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 8, 2014
Astro City #16
(Vertigo/DC Comics)
If "perfect" was a neighborhood, you could definitely see it from where this issue stands. Taking cliched tropes and twisting them into sheer magnificence, Busiek and Anderson again present a done-in-one story that is simply wonderful. A small town super villain gets the "Smallville" pilot treatment and breaks very bad, but he's still sixteen and wants what most westernized teenagers want -- friends, acceptance and so on. When his homegrown archenemy, a superhero called Starbright, turns out to be nothing that he expected, a true defining character moment happens organically through the spandex-tight plot and everything just works. Wow wow wow. Dazzling work here.
Batgirl #35
(DC Comics)
Jump from the Read Pile.
Are you ready for a thoroughly modern Batgirl? With some very impressive eidetic memory gags (the walkthrough! the backup!) and a plot that almost feels too busy, dipped in hashtags and slick style, this issue ties itself up brilliantly and establishes a fun, new, open-world status quo for the most stylish of Bats on the scene. The script from Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher is a choreographed chorus of savvy selfies and silicon shenanigans, while the art by Babs Tarr has elements of Clugston-Major, hints of the Archie house style and a wonderful ability to burst into new ideas at the drop of a hat. Refreshing, fun and well thought out at every turn.
Birthright #1
(Image Comics)
Jump from the Read Pile.
Oh. Oh, that is quite a nice surprise, isn't it? Creators Joshua Williamson and Andrei Bressan (with colorist Adriano Lucas) have created a remarkably effective magical realism story that hits all the right chords. A missing child, a broken family, the stresses on a surviving sibling, all of that was working wonderfully before the big twist at the start of the book's final third, a big, sweeping, fantastic turn of events that has even bigger surprises in store. This issue started strong and only got better as it continued, right down to its simply delicious final page. Like a three point contest winner that somehow hits from mid-court, this one is an eye-opener. Much more of this, please!
WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?
That's a freaking amazing stack of comics there.
THIS WEEK'S READ PILE
Honorable Mentions: Stuff worth noting, even if it's not good enough to buy
"Black Market" #4 was a double take-inducing issue that will have dedicated readers scrambling for past issues, scanning for any nuance or clue about what ended up happening. A promethean tale, it turns everything you thought you knew about this series on its head and ties it all up in a neat little package ... maybe too neat ... maybe even facile, in the end. The art's just okay and the true consequences could have used another five pages to really be effective, but it's a solid if not awe-inspiring conclusion to an effective series.
On one side, there are more top notch one liners and bon mots in "Avengers And X-Men Axis" #1 than you can shake Ryan Reynolds at, enough quotables to fill a Comedy Central roast. On the other hand, you have a fan-fiction like plot that stinks of yesteryear's excess and creative tedium as the Red Skull plays more greatest hits in a minor key. A mixed bag, for certain.
"Avengers" #36 has some great stuff, with Bobby DaCosta stepping up and putting on the big hero pants while Thor and Hyperion brood. Unfortunately, he also dreams up slurs for a whole new species of sentient beings while literally everybody else talks. This issue is the calm between things actually happening, and as such provides fine character work and tepid plot development.
The "Who'd win?" question around the Dark Knight Detective has fueled ten thousand podcasts and Facebook group postings, but "Batman" #36 takes it on as he faces off against four members of the Justice League in downtown Gotham with every tool at his disposal and all the prep time he needs. Is it enough? Well, when the last page reveal happens (meh), showing how it all happened, it sucked the tension from the plot. Not a bad book, and one fans will surely enjoy, but not something your collection demands.
"Blood Queen Annual" 2014 had a rock solid start with a king loving up to his ideals in a time of strife and challenge, but it ended with a "meh" instead of a bang, followed by a back up story that seemed more Chris Brown than entertainment (yep, that's how it's gonna be) with little rhyme or reason as to why events happened as they did. Nothing wrong, but with the good king Tibor, an opportunity may have been lost.
The "Meh" Pile Not good enough to praise, not bad enough to insult, not important enough to say much more than the title
"Constantine" #18, "Manhattan Projects" #24, "Earth 2" #27, "Hexed" #3, "Earth 2 World's End" #1, "Dark Engine" #3, "Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Tales Of Terror" #4, "Rocket Raccoon" #4, "Green Lantern Corps" #35, "F1rst Hero" #2, "Justice League United" #5, "Copperhead" #2, "Klarion" #1, "Winterworld" #3, "Teen Dog" #2, "Punisher" #11, "Sabrina" #1, "V-Wars" #6, "Big Trouble In Little China" #5, "New 52 Futures End" #23, "Transformers Vs G.I. JOE" #3, "Dark Ages" #3, "New Suicide Squad" #3, "G.I. Joe A Real American Hero" #207, "Superman Wonder Woman" #12, "God Is Dead" #22, "Thief Of Thieves" #24, "Shinobi Ninja Princess" #2, "Dead Squad" #1, "Fraggle Rock Journey To The Everspring" #1, "Worlds' Finest" #27, "Danger Girl May Day" #4, "X" #18, "Terminal Hero" #3, "Hawkeye Vs Deadpool" #1, "Sex Criminals" #8, "X-O Manowar" #0, "Batman Eternal" #27, "Amazing Spider-Man" #7.
No, just ... no ... These comics? Not so much ...
"Nightcrawler" #7 was a maudlin, sappy requiem for a character no one expects to stay dead. Chock full of stuff you could read on Wikipedia and involving a literal holodeck, ensuring no actual stakes are at play. Bah.
SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?
That could have gone better ...
WINNERS AND LOSERS
The amazing, remarkable accomplishments in the purchases outshined any possible challenges this week might have.
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!