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 17, 2016

Transformers More Than Meets The Eye #56

(IDW Publishing)

The regular cast takes a break as the murderous Sentinel Prime, a prehistoric would-be leader who was the face of the corrupt regime that caused the Decepticon rebellion shows up with a very big plan. There's a new Cybertron, and Sentinel doesn't like it in a very final way. Most of the plot points are spoilers, but again writer James Roberts makes the characters sing -- Red Alert's paranoia, Fortress Maximus' stalwart nature, Prowl's duplicity. The visual storytelling from Priscilla Tramontano, Joana LaFuente and Tom B. Long is a little rougher than normal, but the wonderful plot twist really stood out. Challenging, rewarding material.

Power Man And Iron Fist #7

(Marvel Comics)

There's a big thing going on in the Marvel Universe, but to be frank, it's a pile of bantha poodoo. Here, on the streets of New York, writer David Walker is able to put a human face on it and give the question of predictive policing human consequences. That's no easy feat with Gamecock, Mangler and a guy who intentionally calls himself "Cockroach," but it happens. This tense potboiler of a script is really Danny Rand's moment to shine, switching from the happy-go-lucky Laurel to Cage's exasperated Hardy into the immortal weapon of the recent series where his skyscraper was under attack. Channeling some Michael Scofield, he has a plan and he's exactly where he wants to be, while his BFF grows more agitated, only raising the stakes as they go. The visuals by Sanford Greene, Flaviano, John Rauch and Clayton Cowles do well conveying the creeping dread and tension herein. If you have to make event tie-in comics, this is the way to do it.

WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

Steady as she goes. That's all good.

THIS WEEK'S READ PILE

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

Uh ... hh. Nothing here. That's ... unusual ...

The "Meh" Pile Not good enough to praise, not bad enough to insult

"Suicide Squad" #1, "Civil War II Choosing Sides" #4, "Star Trek" #60, "Mockingbird" #6, "Demonic" #1, "Supergirl Rebirth" #1, "Lords Of The Jungle" #6, "Doctor Fate" #15, "Horizon" #2, "Superman" #5, "All-New Wolverine" #11, "Super F***ers Forever" #1, "Justice League" #3, "Hunt" #2, "Joyners" #3, "Legends Of Tomorrow" #6, "Rumble" #13, "Ultimates" #10, "Gold Key Alliance" #5, "Civil War II Gods Of War" #3, "Throwaways" #2, "Miraculous" #4, "Dark Horse Presents" #25, "Fallen" #1, "Nightwing" #3, "Wicked + The Divine" #22, "Spider-Woman" #10, "Backstagers" #1, "Heartthrob" #5, "Black Hammer" #2, "Green Arrow" #5, "Transformers Till All Are One" #3, "Uncanny Avengers" #12, "Green Lanterns" #5, "All-New Inhumans" #10, "Klaus" #7, "Black Widow" #6, "Harley Quinn" #2, "Mighty Thor" #10, "Doctor Who Supremacy Of The Cybermen" #2, "Civil War II X-Men" #3, "Scooby Apocalypse" #4, "Xena Warrior Princess" #5, "Web Warriors" #10, "Batman" #5, "Jackboot And Ironheel" #1, "Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey" #1, "Star Wars Poe Dameron" #5, "Wrath Of The Eternal Warrior" #10, "Aquaman" #5, "Civil War II Amazing Spider-Man" #3.

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

They should call "Captain Samerica" (hat tip to Evan Narcisse), er, "Captain America Sam Wilson" #12 "Another Issue Of Sam Being Bad At His Job." He can't manage Rage? Few can, okay, but he should have an edge. He can barely handle robot rent-a-cops? More embarrassing. There are nice touches (the Eldridge Cleaver book during -- you guessed it -- another moment of humiliation) but this ham-fisted book is about as subtle as New Caprica and less interesting while giving Captain Samerica more casual disrespect than the 44th president. Sheesh.

SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?

No honorable mentions? That's ... has that ever happened before? That's plain odd ...

WINNERS AND LOSERS

While there were two solid purchases, the lack of any ambitious but flawed attempts made the week kind of drag on ... so this week has to take the "L."

THE BUSINESS

If you're in Los Angeles on Saturday, you can see the writer of this column doing a panel at the Leimert Park Book Fair on the economics of comics for independent creators.

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 "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 and "Executive Assistant Iris Sourcebook" #1, 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!