Tag Archives: Ant-Man

Apr 15 2013

Age of Ultron 5

age of ultron 5 AU

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Age of Ultron 5, originally released April 10th 2013. This issue is part of the Age of Ultron crossover event. Click here for complete AU coverage.

ultron-div

Shelby: Why is it always time travel? If you have a science-y plot in a comic book (especially a Marvel book, it seems) odds are pretty good that time travel with either be the basis of the conflict or the solution. Personally, I hope we never figure out how to travel through time. Travel to the past, and the most innocuous action could alter the future in unimaginable ways; travel to the future, and your knowledge of what will happen will color the actions you take in the present. It all seems too risky. It would appear that Brian Michael Bendis disagrees with me; not content to limit himself to one kind of time continuum manipulation, Age of Ultron 5 has the team traveling to the past AND the future to resolve this Ultron problem. What could possibly go wrong? Continue reading →

Apr 2 2013

FF 5

Alternating Currents: FF 5, Drew and Shelby

Today, Drew and Shelby are discussing FF 5, originally released March 27, 2013.

Drew: Comics have a LOT of history, which is precisely what makes them so intimidating. Marketing ploys like the New 52 and Marvel NOW are designed specifically to minimize the cost of entry — sure, there may be decades of dense continuity to follow, but why bother when you can start with a brand new #1. As someone who was enticed by those ploys, I often have the false sense of security that I understand the universes these stories are told in. Sure, there are references to events and characters I don’t know, but I continue on the faith that, if it’s important, everything will be explained. For the most part that attitude has served me well, but every so often, I’m reminded of just how my ignorance might color my readings. The recent twist ending in Age of Ultron 3 is a great example — everything about the reveal told me that this was a big surprise, but I completely lacked the knowledge to understand what actually happened, forcing me to consult the Marvel Wiki for answers. Of course, the long, convoluted histories that most characters have often make that experience more confusing than helpful, which is exactly the experience I had trying to parse the ending of FF 5. Continue reading →

Mar 5 2013

FF 4

ff 4

Today, Ethan and Patrick are discussing FF 4, originally released February 27, 2013.

Ethan: Growth is hard. Everyone’s familiar with the usual childhood “growing up” process, with all of its difficult changes, naïve missteps, puppy love, and idealism. Then there’s the second adolescence — of the mind rather than the body — that we deal with as we explore what it means to be an adult. The changes are more situational and relational than hormonal; the missteps become less laughably naïve but often have much larger consequences; idealism fades to pragmatism, and puppy love — well, love doesn’t really change that much. Alongside these more mundane types of development, life occasionally confronts us with something truly awful and growth stops being something we do as a matter of course and starts being something we do just to survive. In the hands of writer Matt Fraction and artist Michael Allred, FF #4 continues to show us a world in which the varieties of growth faced by children, adults, and survivors collide. Continue reading →

Jan 28 2013

FF 1-3

ff 1-3

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing FF 1-3, originally released November 28th, 2012, December 19th, 2012, and January 23rd, 2013.

Shelby: What do you do when things go wrong? When something doesn’t happen the way you’ve planned, how do you react? If you thought ahead and have a back-up plan, there’s nothing to worry about. But what if you are the back-up plan? What if you are the one who has to step up when things fall apart and figure out how to hold everything together? Between FF and Fantastic Four, Matt Fraction shows us both sides of the coin, and it gives him an opportunity to tell a pretty unusual kind of story.

Continue reading →