Yearly Archives: 2013

Feb 5 2013

Before Watchmen – Dollar Bill

Alternating Currents: Dollar Bill, Drew and ScottToday, Drew and Scott are discussing Dollar Bill, originally released January 30th, 2013. Dollar Bill is part of DC’s Before Watchmen prequel series. Click here for complete Before Watchmen coverage (including release dates).

Drew: Before Watchmen: Minutemen was good. It helped that it was one of the least explicitly fleshed-out corners of the Wathcmen universe, but much credit belongs to the unblinking moral greyness Darwyne Cooke imparted to the series. His warts-and-all approach stayed true to the spirit of the original series, but blended it with the sheen of reverence we hold for our golden-age heroes. He gave us compelling takes on many of the Minutemen, most notably Nite Owl, Mothman, and the Silhouette, creating fully-formed characters from the brief snapshots we see in Watchmen. Minutemen didn’t bother much to explore much of Dollar Bill’s back-story, which is unfortunately the only similarity Dollar Bill has to that series. Continue reading →

Feb 5 2013

Talon 4

talon 4

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Talon 4, originally released January 30th, 2013. 

Shelby: Starting a new comic book has got to be a tricky affair. Your story, your character, could potentially end up part of cannon forever and ever; there’s a lot of pressure to get it right. As a creator, you have to balance between giving the book the time it needs to grow roots and keeping the readers interested long enough to have that kind of time. Take too long getting to the point of the book, you’re gonna lose your audience: slap something together, and you don’t have a character with any sticking power. With all that in mind, is it a problem for Scott Snyder and James Tynion that I’m still not sure where this book is going? More importantly, does it matter if I’m enjoying the ride? 

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Feb 5 2013

Before Watchmen – Ozymandias 5

ozymandias 5 B4WToday, Patrick and Michael are discussing Ozymandias 5, originally released January 30th, 2012. Ozymandias is part of DC’s Before Watchmen prequel series. Click here for complete Before Watchmen coverage (including release dates).

Patrick: In a sequence that perfectly epitomizes how I feel about the Ozymandias mini-series, Adrian Veidt holds a press conference as his alter ego. He removes the mask and the costume, revealing to the assembled reporters that Ozymandias and Adrian Veidt are one and the same. He says that all non-Doctor-Manhattan heroes have effectively become irrelevant — a sentiment echoed at one point or another by just about everyone in the Watchmen universe. Vedit can accomplish more good as the head of Vedit Industries, which prompts one reporter to ask “So, this is all about the money?” Never mind that this isn’t at all what Vedit was saying, he addresses the question head-on, bluntly saying “In this end… isn’t everything?” That reads as a rather cynical explanation for Before Watchmen, but interestingly, Veidt can’t keep his word about staying out of costume, donning the cape again to fight petty crime during the police strike. The message? It’s all about money… except when superheroes are involved: then it’s about something else.

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Feb 4 2013

Invincible 100

invincible 100

Today, Mikyzptlk and Patrick are discussing Invincible 100, originally released January 30th, 2013.

Mikyzptlk: Well, here we are at issue 100 of Invincible AND the 1st Alternating Current about Invincible. Wait, what do you mean we’ve never covered this book before? Oh boy, we’ve got our work cut out for us this time. In all seriousness, this is actually the first time that Retcon Punch is tackling Robert Kirkman’s Invincible, and it was my bright idea to start covering it at issue 100. I was hoping that the issue would begin with some kind of summary of events leading up to what was happening in the current issue to give potential new readers a chance to catch up. Instead, we jumped right in where the previous issue left off. I shouldn’t have been surprised as this is simply Robert Kirkman’s style. His comics don’t have previously pages, nor does he have his characters awkwardly dole out exposition in order to catch readers up. You’ve either read the previous issues or you haven’t. While this might make it difficult for new readers to jump aboard his series, it makes for the most seamless transitions between issues, and an overall story that feels more real. That said, it seems that Kirkman is, in fact, attempting to restore the main character to his roots somewhat, which might just make it a bit easier for new readers to jump aboard after all.

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Feb 4 2013

Superman 16

superman 16 Hel

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Superman 16, originally released January 30th, 2013. This issue is part of the H’el on Earth crossover event. Click here for complete H’el on Earth coverage.

Patrick: You know that knock-knock joke that goes “Knock-knock.” “Who’s there?” “Banana?” Of course you do, we were all kids once. It’s a simple exercise in tension and release: when you hear “orange,” you get a visceral little rush knowing the “orange you glad I didn’t say banana” is mere moments away. The Justice League’s assault on the Fortress of Solitude has been one long Banana Knock-Knock joke. But when we finally get the “orange,” the door we’re knocking on teleports somewhere else, making me wonder why the fuck we’ve been putting up with this jokester saying “banana” for so long.

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Feb 4 2013

Teen Titans 16

teen titans 16 DoF

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Teen Titans 16, originally released January 30th, 2013. This issue is part of the Death of the Family crossover event. Click here for complete DotF coverage.

Shelby: What is the point of being a villain? Some do it out of greed, like the Penguin, others for a cause, like Poison Ivy. Then there’s the Joker, who’s just a psychopath. The source of his villainy is insanity; he is chaos incarnate. You’d think that would make it easier for writers to use the Joker in their stories. Just think of the craziest, most out there plan, add some gratuitous murder and cruelty, and you’re done, right? Wrong-o. The Joker is chaos, but he’s directed chaos. He has an end point in mind, there is a “reason for his madness.” Batgirl  plays with the core idea that the Joker’s latest spree is based on love with a twisted wedding. Batman and Robin also ties back to love, either the love of Robin for Batman or the love of a son for his father, depending on whether or not you believe the Joker knows who everybody is. Teen Titans and Red Hood, however, have a tougher time showing us that central theme of love, so that at the end of the issue I’m left wondering, “what was the point?” Continue reading →

Feb 1 2013

Green Lantern Corps Annual 1

green lantern corps annual 3rd

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Green Lantern Corps Annual 1, originally released January 30th, 2013. This issue is part of the Rise of the Third Army crossover event. Click here for complete Third Army coverage. 

Shelby: The Green Lantern Corps is having a very “out of the frying pan, into the fire” kind of day. This issue’s got a lot of moving parts, so I’m just going to dive right in.

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Feb 1 2013

Aquaman 16

aquaman 16 Throne

Today, Michael and Mikyzptlk are discussing Aquaman 16, originally released January 30th, 2012. This issue is part of the Throne of Atlantis event. Click here for all of our ToA coverage.

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Michael: Nothing gets me going like a dramatic reveal. I love stories wherein tables are turned and even villains fall in and out of virtue. In comics, a strikingly juxtaposed panel can make a subtle twist even more shocking. There’s something thrilling about being duped by a brilliant turn. We’re told something is true, relevant, or congruous, only to find out that some or all of these things don’t matter, and yet the story is somehow better for it. It may be that we enjoy the release of tension or delight in dashing our assumptions that makes these betrayals so enjoyable, but part of what makes them effective is context. What the hero knows determines how new information changes him. Issue 16 of Aquaman delivers some really solid twists from Geoff Johns with vivid art from Paul Pelletier and Sean Parsons to back it up, but our heroes are so clueless and mired in chaos that the impact of these bombshells are hard to gauge. Continue reading →

Feb 1 2013

Hawkeye 7

 

Today, Patrick and Jack are discussing Hawkeye 7, originally released January 30th, 2012.

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Patrick: Last time we were hanging out in fuzzy pants as discussing Hawkeye, we were reflecting on the Christmas issue (complete with Clint in a Santa hat). This month, we’ve got in our hands another Very Special Issue of Hawkeye, one that should feel a little less celebratory. Yes, it’s the end of October 2012 on the eastern seaboard, and the subject of our latest Hawkeye adventure is Super Storm Sandy. Never one to rest on a gimmick, Matt Fraction builds two tales for two Hawkeyes, one fun and the other touching, while staying emotionally and factually true to the event that inspired him. Clint and Katie are always easy to identify with, and their reactions to the storm echo our own in a dazzling display of artistic empathy.

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Jan 31 2013

The Flash 16

flash 16

Today, Patrick and Scott are discussing the Flash 16, originally released January 30th, 2013.

Patrick: We expect our heroes to bravely sacrifice themselves for the greater good. If we’re blessed with complex characters, we can even expect this of our anti-heroes. But what about our ancillary characters? With the smoke-screen of a superheroic battle for the fate of city, real-world sacrifices tend to go unnoticed. Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato deliver plenty of that bombastic hero action, but bury under it the sad, frustrated story of Iris West.  Continue reading →