Tag Archives: Aquaman

Nov 9 2012

Green Lantern 14

Alternating Currents: Green Lantern 14, Mikyzptlk and DrewToday, Mikyzptlk and Drew are discussing Green Lantern 14, originally released November 7th, 2012. This issue is part of the Rise of the Third Army crossover event. Click here for complete Third Army coverage. 

Mikyzptlk: Simon Baz is so fucking real I JUST LOVE IT. He just seems like such an authentic character to me. I barely just met the guy but I’m already convinced of his motivations and his heroism. Much of this has to do with how well Baz’s background has been set up by the series writer, Geoff Johns.

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Nov 1 2012

Aquaman 13

Alternating Currents: Aquaman 13, Drew and ShelbyToday, Drew and Shelby are discussing Aquaman 13, originally released October 31st, 2012.

Drew: Confession time: I dropped this title after issue 4. My only sense of what is going on in this title is the zero issue, and reading the reviews on this site. For the most part, “The Others” storyline has been hard to follow from just summaries, as it focuses heavily on characters I know in name only. The only thing I’ve really gathered from those reviews is that 1) the art is fantastic, and 2) there’s room for disagreement about whether or not Aquaman is actually the villain of this title. Picking up the action in issue 13, I can say for sure that both of those statements are definitely true.

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Oct 18 2012

Justice League 13

Alternating Currents: Justice League 13, Drew and PatrickToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing Justice League 12, originally released October 17th, 2012.

Drew: We’ve talked a lot about the five year rule here at Retcon Punch, and while we certainly have our gripes with how it affects continuity, I think we all understand why they did it. Giving every character some past allows them to maintain certain aspects of their pre-relaunch history, but does so without committing to anything specific. This gives writers a great deal of flexibility, without shutting the door for any future writes. Having a mysterious past also allows writers to pull out unknown details to add emotional weight to the proceedings. Doing this runs the risk of coming off as clumsy or cheap, but in Justice League 13, Geoff Johns provides an excellent case study in how to pull it off. Continue reading →

Sep 4 2012

Justice League 12

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Justice League 12, originally released August 29th, 2012.

Shelby: “Is this the end of the tried-and-true Justice League?”

This is the question the world is facing at the end of Justice League 12, and the end of the Villain’s Journey arc. I was really struck by this line, because my question is “What tried-and-true Justice League?” My biggest complaint with the Justice League since the reboot is the lack of cohesion to the team. The team starts out rough, and five years later still can’t work together. We’ve discussed over and over how they are such a bad team, and now at the end of the arc, Geoff John’s point seems to be… they are a bad team. Maybe my question should be, “What was the point of reading this in the first place?”

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Aug 30 2012

Aquaman 12

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing Aquaman 12, originally released August 29th, 2012.

Peter: The multi-issue story arc is an ungainly creature. What should the first issue look like? How about the last? What shape does it take in the middle? I tend to read my comics the way I think DC wants me to: one at a time, the week they come out. But sometimes that episodic reading does a disservice to the story. That’s why someone decided to collect them into graphic novels. “The Others” is definitely one of those stories that I am going to have to go back and read as a whole from start to finish to get the full effect. Geoff Johns has crafted something that definitely will flow together better as a whole, because frankly, this is a roller coaster of emotion and story.

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Aug 2 2012

Cram Session: Swamp Thing 1-11

It can be hard to keep up with all the comics you love. But it’s damn near impossible to keep up with all the comics you’re interested in.

Retcon Punch got you covered.

Alec Holland is just about the most reluctant hero of the New 52. Dude didn’t even cape-up until the end of issue 7. But it’s been a great ride, and now all human and plant life hangs in the balance. Catch up here and prepare for the Rot World crossover with Animal Man.

Jul 26 2012

Aquaman 11

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Aquaman 11, originally released July 25th, 2012.

Shelby: Despite what you are currently reading, I don’t really think of myself as a writer. Art was always my schtick, the only writing I did in school was academic papers and the occasional bullshit artist’s statement. I’ve been a reader, however, since I was 4, so I’m pretty good at figuring out what I like in a story. I know that sometimes exposition is necessary to advance the plot or give character insight, and I think there are natural ways to present that information within the story. Comics, though, have such opportunity to show me what I need to know instead of just telling me, I sometimes don’t quite know why writers chose to have their characters just standing around gabbing when they could be doing something so much cooler to give me the info I need. 

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Jul 20 2012

Justice League 11

Today, Shelby and Peter are discussing Justice League 11, originally released July 18th 2012.

Shelby: Losing a loved one is beyond difficult. It can be the most trying, emotional, painful experience we’ll ever know. Whether it’s a sudden death or a prolonged illness, the grief of loss is a heavy burden to bear. It’s one thing to forever carry the memory of a loved one with you, but something else entirely to carry that burden of grief, never letting go, never moving on. Justice League features a villain literally doing just that; Graves constantly carries with him the souls of his family, and his grief will not abate until he exacts his revenge. You would think with such a heavy and universally relatable idea, this issue would garner something stronger than “meh.”
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Jul 2 2012

Justice League 10

Today, Patrick and (guest writer) Zach Kastner are discussing Justice League 10, originally released June 27th, 2012.

Patrick: Sometimes when I’m working on a project under deadline, I find myself pissing away precious minutes wasting time. Usually on the internet – that damn internet! And sometimes that time wastery yields something interesting: I get ideas for unrelated projects or I catch up with an old friend or I learn something. So it’s hard to classify that time as “wasted,” but it certainly makes it harder to cram in all the work it takes to finish that project in time. Naturally, the project suffers as a result. That’s kind of how a feel about Justice League 10.

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Jun 28 2012

Aquaman 10

Today, Peter and Shelby are discussing Aquaman 10, originally released June 27th, 2012.

Peter: Since its return last year, Aquaman has been selling extremely well just about every month. That is really surprising to me. For a while I’m wasn’t sure what was driving these sales. Was it Aquaman nostalgia? Was his impressive run in Brightest Day? Out of all the books I have been reading, it’s been pretty hit and miss. It has some really great issues (issue 5) that have been amazing, and some really terrible issues (issue 6) that just don’t work. With the introduction of the Others storyline, Aquaman has quickly become one of my favorite books again. This issue is no exception, giving incredible historic elements, as well as dynamic characters.

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