Category Contributors

Jun 3 2015

Material 1

material 1

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Material 1, originally released May 27th, 2015.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Drew: Like most Americans, I first read A Tale of Two Cities in high school, and like most Americans, that experience utterly ruined the book for me. My 9th grade teacher proudly trotted out all sorts of historical information about the French Revolution, making it all the more difficult to keep in mind that its themes of privilege and oppression are, unfortunately, timeless. Indeed, I’d long seen the famous opening paragraph’s use of past tense as an affirmation of that historical distance, but only because I’d forgotten the less-quotable final clause that reminds us that this is mostly remarkable for being “so far like the present period.” It’s that same “present period” that is reflected in Ales Kot and Will Tempest’s Material 1, which offers a tale of many cities that is just as timeless as Dickens’, but also decidedly more of-the-moment. Continue reading →

Jun 1 2015

Secret Wars Round-Up: Issues released 5/27/15

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Today, Patrick and Drew discuss Old Man Logan 1, Where Monsters Dwell 1, Infinity Gauntlet 1, M.O.D.O.K. Assassin 1, Secret Wars 2099 1, X-Men ’92 Infinite Comic 1, Inhumans: Attilan Rising 1 and Secret Wars Journal 1.
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“So… isn’t that just Convergence?”

Comic Fan, Traditional

Patrick: The slug line for DC and Marvel’s big events couldn’t be much more similar: characters and concepts from the greatest stories in the publishers’ legacies are forced to physically live on the same planet. Conflict ensues. In Convergence, that conflict was prescribed by the villain that brought those worlds together. Telos made the characters fight each other for survival in a sort of superhero Hunger Games. Many of the tie-in issues found other narrative avenues to explore, but the set-up was tortuously samey (including a broadcast monologue I had to read 41 times). The issues springing out of Secret Wars, on the other hand, seem to have their own agendas: themes, ideas and values that drive the narrative forward — the patchwork planet is simply set dressing. Continue reading →

Jun 1 2015

The Sandman Overture 5

Alternating Currents: The Sandman Overture 5, Drew and Michael

Today, Drew and Michael are discussing the The Sandman Overture 5, originally released May 27th, 2015.

Drew: Neil Gaiman has never been shy about pulling down the curtains that separate fiction from reality. I might call it “breaking the fourth wall,” but it’s less winking at the camera, and more showing us the puppet’s strings to better appreciate the puppet itself. In that vein, it’s never been hard to see Gaiman as Dream, the raven-haired prince of stories, fighting to maintain order over his dominion of characters, settings, and situations. It makes for some fascinating commentary on the creative process, especially when Dream comes up against forces beyond his control, even within his own stories. That’s exactly the name of the game in The Sandman Overture 5, as Gaiman pulls the curtain back on Dream’s mother and brings in some surprises that even Destiny didn’t see coming. Continue reading →

Jun 1 2015

Convergence: Justice Society of America 2

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Today, Mark and Spencer are discussing Convergence: Justice Society of America 2, originally released May 27th, 2015. This issue is part of Convergence. For our conversations about the rest of Convergence last week, click here.

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Mark: “With great power comes great responsibility” is one of the most iconic phrases in comic book pop culture. Most often associated with Spider-Man, it also seems to be a guiding storytelling principle for a lot of modern comics and (most pointedly) DC’s Batman and Superman films as of late. The idea that being a superhero is a huge burden is an easy storytelling device. It quickly humanizes and “grounds” an otherwise fantastical character. It’s also a plot machination that can drive me crazy. Part of my intolerance is absolutely a sense of envy. How can a character be dissatisfied with life when they have super powers? Super powers! Continue reading →

May 29 2015

Convergence Round-Up: Week Eight

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Today, Michael leads a discussion about Convergence 8, Action Comics 2, Blue Beetle 2, Booster Gold 2, Crime Syndicate 2, Detective Comics 2, Infinity Inc. 2, Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters 2 and World’s Finest 2.

convergence divMichael: When’s the last time you read a true finale from Marvel or DC? I’m talking final word, last story, completion of a hero’s journey, close-the-book-on-it ending. I could probably only count a handful of those types of finales in the past couple of years; maybe. Like any analysis of the Big Two, it can be seen in two ways: cynically or inspiringly. Cynically, there will never be a “final story.” The Coca-Cola and Pepsi of comic books always leave a door open for potential future stories because they want your money. Inspiringly, we are witnessing the sagas of modern mythology: endless heroic epics. These stories will never come to a true end because their legend continues and the heroes never say die. It can be impossibly cheesy, but the end caption “Never the end” always clutches at my heart strings. After eight weeks, 41 books and 89 issues Convergence has finally met its end. I think there is a strong argument for the inspiring read of “Never the End” present in most of these finales. Conversely, Convergence been criticized as a sales stunt, so the more cynical finale read is just as viable. Two months later what have we learned? For one, nostalgia can be expensive. Continue reading →

May 29 2015

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 46

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Today, Taylor and Spencer are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 46, originally released May 28th, 2015.

Taylor: Long form storytelling is all the rage right now. Aside from the occasional sitcom, it’s rare to find a medium where long, syndicated story telling isn’t the norm. While TV shows are a prime example of this trend, podcasts, novels, and even movies are now using multiple installments to tell a grand story. The neat thing about this is that it allows writers and artists to craft a complex story with complex characters that would go unexplored in a shorter format. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, now in its 46th issue, certainly qualifies as a long story and while that may no longer be unique in today’s world, what does stand out about it is just how expertly crafted this grand narrative has been put together. Continue reading →

May 29 2015

Black Widow 18

black widow 18

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Black Widow 18, originally released May 27th, 2015.

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“All these voices / All these memories / Make me feel like stone.
All the people / Make me feel so alone.”

-Brian Wilson, “Midnight’s Another Day“

Patrick: One of the universal experiences of the comic book reader is the gradual sense that you’re actually getting to know these characters. Readers watch them grow and evolve, and there’s frequently running voiceover to add extra context to their actions. You ever notice that comic fans are much quicker to refer to Superman as “Clark” than people that just know him as a cultural icon? Surely, everyone knows that Superman is Clark Kent, but only those of us that feel close to him would have the audacity to use his first name. But what happens when a comic series actively keeps the protagonist’s perspective at arm’s length? Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto’s Black Widow shows off a Natasha Romanova that can only really be herself when hidden from everyone else. That includes Bucky Barnes, the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., you and me. Continue reading →

May 28 2015

The Black Hood 4

black hood 4

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing The Black Hood 4, originally released May 27th, 2015.

Drew: There’s nothing quite like a ticking clock to heighten drama. As much as I love the verisimilitude of more relaxed pacing, I can’t help but get excited when everything has to happen RIGHT NOW. I suppose those timebomb moments reflect their own kind of reality — deadlines can force us to rush through everything from our morning routine to the intro paragraph we need to write about the latest comic from Dark Circle — but knowing that there’s no time for second chances can really make a story gripping. Of course, just about every timebomb, whether it’s the inevitable arrival of a character or a literal timebomb, has been done to death. Or so I thought. Remarkably, Duane Swierczynski finds a totally novel timebomb in The Black Hood 4, giving Greg Hettinger the urgency his mission has been so sorely lacking. Continue reading →

May 27 2015

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 5/20/15

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Look, there are a lot of comics out there. Too many. We can never hope to have in-depth conversations about all of them. But, we sure can round up some of the more noteworthy titles we didn’t get around to from the week. Today, Patrick, Drew, Michael and Spencer discuss Daredevil 15.1, Guardians of the Galaxy 27, Star Wars 5, Archie vs. Predator 2, Jem and the Holograms 3, The Kitchen 7, Ufology 2, and Wytches 6.

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Patrick: We’ve been digging deep into the DC and Marvel crossover events lately, and so it’s always a relief when we can spend some time exploring more self-contained stories. But no matter how self-contained a story appears, there’s always a legacy — either literal or adopted — that forces a set of assumptions and expectations on the reader. This round-up includes a Star Wars comic, for crying out loud, so there’s some obvious franchise baggage there, but even as we move into the smaller, creator-owned series, the trappings of the genres (we very neatly have Crime, Sci-Fi and Horror represented there) prove themselves to be just as informative as an entire franchise. Continue reading →

May 27 2015

Mad Max: Fury Road: Nux and Immortan Joe 1

immortal joe 1

Today, Shelby and  Mark are discussing Mad Max: Fury Road: Nux and Immortan Joe 1, originally released May 20th, 2015.

Shelby: I’ve always liked the Mad Max franchise. I saw Beyond the Thunderdome first, and I remember being startled by the bleakness of the first movie in comparison to that pageantry. When I saw Fury Road, I realized it was a combination of the bleakness of the first movie and the nonsense of the third, and I loved it. When Patrick asked, “If you love it so much, why don’t you…write a post on the forthcoming comic book?” I obviously said yes, especially when I saw the first issue was written about the villain Immortan Joe. Everyone knows I’m a sucker for a complex villain, and I couldn’t wait to see if this monster was ever anything more than that. I reference the movie a lot below, so if you haven’t seen it yet, here there be spoilers.  Continue reading →