Tag Archives: Matt Kindt

Dec 4 2013

Mind MGMT 17

mind mgmt 17

Today, Mikyzptlk and Drew are discussing Mind MGMT 17, originally released November 27th, 2013.

Mikyzptlk: I’m normally not the type to start a series with anything other than issue 1, but being an editor for Retcon Punch requires you to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while. I started this series with issue 16, and since it was a one-shot, it felt like an interesting experiment. Analyzing issue 17 feels like an experiment too, but of a different sort. Today, I’ll be trying to figure out what’s going on underneath the surface of issue 17 of Mind MGMT while trying to piece together the events of the previous issues. Hoo-boy.  Continue reading →

Oct 29 2013

Mind MGMT 16

mind mgmt 16Today, Patrick and Mikyzptlk are discussing Mind MGMT 16, originally released October 23rd, 2013.

Patrick: We’re conducting a little bit of an experiment today — neither Mike or I have read Matt Kindt’s well-regarded Mind MGMT series before. This is a series I’ve been meaning to check out for a while, and the solicit sold it as a one-off, so where better to hop on than here? This issue explores ideas of artificially constructed memories and the recursive nature in which we experience memories — falsified or otherwise. It’s dizzying and disorienting, and without a handle on what’s established and what’s normal in this series, I’m left in the occupy the shoes of our protagonist. As such, it’s a remarkable expression of identity, memory and fantasy and the inevitable intersection of all three. Continue reading →

Jun 4 2013

Justice League of America 4

JLA 4

Today, Spencer and Shelby are discussing Justice League of America 4, originally released May 29th, 2013.

Spencer: I’ll be honest: from the very start, Justice League of America has seemed more concerned with putting pieces in place for the upcoming “Trinity War” than it has with telling a compelling story. Unfortunately, for a story so focused on getting its players from Point A to Point B, the way writer Geoff Johns does so strains credibility. He makes several attempts to keep this issue engaging, but its biggest failing is simply that the heroes come across as really, really dumb.

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Apr 24 2013

Wolverine and the X-Men 27AU

wolverine 27 AU

Today, Taylor and Ethan are discussing Wolverine and the X-Men 27AU, originally released April 17th 2013. This issue is part of the Age of Ultron crossover event. Click here for complete AU coverage.

ultron-div

Taylor: Expect the unexpected. On a scale of one to ten that measures cliché sayings that enrage me, this one is at about a 9.3. How can you expect the unexpected? By its very nature a person can’t prepare for the unexpected. If something is unexpected that means you cannot see it coming, so how can you prepare for it? I understand that some of the charm people derive from this saying comes from the very paradoxical nature of it that I hate so much. However, I think a lot of people have forgotten this aspect of the saying in eschewing its true meaning. Rather, those who employ the saying often seem to use it as a way of preparing people for wild times ahead, not caring that the dribble coming out of their mouth is useless and confusing. However, occasionally this phrase is useful, like when you really have no idea what to expect from your present circumstances. I think time travel is one of the times when it’s safe to say you should expect the unexpected if for no other reason then temporal mechanics are wonky. So when Wolverine and Sue Storm travel back in time in Wolverine and the X-Men 27 AU, I think it’s safe to use the phrase I deplore so much.

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Jan 18 2013

Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E 16 (Final Issue)

frankenstein 16

Today, Shelby and Scott are discussing Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E., originally released January 16, 2013.

Shelby: I’m going to be honest: I just finished the last issue of Frankenstein, and I have no idea what just happened. I’m not sure what I was expecting; the last issue wrapped up so conveniently with the formation of the nigh-unstoppable undead army we’ve seen in Animal Man. Even though this issue isn’t a part of Rotworld, and even though it is the last issue of the title, I guess I thought there would be some sort of connectivity between issues 15 and 16, that we would see some kind of closure for these characters we’ve come to (briefly) know. Instead of having Frank go out in a blaze of glory, Rotworld style, or having Frank and Nina live happily ever after, Matt Kindt has returned these two to “same old, same old” and the effect is…rather hollow.
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Dec 18 2012

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E 15

Alternating Currents: Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. 15, Scott and DrewToday, Scott and Drew are discussing Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E 15, originally released December 12th, 2012. This issue is part of the RotWorld crossover event. Click here for complete RotWorld coverage. 

Scott: Perspective is everything in storytelling. Storytellers can have a profound impact on how a story is received based on the information they have access to and how they choose to present that information. Really good storytellers include personal touches that show their passion for the subject, giving emotional weight to the story. I would venture to guess Frankenstein is not this type of storyteller. Frankenstein has fairly simple tastes; he likes killing monsters and not being around people. So how do you elegantly tell a story about a character whose preferred mode of communication is a disinterested grunt? Take the story out of his hands and tell it from a third person point of view, which writer Matt Kindt does to beautiful effect in Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. 15.

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Nov 19 2012

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E 14

Today, Patrick and Scott are discussing Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E 14, originally released October 10th, 2012. This issue is part of the RotWorld crossover event. Click here for complete RotWorld coverage. 

Patrick: 2003 was supposed to be the year that the Matrix series ruled the world. To follow-up their genre defining 1999 masterpiece, the Wachoskis planned an all-out media blitzkrieg. Over the course of six months, they released two enormous science-fiction action movies, a set of animated shorts that tied directly into those movies and a AAA video game whose narrative wove throughout the movies and the shorts. Naturally, the movies were the flagships of this Matrix armada, so when they weren’t very good, the whole fleet sank. But I played the everloving shit out of that Enter the Matrix video game. It worked because Enter the Matrix had to embrace conventions of a video game directly, instead of stylishly dancing around them (as the films did). It might have seemed strange when Morpheus would tell you to collect three keys to access the next level, but there’s something refreshing about that objective-based narrative — especially considering that the terms of victory in the Matrix movies were becoming ever more grim and convoluted. Frankenstein is the Enter the Matrix of Rotworld: what it lacks in subtlety, it makes up for in clarity of objective.

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Oct 16 2012

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E 13

Today, Shelby and Scott are discussing Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E 13, originally released October 10th, 2012. This issue is part of the RotWorld crossover event. Click here for complete RotWorld coverage. 

Shelby: I liked the zero issue of Frankenstein. I already know the original Frankenstein story, so I just enjoyed this comic book take on it. Sure, I didn’t know anything about S.H.A.D.E., including what the acronym stands for, but it didn’t get in my way of appreciating the story being told. Knowing that we’d be covering the title at least through Rotworld, I foolishly thought I didn’t need to know anymore, that I’d be able to pick up issue 13 just fine. Apparently, I forgot how comic books work; even with the familiar faces of the Red and the Rot to guide the story, I have almost no idea what is going on here, so bear with me.

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Sep 18 2012

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. 0

Today, Patrick and (guest writer) Mike Logsdon are discussing Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. 0, originally released September 12, 2012. Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Patrick: It’s 2012. Hell, it’s the end of 2012. Comic books — and superhero comics — have been around almost a century at this point. And this is a medium that loves its own history, so it’s basically impossible to pick up an issue and read it devoid of context. Zero Month, and our experiment with guest writers (Hi Mike!), tests just how well these issues hold up without the appropriate context. I’m reading a lot of comics, but I’ve never read Frankenstein before — clarification: I’ve never read this series before. I have read Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. So, I feel like I have enough context to evaluate what I’m reading… I just fear that it’s the wrong context.

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