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 MARCH 18, 2018

Transformers Lost Light #17 (IDW Publishing)

Spirit forbid, if this is your first issue (of this series, or of the IDW Transformers universe), well, it might be bad news, depending on how you look at it. Sitting on the precipice of a continuity-ending crossover, tying up loose ends that have frayed and flailed joyfully, literally, for years, every word and every panel in this issue is a thank you note to the readers who have come along for the ride. There are scenes involving Tailgate and Cyclonus, Ultra Magnus and his brother, and the most unexpected court case maybe ever presented in comics, all of which are (if you know what's going on) diaphanous. There are laughs and moments to put a lump in your throat, casting a wide net over billions of years of Cybertronic history, all while making every moment personal.

Writer James Roberts has done so many impossible things in this run, and he continues that undisputed reign with this amazing script. Add in the artwork from Jack Lawrence, Joana LaFuente and Tom B. Long, making 50 foot tall robots feel human in the best way, and you have an issue that could be good news if you're new. You could binge read from the beginning and likely get to the end by the time it's all said and done. RATING: BUY.

Action Comics #1000 is an anthology of short Superman stories, and it is quite a mixed bag. On one hand, there are some truly remarkable stories that illustrate the power and the glory possible with the character. The Tom King-written short gives some real emotional tug to the likes of the Grant Morrison futuristic look at Clark Kent. There's a breathtaking thriller from Brad Meltzer that is really something to see.

On the other hand, there are lots of pages of nostalgic navel gazing, more interested in a hero of the past than the Man of Tomorrow, all capped off with what could be a retcon that will inspire thought pieces and clickbait headlines. Is it worth the price of admission? If Superman is your end-all-be-all, yes, but for anyone else, this is too pricy given the inconsistent quality herein. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

RELATED: Action Comics #1000: Tomasi & Gleason Cover 80 Years of Superman in 15 Pages

Fence #5 isn't bad. It's gorgeous, and captures the fluidity and grace of fencing quite effectively. It's largest deficit is in pacing. It doesn't tell stories in each issue, it presents a scene study. Are they good scenes? Yes. a vignette ("something happens") could be considered a story, but only by the thinnest of margins. If you've ever binge read a web comic like Check, Please, you'll know the feeling of wanting to keep reading on. Stopping at the end of every thought is a disruptive way of doing so, and the periodical format does this series a disservice. Let's see what it's like when it's all a thing. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Justice League #43 had some solid moments, action wise and personally, but had the same underlying flaw in its plot that made Superman: Peace on Earth so frustrating (which one member limply tried to circumvent) and skidded to an uneven halt as its storyline tried to stick the landing but stumbled. Ambitious, but the reach of this issue exceeded its grasp, and that's a little bit of a letdown. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Daredevil #601 has a few truly entertaining moments, all of which are spoilers which is why you won't see posts of those panels. Suffice it to say that Matt Murdock is significantly better prepared to be the mayor of a city than Stephen Amell (language warning), and does okay in both of his identities. Unfortunately, there's not enough room to manage both the requisite ninja fight scene and the epic pwnage of Matt Murdock as the freaking Mayor of New York freaking City. Let's see if this series can pick up the pieces next time. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

RELATED: Scott Free Adjusts to Fatherhood in Mister Miracle #8 – But Is It a Facade?

Mister Miracle #8 is weird. There's no way you could characterize it as "bad," but it's so iconoclastic, it doesn't exactly fit into most definitions of "good" either. There is a war on Apokolips as New Genesis is invading. Okay. Scott Free is the "lorddeity" of New Genesis, co-leading its armies. Got it. He also has a newborn at home and is transitioning in a new nanny, none other than Funky Flashman. Well ... okay. Every other day, he switches between jobs -- relentless bloodshed and military oneupmanship and days cooing at an infant and cleaning poop.

The tennis ball structure bounces back and forth, and by the end of the book, you're not far from where you started. That's not bad, but it's again not really breathtaking. This is much more Omega Men than Vision, which may not be enough for some readers. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

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Lazarus #27 is an interesting side quest, letting you know, as INXS once sang, "how the other half lives." Could it have bigger implications? Maybe. For now, it's like Tommy Vercetti giving taxi rides -- interesting, but you lose nothing of consequence by missing it. RATING: MEH.

From a characterization standpoint, Batman #45 has some of the best Booster Gold moments ever. His banter with Skeets is top notch and incredibly enjoyable. However, from a plot standpoint, not just given everything Booster has gone through as a character, but his current raison d'etre, this is one of the stupidest, least relevant stories in years. Every one can't be a winner as those two elements end up in a wash. RATING: MEH.

Superman #45 had a value to it as Clark Kent passed on the teachings of Jonathan Kent that made the last son of Krypton a hero and not a tyrant, watching the small town Americana played out. However, it was also hamfistedly saccharine and hits you over the head with the perceived innate goodness of small towns, conveniently forgetting that bad things come from small towns too. This was less storytelling and more nostalgic propaganda for an America that frankly may have never existed. If that's your kink, go for it, but this won't have much meat on its bones for anyone else. RATING: MEH.

RELATED: Avengers: No Surrender’s Challenger Has a Brand New [SPOILER]

Avengers #689 is hugely disappointing because while it came up with the most effective battle against the Grandmaster ever shown in comics, it was all buried under bluster and cliche and frippery. You have likely never seen Living Lightning show up in such a big way (nor are you likely to again), but it's lost in a super weak ending that made most of the antagonists for the whole storyline, essentially, inconsequential. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

"Any idea who's trying to do what here?" Windblade asks this in Optimus Prime #17 and it's a fair question. With a "plot" (such as it is) relying heavily on things not in this issue (nor directly referenced, like Starscream's prophecy), it flounders and yells and shoots and lies and leaves its titular character befuddled and largely useless. There's a hint of a real story in here, with Soundwave's struggle to be true to his principles against constantly shifting priorities, but that gets lost in one of the dumbest last page reveals ever (more about that in a bit). RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

While the other Transformerstitle soars, Optimus Prime #18 (two out in one week? Who knew?) crashes into sophistry and needless retcons. Throughout the entire issue, someone who was not who they seemed to be relates a story (which somewhat conflicts with other accounts, but who cares if Unicron's coming) to a wholly inactive titular character. Really. That's it. Add to that the needless historical revisionism this tale, if true, adds to not just one character but at least twelve million years of history and it doesn't make any sense, especially given that character. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

RELATED: IDW’s Transformer Comics Have Redefined ‘Heroes Vs Villains’

James Bond The Body #4 was an extreme anti-climax, an attempt at creating a fully realized supporting character through exposition that failed due to a wholly unqualified antagonist. Nothing to see here, folks. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

Luke Walton. Mark Madsen. When you think of a championship team like the Lakers, how do those names stand out? Black Panther #172 proves that winning without developing the bench and glue guys is more like Allen Iverson than Shaquille O'Neal. A god level being has bound the gods of Wakanda and come to claim it as his own. The means by which he is addressed leaves a lot of Luke Waltons standing around, waiting for one huge shot from a star player. Wildly unbalance with more people standing around and waiting than actually doing anything, this sort of shows T'challa's brilliance and foresight ... but it's also hella facile "storytelling," and doesn't manage its resources well. RATING: NO. JUST ... NO.

WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

Five really bad books? Yikes. Let's chalk this week up in the "lose" column. Icky.

THE BUSINESS

The writer of this column writes a weekly web superhero comic -- 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 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!