Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Weekly Rankings For 09/17/08

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

4. Uncanny X-Men #502
3. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic #33
2. Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods #2 of 4
1. Action Comics #869

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

4. Uncanny X-Men #502
Fraction, Brubaker & Land

The issue provides some action in the beginning and at the end with X-Men against Hellfire club members. In between there is some character interactions between Cyclops and Emma as well as Beast, Pixie and Dazzler and even Nightcrawler and Emma. The storytelling makes great use of the cast. It’s careful enough to introduce the non-regulars without sacrificing too much page space. The artwork lacks consistency panel to panel but has some solid moments that make for a unique look. It’s a good issue. I like the intro page except my printed copy was impossible to read.

3. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic #33
Miller, Dazo & Pimentel

This is an excellent way to give a character’s origin. The entire comic is devoted to the back story of Haazen, apparently the real villain of Zayne and the Jedi all this time. The background is told in a concise and believable way to illustrate the character’s descent. The nice thing about the origin is that it leaves gaps that could be filled in later on. The artwork is excellent. Some of the panels are filled side to side, top to bottom with action and detail. This is a good story. However, it does slow down the arc’s pinnacle a bit.

2. Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods #2 of 4
Williams, Scott & Massengill

How many months did this thing take to get out there? Well, it was pretty much worth it. What a fantastic comic. The comic makes excellent use of first couple of movies with references and even a surprise character or two. The story deals with final piece of the key Indy is searching for, but there’s always a surprise or two. Throw in a cliffhanger ending and you have an issue that’s fast paced, informative and wastes no panel on filler. The artwork looks like trading cards from the movies. They are dead on for the characters from the movies and the action scenes are outstanding.

1. Action Comics #869
Johns, Frank & Sibal

A classic Superman comic. He’s facing awful odds and he battles back only to be put into another death trap situation. This, when the people he loves, suffers at the hands of his captor. Superman continues to try to work on Brainiac while Metropolis is under siege. The issue gives some excellent insight into Superman’s father’s family. The comic has some great characterization for the cast of the Daily Planet as well. Unfortunately, Supergirl continues to try to elbow her way into a meaningful role and kills momentum at every turn. The artwork is great. Not every panel sees the same consistency, but Superman looks so much like Christopher Reeve it’s amazing. A fantastic arc and comic.