Category Contributors

Sep 4 2015

Jem and the Holograms 6

Alternating Currents: Jem and the Holograms 6, Drew and Ryan M.

Today, Drew and Ryan Mogge are discussing Jem and the Holograms 6, originally released September 2nd, 2015.

Drew: I think we all know the feeling of showing a movie (or even a youtube video) we love to somebody for the first time: it’s mostly excitement, but also a little fear that maybe they won’t find it as funny or smart or touching or whatever as you do. That feeling actually has an even more tense relative that may not be quite as universal: showing a tv show you love to somebody. This was particularly tense in the pre-DVR, pre-Netflix age, when your only resource was whatever episode was on next — in the case of a current series, an episode that you had never seen before. That was particularly anxiety-provoking because a show is greater than the sum of its parts — any one episode can’t hope to be as engaging as the series as a whole. Unless, of course, the that episode was a perfect microcosm of what makes the series great, like Kelly Thompson and Sophie Campbell’s Jem and the Holograms 6, which serves as a perfect introduction to the series, distilling everything special about it into one tight little issue. Continue reading →

Sep 4 2015

Green Arrow 44

green arrow 44

Today, Michael and Spencer are discussing Green Arrow 44, originally released September 2nd, 2015.

Michael: Interlude: from Medieval Latin word interludium; “inter” (between) and “ludus” (play). Interludes are curious animals; they often serve as a bridge between stories in an ongoing narrative but can simultaneously be standalone anecdotes. Part prologue, part origin story, Green Arrow 44 serves as such an interlude. And like many interludes, it provides some setup for the overall plot but also exists as its own island of a story. Continue reading →

Sep 3 2015

Silver Surfer 14

silver surfer 14

Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Silver Surfer 14, originally released September 2nd, 2015.

Spencer: It took me a while to realize this, but one of the major reasons why I’ve always loved superheroes so much is because they represent a world where people can stand up to injustice, inequality, and bullies, and make a tangible difference for the better. That’s something I long for, and I’ll admit that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I’d do to reshape society if I had god-like powers. But what looks good in a fantasy — or even on the comics page — doesn’t always go as planned in real life. That’s exactly what Norrin and Dawn discover in Dan Slott and Michael & Laura Allred’s Silver Surfer 14, where their attempts to rebuild the universe to their own specifications instead of exactly as it once was could result in major repercussions.
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Sep 2 2015

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 8/26/15

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Retcon Punch is on Summer Hours, which means we’re going to be writing fewer in-depth pieces for the month of August. But we’re addicts at this point, so we need a place for our thoughts on all those comics we can’t stop reading. Some comics fall neatly in the the categories “DC” or “Secret Wars” — these comics don’t! Today, we’re discussing Godzilla in Hell 2, Lando 3, Drive 1, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey & April 3 and East of West 20.

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Sep 2 2015

Spider-Woman 10

spider-woman 10

Today, Spencer and Taylor are discussing Spider-Woman 10, originally released August 26th, 2015.

Spencer: I’m a suburban kid at heart, but I also really enjoy the city. That makes me a bit of an outlier amongst my extended family, which is filled with farmers and country folk. I dunno, I just enjoy having people and places close to my home — the quiet and sparseness of the country creeps me out big time. No matter which end of the spectrum you fall on, though, it’s obvious that there’s a drastic difference between the city and the country. In Dennis Hopeless and Natacha Bustos’ Spider-Woman 10, those differences have come to represent Jessica Drew’s dual lives. The city — New York City, to be exact — is Jessica’s old life as an Avenger, a complicated life full of chaos, while the strange simplicity of her new life as a P.I. is perfectly — and quite literally — represented by the American Midwest. It’s crystal clear which of those lives Jess prefers, but with the end of the world approaching, she doesn’t really have a choice as to which one she must live. Continue reading →

Sep 1 2015

DC Round-Up Comics Released 8/26/15

DC ROUNDUP7Retcon Punch is on Summer Hours, which means we’re going to be writing fewer in-depth pieces for the month of August. But we’re addicts at this point, so we need a place for our thoughts on all those comics we can’t stop reading. Today, we’re discussing Batgirl 43, Justice League of America 3, Gotham by Midnight 8, Cyborg 2, Flash 43, and Superman 43

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Sep 1 2015

Dead Drop 4

Alternating Currents: Dead Drop 4, Drew and Patrick

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Dead Drop 4, originally released August 26th, 2015.

Drew: Endings always take a bit of finesse, but Ales Kot set his ending to hard mode in Dead Drop 4. He had to do all of the regular ending things — wrapping up the plot, landing on a resonant theme, giving every character a satisfying final beat — but he also had to introduce a new agent to do it; not only to maintain the pattern established in the first three issues, but because all of his other agents had been incapacitated. That’s no easy task, but Kot cleverly uses that need to his advantage, bringing in a character that is as much about tying up loose ends as this issue needed to be. Continue reading →

Aug 31 2015

Secret Wars Round-Up: Issues Released 8/26/15

secret wars roundup15

Retcon Punch is on Summer Hours, which means we’re going to be writing fewer in-depth pieces for the month of August. But we’re addicts at this point, so we need a place for our thoughts on all those comics we can’t stop reading. Today, we’re discussing Last Days of Ant-Man 1, Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps 3, Civil War 3, Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars 4, E is for Extinction 3, Hank Johnson: Agent of Hydra 1, M.O.D.O.K. Assassin 4, Marvel Zombies 3, and Old Man Logan 4.

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Aug 31 2015

Grayson 11

grayson 11

Today, Mark and Michael are discussing Grayson 11, originally released August 26, 2015.

Mark: Grayson has always been a series towing the line between following genre tropes and undermining those tropes at the same time. It’s a remarkable case of having cake and being able to eat it too, and the fact that Tom King and Tim Seeley have been able to pull it off consistently for a year is remarkable. The threads they’ve been able to tie together time and time again, while at the same time keeping each issue fresh, is impressive, and Grayson 11 continues that trend. Continue reading →

Aug 28 2015

Trees 12

Alternating Currents: Trees 12, Drew and RyanToday, Drew and Ryan are discussing Trees 12, originally released August 19th, 2015.

he·ro

/ˈhirō/
noun
noun: hero; plural noun: heroes

  1. a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.
  2. the chief male character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize.

Drew: I think I’ve always thought of those two definitions as functionally identical — we acknowledge heroes in real life for the same qualities we admire them in fiction — but a closer look reveals a rather profound difference in how much agency is required to satisfy these two definitions. That is, the first definition is about deeds performed by the would-be hero, whereas the second definition is more about the heroes place in the narrative; no agency is actually required. It’s no surprise to me that the morally grey characters of Warren Ellis and Jason Howard’s Trees don’t satisfy the “noble qualities” clause of the first definition, but I was a bit more surprised to discover how passive they all have been. The biggest turning points in this series find the characters completely passive, from Professor Bongiorno’s acceptance of his own murder to Marsh’s decision to not sound the alarm about the Svalbard poppies. Issue 12 still features plenty of characters boxed in by their circumstances, but also gives Creasy the opportunity to actually do something. Continue reading →