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) 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 SEPTEMBER 5, 2018

Border Town #1 (Vertigo/DC Comics)

Jump from the Read Pile. This issue is a virtually perfect set up issue, establishing all the characters with enough time for the reader to become engaged all while pushing the plot -- the first day at a new school for a kid from out of town -- forward with a wonderful supernatural sheen around it. Writer Eric Esquivel has created believable, relatable players here and established the magical realism underpinnings of this effectively. The visuals from Ramon Villalobos, Tamra Bonvillain and Deron Bennett wonderfully capture the boredom and frustration of the characters, all struggling to find something better for themselves. This is a very pleasant surprise and a great start for a new series. RATING: BUY.

Transformers Lost Light #23 (IDW Publishing)

Possible descriptions for this issue include: mind-bending, intense, funny, overwhelming, grandiose and "whoa." With pacing that would make Douglas Adams blanche and clap with delight, this James Roberts script never even acknowledges the intellectual possibility of a brake pedal as a planet sized murderbot tears through fleets of spaceships the size of Alaska and entire worlds as a warm up act. All the while, perhaps the most ridiculous collection of mechanoids ever assembled learns the true, forgotten history of their race and discover the ideological conflict at the root of their millions of years of war. These are the big ticket items, but along the way there are a number of attempted murders, lots of yelling, quips and Megatron stepping forth to save the entire freaking universe. Holy freaking crap, this is the most audacious, ambitious, engaging giant robot book ever, ignoring all the conventions of new readers (while, admittedly, tfwiki.net and the editorial notes give a lot of context) with remarkably detailed and communicative visuals from Jack Lawrence, Joana Lafuente and Tom B. Long, all without a lick of interest in what's happening in the other "crossover" titles. RATING: BUY.

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Deathstroke #35 (DC Comics)

This issue was actually kind of a let down. After months of brilliant moves and counter moves, manipulating events around the world, this surprisingly intimate issue was a lot of sturm und drang signifying nothing. Every character is exactly who they were before all this began. That's frankly disappointing. There's nothing wrong with the work done here by Christopher J. Priest, Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz, Andy Owens, Jeromy Cox and Willie Schubert, but it didn't stand up to it's normal levels of quality. It would take three such challenges in a row to lose its buy-on-sight status, so let's hope this gets it together. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Captain America #3 finally had the core of a narrative with a mysterious organization taking care of "the heartland of America" with mining jobs that produce no product and crime free streets created with bloody summary judgment. The titular hero finds no support within the United States government, turning instead to Wakanda. The irony of the most American values being solely supported by foreign nationals is likely intentional, but the ideas drifted too much. Despite great build up and dramatic tension, this issue needed a little more focus but it's a strong improvement. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Immortal Hulk #5 makes a reveal of a secret lingering inside a hero for some time ... and it's honestly a hard sell. The core antagonist is like Turk Barrett with the mind gem -- sure, it's happening, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept. Likewise, the series' connecting tissue, a reporter tracking the resurrected Banner, completely fell down on the job this time. The horror vibe is intact, the art and production values are top notch, but a number of plot related things didn't connect. RATING: MEH.

Optimus Prime #23 tried very hard to make readers connect with some of its huge cast (none of which was the title character, fair warning) using a framing device of flashbacks that paused moments of action. It didn't fail miserably, but it was too little for too many characters with a fairly pointless fight going on. RATING: MEH.

If you liked The Professional, you might like United States Vs Murder Inc #1, which follows a similar general motif but with a Bendis/Oeming swing to it. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's fairly predictable crime fare. RATING: MEH.

Star Wars Doctor Aphra Annual #2 was a fun if somewhat forgettable trip through an otherworldly lair, introducing a cute couple of monster trappers and yet another seedy seam of criminal activity in the galaxy. The build up is a little too long for the payoff, but this was a passable if not exemplary visit with the not-so-good doctor. RATING: MEH.

WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

There are some smart ideas going, but that Deathstroke slight was a surprise. Still a pretty entertaining week.

THE BUSINESS

The writer of this column writes a weekly web superhero comic -- 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 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!