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

Aug 29 2013

New Avengers 9

Alternating Currents: New Avengers 9, Drew and PatrickToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing New Avengers 9, originally released August 28th, 2013. This issue is part of the Infinity crossover event. Click here for complete Infinity coverage.

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Drew: The US is lucky to have never fought a modern war on its own soil. Wartime always divides our attention between the warfront and the home front. Of course, governing a country can be a handful even in peace, so one of these often gets put on the back-burner. During World War II, it seemed that the emphasis was on the war, with resources being reallocated such that almost every American was consciously aware of the war effort. It was this kind of attitude that made George Orwell see war as an effective means of controlling the populations of Oceania in 1984 — war acts as both an explanation for a shitty situation AND a rousing source of patriotism. More recently, however, it’s been the war front that people push to the back of their minds, at times all but forgetting we’ve been at war for over a decade. That very well could have been the attitude on Earth as the Avengers rode off to face the Builders, an abstract threat that no earthling has ever even seen (hell, it’s likely that the public doesn’t even know about the threat), but they sure start to feel it in New Avengers 9. Continue reading →

Aug 28 2013

Thunderbolts 14

thunderbolts14

Today, you and Patrick are discussing Thunderbolts 14, originally released August 21st, 2013. This issue is part of the Infinity crossover event. Click here for complete Infinity coverage.

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Patrick: You might have guessed this from the name, but “Infinity” is a pretty big story. Not just in terms of page count (though, it should be pretty astonishing in that regard), but in terms of scope. It’s already taken two dozen Avengers into deep space for some interstellar warfare, and there’s still the yet-unexplored threat of Thanos invading Earth. Jonathan Hickman was said to have been setting up Infinity in his Avengers and New Avengers series – which he…. sorta did. Most of what those series accomplish — in terms of setting up this event — is that they introduce the relevant superhero teams. Each team battles its own cataclysmic threats, only to be cut short when the main aggressors of Infinity entered the fray. Issue 14 of Thunderbolts is this concept in miniature: complete with team introductions and a mission cut short by alien invaders.

Continue reading →

Aug 27 2013

Daredevil 30

daredevil 30

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Daredevil 30, originally released August 21st, 2013. 

“You know, I always wanted to pop you one. Maybe this is my lucky day.”

“You disgust me. I hate you.”

“Are you as turned on as I am?”

“More.”

Sam Malone and Diane Chambers, Cheers

Drew: What is it about unlikely couples that makes us root for them? Antagonism is great fodder for will they/won’t they story lines, but why are audiences so interested in seeing these love-hate relationships? I ask, because while I can’t fully explain it, I’m an absolute sucker for these stories. Of course, that means I’ve been pulling for Kirsten McDuffie since she showed up, guns out, in Daredevil 1. We haven’t seen her since Matt awkwardly interrupted her date in issue 24, but she’s back in all of her fiery glory here, as writer Mark Waid takes full advantage of a one-off team-up to ramp up the will they/won’t they of their relationship. Continue reading →

Aug 27 2013

Animal Man 23

animal man 23

Today, Scott and Patrick are discussing Animal Man 23, originally released August 21st, 2013. 

Scott: Nothing rocks us harder, on a personal level, than a betrayal of trust. A cheating spouse, a conniving business partner — nothing is harder to grapple with than the idea of someone you trust working against you. It’s distressing to both your head and your heart. A similar effect can be had on a community, or an entire society, as the result of a security breach. When a place we trust is safe- a school, a temple, a movie theater- is marred by an act of terror, irreparable damage is done to our collective trust. In Animal Man 23, writer Jeff Lemire combines these two types of betrayal in one fell swoop, destroying a place we thought was safe and pulling back the curtain on someone we thought could be trusted. It’s fantastically horrific, and will make you question whether anything you believe about this title is truly as it seems.

Continue reading →

Aug 26 2013

100 Bullets: Brother Lono 3

Alternating Current: 100 Bullets: Brother Lono 3, Patrick and Drew

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing 100 Bullets: Brother Lono 3, originally released August 21st, 2013.

Patrick: For a couple of months in Chicago, I worked as a barista at Argo Tea. It’s basically a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, with its priorities reversed. As a barista, you don’t have a lot of room to make any substantive decisions during the day — in fact, most of the time you’re just trying to keep up with orders and not fuck up all the drinks. Occasionally, drinks do get fucked up and customers get mad. If you’re lucky, the customer just asks you to fix the drink and that’s that. But if they’re feeling particularly entitled or vengeful, they can contact corporate to complain. That’s when the avalanche starts, as the complaint trickles down from corporate to the store manager to the shift leader and back to you, the lowly barista. With each level of authority the complaint is filtered through, there’s more and more residual anger and blame built up until a simple mistake suddenly appears to be a blight, symptomatic of complete institutional incompetence. That’s an incredibly low-stakes example of what Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso explore in issue 3 of Brother Lono.
Continue reading →

Aug 23 2013

Superman Unchained 3

superman unchained 3

Today, Patrick and Scott are discussing Superman Unchained 3, originally released August 21st, 2013.

Patrick: As problematic as Superman’s powers are for a narrative, Clark Kent’s moral purity proves even more bothersome. Mind you, it’s much easier for writers to dial down Clark’s ideology to bring him in line with modern heroes than it is to de-power him in any way: if Supes can’t stop a bullet with his chest, fans will cry foul; but if he starts making unscrupulous choices, only the purest purists will grumble. Plus, how else should Superman writers obey the mandate to make the characters younger and more relatable? Personality flaws, and plenty of ’em! It’s fascinating then, that when Scott Snyder trots a bigger, more powerful version of Superman, he also doubles down on reason and civility. If the goal of Superman Unchained is to put the concept of Superman on trial, then we’ve actually got to put both versions on trial: the invincible boyscout and powerful alien protectorate alike have to answer for their sins (even if they’re only sins of omission).

Continue reading →

Aug 22 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Microseries Villains 5: Karai

Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Microseries Villains 5: Karai originally released August 21st, 2013. 

Taylor: Here at Retcon-Punch we like to yell about gender issues in comics a lot. While some might find the discussion boring, the fact is there are forces working in comics today that both promote and discourage gender equality. It’s not always the easiest discussion but it’s a necessary one in order for us all to progress in our understanding of how media sometimes perpetuates negative stereotypes. Given this state of affairs, it seems odd that one of our favorite series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so far has remained neutral in this conversation. In truly Swiss fashion, TMNT, has neither done anything to provoke our grief or our praise when it comes to gender issues, and that despite a bevy of female characters. However, one can only stay out of this conversation so long and fifth issue of the TMNT: Villains series finds itself in the Retcon-Punch crosshairs. But is that a good or a bad thing?

Continue reading →

Aug 22 2013

Justice League Dark 23

Justice League Dark 23 trinity

Today, Mikyzptlk and Patrick are discussing Justice League Dark 23 originally released August 21st, 2013. This issue is part of the Trinity War crossover event. Click here for our complete Trinity War coverage.

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Mikyzptlk: Event comics are…strange. As Drew mentioned in his previous coverage of Trinity War, event comics like these can be hard to pin down. There’s usually a ton of damage and more colorfully clad heroes than you can shake a superpowered stick at. At the same time though, with so much going on, it can be hard to get to any meaningful characterization. It’s not impossible, but there’s just usually not that much of it. Another thing that event comics like Trinity War are known for is the idea that “Things Will Never Be The Same” after the events of said comics. In the end, what we normally get in event comics are shallow, action packed adventures that drastically change the playing field for our heroes. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, in fact, I think it’s kind of necessary. The ever-changing playing field helps to keep these decades old characters fresh, and help to prime our heroes for those character-rich solo stories we all love so much. While Trinity War has given us some interesting moments, I can’t help but feel impatient for the drastic changes it will bring. The penultimate chapter of the tale helps to reinforce that feeling.  Continue reading →

Aug 21 2013

Red Sonja 2

Alternating Currents: Red Sonja 2, Drew and Patrick

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Red Sonja 2, originally released August 15th, 2013.

Drew: Finales get all the attention, but I firmly believe that starting a serialized narrative is the much more impressive feat. Each subsequent chapter can build upon the previous ones, but the very first entry must whip a meaningful relationship with the audience out of thin air. This often requires relying on character types that seem almost embarrassing when looked back upon, like bad yearbook pictures, or early blog posts. It’s a strange paradox; we like complex characters, but you can’t achieve that much complexity in 22 pages (or 42 minutes, as the case may be). Character types allow us to make connections with characters quickly, but at the expense of specificity — nobody is exclaiming “that’s so Raven” after the first episode of That’s so Raven. The handoff from those early, type-driven chapters to later, character-driven ones is perilous, but writer Gail Simone handle’s it beautifully in Red Sonja 2. Continue reading →

Aug 19 2013

Cram Session: New Avengers 1-8 – Incursions

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.

What’s worse than parallel worlds smashing into each other? Not even knowing that that’s what’s happening in New Avengers. Here’s the story of what the Illuminati are putting on hold to fight aliens in your precious Infinity.