the film. It's a film about life and death that never takes either all that seriously.

Red Hood and the Outlaws #16

With both teams missing their leader Arsenal and Starfire help the Teen Titans take on a Jokerized mob. Writer Scott Lobdell continues the current trend of having Arsenal, not the Red Hood, be the voice of the book (of course he kinda has to do that this month as the Red Hood doesn't appear in his own book). The issue is actually one of the better Death of the Family tie-ins. Of course that's not saying much.

Arsenal comes up with a plan to find the antidote for the Joker Venom (in such a way that made absolutely no sense to me, no matter how many times I re-read the panels). While he and Bunker keep the mob at bay the rest of the team retrieves the supplies (something Kid Flash probably could have done quicker on his own, but oh well).

Arrow - Trust But Verify

Diggle (David Ramsey) and Oliver's (Stephen Amell) partnership becomes strained when Oliver goes after Diggle's former commanding officer (Ben Browder), whose name is on the list left for Oliver by his father and who he believes is responsible for the recent series of armored truck robberies. Diggle intervenes, preventing the man who saved his life from the wrath of Green Arrow before going undercover in his friend's private security company to prove his innocence.

The Lying Game - Advantage Sutton

The morning after Ethan (Blair Redford) has misgivings about his drunken night of passion with Sutton (Alexandra Chando). Things only get worse when he finds Dan (Tyler Christopher) waiting for him at home with news that he's headed back to juvenile detention after the stunt he pulled with the plagiarized term paper unless he can pass a test on all the history course work for the semester. Not willing to let him give up, Emma (Chando) agrees to tutor Ethan and get him through the test which only further rankles her sister.

Olympus Has Fallen trailer

My first thought when viewing the trailer for Olympus Has Fallen is why is director Antoine Fuqua making a dumbed-down Steven Seagal movie without Seagal? Gerard Butler stars as a tormented Special Forces and Secret Service officer who, in the trademark style of Casey "Fucking" Ryback, takes it on himself to save the President of the United States (Aaron Eckhart) when terrorists take the White House. Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Radha Mitchell, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Rick Yune, and Dylan McDermott also star. The movie hits theaters on March 22nd.

Pretty Little Liars - Misery Loves Company

As Aria (Lucy Hale) fights off a nasty cold her friends each deal with their own surprises on a stormy night in Rosewood. A bed-ridden Aria has a fevered dream about Alison (Sasha Pieterse) who warns her about an increasingly erratic Meredith (Amanda Schull), hell-bent on finding the missing pages from Alison's diary, only to awake to discover herself drugged and locked in her own bedroom.

Is that a Masterpiece Shockwave?

Transformers fans, may I introduce you to "Quake Wave," the kick-ass new version of the character which will be roughly the same size as the Masterpiece Soundwave and be available beginning exactly one month from today. All the awesome you see here can be yours for the low, low price of $150.

White Collar - Family Business

White Collar returns from it's Fourth Season mid-season hiatus with plenty of unanswered questions surrounding the truth about Sam (Treat Williams) who was revealed to be Neal's father James in the mid-season finale cliffhanger. A single mistake in the young cop's past put him behind the eight ball and forced him to work for the Irish Mob, the same family that killed Ellen (Judith Ivey), before turning states evidence and disappearing into witness protection years ago. With mixed feelings about seeing his father again, Neal (Matt Bomer) turns his attention to helping Peter (Tim DeKay) take down Dennis Flynn, Jr. (Scott Evans) and get some justice for the woman who raised him.

Hawaii Five-0 - Hana'i Wa'ia

One the eve of the election the Governor Denning (Richard T. Jones) asks the Five-0 Task Force to discreetly investigate the murder of a a dead prostitute found in the mansion of good friends of the Governor. After talking with the victim's roommate (Alicia Ziegler), Chin-Ho (Daniel Dae Kim) and Kono (Grace Park) find themselves tailed by a black SUV with the Governor's plates and McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) discovers the lab is dragging their heels on DNA evidence at the request of the Governor's office. Confronting the Governor, McGarrett discovers the frontrunner to be named Hawaii's next Senator (Wiley M. Pickett), and another friend of the Governor, was staying in the house where the woman was killed. And now both the Congressman and his Chief of Staff (Stephanie Jacobsen) are missing.

Legends of Awesomeness - The Maltese Mantis

Against his better judgement Mantis (Max Koch) agrees to accompany Po (Mick Wingert) to a fan festival even after Shifu (Fred Tatasciore) expressively forbids the Dragon Warrior to attend while taking the opportunity to secretively show up for his first Fest. Mantis soon regrets his decision once Po's crazed fanboy excitement quickly gets out of control.

Bones - The Corpse on the Canopy

Serial killer Christopher Pelant (Andrew Leeds) returns to toy with the folks at the Jeffersonian and the FBI beginning with Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) and Angela (Michaela Conlin) who wake up after being drugged to find a flayed corpse of a Special Forces soldier on the canopy above their bed. Despite Hodgins' wishes to go after the killer alone, and not to arrest him, Booth (David Boreanaz) convinces him to allow Cam (Tamara Taylor) and a tech team to work the crime scene and start an investigation by the book.

Castle - Death Gone Crazy

Suspects aren't an issue when Beckett (Stana Katic) and Castle (Nathan Fillion) investigate the murder of the troubled founder (Jordan Belfi) of "College Girls Gone Crazy" who was strangled with bra in the woman's bathroom during a club event in Manhattan. There were plenty who wanted the man dead including former college girls used in his videos, angry boyfriends and fathers, moral crusaders and picketers,  and his ex-girlfriend - softcore porn actress Tiffany Shaw (Vail Bloom).

Batman and Robin #16

In the latest Death of the Family crossover a captured Damian is pitted against a Joker-Venom-enhanced Batman in a battle to the death as the Joker gleeful watches to see how far the deadly new Boy Wonder will go to save his own skin.

Of course it's not really Batman under that cowl. Something that is all too obvious to the reader isn't even considered for a moment by the New 52's smartest 10 year-old. The Joker doesn't get the outcome he wants, but he is able to torment Damian in yet another pointless crossover issue that feels more like a Saw-inspired Batman parody than an actual Bat-book.

There's plenty of gruesome action here. And the comic has one highlight where the far too dim Damian makes a concious effort not to kill the man he believes is his father. Sadly it's too little, too late. Pass.

[DC, $2.99]

The Following - Pilot

The new show from Kevin Williamson (Dawson's Creek, The Vampire Diaries, I Know What You Did Last Summer) stars Kevin Bacon as retired FBI Agent Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) who is reinstated to bring in escaped serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) who he helped put away eight years ago. After visiting the prison, Ryan heads out to the FBI command center to meet the Agency's wunderkid analyst (Shawn Ashmore) and discovers for the past few months the genius killer had access to the Internet through the prison law library which he used fro far more nefarious purposes than just planning his appeal.

House of Lies - When Dinosaurs Ruled the Planet

As Jeanie (Kristen Bell) remains in New York to talk with Galweather Steran's new acting CEO (Bess Armstrong) about her future with the company, Marty (Don Cheadle), Clyde (Ben Schwartz), and Doug (Josh Lawson) head to Las Vegas to help Mr. Pinkus (Kevin Dobson) re-brand his aging casino. Jeanie eventually joins the group, but Marty also has to balance working with his old friend Tamara (Nia Long) and deal with the fact that Doug gets himself thrown out of the casino because of a major card counting system he ran years ago that has left him banned from every gaming floor on the strip.

Hawaii Five-0 - Olelo Ho'Opa'I Make

Chin-Ho (Daniel Dae Kim) is kidnapped in the middle of the night while the rest of the Five-0 Task Force believes he has taken a few days off to deal with the death of his wife. Once they learn the truth, McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) and his team search frantically to find him not realizing an old enemy has smuggled him into prison amongst all the criminals he helped put away including former Detective Kaleo (Jason Scott Lee). Ridiculous? In the extreme, but it certainly provides the setting for one of the show's more unusual episodes.

Esquire names Megan Fox “The Last American Bombshell”

In an odd interview/essay on the troubles of beautiful actresses for the magazine's February issue actress Megan Fox talked with Esquire's Stephen Marche about Aztec sacrifice, the cost of fame, her love of Star Wars, the Book of Revelations, her relationship with Brian Austin Greene, her belief that people are inherently bad, keeping her own pregnancy a secret, her role as a sex symbol, her choice to get several of her tattoos removed beginning with her tattoo of Marilyn Monroe, wishing to walk in the steps of Ava Gardner, her religion, being in control of her body, her belief in leprechauns, and her fantasy about being an archaeologist who would discover the proof of ancient alien civilizations on Earth. You can find more pics from the photoshoot inside.

Daredevil #22

Daredevil #22 is one of two Marvel comics released this week where the new "superior" Spider-Man (Doc Ock's brain in Peter Parker's body) fights with, and against, other heroes of the Marvel Universe who are more than a little slow in figuring out this isn't their Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

As with the latest issue of Avenging Spider-Man (where Spidey fights with Wolverine) our hero runs into someone with the ability to definitively determine the body is indeed Peter Parker. However in a world where mind control is common (see Winter Soldier), no one even suspects for an instant that Peter Parker might not be in control.

This issue features Daredevil vs. pseudo-Spider-Man who was sicked on Daredevil by Kristen McDuffie. The pair break it up long enough to take on an enhanced Stilt-Man before finally making peace with one another. Mark Waid also throws in an alternate explanation for Foggy Nelson's recent behavior. Although no more logical, it does open the door for an entirely new story for Daredevil and his best friend. For fans.

[Marvel, $2.99]

Red 2 teaser

We now have our first look at the sequel to RED. Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, and John Malkovich return (but Karl Urban, Morgan Freeman, and Rebecca Pidgeon do not). The sequel also stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Anthony Hopkins, David Thewlis, Byung-hun Lee, and Neal McDonough. RED 2 opens in theaters on August 2nd.

Young Justice - True Colors

In the latest episode the Young Justice team brings in the Atom (Jason Marsden) to try and find a way to remove the scarab from Jaime Reyes (Eric Loomis) who fears Impulse's (Marsden) prophecy of the Blue Beetle's future coming true. While the Atom is unsuccessful in his attempt, Jaime does get some good news from the Green Beetle (Phil LaMarr) of Mars who informs him even if the scarab cannot be removed it can still be controlled.

Spring Breakers trailer

Here's an international trailer for  writer/director Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers which stars Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Rachel Korine, and Ashley Benson as four college girls bailed out of prison after a failed restaurant robbery to further fund their spring break by a local drug dealer (James Franco) who offers them a chance to make some real money. Spring Breakers opens in theaters on March 22nd.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series - Prisoner of Sinestro

Reunited with Razer (Jason Spisak) and searching for the Anti-Monitor and answers about the legion of Manhunters under his control, Hal Jordan (Josh Keaton), Kilowog (Kevin Michael Richardson), and Aya (Grey DeLisle) receive an urgent transmission from Sinestro (Ron Perlman) who is trapped aboard a Spider Guild transport after capturing one of the most wanted assassins in the universe who the Guild are willing to destroy the entire ship rather than let escape.

Ame-Comi Girls #4 (featuring Power Girl)

The latest issue of Ame-Comi Girls (the alternate reality digital comics female-centric version of the DCU) takes us to the futuristic city of Metropolis whose heroine Power Girl saves Daily Planet reporter Jimmy Olsen from Somali Pirates before taking on giant robots and dealing with the unexpected arrival of a female force of Manhunters and her cousin Supergirl.

In a world without a Superman, Power Girl works really well. Our heroine uses advanced Kryptonian technology to truly make Metropolis a city of the future but still has to deal with a xenophobic element that wants the alien (no matter how helpful she is) out of their city. She also kicks quite a bit of ass.

The retelling of Supergirl's origin isn't tweaked too much, but before out two super-powered Kryptonian females can get to know each other they've got an army of Manhunters to deal with. Goofy? Yeah, but it's an awful lot of fun and I'm certainly willing to stick around to see where things go from here. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]

Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness - Enter the Dragon

The special hour-long episode of "Enter the Dragon" pits Po (Mick Wingert) and the Furious Five against their greatest threat yet, a demon from the underworld named Ke-Pa (Alfred Molina) who has spent several decades trapped in the body of a mortal pig and whose power has been held in check by the mystical power of the peach tree outside the Jade Palace. As the tree begins to wither and die Ke-Pa's power grows, Shifu (Fred Tatasciore) organizes the evacuation of the Jade Palace and the Valley of Peace should the warriors fail in stopping Ke-Pa from freeing the other demons trapped inside the mountain under the Jade Palace.

Nikita - Intersection

After Birkhoff (Aaron Stanford) is forced to tell Nikita (Maggie Q) the truth that Sonya (Lyndie Greenwood) is Amanda's (Melinda Clarke) mole within Division, the team decides to use the knowledge to bait Amanda and find her new base of operations. To do so they will also have to smoke out Amanda's second mole who is keeping watch on Sonya's movements and reporting back whether or not the former Division chief needs to activate Sonya's Kill Chip.

Scandal - A Criminal, a Whore, an Idiot and a Liar

The President (Tony Goldwyn) may be out of a coma but things are hardly back to normal as Senator Davis (Norm Lewis) accuses Olivia (Kerry Washington) of having an affair with Fitz and acting President Langston (Kate Burton) goes after the legitimacy of the reinstatement letter which she knows to be a forgery. And in flashbacks, the days leading up to Fitzgerald Grant's election as President are covered including more information about how Fitz was helped into the White House from 10 points down weeks before the election.

Nashville - I'm Sorry for You My Friend

After beginning with a few small shows to work out the kinks, Rayna (Connie Britton) and Juliette (Hayden Panettiere) prepare for the first arena concert of their tour and both have to deal with lingering issues with the men in their life. With the election too close to call Teddy (Eric Close) is still displeased his wife has decided to put all her energy into the tour, Rayna searches for a new lead guitar player, and Juliette struggles with her failed attempts to get Sean (Tilky Jones) to sign the divorce papers only to be served with subpoena to appear in family court for an annulment hearing.

The Lying Game - Cheat, Play, Love

The Lying Game is a weird mix of The Parent Trap and Melrose Place. The ABC Family drama stars Alexandra Chando in dual roles as identical twins, Emma and Sutton, switched at birth. The naive Emma was raised in foster care while the scheming Sutton was adopted by a wealthy couple (Andy Buckley, Helen Slater). Using Emma's need for family for her own ends, Sutton gets her biological sister to temporarily stand-in for her as she searches for the real identity of their birth mother (who she already knows is Charisma Carpenter). Confused yet?

Legends of Awesomeness - The Spirit Orbs of Master Ding

As Po (Mick Wingert) starts beating her regularly in combat Tigress (Kari Wahlgren) becomes increasingly competitive and jealous over how far the Dragon Warrior has come during his short stay in the Jade Palace. Trying to prove her superiority in concentration, Tigress accidentally lets loose Shifu's (Fred Tatasciore) meditation spheres which once belonged to the evil Master Ding (Enn Reitel).

Batman #16

And I'm done. Writer Scott Snyder built up an extreme amount of good will with me with his terrific run on Detective Comics before the New 52 reboot. Shifting over to Batman with the launch of New 52 he's delivered some individually strong issues but several forgettable and some downright bad issues as well. None, however, have lowered the bar more than Batman #16.

I've argued often that the entire New 52 seems to have been made off the gritty and hugely popular Arkham Asylum video game. DC proves me correct in this issue where it actually becomes Arkaham Asylum as the Dark Knight enters a Joker-controlled Arkham to stop the madman's latest plans.

The Death of the Family issues dealing directly with the Joker have only gotten worse as the months have dragged on, finally hitting rock bottom here in this NC-17 horror fetish fantasy that's so far removed from classic Batman stories it's nearly unrecognizable. For those who enjoy it I'm leaving it to you. Mr. Snyder thanks for the memories, but I'm getting off this particular roller coaster with this issue. Pass.

[DC, $3.99]

Everything Wrong With Looper In 3 Minutes Or Less

It seems I'm not the only one who had problems with some of the logic of Looper. Well done CinemaSins, well done.

Dredd-ful

You know you're in trouble when you begin comparing the film you are watching to a universal derided mid-90's fiasco of a film starring Sylvester Stallone and Rob Schneider and find the new version you are currently watching wanting.

I'll say this for director Pete Travis' take on the comic book character, it understands the character of Judge Dredd far better than Sly's flick ever did, but it's bleak dystopian setting and forgettable story is about as much fun as a root canal. Dredd is 95 minutes of joyless action in which no one, including the audience, is having any fun.

Set some time in the distant future, where most of the world has become uninhabitable and forced people to flock to huge Mega-Cities ruled by Judges who are in effect judge, jury and executioner all in one, Karl Urban stars as Judge Dredd. As the film opens Dredd has been tasked to take a struggling recruit (Olivia Thirlby) out on assignment to judge her future.