WHAT IS THE BUY PILE?

Every week Hannibal Tabu (winner of the 2012 Top Cow Talent Hunt/2018-2019 City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural Trailblazer/blogger/novelist/poet/jackass on Twitter/head honcho of Komplicated) takes on between seven to thirteen reviews (or so) to share his opinions with you. Thursday afternoons you'll be able to get those thoughts (and they're just the opinions of one guy, so calm down) about all of that ... which goes something like this ...

THE BUY PILE FOR AUGUST 7, 2019

Black Cat #3 (Marvel Comics)

Jump from the Read Pile. This issue clears up all the problems from the previous one, succinctly determining the problem and coming up with some hilarious and entertaining solutions. With a fun case of mistaken identity, the lead Felicia Hardy outruns a threat that by all logical means should have murdered her and her crew, but has a very good reason why it did not. Jed McKay's script is funny and clever and effective all at once, while the visual storytelling from Travel Foreman, Michael Dowling, Brian Reber and Ferran Delgado make even the impossible fun to see. RATING: BUY.

RELATED: Upside Down Man: DC's Justice League Dark Villain, Explained

Sinestro Year Of The Villain #1 (DC Comics)

<i>Sinestro Year Of The Villain</i> #1
Sinestro Year Of The Villain #1 might be the smartest story about Thaal ever.

Jump from the Read Pile. This issue has one of the most creative uses for a power ring that may have ever been put on page, a masterful, insightful look into sociology and manipulation as entire worlds burn in the background, all as a backdrop to Lex Luthor's master plan. This clever Mark Russell script makes even the smallest lives relevant, imbuing importance and impact on what could be seen as throwaway supporting characters, all through the lens of Thaal Sinestro's indomitable will and ego. The artwork from Yildiray Cinar, Julio Ferreira, Hi-Fi and Steve Wands makes elements both grandiose and personal connect with the reader. Even knowing the limits of its reach, this story is smart and that's a joy to read. RATING: BUY.

Die #6 (Image Comics)

<i>Die</i> #6
A differently abled coder finds it's her turn to roll in Die #6.

Jump from the Read Pile. With a very powerful display of emotional honesty, a strong character piece is woven into the plot of this brilliant story with such delicacy that it's diaphanous. The Neo Ash, one of the newly created character archetypes, is asked to make a Hobson's Choice that cannot satisfy either way. Along the way, this Kieron Gillen script explains exactly why this character struggles so intently and has such a fervent determination to get out of this impossible situation. The moody, somber artwork from Stephanie Hans and Clayton Cowles makes even the party's prisoner a dreadful threat and gives the whole nightmarish landscape the oppressive feel of that King/Straub book The Talisman. Fantastic work that will hit you where it hurts. RATING: BUY.

There are both tactical and continuity questions that make Future Foundation #1 an oddity (try reading this and the "meh" worthy Absolute Carnage and figure out the chicken or the egg), but its use of Arrowverse-styled monologue snippets was great, the slingshot and the Wakandan engineer are fantastic and there are a lot of cool ideas here. The whole is not greater than the sum of many of its parts, but there are some interesting elements here. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

RELATED: Absolute Carnage: Venom Recruits the Help of [SPOILER]

DCeased #4 Has a couple of moments of emotional honesty that connect with you very strongly if you have a clear understanding of the characters involved. The underlying premise of the final vengeance for the anti-life equation, that's less compelling. In moments, though, this can be really impressive. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

House Of X #2 is weird. It's not bad by any stretch the imagination, but it makes Moira MacTaggert into ... something else. This issue follows her through a very surprising series of events and futures yet to come, but much like Powers of X, is more of a reference work than a story. This is important information to know, but it’s not exactly a tale being told. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Crowded #8 was an improvement over what was already an okay set of issues as it showcased some of who bodyguard Vita used to be and makes use of a truly ridiculous future version of Las Vegas. The plot sagged a little and the character to be protected is still very annoying, but any comic that makes Janelle Monae the president can't be all bad. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Matt Murdock is a man adrift in a crisis of faith and a bevy of bad decisions in Daredevil #9. The opening sequence, a chess game and conversation with Reed Richards, is riveting. The rest of the book is just him waffling between being a civilian and the call of vigilantism ... just like he's done for a while. It works better when Charlie Cox does it, not so much here. That opening sequence, though, that alone makes this book not bad. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Harley Quinn #64 went from terrible to not bad to awful again to surprisingly poignant. The core story is kind of clever after wade through a lot of needlessly meta blah blah to get there. RATING: MEH.

Star Wars #70 continues its ill-considered triptych story, trying to make three narratives work at the same time while none of them get the attention they deserve. Luke discovering a scoundrel of a Force user was the most intriguing and had the best character moments, but got rushed off to do more awkward Moonlighting styled tension between Captain Solo and the doctor senator princess (not so tense since we have seen Kylo Ren) while Threepio yells fruitlessly at Chewbacca. RATING: MEH.

RELATED: The Punisher Gets His Own Army of Marvel Heroes

Green Lantern #10 put too much stock in shorthand (like you reading the old Elseworlds book where Bruce Wayne got a Green Lantern ring) and too little in developing what, looked at differently, could have been a line wide crossover that tried to fit in twenty or so pages. A little dose of Legion, a dash of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and a smidge of the current Justice League book (we'll get back to that) and it's a stew full of somewhat familiar ingredients that may have been put together too hastily. RATING: MEH.

Transformers #10 almost felt like something happening as Megatron showed a hint of the oratorical skill that forged an army while also showing some of the guile that made his name infamous. The problem is that in making the likes of Shockwave a threat, the Autobots seem at best witless and at worst a smothering wave of oppression. The haunting of Cyclonus, the goofiness of Sideswipe, all of that did nothing but distract from the more relevant narrative elements. RATING: MEH.

The way you really know that Justice League #29 is terrible is that a lot of the plot moves around the fact that Batman hugs somebody. This is not hyperbole, this is not an exaggeration, it literally involves Batman and a hug. Add to that a disturbingly large dump of exposition, a plot that literally has nothing happening, and an embarrassing and weird bit of fannishness ... all of a sudden you'll be rooting for Lex Luthor to win and for doom to claim us all. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

Three jumps easily shoves aside "Apex Lex" and his Howie Mandel Deal or No Deal shtick.

THE BUSINESS

To celebrate CBR founder Jonah Weiland's new vice presidency at DC Comics, get ready for the resurrection of the "Comics Don't Suck" t-shirt alongside other merch favorites at the Operative Network Store and on Etsy.

Have you checked out season four of the free web comic Project Wildfire: The Once and Future King? While you can, read the whole thing for the best possible price: "free."

T-shirts, stickers and even a hoodie: find the finest in indie comics merchandise in the Operative Network Store on the site and on Etsy.

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 Scoundrel (historical fiction set in 1981 east Los Angeles), 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 to try and review the work, 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!

KEEP READING: Review: House of X #2 Is a Multi-Layered Reveal of the Relaunch's Origins