Every week I go to the comic book store (Comics Ink in Culver City, CA, hey Steve and Jason!) and grab a lot of comics. I sort these into two piles -- the "buy" pile (things I intend to spend money on, most often a small pile) and the "read" pile (often huge, including lots of stuff I don't actually like but wanna stay well informed about). In no particular order, here's some thoughts about all that.

Superman: Red Son #2
Survey says "da." Mark Millar's Elseworlds tale of Kal-El coming at you from Lenin's Russia (with love, even >8^) continues as Superman leads the Warsaw Pact against the evil forces of capitalism (just think, twenty years ago, even typing something like that would be cause for getting investigated, now it can be popular fiction). Millar carefully plays with the icons of DC's myth, brushing across them with the same respect (if not the same level of experience, as this was written some years ago, he's said) as he does in The Ultimates and Ultimate X-Men. Particularly interesting is some of the ways Green Lantern and Wonder Woman come into play. The book is solid and entertaining, but not really amazing. I can actually see the growth in Millar as a writer, from this earlier example compared to more contemporary, seasoned works. Still, good read, some good ideas (Luthor is riveting as the government sponsored mad scientist) and just about as entertaining as its cover price.

Hulk #65:
I've forgotten who said that Marvel's strength now is splicing the superhero genre with other successful types of content, but the "Hulk meets X-Files" approach works very well in this issue. I was less-than-enthusiastic about earlier issues of Jones' run on Hulk, which owed more to Bill Bixby's televised version than anything else, and seemed hopelessly retrograde to me. This issue, examining Crusher Creel in a way I consider novel and refreshing (as I've never seen Creel this ... subtle) barely gives Banner an inch of panel space, and truthfully, the Green Machine himself does not appear anywhere in the actual issue (save ads). Still, this is a gripping and interesting tale (so far), and you can't beat the price of a quarter (which is why it ended up on the buy pile at all).

Gotham Central #8:
Gritty. Mean. Murky. Rucka is holding it down with a story that tears GCPD detective Renee Montoya's life apart. If you've ever seen a particularly good episode of Law & Order with an interrogation, this will feel familiar. Michael Lark's sparse artwork and Lee Loughridge's muted coloring works very well together. I'm enjoying the dirty charm of this story, a long way from the controlled surfaces of Queen & Country and less kinetic than his run on Detective Comics. A mean, slow boil that I'm enjoying profusely.

Grendel: God & the Devil #5:
The examination of Orion Assante's rise to power continues as the "evil" church and its equally corrupt police enforcers remain helpless in the face of the re-emergent Grendel spirit, manifested in the form of a skinny mystery man set on chaos. I can't imagine anybody who doesn't already know the story having a whit of interest in this (the part with the Deva Princes is particularly obscure and difficult to grasp), but as a long-time Grendel fan, this is one of the most fascinating bits of Grendel history I've seen in a while, and one I'm following with rapt attention. Halfway done with this limited series, and it just gets deeper ...

Fables #14
It's time for Snow White and Bigby Wolf to take a romantic getaway. Crazy talk, you say? You'd be right -- there's more afoot than you'd ever see in the advance solicitations. Suffice it to say that all the ramifications from Goldilocks' little rebellion haven't settled down, and that (in the words of Terence Howard in the Best Man said, "you have no idea how much ignorant mess we're about to get into right now." Bill Willingham's writing is sharper than ever, and Mark Buckingham must have some kind of amazing symbiotic relationship with inker Steve Leialoha, because the art is evocative and crisp in every issue. The spread layout on page eight nd nine is particularly challening, but a smart usage of space and visual storytelling. God I love this book.

Buy Pile Breakdown: It's all good on the Buy Pile. A very fine week of comics, and not a penny misspent. Fabulous!

Then there's the stuff on the "read pile" that I don't bring home ...

Blood & Water #4:
Winick introduces a kind of background vampire mythos that, given all the artistic license he's already taken with the vampire concept, I find pretty lame. I was really enjoying the kind of visceral examination of the experience, but trying to bring in a "bigger picture" takes away the immediacy and intimacy that I so enojoyed in earlier issues. It's only a five issue mini, and I'm glad it never crept on to the buy pile at this point. Mmm, another minor disappointment.

Domino #2:
The camera is focused tightly and the action is taut. Solid scripting and diologue meet serviceable pencils and better-than-average inks (I can't really qualify why it seems this way to me, but that's the impression I have). A fun read, but it's nothing exceptionally enthralling.

Marvel Universe: The End #6:
I have been a Thanos fan for about eight years. I have Thanos action figures and merchandise. I've quoted Thanos in casual conversations. But after reading The End #6, I'm done. Me and Thanos are through forever. I won't tell you what stupid thing Thanos does, or what leads up to it, but as a fan of the character, this is the most disappointing conclusion I've read in some time. On top of that, Jim Starlin, whose Dreadstar I adored and who created the Thanos I loved so much? Completely fallen off the wagon. Stick a fork in 'im. With this and infinity Abyss in the course of one year, he's in the lead for worst writer of the year at the next Smackdown Awards (especially with less Marville this year). Gaaaaah!

Negation #19:
For eighteen issues, the refugees from the CrossGen universe have struggled with diminished powers. With a powerful Atlantean refugee (fresh from Crux) all the rules are about to change. This remains one of the best team books on the stands, and you can never tell what's gonna happen next. Another fine issue in a long string of them.

Powers #32:
I've been meaning o get back into this series for a while, so when i heard a new storyline was starting in the visceral police procedural, set in a city of metahumans, I decided to pick it up. In response to what I read, I could only say, "I don't even know what that means." There's a tale of someone who looks a lot like Christian Walker, who's some kind of barbarian warlord. Lots happens, but I can't connect it to anything I know about the series. My comics pusher Steve suggested that Bendis is gonna go through all historical periods. That sounds like that too-long Prometha trip up the Tree of Life to me. I hope he's wrong, but he's read Previews and I haven't ... so I think I'll be waiting for the next storyline after this one, thanks.

Chimera #4:
Of course this book is visually gorgeous. That goes without saying. The story of a genetic-based empire seeking a sigil bearer to further their own goals, while the powerful remnants of an older civilization lie around undiscovered ... it's really quite intriguing. I'm looking forward to the collected edition of this, so I can sit down with all the data in one place and absorb it as a mass. Fine work.

Sigil #37:
There's a discussion on Usenet about how, as DC's flagship character, Superman sets a standard for power, regardless of how other characters were written (I'd take Duplicate Boy over Superman any day of the week, but I'm way to well read). In the CrossGen universe, even with the really insane levels of power wielded by the First, the standard for ass-whuppin' is being set by Samandahl Rey. A lawbringer shows up to collect Sam ... and then goes home. I won't say if he succeeds, I won't say what happens, but Sam is like having twenty pounds of whup-ass in a ten pound bag. Plus, now that his ship is dipped in First-metal, they've got some surprises for Charon's forces that can't be beaten. I enjoy a lot of CrossGen books partially because of the individual activity, which I enjoy a lot, but partially because I'm really enjoying a unified, virtually flawless continuity of considerable complexity that works together. Sure, they had to drag everybody down to hurricane country and chain them to the desks with a cup of special kool-aid nearby, but hell, I'm enjoying it. In short, I liked this issue, and I like this series.

Silken Ghost $#2:
I remember Saturday afternoons in Memphis, after the last cartoon was off and as the dances from Soul Train began to fade, the twangy strains of kung fu movies echoed in my pre-adolescent weekends and introduced me to a brand of Asian cinema. In two issues, Silken Ghost has reminded me of those afternoons, of strawberry Quik and pajamas with holes in the knees. The pacing of the book follows those corny kung fu movies, with action happening suddenly and with great frantic energy, and meaningful conversations punctuated with glances laden with subtext. I like this book a lot, but it hasn't gotten that "extraordinary" twist of plot that'd make me have to buy it.

Graduation Day #3:
If you've been online, you probably know that there's a body count on this issue. It's done a little more slowly than the awful slaughter of Guy Gardner in OWAW, the ending sure as hell is unsatisfying, and of course I have a massive problem with the plot device dredged up to service the story. But with all that, the diologue is good, the pacing is serviceable and the book is on the lower range of mediocre. Lots of people are a lot angrier than I am at this story, fans of the victims perhaps. It's almost mediocre, which is close enough.

Adventures of Superman #617:
Alert the media, wake the kids, call the neighbors -- Joe Casey turned in an issue of a Superman comic that didn't suck. It's not great or fantastic, but it's finally in the "good" range. Can that be sustained? I dunno ... I mean, the massive continuity snafus that have been happening on a monthly basis are really problems in editing, and it's my belief (as I said in an earlier column) that things are dangerously wrong in the Super office. But enough of my editorializing, let's enjoy a decent Superman story while it's here, eh?

Captain America #14:
In this issue, it's settled -- Marvel Universe Captain America is a sniveling, mewling beyotch. "Why can't I just punch something and be right?" The cry of the moral majority in a world of grays and murky outcomes. Cap spends most of the issue chatting with his Atlantean girlfriend (don't start) about why a hit squad of Lemurian assassins looks like her and why he's so torn up about America not being all he dreamed. I literally threw the book down on the page where I got that quote. Ultimate Captain America would kick this guy's butt and talk about his momma. Blah. I've gotta stop reading this crap, but I still want on-panel confirmation that Cap was (and roll this one around on your tongue, get the taste of it) marked for death by the President. I'll find it strangely comforting.

Sojourn #24:
IS Greg Land's artwork not glorious? Ooh wee, this book is pretty, month in and month out. I'm not gonna lie -- I'd take this kid over Frank Quietly or any of those other slowpokes any day of the week. On top of that, this crisply written escape tale (and there's lots of escapes in this series) is entertaining and moves well. Fine work, but really best done in trades (which is why it's on the read pile).

Green Arrow #27:
Still trying to work from the snappy first run by Kevin Smith, this issue feels a little timid ... and a little creepy. Sexual tension between Ollie and Black Lightning's niece ... ewww. The rest of the issue is pretty snappy, but still a ways from being bought.

Iron Man #63:
I dunno if it was the full moon or if there's some cosmic alignment, but not only was Adventures of Superman good, Iron Man served up an interesting end to the Manhunt storyline. The Asian connections end in a flurry of betrayal and ferocity, and the new Mandarin shows some steel as a leader (also doing a lot of smackdon on Tony, who admittedly should have been in an ICU somewhere anyway). Surprisingly good, and from Marvel? Good god, what's up with the world?

JSA #49:
It's time for an announcement: Geoff Johns has officially fallen off the wagon. With some truly didactic introductions of his huge cast here, and Nazi fever in Avengers, it's all blah. Anyhoo, so much happens here, with two galaxy-class supervillains laying the smackdown on the world and two more contenders in tow, ready to do the same, plus the power of Dr. Fate gone mad, there's simply too much happening, too big a cast, and too little room to advance anything. Sad, really.

Micronauts #8:
Dan Jolley is killing this franchise. Argh. His scripts are serviceable, and the art is good, but everything seems to happen in such a rote and tedious fashion that it seems unimportant.I used to love this series so much. Ah well.

Kingpin #1:
There's some hinky continuity stuff here, and there's a real sense of menace, but until I see more, I'll stick with the one word in my notes for this issue: "brutal."

Punisher #28:
A new storyline starts, and it's got some of the new grimness that Ennis has talked about with some of the gallows humor I so enjoy. Frank seems to be fitting in well, deep in the heart of Texas, and all brands of excitement seem imminent, even after lots of gunfire in this issue. Cool.

Read Pile Roundup: The two big surprises make up for some of the suckier work that I didn't like, so all around I'm happy this week.

A big "oh yeah" for a great buy pile and a better-than-expected read pile with some role players stepping up from CrossGen and the aforementioned surprises.