Category Contributors

May 23 2012

Cram Session: Nightwing 1-7

It can be hard to keep up with all the comics you love. But it’s damn near impossible to keep up with all the comics you’re interested in.

Retcon Punch got you covered.

Being so immersed in the Night of the Owls event makes it kinda hard to imagine that there are fans of the Gotham-verse not reading Nightwing. The series was quick to find a voice, and while it stumbled a bit with some vamping-for-time issues, Kyle Higgins’ Nightwing boldly directs the mood and action of the cross-over with almost as much authority as Batman. If you haven’t been following Dick’s you-can’t-go-home-again story, catch up with our video recap!

May 23 2012

The Vault – Green Lantern Macbook Decal

The Retcon Punchers spend an awful lot of time looking for ways to celebrate our nerdy obsessions. This means a lot of time sunk into scouring Etsy, Deviant Art, Think Geek or whatever. Sometimes we see things so great we just have to share them… and then clutch them fiercely to our collective chest. Throw it in The Vault.

Green Lantern Macbook DecalWebsite: Etsy

Who Would Love This: Macbook users who love Green Lantern, so, you know, NERDS (but not, like, PC nerds).

Price: $8.99

Between three ongoing titles and several trade collections, the Retcon Punchers own A LOT of art featuring Green Lantern, but none of them actually glow. For a character whose powers revolve around making things out of green light, his powers are generally relegated to being represented with tricks and effects that can only hint at actual light. Not so with this clever decal. The artist has a whole line of decals featuring characters interacting with the Apple logo, but none make quite as natural use of the built-in lighting effect. Hal just wanted to make an Apple construct.

May 22 2012

Catwoman 9

Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing Catwoman 9 originally released May 16th, 2012. This issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event. Click here for complete NotO coverage. Not caught up on Catwoman? No problem! Get up to speed with our video Cram Session.

Patrick: Judd Winick’s Catwoman is a morally dubious character that makes poor decisions all the time. And not just poor life decisions (like dressing up like a cat to steal things, or hate-fucking Batman), but tactically shitty decisions that put her life and the lives of her friends in danger. She will occasionally – arbitrarily –  grow a heart, and do something nice for someone, as she does in her Night of the Owls adventure. But there’s nothing under her mask that supports any of this kind of behavior, and no amount of teased backstory is going to change that. Continue reading →

May 22 2012

The Vault – Batman and Superman Caped Pint Glasses

The Retcon Punchers spend an awful lot of time looking for ways to celebrate our nerdy obsessions. This means a lot of time sunk into scouring Etsy, Deviant Art, Think Geek or whatever. Sometimes we see things so great we just have to share them… and then clutch them fiercely to our collective chest. Throw it in The Vault.

Batman and Superman Caped Pint Glasses

Website: Spencer’s

Who Would Love This: Old-schoolers who can’t get down with the Blackest Night Pint Glass Set/anyone who needs more billowing when drinking.

Price: $9.99 each

Capes are hard. They’re always getting stepped on and caught in doors, and air drying them is such a chore. Nightwing says capes throw off his balance, and they would just slow the Flash down. BUT they look cool. Why, then, should we restrict capes to human shoulders? Now your glassware can get in on the action! Not only do they look great in a breeze, but the capes also complete an ensemble: note the belts and underwear at the bottom of the glasses.  Now you’ll be drinking in style — right out of the torso of your favorite heroes.

May 21 2012

Justice League 9

Today, Peter and Drew are discussing Justice League 9, originally released May 16th, 2012.

Peter: With Free Comic Book Days exciting reveal of the future Trinity War event, I have been incredibly excited for what is going to happen in Justice League. The sheer amount of question that it raised made me excited to see how we get to that point. This new issue is a definite step in the right direction.
Continue reading →

May 21 2012

Birds of Prey 9

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Birds of Prey 9 originally released May 16th, 2012. This issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event. Click here for complete NotO coverage. Not caught up on Birds of Prey? No problem! Get up to speed with our video Cram Session.

Drew: Serialization is in. There have always been long-form narratives that have relied on dense mythologies to build-up stories over time, but until recently, they have always been balanced by more episodic works; for every Days of Our Lives, there was a Law and Order. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, but with the popularity of DVD collections for television and trade paperback collections for comics (and the availability of individual episodes or issues online) have made, dense, long-form narratives are easier than ever to gain access to. It’s understandable why serialization is so appealing to both creators and audience alike — characters have a chance to develop over longer scales than single chapters, and don’t have to jockey as much for space against the actual plot. Continue reading →

May 18 2012

Red Hood and the Outlaws 9


Today, Patrick and Peter are discussing Red Hood and the Outlaws 9 originally released May 16th, 2012. This issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event. Click here for complete NotO coverage. Not caught up on Red Hood and the Outlaws? No problem! Get up to speed with our video Cram Session.

Patrick: Being that the Retcon Punchers and obsessive-nerd-completionists, we feel the need to know as much as we can about a subject. The Night of the Owls presents an interesting challenge to us – and to many comic readers: what do you read and what do you ignore? I suppose it’s a question we all face every day, and it applies to a far broader band than “what comic books should I read?” We decide which foods we eat, which concerts we attend, which causes we champion, which people we befriend. There’s literally no way to shake the nagging feeling that (no matter what choices we’re making) we’re missing something. This is compounded by the all-too-frequent experience of discovering something that you had previously blown off is really good. That has been my experience with Red Hood and the Outlaws. Continue reading →

May 18 2012

Wonder Woman 9

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Wonder Woman 9, originally released May 16th, 2012.

Shelby: I love weddings. I love Greek mythology. I love comic books. I think I even love Brian Azzarello. Wonder Woman 9 has all of these things: therefore, I love it.

Continue reading →

May 17 2012

Cram Session: Catwoman 1-8

It can be hard to keep up with all the comics you love. But it’s damn near impossible to keep up with all the comics you’re interested in.

Retcon Punch got you covered.

Sometimes Selina Kyle is a compelling anti-hero. But mostly, she’s a petty thief who doesn’t know when to quit. Between her inability to stop stealing and repeated poor judgement calls in her relationships, it might be hard to find Catwoman sympathetic… luckily, you don’t have to! Just watch our three-and-a-half minute video and you’ll know everything you need to know about issues 1-8.

May 17 2012

Batwoman 9

Today, Drew and Shelby are discussing Batwoman 9, originally released May 16th 2012.

Drew: Last month, I was pretty hard on Batwoman. The gambit of dividing the story into six discrete narratives necessarily forces the plot to only be advanced incrementally in each. That, I’m fine with, but when every story hit the emotional doldrums simultaneously, the result is an issue that strains to justify its existence. This month, writers J.H. Williams and W. Haden Blackman find the emotional through-line issue 8 was lacking, crafting a meaningful rumination on the nature of loyalty. Continue reading →