Author Archives: shelbykpeterson

Oct 3 2012

Superman 0

Today, Shelby and (guest writer) Pete Peterson are discussing Superman 0, originally released September 27th, 2012. Superman 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby: What more is there to know about the origin of Superman? Krypton blows up, baby Kal-El is loaded into an escape pod, crashes to Earth as the only survivor of Krypton (except for his cousin Supergirl, but that’s a different story), and becomes Superman because science. I have never stopped to think more about Superman’s story; turns out, there are a lot of details I’ve been glossing over. For example, what exactly caused an entire planet to blow up in the first place? Scott Lobdell gives us a clue to the destruction of Krypton, and decides the best place to start the origin of Superman is with his father.

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Oct 2 2012

Teen Titans 0

Today, Shelby and (guest writer) Zach Kastner are discussing Teen Titans 0, originally released September 27th, 2012. Teen Titans 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby: We’ve all done dumb things to try to impress someone. Whether it’s a boss, friend, or member of whatever sex you prefer, everyone has at one point thrown common sense out the window and acted like an ass to earn their favor. Usually, though, the average cry for attention doesn’t involve stealing millions of dollars from a mob boss psychopath to simultaneously make your parents proud and to get a masked vigilante to take notice. Tim Drake is obviously far from average.

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Oct 2 2012

Justice League Dark 0

Today, Shelby and (guest writer) Dave Werner are discussing Justice League Dark 0, originally released September 26th, 2012. Justice League Dark 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby: John Constantine is an enigma. He can wander in and out of any magic-based title with no problem. He has a power-set which basically consists of “do whatever you need to do at the time you need to do it.” He’s a perpetual loner, mostly because everyone close to him tends to die, but also because he likes to be a loner. He has the loosest morals of any “hero” I’m reading, which is what I find most intriguing about him. I’ve always just assumed he’s your standard “bastard with a heart of gold;” he does what he wants, when he wants to, but deep down he’s a good guy, and will do the right thing in a pinch. The zero issue for Justice League Dark, however, focuses on a part of Constantine’s past that makes me think he’s ultimately not such a good guy after all.

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Oct 1 2012

Red Lanterns 0

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Red Lanterns 0, originally released September 26th, 2012. Red Lanterns 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby: The worst thing about grief is not the pain, not the loss, not the sadness; it’s how easy it is to hold on to. Grief is the gateway drug of emotions; it leads you to harder stuff, like sorry, despair, or rage. Grief is a passive, wallowing place, but rage is an emotion of action. A man who’s rage is so intense it burns away the grief which spawned it (as well as all other emotion) is a man who can accomplish terrible things.

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Sep 27 2012

Aquaman 0

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Aquaman 0, originally released September 26th, 2012. Aquaman 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby: Geoff Johns is a big picture kind of guy. When he gets an idea, it’s a big idea. This plays out well in trade paperback collections of his story arcs, when you can read them in great big chunks. It doesn’t always work so well in the monthly issues; when a huge story is dragged out over months, the pace slows and it’s hard to keep that big picture in your mind. I think Johns found a solution to the problem: just write an issue with a story so big it spans all the oceans, treat it like the opening scenes of a movie, and give your artists plenty of elbow room.

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Sep 26 2012

Catwoman 0

Today, Shelby and (guest writer) Heath Gordon are discussing Catwoman 0, originally released September 19th, 2012. Catwoman 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby: I really want to like Catwoman. I’ve always been intrigued by the “villain of convenience,” that one character who does what he wants; sometimes his goals line up with the hero’s, sometimes they don’t. Every encounter reveals a new motive that can land anywhere on the villain/hero scale. We never really know where this character’s loyalties lie. Ultimately, it all adds up to interesting and engaging reading. This is what I want Catwoman to be: a kick-ass thief with a unique take on what’s right and wrong. I was disappointed with Judd Winick’s vapid, selfish, recklesly stupid Selina Kyle, and had high hopes for Ann Nocenti’e origin story. Looks like I’m going to have to stay disappointed.

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Sep 25 2012

Sword of Sorcery 0

Today, Shelby and (guest writer) Selene Gill are discussing Sword of Sorcery 0, originally released September 19, 2012. Sword of Sorcery 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby: We take comic books pretty seriously here at Retcon Punch. We firmly believe in applying our liberal arts educations to the medium and offering up intelligent and thought-provoking discourse. We recognize that comic books are both a form of literature AND art, and we want to do everything in our power to take that critical eye we honed in Freshman Studies and apply it to the issues in front of us. But, we also know that there is nothing wrong with reading something that’s a fun bit of fluff; sometimes you just want to be entertained. It’s only the first issue, but I suspect that Sword of Sorcery might turn out to be that fluffy bit of nothing, and I think I like it.

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Sep 24 2012

Birds of Prey 0

Today, Shelby and (special guest writer) Lindsey Peterson are discussing Birds of Prey 0, originally released September 19, 2012. Birds of Prey 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby: A difficult aspect of writing a comic book has got to be maintaining the balance between new and old readers: specifically, keeping both sides happy. You want to keep the long-timers happy; without their readership, you wouldn’t have been successful in the first place. But, you need to keep your books at least a little bit attainable to attract new readers; if your readership doesn’t grow, you won’t continue to be successful. With half of zero month behind us, we’ve seen examples of origins that bore us with nothing new and origins that confound us with no background knowledge given. Then we have my favorites, those titles which have struck that delicate balance between old-hat origin and current story arc connections. Birds of Prey is definitely in that last camp.  Continue reading →

Sep 20 2012

Justice League 0

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Justice League 0, originally released September 19, 2012. Justice League 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby: What makes a superhero so heroic? I’m not talking about the enhanced DNA/gadgets/magic powers, it’s easy to see where that comes from. It might not make a ton of sense (really, a different color sun?), but it’s easy to see the source. No, I want to know what makes a hero, what are the inherent traits that would make someone suddenly imbued with immense power decide to fight the good fight and try to save the world? The same question can be asked of the super villains our heroes fight. Are our heroes filled with a sense of responsibility to do what’s right? Do our villains feel they deserve more than they’ve got? Is it as simple as heroes are good people, and villains are bad? Well, what if you try to be good, but are also a smartass 15-year-old who thinks you know best and is kind of a dick? Where does that put you on the hero/villain scale?

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Sep 19 2012

Deathstroke 0

Today, Shelby and (special guest writer) Kevin Elliott are discussing Deathstroke 0, originally released September 12, 2012. Deathstroke 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby: My first exposure to the man, the myth, the legend that is Rob Liefeld was when he took over Deathstroke from Kyle Higgins at issue 9. Liefeld is the most polarizing writer/artist I have ever encountered. Most of the comic fanbase despises his work, for a number of very valid reasons. He seemingly has no idea what the human body looks like, especially the female body. He cannot draw feet, to the point that his panels are often cropped so that the feet aren’t even pictured. He has no consistency; it is not unusual to see multiple haircuts on a character in one issue, hell, on one page. His writing is sophomoric at best. And yet, the fans of his work are just as rabid in their adoration as the rest of us are in our abhorrence. I have a personal beef with Liefeld, because I was really enjoying this title before he took over and sucked the good out of it. I’m going to try to maintain a professional, objective voice so we can just get through this, but I make no promises.

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