Covert Affairs - Into the White

Given her assignment by Henry Wilcox (Gregory Itzin), Annie (Piper Perabo) returns to Colombia to determine how great a threat is Arthur's (Peter Gallagher) illegitimate son Teo Braga (Manolo Cardona), who Arthur reveals is actually acting as a double-agent inside the terrorist organization, and prevent a terrorist attack on an American target in Colombia. Joan (Kari Matchett) agrees for two days to hide the second-half of Annie's mission, to bring Tao back in from the cold, but both she and Auggie (Christopher Gorham) suspect the man may have spent too long undercover.

The Rocketeer & The Spirit: Pulp Friction #1

When a murder occurs in Central City but the body is discovered the next day in Los Angeles The Spirit, Commissioner Dolan, and Ellen take a trip to the coast to investigate in this new cross-promotional comic from DC Comics and IDW. On arriving in LA, the good folks from Central City are ambushed by masked man with a jetpack in a classic hero misunderstanding that introduces The Spirit to The Rocketeer for the first time.

Fans of both characters will get their money's worth here, although The Spirit does seem a little out of place in the sunny settings of Los Angeles rather than the shadow streets of Central City. Mark Waid provides some nice humor not only for both heroes (who spend a good part of this issue fighting in the sky) but also for Ellen and Betty, both of whom take a shine to the other woman's man.

I'm glad to see Waid and Paul Smith bring these two characters together, but it reminds me of the vast library of great characters DC's New 52 has closed the door on (which I guess is better than the ones they've gotten completely wrong). Worth a look.

[DC/IDW, $3.99]

SDCC 2013 - Cosplay Music Video

The music gets old pretty fast, but this video collects some impressive cosplay from this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Some of my favorites: Cable and Hope (0:14), The Penguin (0:55), Puss in Boots by LeeAnna Vamp (1:59), Dark Helmet (2:02), and the Disney villains (2:37).

King & Maxwell - Job Security

King (Jon Tenney) and Maxwell (Rebecca Romijn) are hired by a widower (John Innes) whose camera phone, with the last pictures of his recently deceased wife and their final days together, was stolen earlier that morning. However, the investigation reveals a shady lawyer (Daniel Roebuck) playing a game of legal extortion who tries to buy the pair off the case as well as the discovery that the phone actually belongs not to their client but to the Deputy Director of National Intelligence (Spencer Garrett).

Longmire - Tuscan Red

With the election looming, Longmire (Robert Taylor) must determine whether the explosion and the murder of the brother of the lead protester (Eric Schweig) fighting a company frack mining methane in the area is tied to the mining, the threats the man received for marrying a black woman (Sharon Brathwaite-Sanders) outside the Cheyenne tribe, any one of countless angry workers the victim may have denied a job at the casino including his own father (Eloy Casados) who failed the company's drug test, or something else entirely.

Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness - A Thousand and Twenty Questions

With the exception of Tigress (Kari Wahlgren), the entire Valley of Peace anxiously turns out when the contemplative Master Yao (Paul Rugg) arrives for one day offering a wonder and wisdom exchange from sun up to sun down by agreeing to answer a single question for every new wonder presented to them. While some, like Po (Mick Wingert), squander the opportunity on frivolous trivia, other such as Taotie (Wallace Shawn) use the unique situation to find the single answer he needs to complete his Sphere of Unerringly Accurate Acupressure and destroy the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five.

Scarlet Spider #19

Sometimes you just have to kill a god. The Scarlet Spider and Wolverine's team-up comes to and as the two murderers turned heroes take on not only Bella Donna and the Assassins Guild but the immortal Candra who wishes to feed of the bones of both men.

The uneasy alliance between the two lasts through the fighting, but Wolverine is less than pleased with the methods Kaine uses to end the war with the Assassins Guild as he serves the group to the Kingpin on a silver platter. Wolverine's chastising aside, Kaine is willing to pay whatever price necessary for solving his problem with the Guild and keeping Aracely (who the X-Men seem to be in a great hurry to get rid of) safe at least for the foreseeable future.

Although I don't see Kaine getting invited back to the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning for high tea any time soon, the forced team-up with two of Marvel's deadliest heroes works well (and allows for plenty of Kaine's sardonic narration which writer Christopher Yost does so well). Kaine's deal with the Kingpin also foreshadows new trouble for the hero sometime down the line. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $2.99]

Olivia Wilde is always InStyle

To help promote her new movie Drinking Buddies, actress Olivia Wilde sat down for an interview and cover photo shoot for the August issue of InStyle Magazine. You can find the pics inside.

Larfleeze #2

There's both good and bad news for Pulsar Stargrave in the latest issue of Larfleeze. The good news is he is finally free of his service to his insane master Larfleeze who bit off a little more than he could chew when he attack Laord of the Hunt who has journeyed to this dimension after killing his way through his own. The bad news is Pulsar now finds himself in service of the genocidal hunter.

Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis make a great team. For the second month in a row Larfleeze, a comic centered around a character I have no great affection for, turns out to be one of the best books of the New 52. We get the tail end the battle between Larfleez and Laord to begin the issue, but nearly the entire comic is focused on Stargrave, his current fate, and his befriending of Lou (the hound of Laord not killed by Larfleeze) and Loard's lackey Herb.

I've been bemoaning the lack of humor and fun in the New 52 for nearly two years now and, at least for the first two issues, that's exactly what Larfleeze delivers. Crazy, absurdest, space adventure wackiness. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

Stephanie Brown Batgirl by Briana Darling

The Newsroom - Willie Pete

After going on the air and calling each of the Republican nominees for President a group of "witless bullies and hapless punks" for not standing up for a gay soldier asking a question at the latest Republican primary, Will (Jeff Daniels) learns the story of his being taken off the 9/11 coverage has been leaked. At first Sloan (Olivia Munn)  believes she may be the cause of the leak, but a little more investigation into just what exactly Nina Howard (Hope Davis) knows leads Will and Charlie to discover that Reese (Chris Messina) is responsible and their bullet-proof blackmail tape might as powerful as the pair originally believed.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Operation Break Out

In an attempt to prove himself to both April (Mae Whitman) and Raphael (Sean Astin), Donatello (Rob Paulsen) goes out on a rescue mission of his own when he discovers the location of April's father (Keith Silverstein). After discovering their brother has chosen to break into a secret Kraang lab and detention facility, Raphael, Leonardo (Jason Biggs), and Michelangelo (Greg Cipes) head after Donatello to save him from his own lovesick attempt to prove himself a hero.

The Flash #22

When the Speed Force killer kills again, the Flash sets out to protect the only other person besides himself who he believes is still tied to it, Iris West, by cloaking her in a suit like his own, which for some reason has hidden the hero from the Reverse-Flash.

After racing around with Iris, Barry calls on the help of Patty Spivot to watch over her while the Flash takes a closer look into the recent activities of Dr. Elias whose Speed Force engine has drawn the unwanted attention of the Reverse-Flash leading to the first meeting between the villain and our hero.

After teasing the confrontation for months the comic finally delivers with Barry pretty much getting his ass kicked by the Reverse-Flash. But I'm betting the Flash gets his second wind. After setting up Elias as a future villain it will be interesting to see what the loss of his invention means going forward. Iris suit, logic not withstanding, provides for some fun panels including her racing around with the Flash on his investigation. And leaving her with Patty allows for a tense conversation between the pair about Patty's relationship with Barry. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

Beware the Batman - Tests

As Bruce Wayne (Anthony Ruivivar) continues to test the skills of Tatsu (Sumalee Montano) by dropping breadcrumbs to see how much of his secret she can unravel, Batman deals with a pair of vandals with delusions of being great artists who keep popping up night after night with more advanced weapons. It doesn't take long for the Caped Crusader to suspect that someone is controlling them from the shadows.

Continuum - Second Listen

Introduced in last week's episode, "Second Listen" picks up the thread of Kiera (Rachel Nichols) and Agent Gardiner (Nicholas Lea) working together to find out who is stealing the bodies of time travelers, and why. When every clue leads to a dead end, including the drivers of the van who have simultaneous strokes in front of Kiera and Gardiner before they can properly be questioned, the mystery only deepens sending Kiera to Mr. Escher (Hugh Dillon) for help. Although the mystery man offers far less than he knows, he does give Kiera a way to identify the group of time traveling freelancers by the tiny tattoos between their fingers.

Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters - Deadlock

Now that's a finale. Two deaths, one resurrection, the restoration of Cyberton, tons of action, and plenty of tearful farewells - Transformers Prime goes out with a bang in its Third Season (and series) finale. Things aren't quite over as the characters will return for a straight-to-DVD full-feature movie this October entitled Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters - Predacons Rising.

Graceland - Goodbye High

The constant gray area of Mike's (Aaron Tveit) life continues to get more complicated as he learns Briggs' (Daniel Sunjata) secret isn't that he's stealing heroin from current shipments but that he is a former addict who was forced on the drug years ago when an undercover operation went very wrong - something Mike chooses to keep from his Graceland teammates but does include in his report to Badillo (Pedro Pascal). He also has to deal with the more contentious relationship with Bello (Gbenga Akinnagbe) after the fiasco with the drug torpedo, and the nagging of both Paige (Serinda Swan) and Tuturro (Manny Montana) who try to convince Mike it's time to break-up with Abby (Jenn Proske).

Four Color Freak-Out

If you've got some free time and want to hear a three nerds spend two-hours talking about The Wolverine, Pacific Rim, San Diego Comic Con (and somehow never get around to talking about comics on a comic book podcast?!) then take some time and check out the latest Four Color Freak-Out podcast.

Burn Notice - Psychological Warfare

Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) continues his journey down the rabbit hole searching for the head of Sonia's (Alona Tal) organization when he's kidnapped and awakes in an intense series of interrogations, chemical cocktails, and psychological warfare run by an interrogator (John Pyper-Ferguson) who goes over and over Michael's complete history searching for any hint of deception. With Mike missing for several days and Sonia's goons looting his apartment, Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar), Sam (Bruce Campbell), and Jesse (Coby Bell) begin following Sonia hoping to discover what has happened to their friend.

Rookie Blue - Skeletons

Andy (Missy Peregrym) and Nick (Peter Mooney) bring in a young punk who stole a cab which leads 15 Division to the discovery of the kidnapping of a young girl that may be connected to Ross Perrick (Ben Carlson), the man who killed Barber (Noam Jenkins) and kidnapped and held Gail (Charlotte Sullivan) hostage. Callaghan (Eric Johnson). Andy and Swarek (Ben Bass) work together to find the man (Christian Bako) who bought the cab, a buyer and seller of items involved in murder investigations, who sadly isn't able to give them any information about the man who he sold the cab to leaving 15 Division back at square one.

Franklin & Bash - Control

Franklin (Breckin Meyer) and Bash (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) work the baseball diamond when the owner (Andy Umberger) of the local minor league team hires the pair to deal with an obnoxious heckler (Lance Barber) who is getting under the skin of the team's star closer (Aaron Hill). To convince a judge that heckling is worth of an injunction the pair enlist the help of Infeld (Malcolm McDowell) for a little courtroom theater. When that fails, Carmen (Dana Davis) begins to dig into how the unemployed stand-up comic manages to pay for basic necessities, baseball tickets, and a brand new RV (bought with cash).

Emma Watson may no longer be a Teen, but she's still in Vogue

To help promote her new film The Bling Ring, actress Emma Watson did a cover interview and photo shoot for the August issue of Teen Vogue. You can find the pics inside.

Perception - Caleidoscope

While doing his best to try and not celebrate his birthday, despite promising to have dinner with Paul (LeVar Burton), Daniel Pierce (Eric McCormack) agrees to help Kate (Rachael Leigh Cook) with a murder that takes him into both the life of a young online-obsessed shut-in (Robbie Sublett) who hasn't spoken aloud in over five years and the virtual reality of a MMO known as Caleidoscope. Although Daniel wants to help the young man find a way to function in the real world the FBI consultant soon finds the lure of the virtual reality, including a charming young woman (Kate Beahan) who takes an immediate shine to him, too irresistible to resist.

The Wolverine

Taking place several months after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand (yes, this movie states the atrocity that was Lamest Stand counts as X-Men movie canon), The Wolverine picks up with a haunted Logan (Hugh Jackman) coerced out of his cave by an assassin (Rila Fukushima) and taken to Japan for a meeting with an old friend (Hal Yamanouchi) who wants to repay Wolverine for saving his life at Nagasaki more than 70 years ago (in a terrific sequence) by offering the hero turned hermit the one thing denied to him - morality.

Although interspersed with several action scenes, some which work well (such as pretty cool sequence on top of a moving bullet train) and some which don't (such as nauseating shaky-cam chase sequence through the city and the film's climactic battle), The Wolverine is more character-driven drama than action for much its 126-minute running time. Of course for this to work the movie has to accept the events of the other X-Men films, while embellishing certain aspects to help tell the tale, such as Logan's relationship with Jean Grey (played by Famke Janssen and who, for a dead character, has a far larger role than I anticipated).

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Enter Shredder

Despite my initial distrust of a new CGI Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, I have to say I've enjoyed the series. The single-disc set include a second-set of seven episodes from the series (the first seven are available in the Rise of the Turtles DVD): "Monkey Brains," "Never Say Xever," "The Gauntlet," "Panic in the Sewers," "Mousers Attack!," "It Came From The Depths," and "New Girl in Town." For me "New Girl in Town" is the prize of the collection introducing The Shredder's (Kevin Michael Richardson) daughter as well as laying the groundwork for the complicated relationship between Karai (Kelly Hu) and Leonardo (Jason Biggs).

"The Gauntlet" is notable for the Turtles first face-to-face battle with The Shredder and gives us the first appearances of the mutated Dogpound (Clancy Brown) and Fishface (Christian Lanz), and "Mousers Attack!" offers plenty of the animated series' version on the classic robot bad guys created by Dexter Speckman, I mean Baxter Stockman (Phil LaMarr).

The Shadow: Year One #4

Matt Wagner's retelling of the origins of The Shadow continue as Margo Lane earns her spot the ever-widening web of spies working silently for The Shadow. Although the issue does nothing to explain the motives of the monstrous Dr. Zorn, it does confirm he is behind the gang war whose true purpose only he seems to fathom.

Now at the halfway point of the mini-series we do have Margo and Lamont Cranston working together, but I would have expected The Shadow to at least get some inkling, if not actually have met, the figure working against him to rid the city of crime. The storyline is beginning to feel like a six-issue arc that has been unnecessarily inflated and drawn out over two extra issues. That said, what we do get in the further teasing of Zorn and the showcasing of how The Shadow builds his silent army are both handled well.

I'm hoping Wagner speeds things up a little in the next issue involving The Shadow's investigations as well as the reveal of Zorn's motives and origins. For fans.

[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]

Pretty Little Liars - Crash & Burn, Girl

Despite their recent disagreements Emily (Shay Mitchell), Spencer (Troian Bellisario), and Aria (Lucy Hale) come together to try and help Hanna (Ashley Benson) get through her mother's (Laura Leighton) arrest and arraignment for the murder of Detective Wilden (Bryce Johnson). The three Liars even go so far as to break into Wilden's apartment where they find a connection to A. Meanwhile, Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) and Toby (Keegan Allen) put their heads together to try and find Red Coat by attempting to track down the plane that landed in the woods on the night of the fire and the young man (Wyatt Nash) who took money from Cece Drake (Vanessa Ray) to file a fake flight plan.

Covert Affairs - Dig For Fire

After his resignation Arthur (Peter Gallagher) comes clean to Annie (Piper Perabo) about his relationship with the Puma (Manolo Cardona) and works with Annie and Auggie (Christopher Gorham) to try and ferret out Henry Wilcox's (Gregory Itzin) end game to his twisted machinations. This leads Annie to begin tailing Henry around D.C. to an energy services business with ties to Columbia, and possibly to the Puma and his terrorist organization. It also involves Auggie finding Henry's mole inside the CIA, who he believes to be Seth Newman (Tim Griffin).

Cosplay Girls Of Comic-Con 2013

G.I. JOE: Special Missions #5

When the Chinese Government forces down a Cobra spy satellite using a combination of a high and low tech assault, the satellite crashes to Earth somewhere in the middle of the Australian outback. The JOEs send Roadblock, Tripwire, Hard Drive, Beach Head, and Spirit to retrieve the remains of which contain vital information about Destro's M.A.S.S. Project.

The team runs into trouble, first from the half-crazed nomad who decides to drag away what he believes is a UFO and then from an old enemy. Zartan has built himself his own personal army of road warriors since Snake Eyes blasted him from the skies over Australia, and now with the M.A.S.S. data one of Cobra's former top lieutenants once again has real power at his fingertips.

G.I. JOE: Special Missions #5 does a good job of reintroducing Zartan and giving an explanation of how and why the master of disguise would put a crew like the Dreadnoks together. The issue introduces Buzzer, Ripper, Thrasher, Crusher, and an unnamed character I'm guessing to be either Zanya or Zarana. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Alopex

Although I haven't paid attention to the previous one-shots of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Villains Micro-Series, this one caught my eye. Of all mutated enemies the Turtles have faced Alopex (Kevin Eastman's first new TMNT character in more than 15 years) is one of the most intriguing in that the arctic fox is an honorable warrior bound to the Shredder's will who, given a different path, could easily be seen as an ally for the Turtles.

Presented entirely from Alopex's point of view, the one-shot provides insight into the creature's backstory as Shredder takes the arctic fox back the wilderness in which she was found and teaches her a valuable lesson about who her true family is while planting the first seeds of animosity between Alopex and her master.

Given we know so little about the character this issue should appeal to fans, and the dark turn it takes involving the arctic fox's former home hopefully foreshadows a crisis on conscience for the character that we could see played out over several months (if not years). Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

Batman and Catwoman #22

The constantly revolving door of Batman and... brings Catwoman to town with a secret mission from the Justice League of America to break into the Chinese Embassy and rescue the young daughter of a defecting biological weapons designer from those who want to use the girl as leverage for force her father to return to his work in China.

The more brutal Batman we've seen over the past few months is back in action, although he does find it in his heart to set the young girl's fears at rest and even crack a smile. Artist Patrick Gleason makes good work of shadow panels as Batman and Catwoman make their way through the embassy's guards. He also provides a nice splash panel celebrating the successful rescue.

Catwoman helps break Batman out of his funk as does Carrie Kelley whose continued perseverance at talking to Damian forces Batman to go to extreme lengths to continue the pretense that his son is still alive. I'm not sure where Carrie will eventually fit in, but any comic with her instead of Harper Row has to be counted as a win. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

King & Maxwell - Family Business

While King's (Jon Tenney) life is usually complicated enough by one Maxwell, things get even more interesting when Michelle's (Rebecca Romijn) brother J.T. (Christian Kane) arrives in D.C. announcing his new career as a private detective looking into a con artist (Corey Sorenson) who has begun dating of the daughter (Sara Canning) of the wealthiest man in Nashville. Even after learning the truth about her boyfriend, Claire (Sorenson), whose unresolved daddy issues Michelle understands all too well, is adamant about wanting to find Tommy and make the relationship work.

FF #9

The Future Foundation is invited to a pool party by an alien who once impersonated Julius Caesar. So.. it must be a Wednesday? It's been awhile since I picked up Matt Fraction and Mike Allred's take on the those the Fantastic Four left behind. Still wacky, the latest issue offers the team of She-Hulk, Medusa, Ms. Thing, and Scott Lang their chance to save the original Fantastic Four as well as the opportunity for tiny super-villain Bentley 23 to put together his first documentary masterpiece.

Transformers: Regeneration One #93

As Hot Rod and the Dinobots continue their descent into the bowels of Cybertron, Soundwave has successfully neutralized the Autobots' early warning defenses allowing the Ark to make its way into Cybertron's orbit undetected. Of course in a ship containing Galvatron, Starscream, and Shockwave the chance for last-second mutiny is a pretty good bet.

Although Shockwave and Starscream's teased partnership to get rid of Galvatron has been slow boiling for months, here it comes to fruition as Galvatron finds himself attacked and then forcibly ejected out a hatch in Cyberton's atmosphere. Meanwhile Hot and and the Dinobots find more than they were expecting including Grimlock's body which has been possessed by the spirit of Primus.

There's a lot going on in this issue including several characters reverting to form as, despite the last-minute betrayal, Galvatron has finally made it back home. We also get cameoes from Optimus Prime, Prowl, Kup, the Aerialbots, and Ultra Magnus. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

Red Sonja #1

Red Sonja is a hard character to get right. Much like with Thor or Wonder Woman, writers can often get bogged down in the mythology and miss the sheer kick-assery and fun inherent to the character. Although I don't think this first issue of the new series is great, Gail Simone gets the character better than most and there's certainly enough here for me come back to see where things go from here.

The comic begins with the armies of King Dimath's victory over Zamora and the freeing of two female gladiators kept in the dungeons, one of whom is quite distinguishable for her bright red hair. Months later Red Sonja is summoned back to Dimath whose lands are being hit by both plague and a bloodthirsty enemy ready to overwhelm his empire.

Although you don't expect the comic to start off with Sonja as the victim, the set-up provides ample insensitive for the She-Devil with a Sword to fight to the death for an impossible cause. Walter Geovani has drawn the character before and his art fits the tone of Simone's new tale.

Nova #6

Nova #6 marks Sam's return home from his battle with Titus and fighting the Phoenix Force with the Avengers (which the comic alludes to but doesn't explain for those of us not reading whatever Avengers title this took place in). With an offer to join the Avengers and a new personal relationship with Thor, Nova returns home to a very concerned mother, school bullies, and the consequences of leaving his life behind for weeks at a time.

Zeb Wells does a pretty job stepping in for Jeph Loeb and keeping the tone and humor of the title consistent with the previous issues. Although I like Paco Medina's art (even if Sam appears to be a tad bit older for some reason) I'm definitely going to miss Ed McGuinness whose work on the first arc of the series did quite a bit to sell me on the character.

There's some nice moments here between Sam and his mother as well as the foreshadowing of just how screwed up the young man's life will become the longer he plays super-hero. It's a nice issue, but it's certainly not a must-read. For fans.

[Marvel, $3.99]

The Newsroom - The Genoa Tip

As Jim (John Gallagher Jr.) continues his slog on the road with Romney campaign several news stories, and lots of Maggie (Alison Pill) craziness, hit the News Night studios. First, ACN leans that U.S. Military drones were used to target and kill American born Islamic terrorist Anwar Al-Awlaki which leads to MacKenzie (Emily Mortimer) pressuring Will (Jeff Daniels) to take a hard look at the White House's terrorism policies. Will also has to fend off Don (Thomas Sadoski), whose nine-year obsession with the conviction of Troy Davis boils over on the eve of the Supreme Court hearing arguments to stay his execution for the murder of a police officer.

Supergirl #22

With Krypton gone and her place on Earth uncertain, Kara searches for a new safe harbor while still feeling the effects of the Kryptonite poisoning that is slowly killing her. This leads her to I'noxia, a planet of near infinite possibilities which can recreate anything based on a person's memories - even Krypton.

Although Kara has mixed feelings at bringing her home, mother, and friends back to life with a simple thought she has to admit to feeling at peace for the first time since leaving Krypton. However, she soon discovers what the Cyborg-Superman wants in return for her shiny new life and must admit she's got pretty bad taste is men (especially those offering her a return to her homeworld).

Whereas most of New 52 Superman titles still feel a bit off as the character on display still hasn't grown into the iconic Man of Steel, I've enjoyed the Supergirl issues I've read. They haven't quite grabbed my attention to add it to my pull-list every month, but in the gritty New 52 Kara's humor, self-deprecation, and willingness to not take herself too seriously is a welcome salve. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Parasitica

After returning from a battle with a mutated giant parasitic wasp in a secret Kraang lab, the Turtles become concerned with Leonardo's (Jason Biggs) increasingly bizarre behavior and obsession with the wasp's egg which he insists on carrying back to the lair after being stung by the mother. When both of his other brothers fallen under the sway of the unborn wasp as well, it falls on Michelangelo (Greg Cipes) to finish Donatello‘s (Rob Paulsen) anti-toxin and save all three of his brothers before the wasp hatches.

Beware the Batman - Secrets

Both Batman (Anthony Ruivivar) and Lt. Gordon (Kurtwood Smith) separately investigate the arrival of the dangerous Magpie (Grey DeLisle) to Gotham which both link to a secret experiment of Blackgate prisoners. Gordon interviews Lunkhead, a former prisoner with somewhat limited knowledge of the experiments, while Batman's investigations take him to he closed down Miskatonic Psychiatric Hospital where he's taken prisoner by the mentally-unbalanced super-villain.

Continuum - Second Degree

While the Julian Randol (Richard Harmon) trial turns into a three-ring circus which both Sonya (Lexa Doig) and Travis (Roger R. Cross) are manipulating from the shadows, Kiera (Rachel Nichols) enlists the help of Agent Gardiner (Nicholas Lea) to track down who stole the remains of her old partner (Karin Konoval) from her grave along with the bodies of two members of Liber8 from the police morgue. When Alec's mother (Janet Kidder) perjures herself to try and protect Julian, Alec must decide whether to lie to protect his mother and help a murderer go free or tell the truth and risk being the cause of his mother being sent to jail.

Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters - Synthesis

As the captured Ratchet (Jeffrey Combs) pretends to help Shockwave (David Sobolov) and Knock Out (Daran Norris) work on developing a stable version of Synthetic Energon, Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) tracks Raf's (Andy Pessoa) makeshift Laserbeak drone back to the Decepticon warship. Unfortunately, neither Ratchet's escape attempt nor the drone, which is shot down by Starscream (Steve Blum)  before giving away the Decepticon's location, are successful.

Fables #131

The beginning of the Camelot arc is a little deceiving as we don't get King Arthur or the Knights of the Round Table in the first issue of the new storyline. Instead Fables #131 is mainly concerned with the fallout of the recent Snow White arc involving plans to try and piece Bigby back together again and the autopsy of Prince Brandish (who it turns out is even harder to kill than originally believed).

Other than these nagging storylines, the issue also focuses on both Rose Red's humorous reunions with Hope and her niece Therese which lead the directionless Fable to finally accept her role as the Paladin of Hope and begin her plans to reconstitute a new Camelot in Fabletown, beginning with the creation of a new round table.

All geared up for King Arthur, I have to say I was a little dismayed at the bait-and-switch here. That said, I like Rose Red and I'm curious to see how her story unfolds with an attempt to recreate something as grand as Camelot. As for Brandish, the best thing his character did was to die in an agonizing fashion and I'm less happy to see him sticking around. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $2.99]

Graceland - Hair of the Dog

Briggs (Daniel Sunjata) tries to help Charlie (Vanessa Ferlito) get back on her feet while trying to hide her rash decision to shoot up in front of Quinn (Christopher Redman) from the FBI and her Graceland team. With the bust falling through, and the death of her CI (Christopher Redman), Charlie is called into give her official statement forcing Briggs to suggest an out-of-the-box solution to get her through the interview and save both of their careers by shooting her up with a small enough dose to let her pass for normal while giving her deposition to the FBI high on heroin.

Superboy by Silver Shade Cosplay

Burn Notice - All or Nothing

Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) feels guilty about asking Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) to help Sonia (Alona Tal) take down the hacker syndicate known as The Collective that betrayed her and got Michael's crazy new friend thrown in a Russian black site, but as Agent Strong (Jack Coleman) so eloquently puts it - he simply has no choice. To help sell Michael as a hacker and get him close enough to upload a virus into the group's mainframe, Sam (Bruce Campbell) and Jesse (Coby Bell) have to do some damage with a less than cordial Barry (Paul Tei), who still is upset at spending four months in prison. To convince him to lend them a hand, Sam and Jesse agree to track down his missing girlfriend (who left him during his time under CIA lockdown).

Rookie Blue - Poison Pill

When Andy (Missy Peregrym) and Cruz (Rachael Ancheril) get exposed to drugs contaminated with Anthrax the pair find themselves quarantined and forced to get far closer to each other and a nervous lab tech (Jim Annan) than either of them planned while the rest of 15 Division frantically searches for the source. Blackstone (Louis Ferreira) is called in to lead the efforts, which allows a jealous Gail (Charlotte Sullivan) to not so subtly prod him for information on just how close Nick (Peter Mooney) got to Andy on their undercover assignment. Although Blackstone can offer no solid answers to her questions, he also can't deny her suspicions.

Franklin & Bash - Freck

Although there's no body, and only circumstantial evidence of a crime even being committed, Peter (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and Jared (Breckin Meyer) step in to defend an old friend (Eddie Jemison) who stands accused of the murder of his roommate, an infamous practical joker known as Freck (Kasey Mahaffy). With Franklin and Bash's hands full with a murder trial, Damien (Reed Diamond) is forced to step in and defend gangbangers turned bakers (Scott Menville, E. Ambriz DeColosio) against an organic grocery conglomerate notorious to screwing over smaller companies like the bakery.

The Complexities of Naya Rivera

Glee actress Naya Rivera sat down for an interview and photo shoot for the August/September issue of Complex Magazine. In the interview the actress discusses her role of Santana on Glee, her new horror film Home, her upcoming first album, family and friends, her boyfriend, her strict upbringing, and her senior prom. She also took the time for a strip poker themed photo shoot. You can find the pics inside.

Teen Titans Go! - Parasite

Although the rest of the team quickly accepts Starfire's (Hynden Walch) new parasite "Perry" growing out of her stomach, who is far more interested in celebrating the Tamaran tradition of Feast Day than her fellow Titans, Robin (Scott Menville) suspects that the telepathic alien means all of them grave harm.

Beware the Batman - Hunted

In my opinion any attempt to make a Batman-inspired cartoon is doomed to pale in comparison to the Batman: The Animated Series. Given the extreme liberties taken with the designs of Batman's rogues gallery I could never get into The Batman, but I will admit a fondness for the sheer glee in which Batman: The Brave and the Bold embraced the Silver Age ridiculousness of the character (even offering us Catman riding his giant robotic cat in one episode!). Replacing Green Lantern: The Animated Series on DC Nation, the similarly CGI-animated Beware the Batman began its run this past weekend with the show's first episode - "Hunted."