Tag Archives: Zola

Nov 22 2013

Wonder Woman 25

wonder woman 25

Today, Mikyzptlk and Drew are discussing Wonder Woman 25, originally released November 20th, 2013

Mikyzptlk: Strife. We’ve all felt it at one point or another. It has a way of seeping into us whether we want it to or not. No matter how patient or level-headed we try to be, we all succumb to the effects of strife every now and then. Dealing with Gods of “stuff,” Brian Azzarello has been able to use his divine characters to push his story forward in a number of ways. As you might have guessed, Azzarello uses issue 25 of Wonder Woman to place a particularly heavy focus on the character of Strife and her manipulative plans. Little does she know, Azzarello and Wonder Woman may just have plans of their own.

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Oct 21 2013

Wonder Woman 24

wonder woman 24

Today, Scott and Mikyzptlk are discussing Wonder Woman 24, originally released October 16th, 2013.

Scott: I love reading Wonder Woman. Brian Azzarello is now 24 issues into his run on this title, yet I feel like I’ve read 50. I mean that in a good way. The world he’s created is so vivid, the characters so constantly evolving that I feel like I’ve spent more time with them than I really have. Wonder Woman 24 is dependent on every member of the title’s diverse cast, and just about everyone has something new to offer. It isn’t the most thrilling comic book ever written, but it’s pleasing in a way that really no other title can replicate. Simply, Wonder Woman feels like a place where everybody knows my name, and they’re always glad I came. I never want to leave. Continue reading →

Aug 28 2013

Wonder Woman 23

wonder woman 23

Today, Shelby and guest writer Nate are discussing Wonder Woman 23, originally released August 21st, 2013.

Shelby: Remember 22 issues ago, when Brian Azzarello relaunched Wonder Woman with the question: where is Zeus? We are no closer to answering that question, but honestly I don’t care in the least. Azz has flawlessly incorporated the Greek pantheon into this contemporary story, and has along the way crafted complex, believable, interesting characters. This issue feels like the cumulation of all that character work. We have the death of one god and the birth of another, and who knows what the repercussions will be for these characters we’ve grown so very fond of.

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Jul 18 2013

Wonder Woman 22

wonder woman 22Today, Taylor and Scott are discussing Wonder Woman 22, originally released July 17th, 2013.

Taylor: Brian Azzarello certainly has a way of making us do a double take while reading Wonder Woman. The man has a talent for bending his plots in unlikely directions while also making us second guess everyone’s motivations with almost every new issue. It’s likely that when Wonder Woman was rebooted, some were similarly thrown for a loop when Azzarello depicted the gods as being petty, mean, and downright hostile to just about everyone but themselves. While anyone who has ever read a Greek myth recognizes the dickish mentality of the Greek pantheon, it seems likely that others might have been surprised. The popular conception of heaven and god(s) in today’s culture takes a much more touchy-feely approach with our deities. Instead of being something to be feared, we like to think of deities as being righteous, compassionate, and selfless. Azzarello seems to understand how these two forces are at odds and in issue 22 of Wonder Woman he asks us to compare the Greek gods with their New God alternates. The question is, are they the same or are they different?

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Jun 20 2013

Wonder Woman 21

wonder woman 21

Today, Shelby and Scott are discussing Wonder Woman 21, originally released June 19th, 2013. Check out Drew’s exclusive interview with Brian Azzarello here!

Shelby: I recently bought PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, a button-masher fighting game that’s a whole lot of fun. It’s basically Super Smash Brothers, but with characters like Nathan Drake, Sly Cooper, Kratos, etc. I think this game is great because it’s all about mindless smashy smashing; you pick your character and then try to punch the other characters as much as possible. Loads of fun, but nothing much in the story department. I also recently played through Heavy Rain, an interactive-drama game where you play through a series of quicktime events to find the killer before he strikes again. Not a lot of action, mostly “press triangle to ask a question, press square to sit at the table” sort of stuff, but the story and character development is breathtaking. It had me on the edge of my seat, and the ending totally caught me by surprise. I like both of these games, and I’d recommend either of them, but they take very different approaches to entertainment: one mindless and awesome fighting, the other slower paced, but with incredible character moments. Brian Azzarello is not one to be content with one or the other; Wonder Woman 21 manages to give us both big action and quiet character development, and is wholly satisfying on both counts.
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Jun 5 2013

Captain America 7

captain america 7

Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing Captain America 7, originally released May 29th, 2013.

Patrick: This whole arc in Captain America  has been centered on one very bizarre story: Steve Rogers, trapped in Dimension Z, tries to make a life for himself with his adopted son, Ian. This is a comic book, so we didn’t spend much time watching Rogers change diapers or deciding what religion to raise his child or anything like that – most of those development moments were waved away with an issue-opening title card that read “Eleven Years Later,” way back in issue 4.We’re left to imagine that emotional groundwork, and hopefully our imaginations are pretty good, because Steve Rogers’ long odds (which grow longer by the issue) will net a pretty poor payoff if we can’t find a reason to care about Cap’s relationship with this kid. Continue reading →

May 16 2013

Wonder Woman 20

wonder woman 20

Today, Drew and Scott are discussing Wonder Woman 20, originally released May 15th, 2013.

I said, war, huh
Good God, y’all
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again

— Edwin Starr

Drew: War is ugly. There’s death, there’s destruction, there’s misery, but I think the ugliest thing about war is that we’ll never be free of it — it’s in our nature. Things quickly escalate from the desire to protect the people and things we care about, to a “the best defense is a good offense” mentality, to tit-for-tat reciprocity. It’s all too easy to see how vast groups of people — motivated only to do what is right for their loved ones — could be compelled to all-out war. In his Wonder Woman run, Brian Azzarello has traced this trajectory with grim fascination, simmering the tension along as the situation slowly escalates. This month finds that tension boiling over with three factions engaged in war — with the added complication that War itself is also a character.  Continue reading →

Apr 22 2013

Captain America 6

captain america 6

Today, Mikyzptlk and Shelby are discussing Captain America 6, originally released April 17th, 2013.

Mikyzptlk: Rick Remender has pleasantly surprised me with his take on Captain America. I’m a fan of the character, but he can come off as a little dry from time to time. Remender has solved that issue by not only transporting Cap to a strange and twisted place, but pushing Cap to some pretty intense extremes. Each issue seems to take Cap further and further to his limits, but his new found fatherhood may push him further than he’s ever been pushed. Continue reading →

Apr 18 2013

Wonder Woman 19

Alternating Currents: Wonder Woman 19, Drew and Scott

Today, Drew and Scott are discussing Wonder Woman 19, originally released April 17th, 2013.

Drew: Wonder Woman 18 ended on an atypically happy note — Zola was reunited with her baby, Diana and Ares seemed to have patched things up, Hera had found a bottle of wine — but the end of those good times is lurking around every corner. Unfortunately, Diana and friends may be caught unawares, mistaking their recent battles for the coming war. Indeed, when wagering on the outcome of that war, Poseidon discounts Diana, suggesting that he “always bet[s] against a player who doesn’t know they’re in the game.” Poseidon has made the mistake of underestimating Diana before, but he may have a point: while her adversaries are arming themselves, Diana seems to be distracted by more basic team maintenance. Continue reading →

Mar 22 2013

Captain America 5

captain america 5

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Captain America 5, originally released March 20th, 2013.

Patrick: There’s a part in the first Metal Gear Solid game where you have to fight a bad guy called Psycho Mantis. Fans of the series will remember this fight fondly for a couple of reasons — the character “reads your mind” and talks trash about the way you’ve been playing the game. Reportedly he will also make comments about the other games you have saved on your memory card. It’s goofy, but it certainly is weird and fun. At one point in the fight, Mantis is reading your mind to determine your motions, and it’s impossible to land a blow. The solution is that you have to plug the controller into the second controller port — that way he can’t read your mind. No, that doesn’t make sense — it’s a rule the game establishes right then and there for this single-time use. It’s not fair, it’s not fun, and you either know to do it (and you win) or you don’t know to do it (and you lose). Captain America’s latest adventures have a little too much in common with this Psycho Mantis fight, and I’m kinda just waiting for him to plug the controller into the Player Two slot.

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