Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing the Sex 1-3, originally released March 6th, April 10th, and May 22nd 2013.
Shelby: I’m going to come clean with you all: I have a lot of problems with this title. Let’s just leave it at that, and dive on in. Continue reading
Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Daredevil 26, originally released May 22nd, 2013.
Patrick: Did you guys see Mad Men last week — “The Crash?” It was a purposefully incoherent mess, all revolving around Don Draper’s drugged-out experience of a long weekend at work. This has come to be something of a Mad Men staple — there’s one just about every year that tests the bounds of what is and is not happening (last season’s “Far Away Places,” season 3’s “The Fog” are both good examples). They’re meandering looks at the characters and their values through the lens of whatever drug they happen to be on, and as such they’re fascinating pieces of television, if difficult to invest in emotionally. “The Crash” sidestepped this problem with a character named Grandma Ida. Grandma Ida is an older black woman who breaks into a bunch of apartments in Don’s building, including his own. Don and Megan are both out for the night, so the kids (Sally, Bobby and Gene) are left to confront the intruder alone. Per her moniker, Grandma Ida claims to be Sally’s grandmother — something Sally knows to be impossible because, well, Sally’s not black. But the charade goes on just a little bit too long and suddenly the invasion feels deeply personal. Sally’s trust — no matter how temporary or misplaced it may be — is violated. And that’s much more horrifying than a simple home robbery: the thought that any time you let someone in, you’re inviting betrayal and danger. Issue 26 of Daredevil hits that same button repeatedly until Matt Murdock and the reader are completely unwound. It’s a heart-in-your-throat masterpiece that finally puts the nickname “The Man Without Fear” to the test.
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Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing The Green Team 1, originally released May 22nd, 2013.
Patrick: Ethan and I both live in LA, but since I live in Hollywood and he lives in Culver City, we don’t make the cross-city trek very often to see each other. To compensate for this totally-surmountable distance between us, we’ll send texts to each other that basically mirror the kind of nonsense conversations he and I will have in the comment sections of our articles. He sent me this link last Friday to a great Wondermark comic about Batman. (Totally worth the click, FYI.) Basically, the strip pokes fun at Bruce Wayne’s application of his vast fortune to fight crime through superheroics, and not through research and philanthropy and politics and charity. It’s not a totally fair assessment of how Bruce spends his money — he does invest a lot of money into Gotham infrastructure — but the point is crystal clear: aren’t there better uses of fortunes than outfitting a Batman? Art Baltazar and Franco’s The Green Team looks like it’s going to address this question head on, but then veers into dully familiar superhero territory.
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Today, Spencer and Mikyzptlk are discussing Avengers 12, originally released May 22nd, 2013.
Spencer: One thing I’ve never really associated with Marvel Comics is sidekicks. While there was once a point in DC’s history where nearly every hero had a young partner at their side, Marvel’s adolescent characters tend to act autonomously or stay out of the fray entirely, and even Peter Parker premiered as a full-fledged Spider-Man. There are upsides to both approaches, but what it boils down to for me is that, while I could write volumes on how Batman or Green Arrow treat their protégés, I really have no idea how most of the Avengers fare as mentors. In Avengers 12, Jonathan Hickman (and new co-writer Nick Spencer, of Morning Glories fame) mine this unexplored territory for both laughs and some insightful character moments.
Age of Ultron 10 A.I. comes out on June 29th, 2013 and is written by Mark Waid with Art by Andre Araujo. Click here for our complete Age of Ultron coverage.
Here’s a fun exercise: let’s all embrace the cognitive dissonance regarding Hank Pym. Wolverine may have gone back in time to murder him in Age of Ultron 6, but this event seems to be concluding with a new emphasis placed on the former Ant-Man. (Also fairly dissonant: he’s appears to be alive and well in the present in Daredevil and Scott Lang is Ant-Man in FF.) So what do these preview pages look like to you? A crusader for tiny things? For technology? For coming back from the dead / never dying in the first place? Maybe he’s just a crusader for brightly colored costumes?
Preview a couple pages after the jump. Continue reading
Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing Green Lantern 20, originally released May 22nd, 2013. This issue is part of the Wrath of the First Lantern crossover event. Click here for our First Lantern coverage.
Patrick: Geoff Johns’ final issue of Green Lantern is framed with a narrative device I was first introduced to in the movie The Princess Bride: the old man reading the story to a young man. The flick is an adaptation of novel, and the novel proports to be a rediscovered classic, heavily annotated by the “editor,” William Goldman (who actually just wrote the whole thing). All three of these example serve to elevate the story itself – you don’t need to look to the real world to find a captive audience, there’s one right there in front of you. This issue takes the entirety of Johns’ run and gives it a reverent audience, promoting the nine years since Green Lantern: Rebirth to mythic stature. I’ve been following the entirety of that run, so I’m part of that audience, and I’m moved and affected in very real ways reading this issue. But the bright lights and decades-old mythology groan under the weight of so much self-congratulation. This is a victory lap – mileage will vary.
Today, Spencer and Drew are discussing Green Lantern: New Guardians 20, originally released May 22nd, 2013. This issue is part of the Wrath of the First Lantern crossover event. Click here for our First Lantern coverage.
Spencer: My first experience with a major creative team shake-up was back in 2007 when Geoff Johns ended his run on Teen Titans. It was the first book I had ever followed monthly, and I walked around for weeks with an empty feeling in my stomach after I heard the news. Nowadays it feels like creative teams change almost daily, and I’ve developed a thick skin out of necessity, but every once in a while a change will hit me like it’s 2007 all over again. Tony Bedard’s departure from Green Lantern: New Guardians is one of those changes, and this final issue epilogue is such an effective goodbye that I feel completely justified about how much I hate to see it end.
Today, Taylor and Ethan are discussing Uncanny Avengers 8AU, originally released May 22nd 2013. This issue is part of the Age of Ultron crossover event. Click here for complete AU coverage.
Taylor: The thing about parties is that they’re only fun if you know the people who are going to be there. Now, this doesn’t apply to everyone, some of the more socially fluid among us have an ability to mix and match with anyone. However, for your average Joe, going to a strange party means having to make conversation with a lot of people you’ve never met before and who you will never meet again. What do you do; who do you know; is that beer good; this song is great – become your most-used phrases for a couple of awkward hours. By the end of the night all the names and faces blend together and you’re more than happy to leave without saying goodbye to any of the people you just met but couldn’t care about less. In just the same way Uncanny Avengers 8AU is not a fun issue to read unless you are steeped in the mythology of the Marvel Universe. Even then, there is little that is appealing about this issue for fans of the series, both old and new. Continue reading
Today, Mikyzptlk and Patrick are discussing The Superior Spider-Man 10, originally released May 22nd, 2013.
Mikyzptlk: Before Pinocchio was a “real boy” he was marionette imbued with life, but no knowledge of a conscience. So, as an obvious solution, a cricket by the name of Jiminy was tasked to be the boy’s conscience. Even with Jiminy on his side, however, Pinocchio still managed to get into heaps of trouble. Like, way more trouble than is probably appropriate for kids. Eventually though, with the help of Jiminy, Pinocchio learns what it means to listen to one’s conscience, and is rewarded with true flesh and blood life. It’s a classic tale, but what would have happened if Pinocchio kicked Jiminy Cricket to the curb instead? Would he ever have become a real boy, or would he have been fated to become a total jackass? Enter, possibly, the Superior Spider-Man. Continue reading
Today, Drew and Scott are discussing the Flash 20, originally released May 22nd, 2013.
Drew: Barry Allen is a man of contradictions. As a police scientist, he is beholden to rigorously examining every scrap of evidence before coming to a conclusion. As a speed-powered superhero, he is all about decisive action. I’ve always found the tension between those two extremes particularly relatable — who among us doesn’t vacillate between those poles? — even when the series itself has been heavier on the action. The scrutiny half of this equation has always come across in the subtext, as writers Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato have hidden details throughout their runs that reward only the most vigilantly close readings. In The Flash 20, they graduate Barry’s detecting skills from subtext to text, but the results are decidedly mixed. Continue reading
Retcon Punch 