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:

Jun 13 2013

Guardians of the Galaxy: Infinite Comics 1-4

guardians infinite 1-4Today, Patrick, Shelby, Mikyzptlk and Drew are discussing Guardians of the Galaxy: Infinite Comics 1-4, originally released March 6th, March 20th, April 10th and May 1st, 2013. 

Patrick: Marvel Studios makes no great secret of their film plans. We already know that a Guardians of the Galaxy movie is to be released in 2014 as part of their second phase of Avengers movies. Unlike Thor or Hulk or Iron Man, regular movie goers have absolutely no idea who these “Guardians” are, and — truth be told — I could use the introduction as well. Enter: Guardians of the Galaxy: Infinite Comic, a series of free digital comics that will introduce the four non-human members of the team.

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Jun 12 2013

Fearless Defenders 5

Alternating Currents: Fearless Defenders 5, Drew and ShelbyToday, Drew and Shelby are discussing Fearless Defenders 5, originally released June 5th, 2013.

Drew: Comics love engaging in their own history. Whether they’re rehashing origin stories, resurrecting campy villains, or just making winking nods to their own pasts, comics always find ways to reference their own histories. It makes sense — both creators and fans love comics — but what do you do when the history your referencing isn’t so charming? It’s no secret that comics don’t always have the most enlightened views when it comes to female characters, but what is a writer’s obligation to that history? Should they ignore it? Reclaim it? Embrace it? These are the weird questions Cullen Bunn is forced to address in Fearless Defenders 5, as he blows up the scope to comment on virtually all of Marvel’s female characters. Continue reading →

Jun 12 2013

Chat Cave: September is Villains Month

DC has staked their claim on the month of September. Two years ago saw the relaunch of the entire publishing line, and last year saw special “zero” issues for every series. This year, DC is releasing 52 issues featuring villains, old and new, from the DC Universe. There’s no one-for-one correspondence to existing series, and DC hasn’t been the most forthcoming with information about what exactly they’re putting out. There’s a lot to sort through here and no easy answers for what’s going to be worth our time and money. Welcome to the Chat Cave.
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Jun 10 2013

Iron Man 11

iron man 11

Today, Shelby and guest writer Pete Pfarr are discussing Iron Man 11, originally released June 5th, 2013.

Shelby: What makes us the people we are? Is it our environment, our peers, our experiences that shape us, or is our “personness” innate, something coded into our very genes? It’s pretty safe to say that who we are is influenced by both internal and external factors; we’re such complicated creatures that there’s no way to point to one factor, internally or externally, and claim that’s what made us. Unless you’re Tony Stark of course: unsurprisingly, he has a robot to thank/blame for everything that makes him the man he is.
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Jun 7 2013

The Movement 2

movement 2

Today, Spencer and Shelby are discussing The Movement 2, originally released June 5th, 2013.

Spencer: When The Movement (and its sister book, The Green Team) was first announced, I was a little leery of it. I feared that it would be a gimmick, that it’d be nothing but political preaching or a backwards attempt to be relevant. Fortunately, Gail Simone’s involvement convinced me to give it a chance, and I’m sure glad I did. Not only does The Movement use its political elements to create a fascinatingly complex morality for itself, but it also stands out as a particularly well-crafted team book in its own right.

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Jun 7 2013

All-New X-Men 12

all new x-men 12

Today,  Shelby and Mikyzptlk are discussing All-New X-Men 12, originally released June 5th, 2013.

Shelby: Making a mistake is a simple matter. Whether it’s your fault or not, when you make a mistake you acknowledge the error, fix it as best you can, and apologize. Provided you’re not a total asshole, of course. Nothing is ever so simple in ComicBookWorldLand, though; when you can be suddenly possessed by some sort of malevolent cosmic entity, that adds a lot of layers to the idea of mistakes and culpability. Things can get really complicated really quickly, and if there’s anyone who isn’t going to understand a nuanced situation, it’s going to be a bunch of teenagers.

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Jun 5 2013

Aquaman 20

aquaman 20

Today, Shelby and Mikyzptlk are discussing Aquaman 20, originally released May 29th, 2013.

Shelby: An interlude is a mini bit of music, inserted in the middle of a larger musical composition. Like an intermission, except you don’t get to go to the lobby to stretch your legs and stand in the bathroom line for 15 minutes. If we’re talking a theatrical interlude, it’s a little play squished between acts of a bigger play; why we wouldn’t just keep watching the regular play, I couldn’t tell you. I may not see the necessity of an interlude as a member of the audience, but sometimes the entertainers just need a 15 minute breather, and I guess providing some sort of filler entertainment is considerate. But if you’re going to stop the action for something completely different that isn’t especially good, don’t be surprised if I walk out before the second act.
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Jun 5 2013

Captain America 7

captain america 7

Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing Captain America 7, originally released May 29th, 2013.

Patrick: This whole arc in Captain America  has been centered on one very bizarre story: Steve Rogers, trapped in Dimension Z, tries to make a life for himself with his adopted son, Ian. This is a comic book, so we didn’t spend much time watching Rogers change diapers or deciding what religion to raise his child or anything like that – most of those development moments were waved away with an issue-opening title card that read “Eleven Years Later,” way back in issue 4.We’re left to imagine that emotional groundwork, and hopefully our imaginations are pretty good, because Steve Rogers’ long odds (which grow longer by the issue) will net a pretty poor payoff if we can’t find a reason to care about Cap’s relationship with this kid. Continue reading →

Jun 4 2013

Justice League of America 4

JLA 4

Today, Spencer and Shelby are discussing Justice League of America 4, originally released May 29th, 2013.

Spencer: I’ll be honest: from the very start, Justice League of America has seemed more concerned with putting pieces in place for the upcoming “Trinity War” than it has with telling a compelling story. Unfortunately, for a story so focused on getting its players from Point A to Point B, the way writer Geoff Johns does so strains credibility. He makes several attempts to keep this issue engaging, but its biggest failing is simply that the heroes come across as really, really dumb.

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Jun 3 2013

Talon 7-8

talon 7-8

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Talon 7-8, originally released April 24th and May 22nd, 2013. 

Shelby: We need to remember that the Talons are bad guys. I know, we’ve got Calvin here fighting the good fight against the Court, and we’ve got Mary working with the rest of the Birds; that makes it easy to forget that we first met the Talons as a sweeping wave of indestructible killing machines, hellbent on assassinating whomever they were pointed at. This title started out with Calvin’s unique position of being a Talon on the lam, a man with all the training needed, but unable to go through with the final process that would truly transform him into the Talon he was meant to be. In issues 7 and 8, all that is going to change; hold on to your butts, because things are getting complicated. 
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