Category Patrick Ehlers

Patrick Ehlers, Co-Editor-In-Chief
patrick@retcon-punch.com

Location: Los Angeles

History With Comics: Patrick came late to the comics game. After enjoying adaptations of Batman, Superman and the Justice League, he was finally tricked into picking up a set of graphic novels after seeing Robert Rodriguez’ Sin City. Naturally, this lead to further exploration of Frank Miller’s work, specifically with Batman. But it was not until an unexplainable desire to read Blackest Night that Patrick began purchasing the trades of Geoff Johns’ run Green Lantern. With a convenient new entry point and a handful of friends to follow him into the madness, Patrick began reading monthlies with the New 52’s Justice League #1.

New 52 Favorites: The Flash, Swamp Thing, Batwoman

Other Favorite Comics: Usagi Yojimbo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Saga

Oct 24 2013

Aquaman 24

aquaman 24

Today, Mikyzptlk and Patrick are discussing Aquaman 24, originally released October 23rd, 2013.

Mikyzptlk: Families can be tough to deal with. Sometimes, you want nothing more than to make sure that everyone is happy, even if that means doing what is expected of you. Other times, maybe even most of the time,  you just want to head for the hills and do your own thing. Aquaman has it infinitely worse because he has a royal family to deal with. For years, Aquaman was planted firmly in the hills doing his own thing until he made the choice to become the king of Atlantis. It’s a bit of a bummer though, because Aquaman 24 reveals that he was never meant to be king in the first place and that he might just be the villain of this piece…or at least the descendant of one.  Continue reading →

Oct 23 2013

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 10/16/13

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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 and Drew discuss Justice League of America 8, Green Lantern: New Guardians 24, Batman/Superman 4, A+X 13, Code Monkey Saves the World 1, Letter 44, and Fables 134.

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Patrick: Let’s knock some of the big mythological issues out of the way first. Justice League of America 8, now under the pen of Matt Kindt, shows us where the Justice League has been while the world has gone to shit. Their prison — and it does appear to be a physical space, somehow — is able to take advantage of the team’s emotional weaknesses. Sometimes that means giving them exactly what they want (Shazam is struck in a world he can destroy endlessly with no consequences) and sometimes that means frustrating them (Diana’s love interests are being held captive and she’s afraid of being left alone). It’s a little bit like For The Man Who Has Everything, only with fewer fun “what if” scenarios. The issue’s not without its compelling moments, but they are far too brief and scattered, and Martian Manhunter acts as our dispassionate guide throughout. Everything is just so obviously fake and/or unattractive that it’s hard to imagine how this would be an effective mental prison for any of the heroes. Continue reading →

Oct 23 2013

Chat Cave: “Nerd Culture”

On the opening night of the NYCC, Janeane Garofalo posited “discerning taste” as the defining characteristic of nerddom, but is that all? Events at cons range in focus from comics to videogames to film and TV, but fine art connoisseurs and jazz aficionados — in spite of having inarguably discerning tastes — aren’t catered to at all. So what is it that makes certain types of art nerdy? Is it the content? The medium? The fans? Welcome to the Chat Cave.

Drew: Ugh. I’ve often bristled at the “nerd” label — not because I think it means anything bad, but because I don’t really think it means much of anything. What could a word that can be applied both to someone who enjoys God of War and to someone who enjoys My Little Pony possibly be describing? It’s situation-specific ad absurdum. Still, it’s hard to deny some kind of innate sense of what is nerdy: Futurama? You bet. Matlock? Not so much. Continue reading →

Oct 22 2013

100 Bullets: Brother Lono 5

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Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing 100 Bullets: Brother Lono 5, originally released October 16th, 2013.

Patrick: Here’s a truth about me: I was raised in the Catholic church. Baptism, Sunday School, First Communion, Reconciliation, Confirmation, service, retreats, classes — you name it. If I ever sound like I’m too-cool-for-school now, brother, you should have known me back then. Ironic detachment was my only form of self defense, and I applied it liberally. Here’s an example of how far I’d push it away: I used to say I was giving up Catholicism for Lent. You can smell my shit-eating grin as you read that last sentence can’t you? I kinda still do it — I frequently site that period in my life as useful because now I can recognize Christian imagery in literature. But irony can only take you so far, and there are some concepts so compelling and elusive that they haunt you, no matter how thick your armor. Brother Lono 5 strikes on that most troubling of truths: not only are we all sinners, we are all meant to be sinners. Continue reading →

Oct 21 2013

New Avengers 11

new avenger 11 infinityToday, Spencer and Patrick are discussing New Avengers 11, originally released October 16th, 2013. This issue is part of the Infinity crossover event. Click here for complete Infinity coverage.

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Spencer: When Infinity was first announced, we knew very little about it besides the fact that it would be vaguely connected to writer Jonathan Hickman’s two Avengers books and that Thanos was involved; once the first issue dropped, I declared that it was “the story if what happens when two different universe-ending threats hit at the same time, leaving the Earth absolutely helpless.” We’re over two-thirds of the way through the crossover and those words are still mostly holding true, but New Avengers 11 takes this concept to a place I would have never expected when Infinity began — yet a place that makes perfect sense — by tying the space-bound and Earth-bound threats together. Continue reading →

Oct 17 2013

Hawkeye 13

hawkeye 13Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Hawkeye 13, originally released October 16th, 2013.

Shelby: FINALLY! Six months ago, something terrible happened to our favorite hot mess Clint Barton. I won’t spoil it here before the jump, but if you’ve been reading this title you know what I’m talking about. Matt Fraction has taken us on a whirlwind tour of everyone’s involvement and reactions, and I mean everyone: the man responsible, Kate, Lucky the Dog, even Clint’s brother. The one voice who’s been silent is the one I’ve been most eager to hear. That is, of course, Clint, and finally today Fraction, David Aja, and Matt Hollingsworth tell us Clint’s side of the story. It’s exactly as heartbreaking and lonely as you would expect.
Continue reading →

Oct 17 2013

Animal Man 24

animal man 24

Today, Patrick and Scott are discussing Animal Man 24, originally released October 16th, 2013. 

Todd, of course, is nominated tonight for Best Actor for his chilling portrayal of a psychic FBI agent who falls in love with a beautiful, deaf dolphin trainer in the amazing film Sea of Echoes.

–Animal Man 24

Patrick: DC has since abandoned the following nomenclature, but Animal Man used to fall under the line of “Dark” comics. This distinction generally just meant supernatural: we weren’t dealing with alien supermen or gadgety crime fighters, but Swamp Things and Magicians and Vampires. These stories also veered more into the horror genre, and there are few series that took that “dark” label to heart more literally than Animal Man. Buddy’s enemies are grotesque, his powers distort his body and mind and the bad guys routinely target his family. Hell, agents of the Rot killed his son. Writer Jeff Lemire is always careful to keep his eye on the tone, and keeps the series from becoming a slog. He’s able to lighten the mood here by pointing to his own work, and that of new series artist Rafael Albuquerque, and remind us that it might all be sorta silly. It’s a healthy reminder, and one that makes all the surrounding darkness go down a little smoother. Continue reading →

Oct 16 2013

The Private Eye 4

private eye 4Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing The Private Eye 4, originally released October 8th, 2013.

…it’s not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you.

Rachel Dawes, Batman Begins

Drew: As a child of the 90s, assured at every moment that it’s what’s inside that counts, the above sentiment confused me when I first heard it. The obvious difference is that, while after-school specials were focused on appearances and prejudice, Batman Begins is trading in ideologies. That is, the best of intentions don’t amount to a whole lot if you don’t act on them. Feeling guilty for being a jerk doesn’t actually excuse jerky behavior. Unfortunately, the practicalities of life force us into hypocrisy, as we cling to moral ideologies that we can’t actually measure up to. Think about how much you read compared to how much you want to read (or worse yet, how much you think you should), or how often you exercise, or call home, or see your friends. We want to be “better,” more ideological people than we are, and only occasionally do we put on a Batsuit to right those wrongs. Private Eye 4 finds DeGuerre reaching one of those ideological breaking points, only his goals aren’t nearly so noble. Continue reading →

Oct 16 2013

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 10/9/13

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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 and Spencer discuss Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger 12, Nightwing 24, Li’l Gotham 7, Batgirl 24, Coffin Hill 1, Hinterkind 1 and Green Lantern Corps 24.

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Patrick: Even though Retcon Punch dropped Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger a while a go, it was always a hard-to-shake curiosity for me. But the strangest thing happened at the close of the Trinity War: the Stranger was erased from existence. It’s no real surprise, but Philip Stark is back immediately in issue 12. It’s definitely a cheap move – God (still in the body of a tiny scottie dog) simply wills the character back to existence. Continue reading →

Oct 15 2013

Manhattan Projects 15

manhattan projects 15

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Manhattan Projects 15, originally released October 9th, 2013.

Patrick: Manhattan Projects is a series of many conceits. Writer Jonathan Hickman is a master at this sort of thing, distorting history and reality in a way that only he could. Every warped fact and twisted historical personage is filtered through his unique perspective. The very first issue of this series introduced the weirdest of all Manhattan Projects conceits — the devouring of Robert Oppenheimer by his brother Joseph. Any time we deal with that information, such as in the “part one” of the Finite Oppenheimers story back in April, that perspective gets EVEN WEIRDER. The whole of reality is reduced to the consciousness of one psychotic cannibal in the midst of a cognitive civil war. It’s exactly as crazy as it sounds. Continue reading →