Apr 28 2014

Original Sin 0

original sin 0Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Original Sin 0, originally released April 23rd, 2014.

Spencer: A few months ago Patrick and I covered Inhumanity 1, and while most of my complaints about that issue still stand, at the time I misunderstood its purpose; it wasn’t meant to be the beginning of a story, but instead to serve as a primer to catch new readers up on recent events in other titles. In a way, Mark Waid and Jim Cheung’s Original Sin 0 is almost the complete opposite of Inhumanity 1; I enjoyed the story much more, but it’s a story that looks to only have the vaguest of connections to the upcoming Original Sin miniseries.

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Apr 28 2014

Elektra 1

elektra 1

Today, Suzanne and Patrick are discussing Elektra 1, originally released on April 23, 2014.

Suzanne: By her own admission, Elektra has a bad habit of identifying herself through relationships to the men in her life. Her father, Matt Murdock, Kingpin, Bullseye…they all contribute to Elektra’s history in powerful ways. My first exposure to the character was Jennifer Garner’s appearance in Daredevil. Despite having a powerful skill set as an assassin, I didn’t leave the cinema wanting to kick butt like Elektra. Maybe this is a bit unfair, but my overall impression was that things happened to her and that element of passivity was unattractive. Continue reading →

Apr 28 2014

C2E2 2014 – Day 3

comic con punch2

Patrick: Pro Tip: Breakfast – eat it every day of con. Every single one. Don’t skip breakfast. No, seriously. Eat it. Eat it.

Properly fed, (breakfast!) Drew, Shelby and myself headed back into the con for our interview with Gail Simone. Gail is closely guarded by her husband Scott, who is a righteous dude in his own right. After razzing me about not being able to come up with my favorite show tune on the spot*, he granted me access to Simone and she and I had a delightful chat about Batgirl, Red Sonja and Lara Croft. You can expect more on that when we publish that interview later this week. Continue reading →

Apr 28 2014

Zero 7

Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing Zero 7, originally released April 23rd, 2014.

Taylor: Beaches are memorable places. Most obviously, they are pleasant and warm — a veritable buffet of sensory delights. But beaches are also places of mystery and harbors of the strange. They’re the border between two worlds. On the one side you have dry land, man’s habitat and therefore a place of life. On the other side you have the wet desert of the ocean, a place that while beautiful, can’t sustain human life. However, long ago, man came from the ocean, making the watery depths paradoxically a place of life as well as death for mankind. For these reasons (and others) many gravitate to beaches around the world to enjoy scenery and delights as well as muse on the meaning of all things philosophical. Given these themes, it’s no wonder that Zero now finds itself musing on the sandy boundary. It’s the perfect setting for issue 7, which sees the tides of the narrative shifting in an unexpected and thought provoking direction.

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Apr 27 2014

C2E2 2014 – Day 2

comic con punch2

Drew: C2E2 is a great con, but one of the most exciting things for us was simply getting together to hang out with friends we haven’t seen in years (YEARS). That emphasis on the social aspect (as well as the preparations for Shelby’s costume) kept us up pretty late, so we didn’t get the earliest start Saturday morning. We arrived just in time for Marvel’s Original Sin panel. Heads up guys: there are a TON of issues tying in here, including some fun sounding team-ups — Hulk and Iron Man, Deadpool and Dazzler, Thor and Loki. That last one contained easily the biggest reveal of the day: Angela is Thor and Loki’s long-lost sister.

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Apr 27 2014

C2E2 2014 – Confessions of a Cosplayer

comic con punch2

One of the more ubiquitous things about cons is cosplay. It’s like Halloween, only not scary (and usually, less slutty). People take pride in their costumes, and can easily make a day of simply existing in those costumes around the show floor. Retcon Punch’s own Shelby Peterson dressed up for the second day of the show, and as such, had an adventure totally separate from Patrick and Drew. This is us asking her about it.

Retcon Punch: First of all, Shelby, who were you?

Shelby: Xena. The Warrior Princess.

Shelby and Seline as Xena and Gabrielle

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Apr 25 2014

Justice League United 0

justice league united 0

Today, Shelby and Spencer are discussing Justice League United 0, originally released April 23rd, 2014. 

Shelby: We’ve seen a few different ways to handle zero issues. Not, “I have no issues, and I don’t know how to handle it,” or “I have issues with the mathematical concept of null value,” but with comic book issues numbered 0. I’m a big fan of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti’s execution of the zero with Harley Quinn 0, which established the character and setting, but more importantly established the tone of the title. Heck, if you really want to explore the gamut of what a zero issue can do, check out our insanely full coverage of DC’s Zero Month two and a half years ago. A zero issue can be whatever the creative team wants to make of it, and Jeff Lemire and artist Mike McKone seem so eager to start this story they just want to dive right in.

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Apr 25 2014

C2E2 2014 Coverage

comic con punch2

Guys. This is a big deal. Chicago’s C2E2 marks the first time Drew, Patrick and Shelby have been in the same room since we started Retcon Punch over two years ago. (Oh, damn, we missed the Cotton anniversary — we’ll buy each other t-shirts at the con.) But we’re all back in our favorite Midwestern city and ready to share the experience with you! If you find yourself in Chicago, don’t forget to stop by our meet-up on Saturday Night at Plymouth at 7:00!

We’re going to approach this in much the same way Drew and Patrick tackled NYCC — daily write-ups of our experiences, and maybe some interviews if we can nab ’em. For more immediate news and reactions from us, make sure to check out twitter.

Retcon Punch is @retconpunch

Drew is @d_baumgartner

Patrick is @patrick_ehlers

Shelby is @bumbling_bea

Also, we’re happy to act as ambassadors for the Retcon Punch community, so if you have any questions you’ve like us to defiantly pose at panels, or if you’d just like us to giggle sheepishly at Charles Soule’s table, we are more than happy to oblige! Hit us up in the comments or on twitter.

Apr 25 2014

Batman Eternal 3

batman eternal 3Today, Spencer leads a discussion on Batman Eternal 3, originally released April 23rd, 2014.

Spencer: I’m impressed by how quickly Batman Eternal is moving along. A year-long story with new chapters releasing every week could easily fall into the trap of being slowly paced, or even worse, of using filler to stretch out the story to fit into 52 issues, but if anything, the creative team of Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, John Layman, Tim Seeley, and Jason Fabok seem to be speeding through the story at an alarming rate. I’m starting to think that “the end” teased back in issue one may come sooner than we think; at the speed they’re throwing out ideas, the end may very well be the beginning of the story. Continue reading →