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 Darth Vader Annual 1, Lumberjanes 21, Klaus 2, Autumnlands Tooth and Claw 8, The Goddamned 2, Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl 5, Tokyo Ghost 4 and The Wicked + The Divine 17.
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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 All-New Inhumans 2, All-New X-Men 2, Amazing Spider-Man 1.1, Ms. Marvel 2, Silk 2, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 3, Uncanny Inhumans 3, Web Warriors 2 and Weirdworld 2
Today, Patrick and Taylor are discussing The Mighty Thor 2, originally released December 16, 2015.
Patrick: I don’t remember the first time I saw Star Wars. They were just sort of always on when I was a kid – like E.T. or the first Back to the Future movie. I do, however, remember the first time I paid attention to Star Wars: it was the scene in A New Hope where Luke and Ben meet Han and Chewie in the Cantina. I knew there were spaceships and explosions and epic laser-sword fights in the other movies, but the Cantina scene uniquely made me question the nature of the Star Wars universe. Who are all these crazy looking dudes? Why are they all having a drink together? What’s the deal with this band? No one minds that Obi-Wan just sliced a dude’s arm clean off? I rewatched that scene more times than I can count, and every time, my imagination ignited with what I could only guess their individual stories to be. My imagination isn’t that obsessively active anymore, but a handful of details can still make me feel that a fictional world is real, vital, and bigger than what we see on the screen or page. Jason Aaron and Russell Dautermann’s The Mighty Thor 2 is so packed with these details, it’s like an entire universe unto itself.
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 All-New Hawkeye 2, Amazing Spider-Man 4, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Gwenpool Special 1, Hercules 2, and The Ultimates 2
Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing We Stand On Guard 6, originally released December 9th, 2015.
Taylor: We are a society that loves to understand why people are the way they are. Go to any bookstore or read a small amount of investigative journalism and you’re bound to find something dissecting the reasons why a particular person has done a particular thing. While there is a fair amount of literature dedicated to the study of why people do amazing things, there’s almost an equal amount examining those famous for more nefarious reasons. Murderers, terrorists, and dictators are fascinating to many for the reason that it’s interesting to examine what would drive someone to do something truly awful. We Stand On Guard 6 explores this issue but does so not by studying a villain. Rather, it does this by examining its hero. Continue reading
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 Barrier 1, Citizen Jack 2, Miracle Man 5, Plutona 3, Star Wars 13, Unfollow 2, and Woods 18.
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Today, Patrick and Taylor are discussing East of West 22, originally released December 2nd, 2015.
Patrick: The world of East of West exists in a state of ceaselessly progressing apocalypse. Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta’s series is appropriately grim to match the tone of a world mired in sustained war, famine, disease and death. And while that’s all terrible, it has sort of become background noise against which millions of people still lead their lives. It takes a specific moment of invasive violence to snap readers out of their apocalypse-apathy, and issue 22 doubles down on both the specificity and the invasiveness of that violence. The result is a haunting, immediate issue that preys on our fears of being attacked when we are at our most vulnerable. Continue reading
Today, Michael and Taylor are discussing Chewbacca 4, originally released November 25 2015.
Michael: Remember in Revenge of the Sith when Anakin Skywalker was arguing that from his point of view the Jedi were evil and we all laughed? Flawed storytelling aside I think comic book fans can agree that the big difference between heroes and villains is their perspective. “History is written by the victors” is probably an overused statement but nonetheless true. Simple Star Wars logic dictates: Rebel Alliance = good, Galactic Empire = bad. I’m not sympathizing with The Empire here, but Chewbacca 4 had me examining the actions of our “heroes.”
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 Groot 6, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Silk 1, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 2 and Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. 2.
Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing The Mighty Thor 1, originally released November 18th, 2015.
Taylor: By now we all know the premise of Breaking Bad: a chemistry teacher diagnosed with lung cancer turns his skills to dealing meth and things spiral out of control from there. While this is an interesting premise, it’s not what makes the show great. What makes it great is the colossal character study it became. The show ponders why Walter White does the things he does and what drives him to do it. Naturally, his cancer diagnosis is a catalyst for much of the action Walter takes. And while his disease spurs him on to nefarious pursuits, others react to the disease more nobly. Case in point: Dr. Jane Foster aka Thor. Rather than let cancer eat away at her body and her sole like Walter, Jane uses it to motivate ever greater and more altruistic deeds. Continue reading
Retcon Punch 
