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 NOVEMBER 22, 2017

Astro City #49 (Vertigo/DC Comics)

Jump from the Read Pile. Few scientists and even fewer activists ever get a chance to see the impact they seek to make. This effective, self-contained issue tells the tale of Dr. Bertram Garneau. He's a terrible father and an absentee husband, but he perfectly synthesized his passion for social justice through his abilities as a scientist. This created a superpowered, crowd-sourced phenomenon that makes Captain Universe look listless by comparison. Told through the perspective of the daughter he left behind, this was a delicately told narrative that connected. Great work here by Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Peter Pantazis, John G. Roshell and Jimmy Betancourt.

WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

When Astro City gets it right, wow, it's truly something to see.

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THIS WEEK'S READ PILE

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

Imaginary Fiends #1 was intriguing, taking an almost Whovian perspective on the idea of, well imaginary friends. The plot needed more room to deliver, especially on the arguable antagonist. If this were the first 20 minutes of an hour long cable drama, it would have totally gotten the job done. For four bucks, it didn't quite make it happen.

Tomb Raider Survivor's Crusade #1 had a really clever framing device of its lead trying to leave a message on the voice mail of a confidant. That was really good. The empty shirt antagonist and vague characterization for everyone on panel wasn't as good, so it's a mixed bag at the end of the day.

James Bond Solstice was, technically, an abuse of power by people in high positions with a young woman's affections in the middle of it all. This was a fine, self-contained story, but it ignored its deeper implications and the troubling issues surrounding it.

Black Panther #167 had some interesting turns of phrase and -- as always -- breathtaking visuals. It slathered on the expository narration much harder than it needed and essentially made the Wakandan people look much worse than ever before, but it had its good points.

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

Swordquest #5 is bad. Scary bad. The relationship between magic and this world is messier than an average reality show while characters made decisions so ungrounded from motivations that it boggles credulity. Spirit be praised we can finally say, "Game over, man. Game over!"

Clue #6 was a rushed, overwrought, needlessly meta ending to a heavy-handed, overwrought, needlessly meta miniseries. Put this one back in the toy box.

SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?

Two bad books ... that kind of skewed the scores ...

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Despite an impressive showing for Astro City, two train wrecks dragged this week down to a place where it couldn't recover.

THE BUSINESS

The writer of this column writes two weekly web superhero comics: Menthu: The Anger of Angels and Project Wildfire: Street Justice -- free every week. 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 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 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!