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 AUGUST 29, 2018

Star Wars Lando Double Or Nothing #4 (Marvel Comics)

Jump from the Read Pile. There is so much to like about this issue as the titular smuggler goes from looking for a check to envisioning a new day with too many fun quotes to recount ("Style is a signature component of the Calrissian legend") and some serious action chops as well. Disney would do well to glance at this Rodney Barnes script for a live action adaptation because aside from being firmly entrenched in continuity (accessibly so), this is just plain fun, with the visuals from Paolo Villanelli, Andres Mossa and Joe Caramagna giving this issue an enjoyable, fast moving feel that never sacrifices visual splendor. RATING: BUY.

Modern Fantasy #3 (Dark Horse Comics)

<i>Modern Fantasy</i> #3
Modern Fantasy #3 knows when push comes to shove, you just need a little more Bock-darr!

Jump from the Read Pile. A fantasy-based world has gone all-corporate and boring, but some still yearn for the swashbuckling days of swords and sorcery. Enter Sage of the Riverlands, a level 3 data entry specialist who wishes she was using her multiclass skills as a level 12 ranger. She and her truly ridiculous party of friends (barbarian, mage, cleric, ranger, fighter, rogue and maybe a bard) have to stop a cult from summoning a fire demon. Sounds cool, until they all realize they mostly can't fight, their adventuring skills atrophied in retirement plan filings and traffic jams. There are so many ridiculous and well thought out layers to this Rafer Roberts script and the Kristen Gudsnuk visuals are effective in big moments of action and intimate moments of adventure. Great fun that is a great mix between Critical Role and Office Space. RATING: BUY.

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Nightwing Annual #1 had an interesting take on data corruption and the line between news and propaganda, with Dick Grayson taking a seriously quick rush through his learning curve ("neural blockchain"). Unfortunately, the art work didn't convey this thriller atmosphere well, hundreds of millions of dollars just flew at the title character as if it was an average Tuesday (which, given his new "back to basics" approach seems fishy) and the strength of the antagonist that works so well for the planning stages doesn't connect as well for the reader. Not bad, and ambitious as heck, but not quite hitting the mark. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

There's not much more a review of Ms. Marvel #33 can say that the Shocker didn't say himself in these very pages, but while there were interesting elements -- malfunctioning powers, a newly interesting and less whiny Herman Schultz -- the story didn't connect as a plot. let alone have a conclusion. RATING: MEH.

G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #255 was a spotlight issue on Scarlett ... and her relationship with Snake-Eyes. Literally, the entire issue is about him and how she was with him. Unlike previous spotlight issues, this one is a total fail of the Bechdel test and its conclusion didn't lead anywhere that wasn't predictable. RATING: MEH.

Daredevil Annual #1 was like reading an okay issue of Gotham Central. That's not a dig, it's a kind of compliment as it follows a younger pre-bionic Misty Knight on her first run in with the Man Without Fear. A decent procedural with a dash of superhero sprinkled on top like a Salt Bae creation, but it's just as easily forgettable and does nothing about the collateral damage caused in its wake. RATING: MEH.

While Red Hood And The Outlaws Annual #2 had some choice moments with Roy Harper (much more whimsical than you might remember), nothing worth seeing happened here, nothing of consequence was on display and the central conflict was unimportant (if well rendered). RATING: MEH.

Remember those episodes of Clone Wars where the droids were the main characters and it was all cutesy? Dungeons And Dragons Evil At Baldur's Gate #5 was like that, but with a hamster. There's two legit laughs here, but you won't be mad if you miss this one. RATING: MEH.

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Deadpool Assassin #6 didn't actually kill anybody, first of all, so false advertising. Second, Deadpool was much more earnest and sincere than, well, Deadpool, and that just makes him a more colorful Moon Knight (if you can avoid it, never be Moon Knight). Third, there isn't a legitimate laugh anywhere in this book, which should be where Deadpool starts. Fourth, the ... one could call this a "plot," charitably. Anyway, the series of events happening didn't even make sense to the weirdos in the book, and motivations ranged from "nonsensical" to "pointless." The only good thing about this was Mark Bagley's steady hand. Otherwise? RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

Scarlet #1 is an insult to the people who have laid their lives on the line around the world for things they believe in. A YouTube-styled personality is the face of a revolution that -- off panel -- took over the city of Portland after the police department did something illegal. In this day and age, this facile, navel gazing look at real issues is bad, almost as bad as the first version of this title. This is bad ... really, really bad. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

Harbinger Wars 2 #4 was like an ad for atrocity as powerful people got away with heinous crimes, the innocent suffered mightily without redress and the strongest voice for reason becomes the new Magneto. That's ... both disappointing and hauntingly familiar. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

House Amok #1 seems to think it's telling a story, but it's really monologuing tangentially adjacent to a story, which isn't the same thing. A family of five apparently has some pretty crazy ideas and their youngest member serves as a very unreliable narrator (and thus unclear, not allowing the reader to get their bearings). The cartoony artwork makes it more jarring with the blood and what not, so yeah, this? RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

There's a word that pops up in Batgirl Annual #2 that describes the key problem with this work: "sloppy." A serial killer stalks the streets of Burnside with a mission, and that brings the title character in touch with an ugly part of her history. The presentation of this visually was dry -- it needed to be a thriller and it was like a procedural. The plot itself left a gigantic problem, like many Bats do, encouraging the problem to continue instead of solving things. High production values, but problematic at best. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

Extermination #2 is baffling. While the X-Men dither and prevaricate, two antagonists with apparently different motivations slap them around like that Batman and Robin meme. One antagonist is boring and unidimensional, the other is somewhat preposterous and almost goofy. What's going on? Hard to say, and therefore, hard to enjoy. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

Sweet Kwanzaa, it was rough out there this week. Yikes.

THE BUSINESS

You could find this columnist on iHeartRadio's Nerd-O-Rama podcast discussing the challenges convention season may face in light of the trademark dispute between Comic-Con International and Salt Lake City Comic-Con.

The writer of this column writes a weekly web superhero comic -- Project Wildfire: Street Justice -- free every week. Can't beat "free." The season finale is next week, so might wanna get caught up before it gets yanked off line ...

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!