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.

May 31 2012

Batman Annual 1

Today, Drew and Peter are discussing Batman Annual 1 originally released May 30th, 2012. This issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event. Click here for complete NotO coverage.

Drew: Let’s talk about baggage. Comics (especially comics with 70+ year histories) have a lot of fictional history that fans have long demanded that creators adhere to. DC’s relaunch promised to shake that status quo up a bit, freeing up editors, writers, and artists to keep what works and jettison anything that doesn’t. Of course, Batman being Batman, damn near everything about him worked. Writer Scott Snyder has revealed a lot of new information, largely by focusing on things that aren’t Bruce (or his core relationships), but much of what we knew about Batman has remained true. This makes any changes that are made — like those revealed towards the end of Batman Annual 1 — particularly effective; especially when they play so brilliantly against what we expect. Continue reading →

May 30 2012

Chat Cave: A Gay DC Character

Following Co-publisher Dan Didio’s announcement that a formerly straight DC character was going to be reintroduced as gay, the comics world has been abuzz with guesses as to just who this character might be. While Didio’s comments have ruled out many characters that have already been introduced, that hasn’t stopped folks from expressing who they’d like that character to be. Today, the Retcon Punchers weigh in with their favorite — not necessarily most likely — guesses. Welcome to the Chat Cave.

Drew: I’ve found many occasions to bring this up on this site, but I really think Jason Todd would make a lot of sense as a gay character. In fact, I think his story becomes more compelling if he is gay. Think about it: he’s this incredible exaggeration of the classic younger sibling of an overachiever; he’s always made to feel guilty about every little thing he does differently from the way Dick did things. It’s not a huge leap to think that he may have felt that pressure in his personal life, staying closeted for fear of the way his father (figure) might react. Gay readers may find a great deal to relate to in Jason’s conflict with Bruce, who fundamentally can’t accept him for hard-lined moral reasons (not that I’m comparing homosexuality to murder). Continue reading →

May 28 2012

Green Lantern: New Guardians 9

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Green Lantern: New Guardians 9, originally released May 23rd, 2012.

Drew: Last month, Patrick and I expressed our apprehensions about folding this title into the greater Green Lantern mythology playing out in the other GL titles. Character dynamics and breezy fun have been the biggest strengths of this book, and the thought of getting bogged down in universe-spanning details could potentially obscure both of those. It’s a surprise, then, that writer Tony Bedard managed to turn those mythological details into telling character moments. In glimpsing how our characters interact with their own corps, we see how their world views may have shifted in the wake of their first team-up. That’s a very corny-sounding lesson, but Bedard manages not only to make those moments feel earned, but deliver them with the same kind of fun we’ve come to expect of this title. Continue reading →

May 25 2012

Cram Session: All-Star Western 1-8

It can be hard to keep up with all the comics you love. But it’s damn near impossible to keep up with all the comics you’re interested in.

Retcon Punch got you covered.

All Star Western may never actually venture west of the Mississippi River, but this is the only place where you can read about the adventures of heroes in DC Universe’s 19th century. Grizzled bounty hunter Jonah Hex teams up with aspiring psychoanalyst Amadeus Arkham, and the mis-matched pair has to fight crime together! More than a buddy cop story set in old timey Gotham, All Star is a reliably fun yarn anchored by two of the most interesting characters of the New 52. Catch up on their pre-Owls adventure here:

May 25 2012

Batman: The Dark Knight 9

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Batman: The Dark Knight 9, originally released May 23rd, 2012. This issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event. Click here for complete NotO coverage. 

Shelby:  I’m not a regular reader of Dark Knight; like Catwoman I just picked it up for our Night of the Owls coverage. My esteemed colleague Patrick told me that I didn’t need to bother reading issues 1-8 because a) Issue 9 is so insulated from the rest of the story it’s basically a one-off, and b) Issues 1-8 really are not very good. Since I don’t like people telling me what to do, I read all nine issues anyway, and Patrick was completely and totally right on both points.
Continue reading →

May 24 2012

The Flash 9

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing the Flash 9, originally released May 23rd, 2012.

Drew: Since the reboot, The Flash (the title) has had an interesting relationship with its own history. In returning to Barry before any crises, before any sidekicks, heck, before any marriages, we get a sense that we know his future — even if it isn’t written in stone that this story will play out like the one we know. Writers Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato have addressed this relationship to history in the very pages of the title in question, rediscovering, challenging, and subverting elements from Barry’s own past. This month, they address the notion of destiny quite directly, offering an ingenious solution that frees them up creatively, while still honoring the memories of long-time readers.

Continue reading →

May 24 2012

Batman Incorporated 1

Today, Peter and Drew are discussing Batman Inc 1, originally released May 23rd, 2012.

Peter: Batman Inc. has been a very intriguing concept since the first issue came out last year. The idea that there could be others who work in the same style of Batman and share ideals and resources sounds like a good idea, right? I am inclined to say yes, but, I don’t think this first issue really gets the point across. Continue reading →

May 23 2012

Cram Session: Nightwing 1-7

It can be hard to keep up with all the comics you love. But it’s damn near impossible to keep up with all the comics you’re interested in.

Retcon Punch got you covered.

Being so immersed in the Night of the Owls event makes it kinda hard to imagine that there are fans of the Gotham-verse not reading Nightwing. The series was quick to find a voice, and while it stumbled a bit with some vamping-for-time issues, Kyle Higgins’ Nightwing boldly directs the mood and action of the cross-over with almost as much authority as Batman. If you haven’t been following Dick’s you-can’t-go-home-again story, catch up with our video recap!

May 23 2012

The Vault – Green Lantern Macbook Decal

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.

Green Lantern Macbook DecalWebsite: Etsy

Who Would Love This: Macbook users who love Green Lantern, so, you know, NERDS (but not, like, PC nerds).

Price: $8.99

Between three ongoing titles and several trade collections, the Retcon Punchers own A LOT of art featuring Green Lantern, but none of them actually glow. For a character whose powers revolve around making things out of green light, his powers are generally relegated to being represented with tricks and effects that can only hint at actual light. Not so with this clever decal. The artist has a whole line of decals featuring characters interacting with the Apple logo, but none make quite as natural use of the built-in lighting effect. Hal just wanted to make an Apple construct.

May 22 2012

The Vault – Batman and Superman Caped Pint Glasses

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.

Batman and Superman Caped Pint Glasses

Website: Spencer’s

Who Would Love This: Old-schoolers who can’t get down with the Blackest Night Pint Glass Set/anyone who needs more billowing when drinking.

Price: $9.99 each

Capes are hard. They’re always getting stepped on and caught in doors, and air drying them is such a chore. Nightwing says capes throw off his balance, and they would just slow the Flash down. BUT they look cool. Why, then, should we restrict capes to human shoulders? Now your glassware can get in on the action! Not only do they look great in a breeze, but the capes also complete an ensemble: note the belts and underwear at the bottom of the glasses.  Now you’ll be drinking in style — right out of the torso of your favorite heroes.