Jun 1 2015

Secret Wars Round-Up: Issues released 5/27/15

Today, Patrick and Drew discuss Old Man Logan 1, Where Monsters Dwell 1, Infinity Gauntlet 1, M.O.D.O.K. Assassin 1, Secret Wars 2099 1, X-Men ’92 Infinite Comic 1, Inhumans: Attilan Rising 1 and Secret Wars Journal 1.

“So… isn’t that just Convergence?”

Comic Fan, Traditional

Patrick: The slug line for DC and Marvel’s big events couldn’t be much more similar: characters and concepts from the greatest stories in the publishers’ legacies are forced to physically live on the same planet. Conflict ensues. In Convergence, that conflict was prescribed by the villain that brought those worlds together. Telos made the characters fight each other for survival in a sort of superhero Hunger Games. Many of the tie-in issues found other narrative avenues to explore, but the set-up was tortuously samey (including a broadcast monologue I had to read 41 times). The issues springing out of Secret Wars, on the other hand, seem to have their own agendas: themes, ideas and values that drive the narrative forward — the patchwork planet is simply set dressing. Continue reading →

May 29 2015

Convergence Round-Up: Week Eight

Today, Michael leads a discussion about Convergence 8, Action Comics 2, Blue Beetle 2, Booster Gold 2, Crime Syndicate 2, Detective Comics 2, Infinity Inc. 2, Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters 2 and World’s Finest 2.

Michael: When’s the last time you read a true finale from Marvel or DC? I’m talking final word, last story, completion of a hero’s journey, close-the-book-on-it ending. I could probably only count a handful of those types of finales in the past couple of years; maybe. Like any analysis of the Big Two, it can be seen in two ways: cynically or inspiringly. Cynically, there will never be a “final story.” The Coca-Cola and Pepsi of comic books always leave a door open for potential future stories because they want your money. Inspiringly, we are witnessing the sagas of modern mythology: endless heroic epics. These stories will never come to a true end because their legend continues and the heroes never say die. It can be impossibly cheesy, but the end caption “Never the end” always clutches at my heart strings. After eight weeks, 41 books and 89 issues Convergence has finally met its end. I think there is a strong argument for the inspiring read of “Never the End” present in most of these finales. Conversely, Convergence been criticized as a sales stunt, so the more cynical finale read is just as viable. Two months later what have we learned? For one, nostalgia can be expensive. Continue reading →

May 27 2015

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 5/20/15

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, Patrick, Drew, Michael and Spencer discuss Daredevil 15.1, Guardians of the Galaxy 27, Star Wars 5, Archie vs. Predator 2, Jem and the Holograms 3, The Kitchen 7, Ufology 2, and Wytches 6.

Patrick: We’ve been digging deep into the DC and Marvel crossover events lately, and so it’s always a relief when we can spend some time exploring more self-contained stories. But no matter how self-contained a story appears, there’s always a legacy — either literal or adopted — that forces a set of assumptions and expectations on the reader. This round-up includes a Star Wars comic, for crying out loud, so there’s some obvious franchise baggage there, but even as we move into the smaller, creator-owned series, the trappings of the genres (we very neatly have Crime, Sci-Fi and Horror represented there) prove themselves to be just as informative as an entire franchise. Continue reading →

May 25 2015

Secret Wars Round-Up: Issues released 5/20/15

Today, Drew and Patrick discuss Ultimate End 1, Battleworld 1, Planet Hulk 1, Spider-Verse 1, and Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars 1.

I have no idea what Secret Wars is going to be.

Retcon Punch, Traditional

Drew: Seriously, though: what is Secret Wars? Is it an excuse to revisit popular stories from Marvel’s history? Is it a means to merge the 616 Universe with the most popular elements of the Ultimate Universe? Is it an open field for creators to try out goofy ideas? Is it a stupid summer crossover event designed to sell comics? Offering the first real taste of what the tie-in issues, this week’s offerings suggest that the answer to all of our questions is “yes.” Continue reading →

May 22 2015

Convergence Round-Up: Week Seven

Today, Shane leads a discussion about Convergence 7, Adventures of Superman 2, Batman & the Outsiders 2, Green Lantern Corps 2, Hawkman 2, Justice League of America 2, Superboy & The Legion 2, Swamp Thing 2, and Wonder Woman 2.

Shane: I’m not saying that it’s easy to write a story, but there’s still a basic structure that, if followed, makes the work a bit simpler. You’re going to set the stage and introduce the characters, before moving on to a rising action to give way to the ultimate conflict. Eventually, you’ll turn everything on its head with the climax of the story and begin to settle various plot points, before eventually drawing up an ending. Convergence is no different, and even though the series has been split into eight main issues, these five have all been strongly represented (so far, at least—we aren’t at the conclusion yet!)—but it’s been equally fascinating to see how each two-issue miniseries uses this story structure, as well. Notably, with this month’s final issues, we’ve seen a lot of titles subvert the classic formula, offering conclusions but still sending their characters onward and back into the main event. It’s been done in some cases better than others (I’m now just as sick of the earthquake as I was Telos’ speech in the first month), but it’s refreshing to see that even if a miniseries is the last time we’ll see a character star, their story has at least the potential to continue. Continue reading →

May 20 2015

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 5/13/15

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, Patrick, Drew, and Spencer discuss East of West 19, C.O.W.L. 10, Southern Cross 3, Astro City 23, ODY-C 5, Chrononauts 3, Howard the Duck 3, Ms. Marvel 15, and Captain Marvel 15

Drew: There are a ton of (poorly sourced) articles out there claiming poll data that suggests 40% of American adults believe we’re living in the end times. Whether or not that particular statistic is true, it’s no doubt that the end of the world plays a key role in our pop culture. Whether you’re reading The Walking Dead or watching the latest Mad Max movie, the apocalypse is everywhere. That’s particularly true of comics this week. Both of the Big Two universes are fighting for their lives, while the indies on our pull swirl around the notion of the end, whether that’s the world itself, or just our window on it. We’ve exhaustively covered those Big Two events elsewhere, but here’s a look at the smaller apocalypses going around the rest of comicdom. Continue reading →

May 15 2015

Convergence Round-Up: Week Six

convergence roundup 6 Today, Spencer leads a discussion about Convergence 6, Aquaman 2, Batman: Shadow of the Bat 2, Catwoman 2, Green Arrow 2, Justice League International 2, Suicide Squad 2, Supergirl: Matrix 2, and Superman: The Man of Steel 2.

Spencer: Early in Convergence, when first issuing his decree that the various cities fight for their survival, Telos declared that if anybody refused to fight, or tried to team-up and work against him, both their cities would be destroyed. It was a threat he made good on almost immediately by destroying the people of Kandor, and as a plot point, it forced confrontations between the cities that otherwise probably wouldn’t have happened. In this week’s Convergence tie-ins, though, that decree officially becomes moot as team after team decide to quit fighting and instead take Telos on together. Cooperation — or, at least, attempts at cooperation — is the name of the game in Week Six. Continue reading →

May 13 2015

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 5/5/15

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, Patrick, Drew, and Spencer discuss Afterlife with Archie 8, The Fox 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutanimals 3, Descender 3, Jupiter’s Circle 2, Dead Drop 1, Kanan — The Last Padawan 2, Operation S.I.N. 5, All-New Captain America Special 1, Rocket Raccoon 11, Spider-Gwen 4, Spider-Woman 7 and Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 5.

Drew: Comics are filled with outlandish sci-fi conceits. This week alone finds us talking about zombies, mutants, androids, and a number of humans-with-the-powers-of-animals, but this week also demonstrates why comics are so much more than those conceits. Whether dealing with character insights or more profound statements about humanity in general, this week gave us a lot to think about. Plus, there were zombies, mutants, androids, and a number of humans-with-the-powers-of-animals. 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 6 2015

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 4/27/15

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, Patrick, Drew, Michael, and Spencer discuss Justice League 40, Superman 40, All-New Captain America 6, Nova 30, Secret Avengers 15, S.H.I.E.L.D. 5, Silk 3, X-Men 26, Princess Leia 3 and Outcast 8.

Patrick: If you thought you were going to stay up on all the juiciest DC mythology this past week by simply reading Convergence, you’d be dead wrong! And, just theoretically here, if you thought you were going to provide comprehensive coverage of DC’s mythology on, say, your website or something, you’d want to discuss more than just Convergence! We’ve got some bombshells to unpack, but don’t worry: there’s plenty of honest character work and nuanced storytelling happening in other corners of the comic industry this week. Plus, where else are you going to read stories about Krakoa and M.O.D.O.K.? Continue reading →

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Retcon Punch

Comics: Scrutinized

Category Weekly Round-Up