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 SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

Transformers More Than Meets The Eye #33

(IDW Publishing)

When the core of your murder mystery involves quantum entanglement, you know you're deep in that nerd stuff, and here it's in the best possible way. A mechanic named Nautica figures out what happened and why, a reunion is one of the most touching things you've ever seen two giant robots do and this ends in such a smart, crafty way that it should almost be illegal. Megatron is refreshingly subdued, true to his character ("I could have said something earlier, but here's a survival tip: when everyone's lining up to make sacrifices, always get to the back of the queue") while struggling to live up to the ideals of the red badge on his chest (including a fascinating moment with Ravage that shows just how he could have built an army in the first place). Dazzling work from James Roberts, Alex Milne, Brian Shearer, John Wycough and Joana Lafuente.

WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

Great start!

THIS WEEK'S READ PILE

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

"George Perez's Sirens" #1 has one hell of a start, with cross-temporal storytelling that'd make Steven Moffat nod appreciatively as a set of female adventurers have hijinks through a few thousand years as part of a plot planed through history. The closing third of the issue, however, rushed a threat into play, eschewed explanation (as even one character seemed confused) and seemed like this issue needed five or ten more pages to conclude its thought. Interesting start.

Bobby DaCosta said the most brilliant thing a hero has said in many moons for "Avengers" #35, a widely traveled and time shifted story that only falls down because of its multiple derivative elements (including the bleed, bleeding over from the distinguished competition). Hyperion and Thor have some convincing bro time, Sam Guthrie's a dad and it's an interesting flash forward, but one that doesn't feel credible, given how far the toys are from the toybox. Still, nice to see a smart, young friend again.

"Life After" #3 makes a lot of good points, explaining the afterlife system, doing some fantastic visual things (nice work Gabo) and pushing the plot. The two arguable lead characters are an afterthought, things happen that are somewhat explained but less than clearly so, and there's a kind of skeevy (but funny) bit with the mother of Christ. A little uneven, but still interesting.

There are four solid laughs in "All-New X-Factor" #14, one of which revolves around a fairly simple request. Polaris, the Scarlet Witch and Danger go to a renaissance faire. That's the plot. Oh, and then for a drink. So from a plot standpoint, there's only one thing that happened, but there's some fun moments getting there.

"Multiversity The Society Of Super-Heroes Conquerors Of The Counter-World" #1 is befuddling. The first third reads like one of the best superhero comics you've ever seen, with great set ups and all. The second third hits the ground running hard, but it still feels right. By the final third, a wheel has flown off and, as beautiful as it is, the plot's a mess and characters are discarded. A weird experience, but not quite good enough.

"Daredevil" #8 has a simply amazing ending that has next to nothing to do with the overly cutesy first half of the issue. To say much about the great part would spoil it, but Matt Murdock having some girlfriend time, that's fun but far from necessary.

The "Meh" Pile Not good enough to praise, not bad enough to insult, not important enough to say much more than the title

"Batman Eternal" #24, "Nova" #21, "Oddly Normal" #1, "Avengers World" #13, "Batman Superman Futures End" #1, "Unity" #11, "Miles Morales The Ultimate Spider-Man" #5, "Batwoman Futures End #1", "Original Sin" #5.5, "Delinquents" #2, "Fables" #144, "Judge Dredd" #23, "Wolverine And The X-Men" #9 "Green Lantern New Guardians Futures End" #1, "Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 10" #7, "Justice League Futures End" #1, "Doberman" #3, "Wicked + The Divine" #4, "Jim Henson's The Storyteller Witches" #1, "Superman Wonder Woman Futures End" #1, "Supreme Blue Rose" #3, "Teen Titans Futures End" #1, "Solar Man Of The Atom" #5, "Deadpool Bi-Annual" #1, "Trinity Of Sin Pandora Futures End" #1, "Savage Dragon" #198, "Wonder Woman Futures End" #1, "Sons Of Anarchy #13, "Red City" #4, "Thor God Of Thunder" #25, "Purgatori" #1, "Red Hood And The Outlaws Futures End" #1, "One-Hit Wonder #4, "Supergirl Futures End" #1, "Uncanny Avengers" #24, "Armor Hunters Bloodshot" #3, "Batman And Robin Futures End" #1, "All-New X-Men" #32.

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

Nothing to see here ...

SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?

Well, that's not so bad, was it?

WINNERS AND LOSERS

A quiet week still wins because nothing was terrible. So, yay!

THE BUSINESS

As of right now, you can spend ten bucks and get about 175,000 words worth 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, 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. Too rich for your blood? Download the free PDF of "Cruel Summer: The Visual Mixtape." 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!