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 30, 2017

Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook #2 (IDW Publishing)

Jump from the Read Pile. This column has a lengthy history of enjoying these kinds of definitive reference materials, all the way up to writing some. This guide -- a mix between the old G.I. Joe Order of Battle and an Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe -- showcases a lot of the interplay between characters. Of particular interest is the Maighread Scott-penned biography of the Transformer Starscream, which includes an excerpt from a fictionalized book on the subject. Like, a real biography -- unfortunately that's not (yet) available for sale, like the political treatise Towards Peace written by Megatron. In any case, you get a nice picture of how the puzzle pieces fit together with work from a laundry list of writers and artists including Aubrey Sitterson, Brandon Easton, John Barber, Paolo Villanelli, Sara Pitre-Durocher, Guido Guidi and more. Fun stuff and a lengthy, engaging read.

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WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

Well, unless you wanna grab some great yet conflict-of-interest-laden comics, this'd be about it.

THIS WEEK'S READ PILE

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

Generations Hawkeye And Hawkeye #1 was very funny at various points as two archers take on an island full of super villains from all over time and space. The actual reason why they were there ends up only half explained, the arguable catalyst for the story being quite obtuse. Not quite satisfying, but enjoyable in spots.

From the premise alone, there are a number of things that are easy to deduce from James Bond Moneypenny #1. The long suffering face seen before meeting the agency's head, Moneypenny is factually better at the job than James Bond or any other double-oh rated agent, and as such is the only one that M would trust as his personal "minder." If you liked Queen and Country and Velvet, you'll probably jump at this but it had a less than engaging challenge for the skilled agent (even she admits she's overqualified for most of what she does), so it's like watching first three-peat Jordan playing your local high school JV small forward. Not bad, but she could be ... well, she could be Mirra Sway from Think Tank.

Star Wars Jedi Of The Republic Mace Windu #1 has decent action scenes as it stands at the very beginning of the Clone Wars, but has a number of deficits too. The titular Jedi has taken a now-canonical demotion, taking assignments instead of giving them while engaging in so much navel gazing self-doubt that he could guest star on Dawson's Creek. He's saddled with a trio of redshirt Jedis on a mission of little importance against throwaway antagonists. Mace deserved better.

Doctor Who The Lost Dimension Alpha #1 is a host of easter eggs and visual delights for long time fans of the Gallifreyan adventurer, with appearances from almost half of the Doctor's incarnations. The actual storytelling relies on fairly deep knowledge before you turn the first page, which is a deficit, but the art is fun and a long lost character from the Tennant years pops up to tie it all together. Not bad, but really only for hard core Whovians.

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

Savage Dragon #226 features a half-Black, half-extraterrestrial cop in an America run by a version of the United States' 45th president. That apparently means racial slurs, confederate flags, and unconstitutional policies ... but wait, it gets worse. This is the opposite of entertainment, dictation instead of storytelling with a sheen of super powers thrown over it lightly.

Speaking of fascists taking over the country, one review may not be enough to convey the magnitude of how bad Secret Empire #10 is. The (almost) last of a long line of truly terribly conceived stories, this plays on every fan fear, every online message board and Facebook group prediction of how this would all come to an end. The kumbaya belief that an entire country could essentially go Nazi and somehow, magically, become kinder and gentler literally overnight (seriously, it's in the book) without atonement (the story specifically makes that point), without consequence, without (almost) anyone truly experiencing change as a character is not only insulting, it's laughable. Add to that the idea that there's a character left alive who makes an Evil Reed Richards look quaint and harmless by comparison (that guy couldn't even beat Bobby DaCosta) ... forget Mark Waid, this book is truly irredeemable. This work is a pox upon sequential art.

SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?

Well ... at least the long, national nightmare called Secret Empire is finally over.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Unfortunately, one reference work won't beat two challengingly un-entertaining attempts, so this week went down like a White House press secretary -- ugly.

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!