Category Alternating Current

Cross-talks on individual issues.

Jan 24 2012

Batman 1-3

Originally Posted November 18, 2011

may nobody question our nerddom againDC Comics recently relaunched their entire series, giving curious but uninitiated nerds a convenient entry point.  Fellow blogger Patrick Ehlers and I are two such nerds, and we’ve decided to jump in with a handful of monthly titles.  We really wanted to pull out all the nerd stops, so we’re also going to be writing about them here and on Patrick’s Blog (which you should all be reading anyway) every Friday.  This week, I’m hosting the discussion of Batman, while Patrick is hosting the discussion of Justice Leauge.

Drew:  One of the things I’m enjoying most about DC’s relaunch is seeing how the different titles deal with reintroducing their characters.  For most, this means at least a little awkward exposition, but once the writers get past the basics of who the characters are and why they do what they do, they are able to reintroduce and develop the themes that make the characters interesting.  It’s how these themes are emphasized and spun that really start to define these characters in the post-Flashpoint universe.  Scott Snyder has set about doing this beautifully with Batman, highlighting subtly and efficiently all of the things that make him who he is. Continue reading →

Jan 24 2012

Justice League 1-3

Originally Posted November 18, 2011

DC Comics recently relaunched their entire series, giving curious but uninitiated nerds a convenient entry point.  Fellow blogger Drew Baumgartner and I are two such nerds, and we’ve decided to jump in with a handful of monthly titles.  We really wanted to pull out all the nerd stops, so we’re also going to be writing about them here and on Drew’s blog (which you should all be reading anyway) every Friday.  This week, I’m hosting the discussion of Justice League, while Drew is hosting the discussion of Batman.

Patrick: At the end of the hardbound collection of the Flash: Rebirth mini-series that brought Barry Allen back as the Flash after a 23 year hiatus, there’s a nice little interview with Geoff Johns.  The interviewer tries to probe Johns for information on the story’s crazy science fiction elements and tries to tease out details about where all this is leading, but Johns remains singularly focused on one thing: the character of Barry Allen.  Johns’ preferred method of talking about Barry is describing his relationships Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and on and on.  It’s a singularly pointed fascination.  I wonder if he was already working on rebooting Justice League when he gave that interview, because if the new series is about anything, it’s about the relationships between these superheroes. Continue reading →

Jan 24 2012

Batgirl 1-3

Originally Published November 11, 2011

DC Comics recently relaunched their entire series, giving curious but uninitiated nerds a convenient entry point.  Fellow blogger Drew Baumgartner and I are two such nerds, and we’ve decided to jump in with a handful of monthly titles.  We really wanted to pull out all the nerd stops, so we’re also going to be writing about them here and on Drew’s blog (which you should all be reading anyway) every Friday.  This week, I’m hosting the discussion of Batgirl, while Drew is hosting the discussion of Green Lantern.

Patrick: Like any young man that went through puberty in the 90s, my introduction to the DC universe was the Batman animated series.  I saw it before I saw the Tim Burton flicks, I saw it before I even had a concept of who Superman or the Flash or Green Lantern were.  I was following the pair of spiritual successors to Tiny Toon Adventures.  The creative team for Tiny Toons split up after the show’s conclusion and created two discrete shows: one borrowing the fun, educational, goofy fun of Tiny Toons (Animaniacs) and the other borrowing the penchant for emotional stories anchored by rich characters.  This was Batman, The Animated Series.  Much has been made about the importance of that series, both for TV animation in general and for comic fans.  So I won’t belabor the issue.  I liked Batman a lot, and there is a soft spot in my heart for all of the characters the show introduced to me. Continue reading →

Jan 24 2012

Green Lantern 1-3

Originally Published November 11, 2011

may nobody question our nerddom again

DC Comics recently relaunched their entire series, giving curious but uninitiated nerds a convenient entry point.  Fellow blogger Patrick Ehlers and I are two such nerds, and we’ve decided to jump in with a handful of monthly titles.  We really wanted to pull out all the nerd stops, so we’re also going to be writing about them here and on Patrick’s Blog (which you should all be reading anyway) every Friday.  This week, I’m hosting the discussion of Green Lantern, while Patrick is hosting the discussion of Batgirl.

Drew:  Disclaimer: I am woefully unfamiliar with Green Lantern.  Different Lanterns have been featured in some media I’m more familiar with (namely the DCAU and occasional appearances in Batman books I’ve read), but I only have the loosest understanding of the character’s mythology.  I think this actually puts me in a good position for assessing the current run of Green Lantern, as DC’s reboot should ostensibly re-introduce all of their heroes.  The first three issues do this ably without going the dreaded “retelling of the origin story” route, which I worried would be all we’d get out of the new 52.  They also do this without pandering too much to newcomers, possibly the best of the titles I’ve been following. Continue reading →