Category Alternating Current

Cross-talks on individual issues.

Oct 1 2015

The Infinite Loop 6

infinite loop 6

Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing The Infinite Loop 6, originally released September 30th, 2015.

“They’ll put a gun into your hand and call you weak until you’re violent
Don’t believe it
They’re hateful because they’re empty
We’ve got a chance to break the cycle
We could be the heroes that we always said we’d be.”

“I Wanted So Badly To Be Brave,” The Wonder Years

Spencer: The first time I listened to that song I cried, and while it still gets me more than a bit emotional, it also lights a fire within me. Yeah I wanna break the cycle — of course I wanna be a hero! Sign me up! It’s a call to action, and an incredibly effective one; so is The Infinite Loop. While Pierrick Colinet and Elsa Charretier’s mini-series is ostensibly a sci-fi action/romance story — and a rather fine one at that — at its core it exists to preach a message, spark a movement, incite readers to action. If there exists a more thorough call to action than The Infinite Loop 6, I don’t think I want to see it. Continue reading →

Sep 30 2015

Gotham by Midnight 9

gotham by midnight 9

Today, Michael and Taylor are discussing Gotham by Midnight 9, originally released September 23rd, 2015.

Michael: Though Sergeant Rook came knocking on their door back in issue 1, Jim Corrigan and the rest of the Midnight Shift finally have to answer for their mysterious dealings in Gotham by Midnight 9. Rook tears through their station house for any potential evidence against the Midnight Shift while Corrigan and Lisa Drake are poked and prodded by Internal Affairs in their interrogation rooms. Both Corrigan and Drake go a few round with their respective interrogators without breaking a sweat – they are seasoned cops who how to play the game. The cops start leading Corrigan to the conclusion that he is the Spectre and that he knowingly chooses the Spectre’s victims. Needless to say Corrigan becomes agitated and the Spectre takes control, killing the two cops. The kicker is that Spectre tells Corrigan that the interrogators were right – Corrigan DOES pick the victims.

Continue reading →

Sep 29 2015

Batgirl 44

Today, Ryan M. and Spencer are discussing Batgirl 44, originally released September 23rd, 2015.

Ryan: When we’re children, it is clear to whom we owe obedience. We must do what our parents, teachers, coaches, pastors tell us. Part of growing up is learning to choose who deserves that kind of subservience. Certainly, in adult relationships a certain amount of respect is shown by listening and acting in accordance with someone else’s wants. But what about those in our adult lives who request blind and total acquiescence? Should we bend to their whims and deny our own? Also, what kind of person would expect us to? The Velvet Tiger and Batgirl don’t have much in common, but they both have an expectation of obedience. They are each in a leadership position and expect their employees to curb their own ambitions and curtail their own desires. The Velvet Tiger is looking for fealty and unwavering loyalty, while Batgirl’s exerts her authority in a paternalistic effort of protection. Continue reading →

Sep 28 2015

Kanan – The Last Padawan 6

kanan 6

Today, Patrick and Andy are discussing Kanan – The Last Padawan 6 originally released September 23rd, 2015

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Patrick: I don’t think there’s a franchise out there that is as saddled with its own historical baggage as Star Wars. There are certainly series and characters that have been around longer and have more content in the histories (I mean, we do write about DC and Marvel here), but none of those have histories that are as visible as Star Wars. Everyone knows that little Anakin grows up to be Darth Vader, everyone knows that Luke is Vader’s son, etc. As such, part of the “Star Wars experience” is dealing with expectations, both negative and positive. On his first trip back to Planet Kaller as an adult, Kanan confronts similar expectations head-on, and even as he’s haunted by the ghosts of the past, nothing plays out exactly how he expects it would. Continue reading →

Sep 28 2015

Nameless 5

Alternating Currents: Nameless 5, Drew and Patrick

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Nameless 5, originally released September 23rd, 2015.

I’m an insect who dreamt he was a man…

Seth Brundle, The Fly

Drew: When I was first searching for that quote, I was convinced it was actually from Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Or, at least, I thought there was a line in Metamorphosis questioning whether Gregor Samsa was a man who dreamt he was an insect, or an insect who dreamt he was a man. I suppose it’s fitting that, while trying to find a quote about the elusive line between fantasy and reality, I ended up looking for a quote that didn’t actually exist. Of course, because Metamorphosis is a real text that exists outside of my head, I can verify what quotes it does or does not contain — it’s a reasonably straightforward binary, translation errors notwithstanding. The events of Nameless, on the other hand, are fictional, so there is no “real.” How, then, do we distinguish its dream sequences from the rest? The answer might just be that we can’t, which could be what this series is all about. Continue reading →

Sep 28 2015

Grayson 12

grayson 12

Today, Mark and Spencer are discussing Grayson 12, originally released September 23rd, 2015.

Mark: Grayson 12 is billed as Dick’s return to Gotham after quitting Spyral, and it is, but it’s also a continuation of the Grayson spy game. Dick truly intends to leave his life as international sex spy behind, but his hand is forced when the mysterious Agent Zero attacks him at Wayne Manor. Unless he returns to Spyral, she threatens, they’ll reveal to the world that Bruce Wayne is Batman. It’s a threat that’s been made in Bat Family comics forever, but it actually has greater weight here as Bruce is currently in no position to defend himself. Continue reading →

Sep 25 2015

Runaways 4

runaways 4

Today, Spencer and Michael are discussing Runaways 4, originally released September 23rd, 2015. This issue is a Secret Wars tie-in. For more Secret Wars coverage from the week, check back Tuesday for our Secret Wars Round-Up!

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“If there’s one thing I love, it’s teens who stay teens even when the situation is really dire, and so even when they’re running for their lives they never quite lose sight of crushes, pretensions, anxiety about their future and who they’re going to be. Sometimes those situations can feel just as life-or-death as…actual life-or-death.”

Noelle Stevenson, Runaways 4 letters page

Spencer: I loved Runaways 4′s letters page; the sheer unfettered enthusiasm and creativity from readers warmed my heart. But to me, the most insightful moment of that page is the above quote from Runaways writer Noelle Stevenson, which explains the greatest strength of both this mini-series and its finale magnificently. To these characters, coming to a romantic realization is just as significant as escaping from the Doom Institute; Stevenson and artist Sanford Greene realize that and treat every victory with equal importance. It makes for an uplifting, triumphant finale. Continue reading →

Sep 24 2015

1872 3

1872 3

Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing 1872 3, originally released September 23rd, 2015.

Taylor: We just can’t seem to leave the Wild West, can we? Throughout the entire 20th century and well into the 21st the Western has endured in books, movies, TV shows, and of course comics. I guess there’s just something appealing about a world where there is no law except for the gun you hold in your hand. We all know for the most part these portrayals of the Old West are pretty inaccurate. It was neither as exciting or dangerous as one would have you believe. However, that hasn’t stopped artists from visiting a world we just can’t get enough of. Now into its third issue, I think it’s fair to judge whether 1872 is a version of the West we want to visit again and again, or one we let hit the ol’ dusty trail.

Continue reading →

Sep 24 2015

Black Canary 4

black canary 4

Today, Spencer and Mark are discussing Black Canary 4, originally released September 16th, 2015.

Marge: “You liked ‘Rashomon.'”
Homer: “That’s not how I remember it.”

The Simpsons — “Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo”

Spencer: By now, anybody with even the tiniest bit of pop culture-savvy is familiar with the concept of an unreliable narrator. Much like the various storytellers in “Rashomon,” an unreliable narrator believes their own personal version of the truth, even if it doesn’t necessarily jive with the experiences of everyone else present. Comics are a particularly fun medium through which to explore unreliable narrators, because the juxtaposition of words and images means that the creative team can explore two different versions of the truth at the same time. This seems to be Brenden Fletcher and Pia Guerra’s intention with Black Canary 4 as they recount Bo Maeve’s backstory, but unfortunately, the differences between Maeve’s version of the truth and reality are never quite clear enough to be effective. Continue reading →

Sep 23 2015

Captain America: White 1

captain america white 1

Today, Andrew and Taylor are discussing Captain America: White 1, originally released September 16th , 2015.

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Andrew: After being unfrozen from the ice after 7 years, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have delivered on their long teased series dissecting our favorite Nazi kicking boy scout, Steve Rogers. In line with their color series (including Daredevil: Yellow, Hulk: Grey, and Spiderman: Blue), Captain America: White presents a retelling of what made Loeb and Sale fall in love with Captain America in the first place, focused through a thematic color. Loeb and Sale paint a critical picture of this icon without being cynical. The Cap we’ve seen so far is calm, confident, but above all, naive. He is a soldier but not a leader. He has the enormous privilege of superhuman abilities which separate him from ever truly sharing the average soldier’s experience. This privilege and optimism blinds him to the dangers he puts Bucky through. It’s his relationship and loss of Bucky that is put at the forefront of this issue and what ultimately makes him into the nuanced Marvel character that he became today. Continue reading →