Human Target #8:
Christopher Chance, once again, is in deeper than he knows and it's wicked fun to read. This title has the diologue dynamics of 100 Bullets but has a much tighter sense of plot and pace. An old Weatherman has gone to ground, one of his companions is still in the troublemaking business, and Christopher Chance ends up getting pressured into working for the Feds. Action packed, smart storytelling.

Transformers Generation One #4:
Jumped from the Read Pile. Jetfire is back, and he's a bad, bad mechanoid. The fearsome Sunstorm (who, turns out, is a genetically enhanced clone of Starscream, if you can wrap your brain around that) is seemingly less-than-effective against everybody's favorite Robotech transplant. Plus, being a brain of the highest degree, he's got mad schemes. With Don Figueroa and Elaine To rocking the party with some staggering artwork, and bright, flavorable coloring by Espen Grundetjern and Rob Ruffalo ... I haven't enjoyed an issue of Transformers issue this much in aeons. Great stuff here, and Mick is back.

Smax #5:
This issue rockets to a conclusion, a little faster than I would have liked, but satisfyingly enough. As powerful and dangerous as Jeff Smax is, the final solution to the horrible threat of Morningbright lies in a power he doesn't have. Happy endings all around (no spoiler there, it's a fairy tale, kids), and despite a somewhat straightforward story (I expect Easter eggs, dammit) I enjoyed this issue, and this series, a great deal.

Birds of Prey #65:
Lady Shiva has asked Black Canary to be her apprentice. Oracle is being held secretly by shadowy forces of a US Senator. Savant and Huntress are set to throw down. Oh, and while you're here, Ed Benes and Alex Lei are rocking your world on the artwork. The combination of Gail Simone and this title is such a smooth, flawless machine of storytelling excellence, I'm sad it took so many issues to bring it together. Add a Greg Land cover (doesn't Canary look a lot like Sojourn's Arwyn?) and you've got one very top knotch superhero book.

Phantom Jack #1:
Jumped from the Read Pile. I've read the "Epic Journey" columns at Newsarama. I stewed when my Epic pitch got kicked back, just before the whole house of cards came tumbling down. I winced at various reviews of issues San Giacomo would do. But when I picked up this pretty well done issue (save the lettering, which is mad annoying), with art that's not the most distinct but has a very strong sense of character and place. I dunno if I got suckered by the story of making the story or what, but I was drawn into this issue, felt Jack Baxter's pathos (a riff on Spider-Man's guilt at not stopping his uncle's killer when he had the chance), and ended up buying the thing. I hope this doesn't mean all internet journalists are secretly compelling storytellers, because if so I'm gonna have more competition than I really want ...

WildCATS 3.0 #19:
I was at a performance of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company (yeah, I got culture, wanna make something of it?), and during one of the intermissions I read this issue. It seemed to go by really fast, comprised of mostly fight scenes in the streets of Athens. Pascal Ferry and Sandra Hope delliver crisp, poster-worthy panel after panel, and Joe Casey makes the wholly silent Agent Orange explode into the only language he speaks: relentless violence. I enjoyed it, but it was like a quickie in the morning before work: fun, but it leaves you breathless and kinda distracted the rest of the day.

Wildguard #6:
The final five have been chosen. I was disappointed in some of them, and elated at others, which goes to show how emotionally involved this series has become. I shook the hand of the creator at WWLA, and he did not disappoint. This looks like another fun franchise for mini-series that Image can count on. I do hope that some of these "rejects" are seen again, and this is good stuff.

Conan #2:
Jumped from the Read Pile. I also got to shake Kurt Busiek's hand this past weekend as well, and I also had kind words for the previous issue. He goes completely berserk here. Not only does the blood flow freely, but Cary Nord gets a chance to depict some amazing mythical personages, and simply goes off with some scripting. There's a female character here, which ... I'll have to let Busiek take over here: "Her laughter was sweeter than the rippling of fountains ... her ivory body as perfect as the dream of a god." Conan himself says, "You are ... you are like dawn running naked on the snows." This book is both artistic and brutal, equal parts poetry and savagery. I am so into this freaking book these days, a simple angry tale of men and steel, imposing their will on a harsh world. Damn straight!

Buy Pile Breakdown: Three jumps from the Read Pile? Alan Moore? Agent Orange? Better art on giant robots and scantily clad female martial artists than I've seen in some time? This is one of the best Buy Pile weeks I've noted in some time (despite the fact Danny the KJ from LCDP Karaoke spilled water and part of my virgin Madras on virtually every freakin' book).

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

Losers #10:
I had a hard time focusing on this issue, for some reason. I don't really remember it.

Avengers #80:
Captain Britain is back, and she's not happy. You read me right. My notes here say "what the hell?" Austen is wholly off the rails here, after some great dialogue moments in previous issues.

Caper #6:
Grim, seventies-style story. I didn't find it as fascinating as the first "third" of this mini, but it's good enough. Nothing special.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #4:
This title is surely taking the scenic route to get where it's going -- and still not having seen Doom, that has to be somewhere wacky -- but it's smartly done and interesting. It's still an Ultimization, which is always the decompressed and slow route. But worth watching, definitely.

Common Grounds #3:
I've realized that this series is the best one-night-stand in comics. Reading an issue is like meeting somebody right before the bar closes, having them take you back to their house, rock your world, make breakfast right before you wake up, leave cab fare, and be gone when you wake up. In an poignant story about chosing heroism, a young woman with the same powers as Jefferson Pierce's daughter (more on that later) has a real emotional moment. In a likewise fascinating story about two children of a super villain who don't know everything they think they did about their father, you get a geniune "yeah" kind of moment. Troy Hickman is able to, in very small spaces, create genuine emotional pathos. This is a great confectionary delight, and if the characters weren't all so transitory (see "gone before you wake up"), I'd be a regular buyer of this issue.

Wanted #3:
This is wrong, wrong wrong wrong. And wonderful. Raiding alternate universes for a gift for a friend. Internecine plotting and murders. Really smart storytelling that leaves tons of questions and never telegraphs the plot points. This is good stuff. I am starting to question, "why am I not buying this?"

Kinetic #1:
Boring. Sick kid. Something is probably gonna happen. Blah.

Invincible #9:
The real elephant in the room remains unaddressed, which is maddening. The title character deals with teenaged problems both super powered and natural. It's a good title, but it only kicks in once every few months, and this is a downbeat installment.

Cable/Deadpool #1:
I was very surprised to really enjoy this. Deadpool has his patter back. Cable has his cool back, from waaaaay back in the original X-Force days. The two lead characters work themselves inexorably towards one another in a believable fashion. Nicieza still has it. "Why didn't I buy it?" It was good, but not that good (and this comes from someone who has the entire Kelly run of Deadpool).

Outsiders #10
What is it, "Kick Black Lightning In The Face" year? Remember that stuff in Green Arrow? The chickens come home to roost, and Jefferson Pierce loses his job (which many argued he should have never had, but that's another story altogether). He also manages to practice "zap-fu" on some demons, Freddie Freeman shows up, looks impressive and still manages to accomplish nothing. Anissa Pierce (BL's "daughter," which drives creator Tony Isabella crazy) thinks her dad whups ass, and finds that inspirational (which is exactly what he didn't want). All kinds of nuttiness to no end I can decipher.

Silver Surfer #7:
Everything that's been hinted at finally makes sense. But it's issue #7. By now, really, who freakin' cares? Had this been an OGN like Heaven's War (which I rather enjoyed, by the way), this may have been a good read. As a monthly, this title is a train wreck and this issue is too little, too late.

Savage Dragon #114:
With a surprisingly gritty edge (while maintaining some of the comedy, that kid Angel is golden), Dragon begins to deal with the aftermath of saving the world. Easily up two notches from its normal levels, this is a really good issue from the Savage Publisher (and I'm not just saying that because I want my proposal green-lighted). Oh, and the Mighty Man backup was a bit cheesy but still pretty entertaining.

Mystique #12:
I'm gonna miss Vaughan on this title. This issue shows Mystique at her best, with several moments of real drama and involvement. Really solid work, and only not being bought because its creative team has such a short shelf life.

Read Pile Roundup: Great reads, lots of good stuff, and even the dumb stuff (Outsiders, Kinetic, Avengers) either had some moments or went quickly.

So, How Was It This Week? A thumbs up week, which is a real surprise in a week with only one of my real favorites (WildCATs 3.0) here, and that under achieving.

The Buy Pile is a weekly collection of comic reviews done by Hannibal Tabu (www.operative.net), originally published at UGO.com.