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 MARCH 6, 2019
Killmonger #5 (Marvel Comics)
Whoa. Empowered by a secret Wakanda chose to forget, this issue shows how N'Jadaka leveled up from a skilled soldier to a symphonic expression of violence, perfectly encapsulating all the swagger and menace Michael B. Jordan brought to the role. There's a fantastic plot twist that sells it wonderfully and you even see the Red Room graduate in Natasha Romanov here. This Bryan Hill script pushes the knife right into the vein, and the ruthless visuals from Juan Ferreyra, Eduardo Ferreyra and Joe Sabino deliver one of the most thrilling action scenes in recent memory (that color coding was a nice touch). RATING: BUY.
Star Wars #62 plays like the early portions of Force 10 from Navarone in gathering an elite team of madmen, malcontents, misfits and their ilk to take on a mission that's strategic and personal for a certain princess from Alderaan. Leia's leadership is great to watch, Han's fecklessness amuses and Luke's wide eyed naivete all work as advantages, but this plot is all preamble without execution. Not bad, but clearly meant to be collected. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
Deathstroke #41 was very close to making it home on the strength of a very complex scene in Atlantic City. The plot meandered a bit more than it should for a single issue, despite several truly amazing visual moments (the bed, Wintergreen's double take, the tuxedo). RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
Like any good D&D adventure, Die #4 brings the players to the calm moment in a friendly hamlet, enjoying the goods available at a tavern. This leads to what would be role playing for a game, but is character development here ... and in a way, aren't those the same thing? Unfortunately the plot suffers from this languorous diversion and leaves the best moment for the end. This is a long way from being bad, but unlike the virtually flawless last issue, this one doesn't stand alone and will do better in a collected edition. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
Green Lantern #5 wasn't bad as Hal goes deep undercover to infiltrate a cult-like organization of fanatics. The structure of the plot was like a macabre version of a Dora the Explorer episode and the incessant voiceover was a bit of a distraction, but the shining light of Hal Jordan's will did shine through and his braggadocio fit the more recent Ryan Reynolds take on the character. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
Immortal Hulk #14 hit a lot of effective emotional beats (and gave Tony Stark the worst pun ever, a joke that would make seasoned dads say, "No, that's too far") but drove around too long to make its central point and left a rookie mistake. Not bad, but not back to its greatness just yet. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
Just when Doctor Who The Thirteenth Doctor #5 gets going, showing why this new incarnation is one of the most entertaining ones, this issue slams on the brakes. A frustrating ending, like stopping the show after the first commercial break, but mostly enjoyable during the ride. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.
NEXT PAGE: Decent tries from Justice League, Avengers and a certain Sith lord
The pitch for Star Wars Vader Dark Visions #1 -- "Darth Vader versus a kaiju" -- has a lot of appeal as a concept. The execution, framed through the eyes of a sentient indigenous to a backwater world, lacked punch because the ignorance of this character, who calls the Galactic Civil War a dust up of "space gods," was too remedial to enjoy. There's a value in just letting Vader be Vader, but despite the biggest shocking show of power since the Shu-Torun War, this issue doesn't connect. RATING: MEH.
Justice League #19 has enough huge ideas that it should be a grandiose explosion of wonder. As it is, it guesses at how dimensions work (poorly) and posits an idea Grant Morrison explored years ago. It's not bad, but as big as it is, it still feels like a fairly provincial, retrograde idea. RATING: MEH.
Even team members question why they're getting involved in Avengers #16, a big slobberknocker of an issue with ... mostly fighting Ghost Rider. Oh, and Cap gives post fight hugs. RATING: MEH.
There are two dangerously stupid things in Doomsday Clock #9. First -- and this is the least stupid thing -- is the idea of Doctor Manhattan (himself an analogue of Captain Atom) can stand in single combat against Supergirl, Martian Manhunter, a quartet of Green Lanterns, John Constantine, Shazam, Man-Thing, a pair of New Gods, Aquaman, The Flash some Titans and many more, including the actual Captain Atom, a crew that would have mopped the floor with half the crossovers you've seen in your life. That borders on the preposterous. No, what's so much worse than that is a retcon to a beloved character that essentially makes them akin to Amanda Waller, Peter Henry Gyrich or a host of other jerkfaces manipulating the extrahuman community for their own purposes. Once you get by all that, there's an insulting swing at Ferro Lad that's not necessary, cursing Guy Gardner and more foolishness. This national tragedy must be stopped. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.
WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?
One jump, one stinker -- that's even stevens, as far as stats go.
THE BUSINESS
This column started its run on Comic Book Resources on March 9, 2006. Wow. Three years before that, in the same month, it started as an independent work, going through some changes along the way. During that time, marriages came and went, children were born, history was made, awards were won and through it all the work remains. Thank you for being here, now or at any point of the ride. Let's keep this party going for year fourteen.
Speaking of parties, starting today you can check out Eagle-Con at Cal State Los Angeles, a three day celebration of comics, pop culture and shenanigans. This columnist will be hosting panels on Saturday (including a spotlight panel on screenwriter, illustrator and Concrete Park co-creator Tony Puryear), so swing through!
The Buy Pile is syndicated six days after its web publication on the iHeartRadio podcast Nerd-O-Rama with Mo and Tawala.
Have you checked out season four of the free web comic Project Wildfire: The Once and Future King? Every week catch a page of the story for the best possible price: "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!