WHAT IS THE BUY PILE?
Every week Hannibal Tabu (two-time Eisner-winning journalist/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 DECEMBER 24, 2013
Deceivers #1
(Boom! Studios)
Jump from the Read Pile.
In a slow week this was an easy call -- a slick, charming slice of grift and gab that succeeds where "Lost Vegas" fell short. The artwork would never make it on a normal week, and honestly Steven Grant's plot jams a lot into a small space, but it's Kwanzaa, so it's fair enough to be forgiving. The cowboy protagonist is the best formed and most engaging character, never taking more than people want to give, but there's room for this to develop into a nice "other side of the coin" crime story from the "lower class" environs of "2 Guns" -- a "White Collar" vs. "Burn Notice" type of distinction. Let's see where this goes...
WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?
Inexpensive purchases means more money for you to buy this columnist Amex gift cards!
THIS WEEK'S READ PILE
Honorable Mentions: Stuff worth noting, even if it's not good enough to buy
If you love the Doctor, "Doctor Who Special 2013" #1 will be your catnip. A delightfully meta-textual tale with so many good laughs and in-jokes for fans, this is a love letter to fifty years of history. Sure, the non-initiated might find it cheeky and the characterization thin or facile, but this isn't for them. This is for people holding their scarves or bow ties or what have you, and they get an Anglophile ride they'll adore.
The "Meh" Pile Not good enough to praise, not bad enough to insult, not important enough to say much more than the title
"Robotech Voltron" #1, "Forever Evil" #4, "Saviors" #1, "Justice League" #26, "Avengers" #24.NOW.
No, just ... no ... These comics? Not so much ...
Big bucks, no whammies.
SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?
No stinkers? IT'S A KWANZAA MIRACLE!
WINNERS AND LOSERS
Peace on Earth, good will towards comics and to all a good night. That's an easy win.
THE BUSINESS
As of right now, you can spend ten bucks and get about 175,000 of fiction from the writer of this column. The links that follow tell you where you can get "The Crown: Ascension" and "Faraway," five bucks a piece. 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. 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!