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

Sep 13 2012

Before Watchmen – Comedian 3

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing Comedian 3, originally released September 12th, 2012. Comedian is part of DC’s Before Watchmen prequel series. Click here for complete Before Watchmen coverage (including release dates).

Peter: I guess it’s never really occurred to me to ask who the main character of Watchmen is. Is there one? What do you think? I guess, based on the overall narration and beginning and then end, most people would probably say Rorschach. I mean he’s constantly working on his journal and is the in the background of tons of the cells. Even though he is rather absent from the majority of the main story, could you see The Comedian in that role? So far he’s appeared in almost every Before Watchmen  story in some capacity. Could Edward Blake be the true glue that holds this franchise together?

Continue reading →

Sep 12 2012

Green Arrow 0

Alternating Currents: Green Arrow 0, Patrick and Peter

Today, Patrick and Peter are discussing Green Arrow 0, originally released September 5, 2012. Green Arrow 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Patrick: What do you get when you tell a story about the greatest superhero archer in the world, and set it before he was either a superhero OR an archer? Let’s add another layer to riddle: what happens when that character is an entitled asshole with inconsistent morality, no sense of humor and imperceptible motivations? Why, Green Arrow 0, of course!

Continue reading →

Sep 10 2012

StormWatch 0

Today, Patrick and Peter are discussing StormWatch 0, originally released September 5, 2012. StormWatch 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Patrick: It’s interesting to me how frequently comic books want to convince me that a secret battle has been raging for centuries. Guardians, The Court of Owls, The Rot – they’re all tied up in this sense of infinite history. But when the comic in question employs relatively new characters zipping around outer space and the entire publishing line has a “superheroes have been around for no more than five years” rule, that becomes a trickier sell. The song and dance that does eventually extend the StormWatch history back through the ages is either a Herculean feat of planning and foresight, or a cleverly observed play on words.

Continue reading →

Sep 10 2012

Batwing 0

Today, Patrick and (guest writer) Tricia Aung are discussing Batwing 0, originally released September 5, 2012. Batwing 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Patrick: I always thought it was weird that the African arm of Batman, Incorporated would spend his time the same way regular Batman does. The real world problems of the continent are catastrophic to the point that fighting supervillains seems like a waste of time for someone with David Zavimbe’s abilities and assets. What Batwing 0 does is patiently remind me that there’s more to this character than simply his unique setting. Prior to this issue, I might have disagreed with that assessment.

Continue reading →

Sep 7 2012

Green Lantern 0

Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing Green Lantern 0, originally released September 5, 2012. Green Lantern 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Patrick: John Stewart was a member of the United States Marine Corps, but he’s never been trained in counter-insurgency. Kyle Rayner was an artist, but he’s never done freelance work designing a website. Hal Jordan was a test pilot and just like the early astronauts, he wowed the world with his bravery in the face of the unknown. Whatever the relaunch did accomplish, it utterly failed to update the Green Lanterns of 2814. None of them are creatures of the 21st century. And it is in that spirit that we meet the newest Green Lantern: a middle-eastern born American citizen, who grew up in a post-September 11th America and who was laid off when his Dearborn, Michigan automotive manufacturer shut down in the economic collapse. Simon Baz is interesting less because he’s new and more because he’s current.

Continue reading →

Sep 6 2012

Earth-2 0

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing Earth-2 0, originally released September 5, 2012. Earth-2 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Peter: The Second Wave was an interesting move on DC’s part: start handful of series half way through the publishing year. So, many of them launched right in to full-blown stories. The Zero Issues have allowed them some breathing room. Specifically the Earth-2 Zero Issue has allowed James Robinson to flesh out some history before the chaotic and destructive #1 and introduce a new character rooted in the history of Earth-2, and his fate is still uncertain.

Continue reading →

Sep 5 2012

Superman Annual 1

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Superman Annual 1, originally released August 29th, 2012.

Patrick: DC Comics has a Superman problem. Supes is the quintessential American comic book superhero. Batman, Wolverine and the Hulk have all proven to be more bankable than ol’ Kal-El, but there’s no escaping the simple mythology and iconography of Superman. Remember when they killed Superman? Of course you do — everyone knew about it — it was a news item. When your grandmother knows the name ‘Clark Kent,’ it’s clear that the character — for whatever reason — has immeasurable appeal. But when you try to pick up a comic and read about the adventures of the last son of Krypton, you are never rewarded with that same simplicity. In fact, Superman has his feet in both the superhero-nonsense AND the outer-space-nonsense aspects of the DC Universe. At this point, I’m starting to fancy myself a bit of a comic book nerd and I am still off-put by the sheer volume of aliens, heroes, villains and history (both secret and otherwise).

Continue reading →

Sep 5 2012

Justice League International Annual 1

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing Justice League International Annual 1, originally released August 29th, 2012.

Peter: With any reboot, world-building is near the top of the priority list. If you’re starting from scratch, you have to start with something and move on from there. Justice League International is a series that has become central to the future of the Justice League family of books. While this Annual will be the last issue bearing the JLI banner, I doubt this is the last we will see of these characters, many of whom have other books to appear in. This is a glimpse of the future of the Justice League family, and even if you haven’t read the 12 issues of Justice League International, the Annual is definitely worth the read.

Continue reading →

Sep 4 2012

Justice League 12

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Justice League 12, originally released August 29th, 2012.

Shelby: “Is this the end of the tried-and-true Justice League?”

This is the question the world is facing at the end of Justice League 12, and the end of the Villain’s Journey arc. I was really struck by this line, because my question is “What tried-and-true Justice League?” My biggest complaint with the Justice League since the reboot is the lack of cohesion to the team. The team starts out rough, and five years later still can’t work together. We’ve discussed over and over how they are such a bad team, and now at the end of the arc, Geoff John’s point seems to be… they are a bad team. Maybe my question should be, “What was the point of reading this in the first place?”

Continue reading →

Aug 31 2012

The Flash Annual 1

Alternating Currents: Flash Annual, Patrick and DrewToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing the Flash Annual 1, originally released August 29th, 2012.

Drew: When I interviewed Francis Manapul back in April, he expressed that he reveled at the unique expectations mandated by the New 52. Specifically, he expressed that “the best thing about knowing what people are expecting is when I change something, it seems shocking.” Subverting expectations is such a simple concept — and one so central to genre fiction in general — that you’d think it would start to lose its spark; but then again, with Manapul and Brian Buccellato on writing duties, nothing ever is that simple.

Continue reading →