Category Batman

Oct 7 2013

Batman Black & White 2

batman black & white 2

Today, Greg and Patrick are discussing Batman Black & White 2, originally released October 2nd, 2013

“Does it have a happy ending?”

Greg’s Dad, traditional

Greg: Whenever I recommend a movie to my dad, or tell him I’m working on a new project, this is his first question. He’s a high school assistant principal and deals with a lot of heavy stuff. At family dinners, when my mom would ask him how his day was, he would often just sigh. He wants his entertainment to provide respite and closure he doesn’t often get in real life. He’s a man who, at the end of Inception, stood up in his seat and yelled at the screen, “What?!”

I’d like to think I’m more open to the darker stuff than him. Yet while reading this black and white anthology series, I felt my gut stiffen and sour. I felt like I was being shown evil things for evil things’ sake. I wanted to stand up in my seat and yell at my comic book, “What?!”

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Oct 1 2013

Batman 23.4: Bane

bane 23.4

Today, Patrick and guest writer Andrew are discussing Batman 23.4: Bane, originally released September 25th, 2013. This issue is part of the Villain’s Month event. Click here for our Villains Month coverage.

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Patrick: I’m gonna pull back the curtain at Retcon Punch here just a little. We like to invite our friends and family members to write about issues that don’t require a lot of context to understand – anything that seems like it’s going to be elemental and insulated. This way, we can get the perspective of non-comics-readers on a comic book. It’s a valuable perspective to have, and one that’s impossible to recreate within our regular writing and editorial staff. This policy bites us in the ass from time to time. It turns out that the more elemental characters are wrapped up in DC mythology because of their singularly compelling nature. We were bummed when Scarecrow was 20 pages of weird connective tissue and set-up for Arkham War – we thought for sure that our buddy Greg could just write some funny stuff about the scary drawings. That’s selfish though: why should the most interesting characters be relegated to the least interested writers? Without further ado: Bane. Continue reading →

Sep 16 2013

Batman 23.2: The Riddler

riddler 23.2

Today, Shelby and guest writer Lindsey are discussing Batman 23.2: The Riddler, originally released September 11th, 2013. This issue is part of the Villain’s Month event. Click here for our Villains Month coverage.

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Shelby: The Riddler and the Joker. Two clowns, of a sort, with very different reputations. To the Joker, the world is a gag, a cheap joke that doesn’t make sense. That’s why he’s so scary; you literally have no idea what he’ll do next. The Riddler has always been different to me. Riddles are silly, true, but they’re clever. There’s a perverted sense of logic to them. That’s how I’ve always thought of Edward Nygma: clever, but ultimately rather silly and harmless. Ray Fawkes and Scott Snyder show us a different, more dangerous Riddler, and I am liking what I see.
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Aug 20 2013

Villain Month Guide: Part 1 – Batman

villains month batman

In September, DC’s entire line is going to be highjacked by the villains of the universe. The creative teams frankenstiened together from DC’s regular stable of writers and artists, but — with a few exceptions — none of titles look like logical continuations of any of the current series. How’s a body supposed to know what they’re supposed to read? That’s where our four-part guide comes in.

Batman’s basically the most bankable superhero of all-time, due in no small part to his impressive rogues gallery. It’s no surprise, then, that over a quarter of the issues coming out next month hail from Gotham City. In part one of our guide, we’ll be going over the issues from Batman, Batman and Robin, Batman: The Dark Knight, and Detective Comics. Be sure to check out Part 2 – Superman and Earth-2 and Part 3 – Justice Leagues and Teen Titans. Continue reading →

Aug 15 2013

Batman 23

Alternating Currents: Batman 23, Drew and Patrick

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Batman 23, originally released August 14th, 2013.

Drew: Origin stories are a fact of life for comic book fans. Love them or hate them, they’ve become an obligate part of superhero storytelling. Every movie franchise, every hard reset, every soft relaunch, needs to retell the origin story with a new spin (you know, to justify the retelling), folding new elements into those of previous iterations. The result is a strange, multi-generational chimera, cannibalized from every version of the story that’s come before. The results can range from beautiful to grotesque but the best manage to pay homage to the past while pointing a way forwards. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo tackle a seminal moment of Batman’s history in Batman 23, perfectly balancing the admiration and innovation, building to a climax perfectly designed to excite Batman fans. Continue reading →

Aug 5 2013

Creator Interview: Scott Snyder

Creator Interview: Scott SnyderIt’s a great time to be a Scott Snyder fan. Between the continued success of his run on Batman, his well-received new series Superman Unchained and The Wake, and the hotly anticipated American Vampire Anthology, there has never been more Snyder on the shelves. Drew caught up with him at the Boston Comic Con to discuss all of his current projects.
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Aug 1 2013

Batman Annual 2

batman annual 2

Today, Mikyzptlk and Scott are discussing Batman Annual 2, originally released July 31st, 2013.

Mikyzptlk: In what seems like a parallel universe now, I was once a Psychology student. I learned a lot about how the body and mind interact, and how Psychology impacts our lives every day without us ever even realizing it. One of the lessons that stuck with me was about a study conducted by a group of very brave Psychologists. They wanted to check to see how patients in mental hospitals were treated, so they decided to commit themselves voluntarily to find out first hand. What they discovered truly saddened me. It seems that, for the most part, the patients were completely ignored by hospital staff. Well, the quiet patients anyway. The Psychologists learned that if patients wished to get any attention at all from hospital staff, they would need to learn to start acting up. In other words, they’d need to dial up the “crazy.” I’m not sure if the writers of this Batman Annual are aware of that story, but it seems they have just given voice to a controversy that surrounds mental hospitals to this day. Continue reading →

Jul 11 2013

Batman 22

batman 22

Today, Shelby and Scott are discussing Batman 22, originally released July 10th, 2013.

Shelby: There’s a special kind of arrogance that comes with being in your early twenties. We all knew that one guy, fresh out of school, who was convinced he knew it all, that his way was THE way and if you didn’t agree than you were wrong. It comes in part from being freshly educated. You’ve got all this new knowledge, this new way of viewing the world around you; you think you have finally figured everything out when actually you’re just beginning to figure out how to think. It also comes from the new-found independence of college life. Whether you enjoyed the pseudo-independence of the dormitory lifestyle, or had more pressing concerns like rent and the electric bill in an apartment, it’s probably the first time you’ve been solely in charge of yourself. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Wait, I didn’t know that guy…” then there’s a chance you were that guy. Fear not! Bruce Wayne’s behavior this issue of Batman shows us you’re in good company.

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Jun 14 2013

Batman 21

batman 21

Today, Spencer and Drew are discussing Batman 21, originally released June 12th, 2013.

Spencer: Two gunshots ring out in a dark alley. A string of pearls falls to the ground. Sound familiar? It should — Batman’s origin story is one of the best-known and most beloved in comic book history. It’s been told and retold countless times, and while many of these stories are flat-out classics — Year One, Batman Begins, Mask of the Phantasm — one still wonders: Is another Batman origin story really necessary? Can Batman’s origin still be retold in a fresh way that doesn’t rehash or invalidate those earlier stories? The jury’s still out on the first question, but in Batman 21, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo prove that they’re capable of telling a Batman origin story the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

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May 10 2013

Batman 20

batman 20

Today, Spencer and Scott are discussing Batman 20, originally released May 8th, 2013.

Spencer: As a kid, Clayface was always one of my favorite Batman villains. Some of that has to do with the fact that he starred in one of the first cartoons that ever made me cry (Batman: The Animated Series’ excellent final season episode “Growing Pains”), but mostly it was just my young self finding this giant shapeshifting puddle of mud that could sprout blades out of his chest to be totally wicked awesome. I won’t even try to hide it, I still find those facets of the character just as fun as an adult, but I’ve come to realize that, beyond the standard shapeshifter tricks, there isn’t much to Clayface’s personality; usually he’s just treated as a device to serve some other villain’s master plan. Scott Snyder manages to wring a surprising amount of personality out of Clayface, but if the walking mud puddle isn’t your cup of tea, don’t worry: there’s plenty of other stuff going on too.

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