Category Alternating Current

Cross-talks on individual issues.

Oct 20 2015

Ms. Marvel 19

Alternating Currents: Ms. Marvel 19, Ryan and DrewToday, Ryan D. and Drew are discussing Ms. Marvel 19, originally released October 14th, 2015. This issue is a Secret Wars tie-in. For more Secret Wars coverage from the week, check out our Marvel Round-Up.

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Ryan: As you may already know, Ms. Marvel is a delight to read. I, personally, have not had so much fun reading a comic since Vaughn’s Runaways, with all of its silly and earnest characterizations. The comic being discussed today features the same amount of oddball quirk and spirited dialogues, but also does not shy away from the heavier side of human emotions, making Ms. Marvel 19 a joyful kick to the gut. Though it may seem a little odd reading a Secret Wars tie-in dealing with the Incursion about five months since Hickman took us to Battleworld, the this issue offers a completely fresh, focused perspective on the cataclysmic event, wherein our titular character does not even don her tights. Instead of sweeping battle scenes, Wilson and Alphona treat audiences to a pay-off of inter-personal relationships and redemption in the face of confusion and helplessness. Continue reading →

Oct 20 2015

Superman: Lois & Clark 1

Lois and clark 1

Today, Michael and Mark are discussing Superman: Lois & Clark 1, originally released October 14th, 2015.

Michael: Many of my early pieces for Retcon Punch consisted of me complaining about The New 52 and comparing it to the old DCU that I knew and loved. I’d often go off on tangents about the way DC does business and neglect the book I was actually covering. I loved and missed the pre-Flashpoint DCU and I still do. Enter a book like Superman: Lois & Clark 1, which allows me to cheat by writing about the old DCU and the book in front of me. Continue reading →

Oct 19 2015

New Avengers 1

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Today, Spencer and Taylor are discussing New Avengers 1, originally released October 14th, 2015. 

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Spencer: I love “team” books. There’s just something fun and exciting about throwing a bunch of heroes — be they A-List or Z-List — together and seeing what happens. Despite the potential for almost endless variations, though, many team books find themselves repeating certain familiar combinations, tropes, and ideas over and over (look how many books started using the “traitor” plot once Terra first popped up in the Teen Titans, for example — and even she was a riff on Kitty Pryde’s role in the X-Men). Thus, my favorite part of Al Ewing and Gerardo Sandoval’s New Avengers is how quick they are to acknowledge and subvert many of those tropes. This book is clever, fun, and gets right to the point; it’s pretty much everything I look for in a team book. Continue reading →

Oct 16 2015

Batman 45

batman 45

Today, Spencer and Michael are discussing Batman 45, originally released October 14th, 2015.

Spencer: Does the man make Batman, or does Batman make the man? That seems to be the question at the heart of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s “Superheavy” arc, and with Bruce Wayne no longer under the cowl, it’s an especially timely one. Geri Powers, Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne, and even Duke Thomas all have different ideas of what role Batman (and Robin!) should play and how that role should be carried out, and those conflicting perspectives make Batman 45 a captivating exploration of the function and legacy of the Dark Knight. Continue reading →

Oct 16 2015

I Hate Fairyland 1

Alternating Currents: I Hate Fairyland 1, Drew and RyanToday, Drew and Ryan M. are discussing I Hate Fairyland 1, originally released October 14th, 2015.

Drew: When I was in high school, I used to annoy a friend of mine by insisting that all ska music sounds the same. I suspect the vast majority of people might agree that ska has a pretty specific sound, but that’s true of virtually any artistic style, from country music to cubism — if you aren’t placing it in the appropriate context, you’ll only notice the most superficial elements, which necessarily define the genre. I’d argue that certain artists are so unique that they present a genre unto themselves, which is why sophomore efforts from those artists, say Spike Jonze’s Adaptation or Weezer’s Pinkerton, are chronically under-valued: we notice only the superficial similarities to their previous work, failing to appreciate what makes this one different. History tends to right those wrongs, but it can be hard to correct in the moment. So please, don’t hold it against me when I suggest that Skottie Young’s I Hate Fairyland presents a cuter, cruder take on his Rocket Raccoon. Continue reading →

Oct 15 2015

East of West 21

east of west 21

Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing East of West 21, originally released October 14th, 2015.

Taylor: The stories that keep me on the edge of my seat are the stories that reveal just enough, but never the whole thing. While this is true of any story, it is especially true of any story that is syndicated; you need to keep my attention sustained not just over a short amount of time, but possibly years. The TV shows Lost and Battlestar Galatica were able to do this simply by withholding information from me. While that was maddening at times, I openly enjoyed it because it let me engage the world in ways other stories didn’t. Instead of passively watching events unfold, I was always guessing what would happen next. While East of West may not possess the same level of intrigue, it does keep me guessing where it’s going next each issue. It’s wildly unpredictable in the best way possible.

Continue reading →

Oct 14 2015

Invincible Iron Man 1

Alternating Currents: Invincible Iron Man 1, Drew and Michael

Today, Drew and Michael are discussing Invincible Iron Man 1, originally released October 7th, 2015.

Drew: Whether it’s being bitten by a radioactive spider or being shipped to Earth as an infant, most superhero origins are shockingly passive. We can emphasize the decisions these characters make once they have their powers, but industrial accidents and personal tragedies are the things that force them to make those decisions in the first place. In that way, Tony Stark is a bit of a man apart: he’s a superhero by sheer force of will. More importantly, his origin is necessarily active (even if “inventing” isn’t the most exciting action), putting action at the very heart of the Iron Man formula. So when Tony finishes his latest Iron Man armor in Invincible Iron Man 1, what does he do with it? He waits for the battery to charge. Continue reading →

Oct 14 2015

Batman and Robin Eternal 1

batman robin eternal 1

Today, Mark and Andy are discussing Batman & Robin Eternal 1, originally released October 7th, 2015.

Mark: Last year DC debuted three different weekly series, Earth 2 Worlds End, New 52 Futures End, and Batman Eternal. Where the former two had shorter runs and were used to set up the events of Convergence, Batman Eternal was a 12-month affair that told its own story (though there were a few spin-off titles based on the events of the series during that time). Frankly, 12 months was way too long a time to tell the story Eternal wanted to tell, and the amount of juggling it had to do to keep all of its narrative balls in the air made for a sometimes boring, occasionally incomprehensible read. Now, six months after the title’s conclusion, I could hardly tell you much about it and actually had to look up how it ended.

But for all of the title’s failings, there’s no denying it was a commercial success. The same probably can’t be said for the less-loved Futures End and Worlds End. Everyone loves Batman, and even though readership dropped steadily over the year, enough folks were willing to spend more than $200 to read it all that we’re getting a sequel of sorts, Batman & Robin Eternal.

Batman & Robin Eternal 1 Continue reading →

Oct 13 2015

Lando 5

lando 5

Today, Michael and Spencer are discussing Lando 5, originally released October 7th, 2015.

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Michael: Lando Calrissian is one part Han Solo and all-the-rest parts Billy Dee Williams cool. Even in 2D, he can charm the pants off of us. Lando 5 asks us how far can that charm go? Lando schemes at every turn but does he ever come out on top? Can you count simply saving your skin as a profit? Continue reading →

Oct 12 2015

Jughead 1

jughead 1

Today, Ryan and Taylor are discussing Jughead 1, originally released October 7th, 2015.

Ryan: Every character has a worldview. Conflicting worldviews can be enough to fuel an entire story. Sometimes, they allow for characters to be dismissed or reduced. Jughead Jones is Archie’s food-loving, girl-indifferent, and lazy best friend. Jughead #1 digs deeper into his way of seeing the world, retroactively justifying and deepening decades worth of burger and nap jokes.

Continue reading →