Monthly Archives: April 2014

Apr 30 2014

Lazarus 8

lazarus 8Today, Shelby and Spencer are discussing Lazarus 8, originally released April 23rd, 2014.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil.

Traditional

The nail which sticks out gets hammered down.

Japanese Proverb

Shelby: Two opposing ideas: one, that speaking up about problems is the only way to call attention to them and get them fixed, the other, that maybe standing out from the crowd and speaking out is more dangerous than it’s worth. I am firmly in the former camp; I believe dissent is the first, important step to affect change. After all, if no one knows there’s a problem, how’s it going to get solved? But maybe I only feel that way because I’ve had the luxury of never being in a situation where that would be the more dangerous approach.

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Apr 30 2014

Creator Interview: Gail Simone

interview_gail simoneGail Simone is a busy writer, but even her writing responsibilities on three different titles for three different publishers couldn’t possibly compare to her obligations at conventions. She’s in incredibly high demand, but we managed to pull her away for quick chat about how Batgirl has changed, having an effect on Lara Croft’s legacy and the freedom Red Sonja grants her.

Retcon Punch: It seems like you’re just a huge rock star around here. Has that gotten weirder?

Gail Simone: (laughs) No, it’s just amazing to see the diversity of the people coming through the line, which I think is incredible. All three projects that I’m working on right now — Red Sonja, Batgirl, and Tomb Raider — well, other than Red Sonja, the other two have a pretty wide age range of people that are coming through. Not too many real young kids are coming through here for Red Sonja.  Continue reading →

Apr 30 2014

The Manhattan Projects 20

manhattan projects 20Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing The Manhattan Projects 20, originally released April 23, 2014.

“Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds.”

Robert Oppenheimer, actual American History

Patrick: J. Robert Oppenheimer repeated this phrase, which he had read in the Bhadavad Gita, when we witnessed the first test of the atomic bomb. This is recorded in actual history text books, and widely believed to be true, but what exactly he meant by invoking the passage remains up to interpretation. Is he calmly asserting his own will over the strength of human life? Is he mourning his eternal loss of innocence? The odd syntax and the double verb make it an ungainly sentence, and speaking it aloud feels just as strange as the realization itself. Manhattan Projects has long been a series about an alternate American History, but this is the first issue to make a point of a similarity between all universes: Robert Oppenheimer is the face of evil.

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Apr 30 2014

Daredevil 2

daredevil 2Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing Daredevil 2, originally released April 23rd, 2014. 

Patrick: If every issue is someone’s first issue, then every series must be someone’s first series. That’s precisely why Daredevil has kicked back to number one in the first place — to act as an easy access point for new readers. Mark Waid and Chris Samnee seem to be both embracing the possible newness of their readers while playing against the expectations of old readers with the character of Max Coleridge, The Shroud. Part Batman-homage, part Dardevil-mirror-match, part call-back to the scariest villain of the previous series, The Shroud is an interesting indicator of what we can expect from Matt Murdock’s adventures in San Francisco. Continue reading →

Apr 29 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy 14

guardians of the galaxy 14

Today, Drew and Shelby are discussing Guardians of the Galaxy 14, originally released April 23rd, 2014.

Drew: Anniversaries tend to be opportunities to look back. In comics, they seem to be opportunities to deconstruct. Detective Comics and Daredevil both had big anniversary issues this year, and both seized on the opportunity to ask what really defines these characters. The answers those issues posited were buoyed by the strength of their characters, but what about a team series — especially a team with a relatively smaller history? Guardians of the Galaxy 14 sets out to answer this question in the most unexpected ways, separating the characters (or even eliminating them altogether) to examine what makes the Guardians work as an abstract concept.

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Apr 29 2014

Letter 44 6

 

letter 44 6

Today, Scott and Drew are discussing Letter 44 6, originally released April 23rd, 2014.

Scott: Season finales are a time for change. Stories that have been building over the course of many episodes finally reach a climax, and life for the characters will never be the same. Babies are born, elections are won, villains are sent packing, and that couple that was driving the show’s sexual tension finally gets married. It’s a time for heroes to get a victory, and those victories usually come as the result of personal growth by the characters. Letter 44 is often compared to a TV show, so the end of its first arc could be thought of as the season one finale. Both President Blades and the crew of the Clarke have defining moments that will alter their trajectories going forward. Unlike the most satisfying finales, however, the decisions the heroes make aren’t the result of personal growth. Everyone is playing it safe. Continue reading →

Apr 28 2014

Original Sin 0

original sin 0Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Original Sin 0, originally released April 23rd, 2014.

Spencer: A few months ago Patrick and I covered Inhumanity 1, and while most of my complaints about that issue still stand, at the time I misunderstood its purpose; it wasn’t meant to be the beginning of a story, but instead to serve as a primer to catch new readers up on recent events in other titles. In a way, Mark Waid and Jim Cheung’s Original Sin 0 is almost the complete opposite of Inhumanity 1; I enjoyed the story much more, but it’s a story that looks to only have the vaguest of connections to the upcoming Original Sin miniseries.

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Apr 28 2014

Elektra 1

elektra 1

Today, Suzanne and Patrick are discussing Elektra 1, originally released on April 23, 2014.

Suzanne: By her own admission, Elektra has a bad habit of identifying herself through relationships to the men in her life. Her father, Matt Murdock, Kingpin, Bullseye…they all contribute to Elektra’s history in powerful ways. My first exposure to the character was Jennifer Garner’s appearance in Daredevil. Despite having a powerful skill set as an assassin, I didn’t leave the cinema wanting to kick butt like Elektra. Maybe this is a bit unfair, but my overall impression was that things happened to her and that element of passivity was unattractive. Continue reading →

Apr 28 2014

C2E2 2014 – Day 3

comic con punch2

Patrick: Pro Tip: Breakfast – eat it every day of con. Every single one. Don’t skip breakfast. No, seriously. Eat it. Eat it.

Properly fed, (breakfast!) Drew, Shelby and myself headed back into the con for our interview with Gail Simone. Gail is closely guarded by her husband Scott, who is a righteous dude in his own right. After razzing me about not being able to come up with my favorite show tune on the spot*, he granted me access to Simone and she and I had a delightful chat about Batgirl, Red Sonja and Lara Croft. You can expect more on that when we publish that interview later this week. Continue reading →

Apr 28 2014

Zero 7

Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing Zero 7, originally released April 23rd, 2014.

Taylor: Beaches are memorable places. Most obviously, they are pleasant and warm — a veritable buffet of sensory delights. But beaches are also places of mystery and harbors of the strange. They’re the border between two worlds. On the one side you have dry land, man’s habitat and therefore a place of life. On the other side you have the wet desert of the ocean, a place that while beautiful, can’t sustain human life. However, long ago, man came from the ocean, making the watery depths paradoxically a place of life as well as death for mankind. For these reasons (and others) many gravitate to beaches around the world to enjoy scenery and delights as well as muse on the meaning of all things philosophical. Given these themes, it’s no wonder that Zero now finds itself musing on the sandy boundary. It’s the perfect setting for issue 7, which sees the tides of the narrative shifting in an unexpected and thought provoking direction.

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