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.

Feb 27 2013

Green Lantern: New Guardians 17

new guardians 17 wrath

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing New Guardians 17, originally released February 20th, 2013. This issue is part of the Wrath of the First Lantern crossover event. Click here for our First Lantern coverage.

Shelby: There are times it’s important we don’t let our emotions get the best of us. Emotions are beautiful, terrible, irrational things that can lead us to commit wonderful, stupid acts. While acting on our emotions alone can be totally awesome, sometimes we gotta let cooler heads prevail, and let reason dictate our next move. The Guardians, evil little bastards though they may be, were half right; sometimes dispassionate logic is the correct choice. Volthoom, of course, takes the opposite approach; he is powered by emotion, the more he can make everyone feel the better off he’ll be. So, on a scale from Guardian to Volthoom, where does our favorite master of the emotional spectrum fit?

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Feb 27 2013

Sword of Sorcery 5

sword of sorcery 5a
Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Sword of Sorcery 5, originally released February 20th, 2012.

Drew: Let’s talk motivation. It’s an important thing for characters (both good and evil) to have, but what is it? In the most abstract terms, it’s simply what the character wants, be it an object, a result, or a status (or avoiding any of those things). Morally, we can set up a continuum of motivation from altruism to greed, with most daily motivation falling somewhere in between. Comics, being a medium of contrasts, tend to focus on the extreme ends, with heroes often acting selflessly, with villains serving only their own ends. It’s an arrangement so ubiquitous, it can start to feel trite (which is why writers are so keen on subverting those expectations), but when it’s done well, as it is in Sword of Sorcery 5, it can remind us why we value those traits the way we do.

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Feb 26 2013

Daredevil 23

daredevil 23Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Daredevil 23, originally released February 20th, 2013.

Patrick: We write a lot of these Alternating Currents — enough that I am often writing one of these things when I should be doing something else. I can’t count the number of times my girlfriend has asked me when we’re going to be able to leave to do something, only to have me respond that I need another 15 minutes. Decoded, I need like half an hour, maybe more — it always takes more time than I think it’s going to. It’s shitty to keep someone waiting — and it’s even shittier when you know they need you. Foggy Nelson legitimately needs Matt Murdock, but Daredevil is always one step away from solving the case. As the clock on the page tells later and later times, I found myself  saying “oh, I can see how this is frustrating.” Continue reading →

Feb 26 2013

Captain America 4

captain america 4

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Captain America 4, originally released February 20th, 2013.

Shelby: I’m a big fan of juxtaposition of conflicting styles. Heavy metal guitar paired with female vocals? Yes please, Nightwish! Ice cream with sweet chocolate and salty peanuts and pretzel bites? I’ve got two pints of Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby in my freezer right now. The old adage may be that “opposites attract,” but I prefer to think of it as “opposites compliment.” That is definitely the rule of Rick Remender’s take on Captain America, as straight-laced Cap is paired with sci-fi weirdness and the problems of being a dad are compounded by having your nemesis implanted in your chest, talking to you all day and all night. And yes, if you were wondering, I did have to get up and get one of those pints of Chubby Hubby out of the freezer.  Continue reading →

Feb 25 2013

Green Lantern Corps 17

Alternating Currents: Green Lantern Corps 17, Drew and Patrick

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Green Lantern 17, originally released February 20th, 2013. This issue is part of the Wrath of the First Lantern crossover event. Click here for our First Lantern coverage. 

Drew: Retcons. Love ’em or hate ’em, they’re sure to be a part of the kinds of never-ending narratives comics take part in. Our own relationship with reality predisposes us to being suspicious of revisions as cheap or unrealistic, but in a world where everything is made up anyway, what’s really the difference? Conversely, in a superhero comic world, where even the very laws of physics can be defied, continuity may serve as the only “reality,” offering the only sense of what is and is not possible. It’s a touchy subject (which is why so many fans are still so upset by DC’s relaunch), but one that the Wrath of the First Lantern event seems poised to address directly. Indeed, with Green Lantern Corps 17, Peter Tomasi has tackled the very notion of retcons with surprising thoroughness and maturity, seemingly reflecting the audience’s own reactions to its events.

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Feb 22 2013

Justice League 17

justice league 17 Throne

Today, Shelby and guest writer Mogo are discussing Justice League 17, originally released February 20th, 2013, This issue is part of the Throne of Atlantis crossover event. Click here for complete ToA coverage.

throne div

Shelby: When I was in drama club in high school, we put on a lot of older comedies with the entire plot revolving around one basic misunderstanding. That one misunderstanding would compound exponentially (as misunderstandings are wont to do), and before you know it, you’d have a wacky, 2-hour situation involving mistaken identities and hiding in closets. At the end of the show, everyone would reveal themselves, and, with a good chuckle, the guy would get the girl, the plucky sidekick friends would hook up, and everyone lived happily ever after. In ComicBookLand, where two superheroes can’t bump into each other on the sidewalk without getting into a fight and destroying a city block, misunderstandings are never so innocently comedic. Justice League 17, the finale of the Throne of Atlantis, is no exception.
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Feb 22 2013

Green Lantern 17

green lantern 17 wrath

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Green Lantern 17, originally released February 20th, 2013. This issue is part of the Wrath of the First Lantern crossover event. Click here for our First Lantern coverage. 

Patrick: The end of an era is nigh: Geoff Johns and crew are stepping down as shepherds of the Green Lanterns. Wrath of the First Lantern is the grand finale, but it’s already showing signs that it’s really more of a victory lap. With concepts as grandiose as the creation of the universe and altering the past in play, the entire Green Lantern Universe — past, present and future — is exposed and vulnerable. I haven’t been this excited about Green Lantern in years.

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Feb 21 2013

Nightwing 17

Alternating Currents: Nightwing 17, Drew and ScottToday, Drew and Scott are discussing Nightwing 17, originally released February 20th 2013.

Drew: Our discussions of Nightwing often find us exploring Dick’s identity. As a former-sidekick turned full-fledged superhero turned replacement-for-hero-he-sidekicked-for turned his own superhero again, it’s understandable that he might have some identity issues to work out, but what is identity in the first place? Is it fixed or dynamic? Does it stem from the person in question, or is it a series of expectations held in the world around them? In Nightwing 17, Kyle Higgins takes up these questions, yielding some rather unexpected results. Continue reading →

Feb 20 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 19

Alternating Currents: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 19: Drew and Taylor

Today, Drew and Taylor are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  19, originally released February 20th, 2013.

Drew: One of the things we love about fiction is the opportunity it affords us to live vicariously through its heroes. This is a feeling familiar to anyone who’s walked out of a movie theater feeling like they could fly, or at least swing from some vines. That’s all well and good when you’re being introduced to these characters for the first time, but that’s decidedly not the situation Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles finds itself in. A comic written by and for people who grew up playing with Turtle action figures, wearing Turtle pajamas, and chewing (and accidentally swallowing) Turtle bubble gum has the potential to cash in on those connections in fascinating ways, amping up that sense of vicariousness to euphoric levels. Be it repairing a futuristic robot, piloting an alien tank, or more traditional ninja action, issue 19 finds the Turtles living out all of their (and by extension, our) wildest dreams. Continue reading →

Feb 20 2013

Chat Cave: Geoff Johns (et al.) leave Green Lantern

Last week, Geoff Johns announced that issue 20 of Green Lantern will be his last. Johns has been writing Green Lantern since the Rebirth mini-series that restored Hal Jordan as the main Green Lantern. Over the course of a decade, Johns has expanded the Green Lantern mythology to enormous sizes. The reach of the Green Lantern Universe has been considerable, eventually coming to occupy four titles in The New 52 library. With Johns’ departure, Peter Tomasi (Green Lantern Corps), Tony Bedard (Green Lantern: New Guardians) and Peter Milligan (Red Lanterns) will also be stepping down. What’s next for the Green Lanterns? Welcome to the Chat Cave.
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