Category Shelby Peterson

Shelby Peterson, Editor, Designer
shelby@retcon-punch.com

Location: Chicago

History With Comics: While the X-Men will always hold a special place in her heart, Shelby’s first love was Batman. Between Michael Keaton and Kevin Conroy, she fell hard. Like many, her first graphic novel was The Watchmen in college, followed by a handful of the Batman must-reads. Fast forward to last year: Shelby discovered the awesomeness of the DC universe through Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern Rebirth and Blackest Night. She once again fell in love with a comic book character, but this time it was Neil Gaiman’s Morpheus from his Sandman series, and now all her thoughts are translated into 8 or 9 panels per page with the occasional 2-page spread.

New 52 Favorites: Batgirl, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Batman

Other Favorite Comics:

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 11 2014

Green Arrow 28

green arrow 28

Today, Mike and Shelby are discussing Green Arrow 28, originally released February 5th, 2014.

Mike: I took the opportunity to reread Jeff Lemire’s run so far on Green Arrow from #17 on and man is this a well-executed series. I remember reading it for the first time and being as uncertain as to what was really going on as Oliver himself was. When The Magus popped up and told Oliver that “you were never supposed to leave the island!” I immediately thought of Lost, for the obvious “island” premise as well as the intriguingly vague cliffhangers the show was known for. An early episode of Lost was called “All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues” – absent fathers being a recurring theme on the show. It’s also a title which is very appropriate for Green Arrow, a character with his own daddy issues that have now been taken to a different level entirely with the revelation of Robert Queen being alive. Continue reading →

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 7 2014

Swamp Thing 28

swamp thing 28Today, Mikyzptlk and Shelby are discussing Swamp Thing 28, originally released February 5th, 2014. 

slim-bannerMikyzptlk: After the surprising events of Swamp Thing 27, Swampy and his amazing friends are entering a new era. Charles Soule is clearly excited to begin the next chapter of his story, but before he can really dig in, he takes some time flesh out the mysterious character of Capucine. The results are fine, but this issue feels a bit like Soule is stepping on his own toes. Hopefully this is just a case of needing to take a few steps back, before being able to move forward again.  Continue reading →

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

Thunderbolts 21

Alternating Currents: Thunderbolts 21, Drew and Shelby

Today, Drew and Shelby are discussing Thunderbolts 21, originally released January 29th, 2014.

Drew: Life is complicated. It’s an axiom that we’re all familiar with, but in a vacuum, our own lives are pretty simple: we have basic needs that must be met, and additional wants that we try to meet. It’s only when people, with their own conflicting needs and desires, start interacting that things get messy. That’s the stuff narratives are made of — a hero encounters some opposition to what he wants or needs — but what if the team itself is a source of opposition? What if your heroes can’t even decide what their wants and needs are? That’s when thing start to really resemble the complexities of life, and is exactly the kind of situation the team finds themselves in in Thunderbolts 21. Continue reading →

Feb 4 2014

Batman and Robin Annual 2

batman and robin annual 2

Today, Greg and Mikyzptlk are discussing Batman and Robin Annual 2, originally released January 29th 2014.

Greg: My friends often make fun of me for liking everything, and they have a good point. If one of them asks me for a movie recommendation, I’ll give twenty, and get at least one “I heard that was terrible” in response. If someone rags on the recently cancelled and critically reviled Sean Saves The World, I’ll pipe in and counter that it was actually one of the best new comedies of the season, prematurely put down. The new Paramore album? On repeat, in my car stereo, no apologies. Sometimes I’ve been criticized as not having enough cultural taste or filtration. My counterargument is that the consumption of media and storytelling fundamentally stems from love and positivity. It behooves a consumer to like things, because of the positive feelings you get. So, whenever I do genuinely, fully, through-and-through dislike something, not only do I mean it, but it pains me to say it out loud. It blots out my blinding sun of naive media love. I’ll put it frankly, no matter how much it hurts me to say: Batman and Robin deserve better than this issue.
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Feb 3 2014

Inhumanity 2

inhumanity 2 INH

Today, Shelby and Ethan are discussing Inhumanity 2, originally released January 29th, 2013.

inhumanity div

Shelby:

Death is lighter than a feather. Duty, heavier than a mountain.

Shienaran proverb, The Wheel of Time

With great power, comes great responsibility.

Ben Parker, Spider-Man 

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Jan 31 2014

The Superior Spider-Man 26

superior spider-man 26Today, Spencer and Shelby are discussing The Superior Spider-Man 26, originally released January 29th, 2014.

Spencer: The Superior Spider-Man 26 is unique in that it features three different stories—each illustrated by a different artist, no less—that do not intersect or connect at all throughout the issue. All three plots are building up to the sure-to-be-epic conclusion of Superior, but each also ruminates about identity, whether it be something as superhero-esque as secret identities or something more complex, like how memories help form a person’s core identity. You’ll find it all in The Superior Spider-Man 26, folks! Continue reading →

Jan 30 2014

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind 1

serenity 1

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Serenity: Leaves on the Wind 1, originally released January 29th, 2014. 

slim-banner

Shelby: I recently finished the final book of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it here before; it’s a fantasy series I have been reading for 20 years, and I just finished the last book after re-reading the whole series. The ending was amazing, I cried like a baby: a hungry, angry baby. It’s not that it was sad, I cried because it was so perfect, and because it was over. This epic saga that I had read for so long was finished; it left a little book-shaped hole in my heart, a hole that not even my Wheel of Time tattoo could fill. Fans of Joss Whedon’s Firefly and subsequent movie Serenity know exactly what I’m talking about. As satisfying as it was to see Malcom Reynold’s ragtag crew of space cowboys aim to misbehave and deliver a crushing blow to the Alliance, there’s always been a little Firefly class-shaped hole in my heart since it’s been over. When I heard there was a new miniseries coming, written by Joss’ brother Zack Whedon, that takes place immediately after the movie, I knew there was no power in the ‘verse could stop me from reading it. Also, obviously, we’ve got major spoilers below, for the series and movie.
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