Mar 22 2013

Age of Ultron 6 PREVIEW

age of ultron preview

Age of Ultron 6 comes out on April 17th, 2013 and is written by Brian Michael Bendis with Art by Brandon Peterson and Carlos Pacheco. Click here for our complete Age of Ultron coverage.

The superheroes live up to their end of the foreign exchange program by sending the Avengers to Ultron City. I expect most of the issue will involve Iron Man getting black-out drunk and hooking up with an Australian chick in a hostel and Captain America calling home to ask for more money. Also Hulk smashing, because: obviously.

Preview a couple pages after the jump. Continue reading →

Mar 22 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 20

tmnt 20Today, Patrick and (guest writer) Mogo are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  20, originally released March 20th, 2013.

Patrick: I’m a realist. I believe in that which we can observe and measure and quantify. I don’t like the term ‘atheist’ because it defines my beliefs in terms of what I don’t believe (i.e., God). But I also don’t like the term ‘skeptic’ because it implies that there’s some force of will out there in the universe trying to convince me that one reality is true, but I’m just to wily to fall for its tricks. Fiction has a habit of shitting on skeptics – the instant you meet the non-religious scientist in a movie that says “… but that’d be impossible,” you know that whatever he just said is SO TOTALLY GOING TO HAPPEN. God, ghosts, magic, you name it – they all end up being real in the third act (unless you’re talking Scooby-Doo, then all bets are off). Donatello has served as this voice of skeptic dissent throughout IDW’s run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While reincarnation makes for an interesting story about turtle ninjas, I never liked that Donny’s doubt would have to be somehow wrong-headed. Amid all the bombast of climactic interdimensional warfare, Donny gets an answer that is astonishingly satisfying, both to him and to me.

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Mar 22 2013

Captain America 5

captain america 5

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Captain America 5, originally released March 20th, 2013.

Patrick: There’s a part in the first Metal Gear Solid game where you have to fight a bad guy called Psycho Mantis. Fans of the series will remember this fight fondly for a couple of reasons — the character “reads your mind” and talks trash about the way you’ve been playing the game. Reportedly he will also make comments about the other games you have saved on your memory card. It’s goofy, but it certainly is weird and fun. At one point in the fight, Mantis is reading your mind to determine your motions, and it’s impossible to land a blow. The solution is that you have to plug the controller into the second controller port — that way he can’t read your mind. No, that doesn’t make sense — it’s a rule the game establishes right then and there for this single-time use. It’s not fair, it’s not fun, and you either know to do it (and you win) or you don’t know to do it (and you lose). Captain America’s latest adventures have a little too much in common with this Psycho Mantis fight, and I’m kinda just waiting for him to plug the controller into the Player Two slot.

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Mar 22 2013

Justice League of America 2

JLA 2

Today, Mikyzptlk and Michael are discussing Justice League of America 2, originally released March 20th, 2013.

Mikyzptlk: Motivations, we’ve all got them. It’s what drives us to do whatever it is that we do. Geoff Johns is intent on letting us in on what drives his characters in his latest series. Not only that, but it seems that he’s using these motivations to drive the story forward. That leaves us with yet another issue that is mostly a bunch of characters yammering on. Fortunately, what they are yammering on about is fairly interesting, and the story that’s unfolding is getting more intriguing by the page.

Continue reading →

Mar 21 2013

Constantine 1

constantine 1

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Constantine 1, originally released March 20th, 2013.

Shelby: There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Everything has a price, and everyone has to pay it eventually. It might be nice to try to live your life like that isn’t true: to give of yourself freely and expect nothing in return. While I believe the world would be a better place if everyone were less selfish, if we all helped each other out with a no-strings-attached free lunch every now and again, I know that there will always be people who will take advantage of that system. People like John Constantine.  Continue reading →

Mar 21 2013

Wonder Woman 18

Alternating Currents: Wonder Woman 18, Drew and Scott

Today, Drew and Scott are discussing Wonder Woman 18, originally released March 20th, 2013.

Drew: Wonder Woman is a hard title to pin down, which makes sense, given that its hero is equally slippery. Detractors might cite Diana’s unknowability as weak characterization, but as we saw in issue 9, that distance may be the sharpest weapon in writer Brian Azzarello’s arsenal. Azzarello seems to relish ambiguity, focusing on heroes that are anything but predictable. Issue 18 multiplies this effect, capitalizing on his large cast of equally oblique characters to produce a staggering parade of surprises.

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Mar 20 2013

Secret History of the Foot Clan 4

secret history of the foot clan 4a

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Secret History of the Foot Clan 4, originally released March 20th, 2013.

Drew: In my experience, there are two types of characters in action movies: those that act like it’s no big deal that that car just blew up, and those that understand that HOLY SHIT THAT CAR JUST BLEW UP! The former is obviously more badass, and I think captures a kind of aspirational relatability in the audience, even if the latter is ultimately more relatable — who wouldn’t freak out if they were caught in the middle of an action movie? Curiously, the relatability may make the characters in the latter category less realistic, as their presence often draws our attention to the artifice of the genre. It can be tricky to balance these characters (or these traits within characters), but Secret History of the Foot Clan continues to do so with aplomb. Continue reading →

Mar 20 2013

Uncanny X-Men 1-3

uncanny x-men 1-3Today, Patrick and Ethan are discussing Uncanny X-Men 1-3, originally released February 13th, February 27th, and March 13th 2012, respectively.

Patrick: The X-Men are the perpetual outsiders. They’re different — that’s their whole shtick. Sometimes the X-Men don’t even get along with the X-Men. With Uncanny X-Men, Brian Michael Bendis doubles down on this outsiderness, pitting Cyclops’ band of merry mutants against every one — the government, the Avengers, the rest of the X-Men. It’s the rumblings of a truly unnerving mutant revolution.

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Mar 19 2013

The Vault – Batman Money Clip

The Retcon Punchers spend an awful lot of time looking for ways to celebrate our nerdy obsessions. This means a lot of time sunk into scouring Etsy, Deviant Art, Think Geek or whatever. Sometimes we see things so great we just have to share them… and then clutch them fiercely to our collective chest. Throw it in The Vault.

e841_batman_money_clip_combo

Website: Think Geek

Who Would Love This: Bruce Wayne, or anyone else who wants to feel like a boss.

Price: $39.99

Are you tired of loose bills getting all mixed up in your pocket? Do you ever feel the need to protect yourself with a bat-shaped shuriken? If that’s the case, then Retcon Punch has found exactly what you need! This thing may as well have been made by Lucius Fox himself. It’s die-cast, covered in black (1989 Batman style) rubber, and magnetically seals itself around all of your billions…okay millions…okay thousands…well, whatever it is you’ve got. Whatever you have in your pocket, with this protecting your cash, you’ll feel like everyone’s favorite billionaire playboy.

Mar 19 2013

Before Watchmen – Ozymandias 6

ozymandias 6 B4WToday, Michael and Shelby are discussing Ozymandias 6, originally released March 13th, 2013. Ozymandias is part of DC’s Before Watchmen prequel series. Click here for complete Before Watchmen coverage (including release dates).

Michael: What you don’t show is as important as what you do show. If a story is told well, you can thankfully take this writerly aphorism for granted. We’re free to focus on what we are shown, because it’s gripping and we care about these moments over others. The rest — the implied events — blends into the background. It might be important. It might be necessary we know about it, but it isn’t right in front of us, on the page, and that’s OK. Unless that story is Before Watchman: Ozymandias 6, then it’s not OK. Every grinding gear of a story must be on display. It’s my own fault. I crave the supplemental information and shifts in perspective — I’m just upset when it doesn’t work out.

Continue reading →