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 AUGUST 9, 2017

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #23 (Marvel Comics)

Everything about this issue is perfect. It's almost frustrating how good it is. The lead and her computer science major roommate are in the Savage Land, trying to stop the whole joint from breaking down due to a weird software glitch. Along the way, a romance blooms, two pterosaurs get saved from being stuck in a bathroom, the issue opens with one of the most savage eviscerations of the current crossover ever made and mid-issue, there is a wholly cogent examination of the merits and costs of super powered beings in the midst of normal people that lacks all the bitterness and deconstructionism that's become so common. The creative team of Ryan North, Erica Henderson, Rico Renzi and Travis Lanham are hitting three point shots from the locker room. Amazing.

WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

That's one hell of an enjoyable book.

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THIS WEEK'S READ PILE

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

Mister Miracle #1 was virtually as close as you can get to making it work without actually doing it. There is an existential crisis in the mind of Scott Free, and he's not dealing with it well, while worlds spin on around him. What is real? Can he trust his own senses? Unfortunately, the real story here is happening behind the eyes of the title character, leaving us to only guess at its sources and consequences. The craft is at a high level, but the pieces don't quite connect, like those very few Omega Men issues that missed the mark. Super interesting, and perhaps this series will find its footing next month.

Inhumans Once And Future Kings #1 was very close to making it home, telling a prequel tale of two young princes under the reign of a mad and perhaps illegitimate king, determined to rule forever, and the fiery noblewoman who came between them. Some may see shades of similarity with a certain fantasy property, but that's fleeting and there are hints of something impressive here. Skillfully managed exposition, solid applications of craft, but not yet doing enough to break free from the pack.

Transformers Till All Are One #12 had a couple of moments of great emotional honesty between two characters, but the whole "holodeck episode" nature of this issue made the stakes less than impressive. There's engaging character work here, but the plot needs a little more "oomph."

Star Wars Doctor Aphra #11 was a delightful cacophony of destruction and murder as a business deal goes worse than anything Lando ever negotiated as lightsabers and laser blasts make madness of an elegant affair. Likewise, the arguable leads each showed agency and story arcs of their own. There were only three hindrances to this making it home. 1: The visuals don't communicate the carnage clearly enough to make the disparate deaths connect with the reader. 2: The sequence of events is barely affected by the titular character. 3: The situation's severity level doubles by the end of the issue while things barely change for the characters involved. Fascinating, like a huge wreck on the freeway, but maybe not enough so you should stop.

Red Hood And The Outlaws #13 had one of the best Lex Luthor appearances ever and some surprisingly effective character moments but was, truthfully, maybe ten pages worth of plot padded out into twice that size and a character-altering ending that fell flat.

Defenders #4 has action sequences that can truly be called "epic" and a fantastic characterization scene with Hammerhead (that's a surprise). The good elements stand alone, however, never assembling into a greater whole, leaving the issue feeling like the part of an episode between commercial breaks -- not quite satisfying enough.

Think Tank Volume 5 #4 had some great plot points, a fantastic motorcycle action scene and some witty pop culture references. Unfortunately, it rushed a key emotional moment for its female lead, shortcut characterization for supporting players and had a super saccharine ending.

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

Captain America #25 is terrible for a number of separate reasons. First, it places far too much importance on cake, creating a plot-related reason to "tweak" things in a way that numerous fans have predicted in message boards for months. Second, it does something with a key character who has a movie coming up that literally flies in the face of every established fact about that character for a throwaway scene. Third, its "reveal" at the end shows the inefficiency of the fascist state in even its most rudimentary of duties, all while posturing with sturm und drang and high production values. While some of the cake-related dialogue (especially from the new Giant-Man) was great, this isn't entertainment; it's a bad exercise in working to put the toys back where they started.

As bad as Captain America was (which demanded it be read first), Secret Empire #8 is somehow worse, using fairly basic writing tricks to tug at heartstrings while forgetting to actually tell a story, using montages where detail is required, accepting deus ex machina as accepted logic and generally phoning it in. Can this please be over soon?

SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?

If only we could all ignore the details like Doreen Green.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Two bad comics beat the single sterling purchase so things could clearly be going better.

THE BUSINESS

If you can't wait for the Amazon release next week, you can buy Irrational Numbers: Subtraction #1 of 5, 22 pages of vampires and historical fiction, for just two bucks from the well-reviewed Wunderman Comics series. Really. You're welcome.

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: Addition (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!