Author Archives: shelbykpeterson

Nov 20 2012

Green Lantern Corps 14

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing the Green Lantern Corps 14, originally released October 10th, 2012. This issue is part of the Rise of the Third Army crossover event. Click here for complete Third Army coverage. 

Shelby:  Big crossover events are fun. We like to see various creative teams working together on one story, and large-scale epic stories are an exciting change of pace. A major downside of an epic crossover, however, is having to get your characters to where they need to be. This shuffling of players is necessary, and can be handled in a way that’s still interesting and engaging. Peter Tomasi has got players moving into place and even gives us some major plot pieces in the process, but the end result still falls a little flat.  Continue reading →

Nov 15 2012

Batgirl 14

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Batgirl 14 originally released November 14th, 2012. This issue is part of the Death of the Family crossover event. Click here for complete DotF coverage.

Shelby:  There are two stories I’m most looking forward to with Death of the Family: Jason Todd’s, and Barbara Gordon’s. Their connection to the Joker is the most violent, both physically and psychologically. Obviously, the Joker is in Gotham to destroy the entire Bat-family, physically and psychologically, but those two have a little more heart invested in the situation. We have spent the last year watching Babs grow and recover; she’s back to her strong, confident, compassionate self. With the Joker’s return, she’s changing again, but instead of reverting to frightened and powerless, she’s becoming a creature of rage: an even greater victory for the Joker.
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Nov 13 2012

Detective Comics 14

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Detective Comics 14, originally released November 7th, 2012.

Shelby: Scott Snyder has spoiled us with his work on Batman. His take on the Dark Knight is complex and expansive, allowing for a lot of personal growth for the character as well as massive cross-over events. It’s gotten so that is what I expect from Batman; epic, sweeping narratives on a grand scale. It’s easy to forget the fun to be had in a simple Batman vs. bad guys story. That’s exactly what John Layman gives us in Detective Comics; Batman chasing the baddies, being a detective. While the storytelling is a little bit clunky, it’s still a fun little jaunt into an old-school Batman adventure.

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Nov 8 2012

Before Watchmen – Moloch 1

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Moloch 1, originally released October 7th, 2012. Moloch is part of DC’s Before Watchmen prequel series. Click here for complete Before Watchmen coverage (including release dates).

Shelby: Moloch has appeared in a few of the Before Watchmen titles. While it’s been kind of nice to see him referenced, I’ve never really thought he fit in these prequels. Alan Moore’s stage magician criminal mastermind represents a comic book villain trope; to see this caricature inserted into the realities of Before Watchmen has been jarring at times. Even though introducing a new mini-series at this point seems like a cheap cash-grab, and even though it’s written by J. Michael Straczynski, I planned to keep an open mind as I read it. Moloch is an important character in Watchmen, I was mildly intrigued by his origin. Then I read the issue, and now all I can think is how I never want to read anything like it ever again.

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Nov 7 2012

The Vault – Swamp Thing Tattoo

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: NA

Who Would Love This: Tattooed hipster nerds

Price: NA

Like Patrick’s birthday swag Vault post, this one is a little different. If you didn’t know, that’s me showing off my tattoo from Swamp Thing 9, inspired by Yanick Paquette’s orchid theme for Abby Arcane. As I started getting more and more into comics this last year, I knew my next tattoo would have to be comic-book themed somehow, but I didn’t want to get just a Wonder Woman logo or something like that; it needed to be more unique. Then I read Swamp Thing 9, and I was moved: not only by the beauty of Paquette’s work, but by the beauty of Scott Snyder’s story as well. It was the first time I realized just what comic books can be, and I knew exactly what tattoo I wanted.

Nov 6 2012

Action Comics Annual

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing the Action Comics Annual, originally released October 31st, 2012.

Shelby: I was talking with a friend recently about Superman. He had listed Supes as one of his favorite superheroes; I’ve made my opinion of the Man of Steel pretty well-known ’round these parts, so we don’t have to go into great detail. I made the point that I think Superman is boring because he’s too powerful, that there’s no believable source of conflict in a Superman story. He made the very good point that boring Superman stories are the product of lazy story-telling, not a flat character. A good Superman story should not be about making up some even more powerful bad guy to threaten Superman physically. A good Superman story is about a man dealing with the strengths he has and finding a way to use them well: striking a balance between Clark Kent and Kal-El. Unfortunately, the Action Comics Annual doesn’t give us any of that, focusing instead on a cookie-cutter Superman story that starts with kryptonite and ends with a feeble attempt to explain what a hero truly is.

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Nov 2 2012

Batgirl Annual 1

Today, Shelby and Mikzyptlk are discussing the Batgirl Annual, originally released October 31st, 2012.

Shelby:  “The Bat, The Cat, and the Owl.” It sounds like some sort of nursery rhyme, but it’s actually the cast of the Batgirl Annual. Gail Simone has teamed up Batgirl with Catwoman and recently sprung lady-talon Mary. The result is a touching look at three very unique ladies: one unequivocally good, one (seemingly) unequivocally bad, and one who toes the line between the two. “But Shelby!” you cry, “Where’s the Joker? What about James, Jr. and Babs, Sr.?” It’s true, we don’t get any of that in this issue. While that does make the timing of this issue a little tricky, Simone delivers such a strong character piece with these three gals that I don’t mind in the least.
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Oct 31 2012

Happy Halloween!

To all our friends in Internetland, Happy Halloween! Do you have a sweet comic book costume to garner enthusiasm from your nerd pals and confused stares from everyone else? To celebrate, here are some photos from the Halloween Party at my LCS, AlleyCat Comics. The first one is yours truly, Shelby, as John Constantine: more after the jump.

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Oct 31 2012

Foster 1-5

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing the Foster 1-5.

Shelby: You may not know this, but we don’t review everything we read. We’ve stuck primarily with DC up until now because we didn’t want to bite off more than we could chew. DC was starting at one, we were already basically familiar with the characters, it was an easy starting point for us. As we became more familiar with the creative talent DC has harnessed, we realized there was a huge chunk of titles we were missing out on. I’m not talking about Marvel, I’m talking about the endless array of independently published comics. Good independent titles can be hard to find, literally; if the creator doesn’t have the funds for a wide distribution, there aren’t going to be a lot of physical copies to be had. Unless you knew to look for it, you could pass right by it. So, when Patrick and Drew heard that Brian Buccellato (famous ’round these parts for his awesome work on The Flash) had a Kickstarter to fund an anthology for his self-published title Foster, they jumped on it, and pulled me along for the ride. Like all our reviews, this one is going to be spoiler heavy, so if you’re interested in reading the issues before the review, head over to Dog Year Store to get yourself caught-up. It’s cool, we’ll wait.
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Oct 30 2012

Batman, Incorporated 4

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing the Batman, Incorporated 4, originally released October 24th, 2012.

Shelby:  When I set out to write a review, I like to be as fully caught-up on the story as I can be.  I don’t feel that I can accurately judge an issue without taking into consideration the story which has has taken place so far. That’s why the relaunch has been so easy; even if I pickup up a new title, I’ve only got 13 back issues to get through. There is certainly merit to the uninformed opinion, we proved that with zero month, it’s just not the approach I prefer to take. Batman, Inc puts me in an unique and frustrating position; I am fully caught-up, in that I’ve read all 5 issues, and yet I still have no idea what’s going on.
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