Category Michael DeLaney

Mar 10 2017

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra 5

doctor aphra 5

Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing Dr. Aphra 5, originally released March 8th, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Taylor: When I was young I didn’t want to be a firefighter or sports-star the way a lot of other boys did. Instead, I dreamt of becoming either a paleontologist or archaeologist. While I have to admit Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones played a role in this desire, I was also drawn to the sheer mystery of studying long gone civilizations and animals. There’s something incredibly tantalizing when confronted with ruins or fossils: they speak of a once great culture or animal that has collapsed and left behind only echoes of its stories. Before reading Dr. Aphra, I had never really considered that the Star Wars universe a place full of such mystery, but as issue 5 shows, not only is Star Wars capable of this, but it can excel at it, too.

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Mar 8 2017

Savage Things 1

Today, Michael and Drew are discussing Savage Things 1, originally released March 1st, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Michael: I live in Chicago, a town that is full of excellent restaurants. If you run a restaurant that doesn’t distinguish itself from the rest, you’re not likely to last long in such a competitive market. In this sense I like my storytelling similar to my restaurants: there’s gotta be something unique and original about it or you’ll probably lose my interest. Unfortunately, Savage Things doesn’t seem to be my kind of restaurant. Continue reading →

Mar 3 2017

Marvel Round-Up: Comics Released 3/1/17

marvel-roundup72We try to stay up on what’s going on at Marvel, but we can’t always dig deep into every issue. The solution? Our weekly round-up of titles coming out of Marvel Comics. Today, we’re discussing Doctor Strange 18, Hawkeye 4, Moon Knight 12, and Silk 18. Also, we’ll be discussing America 1 on Monday and the Unstoppable Wasp 3 on Tuesday, so come back for those! As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

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Mar 3 2017

Batman 18

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Today, Michael and Patrick are discussing Batman 18, originally released March 1st, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Patrick: Two weeks ago, Drew made a pretty convincing argument that Tom King’s Batman is attempting to synthesize all canonic and non-canonic versions of Batman. References to both Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on A Serious Earth and Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy seemed to suggest that all of the Batman franchise’s greatest hits were implicitly in play, even during the main-continuity run in DC’s flagship series. With all of those connections freshly in-place, Batman 18 starts to negate some of the commonly held beliefs about the character, hinging almost all of the real-time drama of the piece around Batman’s simple utterance of the word “No.” Continue reading →

Feb 28 2017

Justice League of America 1

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Today, Michael and Patrick are discussing Justice League of America 1, originally released February 22nd, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Michael: Sometimes I’m a tough customer to please. When it comes to storytelling, I like to get my bearings on the landscape and characters, but I don’t want to be spoon-fed all of the important details. With regards to Justice League of America 1 it nails some subtle world-building but is less successful when handling the stars of the book. Continue reading →

Feb 24 2017

Belfry

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Today, Taylor and Michael are discussing Belfry, originally released February 22nd, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Taylor: One of my favorite bits of trivia about the very first Alien movie is that the titular monster doesn’t appear in its full form until an hour into the movie. Even after this first appearance, the alien is on screen for less than four minutes total. This trivia caught me by surprise when I first heard it. After all, the alien scared the hell out of me and has become a symbol of sci-fi horror. But the dread the xenomorph inspires is precisely because of how unseen it is. Not knowing where, or exactly what a xenomorph is, is exactly why it’s so terrifying. These thoughts on Alien and what makes a good horror story were in my mind after reading Gabriel Hardman’s  Belfry both because of its triumphs and in shortcomings. Continue reading →

Feb 23 2017

DC Round-Up: Comics Released 2/22/17

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How many Batman books is too many Batman books? Depending on who you ask there ain’t no such thing! We try to stay up on what’s going on at DC, but we can’t always dig deep into every issue. The solution? Our weekly round-up of titles coming out of DC Comics. Today, we’re discussing Batgirl 8, Flash 17, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps 15, Kamandi Challenge 2, and Wonder Woman 17. Also, we’ll be discussing Justice League of America 1 on Tuesday, so come back for that! As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

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Feb 22 2017

The Wild Storm 1

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Today, Ryan and Michael are discussing The Wild Storm 1, originally released February 15th, 2017.

When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty, but of her weirdness. They wanted her to change back into what she always had been. But she had wings.

Dean Jackson

Ryan D: Transformation stands as a long-enduring fascination for us, as humans. Sometimes, this includes our history with shapeshifting, which goes back to the oldest discovered forms of shamanism, or enduring texts like The Epic of Gilgamesh or The Iliad. The lore of werewolves alone originated way back to 22 A.D. Transformation seems to be ingrained in our collective unconscious, with the superhero genre and comic books to be a very receptive medium for the trope. What surprises me, however, is when the transformation hurts. I remember playing The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and seeing Link put on a transformative mask for the first time, and then being aghast as the little hero screamed in pain as he changed into a Deku Scrub. Another example: the scene in An American Werewolf in London when the protagonist howls in agony as he becomes lupine. The Wild Storm 1 brings to the pages many transformations for its characters, but is also a transformation unto itself — of an imprint and universe left in chrysalis form for six years and being born again. How well, then, have Warren Ellis and Jon Davis-Hunt coped with the growing pains with this first issue? Continue reading →

Feb 17 2017

Super Sons 1

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Today, Michael and Taylor are discussing Super Sons 1, originally released February 15th, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Michael: “What a delight!” I found myself saying after reading Pete Tomasi and Jorge Jimenez’s Super Sons 1. Super Sons has arguably been one of the most anticipated Rebirth books ever since Jim Lee threw in Damian Wayne and Jon Kent on that teaser poster that your comic book shop gave you back in June. Tomasi and Superman co-writer Patrick Gleason gave us a taste of what to expect from this series a few months ago, and Super Sons 1 carries on that joyful vibe without stumbling.

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Feb 15 2017

All-Star Batman 7

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Today, Michael and Spencer are discussing All-Star Batman 7, originally released February 8th, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Michael: A sympathetic villain is one whose immoral actions are motivated by noble intentions. Rather than being an outright force of evil, the sympathetic villain tends to have an ultimate goal — the ends of which justify the means. As a mass audience we tend to like our villains to be at least somewhat sympathetic — allowing us to latch on to some human emotion and understand them. You know who also likes to sympathize with his villains? Batman. Continue reading →