Category Weekly Round-Up

Oct 22 2014

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 10/15/14

round upLook, 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 Loki: Agent of Asgard 7, New Avengers 25, Superior Foes of Spider-Man 16, Avengers World 14, Original Sin Annual 1, Batman Eternal 28, and Batman/Superman 15.

slim-banner4Drew: It’s no secret around here that I’m a sucker for some good postmodernism (what can I say? I like art about art), which means it should be no surprise that I’m enjoying the heck out of Loki’s latest adventure with a decidedly self-aware Victor Von Doom in Loki: Agent of Asgard 7. Writer Al Ewing has always imbued the series with some charming winks at the audience, but he takes it a step further here, as Loki begins the issue totally frozen in a time-cube — a seeming nod to would-be detractors of all of the recent changes the character has gone through. Of course, much of this issue is given over to rescuing Latveria from “World War Hate,” which gives Ewing some space to preach about how the solution to hate is understanding one another. Loki gets a little snark in, but that message is mostly delivered with a straight face, which robs the series of the sense of humor that usually makes it so fun. It was mostly a fun issue, but switched into a pervasive joylessness as the issue reached its conclusion. Continue reading →

Oct 15 2014

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 10/8/14

round upLook, 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 Justice League United 5, The Amazing Spider-Man 7, Rocket Raccoon 4, Sabrina 1, Hawkeye vs. Deadpool 1, and Superman/Wonder Woman 12.

slim-banner4Spencer: Justice League United is team that’s just chock-full of white blonde people — like, distractingly full of white blonde people. Thankfully, Issue 5 finally debuts Cree superhero Equinox, whose ties to the native tribes of Canada are something rather unique for superhero comics. Admittedly, the issue doesn’t give Miiyahbin’s origin much room to breathe, which means there’s a lot of telling and some rather familiar beats to her story, but it’s the added elements of Cree lore that make Equinox shine. Continue reading →

Aug 6 2014

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 7/30/14

round upLook, 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, Patrick and Spencer are discussing Uncanny X-Men 24, Cyclops 3, Guardians of the Galaxy 17, Secret Avengers 6, New Avengers 21, Avengers 33, Avengers World 10, Original Sin: Hulk vs. Iron Man 3, Detective Comics Annual 3, Batman Eternal 17, Justice League 32, and C.O.W.L. 3.

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Drew: In case it needs to be said: superhero comics allow for some bizarre situations. Usually, this pertains to the likes of clones and brain-swaps, but Uncanny X-Men 24 actually finds it’s most unusual feature in the fact that Charles Xavier’s murderer has never stood trial. Normally, being set to inherit a massive Westchester estate might be seen as motive in a criminal case, but Scott Summers seems to have found a newfound mutant ability of never being tried for his crime in spite of all of his friends believing his guilt AND knowing where he’s hiding from them. That’s the weird world Brian Michael Bendis has to navigate in order to set up the Original Sin premise that is “The Last Will and Testament of Charles Xavier.” We still haven’t seen an actual reading of the will, but it seems certain we’ll get it in issue 25 (did I mention that this issue was written by Bendis?). Continue reading →

Jul 30 2014

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 7/23/14

round upLook, 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 and Spencer are discussing Afterlife with Archie 6, Original Sin: Thor & Loki 2, Amazing Spider-Man 4, Original Sins 4, Deadpool 32, Velvet 6, Storm 1, Batman and Robin 33, Batman Eternal 16, Batman Beyond Universe 12, and The Flash 33 .

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Patrick: Quick Retcon Punch history lesson: we take our name from an action taken by Superboy Prime that physically damaged reality and thus altered a handful of character histories. It’s a silly moment — about as comic-booky as you can get — but the reason we gravitated to it so strongly was that the term was invented by the fan community. It’s simultaneously derisive and celebratory, which perfectly encapsulates superhero comic fans’ relationship to their favorite medium. But the more I read comics, the more I realize that medium lends itself so easily to revealing secret histories that it’s only a matter of time before every piece of past is written and re-written over and over again. This can be frustrating as hell, but when applied well, it can also blow out a world into something much more engaging and complex than you could have possibly imagined. Continue reading →

Jul 23 2014

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 7/16/14

round upLook, 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, Drew and Shelby discuss Harley Quinn Invades Comic-Con International San Diego 1, Batman Eternal 15, Robin Rises: Omega 1, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 36, Original Sin: Hulk vs. Iron Man 2, Elektra 4, Original Sin 6, Uncanny X-Men 23, Ms. Marvel 6, Nova 19, Silver Surfer 4, She-Hulk 6, Rat Queens 7 and The Wicked + The Divine 2.

slim-banner4Spencer: As many of you probably know (due to my extremely in–depth coverage), I recently attended my first Comic-Con. With that experience still fresh in mind, I have to say that Harley Quinn Invades Comic-Con International San Diego 1 feels like an uncannily accurate representation of the Comic-Con experience. I mean, sure, Wizard World is nowhere near as large as SDCC, and I am nowhere near as manic as Harley Quinn (I hope), but I can still relate to Harley’s various quests to meet creators, as well as to the suffocating crowds (which probably necessitated the eight different artists who contributed to this thing).  Continue reading →

Jul 15 2014

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 7/9/14

round upLook, 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 Grayson 1, Batgirl 33, Batman Eternal 14, Detective Comics 33, Superman Wonder Woman 10, Justice League United 3, Daredevil 5, Captain Marvel 5, All-New X-Men 29, Deadpool 31, Original Sins 3, Avengers 32, and Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm 1.

slim-banner4Spencer: I was recently discussing Grayson 1 with a friend of mine, a deeply devoted Nightwing fan who was worried about what DC had been doing with the character and especially about the decision to jettison his superheroic identity and turn Dick into a secret agent. My counterargument was that this book has so far been quite respectful of who Dick Grayson is, and I stand by that. Tim Seeley and Tom King depict Dick as compassionate, intelligent, humorous, and skilled, and pitting him against the Midnighter — an obvious stand-in for Dick’s mentor, Batman — is an excellent way to display just how competent Dick actually is. There’s been a lot of fuss about Dick using a gun, but Seeley and King actually use that same gun to reinforce that Dick’s morality is as solid as ever. Continue reading →

Jun 18 2014

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 6/11/14

round upLook, 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 Patrick discuss Hulk 4, Uncanny X-Men Special 1, Shutter 3, Starlight 4, Green Lantern Corps 32, and Justice League United 2.

slim-banner4What if this is like math? Or algebra? You know, you add a plus douchebag to a minus douchebag, then you get, like, zero douchebags.

Jesse Pinkman, Breaking Bad

Drew: Comic book readers are pretty permissive when it comes to explaining away absurd nonsense. I mean, the starting point of most issues is that there’s a nearly impervious guy from a made up planet flying around Earth, or a guy who turns into the unjolly green giant every time he stubs his toe, which I think requires a pretty high tolerance. Of course, in order to give those absurd heroes a conflict that could last a whole issue, many writers have resorted to even more absurd problems, which in turn require even more absurd solutions, requiring even more absurd problems, devolving into an arms race of comic book nonsense that punishes any investment in it. Or, if you ad a plus nonsense absurdity to a minus nonsense absurdity, you aren’t left with all that much. I’ve never had a great word for this phenomenon, but going forward, I might just call it “Hulk 4.” Continue reading →

Jun 11 2014

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 6/4/14

round upLook, 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 Patrick discuss Green Lantern 32, Green Arrow 32, Batman Eternal 9, Punisher 6, Magneto 5, Iron Fist: The Living Weapon 3, Loki: Agent of Asgard 5, and Miles Morales The Ultimate Spider-Man 2.

slim-banner4Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost, if you keep it a secret! Why didn’t you tell the world, EH?

Dr. Strangelove, Dr. Strangelove

Drew: “Honor amongst thieves” is a noble concept, but in practice, the deceitful behavior that qualifies someone as a “thief” tends to make them a shitty partner. I mean, if they’re willing to throw over some of the most sacred tenants of our society for their own gain, what chance do personal agreements have? This notion comes to the fore in Green Lanterns 32, as the Khund and the Clann finally turn on the Durlans. Or is it the other way around? The Durlans blow up the entire fleets of both races, but it’s not quite retaliation, and without any forewarning that such an attack was possible, it couldn’t have been used as a deterrent. Instead, it seemed to be part of the plan to kill them all along. Honor amongst thieves indeed. Continue reading →

Jun 4 2014

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 5/28/14

round upLook, 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 discusses Avengers 30, The New 52: Futures End 4, Nightwing 30, and Southern Bastards 2.

slim-banner4Look, we know how you feel. We didn’t believe it either when we were you and we us said what we us are saying right now.

Bill S. Preston, Esquire, Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Drew: Do you ever think about what you would tell your past self if you ever had the opportunity? It seems like a silly question, but it comes up a LOT in fiction, and is never quite satisfactory. There’s almost always some kind of time constraint that keeps anyone from asking the serious questions, meaning that everything ends up being a rushed jumble of cryptic teasers for what’s about to happen. It makes sense — actually having the future version tell the past version everything would either rob the story of any tension, or run the risk of changing the past that we’ve already read. In Avengers 30, Jonathan Hickman knowingly toes the line between too little and too much information, but keeps the focus tight enough on the characters that it ultimately doesn’t matter. Continue reading →

May 28 2014

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 3/21/14

round upLook, 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 Patrick discuss Justice League 30, Batman and Frankenstein 31, Uncanny X-Men 21, Batman Eternal 7, The Unwritten Apocalypse 5, Batman / Superman 11, Hulk 3, and Thor: God of Thunder 22.

slim-banner4Patrick: It seems like no matter what kinds of nuanced stories are being told in the DCU, we all just wanna talk about the conclusion to Forever Evil. Well, let it never be said that Retcon Punch is impervious to the will of everyone. Justice League 30 sees the team back in action for the first time since September (believe it). The issue opens with the least necessary flashforward I’ve ever seen in my life: a Secret Society meeting busted up by the Justice League. The big shocker — presumably — is that Lex, Shazam and Captain Cold are among the Leaguers. Big surprise, if you didn’t see the cover of the issue, which you almost certainly did if you have eyes. Continue reading →