Tag: scott snyder

November 30 / / Comics

Out of all the properties in the comic book space, I have always gravitated towards Batman; maybe it was seeing Michael Keaton don the cowl when I was growing up or how that Seal song, “Kiss From a Rose,” always got stuck in my head whenever I heard it. Either way, Batman was a part of my life at an early age, from the dark and brooding Tim Burton flicks to even reruns of Adam West’s campy but enjoyable Batman tv show.

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It wasn’t until Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy started that I chose to pick up comic titles apart from the current Batman run. There were a lot of non-canon books written and drawn by brilliant writers and artists that ended up becoming part of the Batman legacy; and it’s in these standalone books that I want discuss the impact they’ve had not only on the character but his world as well.

April 27 / / Industry

Retroactive Continuity, or Retcon, for short is a term that is all together too common in the comic book world. It basically means that there’s an alteration to an established fact within continuity, and comic book writers use this strategy to add, remove, and of course, alter stories.

With all the stories being written and new creative teams taking the reins for various properties, there always a chance things will get retconned. As a reader, it’s something that I don’t personally enjoy but I understand where publishers and writers are coming from. It sort of reminiscent of the music industry where nothing is original anymore. But with so many talented creatives entering the comic book industry, new stories are being thought up with fresh perspectives such as Scott Snyder’s addition to the Batman canon with his Court of Owls story arc or Francis Manapul’s work on The Flash.

But retcon examples litter the stories we read.  A prime example when a writer added something that wasn’t already established within continuity is what Brian Wood began on IDW’s Star Wars before Kieron Gillan picked up the mantle when it moved over to Marvel. Wood started to write stories that involved all our favorite Star Wars characters from the point after the Battle of Yavin, right after Episode 1: A New Hope.

Nothing thrills me more than visiting my local comic shop every week and picking up the latest and greatest issue from the various titles on my pull list. It’s like Christmas morning every time where a glimpse into the ongoing story is revealed. But sometimes with how some titles are published, the wait can be unbearable. Take for example Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. Image Comics releases this title every month, therefore, I have to wait a substantial amount of time to continue the ongoing epic. And sometimes it’s tough to remember what happened in the previous issue. Yes, there’s a section at the beginning of the issue to remind me of the major points but it’s still consuming a chunk of the story every month.

With the advent of Netflix, binge watching became relevant. I, for one, fell into this statistic when my wife and I watched the entire 6 seasons of Lost within a week’s time. Yeah, it was like being unable to put down an engrossing book but with an entire television series. There’s just something satisfying to continue watching a tv show from start to finish, of course, with the hope to get all your questions answered. I’m not going to weigh in on what I thought of the ending of Lost or of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, for that matter, but you get the picture, right?

October 10 / / Weekend Shorts

Today we’ll be starting our recommended reads for the weekend. Some will be stand alone issues, others, the beginning of a saga. Or any kick-ass issues we just want to share. Not all recommendations will be new. Some will be weeks, months, or years old if they’re truly special. But our goal is to recommend books for readers who are short on time, need quick recos or just plain want someone else to decide for you what to read. We’re a small team so if you have any recommendations, shoot us an email in the top right at “Contact Us”. Without further ado, the picks of the week.