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 14 2012

Batman 10

Alternating Current: Batman 10, Drew and Patrick-NoOToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing Batman 10, originally released June 13th, 2012.

Drew: There’s a moment, right in the middle of this issue, that finds Bruce sitting in his robe, idly handling a pair of shell casings. How these clues fit into his current case isn’t apparent, but as the scene plays out, it slowly becomes clear that these were the casings of the bullets that killed Bruce’s parents. This kind of shocking, resonating reveal first introduced as something innocuous is a microcosm of writer Scott Snyder’s current run on Batman; a magic act he’s able to pull off time and time again, to impossibly greater and greater effect. This issue is an exemplar of that skill, cashing in on a set-up not just 10 issues, but 73 years in the making. Continue reading →

Jun 11 2012

Earth-2 2

Today, Peter and Drew are discussing Earth-2 2, originally released June 6th, 2012.

Peter:  Earth-2 is a world without heroes. Issue 2 shows us the return of the heroic age. Unfortunately, since the world was ravaged by the Apokolypse War, people have become a little wary of heroes. In a brand new world for DC, we see a lot of creative world building. As the second issue for this Second Wave title, world building continues to be the forefront, just as DC promised in the Second Wave.
Continue reading →

Jun 11 2012

The Vault – Bizarro Superman T-Shirt

The Retcon Punchers spend an awful lot of time looking for ways to celebrate our nerdy obsessions. This means a lot of time sunk into scouring Etsy, Deviant Art, Think Geek or whatever. Sometimes we see things so great we just have to share them… and then clutch them fiercely to our collective chest. Throw it in The Vault.

Bizarro Superman T-ShirtWebsite: Super Hero Stuff

Who Would Love This: Bizarro Superman fans/regular Superman fans who just want to see how they look in the mirror.

Price: $23.99

I know what you’re thinking: “Oh, a t-shirt with a superhero logo. Real original.” But I think that’s the beauty of this shirt. To the uninitiated, this will just look like a regular Superman shirt, but on closer inspection, the “S” is backwards. Curious passersby may inquire about the apparent mistake, at which point you can explain the whole concept of Bizarro Superman before bidding them a fond “hello.” Really, though, this shirt is pretty much guaranteed to make you the nerdiest person in any room; it’s a nerdy Superman shirt for those who don’t know who Bizarro is, and it’s a super nerdy shirt for the people who do. Or, as Bizarro would put it, “this shirt am cool.”

Jun 11 2012

Batwing 10

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Batwing 10, originally released June 6th, 2012.

Drew: Art is repetitive. Analysts like Joseph Campbell and Heinrich Schenker acknowledge that, if you zoom out far enough, most works of art resemble each other. This is true of most narratives, and especially true of superhero comics, where the beats of secret identities, costumes, fighting crime, etc. are near-universal. What makes them interesting are the details around those universals, the details that make Superman different from Batman or the Flash. What drew us to Batwing in the first place was it’s potential for interesting details — as a new title, it had yet to establish just what those details might be. Ten months in, I’ve yet to see those details effectively explored. In fact, this issue turns the focus so sharply from those details that I’m starting to think they just aren’t coming.

Continue reading →

Jun 8 2012

Legends of the Dark Knight I: The Butler Did It

Legends of the Dark KnightToday, Patrick and Drew are discussing Legends of the Dark Knight I: The Butler Did It, originally released digitally on April 7th, 2012.

Patrick: We blather on about the traditional forms and functions of comic books on this website like we know what we’re talking about. We do it all the time – even though most of our editors have been actively reading monthlies for less than a year. You could call that precocious if we weren’t also grown-ass men and women with educations and jobs. In the DC Universe specifically, but also in comics generally, we are always playing catch-up, assuming that our keen powers of perception and articulation can help us bullshit our way through an article on a subject we actually know very little about. Superhero comics have become so much a part of my life now that the only way to properly express it is to use the phrase “down the rabbit hole.” I suppose “through the looking glass” would also be appropriate – but that’s my point: my experience exploring comics has been like that of Alice exploring Wonderland. Every time I think I know what to expect, a new issue or series or event comes along to dissolve that illusion. Legends of the Dark Knight, the digital-only adventures of a young Batman, has done just that by defying my very base expectations of a modern comic book.  Continue reading →

Jun 8 2012

Animal Man 10

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Animal Man 10, originally released June 6th, 2012.

Patrick: For a guy whose soul is trapped in the physical manifestation of animal life, Buddy Baker’s actually having a pretty good time. What could have been a dire slog through dense dense mythology is transformed into a pretty kickin’ adventure thanks to some warrior dog-men, a wise-crackin’ goat pal and humor ahoy. Coming in off the death of Animal Man, this is exactly what this series need to keep from teetering off into the abyss.

Continue reading →

Jun 7 2012

Swamp Thing 10

Alternating Currents: Swamp Thing 10, Drew and ShelbyToday, Drew and Shelby are discussing Swamp Thing 10, originally released June 6th, 2012.

Drew: Maintaining a sense of tension in an ongoing story is an unenviable balancing act. If a writer plays things too subtly, the tension is lost, but if it’s laid on too thickly, it looses all meaning. After building to what seemed like a sure climax in issues 8 and 9, Scott Snyder brings things down to a simmer for the introduction of Anton Arcane, but a simmer that seems more primed to burst than anything in the previous four issues. That a quiet conversation in a swamp can feel more dangerous than whole armies of the undead is a testament to Snyder’s writing, which continues to feel somehow both inevitable and innovative. Continue reading →

Jun 6 2012

Chat Cave: What Superpower Would You Have?

We’ve all this conversation before: “If you could have any one super power, what would it be?” That’s a fun exercise in an of itself, but the answers too frequently default to flight and/or invisibility. Given the assets and liabilities of the various superpower sources in the DC Universe (magic, speed force, being a God, whatever), which one is the most personally appealing to you? Welcome to the Chat Cave.

Patrick: I love Batman. I love all the Bat-allies. But I could never ever ever be a Gotham City gadget-based hero for one reason: Batman seems like a terrible boss. He may keep you well-funded and impeccably trained, but the man’s expectations are essentially psychotic. Can you imagine fighting crime all night and then still having to go and help him out of a jam from time to time? Plus, you have to keep up a secret identity, and all without the aid of proper staff. Batman only has Lucius and Alfred on payroll – that’s not a proper support staff. Continue reading →

Jun 6 2012

The Vault – Crocheted Flash Hat

The Retcon Punchers spend an awful lot of time looking for ways to celebrate our nerdy obsessions. This means a lot of time sunk into scouring Etsy, Deviant Art, Think Geek or whatever. Sometimes we see things so great we just have to share them… and then clutch them fiercely to our collective chest. Throw it in The Vault.

Crocheted Flash HatWebsite: Etsy

Who Would Love This: Nerds with cold and/or slow heads

Price: $25.00

Before seeing this item, I’d never really associated the fastest man alive with the pastime that makes even knitting look exciting, but now I’ll never be able to imagine them separately. Sure, crocheting is the thing your grandma does after she tires of looking at the bird-feeder, but it’s downright exciting when the result is something as awesome as this handmade bit of cosplay fun. The artist (who offers a few other comics-inspired hats) custom makes these to order, so ironically points out that these take about two weeks to ship — too bad Barry Allen didn’t go into crocheting custom hats, amirite? Sizes range down to 0-3 months, which would be adorable if it wasn’t so frickin’ cool (there are no pictures of babies wearing these, which I assume is because they were moving too fast to photograph).

Jun 5 2012

Captain Atom 9

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Captain Atom 9, originally released on May 16th, 2012.

Drew: Comics are an interesting medium for exploring time. We experience them from beginning to end, but we’re also able to flip back and forth between pages and issues to refresh and contextualize our reading. Combine that potential with the ability writers have to splice up their own narratives, and you have unlimited possibilities for explaining the impact a single moment can have. In Captain Atom 9, J.T. Krul and Freddie Williams II continue to explore these ideas both narratively and thematically, and continue to yield mixed results. Continue reading →