Category Drew Baumgartner

Drew Baumgartner, Co-Editor-In-Chief
drew@retcon-punch.com

Location: Milwaukee

History With Comics: Drew grew up with Superman pajamas. His best days were when he never had to change out of them. He fell in love with Batman the Animated Series when he was 5. He had never read a comic in his life, but started reading Batman trades when he was in high school. He continued to pick up trades and one-offs throughout the 00’s, but never got into the monthly swing. After almost a decade of being an outsider looking in, Drew seized upon DC’s relaunch to start picking up monthlies.

Jan 21 2014

Nova 12

nova 12Today, Spencer and Drew are discussing Nova 12, originally released January 15th, 2014.

Spencer: Teenage superheroes are kind of my specialty. The many incarnations of the Teen Titans were my gateway into mainstream comics in general, and my undying affection for the recent Young Avengers series is well known around the metaphorical Retcon Punch offices. I feel like I know the structure and tropes of these stories like the back of my hand, which makes it even more surprising to me how effectively Nova subverts them. Nova isn’t a book full of teenage angst or love triangles, and it isn’t even a book about the exhilarating freedom of being a teenaged hero, not really. Instead, writer Gerry Duggan has crafted a book that shows the toll being Nova has taken on Sam Alexander’s personal life, a book about how handing ultimate cosmic power to a fifteen-year-old kid is probably a really bad decision, no matter how pure that kid’s intentions are. Continue reading →

Jan 20 2014

Velvet 3

velvet 3

Today, Drew and Greg are discussing Velvet 3, originally released January 15th, 2014.

Drew: It’s amazing how easily gender-bending a trope can force us to confront ingrained assumptions about gender. No matter how progressive our views are, watching a female character rescue a male, or seeing a guy in the kind of revealing clothing women are expected to wear as a matter of course, continues to feel incredibly alien. Spy stories, with their own unique set of gendered tropes, are a particularly ripe subject for gender-bending, and Ed Brubaker struck upon a brilliant one with Velvet‘s premise: what if James Bond (or any other beloved british spy) was a woman? It has allowed him to subvert many of the stereotypes we often accept as part of the genre (and its period setting), but issue 3 reveals that it also allows him a fresh perspective on the collateral damage of all that spying fun. Continue reading →

Jan 17 2014

The Superior Spider-Man 25

superior spider-man 25Today, Spencer and Drew are discussing The Superior Spider-Man 25, originally released January 15th, 2014.

Spencer: SPOILER ALERT: Peter Parker’s coming back.

Of course, anybody who has been keeping up with comic news in even the slightest already knows this. With news of Peter’s upcoming return in mind, it’s hard to look at The Superior Spider-Man 25 without focusing on just how exactly his return will play out and what it will mean for Otto. Fortunately, writer Dan Slott (assisted on this issue by Christos Gage) is ramping up the intrigue as this book nears its end. I have no idea how this series will resolve itself, but I do know one of the things I’m going to miss most about it: the expansive world and cast of supporting characters Slott has built up around Otto. Continue reading →

Jan 16 2014

Daredevil 35

Alternating Currents: Daredevil 35, Drew and PatrickToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing Daredevil 35, originally released January 15th, 2013. 

You never attack from a direction I could guess. That’s why you don’t lose.

Matt Murdock

Drew: With that line, Mark Waid reveals exactly what has made his run on Daredevil so memorable: he’s always delivering the unexpected. I’ve repeated time and again that Waid’s work on this series — like Daredevil himself — is absolutely fearless, and it’s thrilling to see Waid suggest that that eschewing of safety or predictability is exactly what makes this series a success. The boldness of his writing throughout this run speaks for itself, but by having Matt rely on outside help from Elektra and Kirsten to implement that unpredictability, Waid reminds us that even the man without fear needs the support of equally fearless friends, highlighting the work of Waid’s own collaborators. Continue reading →

Jan 15 2014

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 1/8/13

round upLook, there are a lot of comics out there. Too many. We can never hope to have in-depth conversations about all of them. But, we sure can round up some of the more noteworthy titles we didn’t get around to from the week. Today, Spencer and Drew discuss Earth 2 19, Batman Black and White 5, Green Lantern 27, Batman/Superman 7, Forever Evil: Arkham War 4, Avengers World 1, and All-New Marvel Now! Point One 1.

slim-banner4Spencer: Earth 2 has been in a strange place over the last few months, as a veritable flood of new characters, led by the mysterious new Batman, have seemingly taken over the book, leaving little room for old favorites such as Flash, Hawkgirl, and the Green Lantern. Fortunately, Earth 2 19 seems poised to bring them back into the fold, but it also starts successfully fleshing out its new additions, such as the kind, innocent alien prisoner of Terry Sloane’s — who might just be Kryptonian — or the tough-as-nails Queen Marella of Atlantis. The most pleasant surprise from this issue was the scene where Batman blindfolds Jimmy Olsen — who has a photographic memory and perfect recall — so that he won’t be forever traumatized by the carnage taking place. It’s a surprisingly tender moment, especially from Batman of all people, but it’s also a welcome comment on — and respite from — the constant gore of this book’s last few issues.

Jan 14 2014

Sex Criminals 4

Alternating Currents: Sex Criminals 4, Drew and Kyle

Today, Drew and guest writer Kyle are discussing Sex Criminals 4, originally released January 8th, 2014.

Drew: The first stage of the hero’s journey, according to Joseph Campbell, is the call to adventure: the moment where the hero is tasked with leaving the comfort of home behind, and heading off into the unknown. Of course, most stories spend a good deal of time in that “known” before any real action is taken — we need to be introduced to our hero, their values, and what’s at stake before any threats can really take hold. Often, the action they’re called to sounds MUCH more exciting than the quiet comfort they’re leaving, but every once in a while, I find myself so enamored of a fictional world that I don’t want to move on to the adventure. Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky have created such a world in Sex Criminals, so while I’m sure many folks are excited to move into the plot proper in issue 4, I find myself wondering why we can’t keep sitting around and sharing embarrassing sex stories. Continue reading →

Jan 13 2014

Manifest Destiny 3

Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing Manifest Destiny 3, originally released January 8th, 2014.

Taylor: I enjoy camping and trips into the wilderness. There’s something refreshing about abandoning the trappings of modern day life and “roughing it” for awhile. Maybe I feel closer to nature and its beauty or maybe it’s just the quiet I can enjoy like nowhere in a populated area. However, this silence isn’t always peaceful and nature isn’t always a thing of beauty. Sometimes the silence — especially late at night — is terrifying as the isolation of my situation sinks in. The sense of peace I once had quickly transmutes to unease. The benign perception of nature is replaced by the more terrifying and accurate realization that, given the chance, nature would just as soon destroy as nurture. All this, and I know for the most part I am safe; I could be rescued if worse came to worse.  When I realize that, I can’t help but wonder how Lewis and Clark felt being absolutely in the middle of nowhere with no one to help them should things go wrong. The sense of terror they must have felt on occasion permeates the third issue of Manifest Destiny, blurring the lines of historical fiction and reality.

Continue reading →

Jan 13 2014

Deadpool 22

deadpool 22Today, Greg and Drew are discussing Deadpool 22, originally released January 8th, 2014.

Greg: I was first introduced to the Austin Powers franchise as a kid, and immediately gravitated towards the big, broad aspects of the comedy. The accent, the teeth, the catchphrases, the physical set pieces — this is the kind of stuff that absolutely slayed 9-year-old Greg (who am I kidding, this scene will always work for me). On a recent rewatch, however, I noticed one joke that whooshed right over my head. The name of Powers’ secret agent boss is Basil Exposition, and his purpose in the film is to, well, spout exposition, the bits of narrative business necessary to understand what is technically happening in a plot. It’s a fun bit of satirical lampshade hanging, yet it nevertheless serves its actual purpose — get all the boring stuff out of the way to leave plenty of room for fun. Deadpool 22 has the unfortunate task of dealing with this, yet executes it rather gracefully.
Continue reading →

Jan 10 2014

Detective Comics 27

detective comics 27

Today, Mikyzptlk and Drew are discussing Detective Comics 27, originally released January 8th, 2014.

Mikyzptlk: Detective Comics 27 is an anniversary issue not only because it’s the second “Detective Comics 27” in DC’s publishing history, but also because it’s Batman’s 75th anniversary (or close to it, anyway). With that, DC has brought on an impressive array of writers and artists (Brad Meltzer! Neal Adams!) in order to celebrate the Bat’s 75th birthday. The result is as intriguing as it is entertaining and heartwarming.  Continue reading →

Jan 9 2014

100 Bullets: Brother Lono 7

Alternating Currents: Brother Lono 7, Drew and PatrickToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing 100 Bullets: Brother Lono 7, originally released January 8th, 2014.

…I’m afraid the heart of religion is fear.

Father Manny

Drew: It’s hard to deny the importance of fear. It is the fundamental driver of our sense of self preservation, and may very well be the most basic, universal emotion there is. Of course, that also makes it the easiest to manipulate. Modern life is filled with organizations trying to scare us: corporations want to scare us into buying their products, political parties want to scare us into electing their candidates — but none of those organizations are about fear in quite the same way that religion is. I’m not just being cynical (and I don’t think Brian Azzarello or Father Manny is when he makes the above statement) — underneath all of that scary stuff about hell and sin is an elemental fear of the unknown: what if our ignorance of things we couldn’t possibly know (i.e. the meaning of life, the existence of a creator, etc.) was bad? Brother Lono 7 finds almost every character confronted by some unknown entity, and the results are decidedly bad for all of them. Continue reading →