Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Batman 6, originally released February 15th, 2012.
Drew: Batman 7 begins in a pivotal moment in Bruce’s history; as he sits, broken and bleeding in his own library, considering the bat that has just broken through the window and lit on his father’s bust. It feels like familiar territory, but as the bat flies off into the night, creating an oh-so-familiar silhouette against the full moon, something…changes. Continue reading
Today, Shelby and Peter are discussing Deathstroke 7, originally released March 14th, 2012.
Peter: Sometimes I would kind of like to see comic book story lines not follow the expected progression. Most of the time, after about the first half of a story arc, you can guess what is about to happen; maybe not the specifics, but you can pretty much figure it out. That’s what I thought was going to happen with Deathstroke. I figured, “How hard could it be?” he’s an assassin. He kills people. He gets paid. Sometimes he takes on superheroes…for money, or personal benefit. So really I thought I had this all figured out, and then I read Deathstroke 7. As it turns out, I had nothing figured out, and you know what? I am extremely okay with that. Continue reading
Today, Shelby and Peter are discussing Deathstroke 1-6, originally released September 14th, October 12th, November 9th, December 14th, 2011, and January 11th and February 8th, 2012.
Shelby: I picked up Deathstroke at the recommendation of my local comic shop. I was looking to broaden our pull list with something the guys weren’t reading. Plus, Deathstroke is a virtually unknown character to me; I first encountered him when I read Identity Crisis last year, and I what I learned from that book was the limit of my knowledge of Slade Wilson. He’s classified as a meta-human, with enhanced strength, speed, tactical abilities, and a regenerative ability allowing him to heal faster than your average blogger from nearly all wounds. I have, in previous posts, compared titles to action movies, but I have been forced to take it all back. Deathstroke is the ultimate killing machine; he does so with precision, accuracy, and impunity. It’s almost kind of refreshing; so many superheroes make a point of not killing their enemies, enough so that on the rare occasion when they do, it’s shocking (Wonder Woman, I’m looking at you). There is something really appealing about a character who exists solely to kill others. Moreover, if this character isn’t a villain, isn’t someone I despise, then I think we’re onto something interesting.
Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Nightwing 5-6, originally released January 18th, 2012, and February 15th, 2012.
Patrick: I realize that I know a lot about Dick Grayson, but I don’t know all that much about Nightwing. I’m comfortable with him in the Robin role – that’s the Batman I was raised on, after all. And Dick wearing the Batman cowl is a compelling enough story that even with my limited exposure to that arc, I feel like I get it. But I don’t have a solid grasp on how Nightwing operates, what he stands for or what the world’s perception of him is. I don’t know who his rogues are (unless he’s borrowing from Batman’s incredibly deep bench), and I don’t really know where he usually fights crime (venturing a guess: Gotham and Blüdhaven? Wait, which one is Blüdhaven?). Relying only on this series, I’m not totally convinced I know what tone the Nightwing character is supposed to strike. Continue reading
Retcon Punch 