Marvel Round-Up: Comics Released 7/6/16

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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 Amazing Spider-Man 15, Sam Wilson Captain America 11, Silver Surfer 5, Spider-Woman 9 and Vote Loki 2.

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Spider-Man/Deadpool 6

Today, Ryan and Patrick are discussing Spider-Man/Deadpool 6, originally released June 29, 2016 

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Ryan: Meta-narratives come in varying levels of sophistication. On one end of the spectrum is the simple cultural reference. With the tact of a name-drop, a creator can acknowledge that she is aware of and potentially influenced by other pieces of art. The next step up in complexity involves a character being aware of art and having opinions that directly reflect back upon the source work. This character can directly address the form of his own story or invite the audience to have a relationship with the work that mirrors a character’s. When the fourth wall has begun to break down, a creator can be even more explicit with commentary. A character like Deadpool can act as a mouthpiece because his self-awareness lends itself toward dark humor at the expense of the tropes of his world. In Spider-Man Deadpool 6, Scott Aukerman exploits Deadpool’s meta tendencies and ends up with more meta than narrative.

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Marvel Round-Up: Comics Released 6/22/16

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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 Doctor Strange 9, Gwenpool 3, Ms. Marvel 8, Power Man and Iron Fist 5, Rocket Raccoon and Groot 6, and The Ultimates 8.

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Archie 9

Today, Ryan and Drew are discussing Archie 9, originally released June 22nd, 2016.

Ryan: This last week, I helped my mother clean out her garage. To be fair, most of my help came in the form of going through boxes of my childhood things and deciding what was to go to Goodwill. There was an Archie Comics digest in almost every box. At this point, I’ve probably read more pages of Archie than any other book. I also found a Burger King Toy with Veronica in a convertible and my Gumby-style Betty doll. There was no Archie figurine in my things. That’s for a simple reason; I think he’s kind of a jerk. It’s not that he’s a bad guy, but he has never been my favorite. I love the rivalry/friendship between Betty and Veronica, but the love triangle element was never that interesting to me. Mainly because his unwillingness to choose between Betty and Veronica made him a compassion-free cad and turned them into doormats. Mark Waid and Veronica Fish present my favorite version of Archie, because they treat him and every other character in the story with empathy and humanity. In Archie 9, both the central conflict and the love triangle develop in a world where everyone is doing their best and there are no villains. Continue reading

Spider-Gwen 9

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Today, Spencer and Ryan M. are discussing Spider-Gwen 9, originally released June 15th, 2016.

Spencer: There’s little I hate more than being forced or coerced into doing something. I don’t know about any of you, but I hate that feeling so much that sometimes, even if someone is trying to force me to do something I know I’ll like, I’ll oppose it almost simply out of spite. The only thing worse than someone trying to force you to do something is when life itself seemingly backs you into an inescapable corner, when a twist of fate seemingly decides the course of your life without your input whatsoever. In Spider-Gwen 9, Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez, and Rico Renzi examine how Gwen Stacy’s responded to the twist of fate that’s come to define her life, whether she wanted it to or not. Continue reading

Vision 8

Today, Ryan and Drew are discussing Vision 8, originally released June 8, 2016.

Ryan: An extended family member, someone who knows and loves you but doesn’t see you everyday, is in a unique position offer insight and help. Growing up, my Uncles’ advice and counsel always seemed better than my parents. It was probably because my parents were there all the time with a bunch of rules and expectations and time with my Uncles was more like a vacation. In Vision 8, Uncle Victor spends one-on-one time with each of the Vision family and is able to support them and connect to them in a way that their immediate family cannot. Continue reading

Paper Girls 6

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Today, Michael and Ryan M. are discussing Paper Girls 6, originally released June 1st, 2015.

Michael: I’d say that I had a pretty active imagination growing up – which is to say that I was a human child, really. Maybe it was due to a fascination with dinosaurs or an early notion of regret/paranoia at an early age, but I always loved time travel. Not just travelling to important moments in history but seeing what I would personally become in the future. After a brief hiatus, Paper Girls returns to semi-address my boyhood questions as Erin and her friends travel from 1988 to the present and meet her future self. Continue reading

Marvel Round-Up: Comics Released 5/25/16

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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.

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Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 5/18/16 (incl. DC!)

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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, we discuss Robin Son of Batman 12, Citizen Jack 6, Jughead 6, Lumberjanes 26, and Scarlet 9. Continue reading