Tag Archives: Jason Todd

Sep 13 2012

Batman 0

Alternating Currents: Batman 0, Drew and ShelbyToday, Drew and Shelby are discussing Batman 0, originally released September 12, 2012. Batman 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Drew: If I may, I’d like to offer a bit of my own zero issue: One year ago, I had never purchased a monthly comic. Comics culture struck me as insular and impenetrable, and I saw fans as hyper-vigilant of petty continuity issues. Today, I’m a regular Wednesday warrior, and — more surprisingly — have become a nascent continuity-phile. That tendency has reared its head most fiercely in our coverage of the Before Watchmen prequel series, where I’ve argued that strict observance of continuity is an important means to observe the source material. It’s an opinion that has lead to a few clashes with Shelby, who would much rather enjoy a comic than obsess over details — an opinion I can totally respect, and am striving towards. What better test, then, when another creative team I respect immensely revisits beloved, seminal works?

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Aug 21 2012

Red Hood and the Outlaws 12

Alternating Currents: Red Hood 12, Drew and PeterToday, Drew and Peter are discussing Red Hood and the Outlaws 12, originally released August 15th, 2012.

Drew: We tend to talk a lot about writers here at Retcon Punch. We certainly pay attention to the art, and have often found rewarding things to discuss when doing so, but we always seem to come back to the writer. Writers have so much control, particularly over the kinds of things we like to talk about here — character development, voice, plotting — but forgetting how much influence the artist has over the final product is a mistake. It’s like valuing a film or playwright’s input over that of the director or actors’; sure, it make sense in theory, but you don’t have to see too many community theater productions of Shakespeare to know that even the best scripts can be muddled in the wrong hands.  It’s unfortunate that it often takes examples like the community theater to emphasize the importance of the other collaborators, and it is also unfortunate that this issue is one such example. Continue reading →

Jul 24 2012

Red Hood and the Outlaws 11

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing Red Hood and the Outlaws 11, originally released July 18th, 2012.

Peter: Red Hood and the Outlaws is a bit of an odd duck. It has the makings of a Bat Family book: it’s got Jason Todd, once Robin the Boy Wonder, now ultraviolent vigilante. It also has two ex-Teen Titans, one of whom apparently was a bad ass space captain, while the other was addicted to heroin. While the early story arcs really focused on Jason, (and the Night of Owls), this current arc is about Koriand’r/Starfire. Turns out, she used to be (and still is) a badass.

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Jun 21 2012

Red Hood and the Outlaws 10

Today, Patrick and Peter are discussing Red Hood and the Outlaws 10, originally released June 20th, 2012.

Patrick: Red Hood and the Outlaws is a kitchen sink sort of series. There are aliens, there are mist-women, there are secret races of warrior people – and at the heart of it is a trio of heroes that don’t really make sense in each other’s worlds. Whenever the series teeters on the edge of a metaphysical discovery of the ancient mystical world, a spaceship flies in, or some classic Batman villain makes an appearance. So much of the series’ appeal comes from the way our core group of heroes interacts and adapts to these insanely diverse (diversely insane?) scenarios.

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May 30 2012

Chat Cave: A Gay DC Character

Following Co-publisher Dan Didio’s announcement that a formerly straight DC character was going to be reintroduced as gay, the comics world has been abuzz with guesses as to just who this character might be. While Didio’s comments have ruled out many characters that have already been introduced, that hasn’t stopped folks from expressing who they’d like that character to be. Today, the Retcon Punchers weigh in with their favorite — not necessarily most likely — guesses. Welcome to the Chat Cave.

Drew: I’ve found many occasions to bring this up on this site, but I really think Jason Todd would make a lot of sense as a gay character. In fact, I think his story becomes more compelling if he is gay. Think about it: he’s this incredible exaggeration of the classic younger sibling of an overachiever; he’s always made to feel guilty about every little thing he does differently from the way Dick did things. It’s not a huge leap to think that he may have felt that pressure in his personal life, staying closeted for fear of the way his father (figure) might react. Gay readers may find a great deal to relate to in Jason’s conflict with Bruce, who fundamentally can’t accept him for hard-lined moral reasons (not that I’m comparing homosexuality to murder). Continue reading →

May 18 2012

Red Hood and the Outlaws 9


Today, Patrick and Peter are discussing Red Hood and the Outlaws 9 originally released May 16th, 2012. This issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event. Click here for complete NotO coverage. Not caught up on Red Hood and the Outlaws? No problem! Get up to speed with our video Cram Session.

Patrick: Being that the Retcon Punchers and obsessive-nerd-completionists, we feel the need to know as much as we can about a subject. The Night of the Owls presents an interesting challenge to us – and to many comic readers: what do you read and what do you ignore? I suppose it’s a question we all face every day, and it applies to a far broader band than “what comic books should I read?” We decide which foods we eat, which concerts we attend, which causes we champion, which people we befriend. There’s literally no way to shake the nagging feeling that (no matter what choices we’re making) we’re missing something. This is compounded by the all-too-frequent experience of discovering something that you had previously blown off is really good. That has been my experience with Red Hood and the Outlaws. Continue reading →

May 15 2012

Cram Session: Red Hood and the Outlaws 1-8

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.

You may have dismissed Red Hood and the Outlaws as an overly violent pubescent sexual fantasy. But that assessment is too limited. Write Scott Lobdell mines a surprising amount of pathos from Jason Todd’s past. The characters are also really exciting and funny – Jason, Roy and Kori are essentially the Dukes of Hazard of the DC Universe. And artist Kenneth Rocafort delivers excellent, innovative layouts on literally every page. Look, it’s fun, that’s what I’m saying. We’ve got a video recap right here so you can jump right in to their Night of the Owls adventure!