Tag Archives: Swamp Thing

Jun 6 2012

Chat Cave: What Superpower Would You Have?

We’ve all this conversation before: “If you could have any one super power, what would it be?” That’s a fun exercise in an of itself, but the answers too frequently default to flight and/or invisibility. Given the assets and liabilities of the various superpower sources in the DC Universe (magic, speed force, being a God, whatever), which one is the most personally appealing to you? Welcome to the Chat Cave.

Patrick: I love Batman. I love all the Bat-allies. But I could never ever ever be a Gotham City gadget-based hero for one reason: Batman seems like a terrible boss. He may keep you well-funded and impeccably trained, but the man’s expectations are essentially psychotic. Can you imagine fighting crime all night and then still having to go and help him out of a jam from time to time? Plus, you have to keep up a secret identity, and all without the aid of proper staff. Batman only has Lucius and Alfred on payroll – that’s not a proper support staff. Continue reading →

Jun 5 2012

Op-Ed: Girls and Comic Books

Cosplay is a problem. I love dressing up, I love costumes, so naturally, I want to cosplay at the next con I attend. BUT I know I’m not in the kind of shape I would need to be in to make the costumes of any of my favorites work. I definitely don’t want to end up in some sort of “mistakes were made” cosplay photo gallery. Plus, if I’m going to go to hang out with friends at a con, I don’t want to be uncomfortably, impractically sexy!

Now, I am obviously old enough to not need superheroines to look up to as role models. I do, however, want to celebrate the characters I most enjoy reading; what with imitation being the highest form of flattery and all that, cosplay seems the way to go. Between Wonder Woman’s mostly pantsless state and Batgirl’s skin-tight…whatever that thing is called, my options are limited. Continue reading →

Jun 1 2012

Animal Man Annual 1

Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing the Animal Man Annual 1, originally released May 30th, 2012.

Patrick: All good modern-epics have have nearly bottomless backstories: histories that stretch on further than any of the characters can remember. “This has all happened before and it will happen again.” I do not quote the sacred text of Battlestar Galactica lightly; the war between The Rot, The Red and The Green has a history that literally (and necessarily) spans all life on Earth. Ever. We’ve gotten glimpses of this history in Animal Man and Swamp Thing, but this is the first time we’ve gotten an extended look at one of the previous incursions by The Rot. We don’t get the whole picture, but we do get some remarkable personal insight.

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May 8 2012

Swamp Thing 9

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Swamp Thing 9, originally released May 2nd, 2012.

Shelby: I love non-traditional stories. While there is definitely comfort to be found in stories that go exactly as you imagine, it’s those twists that can turn a story on its ass that make things really interesting. And when those twists give the finger to time-honored and traditional story-telling tropes, that’s when I sit up and take notice. Swamp Thing is an awesome embodiment of the non-traditional. Our hero is a monster (unless you compare him to the villain), and in this issue after he rescues the damsel, she turns right around and rescues him back.

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Apr 6 2012

Animal Man 8


Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Animal Man 8, originally released April 4th, 2012.

Shelby:  There is a certain aesthetic that I find really appealing, I like to call it “scary pretty.” I love Mexican sugar skulls, Tim Burton movies, and photographing abandoned factories. There’s can be such beauty in twisted, frightening, ugly things. Obviously, Animal Man falls completely into the scary pretty category, both story-wise and art-wise. Lemire, Foreman, and Pugh have crafted something twisted and scary and beautiful and I cannot get enough of it. Continue reading →

Mar 9 2012

Animal Man 7

Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Animal Man 7, originally released March 7th, 2012.

Shelby: I am pretty new to Animal Man. After listening to Patrick and Drew rave about it, I knew I had to pick it up. I just got caught up over the weekend, and I’m so glad I did. No exaggeration: reading the first 6 issues of this in one sitting gave me nightmares. I am a grown-ass woman, and I can’t sleep because of a comic book? That, my friends, is awesome.  Continue reading →