Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Weekly Rankings For 12/17/08

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

5. Uncanny X-Men #505
4. X-Files #2
3. Supergirl #36
2. X-Men Legacy #219
1. Walking Dead #56

I picked up Detective from last week and I would place this probably #3 after reading all the titles that came out this week.

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

5. X-Files #2

Spotnitz & Denham

This issue wraps up the short arc and while it’s not a letdown, it does have an underwhelming conspiracy to it. Mulder falls victim to the chemical weapon, but his cure isn’t completely explained. The weapon itself also isn’t used too liberally. Why not use it on everyone trying to track you down? I liked the story, but maybe a third issue in the arc could have made this a touch deeper.

4. Uncanny X-Men #505

Fraction, Dodson, Dodson & Ponsor

Man does this issue make use of a ton of plots in other titles. It touches on Dark Reign with Emma, Scott talks about Cable and the Messiah baby (not to mention the news footage about the Messiah birth), X-23 gets some time in this title with (what I guess) some reference to the X-Force arc, plus Armor is in this issue, who primarily resides in Astonishing. The meat of the issue deals with Emma and her struggles with trust with Scott. There are side plots, such as Colossus chasing down some ghosts and Beast and Angel finding another scientist recruit. It’s a good issue, but I found it to still be in the building mode.

3. X-Men Legacy #219

Carey, Briones, Smith & Reber

A one shot that deals with Xavier confronting his step-brother, Juggernaut. If you like Xavier having an argument and a fight with his step-brother then this is an issue up your alley. However, it seems odd that Xavier would even feel the need to find him. I understand he is trying to get his memories back, but to get into this head and in this fashion seems strange. We never exactly get what it is Xavier is after. It feels like a filler issue, which isn’t a bad thing, but I feel like this could have been more than it turned out to be.

2. Supergirl #36

Gates, Igle & Champagne

Things heat up big time in this issue. Supergirl’s mom has gone off the deep end. Superman continues to waffle about what to do, while the Kryptonians run the gamut from good guys to extreme bad guys. You have to wonder why no one has gotten to Kandor yet, like the JLA. This issue helps to set up just how badly Superman and Supergirl screwed this whole un-bottling of Kandor thing.

1. Walking Dead #56

Kirkman, Adlard & Rathburn

Just when you think one thing is happening, something entirely different happens instead. This issue has what I was expecting in the way of confrontation. I had a feeling Rick wasn’t the only one who wasn’t acting on even keel in the last couple of issues. Things boil over a little bit in this one. Also, as I suspected, Abraham isn’t one you can depend on when the pressure is up. I tried to be vague here and not spoil too much, but this issue is real good with a surprise or two at the beginning and at the end.