Tag Archives: Caspar Wijngaard

Feb 20 2018

War, Religion, and Slavery in Angelic 6

by Spencer Irwin


This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Angelic 6 is a massive issue. Writer Simon Spurrier recalls every seed of plot he’s planted throughout this arc, and artist Caspar Wijngaard brings the mass of ideas to life in a way that’s big and exciting, chaotic but never hard to follow. Even as the issue’s plot goes big, though, Spurrier and Wijngaard zoom in thematically, finding the one idea that connects the themes of religion, war, and blind faith that have run throughout this entire series. That theme, of course, is slavery. Continue reading →

Jan 23 2018

Angelic 5 Reveals the Origins of the Universe

by Mark Mitchell


This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

There’s a unique gut-punch to finding out you’ve been lied to, a pit-in-the-stomach loss of faith in the person or institution that betrayed you. After four issues of laying the groundwork, Simon Spurrier and Caspar Wijngaard reveal the origins of Angelic’s world in Angelic 5. There have been enough hints throughout the previous issues that nothing here comes as too much of a surprise to readers, but watching Qora and Complainer learn the truth about their origin is still hard. Continue reading →

Dec 27 2017

Angelic 4 Urges Us to Ask “Why?”

by Spencer Irwin

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

While organized religion is well known for rigid rules and requiring blind faith and obedience, I’ve never thought of them as qualities inherent to actually worshipping God. Malachi 3:10 implores worshippers to put God to the test in order to see for themselves the blessings he’ll bring those who love Him, while Genesis 18 describes a lengthy exchange between God and Abraham where Abraham continually questioned God’s intentions to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, bartering for the lives of any righteous who might be in the city. I can really only speak for Judeo-Christian religions, but the point seems clear nonetheless: asking questions certainly seems to be an acceptable part of navigating faith. Forbidding questions only serves to empower men with agendas, as is the case in Simon Spurrier and Caspar Wijngaard’s Angelic 4. Continue reading →

Nov 29 2017

Angelic 3: Discussion

by Mark Mitchell and Taylor Anderson

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

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Mark: There’s no one-to-one mapping of the different species in Simon Spurrier and Caspar Wijngaard’s Angelic 3 onto our world. It’s not like the Monks represent Group X and the Mans represent Group Y. But at the same time, the world of Angelic is our world, and the experience of the Monks and the Mans is our experience. Continue reading →

Nov 1 2017

The Missing Angels of Angelic 2

by Mark Mitchell

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Once again, the cuddly appearance of the characters in Simon Spurrier and Caspar Wijngaard’s Angelic 2 belie their darker, more manipulative intentions. When we met the Mans at the end of the first issue, they seemed like friendly potential allies to young Qora. But like everyone else Qora has encountered, the Mans have ulterior motives — they think Qora holds the secrets to fully reviving their god, Ay, and they manipulate her into entering the toxic mists in hopes of learning more. Yes, they pair her with one of their own, but it’s one they find useless to their own society. The Mans have low expectations that Qora will find success, but what’s a dead Monk to them? Continue reading →

Sep 22 2017

Angelic 1: Discussion

by Spencer Irwin and Mark Mitchell

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

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Spencer: Simon Spurrier may just be the best world builder working in comics today. We here at Retcon Punch are continually impressed by Spurrier’s ability to birth creative new world after creative new world, each with its own rules, vernacular, and aesthetic (thanks to the talented artists he’s enlisted), each feeling far vaster than the stories Spurrier decides to tell in them, each reflecting systematic problems, abuses, and issues we face here in the real world. Following on the heels of The Spire and Godshaper, Angelic finds Spurrier and Caspar Wijngaard using a world of sentient animals and oppressive lore to tell a story about the dangers of blind faith. Continue reading →

Dec 18 2015

Limbo 2


Today, Ryan M. and Ryan D. are discussing Limbo 2, originally released December 9th, 2015.

Ryan M.: There are few things as irrationally irritating as watching someone else flip channels. Each person has an internal rhythm to their choices and since it is such a solitary activity, there is usually no time for discussion before another channel is passed by. No other person is going to press up at the same time that you would, knows which station to linger on or which weird movie moment deserves a press of the “Info” button. Channel surfing puts you into a sort of trance, a disconnection from the world outside of the screen. In Limbo 2, Clay is forced into experiencing the channel surfing of a mystical creature and it transcends mere irritation to become terrifying.

Continue reading →