Category Alternating Current

Cross-talks on individual issues.

Nov 9 2015

Uncanny X-Men 600

uncanny xmen 600

Today,Taylor and Drew are discussing Uncanny X-Men 600, originally released November 4th, 2015.

Taylor: In my junior year of college I took a creative writing course that required each student to have at least one of their stories workshopped. This involved everyone in the class reading your story and then picking it apart in front of you during class. All the things your peers thought about your story, both good and bad, came out during this process. I remember it being a humbling and somewhat traumatic experience. It’s hard to put something you created out there in the world for everyone to scrutinize and it takes a thick skin to not let the negative comments beat you down. In Uncanny X-Men 600, the final of writer Brian Michael Bendis’ run on the series, Beast is put on trial by his peers for actions. In doing so he attempts to defend his actions and those of the author who gives him life. Continue reading →

Nov 6 2015

Midnighter 6

midnighter 6

Today, Patrick and Michael are discussing Midnighter 6, originally released November 4th, 2015.

Patrick: I’ve got beef with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It’s one of my favorite books in the series, largely because of Rowling’s characterization of Alastor Moody. He’s a hard-as-nails, paranoid-but-right nut job, and he gets Harry. Moody understands the severity of the whole Voldemort situation, and he gleefully ushers the narrative into the series end game with a confidence that’s unmatched by anyone else in the book – even Harry. When — spoilers, I guess — Moody reveals himself to really be Barty Crouch Jr., there’s an enormous audience-ally-vacuum. I know I spent the rest of the series desperately looking for someone I could trust as implicitly as I (wrongly) trusted Moody. It’s sort of a genius stroke on Rowling’s part: just like Harry, we will no longer feel even remotely safe in this world. Steve Orlando and Aco have always done a great job of gifting the reader Midnighter’s perspective on the world, through neat little insert panels giving a peek into the inner workings of his fight computer, but they do one better with issue six. While they continue to imbue us with Midnighter’s advantages, it’s in inflicting his weaknesses upon us that their storytelling proves most effective. Continue reading →

Nov 6 2015

Paper Girls 2

paper girls 2

Today, Drew and Ryan M. are discussing Paper Girls 2, originally released November 4th, 2015.

Drew: How early in a narrative can you usually predict the ending? Usually, when we describe a narrative as “predictable” we mean that derisively, but most stories have prescribed endings — oftentimes, the genre of the story is enough to hint at the ending: how does a romantic comedy end? How about a murder mystery? What about a sports movie? There are obviously countless examples that subvert those expectations, but those play by the same rules — the ending can be flipped, sure, but the potential endings are still reduced down to a small handful of options. Unless, of course, that story “defies genre,” evading any of the pigeonholes that would dictate its ending (or at least evading them long enough for you to get sucked in). That’s exactly the case with Paper Girls 2, where the deepening mystery thwarts any expectations about what might happen next. Continue reading →

Nov 5 2015

The Vision 1

vision 1Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing The Vision 1, originally released November 4th, 2015.

Spencer: Secret Wars is dead — long live “All New, All Different Marvel”. We’re a few weeks into Marvel’s newest initiative, and so far each book is handling the “All New” mandate in a different way. Some books aren’t really changing at all (Spider-Gwen), some are throwing a few new quirks or cast members into familiar concepts (Guardians of the Galaxy, Invincible Iron Man), and some are taking their stars into completely uncharted territory (Amazing Spider-Man). For my money, though, there’s no book as drastically new and different as Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta’s The Vision. Part fairy-tale, part family drama, part inevitable tragedy, The Vision 1 is a comic unlike anything I’ve read in quite a while. If I’m being honest, I still haven’t fully wrapped my head around it, but I know one thing: I like it. Continue reading →

Nov 4 2015

Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1

howling commandos 1
Today, Ryan D. and Spencer are discussing Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1, originally released October 28th, 2015.

Ryan D.: Just in time for Halloween season, Howling Commandos reads like a love letter to the schlocky B-Movie horror gems of the late Sixties and early Seventies, along the lines of Dracula vs. Frankenstein. Is it any good? Who am I to apply such a binary judgement to a creative work? Continue reading →

Nov 4 2015

The Spire 4

spire 4Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing The Spire 4, originally released October 28th, 2015.
Spencer: Racism and discrimination are more complicated issues than I could ever properly tackle here, with or without a word-limit. What I do know is that, while good ol’ fashioned mustache-twirling racism is certainly still alive and well, a bigger problem may just be the stereotyping and “othering” of anyone perceived as different. It’s the persistent, false perception of black children as being “older” than their white contemporaries, for example, that leads to cases like Trayvon Martin, and that’s only one example amongst a nearly uncountable number. These kind of false perceptions can exist even in those who claim to be tolerant and open-minded. The ways that prejudice and oppression persist even in a supposed land of “equality” has always been a major element of Simon Spurrier and Jeff Stokely’s The Spire, but it takes center stage in issue 4. Continue reading →

Nov 3 2015

Gotham by Midnight 10

gotham by midnight 10

Today, Patrick and Taylor are discussing Gotham by Midnight 10, originally released October 28th, 2015.

Patrick: Opinions very pretty wildly on whether or not Quentin Tarantino’s contribution to Grindhouse, “Death Proof,” works. It’s a talky flick, even by Tarantino’s standards, and the film’s sharp divide between two discrete halves makes it kind of an endurance test for the audience. By the time the movie reaches the final chase sequence, viewers are either totally bored or totally invested in the characters and the mythology. Those that invested during the first 80 minutes are rewarded with a harrowing vehicular action sequence, which would no doubt be impressive on it’s own, but which means tremendously more for all the groundwork laid before it. Gotham by Midnight 10, continues the talkiness of the interrogation-heavy ninth issue, but ultimately rewards them with — you guessed it — a thrilling car chase. It’s a testament to Juan Ferreya’s impeccable visual storytelling skills that this sequence it’s every bit as explosive and exciting as the most white-knuckle chase scene in the movies.

Continue reading →

Nov 2 2015

Black Magick 1

Alternating Currents: Black Magick 1, Drew and Michael

Today, Drew and Michael are discussing Black Magick 1, originally released October 28th, 2015.

Drew: Police stories tend to be more about cases than about characters. Law and Order is a prime example — the detectives and ADAs mostly serve as charismatic cogs in a machine, only hinting at “character” insofar as they have different manners of speech and dress. Sure, every once in a while you’d be asked to care about someone’s home life, but the fact that it always felt awkward and forced illustrates my point — we only cared that they got the bad guy, not that they were driven into police work by an overbearing father or whatever.

But then there are police stories that manage to make their characters’ psychology a key element of the narrative — The Wire springs immediately to mind, making the wants and habits and vices of its detectives as important to understanding the story as any piece of evidence they might find. Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker struck a similar balance in their Gotham Central, where the romantic and familial relationships of the characters played key roles. It’s no surprise, then, that Black Magick 1, Rucka’s latest police story, features a detective who is every bit as intriguing as the case she’s called to. Of course, as was often the case with Gotham Central, it may be difficult to separate the character from a case that seems so personal. Continue reading →

Nov 2 2015

The Black Hood 6

black hood 6

Today, Patrick and Ryan M. are discussing The Black Hood 6, originally released October 28th, 2015.

Alcoholism is a disease, but it’s like the only disease that you can get yelled at for having. “Damn it Otto, you’re an alcoholic.” “Damn it Otto, you have lupus.” One of those two doesn’t sound right.

–Mitch Hedberg

Patrick: Addiction is ugly. It can make a human being totally (and literally) self-destruct, and in many cases there’s nothing that friends and family can do to help. The extra psychological stress of knowing that addiction is a disease that the addict seemingly inflicts upon himself can be downright devastating. Hedberg himself died of a drug overdose, despite the fact that he had been in treatment and had a strong support network and friends and family invested in his well-being. On some level, someone succumbing to their addiction seems like a personal failing, as though they lacked the willpower to simply overcome it. That’s one of the dangers of depicting addiction in fiction – so often, “getting clean” is the final step in that addicted hero’s journey. But addiction isn’t a dragon, or a witch, Darth Vader, it’s a disease that rewards someone for behavior that will ultimately lead to their undoing. It’s a heartbreaking thing to witness, and everyone involved feels powerless to it. Greg H. is an addict, but not just to painkillers: he’s addicted to being the vigilante known as the Black Hood. Duane Swierczynski and Howard Chaykin embrace that ugliness and helplessness as Greg’s addiction comes back to routinely bite him in the ass. Continue reading →

Oct 30 2015

Robin: Son of Batman 5

Today, Michael and Spencer are discussing Robin: Son of Batman, originally released October 28, 2015.

Michael: Here’s an odd question: do you ever have cognitive dissonance about traditional story progression when you’re reading a particular comic book? I know I do. I’ve been exposed to so many comic book series and arcs that I have been conditioned in a way. I often find myself judging the pace of a series and when it hits certain plot points – all based on standards set by prior comic books. Do stories need to be examined with such a focused lens? Or can we as the readers let go of any preconceived notions and trust that the creator has an intentional plan? Continue reading →