Today, Jack and Shelby are discussing Hawkeye 9, originally released April 10, 2013.
Jack: Oh, poor, dear boy, Clint, what will we do with you? Getting mixed up with shady ladies, pissing off cops and criminals alike, dirtying the name of the Avengers by living in the morally gray, breaking hearts, and, always, always getting hit in the face. Continue reading
Today, Patrick and (guest writer) Lorenzo are discussing Thor: God of Thunder 7, originally released April 10th, 2013.
Patrick: We like our superheroes powerful. Even someone like Batman, who we like to think of as human — and therefore vulnerable — but even Bruce Wayne has a secret power: he always wins. So, like, what can any writer possibly throw at these characters to actually challenge them? End of the world? Piece of cake! Thor: God of Thunder has constructed a villain whose sole purpose is to Kill All The Gods. Even that’s not enough, so the God Butcher also has the ability to travel indiscriminately throughout time, simultaneously purposing resources from the past and attacking heroes while they were vulnerable. Fortunately, the deck is also stacked in the opposite direction as Thor teams up with himself for some hilariously grandiose heroics.
Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Fantastic Four 6, originally released April 10th, 2013.
Drew: “Take only pictures, leave only footprints” has long been the rule of thumb for eco-tourists — or really anybody visiting nature. The point is simple: don’t change things (and indeed, many ecologists now advocate for “leave no trace” practices, which argue that even footprints are too disruptive). This idea is quite common in sci-fi as well — the Star Trek had the prime directive, and Ray Bradbury’s time traveler had the butterfly effect — which exaggerates the danger of changing things to potentially harming history itself. You’d think, then, that a group as smart as the Fantastic Four would be especially careful when encountering alien cultures while time traveling, but issue 6 proves yet again that they can’t really be bothered with such concerns, willing to alter things at the very dawn of time itself. Continue reading
Today, Ethan and Taylor are discussing Ultron 1, originally released April 10th, 2013. This issue is part of the Age of Ultron crossover event. Click here for complete AU coverage.
Ethan: In the aftermath of terrible, unexpected events, it’s good to find comfort in familiar places and situations. Ultron’s instant and total takeover of the world qualifies as a pretty terrible and unexpected event. For the lead character of Ultron #1 – Victor Mancha – this catastrophe is a unique blend of insult and injury. Not only has Ultron killed off Victor’s former teammates the Runaways, but Ultron is also Victor’s father. Add to this the fact that a visitor from the future once warned that Victor would bring about the destruction of the world and the death of its heroes, and you’ve got a pretty complete package of misery. Writer Kathryn Immonen and artist Amilcar Pinna explore how Victor copes with all of this by returning to his roots as a teenage hero.
Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Age of Ultron 5, originally released April 10th 2013. This issue is part of the Age of Ultron crossover event. Click here for complete AU coverage.
Shelby: Why is it always time travel? If you have a science-y plot in a comic book (especially a Marvel book, it seems) odds are pretty good that time travel with either be the basis of the conflict or the solution. Personally, I hope we never figure out how to travel through time. Travel to the past, and the most innocuous action could alter the future in unimaginable ways; travel to the future, and your knowledge of what will happen will color the actions you take in the present. It all seems too risky. It would appear that Brian Michael Bendis disagrees with me; not content to limit himself to one kind of time continuum manipulation, Age of Ultron 5 has the team traveling to the past AND the future to resolve this Ultron problem. What could possibly go wrong? Continue reading
Today, Patrick and Mikyzptlk are discussing Green Lantern 19, originally released April 10th, 2013. This issue is part of the Wrath of the First Lantern crossover event. Click here for our First Lantern coverage.
Patrick: It’s hard not to see Volthoom as an author surrogate. This is a creature who feasts off the emotional turmoil of the Green Lantern characters and can alter their pasts with a snap of his glowing, iridescent fingers. So why is he the bad guy? Comic book fans are very quick to turn on creative or editorial teams when it seems like the choices they’re making threatens what the fans hold dear. Scott Lobdell mentions that Tim Drake was never Robin? “Oh fuck that guy.” Dan DiDio says the Crises never happened? “Well, he’s an idiot anyway.” Fans harbor such ire for creative missteps that it (unfortunately) makes sense to make the character who re-writes history the bad guy. But what about the writers we love – where are they represented? There are writers that live and die with these characters, why should they be solely represented by a universe-stomping big-bad? Green Lantern Corps 19 provides the antidote for just that.
Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing Constantine 2, originally released April 10th, 2013.
Taylor: John Constantine is an addict. If you look at anything that chronicles the life of an addict, you’ll find a chapter or two that speaks of the magnificent high times — even though stark reality later sets in. These high times suggest that addiction is more worthwhile than any reasonable person would believe. With the exception of movies like Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream or shows like A&E’s Intervention, there have been relatively few realistic portrayals of addiction and the effect it has on both its users and those who love them. So it’s odd that a story about magic and the occult would have much insight to offer when it comes to the subject of addiction. Constantine 2 does exactly that while deepening our understanding of what drives the titular hero. Continue reading
Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing Saga 12, originally released April 10th, 2013.
Patrick: Robots and aliens and monsters and ghosts and magic spells — Saga has never had a difficult time of establishing itself as a piece of science fiction / fantasy literature. The well-defined characters at the heart of the story — the young family of Marko, Alana and Hazel — go a long way toward grounding the series. In recent issues, that same humanity has been extended to peripheral characters, like The Will. This issue leaves all of those comfortable characters behind, and fills in the gaps in the surprisingly nuanced character of Prince Robot IV. When we finally meet D. Oswald Heist, it’s no surprise that he’s a fully formed person with hopes, fears and secrets. Despite itself, I’m beginning to believe that every corner of this world is fully realized.
Today, Scott and Drew are discussing Batman 19, originally released April 10th, 2013.
Scott: Who says Batman has to be complicated? Anyone who has read Scott Snyder’s series for the last year and a half has gotten used to arcs that take many months to unravel. First, it was Night of the Owls, then Death of the Family. Even the random peppering of Harper Row storylines feel like part of a grander scheme. Well, another multi-issue epic is on the way, in the form of Zero Year, but first Snyder has made room for a rather straightforward two-parter. The immediacy of the payoffs in Batman 19 comes almost as a shock, as Snyder reminds us how much fun it can be to watch Batman solve a mystery that feels only a couple steps –– as opposed to issues — ahead of the reader.
Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Uncanny X-Men 4, originally released April 10th 2013.
Drew: Writers love exploring different vantage points on the same scene. In fact, they loved it so much, they named it: the Roshomon Effect, for the film that made the conceit famous. Its mix of repetition and change is a potent one, so its use often comes off as gimmicky, but when pulled off well, it can add immense insight into a character’s subjective experience of the world. In Uncanny X-Men 4, Brian Michael Bendis reexamines Cyclops’ pitch from All-New X-Men 10, giving us a rare glimpse into Emma Frost’s mind. Continue reading
Retcon Punch 