May 13 2015

Convergence: Superman 2

Today, Mark and Drew are discussing Convergence: Superman 2, originally released May 6th, 2015. This issue is part of Convergence. For our conversations about the rest of Convergence last week, click here.

Mark: I really dislike Zack Snyder’s 2013 Man of Steel. It feels like the filmmakers fundamentally do not understand what makes Superman special. Strip away his Kryptonian background and all of his super powers, at the end of the day what makes Superman super is that he stands as an example for good. And while New 52 Superman wasn’t bad, there’s just no comparing to pre-Flashpoint Superman. This is a lived-in Superman, an older Superman. Perhaps overpowered by the end, but the emotional connections he had with other characters, especially Lois Lane, were rich. All of that history may have driven to narrative dead ends, but as a character this Superman is basically the best, and having Dan Jurgens back for a proper send off makes Convergence: Superman 2 one of the few highlights of Convergence last week. Continue reading →

May 12 2015

Convergence: Speed Force 2

Today, Spencer and Michael are discussing Convergence: Speed Force 2, originally released May 6th, 2015. This issue is part of Convergence. For our conversations about the rest of Convergence this week, click here.

Spencer: What does it mean to be a family? It’s a broad question with probably millions of valid answers, but at their best (and at my most idealistic), I think families exist as a sort of support system. Spouses support each other through thick and thin; parents protect their children and teach them the skills they need to be self-sufficient adults, but also act as a safety net for when they fail; children eventually return the favor and usher their parents through old age. In an ideal family no one member is carrying all the weight — everybody has something to contribute. That’s a lesson the Flash, Wally West, needs to be reminded of in Tony Bedard and Tom Grummett’s Convergence: Speed Force 2, an issue that reestablishes the importance of the familial bonds between Wally and his kids and as well as their roles in the family without Linda. Continue reading →

May 8 2015

Convergence Round-Up: Week Five

Today, Drew leads a discussion about Convergence 5, The Atom 2, Batgirl 2, Batman & Robin 2, Harley Quinn 2, Justice League 2, Nightwing/Oracle 2 and Titans 2.

Let’s you and him fight.

Comics, Traditional

Drew: Superheroes fighting superheroes. It feels like an admission that I may never understand the appeal — it really feels like an admission that punching and flexing is what superheroes are all about, morality be damned — but it’s hard to deny how popular those match-ups are. Thor fights Iron Man and Captain America in a inter-dimensional extradition misunderstanding. Batman fights Superman in order to bring about the dawn of justice. It’s a well-known, well-worn comics trope, which makes Convergence — the tournament-style showdown between various DC heroes from various continuities — a kind of fanboy fever dream. That is, unless creators see these match-ups as a means of subverting that particular trope. All bets are off this week, as the Convergence tie-ins get to their fights (or lack thereof) proper. Continue reading →

May 4 2015

The Multiversity 2

Today, Drew and Michael are discussing The Multiversity 2, originally released April 29th, 2015.

You’re missing stuff by reading too fast.

Mercury Man, The Multiversity 2

Drew: There’s a specific type of confusion that comes when reading certain Grant Morrison comics — the kind that comes when you have absolutely no idea what’s going on, but you have faith that it will all make sense in the end. Or, at least, you’ll be able to draw conclusions from it in the end. Mercury Man suggests that it all makes sense if we just slow down to make all of the connections, but Morrison books tend to require reading at a pace several orders of magnitude slower than the average comic. That Morrison doesn’t write “the average comic” is exactly why his works are so worth that effort, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t make them incredibly difficult to talk about. Continue reading →

May 1 2015

Convergence Round-Up: Week Four

Today, Patrick leads a discussion about Convergence 4, Action Comics 1, Blue Beetle 1, Booster Gold 1, Detective Comics 1, Infinity, Inc. 1, Justice Society 1, Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters 1, and World’s Finest 1.

“Can we please, for just one night, not talk about the damned dome?”

Lois Lane, Convergence: Action Comics 1

Patrick: As we head into the fourth week of convergence tie-ins, two things are becoming clear. The first is that everyone is sick of dealing with this dome — artists, writers, characters, LETTERERS PROBABLY. Previous weeks have gone into the inconvenience the dome represents, but this week seems united by a theme of dome-fatigue. Part of that may come from the fact that many of this week’s heroes hail from universes and continuities that are either far from classic or have been rebooted so many times as to make their timelessness a little dubious. There’s a freedom in that less-strict reliance on legacy, and many of this weeks tie-ins generate totally satisfying catharsis all on their own. They just always also have to deal with “the damned dome.” Continue reading →

Apr 30 2015

Batman 40

Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Batman 40, originally released April 29th, 2015.

Spencer: Batman 40 is a dense issue. I’ve lingered over this issue in a way I haven’t lingered over a comic in quite a while. Every page is rich with meaning, both in the writing and the art, and it would take far more space than Patrick and I have allotted here to fully unpack it. Let me assure you all, though, that doing so is more than worth the time and effort. Batman 40 is a masterpiece that can be enjoyed on numerous levels, and I think it’s an issue we’re going to be dissecting for a long time to come. So let’s get to it. Continue reading →

Apr 27 2015

Convergence: The New Teen Titans 1

Today, Spencer and Shane are discussing Convergence: The New Teen Titans 1, originally released April 22th, 2015. This issue is part of Convergence. For our conversations about the rest of Convergence last week, click here.

Spencer: I think most of us take on certain comfortable roles when we’re among our friends. Sometimes, though, things change, and those roles no longer suit us, but they’re so firmly entrenched among the group dynamic that they can be impossible to escape. Marv Wolfman and Nicola Scott’s Convergence: The New Teen Titans finds this happening to the Teen Titans. After a year spent under the dome, the Titans are attempting to take their relationships to new places, but find themselves caught up in the same old roles and conflicts that have always defined them. Continue reading →

Apr 24 2015

Convergence Round-Up: Week Three

Today, Spencer leads a discussion about Convergence 3, Adventure of Superman 1, Batman & the Outsiders 1, Flash 1, Green Lantern Corps 1, Hawkman 1, Justice League of America 1, Superboy & The Legion 1, and Wonder Woman 1.

Spencer: With over 30 issues of Convergence under our belts, the formula’s become pretty clear — every issue covers the same beats, including the effects of living under a dome for a year and Telos’ infuriating speech when the dome finally drops (although to be honest, I stopped reading the speech sometime in the middle of Week 2). While Week 3 can’t help but to follow these same patterns, it’s also by far the most experimental week of Convergence yet. Several issues focus on stories that could have easily been told with these characters outside of the dome, while others are more interested in exploring the Crisis on Infinite Earths backdrop. Whatever the case, this week’s batch of tie-ins is a refreshing change of pace from a pattern that was already starting to grow old.

Continue reading →

Apr 23 2015

Convergence: Swamp Thing 1

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Convergence: Swamp Thing 1, originally released April 22nd, 2015.

Drew: When Steve Carell left The Office, series writer BJ Novak tweeted a series of Michael Scott story ideas that would never be told. Some of those pitches seemed hilarious, but what actually stuck with me about them is that the opportunity to make them had simply stopped. They couldn’t ever become episodes of The Office because Michael Scott was no longer on the show. That kind of context-specific storytelling is constantly turning over in comics, where the monthly grind of continuity requires that no one situation can last too long. You’ve got a great Superior Spider-Man pitch? You’ve missed the boat. A Dick-as-Batman idea? Not gonna happen. A JSA arc? Too late. Convergence has offered one last hurrah for characters from very specific moments in their history, but that “one last hurrah” has often felt more like a eulogy than a celebration. With Convergence: Swamp Thing 1, Len Wein and Kelley Jones take that sense of mourning a step further, as Pre-Crisis Swamp Thing barely clings to life. Continue reading →

Apr 22 2015

Convergence: Superboy 1

Today, Spencer and Shane are discussing Convergence: Superboy 1, originally released April 15th, 2015. This issue is part of Convergence. For our conversations about the rest of Convergence last week, click here.

Spencer: If there’s one flaw to this second week of Convergence tie-ins that wasn’t present in the first, it’s the fact that these characters can’t really change or evolve. Since week one took place at the end of the Post-Crisis DC Universe, the creative teams could examine what an “ending” for their protagonists may look like (before cruelly snatching those endings away), but this week’s books have to keep their stars in a sort of suspended animation — unable to evolve or drift too far from their established fate, they’re more than ever defined by their most basic conflicts and character traits. This isn’t always a bad thing (it works out better for Parallax than, say, Azrael), but it is a bit of a tricky hurdle to leap. Do Fabian Nicieza and Karl Moline manage to succeed in crafting a compelling story for Superboy despite the limitations of the format? I’d say yes, but despite this impressive success, they do falter just a bit on some of the smaller details. Continue reading →

	slerer3 on DC Round-Up: Comics Released…
	Anonymous on DC Round-Up: Comics Released…
	Anonymous on Green Arrow 23
	Anonymous on Green Arrow 23
	Anonymous on Green Arrow 23

Retcon Punch

Comics: Scrutinized

Category New 52