Tag Archives: Freddie Williams II

Jun 7 2013

The Movement 2

movement 2

Today, Spencer and Shelby are discussing The Movement 2, originally released June 5th, 2013.

Spencer: When The Movement (and its sister book, The Green Team) was first announced, I was a little leery of it. I feared that it would be a gimmick, that it’d be nothing but political preaching or a backwards attempt to be relevant. Fortunately, Gail Simone’s involvement convinced me to give it a chance, and I’m sure glad I did. Not only does The Movement use its political elements to create a fascinatingly complex morality for itself, but it also stands out as a particularly well-crafted team book in its own right.

Continue reading →

May 3 2013

The Movement 1

movement 1 Today, Shelby and Mikyzptlk are discussing The Movement 1, originally released May 1st, 2013.

Shelby: Not only do I work in downtown Chicago, my office happens to be located near the Board of Trade, the Federal Reserve Bank, and a number of other federal buildings. That means I see my fair share of protests; just today, a May Day protest made it’s way past my office to the federal plaza a block away. Being across from the Board of Trade, Reserve Bank, and having my office located in a building primarily filled with bankers means I saw my share of Occupy protesters when that movement was in its heyday. They were on my mind as I read the first issue of Gail Simone’s The Movement; if Occupy protesters were suddenly granted superpowers  and were truly able to turn vigilante, what sort of implications would that have? Continue reading →

Sep 21 2012

Captain Atom 0

Alternating Currents: Captain Atom 0, Peter and DrewToday, Peter and Drew are discussing Captain Atom 0, originally released September 19, 2012. Captain Atom 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Peter: The New 52 has made Captain Atom into a tragic hero; he cannot have real contact with anyone around him, but his powerset is astronomical. Originally I was worried that it would be too Dr. Manahttan. Now it has evolved into something completely different. It has become something best described as an amalgamation of Dr. Manhattan and Top Gun. Nathaniel is a man who must adjust to severe detachment from the world, and the potential loss of humanity. Unfortunately, this first/last issue has some pitfalls, but helps bring the previous twelve issues full circle.

Continue reading →

Sep 12 2012

Green Arrow 0

Alternating Currents: Green Arrow 0, Patrick and Peter

Today, Patrick and Peter are discussing Green Arrow 0, originally released September 5, 2012. Green Arrow 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Patrick: What do you get when you tell a story about the greatest superhero archer in the world, and set it before he was either a superhero OR an archer? Let’s add another layer to riddle: what happens when that character is an entitled asshole with inconsistent morality, no sense of humor and imperceptible motivations? Why, Green Arrow 0, of course!

Continue reading →

Jun 5 2012

Captain Atom 9

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Captain Atom 9, originally released on May 16th, 2012.

Drew: Comics are an interesting medium for exploring time. We experience them from beginning to end, but we’re also able to flip back and forth between pages and issues to refresh and contextualize our reading. Combine that potential with the ability writers have to splice up their own narratives, and you have unlimited possibilities for explaining the impact a single moment can have. In Captain Atom 9, J.T. Krul and Freddie Williams II continue to explore these ideas both narratively and thematically, and continue to yield mixed results. Continue reading →

Apr 23 2012

Captain Atom 7-8

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing Captain Atom 7 and 8, originally released on March 21st, and April 18th, 2012.

Peter: As we continue in the post modern world of Captain Atom, we are seeing a lot of references to time and not-so-intuitive nature of cause and effect. The running clock which accompanies every scene-change ensures that this theme remains pervasive throughout. Time is ever moving around us, but in the world of Captain Atom, it’s something entirely different.
Continue reading →

Mar 21 2012

Captain Atom 1-6

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Captain Atom, originally released September 21st, 2011, October 19th, 2011, November 16th, 2011, December 21st 2011, January 18th 2012, and February 15th, 2012.

Drew: Early in the second issue of Captain Atom, our hero, Nathaniel Adam, is immobilized by an overwhelming barrage of data. Replace “data” with “references,” and you more or less have a description of my experience with this title. This may very well be the most post-modern title of the New 52, which should say a lot to anyone who has read any of Grant Morrison’s run on Action Comics. To be fair, writers J.T. Krul and Freddie Williams II make those allusions largely explicit, so when I describe the book as “Dr. Manhattan by way of Top Gun with a little of John Carpenter’s The Thing and just a hint of Beauty and the Beast,” it’s not meant as a glib dismissal, but a frank (and efficient) summary of the tone it’s going for. Continue reading →