Tag Archives: Jimmy Palmiotti

Oct 29 2012

All-Star Western 13

Alternating Currents: All-Star Western 13, Taylor and DrewToday, Taylor and Drew are discussing the All-Star Western 13, originally released October 24th, 2012.

Taylor: I enjoy professional basketball. It’s fast paced, fun, full of dunks, trick shots, and some of the most gifted athletes on the face of the planet. With that being said, you would think that every game of basketball would be an amazing show worth watching every second it’s on. However, we can’t disregard the fact that these are professional basketball players who, whether we like to acknowledge it or not, don’t enjoy every game they play. It’s their job and sometimes they take the floor with their sole purpose being to win a basketball game and cash a check, regardless of how entertaining it is for the fans. Commentators often call this a “workman-like approach,” a phrase which also aptly describes All-Star Western 13. Continue reading →

Oct 8 2012

G.I. Combat 5

Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing G.I. Combat 5, originally released October 3rd, 2012.

Patrick: True story: when we were deciding what series Retcon Punch was going to cover after zero month, we sorta hemmed and hawed about G.I. Combat. We’re generally fans of Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray’s writing, and I (for one) am drawn to stories that explore the relationship between identity and military service. But on the flip-side, some of the previous stories have been trite, and the art wasn’t always hitting home. Plus, the major selling point (i.e. DINOSAURS) was going away. But when Drew and Shelby and I checked out the solicit to see whether or not we should continue to pick this series up, we saw the title “The Haunted Tank.” That’s just silly enough to work. Let’s explore The Haunted Tank and Unknown Soldier one-at-a-time. Continue reading →

Sep 11 2012

G.I. Combat 0

Alternating Currents: G.I. Combat 0, Shelby and Lawton

Today, Shelby and (guest writer) Lawton Hall are discussing G.I. Combat 0, originally released September 5, 2012. G.I.Combat 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby:  When I started reading comics a year ago, I never thought I would be reading and enjoying a soldier title. But when Jimmy Palmiotti tells you at a convention to read a book because “dinosaurs,” you have to at least give it a try. This title is really two titles. The War that Time Forgot is the story of a black-ops group investigating issues in North Korea and finding DINOSAURS; a fight ensues. This book also includes a back-up/additional story of The Unknown Soldier, and it’s this story the zero issue focuses on.

Continue reading →

Aug 24 2012

All-Star Western 12

Today, Patrick and Peter are discussing the All-Star Western 12, originally released August 22nd, 2012.

Patrick: One of the problems with dealing with 1890s Gotham City is that you know what that poor town has in store for it in the next 100+ years. It’s actually the same problem that plagues narratives about modern Gotham – nothing is every going to solve that city’s problems. Not Batman, not the GCPD, not Jonah Hex… oh wait a minute. Issue 12 actually closes a full year worth of stories, comprised of several multi-issue arcs. And the most surprising thing is that our heroes are successful. It’s almost unprecedented in this town, but the Religion is Crime is dealt a serious blow. Also unprecedented, Hex has developed an affinity for Gotham City and Amadeus Arkham.  Continue reading →

Jul 30 2012

All-Star Western 11

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing the All-Star Western 11, originally released July 25th, 2012.

Peter: All-Star Western has really embraced its role as a historic book. Writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Grey have taken it upon themselves to not only tell incredible western tales, but to weave them into the greater DC Universe, even if they take place centuries before Bruce Wayne put on the cowl, or Superman strapped on the cape. Two of Gotham’s most notorious criminal organizations are gearing up to collide — of course Jonah Hex finds himself in the middle of it all. Continue reading →

Jul 3 2012

All-Star Western 10

Today, Drew and Peter are discussing the All-Star Western 10, originally released June 27th, 2012.

Drew: The Night of the Owls is an interesting case study in ways a title can approach a crossover event. Some books treated their involvement as a one-off, allowing maximum flexibility for their own stories before and after the event. Others focused a bit more on set-up, getting their heroes to Gotham or establishing the stakes for their characters, but pretty much treated the event as the conclusion of their involvement with the Owls. Sure, Batman still has some investigating to do, but pretty much all of the other titles are on to new conflicts, new villains, and new stories. All-Star Western, on the other hand, has upped the ante, featuring more owls than its ostensible NotO issue. The result is a portrait of 1880’s Gotham as a battleground between the Owls, the Religion of Crime, and the wealthy altruists just trying to do the right thing. Continue reading →

May 25 2012

All-Star Western 9


Today, Patrick and Peter are discussing All-Star Western 9 originally released May 23rd, 2012. This issue is part of the Night of the Owls crossover event. Click here for complete NotO coverage. Not caught up on All-Star Western? No problem! Get up to speed with our video Cram Session.

Patrick: Because it persistently employs back-up stories, All Star Western frequently feels like an anthology of stories from Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray’s vast 1880s wild west universe. Never mind that most of these stories have taken place in either Gotham City or New Orleans (which can’t even generously be referred to as ‘western’) or that the pair of Jonah Hex and Amadeus Arkham center every issues, All-Western is not bound to a single location or a single character. Issue number 9 (waving the Night of the Owls banner) takes this mission to heart and delivers four loosely (or not-so-loosely) connected tales.

Continue reading →

May 25 2012

Cram Session: All-Star Western 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.

All Star Western may never actually venture west of the Mississippi River, but this is the only place where you can read about the adventures of heroes in DC Universe’s 19th century. Grizzled bounty hunter Jonah Hex teams up with aspiring psychoanalyst Amadeus Arkham, and the mis-matched pair has to fight crime together! More than a buddy cop story set in old timey Gotham, All Star is a reliably fun yarn anchored by two of the most interesting characters of the New 52. Catch up on their pre-Owls adventure here:

May 1 2012

All-Star Western 8

Today, Peter and Drew are discussing the All-Star Western 8, originally released April 25th, 2012.

Peter: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti have obviously become pretty close to mastering the character of Jonah Hex. They’ve held his reigns for so long that they know exactly how to write him. This new issue of of All-Star Western pushes Jonah dangerously close to the line between hero/anti-hero and villain. Hell, I’m not always sure which side of the line he normally falls on anyway.
 Continue reading →

Mar 30 2012

All-Star Western 7

Today, Peter and Drew are discussing the All-Star Western 7, originally released March 28th, 2012.

Peter: When I first picked up All-Star Western several months ago, I was skeptical. I had  read Jonah Hex in its previous incarnation, written by the same authors, but I didn’t remember much of it, and without a recent exposure to the time period I didn’t really know what to expect. I assumed it would be difficult to make a good book that was set in a completely different time period from the other New 52 books, but I was dead wrong. All-Star Western has proven to be a fantastic book that I look forward to every month.
Continue reading →