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, Spencer and Drew discuss Batman Annual 3, Batman Eternal 38, Grayson Annual 1, Catwoman Annual 2, Uncanny X-Men 29, Secret Avengers 11, New Avengers 28, Nova 25, Loki: Agent of Asgard 9, and Deadpool 39.
Spencer: While we’ve seen relatively few Joker stories in the New 52, each one has been a giant affair. James Tynion IV and Roge Antionio’s Batman Annual 3 is the antidote to the massive Joker “event” stories, showing that even when pursuing a single target, Joker can be just as out-and-out terrifying as when he’s threatening to murder the entire city. The story revolves around reporter Thomas Blackcrow, whose attempts to deconstruct the Joker’s psyche for a story leads to the horrifying outcome of the Joker deciding that Tommy is his new best friend; from there Tommy descends into madness as the Joker proceeds to make the next five years a living hell. It’s a story full of black humor and legitimate horror beats, and it even ties cleverly into Batman‘s current “Endgame” storyline, but again, I think what I like the most about this issue is that it’s a small, self-contained story that’s still just as powerful as some of Joker’s more infamous capers. It’s a shame we already have our year-end lists compiled here at Retcon Punch, cause I definitely would have nominated this issue. Continue reading
Category Weekly Round-Up
Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 12/17/14
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, Drew and Spencer discuss Catwoman 37, Batman Eternal 37, Justice League 37, Batman/Superman 17, Bob’s Burgers 5, All-New Captain America 2, Guardians of the Galaxy 22, Spider-Woman 2, Scarlet Spiders 2, Black Widow 13, Elektra 9, Captain Marvel 10, Fables 147, and Wytches 3.
Drew: What kind of a person is Selina Kyle? It’s a question DC failed to answer for the first three years of the New 52, but one that writer Genevive Valentine seems particularly interested in. Stripping away the catsuit and the kleptomania, Valentine has allowed us to focus on Selina, all while putting her in increasingly uncomfortable positions. Catwoman 37 finds her confronted by her mole problem, as her cousin, Nick, is very publicly outed by Black Mask as a police informant. Black Mask is banking on Selina’s sense of mercy to spare Nick, in turn costing her the trust of the families, but Selina doesn’t blink, ordering Nick’s death before making another power play at the GCPD. Continue reading
Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 12/10/14
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, Spencer, Drew, and Patrick discuss Justice League United 7, Batman Eternal 36, Harley Quinn Holiday Special 1, East of West: The World, Guardians of the Galaxy Annual 1, Spider-Verse Team-Up 2, Rocket Raccoon 6, Uncanny X-Men Annual 1, Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1, and Avengers World 16.
Spencer: Jeff Lemire’s Justice League United has always been a rather straightforward title, and that often proves to be both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. Issue 7 finds the various League and Legion groups fully assembled and focused on stopping Byth from using Ultra to bring about the end of the universe — there’s a no-nonsense urgency to their meeting that’s refreshing, and Stargirl’s quick smack-down of anyone looking to mercy-kill Ultra (“We do what the Justice League does and find a better way”) is again refreshing both for its bluntness and its unyielding sense of morality. That said, that same straightforwardness robs the story of any real surprises or complexity — for better or for worse, things play out exactly as you’d expect them to. Much of the fun comes from the various interactions between these disparate characters that Lemire packs into practically every panel, but outside of a few established relationships (J’onn and Equinox’s connection to Ultra, Ollie and Buddy’s pseudo-rivalry) none of those moments have any lasting impact on the characters. Ultimately, Justice League United is a book that’s a lot of fun in the moment, but doesn’t leave much of a lasting impression on the reader. Continue reading
Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 12/3/14
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, Spencer and Drew discuss Batman Eternal 35, Gotham Academy 3, Grayson 5, Angela: Asgard’s Assassin 1, The Autumnlands: Tooth and Claw 2, and The Private Eye 9.
Spencer: So there’s been a lot of talk about who the “big bad” behind Batman Eternal is, but issue 35 makes me think that perhaps he’s been right under our noses since the very first issue. The one constant throughout this series, the one figure putting in an appearance in every arc, has been Jason Bard, and in this week’s installment we begin to dive into his intensely personal motives for targeting Batman. Indeed, “personal” is the name of the game this issue; Bard’s attacks on Batman continue to get more and more personal as he not only strips Bruce Wayne of his company and assets, but turns a trusted friend against him to boot. Fortunately, Bard’s about to get a taste of his own medicine; Vicki Vale is in Detroit, ready to dig up every last piece of dirt she can find on Bard. I don’t know whether Vicki was only faking her relationship with Bard to get close to him, or if she just had a change of heart after getting to know him better, but either way, it’s a delicious reversal. Continue reading
Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 11/26/14
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, Drew, Spencer, and Patrick discuss Gotham by Midnight 1, Arkham Manor 2, Batman Eternal 34, Batman Beyond Universe 16, Superior Foes of Spider-Man 17, Scarlet Spiders 1, Spider-Man 2099, Nova 24, New Warriors 12, Cyclops 7, Lazarus 13, Manhattan Projects 25, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters 2.
Drew: With an ever increasing number of movies and tv shows based on comics, there is a lot of focus on how comics are influencing pop culture at large, but I think the more interesting part of that narrative is how comics are in turn influenced by their more widely-viewed cousins. In some situations, those influences are quite direct — the co-opting of Harley Quinn and Phil Coulson spring to mind — but in others, it may just be the mood of a particularly stylish tv show that makes its way into a comic. That’s exactly the case with Gotham by Midnight 1, which wears its debt to True Detective on its sleeve, pairing a philosopher with a philistine, and sending them both to Gotham’s own bayou of Murder Swamp. Continue reading
Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 11/19/14
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, Spencer, Patrick and Drew discuss Teen Titans Earth One V.1, Elektra 8, Deadpool 37, Loki: Agent of Asgard 8, Spider-Woman 1, New Avengers 26, Universe! 1, Bob’s Burgers 4, Superman/Wonder Woman 13, Batman/Superman 16, Batman Eternal 33, Wonder Woman 36, Justice League 36, and Intersect 1
Spencer: To say that I’m a big Teen Titans fan is a severe understatement. It was the animated series that motivated me to start checking out Teen Titans comics, which, in turn, pulled me into reading monthlies via Geoff Johns’ run on the title and its influence on Infinite Crisis. Sadly, though, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a Titans book I could really sink my teeth into, which is why the announcement of Jeff Lemire and Terry and Rachel Dodson’s Teen Titans Earth One graphic novel got me so excited. I’ve been looking forward to this one for a long time, and fortunately, it doesn’t disappoint. Continue reading
Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 11/12/14
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, Drew and Spencer discuss Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier 2, Captain Marvel 9, Silver Surfer 7, Nova 23, Justice League United 6, Batman Eternal 32, Outcast 5, Django/Zorro 1, and Hawkeye vs. Deadpool 2 .
Drew: To say that Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier is a dense read is a bit of an understatment. Indeed, we couldn’t even agree on what the events of the first issue were, let alone how we interpret them. Issue 2 manages to up the ante, taking Marco Rudy’s already trippy art on a literal drug trip, and ensconcing the already difficult-to-follow narrative in a series of Loki illusions. The effect is mesmerizingly like watching a movie half-asleep — you catch the rough outline of the plot, but the actual details are utterly lost — but frustrates any sense of narrative flow. I never like to dismiss a work for my own failure to understand it, but I’ll be damned if I got anything out of this issue other than that Bucky’s sights are now set on Mer-z-bow (though I’d love it if somebody would like to explain it in further detail in the comments). Continue reading
Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 11/5/14
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, Spencer, Drew, and Shane discuss The Woods 7, Batman Eternal 31, Spider-Verse Team-Up 1, The Legendary Star-Lord 5, Swamp Thing 36, and Tooth and Claw 1.
Spencer: The last few issues of James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas’ The Woods have been character studies, combining flashbacks with the kids’ adventures on the distant moon in order to further flesh out its cast, and while this method has had much success, the story was starting to lose some of its forward momentum in the process. Fortunately, issue 7 fixes that by combining another successful character study with some pretty massive revelations, and it may just be the best issue yet. Continue reading
Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 10/29/14
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, Spencer and Shane discuss Sonic BOOM 1, Inhuman 7, Bob’s Burgers 3, Harley Quinn Annual 1, Nova 22, Thunderbolts 33, and Justice League United Annual 1.
Patrick: 90% of what we end up reading in mainstream comics is the expression of a brand. The New 52, Marvel Now — we can call those bold new storytelling initiatives if we want, but they’re driven by a desire to rebrand the material. Even the dreaded “reboot” has more to do with cleaning up a brand than it does cleaning up a character’s continuity. Which brings me to the rather opaque rebranding of Sonic The Hedgehog — it’s going to be permeating video games, movies and TV shows, but it starts in the comics at Sonic BOOM 1. Continue reading
Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 10/22/14
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, Spencer and Drew discuss Batman Beyond Universe 15, Batman Eternal 29, Cyclops 6, Deadpool 36, Harley Quinn 11, The Flash 35, Starlight 6, The Amazing Spider-Man 8, New Warriors 11, Avengers 37, and Secret Avengers 9.
Spencer: One of the things I always admired about the Batman Beyond animated series was the way it resisted the temptation to just reuse future versions of Batman’s rogues gallery; while it was always respectful of Batman’s history, the writers worked hard to give Terry McGinnis his own legacy as Batman. The Batman Beyond comics, though, haven’t always done this; the previous volume especially seemed stuck mining Bruce’s past. In light of this, I was especially pleased with Batman Beyond Universe 15, a smart one-and-done story focusing on some of Terry’s signature rogues, Inque and Ten. Continue reading
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