Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Action Comics #1
DC Comics
Morrison, Morales & Bryant

The big fish of all the DC reboots is that of Superman, specifically Action Comics. Of the heavy hitters in the DCU he seems to have the most that's changing, so in some ways the success of the DCU reboot is tied to this book and Superman proper. The first issue brings in most of the key players from the Superman mythos as Morrison crafts a good story for the first issue while laying out the groundwork for the long-term arc and the longer-term themes of the series. In the end, though, I just didn't find all that much to get me hooked into this series. It's a serviceable introduction issue for the reboot but it just isn't enough to keep this once long-time fan of the character coming back for more.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Action Comics #900
DC Comics
Cornell, Woods, Merino, Dini, Donner, Frank, Goyer, Johns, Lindelof, Sook & Stelfreeze

The giant-sized, anniversary issue of the oldest periodical (numbering wise from the big two) ships this week with a strange choice for a main story and several smaller stories to provide an array of creators in hopes of bringing more casual readers to the table. For the most part, this issue provides a very entertaining read, but will undoubtedly be remembered for one little nugget hidden away in one of the smaller stories. There's a lot to like in here and I think this issue helps to give casual readers a sense of the state of the character while giving the regular readers of the title something to satisfy their needs.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Weekly Rankings For 02/11/09

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

7. Action Comics #874
6. Batman #686
5. GI Joe #2
4. Green Lantern Corps #33
3. Incognito #2
2. Wolverine Manifest Destiny #4 of 4
1. Walking Dead #58

Tough week to rate as I think the order could have gone any way depending on a number of minor things. That makes for a solid and enjoyable week of comics. Here’s how things shook out after the first read through with a mini-review:

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Action Comics #873
DC Comics
Johns, Woods, Guedes & Magalhaes

New Krypton wraps up in this issue with a real nice battle and an interesting solution to the problem of Kandor being on Earth. However, the issue misses slightly in the excitement factor. It’s possible that the issue’s thunder was stolen because of what happens in the two epilogues. That’s usually not a good sign when the prospect of future stories makes the one that just ended seem small and unimportant.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Weekly Rankings For 01/14/09

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

3. GI Joe #1
2. Action Comics #875
1. Green Lantern Corps #32

I passed on the Obama Spider-Man team up because it was only a five page story in the back. I also passed on Final Crisis #6 because it appeared Batman’s final adventure wasn’t the bulk of the issue.

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

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Action Comics #872
DC Comics
Johns & Woods

New Krypton rolls on and the cast grows in this issue, as does the action. This issue advances some of the ideas the villains have in mind for Superman and his fellow Kryptonians. We also see that Supergirl’s mother isn’t totally on the up and up either. This issue has plenty of action and really puts Superman in an impossible spot. He’s wanted by an awful lot of people and he doesn’t seem to have a lot of cohorts to help out. In fact, the cliffhanger has some of his friends getting ready to hunt down the Kryptonians.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Weekly Rankings For 12/10/08

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

4. Transformers Maximum Dinobots #1
3. Lone Ranger #16
2. Action Comics #872
1. Green Lantern Corps #31

I passed on Detective, but I’m rethinking that move and may pick it up next week.

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

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Action Comics #871
DC Comics
Johns & Woods

New Krypton rolls on with another issue that doesn’t live up to the opening Special from a few weeks ago. The comic tries to establish the various mindsets of the Kryptonians but the characters themselves have no personalities and, as a result, have little reason for the reader to feel the pain or hate them for their twisted motivations. Perhaps the best part of the comic is what happens at the very beginning. I have high hopes for this arc, but I am wondering now if I can stick this thing out.

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