May 1 2013

Young Avengers 4

young avengers 4

Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Young Avengers 4, originally released April 24th, 2013. 

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Spencer: Tricksters are a common archetype in most works. They spread chaos, disregard authority, and cheat, con, and lie in whatever ways they can to get what they want. We all feel like we know better than to trust them, and so do our protagonists, but the best tricksters find a way to get past our defenses and bend us to their whims anyway. Kieron Gillen knows exactly how to write an effective trickster, and his Loki — one of the oldest and greatest — somehow manages to keep surprising both the Young Avengers and the readers; he might just be proving himself a greater threat than even that pesky interdimensional parasite.

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May 1 2013

Invincible 102

Alternating Currents: Invincible 102, Drew and PatrickToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing Invincible 101, originally released April 24th, 2013.

Drew: Big reveals can be a lot of fun, but they often have the effect of retroactively making everything leading up to them seem patently absurd. The very notion of “spoilers” bears this out — sure, knowing Bruce Willis was dead all along removes the impact of the reveal, but the more lasting effect of knowing is that it draws your attention to how hard the movie works to never explicitly show that he’s alive, ruining what would have otherwise seemed totally innocuous. Once you know he’s dead, he can’t credibly be seen as not dead, which makes the whole movie kind of dumb. As a newcomer to Invincible, the big reveal in issue 102 feels a lot like that spoiler, shifting our perspective on a character so drastically that I find it hard to believe we could have ever thought anything else. Continue reading →

Apr 30 2013

All-Star Western 19

Alternating Currents: All-Star Western 19, Drew and Taylor

Today, Drew and Taylor are discussing All-Star Western 19, originally released April 24th, 2013.

Drew: Time travel does weird things to stories. Leaving aside whatever chronology wankery that usually goes along with it, time travel stories actually require pretty specific things of their characters. If they are going to the past, for example, they must not know history that well (or events have to play out in a way different from what they learned). Sure, having a character aware of the hands of fate sounds good, but knowing everything before it happens sure sounds boring. Making the time traveler relatively unaware allows for all kinds of neat dramatic irony — we know how things play out even if the characters don’t. This is especially true of historical events we might recognize, but it’s also true of smaller period details. We laugh when Bill and Ted high-five Napoleon, or when Marty McFly plays Johnny B. Goode because we understand that that’s not how someone from that time period would behave. It’s this smaller-scale dramatic irony that permeates All-Star Western 19, as Jonah Hex runs into a time-displaced Booster Gold. Continue reading →

Apr 30 2013

Uncanny X-Men 5

uncanny x-men 5

Today, Ethan and Patrick are discussing Uncanny X-Men 5, originally released April 24th 2013.

Ethan: Each of us has at least two definitions of self – the one we show to the world, and the one we identify as our true self. The external definition — the mask — is usually a tool we use to fit in. Perhaps your mask is funnier than you believe the “real” you truly is, or more confident, or more flippant, or more compassionate. Some of us may present a version of ourselves that is not too different than the one we believe to be true; others of us may show a face that’s more dramatically different than our internal, hidden one. Whatever the distance between the public and private self, whatever qualities you infuse into this living theater of personality, you — and only you — can fully plumb the difference. That is of course, assuming that you know who the “true” you is. In Uncanny X-Men #5, Brian Michael Bendis begins to peel back the figurative and literal masks worn by Magik, reminding us of her past and exploring the present condition of the rebel mutants.

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Apr 30 2013

Fantastic Four 7

fantastic four 7

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Fantastic Four 7, originally released April 24th, 2013.

Shelby: When I read comics (or watch movies), I throw myself into it completely; I get so wrapped up in the world these types of media create, strongly written characters can affect me very deeply. This happens with characters I love (you all know of my gigantic crush on Clint Barton), and it happens with characters I hate. Sometimes, I just can’t extricate myself from a fictional universe to remember that it is, in fact, fictional, and I probably don’t need to get angry at a character for being a total ass. Continue reading →

Apr 30 2013

The Flash 19

Alternating Currents: The Flash 19, Drew and MikyzptlkToday, Drew and Mikyzptlk are discussing the Flash 19, originally released April 24th, 2013.

Drew: It’s hard to pick a favorite thing about The Flash. Is it the bright tone? The vivid, thematically rich art? It’s penchant for clever meta-commentary? In many ways, it feels like it was designed for the kind of nerdy dissections we do here at Retcon Punch, giving us everything we look for in a comic. Nothing brings that feeling about more than the specific pop-culture references this series drops from time to time. Things like having characters from LOST pop up randomly, or building an entire arc up to a single Planet of the Apes reference feel like they were designed rather specifically for my nerdy mentalities. Those references were fun, if entirely disposable — they amounted to little more than throwaway lines and background characters — but with issue 19, writer Brian Buccellato goes into full-on homage mode, giving us an extended Die Hard tribute that plays a key role in the plot. Continue reading →

Apr 29 2013

Deadpool 8

deadpool 8

Today, Scott and guest writer Greg Smith are discussing Deadpool 8, originally released April 24th, 2013.

Scott: And we’re back. After the glorious detour into the Bronze Age that was Deadpool 7, writers Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn are picking up where they left off in Deadpool 6– with Agent Preston living inside Wade Wilson’s head. It must be hard for a writing team to follow up an issue like Deadpool 7– the consensus best of the series thus far, but one that seemingly takes place outside of the series’ continuity. With expectations higher than ever and questions abound, Duggan and Posehn prove that things aren’t always as they seem, deftly weaving the events of Deadpool 7 into the lingering storylines from the first six issues in a surprisingly logical way.

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Apr 29 2013

Manhattan Projects 11

manhattan projects 11

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Manhattan Projects 11, originally released April 24th, 2013.

Patrick: We take the term of “science fiction” for granted. It’s a genre and an aesthetic that has become ironically formulaic over the years. Just as “fantasy” increasing means a cookie-cutter world of elves and goblins and dragons, “science fiction” means spaceships and lasers and aliens (or robots, so say we all). Jonathan Hickman’s Manhattan Projects returns to the source of the phrase and delivers a series both surprisingly scientific and excitingly fictional. I’m still tinkering with the punctuation, but I think “science/fiction” is the most appropriate. Continue reading →

Apr 26 2013

Batman Incorporated 10

batman inc 10

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Batman Incorporated 10, originally released April 25th, 2013.

Drew: One of the defining characteristics of Batman is his relative plausibility. Fictional technology aside, he’s basically an extremely wealthy, extremely determined individual — no alien DNA, no radioactive animal bites, no magic. Writers will vary in just how plausible they want their version of Batman to be, but most respect that believability as one of the character’s biggest draws. Every so often, writers will break that rule — Jason will be resurrected via magic, or Bruce might call in a favor from Superman —  to show you just how big the stakes are. In this issue, the situation is so dire, Bruce turns to not one, but several such outlandish solutions, tapping into every corner of Batman-exess he can. Continue reading →

Apr 26 2013

Guardians of the Galaxy 0.1 – 2

guardians of the galaxy 2

Today, Mikyzptlk and Scott are discussing Guardians of the Galaxy 0.1 – 2, originally released February, March, and April 24th, 2013, respectively.

Mikyzptlk: The Green Lantern books have engendered in me a healthy love of space-opera that Marvel properties have generally not been able to do quite as successfully. I’ve known about Guardians of the Galaxy for a few years now, but I’ve never given it a shot up until now. News of the upcoming movie has piqued my interest, however, and with that it seems that now may be the right time to start paying attention to this rag-tag team of space-faring weirdos. Brian Michael Bendis is clearly aware of all the hype this series is starting to get as well as he delivers something that features small and personal moments mixed with high-octane, blockbuster entertainment. Continue reading →