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

Jan 29 2013

Deadpool 4

deadpool 4Today, Patrick and Ethan are discussing Deadpool 4, originally released January 23rd, 2013.

Patrick: There’s a weird impulse when writing about Deadpool, to address the character directly. Whenever Wade Wilson turns to the reader and shares a fun little inside joke that we share, somehow one level or artifice is stripped away just as the other is being amplified. With each joke and wink, I’m tricked into thinking that I’m connecting with Deadpool himself and not with the myriad of writers and artists that bring him to life. (Incidentally, I think this is why we – as a culture – like the Muppets so much.) Plus, I’m a pushover for anyone — fictional or otherwise — that can adhere to the Always Leave ‘Em Laughing rule.

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Jan 28 2013

FF 1-3

ff 1-3

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing FF 1-3, originally released November 28th, 2012, December 19th, 2012, and January 23rd, 2013.

Shelby: What do you do when things go wrong? When something doesn’t happen the way you’ve planned, how do you react? If you thought ahead and have a back-up plan, there’s nothing to worry about. But what if you are the back-up plan? What if you are the one who has to step up when things fall apart and figure out how to hold everything together? Between FF and Fantastic Four, Matt Fraction shows us both sides of the coin, and it gives him an opportunity to tell a pretty unusual kind of story.

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Jan 28 2013

Green Lantern: New Guardians 16

new guardians 16-3rd

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing New Guardians 16, originally released January 23rd, 2013. This issue is part of the Rise of the Third Army crossover event. Click here for complete Third Army coverage. 

Shelby: It’s finally time for Kyle Rainer to learn to master the power of love. He’s saved it for last because it is the most difficult, but why is that? Surely rage or greed or even fear would be much harder to command and control. While the more negative end of the emotional spectrum is difficult to control, it is easy to feel. I know I feel ready to puke red-hot plasma just about every morning on the commuter train to work. The difficulty of love lies in the challenge of letting yourself experience love. It’s an emotion that be very painful to the person feeling it; sometimes it’s just easier to block it out entirely. Kyle learns the hard way: you can’t master an emotion you are afraid to let yourself feel.

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Jan 25 2013

Green Lantern 16

green lantern 16-3rd

Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing Green Lantern 15, originally released January 23rd, 2013. This issue is part of the Rise of the Third Army crossover event. Click here for complete Third Army coverage. 

Patrick: At the beginning of this issue, Simon Baz takes a thorough tongue-lashing from (adorable) veteran Lantern B’dg. The little guy is all about the accusatory questions: “Who are you?” “Where’s your lantern?” and, my personal favorite:

b'dg thinks Baz is a bad green lantern

But Baz isn’t bad; he’s just new to the position. Everything from fighting bad guys to trusting his powers to meeting the Justice League is new to him. And in a medium so caught up in what is old — and especially caught up in the task of making old things new again — it’s interesting to see what such a fresh character is capable of.

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Jan 25 2013

Green Lantern Corps 16

green lantern corps 16-3rd

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Green Lantern Corps 16, originally released January 23rd, 2013. This issue is part of the Rise of the Third Army crossover event. Click here for complete Third Army coverage. 

Patrick: When they’re working properly, the Green Lantern Universe of comics is a breathless machine that pumps out fun, exciting narratives. But that’s it: the only speed these series know is HIGH. But when these stories abandon all pretense of depth or intelligence, they simply have to be fun. Otherwise, what’s the point? Oh, let me go back, that’s how I want to start this review: “What’s the point?”

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Jan 23 2013

Secret History of the Foot Clan 2

secret history of the foot clan 2

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Secret History of the Foot Clan 2, originally released January 23rd, 2013.

Drew: The first issue of this series wowed me with the way its sophisticated exploration of narrative perspective. To me, the notion of a single story pieced together from tidbits contributed by many storytellers represented comics generally, and this iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles specifically. In issue 2, writers Mateus Santolouco and Erik Burnham pull the scope back even further, commenting on previous iterations of the Turtles. As someone who grew up in the ’90s, I couldn’t be more pleased. Continue reading →

Jan 23 2013

Batman and Robin 16

batman and robin 16 DoF

Today, Michael and Patrick are discussing Batman and Robin 16, originally released January 16th, 2013. This issue is part of the Death of the Family crossover event. Click here for complete DotF coverage.

Michael: A series is generally more gratifying when it subverts expectations without betraying our understanding of the characters. In a New 52 series like Batman and Robin, this balance is difficult to achieve; readers demand a basic level of fidelity to beloved genre tropes and character traits, but expect narratives that stand up to the scrutiny of a savvy, cliche-fatigued audience. This issue doesn’t drop any groundbreaking twists, but it works deftly within a familiar framework

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Jan 22 2013

Superboy 16

superboy 16 HelToday, Patrick and Drew are discussing Superboy 16, originally released January 16th, 2013. This issue is part of the H’el on Earth crossover event. Click here for complete H’el on Earth coverage.

Patrick: Drew had to fight pretty hard to find some meaning in last month’s issue of Superboy. I’m not saying his assertions are wrong, but they certainly meet Tom DeFalco more than half-way. Shelby was not so kind. This issue, by comparison, brings some strong characterization of Superboy, non-stop action and an interesting theme (with clever call-backs). This issue isn’t going to start any Superboy-revolution, but it is a tonally consistent, exciting story. Maybe I’m setting the Superbar pretty low at this point…

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Jan 21 2013

Indestructible Hulk 1-3

hulk 1-3

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Indestructible Hulk 1-3, originally released November 21st, 2012, December 19th, 2012, and January 16, 2013.

Shelby: The Hulk is not a complex character. He exists as rage incarnate, smashing his way through everything in his path, and basically unstoppable once he gets started. There’s no ulterior motive, no hidden agenda, no personality, just smashsmashsmash. He makes for some sweet action sequences, but that’s about it. The Hulk gets interesting when you consider his relationship with Bruce Banner. Because Banner can basically turn into a nuclear bomb at any moment, he doesn’t exactly get invited to a lot of backyard barbecues; his life has been spent in isolation, desperately seeking a cure for his chronic Hulk-itis. Mark Waid has decided enough is enough for sad science Banner, and is pointing both Banner and the Hulk in a whole new direction.
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Jan 21 2013

Captain America 1-3

captain america 1-3

Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing Captain America 1-3, originally released November 21th, December 19th, 2012 and January 16th, 2013.

Patrick: Captain America is a character defined by his time. Other characters may be products of the time during which their creators were writing them – Superman, Wolverine, Deadpool, Hal Jordan – all of these guys bear the stamps of the decades they were introduced. But that Captain America concept is frozen in time, locked in place by a character-defining opportunity to kick Nazi-ass. So how does one update the intentionally old-fashioned? It’s not even like you can just drop Steve Rogers into a modern American military conflict and watch the action play out: we’re not exactly storming beaches anymore. So where’s an old soldier supposed to feel at home? Why, a dangerous, barren wasteland that ignores the laws of physics, of course!

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