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 an 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 Nov. 28, 2018

Ironheart #1 (Marvel Comics)

Jump from the Read Pile. With an extra-sized first issue, pretty much everything about this comic book is perfect. Had it stopped at the 20-page mark, you'd have missed the outstanding character work in the denouement. If you only watched for the poetic opening (well-paced for an introduction, giving you everything you need before getting too expositional), you'd miss a solid piece with some amazing superheroing (Stark doesn't pivot this well). On top of all that, there are some quotable moments worth noting. No, with a script that's perfectly balanced between spectacle, science and developing the character, Eve Ewing knocks her comic book debut all the way out of Wrigley Park (or Fenway, depending on your perspective here), with smart, crisp and dynamic visuals from Kevin Libranda, Luciano Vecchio, Geoffo, Matt Milla and Clayton Cowles. RATING: BUY.

Warning #1 feels like the trailer for the most pulse-pounding government conspiracy movie you've ever seen, all logistical jargon and hurrying up to wait. The vibe is so gripping that you almost miss the lack of plot, but maybe this prologue (more like a zero issue, honestly) will bear fruit down the line. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Star Wars: Darth Vader #24 proves again that the title character is an omega-class telekinetic with willpower that'd dwarf the Green Lantern Corps, but the action scenes lacked bite and the conclusion was not much more than we saw in The Empire Strikes Back. This might have terrified in prose, but as comics the execution fell short. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

These Savage Shores #2 had a lot of pulp goodness even as it traded in some tired stereotypes of the milieu, casting a possible mad man in the role of a hero only in his own mind. If you like pulp, this will be something you'll leap at for its electrifying visuals (great action scenes) and its solemn seriousness. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Quincredible #1 does a great job of establishing its protagonist in the Virgil Hawkins tradition, his powers and his situation. There's virtually no tangible threat, an unclear conflict and a largely undefined romantic interest. Lots of good stuff here, but not in balanced portions to make it all gel together. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Marvel Action Spider-Man #1 is a perfect starting point for people walking out of the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie next month, a fun (if somewhat short on clarity) starting point, the kind fans always say we need for new readers ... that's published by IDW and not Marvel, for some reason. There's no remote understanding of the antagonist and the origins for all three Spiders (yes, even Spider-Gwen, er, Ghost Spider) are short-sheeted, but it's fun and quippy and Miles Morales shows up. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

X-O Manowar #21 has a very effective climax, stunning action scenes but a villain defined by his monologuing more than his effects and throwaway minions that are easy to forget once dispatched. Not bad, though. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Catalyst Prime Incidentals #14 had a nice twist climax, good action scenes and some solid characterization but a threat that wasn't well developed enough to carry the weight. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Faith Dreamside #3 has some solid stuff going on as far as character and closing a loop from an earlier Faith storyline, has some of the best Doctor Mirage scenes ever and a fight scene that's really worth seeing. What it lacks, however, is clarity in what's supposed to be happening, which is a deficit. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

NEXT PAGE: Hey, Where's Heroes in Crisis, Daredevil and Aquaman? Oh ...

Heroes In Crisis #3 is completely off the road with an issue that ... well, there's some problematic moments, including one that's gonna make a lot of would-be adorable cosplayers have quite a dark turn. You get a glimpse of what was going down at Sanctuary before things went rather badly, but very little idea about why. It's like the story is being told, but you're hearing it from the staircase upstairs as your parents relate it to someone on the phone. Gorgeously done, but baffling and frustrating in its execution. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

Daredevil #612 is a hugely disappointing Bobby Ewing shtick that ended inconclusively, led next to nowhere. This issue is a huge yank to the short and curlies and that's just very, very disappointing. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

Aquaman Justice League Drowned Earth #1 was messy. A larger scheme with Lex Luthor drifted through unattended, the final resolution was super anti-climactic, the sequence of events was muddled ... both conceptually and in execution, this book was all wet. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

THE BUSINESS

The writer of this column just completed the latest season of the weekly web superhero comic Project Wildfire: Street Justice -- you can read it all for free for just a little while longer. 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 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!