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 24, 2014

Saga #23

(Image Comics)

This issue had action and surprises and shooting and crying and a moment of extraordinary tension ... but what it didn't have was any magic. That's not talking about spell casting -- that happens, and it's great -- but the hook of this series, the delicacy of character and interplay that made so many previous issues feel like a real emotional connection inside. Despite a lot going on, it felt mundane, almost rote. Was it still better than most of the stuff put out this week? Of course -- it's head and shoulders better than most major label books. What it's not is as good as a normal issue of "Saga," and that's not just because of the challenges for the core relationship driving the book. This isn't even like putting the title on warning (where it gets dropped from purchasing if it goes three solid issues without improvement), it's just not as good as it normally is, and that's a let down (a less severe version of what happened with "Loki: Agent of Asgard" this week). Let's see how things go on the next issue ...

WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

That could have gone better ...

THIS WEEK'S READ PILE

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

"G.I. JOE" #1 is too CNET and not enough Showtime, too "first half of the season 1 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'" and not enough "second half of the season 1 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'" The drab coloring and loose artwork lack kineticism and vibrancy. The script prevaricates in old business (funding cuts, better "juggled" by Hama) and navel gazing, with Siren's son dipped in cliche. Just shy of "meh," this is disappointing only because it feels like it could have done so many things better.

"Red Sonja" #12 was a solid if predictable offering with somewhat cliched supporting roles. Still, this is a fun romp of swords and sworn oaths with solid artwork. For fantasy fans, this will be an engaging interlude.

Wheeljack is back in "Transformers Robots In Disguise" #33 because somebody has to help drive the story towards the big "Combiner Wars" story promised by Hasbro and IDW, and he gets a running travelogue on what's happened before. Overly expository, there are still nice moments, like an art choice where Wheeljack's skepticism over something he hears is expressed visually by a tilt of his head, a neat trick for a being without a face with which they can emote. Still, it's just a long game of playing catch up and not enough of a story.

"Amazing Spider-Man" #1.5 had a few touching moments where Peter Parker learned a lot about being Spider-Man from some unlikely sources, again proving why Garfield fits the role so much better than Maguire, but has a story that dragged on a bit too long. Good moments in a loosely wrapped package.

"Rachel Rising" #28 was a creepy bit of character driven supernatural noir, small town values drenched in unfairly spilled blood. Terry Moore's art is perfect and his dialogue likewise sparkles, but the story's center sagged and there are too many unresolved plot elements at the book's conclusion.

"Voice In The Dark Get Your Gun" #1 had some awesome moments of tension, on the phone and in a coffee shop, but worked better in moments than as a whole.

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

"Sundowners" #2, "All-New Ghost Rider" #7, "Trimaxx" #6, "Magneto" #10, "Justice League Dark Futures End" #1, "Bob's Burgers #2, "Cyclops" #5, "Pariah" #8, "Steed and Peel: We're Needed" #3, "Batman Eternal" #25, "Loki: Agent Of Asgard" #6, "Aliens Fire And Stone" #1, "X-O Manowar" #29, "Evil Empire" #5, "Harley Quinn Futures End" #1, "Star-Spangled War Stories Featuring G.I. Zombie Futures End" #1, "Captain Midnight" #15, "Mighty Avengers" #14, "Harbinger Omegas" #2, "Edge Of Spider-Verse" #3, "He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe" #17, "Butterfly" #1, "Chew" #43, "Letter 44" #10, "Booster Gold Futures End" #1, "All-New Invaders" #10, "Deep Gravity" #3, "New 52 Futures End" #21, "Steampunk Battlestar Galactica 1880" #2, "Inhuman" #6, "Empty Man" #4, "Tomb Raider" #8, "Amazing X-Men" #11, "Sherwood TX" #3, "Deadpool" #35, "Ghost" #8, "Thunderbolts" #31, "Lumberjanes" #6, "Superman Futures End" #1, "Guardians Of The Galaxy" #19, "Armor Hunters" #4, "Groo Vs Conan" #3, "Catwoman Futures End" #1, "Justice Inc" #2, "Low" #3, "POP" #2, "Legenderry A Steampunk Adventure" #7, "Star Trek" #37, "Pathfinder City Of Secrets" #5, "Sinestro Futures End" #1, "Ghostbusters" #20, "Sex" #16, "Aquaman And The Others Futures End" #1, "Brass Sun" #5.

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

"Red Lanterns Futures End" #1 was trite, annoying, cliche and anti-climactic, as well as a very hard-to-accept shift in character for Guy Gardner. At least the art looked good.

"Secret Avengers" #8 had an embarrassingly bad ending, a needlessly labyrinthine plot, a scarcity of characterization and just one line to recommend ("I'll go scrub my imagination with hydrochloric acid"). A dip on quality from previous issues.

SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?

Hh. That could have gone better too ... it wasn't awful, but still ...

WINNERS AND LOSERS

A less-than-stellar purchase and two truly bad books help tank the week and make it one best forgotten ...

THE BUSINESS

This was the last week before Comics Ink becomes The Comics Bug Culver City and I stopped to say my farewell - virtually, at least.

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!