Feb 6 2017

The Woods 29

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Today, Spencer and Ryan M. are discussing The Woods 29, originally released February 1st, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Spencer: The Woods is a series about teenagers, but it’s never neglected its adult characters. From Principal Beaumont to the rulers of New London, the adults have all had their own desires and motivations that have made them more than just stock antagonists for the Bay Point kids. James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas have spent quite a bit of The Woods’ third year fleshing out their protagonists’ parents back on Earth, and now that Sanami’s been teleported home, it’s clear why. Some are proving themselves allies while others stand in Sanami’s way; the splintering of Earth’s forces provides an interesting contrast to the action back on the moon, where old enemies may just be coming together against a common foe. Continue reading →

Feb 3 2017

Marvel Round-Up: Comics Released 2/1/17

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We try to stay up on what’s going on at Marvel, but we can’t always dig deep into every issue. The solution? Our weekly round-up of titles coming out of Marvel Comics. Today, we’re discussing All-New X-Men 18, Deadpool 26, Moon Knight 11, Old Man Logan 17, Unbelievable Gwenpool 1 and Unstoppable Wasp 2. We discussed Hawkeye 3 on Thursday, so check that out. Also, we will be discussing Nova 3 on Tuesday and Karnak 6 Wednesday, so come back for those! As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

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Feb 3 2017

Batman 16

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Today, Michael and Patrick are discussing Batman 16, originally released February 1, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Michael: Now THAT’S what I’m talking about! I’ll admit to being a little lukewarm in my reception of the initial arcs of Tom King’s Batman run but I’d say that “I Am Bane” is off to a great start. Maybe it’s because I’m always rooting for a quality Bane story or maybe it’s because I love seeing the Robin club acting like a smarmy group of brothers. Either way it feels good to be excited about what direction Batman is headed in once again. Continue reading →

Feb 2 2017

Hawkeye 3

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Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing Hawkeye 3, originally released December 14th, 2016. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Taylor: Legend has it that carved upon the Ancient Greek Temple of Delphi are the words gnothi seauton — Know Thyself. For the Greeks, it was important to know who you were and your place in society. This maxim not only helped you achieve glory, but prevented you from overstepping your bounds, as so many ill-fated Greek characters learned all too late. In our modern culture, knowing yourself has taken on a completely new meaning. Because of social media, you’re not only yourself but also the brand you push out there on Facebook, Twitter, and comic blogs. Given this, it’s imperative not to only know thyself, but also know how thyself is viewed by others. Hawkeye 3, knows itself and how it comes off to its readers, and that makes it a smart, funny, and interesting read.

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Feb 2 2017

DC Round-Up: Comics Released 2/1/17

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How many Batman books is too many Batman books? Depending on who you ask there ain’t no such thing! We try to stay up on what’s going on at DC, but we can’t always dig deep into every issue. The solution? Our weekly round-up of titles coming out of DC Comics. Today, we’re discussing Green Arrow 16, Green Lanterns 16, Midnighter and Apollo 5, and Shade the Changing Girl 5. Also, we’ll be discussing Batman 16 on Friday and Superman 16 on Tuesday, so come back for those! As always, this article containers SPOILERS!

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Jan 31 2017

Civil War II: The Oath 1

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Today, Spencer and Drew are discussing Civil War II: The Oath 1, originally released January 25th, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Spencer: Why is Steve Rogers being transformed into a Nazi such a terrifying idea? It’s because we all trust Steve Rogers, both in universe and out. Not only can he use that to gain influence that should never, under any circumstances, be given a Nazi, but that trust means that we’re probably inclined to think the best of him — out of sheer habit, if nothing else — even though he’s never deserved it less. Well, no more. Civil War II: The Oath drives home that this altered Steve’s heart is as black as they come. If only the rest of the Marvel universe was privy to that fact as well. Continue reading →

Jan 31 2017

Star Wars 27

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Today, Patrick and Mark are discussing Star Wars 27, originally released January 25th, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

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“I’m very conscious of the environments. I try to have at least three environments in a movie and I try to have them as different as possible. And then from movie to movie I try to have them as different as possible. Y’know, in the first movie, we were on a sand thing — it was all a brown kinda color— and in the second one we were in the snow and it was all kinda white, and a green, swampy kinda thing. And third one… what can you do in terms of environments? You have to shoot it somewhere on this earth. Unfortunately, you can’t go somewhere else. So a forest was really the only thing I had left.”

-George Lucas, on Return of the Jedi

Patrick: George Lucas spends a lot of time, energy and imagination developing the settings for his stories. This is actually one of the qualities that — no matter what else slipped in his filmmaking — never suffered in either of his trilogies. Say what you want about The Phantom Menace, the planet Naboo is stunningly realized and presents two completely separate environments and cultures. He’s a designer with a strong sense of place and history. That quality of passive storytelling doesn’t always trickle down into Star Wars games, comics and TV shows (or arguably, into the newer movies), but it’s interesting to see Jason Aaron and Salvador Larroca try to capture that same sense of place in Star Wars 27. Continue reading →

Jan 30 2017

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 66

Alternating Currents: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 66, Drew and Taylor

Today, Drew and Taylor are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 66, originally released January 25th, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Drew: I’ve always been impressed at the way IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles manages to balance the “Teenage” elements against the more sensational “Mutant” and “Ninja” ones. There are obvious advantages to this approach — it lends depth to the Turtles’ characterizations and offers more variety to the kinds of stories they fit in to — but the more I think about it, the more I appreciate that the classic teen obsession with identity and labels are built into their collective monicker. That their title is so verbose has always been a source for humor, but it also plants the seeds for real tensions in their sense of identity — or, at least an emphasis on the adjectives and nouns they associate with that identity. Indeed, issue 66 focuses almost entirely on the identities of its cast, forcing them to ask both what those identities are, and what they might say about what they can or can’t do. Continue reading →

Jan 30 2017

Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 1/25/17

roundup47Look, 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, we discuss Jem and the Holograms 23, Reborn 4, and Saga 42. Today we also discussed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 66, and we’ll be discussing Star Wars 27 on Tuesday and Animosity: The Rise 1 on Wednesday, so come back for those! As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

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Jan 27 2017

Marvel Round-Up: Comics Released 1/25/17

marvel-roundup67We try to stay up on what’s going on at Marvel, but we can’t always dig deep into every issue. The solution? Our weekly round-up of titles coming out of Marvel Comics. Today, we’re discussing Captain America: Steve Rogers 10, Daredevil 16, Doctor Strange 16, Hulk 2, IvX 3, and Spider-Woman 15. We discussed Deadpool 25 on Thursday, and will be discussing Civil War II: The Oath 1 on Tuesday and Black Panther 10 on Wednesday, so come back for those! As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

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