Tag Archives: Spider-Man

Apr 5 2013

Age of Ultron 4

age of ultron 4 AU

Today, Patrick and Ethan are discussing Age of Ultron 4, originally released April 3rd, 2013. This issue is part of the Age of Ultron crossover event. Click here for complete AU coverage.

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Patrick: One of the things I’ve absolutely loved about picking up monthly comics is that I’ve had the opportunity to get know the work of a ton of great writers and artists. It pains me a little to think of how few people will ever read a funny exchange written by Jeff Lemire, and how few people will never see Adam Hughes masterful acting simply because they don’t read comics. Drew, Shelby and myself have been at this for over a year — I like to think we’re in the club now — and I have this brand new skill of identifying someone by their work. Brian Michael Bendis, the writer behind Age of Ultron is notorious for his massively decompressed stories, and between this series, Guardians of the Galaxy, and his X-Men books, I feel like I can spot his handiwork a mile away. But Age of Ultron is a special case, and its glacial pace allows almost every issue to be a Bryan Hitch vanity project. This makes it kind of tough to discuss in the same way we discuss other comics, but it’s clear now that this is the series’ identity – the problematic obsessions with character development and plot and theme are mine and not Ultron’s. Retcon Punch needs a new way to talk about comics. Alright, let’s see what we got. Continue reading →

Apr 1 2013

Superior Spider-Man 6AU

superior spider-man 6AU AU

Today, Ethan and Patrick are discussing Superior Spider-Man 6AU, originally released March 27th, 2013. This issue is part of the Age of Ultron crossover event. Click here for complete AU coverage.

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Ethan: Familiarity is a funny thing. The exposure we have to a thing or activity, the more hard-wiring space our brains devote to it. That’s great when you need to do something quickly — like recognize and react to a baseball flying at your head — or when you do something the same way over and over — like driving a route to work every day. That hard-wiring can save you from injury, or save on processing power that could be put to other use. Automatic responses aren’t always helpful though; sometimes your conditioning assigns a label and to situation too quickly and funnels you into a course of action that almost always works, but not this time. In the Age of Ultron crossover Superior Spider-Man #6, writer Christos Gage and artist Dexter Soy demonstrate the folly of this kind of snap judgement as Otto Octavius (in the body of Spider-Man Peter Parker) faces off against the malicious artificial intelligence. Continue reading →

Mar 29 2013

Age of Ultron 3

age of ultron 3 AU

Today, Mikyzptlk and Drew are discussing Age of Ultron 3, originally released March 27th, 2013. This issue is part of the Age of Ultron crossover event. Click here for complete AU coverage.

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Mikyzptlk: In any post-apocalyptic scenario, you can either give in to the destruction that surrounds you or you can find that one last sliver of hope to hang on to. The first two issues of this event have mostly centered on a group of defeated heroes who are on the verge of giving up hope. The resistance, if you could even call it that, was rudderless and quickly losing its steam. It was all quite depressing, if not in a fascinating kind of way. The latest issue of Age of Ultron reveals that perhaps not all hope is lost and, armed with a shiny new plan, our heroes start on a path that can hopefully lead them to victory.

Continue reading →

Mar 25 2013

The Superior Spider-Man 6

Alternating Currents: Superior Spider-Man 6, Drew and Freakin' Animal Man

Today, Drew and guest writer The Freakin’ Animal Man are discussing Superior Spider-Man 6, originally released March 20th, 2013.

Drew: Superheroes wear masks to protect their identities. The notion is that, by covering their faces, they will obscure who they really are. Of course, “who they really are” often has more to do with their actions than their names, which becomes readily apparent when another person steps behind the mask. The cops and villains of Gotham City all noticed a change in Batman when Dick took the reins, suggesting that much of the differences in Bruce and Dick’s personalities weren’t hidden by the cowl at all. At least Bruce and Dick are friends — imagine how apparent those changes might be if they were mortal enemies. That’s exactly the situation Superior Spider-Man finds itself in as the cracks in Otto’s facade continue to grow. Continue reading →

Mar 15 2013

Age of Ultron 2

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Today, Ethan and Drew are discussing Age of Ultron 2, originally released March 13th, 2013. This issue is part of the Age of Ultron crossover event. Click here for complete AU coverage.

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Ethan: In recent years, after the financial markets fell screaming into their perennial nosedive, the city of Detroit hasn’t done so well. Workers who had spent their lives with a company were laid off, branches were closed, businesses died, buildings were abandoned. Over time, the violence of the changes and departures faded as the temperatures, wind, and microorganisms went to work. Materials that we associate with longevity — brick, stone, even plastics — took on a distinctly alien appearance of decay. The effect even got a name — “ruin porn” — and photographers from across the country flocked to capture the scenes. Reading through the second issue of Age of Ultron evokes the same mix of wonder and horror, albeit the decay is in much fresher stage, and the characters are fictional. Bryan Hitch continues to deliver impressive vistas of metropolis in its death throes, and writer Brian Michael Bendis fills these images with sparks of life as the heroes try to find their place in the new world.

Continue reading →

Mar 13 2013

The Superior Spider-Man 5

superior spider-man 5

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Superior Spider-Man 5, originally released March 6th, 2013.

Shelby: For a super-villain, murder is often the most efficient way to do business. Unless you need hostages or information, civilians are at best in your way, and at worst witnesses to your nefarious deeds. Also, there’s no more efficient way to be feared and considered dangerous than by ganking a few innocent bystanders. It’s why so many heroes have pretty strict “no kill” rules; not only does it make the hero the diametric opposite of the villain, there are also times when not killing is the harder choice. Doing the hard thing (like saving the life of a cold-blooded murderer) because it’s the right thing is a core tenet of hero-ness. When faced with a choice between what’s right and what’s efficient, I think we all know which option Otto will choose.  Continue reading →

Mar 7 2013

Age of Ultron 1

age of ultron 1AU

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Age of Ultron 1, originally released March 6th, 2013. This issue is part of the Age of Ultron crossover event. Click here for complete AU coverage.

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Patrick: Y’all remember Battlestar Galactica? Until the show’s premise became too complicated to be expressed in a few simple sentence fragments, each episode would begin with the following titles projected across the screen:

The Cylons were created by man. They evolved. They rebelled. There are many copies. And they have a plan.

It’s exactly enough information to tease the world of the series. Yeah, there’s a lot more to it than that — this description makes no mention of the last scraps of humanity drifting through space in outdated battleships, or God or gods or Starbuck or Frak. It doesn’t have to: the purity of the threat represented by Cylons is so elemental and to render the rest beautiful, beautiful set-dressing to this central conflict. Battlestar would go on to tell a hundred compelling stories based of that clean slug-line, replete with rich themes and psychologically complex characters. Brian Michael Bendis’ Age of Ultron looks like it will have a great deal in common with BSG, the first such indication is a straightforward and agonizingly clean premise: “Hank Pym of the Avengers created an artificial intelligence known as Ultron. It hates humanity… and it has returned.” Game on.

Continue reading →

Feb 25 2013

The Superior Spider-Man 4

superior spider-man 4

Today, Mikyzptlk and Shelby are discussing Superior Spider-Man 4, originally released February 20th, 2013.

Mikyzptlk: We are now four issues into Dan Slott’s Superior version of Spider-Man. The first three issues brought into question the ideas of identity, nature vs. nurture and just how creepy it is for Dr. Octopus to date Mary Jane Watson while wearing a Parker suit (Answer: VERY CREEPY). Fortunately, that last question has already been laid to rest allowing Slott to continue his examination of identity in issue 4. We also get a reintroduction to Spidey’s biggest villain of all time. That’s right, The Big Wheel! Ok. No. But, seriously, I’ll get to him in a minute.   Continue reading →

Feb 11 2013

The Superior Spider-Man 3

superior spider-man 3

Today, Patrick and Drew  are discussing The Superior Spider-Man 3, originally released February 6th, 2013.

Patrick: You know, this series has been making us ask one question over and over again: How will this set-up change Spider-Man? Still super early in its run, the series has turned its gaze inward, exploring not only how this out-of-body affects Peter but Otto as well. Fighting crime may be a shortcut to glory, but it also means Otto turning on his friends. That makes for some startlingly compelling psychology. Continue reading →

Feb 1 2013

Hawkeye 7

 

Today, Patrick and Jack are discussing Hawkeye 7, originally released January 30th, 2012.

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Patrick: Last time we were hanging out in fuzzy pants as discussing Hawkeye, we were reflecting on the Christmas issue (complete with Clint in a Santa hat). This month, we’ve got in our hands another Very Special Issue of Hawkeye, one that should feel a little less celebratory. Yes, it’s the end of October 2012 on the eastern seaboard, and the subject of our latest Hawkeye adventure is Super Storm Sandy. Never one to rest on a gimmick, Matt Fraction builds two tales for two Hawkeyes, one fun and the other touching, while staying emotionally and factually true to the event that inspired him. Clint and Katie are always easy to identify with, and their reactions to the storm echo our own in a dazzling display of artistic empathy.

Continue reading →