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 DECEMBER 5, 2018
Killmonger #1 (Marvel Comics)
Jump from the Read Pile. With stunning action sequences, fantastic quotables and the freight train charisma of the Michael B. Jordan performance, this ruthless Bryan Edward Hill script is exactly what's needed for fans that want more N'Jadaka in their life. Starting the second the future antagonist loses his father, this quickly tracks him through his storied M.I.T. career into some of the more interesting works that defined his skill set, all while fleshing out his character brilliantly (the double edged quote at the cork board is a delight). With the visuals from Juan Ferreyra and Joe Sabino, this issue spans continents and situations, from brooding to dynamic, with equal levels of craft and detail. This is really, really good. RATING: BUY.
Border Town #4 (Vertigo/DC Comics)
Jump from the Read Pile. This issue brings things back into line, balancing the tense detente that exists in many places along the southern border of the United States with a supernatural sheen, using characterization to drive the plot forward. A group of teenaged misfits struggle with a huge amount of crazy in their sleepy, sandy hamlet and try to figure each other out as well. The. central figure is a young woman of color driven to undersell her abilities to keep from getting kicked out -- interestingly enough, a theme in the back up story for this week's Shazam (more on that in a bit). Eric M. Esquivel balances the elements of this plot wonderfully with developing the characters while the art from Ramon Villalobos, Tamra Bonvillain and Deron Bennett shocks when it needs to and draws you in when it counts. RATING: BUY.
Doctor Strange #9 (Marvel Comics)
Jump from the Read Pile. Stephen Strange has faced down some pretty horrible forces in the past. This time, he takes on an enemy willing to wait years for vengeance, an implacable foe that terrifies people everywhere -- gentrification. A mini-mall happy land developer sets sights on Bleeker Street and, well, even Ron Burgundy wouldn't expect how far this escalates. This done in one script from Mark Waid is virtually without flaw, developing peripheral characters and building up to the big bad like going through the levels of Super Mario Bros. Can we say enough about this amazing artwork from Jesus Saiz and Cory Petit, with a photorealistic take on supernatural shenanigans that's poster-worthy while still doing great visual storytelling. RATING: BUY.
NEXT PAGE: Why Shazam, Immortal Hulk and Wrong Earth Didn't Make the Cut
Die #1 was extremely close to making it home, with one of the most engrossing high concepts in some time -- using the trappings of role playing games to create a horror tale that's part Birthright, part Stranger Things and part Stephen King's It (the book, not the movie and definitely not the miniseries). The moody, dimly lit X-Files visuals only help enhance the dread and atmosphere of this compact work, only sabotaged by its extremely linited characterization for most of its cast. Where will this lead? RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
Shazam! #1 goes a long way towards modernizing the "aw shucks" nature of the property, instilling a little of the wonder and possibility that are inherent in the concept. Unfortunately, with a very large Shazam Family off the bat that gets zero characterization (I'm differently abled! I'm Black!) and a threat that borders on the laughable (the Great Lakes Avengers would have been overkill), the stakes were too low and the truly interesting elements (the map) needed a lot more room to breathe. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
Wrong Earth #4 takes a fun concept -- gritty billionaire hero swaps places with campy billionaire hero in alternate dimension -- and plays it straight for all the messy realities that would unfold. The characters are shorthand looks at ones done by bigger companies, barely distinguishing themselves, but it's done gorgeously and with great verve, which isn't bad. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
Immortal Hulk #10 gets weird, which is not too uncommon for this series, but has a slight deficit in the vague nature of the threat and the general lameness of Walter Langkowski these days. Lots of truly odd things are happening, but they're less clear than normal. Not bad at all, but not up to par. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
Self Made #1 had sterling execution for a somewhat retrograde concept, mixing fantasy with science fiction in a way that's somewhat familiar. The artwork, trappings and details are gorgeous, but the big picture seems to fall short. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
There is a lot to like about LaGuardia #1, a super well developed vision of a possible future (no pun intended) where a couple struggles over ideological differences surrounded by a literally changing world. The characters are subtle and nuanced, the art is breathtaking, the concept is amazing. The only thing that's wrong is that this issue isn't a story, it's a set up, a vignette that doesn't complete its thought. Other than that, this ain't bad at all. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
Rick And Morty Vs Dungeons And Dragons #3 was a fun fifth edition adventure that had a pinch of character development and a clever plot twist. The petulance of the first lead (played as metagaming ... metacomics?) was a detriment to the work, but man, counterspell comes in handy! RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
Prodigy #1 is a masterpiece of plotting and inventive ideas while also being a dumpster fire of characterization, as devoid of resonance as a conversation with a Kardassian ... one of the lesser known ones at that. Playing like a bootleg Doc Savage has some cute quirks, but far from enough. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
West Coast Avengers #5 has some fun panels (seriously, why do Quentin and Gwenpool not have a spinoff webcomic?), its story is incomplete and the questions it raises (Captain America, a dragon lady, et cetera) are often left hanging. Fun, but not complete. RATING: MEH.
Batman #60 mills along harmlessly, riffing and treading water, until its last page which is one of the worst possible ideas to introduce here, a catastrophically bad decision on the level of the time the Punisher was an angel. Like watching a beauty queen faceplant, this is tragic in the extreme. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.
Low Road West #4 takes a big left turn into the inexplicable and the messy, pouring healthy servings of "whaaaaaat?" all over the entire proceeding. That's not good. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.
WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?
Hell of a week with some super re-readable comics demanding a ride home, even while a couple of others mess the bed.
THE BUSINESS
If you missed the Operative Network newsletter, The Briefing, this week you might have not seen that the writer of this column is writing a 132 page graphic novel for Humanoids that will be out in October 2019. Fun fact.
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!