May 22 2012

The Vault – Batman and Superman Caped Pint Glasses

The Retcon Punchers spend an awful lot of time looking for ways to celebrate our nerdy obsessions. This means a lot of time sunk into scouring Etsy, Deviant Art, Think Geek or whatever. Sometimes we see things so great we just have to share them… and then clutch them fiercely to our collective chest. Throw it in The Vault.

Website: Spencer’s

Who Would Love This: Old-schoolers who can’t get down with the Blackest Night Pint Glass Set/anyone who needs more billowing when drinking.

Price: $9.99 each

Capes are hard. They’re always getting stepped on and caught in doors, and air drying them is such a chore. Nightwing says capes throw off his balance, and they would just slow the Flash down. BUT they look cool. Why, then, should we restrict capes to human shoulders? Now your glassware can get in on the action! Not only do they look great in a breeze, but the capes also complete an ensemble: note the belts and underwear at the bottom of the glasses. Now you’ll be drinking in style — right out of the torso of your favorite heroes.

May 21 2012

Birds of Prey 9

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Birds of Prey 9 originally released May 16th, 2012. This issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event. Click here for complete NotO coverage. Not caught up on Birds of Prey? No problem! Get up to speed with our video Cram Session.

Drew: Serialization is in. There have always been long-form narratives that have relied on dense mythologies to build-up stories over time, but until recently, they have always been balanced by more episodic works; for every Days of Our Lives, there was a Law and Order. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, but with the popularity of DVD collections for television and trade paperback collections for comics (and the availability of individual episodes or issues online) have made, dense, long-form narratives are easier than ever to gain access to. It’s understandable why serialization is so appealing to both creators and audience alike — characters have a chance to develop over longer scales than single chapters, and don’t have to jockey as much for space against the actual plot. Continue reading →

May 17 2012

Batwoman 9

Today, Drew and Shelby are discussing Batwoman 9, originally released May 16th 2012.

Drew: Last month, I was pretty hard on Batwoman. The gambit of dividing the story into six discrete narratives necessarily forces the plot to only be advanced incrementally in each. That, I’m fine with, but when every story hit the emotional doldrums simultaneously, the result is an issue that strains to justify its existence. This month, writers J.H. Williams and W. Haden Blackman find the emotional through-line issue 8 was lacking, crafting a meaningful rumination on the nature of loyalty. Continue reading →

May 16 2012

Op-Ed: In Defense of “In Defense of Pickiness”

Last week, I wrote an Op-Ed inspired by a twitter conversation I’d had with a complete stranger about Detective Comics 8. That conversation ranged into some interesting topics including taking risks in art and how best to support comics as an industry. I disagreed with many of the arguments that twitterer had presented, so I took the opportunity to present my response in that piece. I was hoping presenting my ideas clearly and civilly would be a way to continue the conversation, both with that twitterer, my fellow Retcon Punchers, and our other readers. Needless to say, I was very excited to hear that twitterer’s thoughts on the piece, so I tweeted him the link:

last month’s twitter conversation about #DetectiveComics still has me thinking, so I wrote an Op-Ed on it: wp.me/p2a7lL-xD

Continue reading →

May 11 2012

Batgirl 9

Today, Drew and Shelby are discussing Batgirl 9, originally released May 9th, 2012. This issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event. Click here for complete NotO coverage. Not caught up on Batgirl? No problem! Get up to speed with our video Cram Session.

Drew: As a crossover event, the Night of the Owls is pretty rigid in what it requires of its participating titles. Namely that the hero(es) 1) receive Alfred’s APB, 2) rush to protect one of the target on the hit-list, and 3) battle at least one Talon in order to protect said target. Those strict guidelines run the risk of getting old rather quickly, as they are repeated in about a dozen titles in a single month. It’s credit to writer Gail Simone that she managed to wrangle and subvert those guidelines into a compelling narrative, though doing so left little room for that signature Babs wit we’ve come to love from Simone’s writing. Continue reading →

May 9 2012

Op-Ed: In Defense of Pickiness

As an upstart comics review site, one of our primary methods of publicity is tweeting our reviews at creators and hoping for a retweet. This process is made much more complicated (or at least uncomfortable) when the review is openly negative, and impossible when the creators aren’t on twitter in the first place. For last month’s review of Detective Comics, I just started tweeting at randos who had posted positive things about #DetectiveComics, asking them to defend their position. One such rando was game enough to actually engage us, offering several arguments to both why DetCom 8 wasn’t so bad, as well as why our attitude may actually be detrimental to comics in general. As I sat down to write this month’s review of DetCom, I realized that I was much more interested those arguments than in anything going on in the issue. I’d like to use this space to respond to those very arguments. Continue reading →

May 8 2012

Worlds’ Finest 1

Today, Drew and Peter are discussing Worlds’ Finest 1, originally released May 2nd, 2012.

Drew: Superhero comics are well-known for their entertainment value. We turn to them for wild plotting or impossible feats or insane action. When handled well, they can also be home to themes that resonate even with their non-powered readers. Our favorite titles home in on the themes that resonate most with their characters, offering pointed, deliberate examinations of the human condition. With World’s Finest 1, writer Paul Levitz offers a compelling case for counting it among those titles, as it explores how two very different characters cope with moving on from the loss of their very way of life. Continue reading →

May 3 2012

Batwing 9

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Batwing 9, originally released May 2nd, 2012. This issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event. Click here for complete NotO coverage. Not caught up on Batwing? No problem! Get up to speed with our video Cram Session.

Drew: Last month, we took Batwing to task for its bat-family cameos; when the hero is still winning over an audience, placing him alongside one of comicbookdom’s biggest draws will necessarily divert our interest. As I looked ahead to reading this issue, I wondered how removing Batman from the equation would work. Batwing is still in Batman’s city, and is now fighting one of Batman’s villains, but without Batman’s presence, would the issue feel lacking? Continue reading →

Apr 30 2012

The Vault – Green Lantern Costume Snuggy Sleeved Blanket

Who Would Love This: Sleepy/lazy cosplayers

Price: $29.99

You may be familiar with the distinctly unheroic feeling you get vegging-out in front of the TV, but have you considered the possibility that the problem lies in the unheroic nature of the blanket you use to keep your lazy ass warm? Well, the good folks over at Super Hero Stuff have considered that possibility, and have come up with their own solution: a Snuggie® with Green Lantern’s body printed on it. Part boardwalk cut-out, part blanket, this item takes the “superhero shirt with fake muscles” phenomenon to its logical conclusion, even depicting muscle-bound legs on people who can’t even be bothered to stand for cosplaying. Hope you always imagined Hal Jordan with Dorito-stained fingers!

Apr 26 2012

The Flash 8

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing the Flash 8, originally released April 25th, 2012.

Check out Drew’s exclusive interview with Francis Manapul here!

Drew: Last month, Patrick voiced some concerns about objectively judging this title. Maybe we want to like it too much to say whether we actually do. After putting this issue down a little disappointed, but deciding that it was brilliant before starting this write-up, one could conclude I’ve already crossed the line of objectivity. However, I’d like to make the case for why this seemingly eventless and exposition-heavy issue actually carries the torch of thematic unity that has made this title so fantastic.