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.

Jun 12 2013

Fearless Defenders 5

Alternating Currents: Fearless Defenders 5, Drew and ShelbyToday, Drew and Shelby are discussing Fearless Defenders 5, originally released June 5th, 2013.

Drew: Comics love engaging in their own history. Whether they’re rehashing origin stories, resurrecting campy villains, or just making winking nods to their own pasts, comics always find ways to reference their own histories. It makes sense — both creators and fans love comics — but what do you do when the history your referencing isn’t so charming? It’s no secret that comics don’t always have the most enlightened views when it comes to female characters, but what is a writer’s obligation to that history? Should they ignore it? Reclaim it? Embrace it? These are the weird questions Cullen Bunn is forced to address in Fearless Defenders 5, as he blows up the scope to comment on virtually all of Marvel’s female characters. Continue reading →

Jun 12 2013

Chat Cave: September is Villains Month

DC has staked their claim on the month of September. Two years ago saw the relaunch of the entire publishing line, and last year saw special “zero” issues for every series. This year, DC is releasing 52 issues featuring villains, old and new, from the DC Universe. There’s no one-for-one correspondence to existing series, and DC hasn’t been the most forthcoming with information about what exactly they’re putting out. There’s a lot to sort through here and no easy answers for what’s going to be worth our time and money. Welcome to the Chat Cave.
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Jun 11 2013

The Superior Spider-Man 11

superior spider-man 11Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing The Superior Spider-Man 11, originally released June 6th, 2013.

Patrick: Spider-Man’s always been one of the most relateable superheroes out there. Whether it’s because he’s a social underdog, or quick with a joke, people just love Spidey. I’ve always assumed it’s because Peter Parker lot of petty baggage that we can all relate too.  Tough time making rent? Girls don’t understand you? Homework got you down? Otto seems to think he’s immune to inane distraction, but for every dinner date with MJ he’s blown off, there’s an advanced degree he’s insisted on pursuing. And for what? Bragging rights? He’s already Spider-Man. Otto’s done a pretty good job of making his baggage work for him — thus far it’s mostly motivated him to be an effective crime fighter — but on the eve of the Spider-Slayer’s execution on The Raft, Otto’s hit with a few too many personal attacks to maintain his steely veneer. Continue reading →

Jun 11 2013

Avengers 13

Alternating Currents: Avengers 13, Drew and SpencerToday, Drew and Spencer are discussing Avengers 13, originally released June 5th, 2013. 

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In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!

— Homer Simpson

Drew: Conservation of both matter and energy are such fundamental concepts, we sometimes take them for granted. Or misunderstand them completely. Folks may choose to ignore the water cycle or how they keep gaining weight, but we’re generally pretty keen to the notion that systems have inputs and outputs. Of course, fiction allows us to break these rules, leading to notions of perpetual motion and unlimited energy — but what if we took those for granted, too? What if the boundless energy of an alien race of children distracted us from the fact that they don’t eat? What do you do when your kids start violating the laws of thermodynamics? In Avengers 13, Jonathan Hickman and Nick Spencer explore this idea, throwing in a bad guy for good measure. Continue reading →

Jun 7 2013

Swamp Thing 21

swamp thing 21

Today, Scott and Drew are discussing Swamp Thing 21, originally released June 5th, 2013.

Scott: Most Superheroes are afforded the luxury, and often the burden, of maintaining a semblance of normal human life — an alter ego. Swamp Thing is not. Alec Holland is Swamp Thing all the time — he doesn’t have a day job. In that sense, Swamp Thing isn’t about a man keeping his two identities distinct, but a man forced to allow his two identities to merge. Because of this, his character is constantly evolving, transitioning from something familiar to something unknown. He has spent his entire life as Alec Holland, but there’s an entire history of the Green that he knows very little about. In Swamp Thing 21, Charles Soule makes it clear that he is more interested in exploring the unknown. Continue reading →

Jun 6 2013

Green Lantern 21

Alternating Currents: Green Lantern 21, Drew and PatrickToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing Green Lantern 21, originally released June 5th, 2013.

Drew: When M*A*S*H ended its 11-season run in 1983, it was one of the most beloved series on television. Its series finale, “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen,” a movie-length victory lap, was more widely watched than that year’s Super Bowl — or any Super Bowl before or for twenty-seven years afterwards. Like I said, beloved. We don’t yet have sales numbers on Green Lantern 20, and while I doubt it will post Super Bowl-beating numbers (even by comic book standards), the similarities are striking: it was an extra-large conclusion to a beloved, nearly decade-long run. Point is, it was going to be a tough act to follow, yet Robert Venditti (who readers might recognize from his work on Valiant’s X-O Manowar) handles the transition with surprising grace, staying true to the spirit of Green Lantern while adding something unexpected to the mix: the spirit of the New 52. Continue reading →

Jun 4 2013

Justice League Dark 20

Alternating Currents: Justice League Dark 20, Drew and Taylor

Today, Drew and Taylor are discussing Justice League Dark 20, originally released May 29th, 2013. 

Drew: Comic books love team-ups, to the point that we rarely question their utility. Whether it’s random circumstance or a specific goal that brings the team together, once the team is formed, we kind of take it for granted that they will stick together. Who cares if Ocean’s 12 requires a ballistics expert (or whatever it is that Brad Pitt’s character does)? The team is the team — don’t question it. Unless, of course, you’re Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes, who devote Justice League Dark 20 to examining the utility of each team-up, from the random cameos to the team’s core members. The result is a fresh, surprisingly compelling argument for the team’s existence. Continue reading →

Jun 4 2013

New Avengers 6

new avengers 6

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing New Avengers 6, originally released May 29th, 2013. 

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Patrick: My favorite game in the Resident Evil series is the 2002 Game Cube remake of the original. There were a lot of ways that it improved on the quality of the first game, while finding inventive new ways to escalate that feeling that everything could fall apart at a moment’s notice. The most startling addition to the game was that any zombie that hadn’t been properly decapitated (or burned) could re-rise from the dead and attack you as some kind of super-zombie. The in-game written materials speak of this in vagaries, but you’re largely left to discover this new gameplay mechanic by experiencing it first hand — usually while screaming that you hadn’t saved in over an hour. But that moment when you’re walking through a room you cleared out 20 minutes earlier and you’re set upon by an enemy you can’t easily defeat is one of the most effective expressions of horror in video games. Just when the Illuminati seem to have figured out how to defend themselves against a collision of parallel Earths, the threat is immediately revealed to be well beyond what any of them understand, so why do they all look so relieved?

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Jun 4 2013

Fantastic Four 8

Alternating Currents: Fantastic Four 8, Drew and PatrickToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing Fantastic Four 8, originally released May 22nd, 2013.

Drew: I love mysteries. Not just detective stories — I love even the smallest mysteries that happen in a narrative. Who is that? What is their relationship to the other characters? I find it satisfying when those little mysteries resolve. My girlfriend, on the other hand, has what could be fairly described as anxiety over those little mysteries — she’s always convinced she’s somehow missed the explanation for what’s going on. I think, when you get down to it, the difference is a matter of faith in the storytelling — it’s unclear because it’s supposed to be unclear. That faith flies out the window when you’re jumping into the middle of a decades-long serialized universe, where I very legitimately might have missed the explanation for what’s going on, giving me the very same anxiety I usually tease my girlfriend over. Usually, conscientious editors keep the memories of those titles fairly myopic, providing notes for anything that took place over a few issues ago, but Fantastic Four has been so historically minded as to shake my faith in Matt Fraction to explain everything to me. Continue reading →

Jun 3 2013

All-Star Western 20

all-star western 20

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing All-Star Western 20, originally released May 22nd, 2013.

Patrick: If you go back and watch old Flintstones cartoons, you realize that there’s not much to them beyond their prehistoric trappings. The setting is to unique and weird that it totally trumps character or story or even the jokes. The same can be said of the Jetsons — neither of these shows had characters or relationships that would hold any water  if they were to be set in a modern day context. So the 1987 animated feature The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones was little more than the characters pointing out how strange the lives of their counterparts were… that and a convoluted time travel plot. The raw charisma of Jonah Hex and Booster Gold save All-Star Western 20 from a similar fate, but not by much. Continue reading →