Episodic storytelling is the name of the game in monthly comics. Month- or even multi-year-long arcs are fine, but a series lives and dies by its individual chapters. From self-contained one-offs to issues that recontextualize their respective series, this year had a ton of great issues. Whittling down those issues to a list was no easy task (and we look forward to hearing how your lists differ in the comments), but we would gladly recommend any (and all) of these issues without hesitation. These are our top 10 issues of 2015. Continue reading
Jughead 3
Today, Ryan and Spencer are discussing Jughead 3, originally released December 30th, 2015.
Ryan M.: My name lends itself to nicknames. Since both my first and last names are easily shorted and morphed, I’ve never had the sort of nickname that doesn’t sound like my name. In middle school, I tried to get people to call me “R Money” but as we all know, you can’t give yourself a nickname. Jughead Jones does not go by a derivative of his birth name, so when the first page of Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson’s Jughead 3 ends with someone calling him Forsythe, you can tell things are not right in Riverdale. Continue reading
DC Round-Up Comics Released 12/29/15
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 Batman and Robin Eternal 13, The Flash 47 and Justice League 47.
Best of 2015: Best Covers
You know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but that doesn’t mean you can’t judge the cover on its own merit. Some covers are so excellent that they pack all the drama, excitement and emotion of the whole issue into one succinct image. Sometimes they end up being their own surreal experience. And other times, we’re just exciting to see our favorite heroes kicking ass one more time. These are our top 10 covers of 2015. Continue reading
Marvel Round-Up: Comics Released 1/1/16
Due to a shipping / marketing snafu, Marvel ended up releasing a bunch of comics on January 1, 2016. That’s right: a holiday and a Friday. Thanks guys, that doesn’t screw up our schedule at all. But that’s why we’ve got round ups. All Hail The Round-Up! Today, we’re discussing Amazing Spider-Man 6, Howard the Duck 3 and Rocket Raccoon and Groot 1.
Chewbacca 5
Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing Chewbacca 5, originally released December 30th, 2015.
Taylor: In the new Star Wars movie, it’s apparent that director J.J. Abrams wanted to make Chewbacca a more rounded character. The need for doing this is plain – Chewbacca is one of the main characters in the Star Wars movies, but he’s little more than Han Solo’s charismatic shadow. Abrams rounds out Chewbacca by having him interact with more characters than just Han and by also giving him more heroic things to do like blasting stormtroopers. For the most part I find this to be a fairly successful venture into Chewbacca’s character. He’s portrayed as being important but not to the point that his language barrier interferes with things at all. The Chewbacca comic series similarly attempts to flesh out this character, but as issue 5 highlights, it is not nearly as successful as Episode 7.
Batman: Europa 3
Today, Drew and Michael are discussing Batman: Europa 3 originally released December 30th, 2015.
Joel: There is another character that was just as important as the two of us: New York City.
Karen: So New York City is like another character?
Molly: Yeah.They Came Together
Drew: Everyone has heard the old “setting as a character” cliche from some exhausted press tour interview, but filmmakers rarely acknowledge that cities aren’t fully fictional. That is, calling Chicago a character in The Fugitive is a bit like calling John F. Kennedy a character in Forrest Gump — these are real things (albeit fictionalized versions of them) that our fictional characters just happen to be interacting with. Moreover, if we accept the “setting as a character” cliche, it only ever reveals the setting to be a supremely boring character, undergoing no change over the course of the story. Indeed, because stories that tend to feature “settings as a character” tend to stay in just one city (I’m looking at you, New York), it’s impossible to separate the “character” of the setting from the general tone and mood of the narrative. Batman: Europa sets out to do the opposite, a kind of city character study — or perhaps “travel guide” is more accurate — by way of a superhero adventure. Continue reading
Superman: Lois & Clark 3
Today, Spencer and Mark are discussing Superman: Lois & Clark 3, originally released December 30th, 2015.
Spencer: In any comic storyline lasting more than two or three issues, it’s the middle chapters that are usually the weakest. Openings can rely on the excitement of starting a new story, penultimate chapters generally benefit from a big twist, and conclusions, of course, seem to matter the most simply because they’re the end of the story. Those middle chapters, though — third and fourth issues specifically, if it’s a six-issue arc — tend to blend together, existing only to “move the story forward” without really gaining an identity or having a complete, satisfying narrative of their own. Issue 3 of Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks’ Superman: Lois and Clark fits this description to a “t,” and is a weaker installment because of it. Continue reading
Weekly Round-Up: Comics Released 12/23/15
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, we discuss Darth Vader 14, Jupiter’s Circle Volume 2 2, Nameless 6, Outcast 14, and Saga 32.
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Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! 1
Today, Ryan M. and and Spencer are discussing Patsy Walker: A.K.A. Hellcat! 1, originally released December 23rd, 2015.
Ryan M.: A first issue in a series is sort of like a first date. You don’t need the full origin treatment. It’s really a matter of figuring out if you enjoy each other’s company. It provides a sample that hopefully indicates what’s to come, but cannot necessarily lay all of that out. After Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! 1, I am ready to invite this series to my place for a home-cooked meal.
Retcon Punch 