WHAT IS THE BUY PILE?

Every week Hannibal Tabu (winner of the 2012 Top Cow Talent Hunt/blogger/novelist/poet/jackass on Twitter/head honcho of Komplicated) grabs a whole lotta comics. These periodicals are quickly sorted (how) into two piles -- the "buy" pile (a small pile most weeks, comprised of planned purchases) and the "read" pile (often huge, often including comics that are really crappy but have some value to stay abreast of). Thursday afternoons you'll be able to get his thoughts (and they're just the opinions of one guy, so calm down, and here's some common definitions used in the column) about all of that ... which goes something like this ...

THE BUY PILE FOR OCTOBER 11, 2017

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #25 (Marvel Comics)

Ultron is a murderous artificial intelligence that has plagued Avengers, galaxies and whole timelines. In this, Squirrel Girl keeps him busy while her friends attack him in a way few machines are equipped to properly defend against. This is another wildly entertaining Ryan North script and the action packed visuals from Erica Henderson, Rico Renzi and Travis Lanham can make even computer programming worthy of a heroic monologue. Lots of laughs, fantastically balanced script, this issue continues a long, long run of rock solid entertainment.

WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

Doreen Green almost never lets you down.

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THIS WEEK'S READ PILE

Honorable Mentions: Stuff worth noting, even if it's not good enough to buy

Wildstorm Michael Cray #1 has an enormously effective opening, a note perfect start to introduce the character. Unfortunately, between an alternate reality version of a well known character that causes a bit of cognitive dissonance and a plot that moves deftly without sticking the landing satisfyingly. The art is gorgeous and the characterization is strong, but the plot needs a touch more urgency.

Fighting American #1 is weird. Like a mix of General Glory and Ultimate Captain America, this unironically conservative and bombastic man thrown from the McCarthy era into today's Times Square, avoiding the fleshy visual bombardment of our media atmosphere. There are plenty of laughs and dialogue that Adam West might enjoy. There's nothing wrong, but let's give it another issue to see if this can rise above cliche as inspiration or introspection.

On one hand, Falcon #1 is a masterpiece of characterization, doing better by the character Sam Wilson than maybe anyone since Christopher Priest. There are moments that are simply diaphanous, moments so well conceived and executed that they are staggering. However, the title character's plan to slow gang violence in Chicago was, at best, naive and at worst poor pattern recognition. Likewise, the strong presence of the actual antagonist removes too much responsibility from the parties in play. Great ideas here, but this just couldn't stick the landing. However, this is surely worth a look to see if it can build upon this foundation.

No, just ... no ... These comics? Not so much ...

Dark Nights Metal #3 is true to its derivative roots in making the Bat God the true power behind every event (guh), have the greatest heroes again essentially fight against a hero-sourced antagonist (or seven, or whatever) in a way that makes little sense, either internally or tactically. This is a big mess.

SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?

Even getting past that Metal foolishness, it wasn't that bad.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Squirrel Girl beats the Batman's folly, so let's call this week a win, thin thought it might be.

THE BUSINESS

Blade Runner 2049. Inhumans. The Milestone resurrection. There's so much discussed on the Mr. MoKelly nerdcast from the studios of KFI 640 AM.

The writer of this column writes two weekly web superhero comics: Menthu: The Anger of Angels and Project Wildfire: Street Justice -- free every week. Can't beat "free."

The writer of this column isn't just a jerk who spews his opinions -- he writes stuff too. A lot. Like what? You can get Irrational Numbers (a supernatural historical fiction saga with vampires), Project Wildfire: Enter Project Torrent (a collected superhero web comic), The Crown: Ascension and Faraway, five bucks a piece, or spend a few more dollars and get New Money #1 from Canon Comics, the rambunctious tale of four multimillionaires running wild in Los Angeles, a story in Watson and Holmes Volume 2 co-plotted by 2 Guns creator Steven Grant, two books from Stranger Comics -- Waso: Will To Power and the sequel Waso: Gathering Wind (the tale of a young man who had leadership thrust upon him after a tragedy), or Fathom Sourcebook #1, Soulfire Sourcebook #1, Executive Assistant Iris Sourcebook #1 and Aspen Universe Sourcebook, the official guides to those Aspen Comics franchises. Love these reviews? It'd be great if you picked up a copy. Hate these reviews? Find out what this guy thinks is so freakin' great. There's free sample chapters too, and all proceeds to towards the care and maintenance of his kids ... oh, and to buy comic books, of course. There’s also a bunch of great stuff -- fantasy, superhero stuff, magical realism and more -- available from this writer on Amazon. What are you waiting for? Go buy a freakin' book already!

Got a comic you think should be reviewed in The Buy Pile? If we get a PDF of a fairly normal length comic (i.e. "less than 64 pages") by no later than 24 hours before the actual issue arrives in stores (and sorry, we can only review comics people can go to stores and buy), we guarantee the work will get reviewed, if remembered. Physical comics? Geddouttahere. Too much drama to store with diminishing resources. If you send it in more than two days before comics come out, the possibility of it being forgotten increases exponentially. Oh, you should use the contact form as the CBR email address hasn't been regularly checked since George W. Bush was in office. Sorry!