Today, Drew and Scott are discussing Trillium 3, originally released October 2nd, 2013. 
Drew: I like to think that most people want to know how magic tricks are done, but every so often, I’ll encounter someone who swears they don’t — they don’t want to ruin the illusion. But let’s be honest: we all know there’s a trick — it’s not like anyone is under the impression that the coin actually disappeared, or that the lady was actually sawn in half — we can fully appreciate the effect, but we know that there’s some secret to how it was achieved. It’s only natural to want to know a secret you know you don’t know. I get a similar thrill out of thinking about how illusions in art are created, from film editing techniques to harmonic analysis to pacing and form. Those last two have been a centerpiece of Jeff Lemire’s Trillium from the start, and issue 3 offers a beautiful study of their effects. Continue reading
Category Scott Baumgartner
Deadpool 17
Today, Scott and Patrick are discussing Deadpool 17, originally released September 25th, 2013.
Scott: “Ok, so you’ve got Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan, right, and they’re writing about Deadpool.” (“Oh man, this sounds funny!”) “And Deadpool is teaming up with Wolverine and Captain America.” (“Whoa, this is gonna be classic!”) “Oh, and there are a bunch of Korean X-men look-alikes running around.” (“I don’t even know what that means, but you probably don’t even need a plot at this point, this sounds like the craziest issue ever!”) So what happens when you take all elements for great laughs and hi-jinks, and try to make it dark? Posehn and Duggan have pushed Deadpool into grim territory in recent issues, and they’ve been some of the series’ best. They seem intent on recasting Deadpool in a more serious tone. But sometimes, when all the elements are there, there’s nothing a writer can do to prevent a rollicking good time.
Wonder Woman 23.2: First Born
Today, Drew and Scott are discussing Wonder Woman 23.2: First Born, originally released September 25th, 2013. This issue is part of the Villain’s Month event. Click here for our Villains Month coverage.
What comes before anything? What have we always said is the most important thing?
Michael Bluth, Arrested Development
Drew: Family. What would we be without them? No, seriously: they’re there from the start, and they have a profound effect on the people we eventually become. For better or for worse, who they are and how they interact with us largely shape who we are and how we act. The same can be said of who they aren’t — perhaps in spite of what we want them to be — which can have just as significant effect on the people we become. As a character, the First Born is far more defined by the absence of his family, but how that manifests is just as subtle and specific as any other family dynamic. Continue reading
Swamp Thing 23.1: Arcane
Today, Scott and Mikyzptlk are discussing Swamp Thing 23.1: Arcane, originally released September 18th, 2013. This issue is part of the Villain’s Month event. Click here for our Villains Month coverage.
Scott: Some villainous behavior is justifiable — if you get all sides of the story, you can at least understand why someone would commit such seemingly evil acts. This is a big part of Villains Month, understanding why villains act the way they act. In fact, many of these issues have taken advantage of a little trick: when you tell a story from a character’s perspective, that character immediately becomes more sympathetic to the reader, even if that character is not such a great person. But there are some villains whose actions cannot be justified, who have an inherent evil to their ways that a normal person just can’t understand. Anton Arcane is one of these villains.
Continue reading
The Flash 23.3: Rogues
Today, Patrick and Scott are discussing The Flash 23.3: Rogues, originally released September 18th, 2013. This issue is part of DC’s Villain Month. Click here for our coverage of Villain Month.
Patrick: I wouldn’t say that Captain Cold is an alcoholic, but he does drink. Occasionally, he drinks to escape, but he also drinks to celebrate. It’s a dimension of who he his, but it doesn’t define him, which is so rare in comics. If someone’s a drinker, that’s probably some horrible vice that pigeonholes them into being abusive, inattentive or otherwise absent. Hell, Taylor and I just posted a piece of Casey Jones’ alcoholic father in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles yesterday. Beer is a consistent factor in this issue, it sees Cold through despair, it helps him unwind, and it’s even a sign of hospitality. Cold’s boozing habits are nuanced and resist simple definition, just like the man himself. Continue reading
Batman and Robin 23.2: Court of Owls
Today, Shelby and Scott are discussing Batman and Robin 23.2: Court of Owls, originally released September 11th, 2013. This issue is part of the Villain’s Month event. Click here for our Villains Month coverage.
Shelby: For being a new villain in the DC universe, the Court of Owls finds itself very firmly rooted in Gotham’s history. They’ve existed since the beginning, secretly running the city behind the scenes, shaping it into the image they want. They claim to be Owls, but operate more like snakes: hiding and striking from the shadows, fleeing when the going gets tough. That is the lesson James Tynion is teaching us in this Villains Month issue; the Court of the Owls will always retreat to the shadows when faced with an unbeatable adversary. And those shadows go a lot deeper than you might think.
Deadpool 16
Today, Scott and Mikyzptlk are discussing Deadpool 16, originally released September 11th, 2013.
Scott: It’s nice when someone surprises you with their depth- when you see something that wasn’t there before. It happens a lot with comedic actors taking on dramatic roles. Think of Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love or Jamie Foxx in Ray. Robin Williams and Jim Carrey are masters of this trick. You’ve always enjoyed them but then, suddenly, they do something that makes you take them seriously. This is that moment for Deadpool. Writers Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan have taken a title known for its crude jokes and it writers’ resumes, and turned it into something so much more. The wit is still there, but the darker side of Deadpool they’ve been hinting at is now out in the open, and they’re pulling it off better than you could have expected. You’ll never look at this title the same way.
Trillium 2
Today, Scott and Shelby are discussing Trillium 2, originally released September 4th, 2013.
Scott: We’ve all heard hundreds of love stories. One message that seems to be consistent throughout just about all of them is that love can overcome any obstacle. Differences in culture, race, age, none of these things matter in the face of love. Some stories even explore more unorthodox impediments- love that only exists in dreams, love separated by different time periods. Love always seems to prevail. Well, Jeff Lemire seems intent on providing the most obstacle-laden love story any of us have ever seen. In Trilium 1 he presented two characters who are very far apart (~2000 years, different planets). The second issue shows us how a love could be born, while giving us a better idea of just how much it will have to overcome.
The Flash 23.1: Grodd
Today, Spencer and Scott are discussing The Flash 23.1: Grodd, originally released September 4th, 2013. This issue is part of DC’s Villain Month. Click here for our coverage of Villain Month.
Spencer: Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato have put a lot of work into remaking Gorilla Grodd over the past couple of years. They’ve recreated Gorilla City and tied its existence—as well as Grodd’s ambitions—into the same source that powers the Flash. They’ve amplified Grodd’s powers and savagery. In many ways it’s worked wonders—Gorilla City has always been a beloved part of the Flash mythos, but now it also feels like it belongs in this world more than it ever has before—but despite all that, Grodd still came across as a bit of an one-dimensional character, obsessed with ruling and power and not a lot else. In The Flash 23.1: Grodd (what a mouthful!) Buccellato aims to change that by giving us a look into Grodd’s psyche and determining whether it’s destiny, evolution, or something else entirely that drives the gorilla. It’s surprisingly compelling.
Deadpool 15
Today, Drew and Scott are discussing Deadpool 15, originally released August 28th, 2013.
Just like Pagliacci did
I try to keep my sadness hid
Smiling in the public eye
But in my lonely room
I cry the tears of a clown
When there’s no one aroundSmokey Robinson, Tears of a Clown
Drew: The tragic clown is a surprisingly persistent archetype. It’s no coincidence that Smokey Robinson could name-check Pagliacci in his own song about sad clowns, but there are just as many modern examples, from the claustrophobic depression of Louie to the exaggerated kvetching of Krusty the Clown. There’s something about the smile as a mask that speaks to the little things we grin and bear throughout the day. Of course, there’s also something very true about the idea — comedians are famously unhappy people — suggesting that humor is most often honed by those that use it to cope. The reveal of deep sadness behind the jokes is always a bit of a shocker, subverting our expectations something fierce, and recasting every subsequent joke in a tragic light. In Deadpool 15, Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn start to hint at what’s behind Wade’s mask, revealing a past that may be as ugly as the man himself.
Retcon Punch 