We try to stay up on what’s going on at Marvel, but we can’t always dig deep into every issue. The solution? Our weekly round-up of titles coming out of Marvel Comics. Today, we’re discussing Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man 1, Daredevil 8, and Howard the Duck 8.
REBIRTH: Everything old is new and everything new is old! (Which confusingly makes everything simultaneously new and old… look, the relationship between neophobia and neophelia is complicated.) We’ll be digging deep into Wonder Woman Rebirth 1 on Tuesday and The Flash Rebirth 1 on Wednesday, but today, we’re discussing Action Comics 957, Aquaman Rebirth 1 and Detective Comics 934.
Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing Darth Vader 21, originally released June 8th, 2015.
Taylor: One of the things film geeks have come to appreciate about Episode IV is the way George Lucas incorporated techniques pioneered by Japanese director and genius Akira Kurosawa into his movie. In particular, Lucas draws from Kurosawa’s most famous film, the Seven Samurai, which was eventually remade for American audiences as the Magnificent Seven. That Star Wars would be so closely related to a film about cowboys shouldn’t come as a surprise. In many ways, Luke and Han are heroic space cowboys fighting the their way across the open plains of the universe, battling against those who would oppress their freedom. Darth Vader 21 returns Star Wars to this western and in so doing cleverly inverts my assumptions about the motif in fun and new ways.
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, we discuss The Goddamned 4, Rough Riders 3, and The Woods 23. Continue reading
Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Deadpool 13, originally released June 1, 2016
Patrick: Hey, do you think we’re too comfortable with Deadpool? We know he’s a bastard that plays fast and loose with the value of human life, but there’s a jeu de vivre to the character that makes him immanently lovable. But what do readers and fans stand to gain from looking past Wade’s uglier qualities? He’s supposed to be chaotic, he’s supposed to be subversive — those are the Deadpool qualities that we celebrate. But readers sorta need to employ their own fan-canon in order to reconcile that chaos, with the often-adorable, infinitely accepting, ultimately heroic Deadpool we have in our minds. It’s that second version of Deadpool that writer Gerry Duggan has tapped for the better part of the last three years to build up Deadpool’s cast of friends, employees and even family. Recent issues have seen those relationships strained, or even destroyed, leaving Wade Wilson to be reflected upon and defined by people outside his inner circle in issue 13. Cleverly, issue 13 is also kind of an issue of Daredevil and kind of an issue of Power Man & Iron Fist, meaning the opinions we’re getting aren’t just from characters outside of Deadpool, but creators outside of Deadpool. The consensus? Wade Wilson kinda sucks.
We try to stay up on what’s going on at Marvel, but we can’t always dig deep into every issue. The solution? Our weekly round-up of titles coming out of Marvel Comics. Today, we’re discussing A-Force 6, Amazing Spider-Man 13, Civil War II 1, Moon Knight 3, Old Man Logan 7, and Spider-Woman 8.
Continue reading 
Bebop and Rocksteady Destroy Everything has a premise that’s just too innately appealing to ignore. There’s something elemental about this pair of boneheads wrecking up the universe, and the pedigree of comics from IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle team suggests that this is going to be some marvelous wreckage indeed. We’re sitting down with five artistz that helped contribute to the mayhem to discuss their approach to action.
This week, Patrick is talking to co-writer and issue 1 artist, Ben Bates about being true to dumb characters, non-linear storytelling and why Leonardo is his favorite turtle (and why all his haters are wrong). Continue reading
Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Spider-Women Omega 1, originally released June 1st, 2016.
Spencer: In the letters at the end of Spider-Women Omega, writers Dennis Hopeless, Jason Latour, and Robbie Thompson all touch upon one of the primary elements that has made this crossover so strong: its focus on character-driven storytelling, not spectacle for spectacle’s sake. Spider-Women‘s grand finale sticks with this winning formula, leaving every character in a far different state emotionally than they were at the story’s beginning. Continue reading
We try to stay up on what’s going on at Marvel, but we can’t always dig deep into every issue. The solution? Our weekly round-up of titles coming out of Marvel Comics. Today, we’re discussing Daredevil 7, Deadpool 12, Doctor Strange 8, Hyperion 3, Mockingbird 3, Mighty Thor 7, Patsy Walker a.k.a. Hellcat 6, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 8, Uncanny Inhumans 9, Weirdworld 6.
Today, Patrick and Spencer are discussing Steve Rogers Captain America 1, originally released May 25, 2016.
Patrick: The most troubling thing about any inspirational figure is that they are necessarily mutable. Human beings are never only one thing, but we often reduce them to a single trait or value so that we may incorporate that into our own view of the world. John Lennon believed in peace, Martin Luther King Jr. believed in equality, Steve Jobs believed in innovation. Those are all trite reductions of fantastically complicated people, but it is useful to have avatars of these qualities and principals. Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz’ Steve Rogers Captain America 1 sets out to complicate one of the most inspirational figures in comics — which I feel is a necessary exploration of the Greatest Generation — but the issue is almost more interested in the concepts of inspiration and legacy than the specific twist deployed on the final splash page. Continue reading
Retcon Punch 