Tag Archives: Jeff Lemire

Oct 18 2012

Justice League 13

Alternating Currents: Justice League 13, Drew and PatrickToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing Justice League 12, originally released October 17th, 2012.

Drew: We’ve talked a lot about the five year rule here at Retcon Punch, and while we certainly have our gripes with how it affects continuity, I think we all understand why they did it. Giving every character some past allows them to maintain certain aspects of their pre-relaunch history, but does so without committing to anything specific. This gives writers a great deal of flexibility, without shutting the door for any future writes. Having a mysterious past also allows writers to pull out unknown details to add emotional weight to the proceedings. Doing this runs the risk of coming off as clumsy or cheap, but in Justice League 13, Geoff Johns provides an excellent case study in how to pull it off. Continue reading →

Oct 4 2012

Swamp Thing 13

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Swamp Thing 13, originally released October 3rd, 2012. This issue is part of the RotWorld crossover event. Click here for complete RotWorld coverage. 

Shelby:  Zero month gave us a little reprise from the events of Rotworld. Sure, we learned more about Anton Arcane’s horrifying history, making him that much more of a serious threat. But it was easy to forget that the last time we saw Alec, he was in a completely dead world, one which he assumed was an alternate version of the reality he knew. I’ll be honest, I assumed it was an alternate reality as well; the single panel reveal at the end of 12 didn’t really sink in. But now, we are fully immersed in Rotworld, and let me tell you: things are way worse than we thought. 

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Oct 4 2012

Animal Man 13

Alternating Currents: Animal Man 13, Drew and Patrick ROTToday, Drew and Patrick are discussing Animal Man 13, originally released October 3rd, 2012. This issue is part of the RotWorld crossover event. Click here for complete RotWorld coverage. 

Drew: Jeff Lemire and Scott Snyder are confident that they can surprise readers. They have every right to be — Swamp Thing 12 (which they co-wrote) saw the shocking reveal that Rotworld is not a place but a time — and that confidence lends their writing an assured sense of purpose. Their ability to surprise has made both Animal Man and Swamp Thing thrilling reads in their first year, and has leant the crossover a sense that anything could happen. Sure enough, Animal Man 13 is rich in surprises, but it also paints Lemire into a difficult narrative corner — to such a degree that I can’t help but see it as a cocksure statement that he can write his way out of anything. It would be annoying if I didn’t have every bit of confidence that he can. Continue reading →

Sep 11 2012

Animal Man 0

Alternating Currents: Animal Man 0, Shelby and Freakin' Animal Man

Today, Shelby and (guest writer) The Freakin’ Animal Man are discussing Animal Man 0, originally released September 5, 2012. Animal Man 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby: In the comments for the Swamp Thing 0 write-up, we talk briefly about respect. One of the successes of Swamp Thing is that Scott Snyder manages to create his own story while still being respectful towards the stories previous writers have told. Swamp Thing 0 takes the flaming-lab-in-the-swamp origin and folds it neatly into the Rotworld story Snyder wants to tell. Jeff Lemire has done the same thing with Animal Man 0; he maintains the classic Animal Man origin story (powers from aliens), and merely shows us the other side of the story, that it was the Red this whole time! That is smart story-telling.

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Aug 24 2012

Justice League Dark 12

Today, Peter and Shelby are discussing Justice League Dark 12, originally released August 22nd, 2012.

Peter: Justice League Dark is an interesting book. In a DC universe that is really finicky about magic, it takes it all in. It is full of small context clues, as well as small parts of mystical DC history. It may be lost on some, but with a little time and commitment, it is a fantastic book filled with relatable characters and interesting plotting. The team dynamic may seem like a stretch at first, but when a team of miscreants, dead people, con men, vampires, stage magicians, and government agents come together, it just somehow works.

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Aug 3 2012

Animal Man 12

Today, Drew and Peter are discussing Animal Man 12, originally released August 1st, 2012. This issue is part of the RotWorld crossover event. Click here for complete RotWorld coverage. Not caught up on Animal Man? No problem! Get up to speed with our video Cram Session. Also, we’re covering Swamp Thing #12, head over to get analysis on the second half of this story. 

Drew: One of my biggest pet peeves in comics is the assumption that “bigger is better” when it comes to threats the hero is facing. I understand the sentiment — if saving one person is good, saving one million must be a million times as cool — but in practice, it often turns the risks into abstract hypotheticals. Such abstractions lose the human connection that is so easily established by a single person in danger. In comics, a single loved-one in danger is just as cliched as when it’s the whole city, but when handled well — as in Animal Man 12 — the payoff is much greater. Continue reading →

Aug 2 2012

Cram Session: Animal Man 1-11

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.

A guy that channels animal powers? Yeah, okay, I can dig it. Didn’t expect to love it. Buddy Baker’s whole family gets drawn into a war between the very forces of life and death. PLUS THERE’S A TALKING CAT. Get all caught up so you can read the Rot World crossover with Swamp Thing.

Aug 1 2012

Justice League Dark 9-11

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Justice League Dark 9-11, originally released May 23rd, June, 27th and July 25th, 2012.

Shelby: We’re doing something a little unusual here with Justice League Dark: we are not reviewing issues 1-8. I’ve read all those issues, and there is really no need to do so. Peter Milligan wrote 1-8, and they are not awesome. The story was all over the place and confusing. Even though we’re dealing with magic, the story still needs to be grounded in some sort of established reality, and this story was not. With issue 9, Jeff Lemire has taken over the writing, and there has been a marked improvement. The arc is completely new, even some of the team members have changed. I call it the “reverse Deathstroke” effect, in that a new creative team has made big changes, but for the better instead of for the worst.

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Jul 6 2012

Animal Man 11

Alternating Currents: Animal Man 11, Drew and PeterToday, Drew and Peter are discussing Animal Man 11, originally released July 4th, 2012.

Drew: Animal Man’s power-set is weird. He can seemingly take any trait of any animal and apply it to himself. It makes sense for things like “the vision of an eagle” or the “strength of an elephant,” but the thought of taking on “the weight of a bumblebee” just seems to defy the laws of physics. Upon closer scrutiny, an eagle’s eyesight and an elephant’s braun are clearly related to their specific physiologies, and the thought that Buddy’s relatively tiny frame could contain the strength of a two-ton animal simply doesn’t make sense. To put a finer point on it: birds fly because they have wings, not because they have some supernatural abilities, so Buddy’s supernatural connection to them should only allow him to fly if it allows him to grow wings. As Buddy’s adventure into the Rot concludes, writer Jeff Lemire takes the opportunity to fix what I hadn’t realized bothered me until I thought about it. Continue reading →

Jun 8 2012

Legends of the Dark Knight I: The Butler Did It

Legends of the Dark KnightToday, Patrick and Drew are discussing Legends of the Dark Knight I: The Butler Did It, originally released digitally on April 7th, 2012.

Patrick: We blather on about the traditional forms and functions of comic books on this website like we know what we’re talking about. We do it all the time – even though most of our editors have been actively reading monthlies for less than a year. You could call that precocious if we weren’t also grown-ass men and women with educations and jobs. In the DC Universe specifically, but also in comics generally, we are always playing catch-up, assuming that our keen powers of perception and articulation can help us bullshit our way through an article on a subject we actually know very little about. Superhero comics have become so much a part of my life now that the only way to properly express it is to use the phrase “down the rabbit hole.” I suppose “through the looking glass” would also be appropriate – but that’s my point: my experience exploring comics has been like that of Alice exploring Wonderland. Every time I think I know what to expect, a new issue or series or event comes along to dissolve that illusion. Legends of the Dark Knight, the digital-only adventures of a young Batman, has done just that by defying my very base expectations of a modern comic book.  Continue reading →