Category Contributors

Mar 20 2014

Winter Soldier: The Bitter March 2

winter soldier 2Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Winter Soldier: The Bitter March 2, originally released March 19th, 2014.

Patrick: Enigmatic super-soldier spies are tough to characterize. How can you reveal someone’s true nature when they’ve been trained to be a tool of their government, forsaking all personal interests? Rick Remender’s new Winter Soldier mini-series attempts to paint a picture of a man by presenting his surroundings in as much detail as possible. Even when we get a flashback to Bucky’s more formative years, it’s his mentor’s perspective we see stated directly, and not Bucky’s. It’s addition by subtraction, and the sum is a tantalizing character sketch, made all the more compelling by a faithfully realized period thriller.

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Mar 19 2014

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 3/12/14

round upLook, 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, Drew and Patrick discuss Batman: Li’l Gotham 12, Batwoman 29, Secret Avengers 1, Green Lantern Corps 29, Manifest Destiny 5, and Daredevil: Road Warrior Infinite Comic 3.

slim-banner4Drew: In the face of increasingly daunting comic canons, I’ve become a pretty big proponent of “fanon” — a personal canon each reader cultivates to suit their own tastes. I hate to suggest that continuity and quality are mutually exclusive, but it’s hard to argue with the allure of Batman: Li’l Gotham, which has found the heart of the Batman universe without sweating the details. Then again, this week’s final collection reveals just how precise those details are. Effectively taking place in what the Timmverse would be if it had been created to reflect the pre-reboot continuity, writers Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen, treat their final installment as a retrospective on a universe that DC isn’t publishing anywhere else, revealing just how much potential it has. Also, every panel is somehow more adorable than the last. It’s more of the same, for sure, but when that same is this charming, I’ll gladly take all I can get (and hope for more down the line). Continue reading →

Mar 19 2014

Nightwing 29

nightwing 29Today, Spencer and Shelby are discussing Nightwing 29, originally released March 12th, 2014.

Spencer: It’s hard to talk about Nightwing 29 without talking about the circumstances surrounding it. Forever Evil revealed Nightwing’s identity to the world and may possibly be killing him off; even if Dick survives, his life is going to be drastically different, as indicated by the cancellation of his title and the premature end of writer Kyle Higgins’ run. I admit that I’m a little bitter; Nightwing’s move to Chicago had rejuvenated the title, and I’m disappointed not to see the story of the Chicago Mask Killer resolved. I certainly can’t claim to know how Higgins feels about the decision, but if he’s upset, he’s not letting it show. Instead, he uses his final issue to create a highlight reel of his run, show us how it’s changed Nightwing, and ultimately, remind us why Dick Grayson is such an important, beloved character in the first place. Continue reading →

Mar 18 2014

Superman/Wonder Woman 6

superman wonder woman 6Today, Scott and Taylor are discussing Superman/Wonder Woman 6, originally released March 12th, 2014.

Scott: Why are Superman and Wonder Woman together? Anyone remotely tuned in to the DC Universe has wondered this at some point in the past several months. On the surface, it seems perhaps too convenient, or little more than an attention-grabbing ploy. Realistically though, doesn’t the relationship make perfect sense? People date the people they spend the most time with. A 20 year old college student is most likely to date another 20 year old who goes to the same college. So, in a time when Justice League duties seem to be dominating many heroes’ lives, it’s only appropriate that Clark and Diana, the two most similar Justice Leaguers, would get together. The real question is, what does their relationship have to offer us as readers? If Clark and Diana are going to be spending a lot of time together just by the nature of their jobs, does a romantic relationship add anything to the story? With Superman/Wonder Woman 6, Charles Soule sets the record straight — the relationship and, thus, this book, is more than the sum of it’s parts.

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Mar 18 2014

Captain Marvel 1

captain marvel 1Today, Drew and guest writer Suzanne are discussing Captain Marvel 1, originally released March 12th, 2013.

All art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster’s autobiography.

Federico Fellini

Drew: The notion that art reveals something about the artist is a popular one, and I think is at least part of the reason artists are such alluring figures in our society — who wouldn’t want to be closer to the mind that whose autobiography is the sistine chapel or the brandenburg concerti? What a work of art says about its creator is a fascinating line of inquiry, but I’ve personally always been more interested in what a work of art says about its audience. It’s this other autobiography that is often ignored when discussing (and dare I say creating) a work of art, but I personally think it’s much more important its success. Could I relate to this work? Could I empathize with its characters? Could I understand their sorrows and joys? As a woman holding her own in a male-dominated field, it’s easy to see Kelly Sue DeConnick’s autobiography in Captain Marvel 1, but as ever, this series is really about the fans. Continue reading →

Mar 18 2014

Fantastic Four 2

fantastic four 2Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Fantastic Four 2, originally released March 12th, 2014.

Patrick: I don’t like the way James Robinson writes dialogue. Don’t like it. He invents unnecessarily awkward contractions; his characters use cliché superhero rhetoric; there are frequent problems with subject-verb agreement; and he’ll mix up countable and uncountable objects (using words like “fewer” and “less” incorrectly). I can accept some of these “mistakes” as affectations of Robinson’s characters: lord knows Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm aren’t going to edit the words that come out of their mouths. But dialogue is like 5% of a comic, right? As long as the art and incident are compelling, a few glaringly stupid sentences shouldn’t bother me, right? RIGHT!? Continue reading →

Mar 17 2014

Black Widow 4

black Widow 4Today, Shelby and Spencer are discussing Black Widow 4, originally released March 12th, 2014. 

slim-bannerShelby: I have a friend who’s having a frustrating time at work. Her department and position is currently transitioning to something different, so until everything is finalized she’s working two different positions. I can see how, from a management perspective, that would be the perceived best way to transition someone into a new job. For her, though, it just means she’s two jobs to do instead of one, and instead of focusing on one or the other she has to half-ass both. I think one of the toughest things about managing a company is avoiding situations like my friend’s. You have to be able to manage your people in such a way that they are able to do their tasks to the best of their abilities. It’s important to diversify and grow the skills of your employees, but not at the cost of prohibiting them from doing their actual job, especially if that job is being one of the world’s greatest spies.

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Mar 17 2014

Deadpool 25

deadpool 25

Today, Patrick and Greg are discussing Deadpool 25, originally released March 12th, 2014

Patrick: In high school, I did theatre. Like a lot. Acting, directing, writing, set building, lighting, sound, Vice President of the Drama Club — I was a damned theatre rat. It was great, I loved it and built my whole life and identity around it. But I was also kind of a jerk in high school. At the height of my jerkishness, the director of our theatre program told me that she used to think I was funny, until she realized I was just mean. Which is a harsh thing for a teacher to say to a child, but I’m sure I was asking for it. I was socially destructive, and alienated all of my friends in that world. It was the nuclear option: I had hurt too many people to stay in that circle. So I bailed — on my hometown, on theatre, on all of those people that used to be my friends. Was I acting out of self-preservation or was I protecting my friends from further exposure to my toxic attitude? Deadpool 25.NOW shows Wade’s world melting down around him in the most predictable way, as the Merc with the Mouth is unable to find peace in resolution. He too bails, and whether its a selfless or selfish act is heartbreakingly ambiguous. Continue reading →

Mar 17 2014

East of West 10

east of west 10

Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing East of West 10, originally released March 12th, 2014.

Taylor: Anyone who’s been reading the news lately has been spoiled by a surprising amount of entertaining stories. The mystery of the vanished Malaysian airliner has captivated the world since each day new and more confounding information is released about its fateful voyage. Then there’s the ongoing political crisis in Crimea. Vladimir Putin’s bizarre quest to take back a former Russian province has set the Western world afire. With stories such as these making the news one would wonder why we need to read fiction since the real world seems capable of delivering enough entertainment on its own. As if in answer to this question, East of West 10 tells us why fiction and comics are important. This issue seems to hold a mirror up to the world and the reflection, while twisted, is all too recognizable as belonging to nothing but humanity.

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Mar 14 2014

Hawkeye 17

hawkeye 17Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Hawkeye 17, originally released March 12th, 2014.

Spencer: Hawkeye is consistently one of the most daring comic books on the shelf. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s always making the biggest, most shocking moves, but it does mean that anything’s fair game when it comes to this book. An issue told from the point of view of the dog? Sure! Killing off a beloved supporting character then spending months and months revisiting the event from every conceivable angle? Why not?! Separating the main characters then dividing up the narrative between them? Seems do-able! Matt Fraction doesn’t shy away from taking risks with Hawkeye, no matter how strange or mundane, and Hawkeye 17 is one of the strangest of all. Fortunately, it’s charming as all get out. Maybe that’s the true legacy of Hawkeye: the risks always pay off. Continue reading →