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 4, 2017

Deathstroke #24 (DC Comics)

The world's (maybe) greatest assassin is teaching superhero school, and every lesson is potentially fatal. The second speedster named Wally West is not telling the truth, but he's really bad at it. That leads to some embarrassing revelations and some near scuffles as we get a look at the lives of young would-be heroes when they are not in spandex. Writer Christopher Priest wields the title character like a scalpel, or for fans of The West Wing it's akin to the presence of Jed Bartlett in scenes even where the actor was absent. The amazing visuals from Diogenes Neves, Jason Paz, Trevor Scott, Jeromy Cox and Willie Schubert make these instances vibrant and enthralling. This is another slick, dysfunctional achievement in bold storytelling.

Eugenic #1 (BOOM! Studios)

Jump from the Read Pile. This is one of the most disturbing ideas to see print in any medium, let alone comics, that wholly fulfills the Kanye West proclamation: "No one man should have all that power." After a viral outbreak cuts more than half the world's population, a scientist develops a vaccine that stops the infection in its tracks and, in a way, saves the world. Sounds great, right? The twists and turns this story takes are all too twisted, and this insidious script from James Tynion the Fourth is absolutely evil in the best possible way, and the patient visuals from Eryk Donovan, Dee Cunniffe and Jim Campbell shifts perfectly between moments of relative calm and absolute terror. This book ain't right, and you'll love it for that quality.

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WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

Messed up, twisted -- but wildly entertaining -- stuff this week.

THIS WEEK'S READ PILE

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

Hawkeye #11 had a few solid moments of connection with the lead character, but the supporting ones were fairly unidimensional and the plot tried to substitute cheekiness for storytelling. Not bad, but it's been better.

Slots #1 has all the atmosphere of a solid noirish pulp story as a graying grifter and retired boxer heads back to Vegas to stop ghosts from his past intent on ruining a new generation. As with much pulp, the characterization is a little thin, but the art is amazing, and if pulp is where you live, this book will take you home in fine style.

Spirits Of Vengeance #1 isn't bad, establishing the Son of Satan as a Raymond Reddington figure who knows someone almost everywhere, with heavy hitters Johnny Blaze and Blade as the muscle. The pace is a little slow for the price, but this is a somewhat intriguing start.

Batman: White Knight #1 is an acceptable alternative take as the Joker gets un-Jokered and somehow becomes more dangerous. This story leans heavily on the "Batman is unhinged" concept and is drawn in gritty lines that might remind some of Gotham Central. This isn't bad, but it feels like driving into the night with your headlights off, and it's hard to say how that will work until you get to your destination.

Star Wars Darth Vader #6 is not, by itself, a thing. Here, Vader meets the saber-spinning Grand Inquisitor for the first time in the calm, friendly way the Sith normally meet people. If you add this to multiple episodes of Star Wars Rebels you create a bigger picture that explains many things. However, as a standalone comic book, this issue does not quite carry sufficient narrative weight, despite some great moments for Vader and Palpatine.

Jessica Jones #13 has an absolutely lethal last page but the lack of preparation and hamfisted approach to a wholly predictable problem (more Stevil leftovers) make this a bit hard to swallow. Good art, slow plot that doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

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

A powerful content executive thinks that retelling old stories is the best choice for his business. No, you're not tuned into a retailer summit, it's just Mojo in X-Men Gold #13 literally recycling old X-Men stories (and wardrobe) to ... entice anonymous Mojoverse viewers or something. To call this lazy would be an insult to the lethargic, so let's do what this script did (as little as possible), say "no," and move on.

Shadowman Rae Sremmurd #1 is bad not for fairly unusual reasons. The undercurrent of the story is that popular rap group Rae Sremmurd wasn't good enough to get going without a virtual deal with the devil (not in the Tommy Mottola sense) and required two of Valiant's super-powered characters to save them. Once you get by the shock of artists agreeing to be represented that way, the antagonist is two dimensional and indistinct, the action scenes were drab and the artist tie in was so superficial that any musical group in any genre could have been swapped in with no difference to the story. The whole issue feels like a missed opportunity.

SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?

The bad stuff was more sad than truly awful, so this isn't that terrible a showing.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

The extremely clever jump (wow) beats out barely bad books at the bottom of the pile, so this week is a winner.

THE BUSINESS

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!