Aug 2 2013

Batman Incorporated 13

Alternating Currents: Batman Incorporated 13, Drew and Patrick

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Batman Incorporated 13, originally released July 31st, 2013.

It never ends. It probably never will.

-Jim Gordon

Drew: What does it mean to end a run writing Batman? How do you “end” a story featuring a character that has been published in perpetuity for over 70 years with no signs of slowing down? Sure, Grant Morrison “killed” Bruce Wayne, but that was back at the close of his epic’s second act. No, the ending here had to be something much grander, something much truer to the unrelenting nature of Batman. The sheer scope of Morrison’s epic is deserving of the same pomp and circumstance of “the definitive end” of Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern, but Morrison manages to approach that same grandiosity with modest deference, keeping in mind that, while the he may be done, Batman will keep on going. That simple nod turns his elaborate love letter to Batman’s past into an equally impassioned love letter to Batman’s future, and gracefully shifts Morrison from center stage to the audience. Continue reading →

Aug 2 2013

Guardians of the Galaxy 5

guardians of the galaxy 5

Today, Ethan and Shelby are discussing Guardians of the Galaxy 5, originally released July 31st, 2013.

Ethan:  I’ve always been envious of people who can consistently sleep through long flights. I’m not a tall person; airplane seats are not all that constrictive for me. Leg room is not really a big concern. Nevertheless, I haven’t mastered the skill of settling in and passing out. So on the one occasion in which I did get lucky enough to fall asleep during takeoff and wake up during the landing, I was freaking out a little. One minute, I’m freezing in the Great Plains; the next, I’m squinting at the Sierra Madre through bleary eyes and a tiny window. If our species ever gets around to inventing teleportation, I think it will feel a little bit like that. In Guardians of the Galaxy #5, a new character is undergoing her own, much more radical translocation – Angela, “Hunter of the Heavens,” has been ripped out of her home universe/reality, and she is NOT happy about it.
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Aug 2 2013

The Wake 3

wake 3

Today, Shelby and Spencer are discussing The Wake 3, originally released July 31st, 2013.

Shelby:  For me, Scott Snyder’s The Wake has been an exercise in scope. Considering our story seemingly encompasses all the oceans, large portions of space, and a span of time stretching over billions of years, it’s pretty safe to say that scope could be classified as “broad.” Just when it seems to be too much to take in, artist Sean Murphy steps in to remind us of the intimate character moments Snyder has sneaked in to this story. For every flashback 3.8 billion years in the past, there’s a quiet moment of a man hallucinating his coworker just tore his arm off and is eating it. Gotta love those intimate moments.
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Aug 1 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 24

tmnt 24Today, Patrick and Taylor are discussing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 24, originally released July 31th, 2013.

Patrick: Because I’m a huge nerd, I was recently in a normal-people social situation and someone asked me who my favorite Ninja Turtle was. In typical Ehlers-style, I laid out a multi-tiered answer: “When I was a kid, Donatello was my favorite, because he was quiet and liked science. As a young adult, I liked Raphael the best — so angsty and complicated. But as an adult-adult, Michelangelo is my favorite.” As I get older, Mikey’s enthusiasm and social skills seem like rarer commodities, and I just respect the hell out of the character. But I sorta surprised myself with how much I feel about all of these characters (enough to claim 75% of them as “my favorite”). I always worry about why it is that I like them all so much — but I think it’s just because they’re stories are fucking great. Issue 24 is no exception. Continue reading →

Aug 1 2013

Batman Annual 2

batman annual 2

Today, Mikyzptlk and Scott are discussing Batman Annual 2, originally released July 31st, 2013.

Mikyzptlk: In what seems like a parallel universe now, I was once a Psychology student. I learned a lot about how the body and mind interact, and how Psychology impacts our lives every day without us ever even realizing it. One of the lessons that stuck with me was about a study conducted by a group of very brave Psychologists. They wanted to check to see how patients in mental hospitals were treated, so they decided to commit themselves voluntarily to find out first hand. What they discovered truly saddened me. It seems that, for the most part, the patients were completely ignored by hospital staff. Well, the quiet patients anyway. The Psychologists learned that if patients wished to get any attention at all from hospital staff, they would need to learn to start acting up. In other words, they’d need to dial up the “crazy.” I’m not sure if the writers of this Batman Annual are aware of that story, but it seems they have just given voice to a controversy that surrounds mental hospitals to this day. Continue reading →

Jul 31 2013

The Flash 22

flash 22

Today, Scott and Spencer are discussing The Flash 22, originally released July 24th, 2013.

Scott: I imagine being the fastest man on Earth could be pretty frustrating at times. It has its obvious advantages — you’re never late for work, no car insurance, no travel expenses, etc. — but there’s one major annoyance: the rest of the world isn’t moving at your pace. This would be doubly frustrating for a police officer trying to solve a complex murder mystery, which takes a long time to piece together regardless of how fast your body moves. This is the predicament Barry Allen has found himself in over the past several issues of The Flash, and co-writers/artists Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato seem to enjoy taking the slow road with a fast character. The Flash 22 finds them leading Barry to the killer he’s been looking for, but still withholding crucial information about his identity. It’s a spectacular looking issue, and one that feels more focused than this title has in a few months.

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Jul 31 2013

New Avengers 8

new avengers 8

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing New Avengers 8, originally released July 24th, 2013. 

slim-banner

Patrick: “What have you done?” This phrase appears a couple times throughout the issue. It’s a fantastically loaded question, both accusatory and sincerely seeking an answer. With so many balls in the air, and so many mysteriously motivated characters, I find myself asking the same question of our heroes. But rather than being motivated by anger or desperation or any emotion whatsoever, I’m asking for clarification. “Hey, Tony,” I ask, hands sheepishly in my pockets, “what did you do?”

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Jul 30 2013

The Superior Spider-Man 14

Alternating Currents: The Superior Spider-Man 14, Drew and PatrickToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing The Superior Spider-Man 14, originally released July 24th, 2013.

Drew: Vigilantism. It’s the concept that best describes the majority of comic book heroes. They operate outside of the law, making them criminals. At least, an individual vigilante is called a criminal. Of course, many comics have found interest in growing beyond the individual vigilante — the Justice League, the Avengers, Batman Incorporated — but most of those groups have made peace with their respective governments. What do you call it if a vigilante becomes an army without making nice? In a word: war. Writer Dan Slott brings us right to the brink of war in Superior Spider-Man 14 as Otto unwittingly unites an army against Spider-Man. Continue reading →

Jul 30 2013

Talon 10

talon 10

Today, Patrick and Mikyzptlk are discussing Talon 10, originally released July 27th, 2013. 

Patrick: There’s a moment during this issue where one of Bane’s mega henchmen, code-named The Wolf-Spider (because he’s terrifying), tells Calvin that there’s nothing he can do to stop Bane’s army from destroying the Court of Owls. Calvin gives his blessing – there’s nothing in the world that would make his life easier than the utter annihilation of the Court. It’s a funny moment, and one that seems like it is frustratingly close to a workable armistice between the Talon and Bane’s henchmen. Alas, we’re talking about characters named Talon and Wolf-Spider, so the fists keep flying. Back in Gotham, Casey escapes from Harmon’s torture dungeon and gets herself arrested by honest cops in order to protect herself from the Court. It’s an issue of unlikely alliances teased, embraced and broken.

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Jul 30 2013

Young Avengers 8

young avengers 8

Today, Ethan and Shelby are discussing Young Avengers 8, originally released July 24th, 2013. 

slim-banner

Ethan: Comics love to play with the idea of the parallel universe. As we grow in our understanding of the world and our galactic context, human nature still seems to gravitate towards the mystical Unknown. At the end of the day, we don’t always like feeling like we understand everything. We like horizons, unexplored places, whether it’s the vast, unplumbed expanses of the ocean floor or the weird, extreme, unvisited zones where black holes gobble up entire stars. So it makes sense that when given half an excuse, author Kieron Gillen and artists Jamie McKelvie and Mike Norton take us on a whirlwind tour through alternate realities full of bird-people, dead gods, and flying taxis. Young Avengers #8 takes as its setting the ancient and eternal game of wondering “what if?” while serving up it’s signature fare of hilarious teenage dialogue and angst. Continue reading →