Caper #3:
The boys end up smarter than anyone expects, but their sense of charity may reveal their hand. This delicately told tale of two murderers is one of my favorite reads, and it's being done in a way that's really nice. The angular, jerky art reminds me of the silent cinema of the period, and the story keeps a steady pace. One of the nicer surprises from Vertigo.

Transformers Generation One Volume III #0:
All set up for the new ongoing series, but pretty (if dark ... why are all these issues colored so darkly?) and told from a point of view that might expect you, bringing in characters that will either be a pleasant or indifferent surprise. I couldn't figure out why one was working for an old favorite, or how the narrator was so well-informed, but I suppose all will be made clear. Barely worth the money.

Smax #4:
Alan Moore's imagination is an amazing thing, as they find the dragon they've been looking for and it's not at all what anyone could expect. Robyn's rude surprise leaves her thinking, which is a good thing, and Rexa is more powerful than Jaafs. Wow. I can't say enough good about this mini series, and I'm atingle to see the conclusion next month.

Capes #3:
There's two very weird surprises here (Kirkman's been saving up, it seems), one poignant moment, and a satisfying conclusion to a great and fun mini. I believe this is the sort of thing Warren Ellis was trying to do with three issue mini-series -- fun, harmless and well characterized -- and he kept getting in his own way. Funny that Kirkman's Brit was a better ride than Warren's Red as well.

Empire #6:
Satisfying. Inevitable. Entertaining and challenging. Mark Waid's Golgoth is one of the most compelling figures I've seen created in years, a purposeful cipher whose relentless focus and overwhelming power against his foes makes him a force of nature. There was also an interesting look at the society that lives in the shadow of this Empire, and I'd like to see more of that (in contrast to the Dark Horse Empire book, where I wanna see less of the Rebels I've seen for the last thirty years). A real accomplishment for Waid and Kitson.

G.I. Joe #25:
Bang! The 2004 Battle for Cobra Island is six times crazier than its predecessor, even though the actual overall strategies and movements of armies were almost identical (thought I wouldn't notice that?). Zartan's emotional revelantion was an interesting surprise, Serpentor's megalomania was intense and well portrayed, I was really surprised at the tenacity of Cobra Commander and there was a nice bit of "old business" cleaned up by a new character. I was surprised Serpentor didn't recognize an old Cobra Commander gag, I found most of the Joes pretty uninteresting (except for the sacrifice made by two Joes, which I actually was sad about). Blaylock made a really good showing here, and I'm very sorry to see him gone from this title.

Rex Mundi #7:
Whoa! Brush up on your research, because the deep conspiracies of the old world come to play with mad plots about Knights Templar. I really got involved with this issue, which shone lights on many questions from previous issues while opening up whole new cans of worms (most interesting, an "article" in the newspaper they use at the end of every issue, showing the "fractured" states of America). There's an interesting codebreaking bit (which fans can help with, but I'm too ignorant to figure out). This book remains a consistent favorite, an amazingly textured and creative effort.

Planetary #18:
Another one of Warren's mad ideas is decompressed, with a very small amount of "plot" (attacking the Four's flame-coated firebrand) thrown in. Interesting, but I should have skipped this issue.

G.I. Joe/Transformers #6:
I figured out that my problem is not recognizing characters -- Optimus only has the same head, not the same body, ditto Starscream, and so on. There were some fairly unimportant deaths, some more fighting, and a lotta madness. I found it merely adequate, alas, but sometimes you take a hit in the ol' wallet.

Astro City: Local Heroes #5:
The "superhuman law" storyline concludes with ... well, honestly, a bang. I really got involved with the first person narration, Anderson's artwork remained consistent and communicative, and Busiek was able to convey the tension of a man running out of options so well. A great purchase, and a great issue.

Buy Pile Breakdown: Fine work (well, save that crossover issue ... do those ever work?) and a very pleasing, if expensive, week of books.

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

Reign of the Zodiac #5:
I stood reading this book, as always, remarking to myself about how gorgeous it looks. However, with such a huge and varying cast of characters, most of whom I know next to nothing about, it's impossible to find anywhere to hook in and get a foot hold. Given that issue #8 is the last one for this series, it doesn't seem worth digging much harder, does it?

Crux #33:
Atlanteans smash! In a familiar scene, everybody gears up for War, and plot lines are tied up as neatly as possible in the space given. Right. Moving along ...

Ultimate Fantastic Four #1:
I see where they're trying to go, and the book is indeed pretty, but seeing as this has the feel of Ultimate Spider-Man, which could mean months before we see the four in action ... gah. Who's got the patience? Call me when things pick up. As is, this is another adequate Ultimization.

Scion #42:
All hell breaks loose all over the little world Ethan and his gang live on, as an army of monkey men come to the fore (what is it with CrossGen and monkeys?) and ... oh god, I just realized that it's all Monkey vs. Robot. I'm gonna need a drink now ...

Flash #205:
Batman guest stars in a flurry of expository dialogue, and things go screwy. Great. It was better than the last seven or so issues, but still not good.

Invincible #7:
The last page of this book was a huge surprise for anybody who's ever read this title, a staggering and dangerous revelation. It was a cute issue, doing the regular JLA stereotypes in cute ways (the Wonder Woman stand in as a runaway lesbian ... that's cute), and it got all brands of crazy at the end. What are you up to, Kirkman?

Kingpin #7:
Wilson Fisk displays all the chessmanship of Christopher Priest's Black Panther with none of the moral complications. If you can ignore the continuity snafus of Spider-Man predating the Kingpin (Fisk doesn't even seem to own a suit here), it's a smartly told story that was a lot of fun, concluded well in this seventh issue.

Green Lantern #172:
The textured story about an undercover Kyle Rayner and Kilowog, infiltrating intergalactic criminal organizations ... it seems drably colored, uninterestingly drawn and written in a manner that might convey tension in pure text, but as sequential art ... eh. Part of it is because the aliens act so humanly, their "alien-ness" is not portrayed at all. I'm gonna check out for a bit more and see if it gets any more interesting.

Street Fighter #4:
I'm amazed to say that this was really rather good. Well written, good character balance and interaction, solid art, good action scenes. I mean, true, you have to get past the ridiculous fact that these are video game characters, but it's done with as much clarity and dignity as could be done under the circumstances. I really rather liked this ... but somehow still didn't buy it. Mm.

Superman/Batman #5:
"Castling." Luthor (if you've seen the previews of the next issue's cover, this is no spoiler) ends up in his late '80s green powered armor, oh, and Nightwing, Batgirl and a few other people get their asses handed to them. I now see where Loeb has been going with all of this, ramping things up to Wagnerian proportions with no regard for the silliness, and it's an entertaining issue in its own right. But still not entertaining enough to buy.

Read Pile Roundup: A goofy and merely adequate week of reading.

Thumbs up -- Moore, Busiek and Waid all firing on all cyllinders, with great supporting performances.