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 JANUARY 30, 2019

Star Wars Doctor Aphra #28 (Marvel Comics)

Jump from the Read Pile. In this thin week, this issue is a comedy of errors as Triple Zero accepts some unpleasant truths and the titular rogue archaeologist does too good a job of teaching. The Simon Spurrier script is fast paced, and the visuals from Emilio Laiso, Rachelle Rosenberg and Joe Caramagna delivers some great action with supporting characters coming off the bench with great performances. There’s just enough happening to make it work with the fascinating characters playing a long — and that last page is a cold blooded gut punch. RATING: BUY.

In Heroes In Crisis #5, Tom King writes one of the best superhero speeches maybe ever, definitely since Captain America's, "No, you move" (itself a Mark Twain adaptation) to be spoken by possibly the only hero who could out-speek Cap. Likewise, a zany development pops up that might change the whole nature of the series' central mystery, and there are some fun moments with Batgirl. This is much better and much more coherent, but still not connecting quite enough pieces to justify the price of admission. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Do you like Ozymandias but miss the stories where he was an arguable "hero?" Peter Cannon Thunderbolt #1 is here to scratch that itch, going a long way from the Moon Knight-esque reboot of a few years ago. The supporting cast is wholly derived from cookie cutters and unremarkable in the extreme, but the art's pretty and the lampshading of the core concept has some legs. It's better than the last take, but it hasn't connected yet. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Star Trek IDW 20/20 #1 was a very cute painted prequel that almost made it home. Twenty years before taking the helm of the Enterprise, Picard ascends to the big chair of the Stargazer and faces some diplomatic challenges after meeting someone who'll become a lifelong friend. A great bit of strategy that will surely excite diehard fans. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Unstoppable Wasp #4 shows that Nadia Pym may have inherited more from her hather than his intellect and that's more After School Special than you might be used to in this title. A rush to pathos whereas some build up might have been a better choice. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Robots Vs Princesses #4 is a speedy if acceptable conclusion to the genre-mashing mini series, tying together the two disparate societies with a clever plot device but again had a lot of characters who didn't get much space to distinguish themselves. This cute story hits all the marks, but hopefully can deepen its characterization in what looks like room for a planned sequel. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

West Coast Avengers #7 had funny, kooky character stuff happening and fantastic artwork. The plot was a bit cliche and not super intriguing, but it almost got by in the charm of its players. Almost. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

NEXT PAGE: Just a touch of "Meh" from Justice League, Captain America and trouble from Age of X-Man: Alpha

Action Comics #1007 might accurately be called "actions comic" as a lot happened, but it wasn't a story. Jimmy Olsen was the star as he digs into a new paramour's backstory, but then there was a weird Lois thing, and then Superman met an old business acquaintance and none of these things seemed remotely connected. Not bad, but not, you know, a narrative. RATING: MEH.

Do you like fantasy sports? Star Trek The Q Conflict #1 imagines multiple franchises as possible players in a conflict between gods, with the fate of whole galaxies at play. The wind up takes lomger than it should, and the non-Q powers rely on facts not in evidence, but dyed-in-the-wool fans will likely go for this. RATING: MEH.

Justice League Annual #1 cranked the dial up way past eleven and still sounded like a murmur, with hordes of heroes set to save the multiverse and an attack of clones hell bent on their own desires. Almost the whole issue played like it wanted "Duel of the Fates" blasting, but even its climax was more like muzak. Starman was a vapid, empty cipher to hang this all on, and his comeuppance needed a lot more oomph as well. RATING: MEH.

Captain America #7 is a thoughtful examination of the country that currently is, not the ideals that elude the common grasp. Steve Rogers doesn't do much here but ponder with grim determination and moral certainty. This prosaic, heavily voiceovered approach might make a gripping novel, but it's not working as a comic. Far more interesting ideas than execution, Cap getting disassembled is more like news than entertainment. RATING: MEH.

Bloodshot Rising Spirit #3 didn't have much character to work with, given the core mature of the character, but his supporting cast is not very distinctive and the time jump is a little disjointing. RATING: MEH.

Age Of X-Man Alpha #1 posits a grand mutant utopia where everyone has powers and everything is wonderful. Wait, except for getting freaky with someone unapproved, which could get you thrown in chains (according to the preview) and your paramour getting mindwiped. There's more limp trailer park storytelling in this collection of teasers masquerading as a single story, despite the clean and gorgeous artwork. We'll forget as much about this as the other mutant Elseworlds crossovers that have come, gone and wasted shelf space. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

One bad, one good, a big pile of "meh" in between ... the week kind of comes out as a wash, no?

THE BUSINESS

Did you hear this columnist's debut on the iHeartRadio Nerd-O-Rama podcast? This weekly recap of the stuff you're used to reading here every week brings a little extra flavor for the civilians. If you can wait until Tuesday night (or Wednesday morning), enjoy!

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!