May 27 2014

Wonder Woman 31

wonder woman 31Today, Scott and Drew are discussing Wonder Woman 31, originally released May 21st, 2014.

“What kind of madness?”

“Men sometimes generate a good kind…you’ll see.”

Aleka and Zola, Wonder Woman 31

Scott: Zola issues this reassurance to the Amazons, whose world is about to be turned upside down by the arrival of men on Paradise Island. It’s interesting that Zola feels this way; most of the trouble in her life has been caused by men. She was impregnated by Zeus (who’s still missing, by the way), held captive by Hades, and had her baby nearly killed by Apollo. She could easily have turned against men, but she’s wise enough to realize these are anomalies, and far more men have helped her along the way. Men, like many other groups, often get a bad rap because of the actions of a select few. As Wonder Woman 31 shows, sometimes those actions are unspeakably horrific, but prejudice will do nothing to overcome them. The good, both men and women, must unite to defeat the evil.

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May 23 2014

Chat Cave: Amazing Spider-Man 2

Editor’s Note: Sorry this is coming out so late, gang!

Following only five years after the conclusion of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, the first Amazing Spider-Man struggled to justify its own existence. Amazing Spider-Man 2 suffers from a different proximity effect garnering early comparisons to the similarly overstuffed and tonally inconsistent Spider-Man 3. Are those comparisons fair? You can bet we have thoughts on that. Welcome to the Chat Cave.
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May 23 2014

Zero 8

Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing Zero 8, originally released May 21st, 2014.

Taylor: I, an unmarried 29-year-old male, just bought two picture books and I couldn’t be more pleased with my purchase. The books, entitled Mr. Wuffles and Journey were brought to my attention by an NPR article and — due in large part to being able to preview the books in this piece — I snatched them up as soon as they came to my attention. Now, I’m not normally one for picture books. Or rather, I should say, I haven’t been one in the past. “They’re made for kids right?” — went my line of thinking. When I bought the books, though, I realized that picture books and comics have a lot in common. The most obvious commonality between the two mediums is that they both tell stories in large part through pictures. With this in mind, I have a new fascination not only in picture books, but in stories that can be told without words. Zero 8 is one of these stories, showing us just how powerful pictures can be and how, sometimes, the most powerful words are those which go unsaid.

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May 23 2014

The New 52: Futures End 3

 

futures end 3

Today, Shelby leads a discussion on The New 52: Futures End 2, originally released May 21st, 2014.

Shelby: A future ending we already know, which has already been put into play in the present: that’s the set-up we’ve got for Futures End. With that hopeless scenario, one wonders how the myriad of writers on this book can make us care about what happens. They’ve definitely got their work cut out for them; in addition to the inevitable situation the heroes are dealing with, the heroes themselves come from some of the more obscure corners of the DCU. Don’t get me wrong, I love Frankenstein as much as the next gal, but he’s not exactly a staple in the New 52. So, how are Brian Azzarello, Keith Griffin, Jeff Lemire, and Dan Jurgens making me care about these characters in this scene? Turns out, they aren’t, really.

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May 22 2014

Forever Evil 7

forever evil 7Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Forever Evil 7, originally released May 21st, 2014. 

villain div

Spencer: I often find myself thinking of Geoff Johns as “the comic-bookiest writer in all of comics”, in the sense that so much of his work revolves around the history and mythology of the characters he’s writing, and enjoying his work often depends on having a history with the characters yourself. That’s not necessarily good or bad on its own; Johns’ style has its strong points and its weak ones, and while examples of both pop up in Forever Evil 7, it fortunately falls mostly on the “strong” side. Continue reading →

May 22 2014

Original Sin 2

original sin 2Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Original Sin 2, originally released May 21st, 2014.

Shelby: Last issue, we discussed the merits of a superhero murder mystery. Patrick mentioned that the fluidity of the rules of the superhero world make for a much more fast and loose sort of mystery. It raises the question of how such a mystery can even exist; when you’ve got Emma Frost and Doctor Strange running around, how can you possibly know the answer to anything? I suppose that is was the Watcher’s function; despite the number of characters who have the capability of knowing everything, Uatu was the only one who actually did. The entity for whom there was no mystery is now the subject of a murder mystery of epic proportions. That fact is not lost on writer Jason Aaron, who decides to further upend the concept of the murder mystery by telling us who did it in the second chapter.

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May 21 2014

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

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 The New 52: Futures End 2, Avengers 29, and All-New X-Men 27.

slim-banner4Drew: With DC doubling- (even tripling-) down on weekly series, a lot of ink has been spilled on the benefits of a weekly format. While I certainly think the opportunity to sell four times as many comics is part of the equation, I’m more interested in the narrative benefits. Do you choose a monthly format to allow for more propulsive cliffhangers? To facilitate more nuanced decompression? To broaden the scope of the series? The New 52: Futures End favored this latter option right off the bat (much to the detriment of issues 0-1), but issue 2 begins to make good on that promise in earnest, placing its characters in the context of a larger superhero universe.

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May 21 2014

Justice League United 1

justice league united 1Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing Justice League United 1, originally released May 14th, 2014. 

Patrick: My gateway to regularly reading comics was Geoff Johns’ run on Green Lantern from Rebirth to Blackest Night. That’s a lot of outer space nonsense, to be sure, but the series was so caught up with the spirit of invention and exploration that every new revelation was imbued with so much energy that I was never really overwhelmed with how silly it all was. I’m sensing some of that same untethered enthusiasm in Justice League Unlimted 1, but the connection I’m going to draw is far more literal — both feature the background conflict between the planets Rann and Thanagar. The Rann-Thanagar War is one of those dense hives of modern DC mythology, mired in conflicting histories and muddy storytelling. Hell, I’m not even sure Rann and Thanagar are two separate planets since the New 52 started. In this issue, Jeff Lemire tries to give identity to the characters and concepts that are notoriously bad at sticking to any one.

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May 20 2014

All-New Ghost Rider 3

ghost rider 3

Today, Shelby and Spencer are discussing All-New Ghost Rider 3, originally released May 14th, 2014

Shelby: I’ve only been reading monthly comics for a couple years: basically since the New 52 launched. Even with that relatively short history with comics, I feel pretty jaded when it comes to origin stories. If I don’t already know it backwards and forwards, I’ve seen enough origins to get the gist of it. Tragically lost parents at a young age, science experiment gone wrong, coming-of-age gaining of powers (be they magical or otherwise) — it’s easy to roll your eyes at a new origin story because you think you’ve already seen it. Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore have embraced that origin spirit with their All-New Ghost Rider, but have somehow managed to do so in a way that feels new and relevant. It doesn’t hurt that it’s completely gorgeous to look at, either.  Continue reading →

May 20 2014

Deadpool 28

deadpool 28Today, Spencer and Scott are discussing Deadpool 28, originally released May 14th, 2014.

Spencer: Just the other day, Drew and a few of our readers took to the comments to discuss how difficult it can be to talk about our favorite titles, books that are so good that words sometimes just fail us. I felt that way in the days following my first reading of Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan, and Scott Koblish’s Deadpool 28; this issue may not be as dark or emotional as some of the previous, but it succeeds at everything it sets out to do with such effortlessness that it practically leaves me speechless. Continue reading →