Lazarus 26

Alternating Currents: Lazarus 26, Drew and Spencer

Today, Drew and Spencer are discussing Lazarus 26, originally released March 29th, 2017. As always, this article contains SPOILERS.

Drew: Goodness gracious, is this series great. I tried approaching this intro about seven different ways, but the only way to really do justice to this issue is to start off by acknowledging just how precise writer Greg Rucka and artist Michael Lark are in what they do. There’s so much going on in this issue that showcases exactly why this series continues to be one of my favorites, but I’m going to focus on the introduction of Vassalovka’s lazarus, the Zmey — an unexpected grenade of a threat that utterly disrupts the slow-burning family drama at the heart of this series. Continue reading

Green Arrow 23

Alternating Currents: Green Arrow 23, Drew and Mikyzptlk

Today, Drew and Mikyzptlk are discussing Green Arrow 23, originally released August 7th, 2013.

Drew:  Last month, Count Vertigo articulated exactly why he’s such a perfect match for Green Arrow — Ollie needs to aim, while Vertigo stymies perception of space and motion. Ollie’s life has been such a mess recently, it’s easy to forget that archery is inherently very ordered. Even the quickest shot requires some pre-planning, some careful thought. In this way, the relationship between Green Arrow and Count Vertigo is one between order and chaos, a theme writer Jeff Lemire blows up in issue 23, as just about everyone has their plans upended. Continue reading

Green Arrow 22

green arrow 22

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Green Arrow 22, originally released July 3rd, 2013.

Shelby:  Last night I was hanging out with friend and fellow writer Taylor; we’re going to the steampunk weekend at the Bristol Renaissance Faire, and we needed to spend some time crafting toy guns into steampunk weaponry. After adding some gears and coils to the rubber band shooter he’s going to use, Taylor started to play around with some copper wire, but ultimately decided to keep it simple with what he already had. It’s easy to give in to the temptation to add more stuff to a craft project because you can, but it’s important to know when something is finished, to keep things simple instead of cluttering your project with unnecessary extras. Jeff Lemire is the king of keeping things simple; his books may not have a lot going on, story-wise, but he definitely knows how to use simplicity to let a book shine.

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