Tag Archives: Gerry Duggan

Jan 13 2014

Deadpool 22

deadpool 22Today, Greg and Drew are discussing Deadpool 22, originally released January 8th, 2014.

Greg: I was first introduced to the Austin Powers franchise as a kid, and immediately gravitated towards the big, broad aspects of the comedy. The accent, the teeth, the catchphrases, the physical set pieces — this is the kind of stuff that absolutely slayed 9-year-old Greg (who am I kidding, this scene will always work for me). On a recent rewatch, however, I noticed one joke that whooshed right over my head. The name of Powers’ secret agent boss is Basil Exposition, and his purpose in the film is to, well, spout exposition, the bits of narrative business necessary to understand what is technically happening in a plot. It’s a fun bit of satirical lampshade hanging, yet it nevertheless serves its actual purpose — get all the boring stuff out of the way to leave plenty of room for fun. Deadpool 22 has the unfortunate task of dealing with this, yet executes it rather gracefully.
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Jan 10 2014

A + X 16

a+x 16

Today, Patrick and Taylor are discussing A + X 16, originally released January 8th, 2014.

Patrick: We quiet, sensitive nerds at Retcon Punch tend to bask in the more intimate, honest moments in our superhero beat-em-ups. It’s not that we don’t also love a good fight or car chase or explosion or whatever, but we savor those moments when the characters stop to catch their breath. Its in those moments where the characters actually distinguish themselves, not in between punches, but after when all their precious training and superpowers can’t assist them. A+X 16 tells two such stories, neither of which have easy answers and both show the real mettle of our heroes.

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Dec 30 2013

Best of 2013: Best Writers

2013 best writer

In such a collaborative medium as comics, it can be difficult to say where a writer’s influence on the story ends, but there’s no question on where it begins: words on the page. Whether they thrill, elate, chill, or deflate, the best writers create characters, settings, and situations we want to return to, again and again. These are our top 13 writers of 2013. Continue reading →

Dec 27 2013

Best of 2013: Best Creator Twitter Personality

2013: Best Twitter

Time was, you might only ever get a chance to interact with your favorite comics creators if they happened to be attending a con near you, but technology (for better or for worse) has now put them only a few clicks away. Still, some manage it better than others, and we wanted to take a moment to single out those creators that have gone above and beyond with crafting an inviting, entertaining twitter presence. Here it is, our 13 favorite creator twitter personalities of 2013. Continue reading →

Dec 20 2013

Deadpool 21

deadpool 21Today, Spencer and Scott are discussing Deadpool 21, originally released December 18th, 2013.

Spencer: Is Deadpool simply comic relief—a comic book Daffy Duck—or is he a deep, dark character, using jokes to mask his pain? We’ve had heated debates about this in our comment sections in the past, but the truth is that Deadpool is both, yet Deadpool is also neither; he exists on a spectrum that can slide anywhere between those two points. In their Deadpool run thus far Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan have explored both extremes, but now—after Wade’s all time low in “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”—we find a Deadpool who has become much more tragic, yet still retains much of his typical humor. I’ve taken to calling him “Grumpy Old Man Deadpool.” Continue reading →

Dec 17 2013

A + X 15

a+x 15

Today, Ethan and Scott are discussing A + X 15, originally released December 11th, 2013.

Ethan: A + X revels in the chance to turn big name team-ups into superpowered Laurel & Hardy shorts, and A + X 15 follows suit. Along the way, we get a rehash on an age old question of metaphysics, a bio of a famous president, and the alien invasions of our fast-food franchises.

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Dec 13 2013

Nova 11

nova 11

Today, Patrick and Ethan are discussing Nova 11, originally released December 11th, 2013.

Patrick: When I was in Junior High School, I had to babysit for my little sister kind of a lot. It was fine – I think she’s one of the best people in the world, and we were friends even then. But it was something of a running joke with my friends: “Patrick can’t come to band practice because he’s got to babysit,” “Patrick can’t go roller skating because he’s got to babysit,” “Patrick can’t explore the starfield map in his brain because he has to babysit.” Oh, wait, that one’s not me. That one’s Nova. Continue reading →

Dec 6 2013

Deadpool 20

deadpool 20

Today, Patrick and Greg are discussing Deadpool 20, originally released December 4th, 2013.

Patrick: There’s no single person or institution that’s introduced me to more media than The Simpsons. I didn’t know that it was happening at the time, but my 10 year old mind was being educated in the works of Alfred Hitchcock, Rod Serling, Francis Ford Copola, Stanley Kubric, Martin Scorsesse, Tennessee Williams, and on and on. But the film that seems to have cropped up the most was Citizen Kane. I can’t possibly convey what my first experience of watching Citizen Kane was like: by that point in my life, I’d seen the same scenes and camera angles and transitions and themes and characters reconstituted a hundred different ways on The Simpsons. It was invigorating and shocking to see everything in its original context, granting new meaning to my favorite old Simpsons episodes, but also imbuing Citizen Kane with a kind of pre-loaded meaning. Deadpool has never shied away from referential humor, but writers Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn and artist Scott Koblish narrow their focus in the third inventory issue, and convinces us that Jack Kirby’s work is the Citizen Kane of comic books. Continue reading →

Nov 14 2013

Deadpool 19

Alternating Currents: Deadpool 19, Drew and PatrickToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing Deadpool 19, originally released November 13th, 2013.

Drew: What do we expect when we read Deadpool? When I picked up my first issue just over a year ago, I was looking for a famously goofy character written by famously funny writers, and thought that issue delivered everything a Deadpool comic should. Then we published our first discussion, and started one of the longest, most in-depth comment threads we’ve ever had, all about how this version of Deadpool is missing the point entirely. It’s a strange contradiction, but comics are full of them. Is Batman a brooding spirit of vengeance or a campy man-about-town? Is Wolverine a violent savage or an impatient schoolmarm? Or, more to the subject at hand, is Wade Wilson an irreverent, fourth-wall-breaking yukster, or a tragic figure of the highest order? With the conclusion of their “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” arc, writers Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan make the strong case for “both.” Continue reading →

Oct 10 2013

Deadpool 18

deadpool 18

Today, Drew and Scott are discussing Deadpool 18, originally released October 9th, 2013.

Drew: Color theory has always had an interesting relationship with superhero comics. To make the heroes stand out on the printed page, they were put in bright, primary colors. That practicality had a counterpart in the way the characters were written — with equally clear ideals (think “truth, justice, and the American way”). Those ideals (like the colors) can be mixed in ever more complex ways, covering all of the possible hues, but as any colorist can tell you: hue is only one dimension of color theory. Another is saturation, or the opacity of a color. Deadpool, with its knack for fourth-wall breaking, has long had a lot of play with this kind of figurative saturation, as Wade regularly peels the curtain back to comment on the absurdities of the world he inhabits. Desaturating Wade has always revealed a bright, zany world — even when disembowling presidents, the tone was always incredibly upbeat — but as writers Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn move further into their “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” arc, they’ve revealed an increasing interest in the third dimension of color theory: value, or darkness. The result is a surprisingly rich comic, made up of all of the colors of the real world. Continue reading →