Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Weekly Rankings For 1/02/09

Here are this week’s comics ranked prior to reading them:

9. Batman #684
8. Wolverine Manifest Destiny #3 of 4
7. Green Lantern #36
6. Captain America #45
5. X-Men Magneto’s Testament #3 of 5
4. Superman #683
3. Star Wars Legacy #31
2. Kick-Ass #5
1. Wolverine #70

A solid week with no duds in the bunch. This was a difficult ranking from top to bottom.

Here are the rankings after the first read through with a mini-review:

9. Wolverine Manifest Destiny #3 of 4

Aaron, Segovia, Luque, Salonga & Rauch

A fun issue. Wolverine gets some kung fu training from his mentor. He tries to rally some resistance to the Black Dragon and gets into deeper trouble along the way. The issue is filled with some good humor and a couple of surprises. The only downer is the lack of explanation as to what he did 50 years ago to warrant the treatment he is getting now and the reasons he is still hanging around. It seems like a lot to save for the last issue and makes the arc feel an issue too long. Still a great fun read.

8. Batman #684

O’Neil & March

This issue really hammers home the idea that Nightwing is not Batman. But that all depends on the perspective judging him. Some, like Alfred, seem to see more Batman in Nightwing than Dick Grayson in Nightwing. On the other hand, Gordon, almost talks down to Nightwing and dismisses him as an annoyance. It’s a good character study of someone who is very much at the crossroads. It’s got a very good story to hold the study together. I felt the art lacked coloring consistency though, which really didn’t take away from the read.

7. Superman #683

Robinson, Guedes, Correa Jr & Magalhaes

This issue is one big battle. It was fun to watch the interactions of the Justice League with the people of Kandor but the issue lacked the huge confrontation involving Superman that we keep dancing around. He’s trying to play diplomat but at some point some people are going to hit him. It took until the end of this issue for that to happen. It was a fun read but I felt had some problems in the art department. Much like the issue of Batman I felt the coloring was dull or almost absent on some pages. I thought the issue had drama in it that was kind of lost in the fray. The finale will be very interesting based on the cliffhanger here.

6. Captain America #45

Brubaker, Ross, Magyar & D’Armata

This arc seemed like a new direction, but it is really the basis for everything that will set up many, many arcs. Holy Moses I didn’t see this ending coming at all. Bucky has his problems fighting two villains in the issue, but once he unravels the mystery of what Batroc wants we see that the adventure is just about begin for Bucky. It looks like Brubaker is making more excellent use of the massive history that Cap has to him and doing it very, very well. This was an excellent issue.

5. Kick-Ass #5

Millar & Romita Jr

Kick-Ass mostly deals with his anger towards another cape stealing his thunder. This kind of felt out of left field since the last issue and I wonder if this has anything to do with the movie coming out. Regardless, the cast grows a little bit more interesting with the introduction of Red Mist. The issue is funny and is clever with the explanations that Red Mist gives as to how he stopped a group of Russian Mobsters. The two are faced with a real problem and we see how they handle it and the interesting outcome that results. It’s a hilarious issue and it yanks the overall plot forward light years.

4. X-Men Magneto’s Testament

Pak, Di Giandomenico & Hollingsworth

This was a tough read. It deals almost exclusively with the Nazis killing the Jews. Its presentation isn’t gory or too in-your-face, but it is horrifying and very graphic. You read this and you forget you are dealing with a cape comic. At the end I had a feeling Magneto would bend the fence or something to show his power and escape, but instead of showing his powers he is again brought down to the reality that all he knew and cared about is either dead or waiting to die. This story barely touches the Holocaust, but it shows you as much as it can and does so brilliantly. This is nothing to feel good about but it’s great.

3. Wolverine #70

Millar, McNiven, Vines & Hollowell

Finally, we get the story about what happened to Logan that made him fold up tent on the character of Wolverine. It’s a terrific story with lots of blood and a fantastic twist to it. This definitely makes you understand why Wolverine can’t exist anymore. The artwork only jumps this comic to another level. The sheer brutality in this issue makes it worth the read. The nice part about this story is you don’t need to read the other issues to enjoy it. I wasn’t crazy about the set up for next issue as it feels like more filler, but we’ll see.

2. Green Lantern #36

Johns, Reis & Albert

Incredible issue. We get some red lanterns, some yellow lanterns, some green lanterns, some sapphire lanterns and some blue lanterns. The cast is terrific with the introduction of two blue lanterns and their new “recruit” and mission for that recruit. But that isn’t the big surprise. Nope, it turns out Sinestro has been hiding something for a long time that the red lanterns are about to expose. Why we were saddled with that seven issue arc about Hal’s secret origin with this story waiting in the wings I’ll never know. If you have any interest at all in Blackest Night then pick this issue up. This was tremendously done.

1. Star Wars Legacy #31

Ostrander, Duursema and Parsons

Vector ends with this issue but that isn’t the main story. The huge battle in this issue leaves a couple of characters dead that I had no way of guessing. The entire status quo of this title has no changed. This is a fantastic issue that wraps up Vector completely and absolutely and holds heavy interest for the main Legacy readers at the same time. You know those crazy Sith, you can never trust them. Awesome, awesome issue.