Category Alternating Current

Cross-talks on individual issues.

Jun 7 2012

Swamp Thing 10

Alternating Currents: Swamp Thing 10, Drew and ShelbyToday, Drew and Shelby are discussing Swamp Thing 10, originally released June 6th, 2012.

Drew: Maintaining a sense of tension in an ongoing story is an unenviable balancing act. If a writer plays things too subtly, the tension is lost, but if it’s laid on too thickly, it looses all meaning. After building to what seemed like a sure climax in issues 8 and 9, Scott Snyder brings things down to a simmer for the introduction of Anton Arcane, but a simmer that seems more primed to burst than anything in the previous four issues. That a quiet conversation in a swamp can feel more dangerous than whole armies of the undead is a testament to Snyder’s writing, which continues to feel somehow both inevitable and innovative. Continue reading →

Jun 6 2012

Arkham City: Harley’s Revenge

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing the Arkham City DLC: Harley’s Revenge, originally released May 29th, 2012.

Peter: If you have not played Batman: Arkham City, or the new downloadable content Harley’s Revenge, do not click and read any more of this article. This is Retcon Punch’s reaction and review to the new content and our post contains LOTS of spoilers. We don’t want to be the people that ruin your gaming experience by spoiling anything. We love this game, and we love our readers, so we don’t want to hurt you in anyway. If you have played, or you just don’t care about spoilers, go ahead, click the link, and enjoy.

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Jun 5 2012

Captain Atom 9

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Captain Atom 9, originally released on May 16th, 2012.

Drew: Comics are an interesting medium for exploring time. We experience them from beginning to end, but we’re also able to flip back and forth between pages and issues to refresh and contextualize our reading. Combine that potential with the ability writers have to splice up their own narratives, and you have unlimited possibilities for explaining the impact a single moment can have. In Captain Atom 9, J.T. Krul and Freddie Williams II continue to explore these ideas both narratively and thematically, and continue to yield mixed results. Continue reading →

Jun 4 2012

Green Lantern Corps 9

Today, Peter and Shelby are discussing Green Lantern Corps 9, originally released May 30th, 2012.

Peter: The Alpha War is underway. John Stewart is on trial for murdering a fellow Lantern. Green Lantern Corps is the book that is currently sticking close to Oa and the Guardians. Their secret and mischievous plans to eventually get rid of the Green Lantern Corps may start here, and this could very well be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

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Jun 1 2012

Animal Man Annual 1

Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing the Animal Man Annual 1, originally released May 30th, 2012.

Patrick: All good modern-epics have have nearly bottomless backstories: histories that stretch on further than any of the characters can remember. “This has all happened before and it will happen again.” I do not quote the sacred text of Battlestar Galactica lightly; the war between The Rot, The Red and The Green has a history that literally (and necessarily) spans all life on Earth. Ever. We’ve gotten glimpses of this history in Animal Man and Swamp Thing, but this is the first time we’ve gotten an extended look at one of the previous incursions by The Rot. We don’t get the whole picture, but we do get some remarkable personal insight.

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May 31 2012

Batman Annual 1

Today, Drew and Peter are discussing Batman Annual 1 originally released May 30th, 2012. This issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event. Click here for complete NotO coverage.

Drew: Let’s talk about baggage. Comics (especially comics with 70+ year histories) have a lot of fictional history that fans have long demanded that creators adhere to. DC’s relaunch promised to shake that status quo up a bit, freeing up editors, writers, and artists to keep what works and jettison anything that doesn’t. Of course, Batman being Batman, damn near everything about him worked. Writer Scott Snyder has revealed a lot of new information, largely by focusing on things that aren’t Bruce (or his core relationships), but much of what we knew about Batman has remained true. This makes any changes that are made — like those revealed towards the end of Batman Annual 1 — particularly effective; especially when they play so brilliantly against what we expect. Continue reading →

May 28 2012

Aquaman 9

Today, Shelby and Peter are discussing Aquaman 9, originally released May 23rd, 2012.

Shelby: I have grown to appreciate Aquaman. I used to think he was pretty lame, but I think his character has been fleshed out in recent years. There’s some depth to him now; he’s a man torn between two worlds, and all that. Geoff Johns obviously has some grand ideas for where he wants to take Aquaman; he just keeps doling out his ideas at such a slow pace, I’m afraid there will be a point when my questions so outnumber the answers, I’m just going to get fed-up.

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May 28 2012

Green Lantern: New Guardians 9

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Green Lantern: New Guardians 9, originally released May 23rd, 2012.

Drew: Last month, Patrick and I expressed our apprehensions about folding this title into the greater Green Lantern mythology playing out in the other GL titles. Character dynamics and breezy fun have been the biggest strengths of this book, and the thought of getting bogged down in universe-spanning details could potentially obscure both of those. It’s a surprise, then, that writer Tony Bedard managed to turn those mythological details into telling character moments. In glimpsing how our characters interact with their own corps, we see how their world views may have shifted in the wake of their first team-up. That’s a very corny-sounding lesson, but Bedard manages not only to make those moments feel earned, but deliver them with the same kind of fun we’ve come to expect of this title. Continue reading →