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 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 JULY 24, 2019

History Of The Marvel Universe #1 (Marvel Comics)

Jump from the Read Pile. What if you were tasked with reading every Marvel comic that ever was, and then relating each pivotal event in a linear form? While that sounds like a heavenly assignment to this columnist, it would drive many to madness. Enter Mark Waid, who's seen it all, read it all, studied at the feet of the masters and is happy to share with you ad infinitum.

RELATED: Marvel Reveals How the Marvel Universe Will End

This could be considered a kind of illustrated handbook, a next generation Wikipedia entry showing the greatest (sometimes: "Two-Gun Kid?") moments in Marvel history in all their glory, thanks to the visuals from Javier Rodriguez, Alvaro Lopez and Joe Caramagna. This bedtime story from the most unusual of narrators may not make you agree with all of it, but it's certainly definitive (at least until the next set of reboots and retcons). RATING: BUY.

House Of X #1 (Marvel Comics)

Marvel's House of X
Mutants must be free, by any means necessary, in the stylish House of X #1.

Jump from the Read Pile. Well ... that's quite a surprise. In short, Chuck Xavier has had it up to here with your isht, and for the first time, really, he has a somewhat plausible plan to do something about it. This story is all about lessons learned: from Genosha, from Wakanda, from Israel, from the Nation of Islam and likely other places. Mutantkind stands pretty much united and that ... that's not something lots of people want.

RELATED: Jonathan Hickman Was Accidentally Responsible For Xavier's Death In AvX

Could this devolve into a mindless slobberknocker down the road, or let us all down like Heroes in Crisis did? That's a question for future versions of you. Today? This is a way forward for mutants, to self-determine and own the dream the X-Men have espoused for decades, all crafted very carefully (both visually and in terms of the script) by Jonathan Hickman (channeling lots of his Pax Romana stylings) with artwork from Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia. RATING: BUY.

Farmhand #10 had some interesting moments of emotional honesty where characters struggled and came to understandings. The conspiracy here is still too vague, the tone drifting between comedy and horror too relentlessly, but it's a book that's going somewhere. It just hasn't told you where. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Dial H For Hero #5 is rich with metaphor, looking at how heroes (and villains) come to be in a very intriguing, almost Scott McCloud kind of way. It's short on story, with a plot element that borrows a page from Wicked implying that "everyone deserves a chance to fly." This is a think piece more than a comic book, an examination of four color DNA more than a narrative, but it's hard to stop thinking about it even if you don't really care about a crashed Super Powers vehicle from the late 80s. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Shuri #10 was ambitious in its innovative approach to settling a challenge with a distinctively Squirrel Girl-themed approach, but doing so in a manner that seemed to fly by far too quickly. The characters were strong but the pacing was uneven, and only that stopped this from making it home. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Star Pig #1 is a shockingly beautiful comic book, with gorgeous clean lines and a very well developed futuristic aesthetic. The idea here -- a lone survivor of a spaceship crash befriends a gigantic tardigrade, only to fall into interstellar shenanigans -- has some room to be a thing, but it spends more time riffing off of futuristic slang than developing its plot. Shame. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Valkyrie: Jane Foster #1 was a gorgeous if unevenly paced adventure showing someone with some experience settling into a new responsibility. The fight scenes are okay, the character work is all right if unremarkable but that last reveal? Man, that's something to take your breath away, and it'll be interesting to see if the next issue can visually pay off such a delicious set up. For now, maybe watch but don't touch. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

RELATED: Valkyrie: Aaron & Ewing On Jane Foster's New Identity, Powers and Mission

Curse Words #23 has quite a lot to say in a virtual avalanche of exposition that makes, literally, everything that's happened in this series look different, down to the characterization of the leads. That's a lot to take in, but it's also a little slow for a single issue. As a collected work, this will be a vital slice, but as a single issue, that's not quite cutting it. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

You know when you're riding a roller coaster and it goes up, and up, and up, and you're like, "okay, this is pretty high," and it keeps going? Doctor Strange #16 is a lot like that, and it keeps going past "keeps going," doing stuff that'd have Jim Shooter and Marv Wolfman saying, "sir, that's enough!" It keeps going ... and then ... well, we dunno. It kind of just stopped. Which was thrilling but just leaves you there, unsatisfied like a date sitting sticky and worked up, staring at a snoring companion. Very close, but not quite getting you there. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Lazarus Risen #2 had some compelling character moments for its lead but didn't have enough clarity in its plot, starting and ending something. The art as always was breathtaking, but this seemed like a snippet more than a story. RATING: HONORABLE MENTION.

Star Wars #69 has three passable stories jammed together in a space far too small to make them fit. The voices are distinctive but none of them get time to say much. RATING: MEH.

Action Comics #1013 moved fast and kept throwing things at you, but even as pretty as this is, a sequence of events does not necessarily make a story. You'll be left with more questions than Perry White as Lex Luthor's offer tracks down more ne'er-do-wells inconclusively. It's early yet, sure, but the trip ain't free, so ... RATING: MEH.

Amazing Spider-Man #26 barely even features its title character and focuses very intently on its supporting cast. Spidey barely has any idea what's going on, and while the other stuff happening isn't interesting, it's not cohesive enough to entrance, so ... RATING: MEH.

WHAT'S THE PROGNOSIS?

Two jumps and no truly bad books? It's a post Nerdi Gras miracle!

THE BUSINESS

Announced for Comic-Con week: you can now buy apparel from the Operative Network Store! Heroes, villains and statements all at an affordable price, so go grab a shirt today!

Have you checked out season four of the free web comic Project Wildfire: The Once and Future King? While you can, read the whole thing 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!