Category Marvel

Feb 7 2013

All-New X-Men 7

all new x-men 7

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing All-New X-Men 7, originally released February 6th, 2013.

Shelby: Sometimes, when you’re having a rough go of it, all you need to do is talk it out. Find a friendly ear, let go of your issues, and hopefully get some unbiased, third-party advice. It doesn’t have to be someone you know, it just has to be someone who’s there for you when you need them: the kindness of a well-timed stranger who can help you stay the course. Since this is a comic book, however, that stranger is actually a conniving villain out to manipulate you so no one can foil the master plan.
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Feb 1 2013

Hawkeye 7

 

Today, Patrick and Jack are discussing Hawkeye 7, originally released January 30th, 2012.

slim-banner

Patrick: Last time we were hanging out in fuzzy pants as discussing Hawkeye, we were reflecting on the Christmas issue (complete with Clint in a Santa hat). This month, we’ve got in our hands another Very Special Issue of Hawkeye, one that should feel a little less celebratory. Yes, it’s the end of October 2012 on the eastern seaboard, and the subject of our latest Hawkeye adventure is Super Storm Sandy. Never one to rest on a gimmick, Matt Fraction builds two tales for two Hawkeyes, one fun and the other touching, while staying emotionally and factually true to the event that inspired him. Clint and Katie are always easy to identify with, and their reactions to the storm echo our own in a dazzling display of artistic empathy.

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Jan 31 2013

The Superior Spider-Man 2

Alternating Currents: The Superior Spider-Man 2, Drew and Shelby

Today, Drew and Shelby are discussing The Superior Spider-Man 2, originally released January 30th 2013.

Drew: Comics are about big conflicts — right vs. wrong, good vs. evil — but it’s rare to see them tackle the more complex subject of nature vs. nurture. Part of that may simply be that it would muddle the simple, primary color notion of good guys fighting bad guys, but I think the larger reason is that it’s a difficult conflict to dramatize. For adults, the root cause of their evil behavior generally isn’t as bad as stopping it, but even when writers take pains to explore the forces of nurture through flashbacks, there’s no real way to demonstrate nature. It’s a microcosm of the debate as a whole — how can you ever eliminate either as a variable? — but can lead to fascinating questions. With issue 2, Dan Slott has poised The Superior Spider-Man as the perfect place to explore those questions further. Continue reading →

Jan 29 2013

A + X 4

a+x 4

Today, Scott and Drew are discussing A + X 4, originally released January 23th, 2013.

Scott: A + X makes me feel like a kid again, playing with my action figures after school. I would create worlds where Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Wars heroes could coexist, Han Solo and Donatello teaming up to defeat… well, something, I’m sure. It was never really the end result that interested me, but rather the excitement of combining these two things that I loved individually. What it created was an especially fleeting sort of fun, where the initial idea was the best part and it grew harder to sustain the longer it went on. I feel the same way about A +X, which is why splitting the issue into two stories is such a good idea — the novelty wears off much less over just ten pages. A + X 4 pairs Avengers and X-Men characters who compliment each other in interesting ways: first, two who have a lot in common, then two who could hardly be more different.

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Jan 29 2013

Deadpool 4

deadpool 4Today, Patrick and Ethan are discussing Deadpool 4, originally released January 23rd, 2013.

Patrick: There’s a weird impulse when writing about Deadpool, to address the character directly. Whenever Wade Wilson turns to the reader and shares a fun little inside joke that we share, somehow one level or artifice is stripped away just as the other is being amplified. With each joke and wink, I’m tricked into thinking that I’m connecting with Deadpool himself and not with the myriad of writers and artists that bring him to life. (Incidentally, I think this is why we – as a culture – like the Muppets so much.) Plus, I’m a pushover for anyone — fictional or otherwise — that can adhere to the Always Leave ‘Em Laughing rule.

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Jan 28 2013

FF 1-3

ff 1-3

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing FF 1-3, originally released November 28th, 2012, December 19th, 2012, and January 23rd, 2013.

Shelby: What do you do when things go wrong? When something doesn’t happen the way you’ve planned, how do you react? If you thought ahead and have a back-up plan, there’s nothing to worry about. But what if you are the back-up plan? What if you are the one who has to step up when things fall apart and figure out how to hold everything together? Between FF and Fantastic Four, Matt Fraction shows us both sides of the coin, and it gives him an opportunity to tell a pretty unusual kind of story.

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Jan 23 2013

All-New X-Men 6

all new x-men 6

Today, Drew and guest writer Ethan Andyshack are discussing All-New X-Men 6, originally released January 16th, 2013.

Drew: Like the characters in All-New X-Men, comics have a complicated relationship with their own histories. Some fans love the richness imparted by a long, cohesive history, while others are put off by the notion of needing to know every little detail for a story to make any sense. Obviously, the situation with All-New X-Men is made even more complicated by the notion of time travel (what narrative isn’t?), but that complexity might just allow it to comment directly on comics history. That wasn’t a revelation I was expecting out of this series, but it’s one that comes through with piercing clarity in All-New X-Men 6. Continue reading →

Jan 21 2013

Indestructible Hulk 1-3

hulk 1-3

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Indestructible Hulk 1-3, originally released November 21st, 2012, December 19th, 2012, and January 16, 2013.

Shelby: The Hulk is not a complex character. He exists as rage incarnate, smashing his way through everything in his path, and basically unstoppable once he gets started. There’s no ulterior motive, no hidden agenda, no personality, just smashsmashsmash. He makes for some sweet action sequences, but that’s about it. The Hulk gets interesting when you consider his relationship with Bruce Banner. Because Banner can basically turn into a nuclear bomb at any moment, he doesn’t exactly get invited to a lot of backyard barbecues; his life has been spent in isolation, desperately seeking a cure for his chronic Hulk-itis. Mark Waid has decided enough is enough for sad science Banner, and is pointing both Banner and the Hulk in a whole new direction.
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Jan 21 2013

Daredevil 22

Alternating Current: Daredevil 22, Drew and MikyzpltkToday, Drew and Mikyzptlk are discussing Daredevil 22, originally released January  16th, 2013.

Drew: Last month, I marveled at the reveal of Otto Octavius’s Spider-Man at the end of Daredevil 21. I thought the choice of Kirsten for that first encounter was a brilliant one, since while we expect our heroes to be in the know, we’re used to civilian friends to be kind of clueless (coughJimmyOlsoncough). Of course, Marvel is playing a much longer game with Otto in the Spidey suit, so it’s a necessity that Matt not figure things out right away, either. I’m generally wary of dramatic irony that keeps the hero in the dark — it’s too often played with an obviousness that makes the heroes come off as dumb — but Mark Waid manages to find a logical, thematically resonant reason for Matt to overlook Spider-Man’s odd behavior by tying it back to his personal life. Continue reading →

Jan 21 2013

Captain America 1-3

captain america 1-3

Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing Captain America 1-3, originally released November 21th, December 19th, 2012 and January 16th, 2013.

Patrick: Captain America is a character defined by his time. Other characters may be products of the time during which their creators were writing them – Superman, Wolverine, Deadpool, Hal Jordan – all of these guys bear the stamps of the decades they were introduced. But that Captain America concept is frozen in time, locked in place by a character-defining opportunity to kick Nazi-ass. So how does one update the intentionally old-fashioned? It’s not even like you can just drop Steve Rogers into a modern American military conflict and watch the action play out: we’re not exactly storming beaches anymore. So where’s an old soldier supposed to feel at home? Why, a dangerous, barren wasteland that ignores the laws of physics, of course!

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