Category Taylor Anderson

Oct 22 2013

Uncanny X-Men 13

Alternating Currents: Uncanny X-Men 13, Taylor and Shelby

Today, Taylor and Shelby are discussing Uncanny X-Men 13, originally released October 16th, 2013. This issue is part of the Battle of the Atom event. Click here for our complete coverage of Battle of the Atom.

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Taylor: Mutants share a special connection with one another. Given that they’re discriminated against and face obstacles your average human would never face, it only seems natural that they would find solace in each other’s company. For that reason alone, many a mutant (in particular those who are X-Men) find the idea of mutant fighting mutant to be a violation of an unspoken mutant rule. However, just because mutants are united in their tribulations doesn’t mean they always agree on everything. The classic case of this is the struggle between Magneto and Professor X, who share different ideas of the role mutants should play in the future of humanity. But they aren’t the only two mutants to ever disagree on something and in Uncanny X-Men 13, part of the Battle of the Atom event, we see mutant battling mutant and the anger and sadness it causes.

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Oct 21 2013

Indestructible Hulk Special 1

hulk special 1Today, Greg and Taylor are discussing Indestructible Hulk Special 1, originally released October 16th, 2013. This issue is part of the three-part Arms of the Octopus story.

Greg: A friend of mine asked me the other night, “If a guy teleported in front of you, told you he was a time traveler, and asked what year it was, how would you respond?” We’re both comedy folks, so I imagine he was looking to start riffing. Yet rather than fire off any number of instinctual punchlines (“What year is it? Why, it’s Christmas Year, sir!” is one of the many perfect ideas I had), I decided to pause, think, and mull over what I, Greg Smith, human being, would actually do if that actually happened.

“I would probably try to ask him who he was, stammer out panicked words, and then fall over.” And that truth, over any dumb joke I could’ve invented, made him laugh.
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Oct 15 2013

X-Men 6

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Today, Taylor and Shelby are discussing X-Men 6, originally released October 9th, 2013. This issue is part of the Battle of the Atom event. Click here for our complete coverage of Battle of the Atom.

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Taylor: You guys, we’re all getting older. Most of the time, it’s pretty easy for me to pretend that I’m not and that instead I’m ageless, but occasionally something happens that reminds me I will eventually bow to the forces of Father Time. Like many my age (29), my facebook feed is quickly becoming filled with pictures of weddings — followed a year later by pictures of babies. Just to be clear: this means that people my age are having children. They are completely responsible for the life of another human being. That seems terrifying to me, mostly because I can’t imagine taking on such a huge responsibility in my life. But then I realize that I’m almost 30, a perfectly normal age to have kids, and that despite my best efforts I haven’t escaped our temporal universe. Then I wonder if a time will ever come when I feel ready to have kids. I have to wonder because — to my eyes — having kids seems like a lot more trouble than it’s worth, even though everyone says having them is totally rewarding. Does it make sense that X-Men 6, part of the Battle of the Atom event, could change my opinion?

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Oct 11 2013

Superman/Wonder Woman 1

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Today, Mikyzptlk and Taylor are discussing Superman/Wonder Woman 1, originally released October 11th, 2013

Mikyzptlk: Superman and Wonder Woman have been an item for a little while now. I was as surprised as anyone to hear the news about their romantic union, and I was a bit worried as well. For whatever reason, the news just didn’t sit right with me, and I felt I needed some convincing as to whether these two characters were right for each other. Although Wondy and Supes have been seen together in a handful of stories since they’ve started shacking up, I still haven’t been convinced as to why these two characters would want to be with one another, besides the fact that they are both super strong and super hot. Superman/Wonder Woman is primed and ready to explore the relationship of these two iconic characters, and while I still may not be convinced that they should be together, the first issue of this series does a good job at making me consider the merits of their entanglement. Continue reading →

Oct 8 2013

All-New X-Men 17

Today, Taylor and Shelby are discussing All-New X-Men 17, originally released October 2nd, 2013. This issue is part of the Battle of the Atom event. Click here for our complete coverage of Battle of the Atom.

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Taylor: Hey, do you guys remember 2008? Specifically, do you remember when Barack Obama was elected president? It was big moment and not solely because it decided who would be the most powerful man on the planet for the next four years. For the first time, a black man was elected to the highest office. Some said it happened sooner than they expected, others as it not having come soon enough. Regardless of the stance, there’s no denying that it was a watershed moment for the United States and one that brought a certain amount of hope for the future with it. Suddenly, instead of being a backwards country who only elected the white and rich, America was viewed as progressing in the right direction. But the glossy sheen of hope fades fast and in these days of bitter bipartisanship and government shutdowns the hope that once surrounded Obama’s administration is now lost. There are those who stand staunchly by our embattled president and those who have become jaded by the world altogether because Obama didn’t live up to their impossibly high expectations. In this fallout, what is left for these individuals? Do they rally to change the system or become mired in hate and malice? All-New X-Men 17 ponders this question along with the usual time travel paradoxes.

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Oct 2 2013

Wolverine and the X-Men 36

Alternating Currents: Wolverine and the X-Men 36, Drew and TaylorToday,  Drew and Taylor are discussing Wolverine and the X-Men 36 originally released September 25th, 2013. This issue is part of the Battle of the Atom event. Click here for our complete coverage of Battle of the Atom.

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Isn’t it worth a few bruised children to save the entire future?

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Drew: Sacrifice is a funny thing. If helping others requires harming yourself, people will hail you as a hero, but if it requires someone else being hurt — even with the same net result — people hem and haw about ends justifying means. Obviously, the sticking point is free will; it’s perfectly okay to willingly do something yourself, but each of us must be free to make that choice. Of course, that can become a bit of a sticking point in time travel narratives, where there’s a sense that certain things have to happen — Sarah Connor has to survive to give birth John, Marty McFly’s parents have to kiss at the enchantment under the sea dance — in order for the story to even be possible. We tend to focus on the potential paradoxes there, often forgetting that the affected characters have effectively had their free will’s sacrificed by whatever time-travelers happen to be meddling with their pasts. The morality of that act is under scrutiny in Wolverine and the X-Men 36, as Jason Aaron adds new players to both sides of the debate. Continue reading →

Sep 23 2013

Justice League 23.3: Dial E

Alternating Currents: Justice League 23.3: Dial E, Taylor and Drew

Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing Justice League 23.3: Dial E, originally released September 18th, 2013. This issue is part of DC’s Villain Month. Click here for our coverage of Villain Month.

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Taylor: The encore of a show is always a little awkward. With most shows you attend nowadays an encore is almost expected. Gone are the days of the earned encore, where and artist actually had to earn the audience’s appreciation and rewarded them with a few extra bits of music.  This has been replaced with instances where artists look a trifle bored with an encore, seemingly wishing that they could just retire to their bus or greenroom. The situation has become so problematic that some artists have gone so far as to state they won’t be doing an encore no matter how much the audience claps or yells. It’s hard to determine precisely what brought us to this point, but the fact remains that the encore has become not the exception, but the expected. Given this state of affairs, I was curious to see how the issue 23.3 of the The Justice League: Dial E (part of the Villains month event) would be treated by writer China Mieville. Would this be an artist merely pandering to the crowd or an artist excited by the chance to once again share his art with his fans? Continue reading →

Sep 18 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Microseries Villains 6: Hun

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Today, Patrick and Taylor are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Microseries Villains 6: Hun originally released September 11th, 2013. 

Patrick: Redemption. It almost doesn’t matter how far a character has fallen – we want to believe they are capable of evening their karmic score. It’s a powerful idea, one that is almost a more effective motivator for the audience than the reader. We want Darth Vader to toss the Emperor into a bottomless pit because we know it’ll be satisfying to see him come full circle, back to being a hero. Whatever Anakin’s psychology in that moment, we cheer the act because we perceive Vader to be rejecting his inner demons and embracing something better. TMNT Villain Microseries 6: Hun asks us to bear witness to another redemption, but this time, we don’t get to dictate the terms. As Casey Jones’ father rejects one set of demons and gets his life in order, we have to wrestle with a redemption that’s objectively more destructive to himself and his family. Continue reading →

Sep 16 2013

Fearless Defenders 9

Alternating Currents: Fearless Defenders 9, Taylor and Drew

Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing Fearless Defenders 9, originally released September 11th, 2013.

Taylor: Men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Bros before hoes, sisters before misters. Men and women are two different species. Such platitudes have been woven into the fabric of society since the dawn of civilization. Given their age, you might find yourself uttering such phrases during awkward conversations in the lunch room at work because you know they will be accepted with little umbrage. However, that doesn’t make these seemingly innocuous phrases any less offensive or misinformed. While men and women are different in many respects, the truth is they share far more similarities than differences. Some might call this a progressive view, but in reality it’s just a logical one. With that being said, you would think Fearless Defenders, a title which seemingly strives to show that female superheroes are just the same as male superheroes, would champion the similarities between the sexes rather than exaggerate them. But is issue nine, which examines this idea, up to the task?

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Sep 13 2013

X-Men 5

Alternating Currents: X-Men 5, Ethan and TaylorToday,  Ethan and Taylor are discussing X-Men 5 originally released September 11th, 2013. This issue is part of the Battle of the Atom event. Click here for our complete coverage of Battle of the Atom.

atom dividerEthan: If you’ve ever run away from home, or snuck out in the middle of the night to dodge your curfew, or even just stormed off in the middle of a fight, you know the feeling. The conviction that you’d rather be ANYWHERE but where you just left; an undirected need to get away; but the nagging little awareness that your escape is only temporary. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to turn around and confront whatever it is that pushed you away — finish the conversation with your parents, make amends with a friend or significant other — in short, come home. In X-Men #5, we find Jean and Scott on the outbound leg of this sort of journey, and contrary to their fears, they might not have to go home quite as soon as they think.

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