Grading the Comics: Week of October 6, 2008

Hey folks,
Okay, time to grade the books! What did or didn't do it for me this week...?

• ACTION COMICS #870 (pre-spoiled!) - you've probably heard the big spoiler, but apart from that final page, this issue featured a really cool throw-down between Superman and Brainiac, as well as Supergirl having a turning point moment of her own, plus Metropolis--in a bottle! Way cool. A
• FINAL CRISIS REVELATIONS #3 - Radiant, the Spirit of Mercy, has some trouble dealing with Anti-Life maddened mobs in Gotham, as Crispus Allen tries to sort out some issues and the Question gets beat up by Batwoman. Probably the best street-level view of how this Crisis is affecting ordinary folks. And dig that mob scene outside the church! B+
• GEN 13 #23 - a quintet of "what I'd be doing now if I wasn't with you guys," spotlighting each of the five kids. Kind of dull but probably a necessary deep breath before the series plunges into extreme action. C+
• WILD CARDS: HARD CALL #4 - Daniel Abraham and Eric Battle keep the story rolling, as Croyd (the Sleeper) Crenson tries to find the guy who's framed him for murder. A neat murder mystery set in a decades-old superhero anthology world. B+
• GREEN LANTERN #35 - more of "Secret Origins," with Hal standing up to the Guardians for the first (but not the last) time and Sinestro really getting serious depth. Plus snapshots of Black Hand and Hector "the Main Brain" Hammond. B
• GREEN LANTERN CORPS #29 - a new Star Sapphire is born and Guy and Ice have a date (and a fight--what else is new?), while a batch of Lanterns search for a child-snatching member of the Sinestro Corps. Truly meh. C
• MARVEL ZOMBIES 3 #1 - the Florida Initiative team is wiped out by zombies sneaking through from (you guessed it!) the "Marvel Zombieverse." Zombie Deadpool and his pack of flesh-hungry undead snack on newbies like Siege and Conquistador, while Jennifer Kale and Wundarr the Aquarian survive (barely). So Morbius sends Machine Man and Jocasta on a little mission... B
• SECRET SIX #2 (missed #1... darn it) - missed this one too. No grade.
• SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE VOL 2 #3 (for Kat) - Kat hasn't read it yet. No grade.
• TRINITY #19 - more of "Earth without..." and we see how the world is worse off when Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman never existed. Both stories focus on folks who kinda-sorta remember the missing Trinity, but don't move the story very much at all. C
• WALKING DEAD #53 - Rick and Tommy find some old friends and face some troubling realizations, along with an intrusion with an intriguing twist. A-

Agree? Disagree? The comment field is always open.