Yearly Archives: 2013

Nov 20 2013

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 11/13/13

round upLook, there are a lot of comics out there. Too many. We can never hope to have in-depth conversations about all of them. But, we sure can round up some of the more noteworthy titles we didn’t get around to from the week. Today, Patrick and Mikyzptlk discuss Cataclysm: Ultimate Spider-Man 1, Justice League of America 9, Nightwing 25, Green Lantern Corps 25, Suicide Squad 25, Forever Evil: Arkham War 2, Superior Foes of Spider-Man 5, and Rocket Girl.

slim-banner4Patrick: My adventures in trying to make something of the end of the Ultimate Universe (about which I’ve now read exactly three issues), I picked up Cataclysm: Ultimate Spider-Man 1. One of the things that struck me was how much time this issue spend with non-Spider-Man characters. I guess when there are only three series dedicated to a whole universe, they can all feature everyone. Brian Michael Bendis only lets us spend like 5 pages with Spidey, but it’s an extremely economic expression of everything that makes Miles so damn likable. He’s overworked, but still sharp as a tack — plus he’s got the most important quality for any Spider-Man: the affections of New Yorkers. I love this sequence when the cops realize that Spider-Man’s back — Dave Marquez shows such palpable joy on this guy’s face. Continue reading →

Nov 19 2013

Batgirl 25

batgirl 25Today, Spencer and Shelby are discussing Batgirl 25, originally released November 13th, 2013.

Spencer: They say disaster brings out people’s true colors; some perfectly normal people turn on their neighbors for petty reasons, while others will risk their own lives to rescue total strangers. For Barbara Gordon—at this point still a few years shy of “Batgirl” status—the disaster of the Zero Year brings out her heroic side for perhaps the first time ever. While some of the other Zero Year tie-ins have felt a tad superfluous, this story feels like a first essential step in the heroic legacy of Barbara Gordon. Continue reading →

Nov 19 2013

Thor: God of Thunder 15

thor 15Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Thor: God of Thunder 15, originally released November 13th, 2013.

Shelby: I am no stranger to drinking with my coworkers. It happens less now, but back when I started with company I’ve been with for the past six years, we used to go out all the time. Drinking with coworkers is strange; you have the weird anxiety about introducing these people to your true, non-work self. If you’re lucky enough like I am to work at a pretty casual place, the difference between work-you and real-you isn’t that extreme. Casual workplace or no, afterhours outings can definitely bring the group together. Sure, things are probably going to be awkward the next day, with everyone exchanging stories, gossiping about who hooked up with whom, but the shared experience of the evening brings people together and makes the team tighter. It helps, too, when the boss picks up the tab.
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Nov 19 2013

All-New X-Men 18

Today,  Ethan and Taylor are discussing All-New X-Men 18, originally released November 13th, 2013.

Ethan: The best part of being in a relationship is that you get to spend so much time with the one you love. The worst part of being in a relationship is that you get to spend so much time with the one you love. For the X-Men, isolated from the world by that tricky little accident of being born with the X-gene, their ties to each other are incredibly strong. It’s no surprise that they so often find passionate love and lifelong friendship inside their circle. Just like any family or couple, though, they often drive each other completely crazy. Breathing room is hard to find when you’re all stuck in the same space, whether it’s a mansion or a mountain bunker, and All-New X-Men #18 explores how they fight, how they cope, and how they move forward.

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Nov 18 2013

The Rocketeer & The Spirit: Pulp Friction 3

rocketeer 3

Today, Drew and Ethan are discussing The Rocketeer & The Spirit: Pulp Friction 3, originally released November 13th, 2013.

“It’s the moment, when the movie … becomes an entirely different movie.”

DJ McCarthey

Drew: I’ve said it before (and I’m sure I’ll say it again): I love thinking about form. It’s one of the most fundamental elements of storytelling, and I believe that studying a narrative’s form informs us more about our own experience reading it than even the best plot or character analyses. I’m always looking for new perspectives on form, and was happy to see John Roger’s post on 3-Point Plotting on Mark Waid’s own Thrillbent. It’s a fairly straightforward introduction to the standard three act structure, but I had never seen it broken down so succinctly into “disruption, reversal, and conclusion.” I was particularly intrigued by Roger’s discussion on the reversal — which he defines using that McCarthey quote — as it explains the all-too familiar experience of a narrative changing direction abruptly after I’m already invested in what was going to happen. What happens when you liked what a story was more than the story it becomes? Continue reading →

Nov 18 2013

Manifest Destiny 1

manifest destiny 1

Today, Patrick and Mikyzptlk are discussing Manifest Destiny 1, originally released November 13th, 2013.

“(It is) our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federated self-government entrusted to us.”

John L. O’Sullivan, New York Morning News, 1845

Patrick: The term “Manifest Destiny” is strange – I’m not totally convinced that those words make sense when put up next to each other like that. I mean, I see how you can make one’s destiny manifest: essentially just realizing one’s potential. My objection — I think — is that it’s redundant: both “manifest” and “destiny” can imply that what is going to happen is meant to happen. And maybe that’s all O’Sullivan was going for, he felt that the US was “supposed” to conquer all the lands between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The genius of the term is that it feels as though the right and responsibility to do so is innate – you’ll notice that he doesn’t say that any man, government or god has granted us this opportunity, just “Providence.” Whatever was out there, it was just ours. No question, no doubt, no reason. It’s already a dangerous and intriguing concept, so what happens when you add secret missions and monsters? You get the best kind of alternate-history comic – one that makes you chuckle in recognition and gasp in shock in the same breath. Continue reading →

Nov 18 2013

Batman 25

Batman 25

Today, Mikyzptlk and Shelby are discussing Batman 25, originally released November 13th, 2013

Mikyzptlk: From the moment that Zero Year was first announced, it has been shrouded in mystery. What exactly was the “Zero Year” and how would it change the origin of Batman that we’ve been familiar with for so long? We are now five issues into the story, and while some of the mysteries are becoming clear, there seems to be tons of new ones cropping up left and right. Issue 25 of Batman is no exception. At the same time, we are introduced to a brand new/really old Batman villain that may just be revealing more about our hero than he is about himself at this point.  Continue reading →

Nov 15 2013

The Superior Spider-Man 21

superior spider-man 21

Today, Patrick and Spencer are discussing The Superior Spider-Man 21, originally released November 13th, 2013.

Patrick: Any time I join a new social group, I like to think that I’m starting over in terms of my identity. Like, I get to use all the skills and stuff I picked up over my lifetime, but I can newly define myself with a whole new set of activities and goals and values. All the previous versions of me inform this, of course, but it’s too simplistic to say that their sum is my new persona. Current Patrick isn’t Orchestra Dork + Magic: The Gathering + Ska Bands + Drama Club + RA + all the other things I’ve been. Sometimes that means letting go of things that used to seem the most important (I haven’t played a game of Magic in over a decade, and yes it feels like I’m in AA when I say that). I’m not saying I know exactly what Otto is going through, but I know, exactly, what Otto is going through. Continue reading →

Nov 15 2013

The Manhattan Projects 16

Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing The Manhattan Projects 16, originally released November 13th, 2013.

Taylor:  You know that one picture of Einstein, the one where he’s looking at the camera and playfully sticking his tongue out at the camera? Of course you do — of all the hundreds of pictures of Einstein that exist, that particular portrait sticks out in our collective consciousness. There are probably several reasons for that, but perhaps one of the most powerful is that the picture portrays the author of the general theory of relativity in the way we would like to think he existed. With his frizzy white hair and iconic mustache, Einstein cuts a figure that is both endearing and intelligent. We like to think of Einstein, the grand scientist, as having a playful and childlike streak because it makes him lovable and human, rather than untouchable and superhuman. In this way, we all liken ourselves to Einstein. If that zany dude can revolutionize the world, why not me?  However, this disregards the real Einstein, who was often angry and frustrated with himself and the science he devoted his life to. But which of these pictures of Einstein is more accurate and, more importantly, does it matter?

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Nov 14 2013

Superman/Wonder Woman 2

superman wonder woman 2

Today, Shelby and Scott are discussing Superman/Wonder Woman 2, originally released November 13th, 2013

Shelby: I know I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been reading Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series for quite some time. Since it was not unusual for more than a year to pass between books, when a new volume was released I would frequently re-read a book or two that had come before to remember where the story was. I noticed that each new book would have to devote a solid chunk of pages to re-hashing basic concepts, presumably to familiarize new readers with way this world worked, just in case someone decided to jump right in at book 7, I guess. I’m sure there was an element of reminding the long-time readers as well, but I always skim through those parts with some annoyance. I understand the purpose and the necessity of the quick recap (hell, we do it here), but if I don’t need it I just want to skip it and get to the meat of the story. Charles Soule finds himself with a similar situation on his hands; he’s got to find a way to tie together the disparate worlds of Superman and Wonder Woman, using the existing New 52 framework, while telling his own story of these two characters. A Herculean task, to be sure.
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