Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

PunisherMAX #22
MAX (Marvel Comics)
Aaron, Dillon & Hollingsworth

The finale of the Jason Aaron run on The Punisher is basically a tying up of loose ends as the climax occurred in the previous issue. Once again, Aaron shows how he has mastered putting together an interesting story that combines flashbacks and events in the current time period. Aaron packs a lot of information into this issue but still manages to move the book along at a nice pace. I have loved this run and this issue is no different. I believe if someone only picked up this issue, that they would be compelled to read the rest of the run. Definitely find space in your budget for this issue.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Secret Avengers #22
Marvel Comics
Remender, Hardman & Breitweiser

Remender and Hardman's run on Secret Avengers kicks off in this issue with a book that sets up the team and introduces the new threat. The book manages to establish unique voices for some of the members of the team. The comic also provides a good explanation for the inclusion of the some of the odder characters that were added to the mix. Overall, this is a good start to the book but I do not get the sense that this book is getting ready to launch into a saga, such as Remender's Uncanny X-Force.

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Suspended Animation Review

Essential Fantastic Four Volume 1, published by Marvel Comics, 544 pages, $16.99.

Marvel Masterworks, or Marvel Essentials? Whichever a person chooses to consume the first 20 issues (and Annual #1) of The Fantastic Four is, for all intents and purposes, inconsequential. That is, unless you judge a great comics experience by whether or not the strip is in color. If so, you will be depriving yourself of some of the great works of the medium.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Venom #13
Marvel Comics
Remender, Moore & Staples

This issue kicks off a six part story that could easily have been a straight-up crossover with red Hulk, Ghost Rider and X-23. The arc, titled "Circle of Four" is to run solely in the Venom book (utilizing the ridiculous "." numbering convention) weekly for the next five weeks. This first issue comes with a hefty page count for the $4 book cover price and uses those pages well to setup the story and provide some fun moments and ideas. I found this book to be a pleasant surprise and I plan to pick up the entire arc as a result of the strength of this book. I recommend picking this book up.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Winter Soldier #1
Marvel Comics
Brubaker, Guice & Breitweiser

Bucky is back as the Winter Soldier in this launch of what could be considered a Captain America franchise book. If you are familiar with any of Ed Brubaker's writing, specifically his work on Captain America, then you know exactly what to expect from this book. Brubaker provides the same level of cloak and danger story set in the James Bond-like world of international politics and intrigue. The artwork is a bit of a different approach from what you may expect from Guice as he uses more of a photo-realistic approach for this book. Overall, I liked the book but I ultimately felt that this was all ground we've seen covered before. However, if you want more spy stories then you will love this book.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Secret Avengers #21.1
Marvel Comics
Remender, Zircher & Troy

The new creative team takes over on Secret Avengers with the dreaded ".1" issue. However, in this particular case the ".1" issue actually is a one-shot and it appears to be a jumping on point for new readers. Remender starts out by telling a straightforward story and then in standard Remender fashion the book has a surprise and grows all sorts of arms and legs by the end. Upon completing the issue I was totally sold and for a jump-on point I think it's done it's job. If you are looking to dip your toe into the Avenger pool then this is as good as it gets.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Uncanny X-Force #20
Marvel Comics
Remender, Tocchini & White

The latest issue of Uncanny X-Force launches into a new storyline that still is building off of previous ones. The team is still dealing with the effects of killing off the child Apocalypse and with integrating their new team member. It's a dense issue as Remender packs in a lot of plot and expands his ideas within this issue rather than dragging them out over three or four issues. The direction he is taking the book promises to be a good one based on this issue. If you are looking for a jump-on point to the series then this is it and not the ".1" issue.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Wolverine #300
Marvel Comics
Aaron, Kubert, Mounts, Garney, Keith, Sanders & Soto Colors

Wolverine reaches its giant anniversary issue through re-numbered and some creative math with another good issue in what has been a terrific run for writer Jason Aaron. The issue is set almost entirely in Japan as Wolverine takes a road trip to settle a conflict and find his lost, adoptive daughter. The book plays with a lot of the classic Wolverine stereotypes (such as ninjas) very well as Jason Aaron continues to poke fun at the absurd continuity that this overexposed character has over the past couple of decades. There is a good story in here and this is the kick-off issue for larger arc. The five dollar price tag isn't terrible when you consider you get thirty pages of main story, a five page preview of a Jeph Loeb Wolverine story, cover gallery and sketches. It's a good package for your comic book dollars.

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