Category Scott Baumgartner

Feb 25 2014

Nova 13

nova 13Today, Spencer and Scott are discussing Nova 13, originally released February 19th, 2014.

Spencer: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: two heroes meet, but a misunderstanding causes them to fight for a while before they inevitably team-up. Wait, why didn’t you stop me? You’ve all heard this one before; TV Tropes calls it “Let’s You and Him Fight”, and it’s easily one of the best-known tropes in comics. Nova 13 is one large “Let’s You and Him Fight” scene between Sam and Beta Ray Bill, and while there’s definitely a lot of fun to be had with the fight, ultimately Gerry Duggan and Paco Medina don’t do anything interesting enough to justify devoting so much time to such a tired concept. Continue reading →

Feb 21 2014

Wonder Woman 28

wonder woman 28Today, Scott and Shelby are discussing Wonder Woman 28, originally released February 19, 2014.

Scott: What works out for one person often effects someone else negatively. Recently, I was getting ready to go on a long trip, so I lined up a subletter to stay in my apartment. It was going to be perfect. Until, that is, she got an offer to house-sit somewhere else and backed out of our deal. It worked out well for her, but it left me scrambling. What I’m trying to say is, never celebrate a plan until it’s complete, because it can always be derailed by someone else’s plan. I’m not trying to advocate Murphy’s Law or anything, but as Wonder Woman 28 teaches us, most plans are foiled, and even when your goal is within grasp it can still blow up in your face.
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Feb 17 2014

Letter 44 4

letter 44 4

Today, Scott and Drew are discussing Letter 44 4, originally released February 12th, 2014.

Scott: Aliens are scary. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that alien lifeforms do exist somewhere in the universe. Until we make contact, we can’t know if they pose a threat to humans or our planet. They could be super friendly, but it’s foolish not to consider that they might want to destroy us, and that they could well have the means to do it. We simply don’t know what they’re capable of, and that unknown aspect makes them scary. Humans are a different story. We know exactly what they’re capable of. Greedy politicians with power — and, just as importantly, the motivation to stay in power — are capable of truly horrific things. Until aliens come knocking at our door, humans will likely remain the number one threat to humans. So, what’s scarier: a known threat or an unknown, potential threat? Letter 44 4 (say that five times fast) proves it’s a tough question to answer, but the aliens seem to have one edge: competence.
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Feb 13 2014

Batman 28

Batman 28

Today, Shelby and Scott are discussing Batman 28, originally released February 12th, 2014.

Shelby: Serialized story-telling is a fickle mistress. There’s a lot of anguish to be had in waiting a month for the conclusion to a cliffhanger, sure, but it’s a sweet kind of anguish, especially when the story-telling is solid and the art is amazing. It can be frustrating, especially if you’re particularly impatient, but there’s a lot of excitement and anticipation as well. Unless, of course, you don’t get the next piece of the story as you were expecting; that’s the point when frustration can win out. Watch out, there be spoilers ahead.
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Feb 10 2014

Action Comics 28

action comics 28Today, Scott and Shelby are discussing Action Comics 28, originally released February 5th, 2014.

Tell me something, Billy. How come a cute little guy like this can turn into a thousand ugly monsters?

Sheriff Frank, Gremlins

Scott: Imperial Subterranea. No, that’s not the title of an archeology elective at your local community college (well, maybe it is). It’s the setting of Action Comics 28. It’s a place shrouded in mystery, where looks are always deceiving. Greg Pak’s Action Comics has been a perfect blend of fun and heartfelt, and it’s increasingly full of surprises. All of your expectations can and will be thwarted. Terrifying monsters will transform into cute little buddies, and vice versa. Through it all, the fun, heartfelt nature remains at the forefront. Clark and Lana’s relationship drives this issue, it just so happens to take place on an underground roller-coaster ride (not to be confused with the Underground Railroad, although, strangely, slavery plays a big role in each). It’s 20 pages of pure energy. As Lana might point out, according to the laws thermo-dynamics, it shouldn’t exist.

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Feb 6 2014

Trillium 6

trillium 6

Today, Shelby and Scott are discussing Trillium 6, originally released February 5th, 2014. Shelby: I’ve lived alone for about 3 years. It’s not always the easiest thing to do; sometimes you want more than anything to have some other person around. It doesn’t have to be someone you talk to, or even know. There’s just something about the presence of another person that is comforting. Now, luckily, I have dear friends who live pretty close, so whenever I get that urge to talk to someone other than a houseplant, I can do something about it. Not everyone is so lucky; there are some who, for reasons physical or mental, have no choice but to be alone. Jeff Lemire takes a look at what it is to be alone in his latest installment of Trillium.
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Feb 4 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy 11

guardians of the galaxy 11 JG

Today, Scott and Patrick are discussing Guardians of the Galaxy 11, originally released January 29th, 2014.

jean gray div

Scott: The call-and-response nature of crossover events can grow a bit tiresome. We all know it. Guardians of the Galaxy 11, the series’ entree into “The Trial of Jean Grey”, is only tasked with answering one question: why did the Shi’ar kidnap Jean Grey? While Brian Michael Bendis ably resolves that question, the rest of the issue winds up feeling rather pointless. Bendis handicaps himself by not allowing this issue to advance the story any further than that, insisting instead on keeping pace with the other half of the crossover, All-New X-Men. Guardians 11 is a necessary issue, to be sure, but also a very flat one. So while “The Trial of Jean Grey” isn’t the Lifetime movie its title suggests, it is off to a slow start. Continue reading →

Jan 30 2014

The Flash 27

Alternating Currents: The Flash 27, Drew and Scott

Today, Drew and Scott are discussing The Flash 27, originally released January 29th, 2014.

Drew: As a society, we emphasize “truth” above all else — even as we often acknowledge the necessity (or at least convenience) of small lies. We tell lies to beg off of social invitations, or to save face after doing something stupid — I once even made a fake email account just to avoid having to explain a too-complicated truth. These lies are generally pretty transparent, but we feel compelled to maintain the facade because “actually, your band sounded terrible,” just feels cruel. Of course, all of those lies flying around make it possible for people to get a false sense of themselves (or at least a false sense of how interested coworkers are in looking at pictures of their cats), that is, those little lies can become a bigger truth, upon which someones own sense of self might be based. Its those kinds of truths that seem to be in play in The Flash 27, as Barry begins to chip at the finish of his candy-colored world. Continue reading →

Jan 29 2014

Wonder Woman 27

wonder woman 27

Today, Scott and Patrick are discussing Wonder Woman 27, originally released January 22nd, 2014.

Scott: What’s a reasonable attention span? Could anyone actually sit through all three hours of The Wolf of Wall Street without their mind wandering at least once? I doubt it. The average time between commercial breaks is seven minutes, and I have trouble staying engaged that long. I’ve been working a lot with preschoolers over the past few months and I can tell you that getting a three year old to stay focused on a task for even one minute is a challenge. It’s just so easy to get distracted by the thought of a snack or going to play outside. Well, much like a three year old’s brain, the hectic world of Wonder Woman is full of distractions, ready to yank you away from that thing that was so interesting just one minute ago. Brian Azzarello keeps things moving at such a pace that you might just forget about the thing you were just…Sorry. I lost my train of thought.
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Jan 23 2014

Animal Man 27

Alternating Currents: Animal Man 27, Drew and Scott

Today, Drew and Scott are discussing Animal Man 27, originally released January 22nd, 2014. 

But as a Go game progresses, the possibilities become smaller and smaller. The board does take on order. Soon, all moves are predictable.

Maximillian Cohen, Pi

Drew: Do you ever find yourself wondering exactly how apt an analogy is? Or that it might be more apt than we realize. One of my favorite moments from Darren Aronofsky’s Pi finds Sol positing that the unlimited possibilities of a game of Go reflects the chaos of life, and Max not quite refuting his point with the quote above. Maybe life simply becomes more predictable as we move through it. That’s certainly true of narratives — what starts as a completely open field often falls into a well-worn pattern as it winds to a close. Take Animal Man: as a series, it has been as original and unpredictable as they come, but as Jeff Lemire sets up his endgame in issue 27, some of the beats feel a bit more familiar. In fact, this issue seems to employ just about every tension-goosing tool in the box, building to what promises to be a pretty spectacular two-part finale.  Continue reading →