Category Mark Mitchell

Sep 29 2017

Batman/The Shadow 6: Discussion

by Michael DeLaney and Mark Mitchell 

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

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Michael: As Drew and I suggested in our discussion of this series’ first issue, Batman/The Shadow is absolutely a Batman-centric book featuring The Shadow and not the reverse. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it just proves how strong Batman’s hold is on the heart and mind of Scott Snyder. The finale — Batman/The Shadow 6 — underlines that statement as the fantastical elements of The Shadow’s world only strengthen Batman’s very human legend. Continue reading →

Sep 26 2017

Tying the Narrative Threads in Star Wars: Poe Dameron 19

by Mark Mitchell

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, read on at your own risk!

I spent much of my discussion with Spencer of Angelic 1 praising that issue for delivering a narrative that went in unexpected directions, and it must be a good week for satisfying stories, because Charles Soule and Angel Unzueta’s Poe Dameron 19 pays off narrative threads in unanticipated ways.

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Sep 22 2017

Angelic 1: Discussion

by Spencer Irwin and Mark Mitchell

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

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Spencer: Simon Spurrier may just be the best world builder working in comics today. We here at Retcon Punch are continually impressed by Spurrier’s ability to birth creative new world after creative new world, each with its own rules, vernacular, and aesthetic (thanks to the talented artists he’s enlisted), each feeling far vaster than the stories Spurrier decides to tell in them, each reflecting systematic problems, abuses, and issues we face here in the real world. Following on the heels of The Spire and Godshaper, Angelic finds Spurrier and Caspar Wijngaard using a world of sentient animals and oppressive lore to tell a story about the dangers of blind faith. Continue reading →

Sep 21 2017

Ace Reporter Lois Lane Returns in Superman 31

by Mark Mitchell

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, read on at your own risk!

So much of Rebirth-ed Superman has been focused on Clark and Lois as parents. These familial dynamics are an interesting lens through which to view such storied characters, but doing so has largely left Lois cast in a passive role. The cover of Superman 31 promises fisticuffs between the Man of Steel and Deathstroke, but the issue is really all about Lois Lane, Ace Reporter, and how sweet it is to have this version of Lois back. Continue reading →

Sep 19 2017

A New and Exciting Adventure for R2-D2 in Star Wars 36

by Mark Mitchell

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

One of the reasons The Simpsons has endured for so many years is its deep bench of characters that can be called up to shoulder the heavy lifting of any particular episode. The Star Wars universe has a similarly diverse and beloved cast, and the Star Wars comic is at its best when it sloughs off any need to be connected to a larger continuity and just concerns itself with featuring the characters we love in new and exciting adventures. Continue reading →

Sep 18 2017

The Art Fails the Cast of New Super-Man 15

by Mark Mitchell

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, read on at your own risk!

Gene Luen Yang hasn’t shown much interest in subtlety throughout the run of New Super-Man, but even by those standards New Super-Man 15 is remarkably direct. Multiple times during the action, characters directly address the differences between the West and China. These differences — language, cultural, and especially political — come into literal conflict when the Justice League of China brawls with the Suicide Squad. It’s not subtle, but it is exciting. All of the action, plus the Kong family’s domestic drama continuing to build, makes for the most thrilling issue of New Super-Man to date. Continue reading →

Sep 15 2017

Action Comics 987: Discussion

by Mark Mitchell and Michael DeLaney  

Action Comics 987

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

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Mark: Modern comic books are built on tropes. After nearly a century of storytelling in the medium, the particulars of what makes a Superman story different from a Batman story are so deeply engrained that creators have a binary choice when sitting down to craft a tale: embrace the tropes or react against them. And while longtime comic book readers tend to seek out and reward stories that are willing to subvert and contort their expectations, either choice can be successful if executed well. Continue reading →

Sep 1 2017

Diana Stays Political in Wonder Woman 29

by Mark Mitchell

Wonder Woman 29

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

It’s heartening that after Greg Rucka concluded his run on Wonder Woman — a run that found its greatest success when focusing on Diana of Themyscira as a reflection of real life issues — Shea Fontana doesn’t shy away from keeping the book political during these troubling times in America. In Wonder Woman 29, Diana lingers by the US Capitol Building as she considers the purpose of her powers. She wants to do good, to help others and ease their burden, but as she stands on the dome of the Capitol, she realizes there are no higher authorities she can appeal to for assistance; the power lies with her to affect change. Continue reading →

Aug 29 2017

Nightwing: The New Order 1: Discussion

by Mark Mitchell and Ryan Desaulniers 

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

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Mark: Dick Grayson is know for his perfection; the best ass in comics, the most suave personality, the most kickass combatant — generally the coolest guy in the universe. It’s an impressive feat, then, that writer Kyle Higgins and artist Trevor McCarthy (with colors by Dean White) are able to so thoroughly undermine Nightwing’s image of perfection in Nightwing: The New Order 1 without making us completely turn on the character. Continue reading →

Aug 24 2017

Black Krrsantan’s Past Is Finally Revealed in Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Annual 1

by Mark Mitchell

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Doctor Aphra is a book built around taking familiar characters from the Star Wars universe and remixing them by removing their moral compasses. Chelli Aphra is the Han Solo who would have taken his reward at the end of A New Hope and never looked back as the Rebels attacked the Death Star. Her robot compatriots, BeeTee and Triple-Zero, are the lovable C-3PO and R2D2, but also they’re always looking for opportunities to murder. And Black Krrsantan? He’s always been a bit of a mystery, but Doctor Aphra Annual 1 revels in finally letting the audience in on his past. Continue reading →