Feb 28 2017

Justice League of America 1

Today, Michael and Patrick are discussing Justice League of America 1, originally released February 22nd, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Michael: Sometimes I’m a tough customer to please. When it comes to storytelling, I like to get my bearings on the landscape and characters, but I don’t want to be spoon-fed all of the important details. With regards to Justice League of America 1 it nails some subtle world-building but is less successful when handling the stars of the book. Continue reading →

Feb 27 2017

Curse Words 2

Today, Ryan M. and Taylor are discussing Curse Words 2, originally released February 23rd, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Ryan M: Is morality a choice? A person’s ideas of right and wrong come from a combination of outside forces and inner drives. The outside forces are more easy to trace. An examination of societal and family norms can lead to a fairly good prediction of an individual’s understanding of morality. There is more to it than that, right? I want to believe that there are things that cross the boundaries of moral relativism and are inherently on one side or another. In Curse Words 2, Charles Soule and Ryan Browne explore morality through the lens of Wizord as he attempts to clean up his mess.

Continue reading →

Feb 24 2017

Belfry

belfry-1

Today, Taylor and Michael are discussing Belfry, originally released February 22nd, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Taylor: One of my favorite bits of trivia about the very first Alien movie is that the titular monster doesn’t appear in its full form until an hour into the movie. Even after this first appearance, the alien is on screen for less than four minutes total. This trivia caught me by surprise when I first heard it. After all, the alien scared the hell out of me and has become a symbol of sci-fi horror. But the dread the xenomorph inspires is precisely because of how unseen it is. Not knowing where, or exactly what a xenomorph is, is exactly why it’s so terrifying. These thoughts on Alien and what makes a good horror story were in my mind after reading Gabriel Hardman’s Belfry both because of its triumphs and in shortcomings. Continue reading →

Feb 23 2017

Captain America: Steve Rogers 12

Today, Drew and Spencer are discussing Steve Rogers: Captain America 12, originally released February 22nd, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Drew: To say that Captain America: Steve Rogers 1 rocked the comics world would be a profound understatement. It caused an uproar unlike any I’ve seen in my time writing on comics, and it continues to be a point of controversy nine months later. It set the tone for a Captain America story unlike any we’ve seen before, built upon one huge, jaw-dropping twist. The downside of kicking off a series with a twist that large is that it’s hard to match. Writer Nick Spencer has struggled admirably in this regard — and may have actually topped himself in Civil War II: The Oath — but a twist that required the rewriting of reality as we know it is a nigh-unreachable bar. Case in point: this issue’s return of Elisa Sinclair. Continue reading →

Feb 22 2017

The Wild Storm 1

Today, Ryan and Michael are discussing The Wild Storm 1, originally released February 15th, 2017.

When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty, but of her weirdness. They wanted her to change back into what she always had been. But she had wings.

Dean Jackson

Ryan D: Transformation stands as a long-enduring fascination for us, as humans. Sometimes, this includes our history with shapeshifting, which goes back to the oldest discovered forms of shamanism, or enduring texts like The Epic of Gilgamesh or The Iliad. The lore of werewolves alone originated way back to 22 A.D. Transformation seems to be ingrained in our collective unconscious, with the superhero genre and comic books to be a very receptive medium for the trope. What surprises me, however, is when the transformation hurts. I remember playing The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and seeing Link put on a transformative mask for the first time, and then being aghast as the little hero screamed in pain as he changed into a Deku Scrub. Another example: the scene in An American Werewolf in London when the protagonist howls in agony as he becomes lupine. The Wild Storm 1 brings to the pages many transformations for its characters, but is also a transformation unto itself — of an imprint and universe left in chrysalis form for six years and being born again. How well, then, have Warren Ellis and Jon Davis-Hunt coped with the growing pains with this first issue? Continue reading →

Feb 22 2017

Daredevil 17

Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Daredevil 17, originally released February 15th, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Spencer: Our mission statement here at Retcon Punch has always been to foster thoughtful discussions about comic books, but there’s another idea that’s always factored heavily into our work as well: everyone’s unique perspective contributes heavily to their interpretation of any given book. It’s an idea that kept popping into my head as I read Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and Matt Milla’s Daredevil 17, because my feelings about this issue are heavily influenced by my feelings about Mark Waid and Chris Samnee’s previous run with the character. I can only imagine that this story reads far differently to anyone without that attachment. Continue reading →

Feb 21 2017

Batwoman Rebirth 1

Today, Mark and Ryan M. are discussing Batwoman Rebirth 1, originally released February 15th, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Mark: One of the benefits of comic books as a visually-driven medium is that sometimes fantastic art can help make up for an otherwise competent but unremarkable issue. Such is the case with Steve Epting and Jeromy Cox’s work on Batwoman Rebirth 1, whose art uses the opportunity of Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion IV’s Kate Kane history lesson to deliver page after page of remarkable, poster-worthy splash pages. Continue reading →

Feb 21 2017

Mighty Thor 16

mighty-thor-16

Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing Mighty Thor 16, originally released February 15th, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Taylor: As our current president is learning on the job, it’s hard to be a good leader. On one hand, you have to appease the electorate who voted you in and gave you your power in the first place. On the other, you also have to work with fellow politicians, some of whom hate you, to get your legislation across the table. It’s a difficult job and some are more suited to the task than others. And while the gods may deal with things on a grander scale, this doesn’t mean they are by any means exempt from these same problems. After all, being the leader of entire worlds, as opposed to just one nation, isn’t an easy task, as Mighty Thor 16 assures us. Continue reading →

Feb 20 2017

Sex Criminals 16

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Sex Criminals 16, originally released February 15th, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Patrick: Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarksy’s Sex Criminals plays with some very big, very difficult ideas. The thematic engine of this series spits out hard questions about identity, sexuality, morality and mental health, but it runs on moment-to-moment action. I’m talking about “action” in the basest sense — Jon and Suzie may have the power to stop time and rob banks, but no one is tuning in for that spectacle. I mean “action” like how we follow one statement from the speaker to its audience, tracking the psychological cause and effect in every second of the interaction. That’s what allows Fraction and Zdarksy to find the drama in Jon repeating “I don’t know how to do this.” His is a prison of inaction, of apathy. In highlighting the action that doesn’t really seem like action, Fraction and Zdarsky drastically alter the speed and intimacy of the story they’re telling. Continue reading →

Feb 17 2017

Super Sons 1

Today, Michael and Taylor are discussing Super Sons 1, originally released February 15th, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Michael: “What a delight!” I found myself saying after reading Pete Tomasi and Jorge Jimenez’s Super Sons 1. Super Sons has arguably been one of the most anticipated Rebirth books ever since Jim Lee threw in Damian Wayne and Jon Kent on that teaser poster that your comic book shop gave you back in June. Tomasi and Superman co-writer Patrick Gleason gave us a taste of what to expect from this series a few months ago, and Super Sons 1 carries on that joyful vibe without stumbling.