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 OCTOBER 25, 2017
Saga #48 (Image Comics)
Jump from the Read Pile. This issue had some great character moments that brought this issue home. A young man is a long way from home, lost and hungry, forced to make decisions far beyond his years. That journey is riveting and well worth your money. This title has never been bad, but this issue uses nuance and subtlety to really shine as brightly as the early issues in this run. Great work from Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples and Fonografiks.
Silver Surfer #14 (Marvel Comics)
Jump from the Read Pile. Wow. This may be one of the biggest, most adventurous, most amazing love stories of all time and ignites a strong springboard for any future stories with the title character. The patience and surety of the visual storytelling from Dan Slott, Michael Allred, Laura Allred and Joe Sabino is truly a thing of wonder, with dedication that will remind you of multiple emotional crescendos of the tenth and eleventh Doctors and a truly breathtaking moment that will hearken back to the Mr. Majestic story "The Big Chill." Well worth rereading almost instantly.
WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?
Super engaging spacefaring stuff this week.
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THIS WEEK'S READ PILE
Honorable Mentions: Stuff worth noting, even if it's not good enough to buy
Fu Jitsu #2 was very close to making the mark with impossible and ridiculous (in a good way) ideas that only fell short with one-note antagonists. The book still has promise but this issue fell a little short.
America #8 is back in terms of a tightly plotted story that gives the title character some of her swagger back. The bad part is that it undermines the entirety of her current experience as an old Marvel Boy villain manages to schnacker a lot of people who should know better. That's a little harder to swallow, that so many people could be so easily fooled, but the charm of the central character somewhat saved this from its more predictable elements.
No, just ... no ... These comics? Not so much ...
Detective Comics #967 proves a number of terrible things. A fan favorite character comes back, and we see how it's possible to have too much of a good thing. Second, Batman has yet another secret plan he told no one about and created no safeguards for that could potentially take over the world and kill everyone he loves. Who does he think he is, Braniac 5, or the MCU's Tony Stark? Third, the world's greatest detective has zero idea what's happening as he grapples with guilt, shock and grief. Does that sound entertaining? Spoiler (no pun intended) alert: it's not.
An entire issue told in the antagonist's voiceover? The deuce you say! Black Panther #166 dares to go where perhaps no one should as the sound-based villain Klaw inner-monologues page after page of snapshots masquerading as serialized storytelling. Character? You'll get glances, perhaps, in passing descriptions telling you what Klaw thinks of people. Plot? There's a way to say this is a plot, as Klaw commentates a battle in a country neighboring Wakanda. This issue struggles for structure and misses the mark.
Eternity #1 is a mess. With a scattershot narrative that relies heavily on pre-established information about the characters, the reader is dropped in the middle of unfinished cosmic business without context or direction. Even if you've read every page of Divinity's story, this has challenges. A big mis-step.
SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?
Whew ... it was kind of rough out there.
WINNERS AND LOSERS
Two purchases and two ambitious attempts can't beat three legitimately bad books, so this week kind of sinks into the round file.
THE BUSINESS
This Saturday, see the writer of this column moderating an all-star panel at Los Angeles Comic Con called I Want Your Job, talking about getting in to the entertainment business (movies, comics, TV, et cetera) and staying there.
Also, if you hurry, you can get this month's newsletter from the independent studio The Operative Network.
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!