Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Weekly Rankings For 07/30/08
Here are this week’s comics (last week's actually, posted late due to a well deserved vacation for Brandon) ranked prior to reading them, based upon past performance and advance information released on each issue:
5. Frank Frazetta’s Creatures One Shot
4. Star Wars Rebellion #15
3. Green Lantern #33
2. Huntress Year One #6 of 6
1. Wolverine #67
Here are the rankings after the first read through with a mini-review:
5. Frank Frazetta’s Creatures One Shot
Remender, Bergting & Hanley
Don’t let the rank fool you. I loved this comic. I’m going to recap it for you and I not going to be sarcastic. This is seriously what it is about: Teddy Roosevelt fights supernatural beings, Martians and other creatures that go bump in the night. It’s Indiana Jones meets Ghostbusters set in the dying days of the old west. It’s awesome too! Oh sure, you might find the usage of the President of the United States to be a little absurd, but that is what makes this comic so cool. Teddy kicks ass! The artwork is not the showcase as is the case in the other Frazetta comics, but it is still excellent. This story will entertain you with some thought provoking ideas as well as crack you up in the process.
Johns, Reis & Albert
Tough call here too, but this is another excellent comic. Hal Jordan and Sinestro find some common ground to work on. We learn a ton about the blackest night concept. We get some Black Hand origin and some resolution on the front involving Hector Hammond. The issue ties in all that we knew about Abin Sur into what will be the Blackest Night arc. It’s a great read. I found the art to be a little awkward in some places. Close ups of Hal Jordan varied page to page. Otherwise, I loved the art especially the flashback scenes. A strong issue in the retelling of Hal’s origin.
Williams, Weaver & Glass
An awesome issue for Rebellion. They took the Vector torch and ran with it. We get Han, Chewie, Luke, Leia, Vader and many of the Rebellion characters from the previous arcs. The issue doesn’t pull any punches with regard to launching into the action. Some excellent flashbacks to A New Hope help set the mood for both Luke and for Vader. The abduction of the Jedi provides an interesting twist heading into the next issue. The artwork helps showcase a key cornerstone to the Star Wars Universe – the spaceships. This issue has a ton of them and they really add to the overall feel that this story jumped out of the movies. This is the best issue of the Rebellion series.
Millar & McNiven
I am a sucker for dystopian stories, but this one is a great one. This issue gives a lot of Logan telling Hawkeye that he isn’t Wolverine anymore with only a tiny bit of an explanation, but the issue gives excellent insight into exactly what happened to the heroes. Throw in some more next generation of hero descendants and the issue really bridges the gap between today and tomorrow. The artwork is outstanding. Particularly the glassy look to the now blind Hawkeye really jumps out at you. An excellent issue.
Madison, Richards, Rapmund & Buchman
The finale of the mini series marks the best issue yet. I’m not spoiling any of it. Huntress isn’t just a super hero comic or a gray area between good and bad story or even a mafia drama. It’s so much more. It gives levels to the art of getting revenge. It gives layers of good through the very bad where the rankings of those involved change issue to issue. This issue ties some plots together but none are very neatly tied. The comic has a gruesome ending that makes you kind of cheer, but wince at the same time. It does what a story should do: it makes me want more. You don’t have to like Batman to love this. You don’t have to be a fan of DC to love this. You don’t even have to be a Godfather junkie to love this. There is so much to offer to such a wide range of people I can’t believe how under the radar this thing was in the beginning. It has to be one of the best stories of the year.
