Transformers: The War Within #6:
I'm not really sure what happened here. The new character The Fallen (who may or may not be Megatron, I'm not really sure now I look back) has what I have to call an anticlimactic fate, breakaway star Grimlock kind of grunts to himself and doesn't have much to do, Jetfire finally manages to act as impressive as he looks (sort of like his renaissance in G1) and I'm left feeling incomplete. I've noticed that three of the Transformers minis I've bought from Dreamwave (the first two G1 ones and now this) have built things up to a fever pitch through five issues only to seemingly hurry up and try to end things in a muddled final installment. Not too happy, but it sure was pretty to look at.

Gotham Central #18:
The best part about Gotham Central is that whenever you see a masked vigilante, you know they're just passing through. There's a character on Law & Order, an African American female who does nothing but walk up to the two detectives and alert them to a fax/call/delivery or what have you that pushes them along in the plot. Superheroes are like that here. I freakin' love that. Just like its aforementioned televised contemporary, there's nothing groundbreaking in what you'll see here, but it's solid and interesting police procedural work. I only wish there were fewer characters to get to know, but I figured things out with Hill Street Blues eventually. Solid work -- not the high point of the Joker as a sniper, but fine work nonetheless.

She-Hulk #2:
Jump from the Read Pile. It's like they studied the David Kelley pacing of Ally MacBeal -- down to the goofy realizations of how the case can be won -- and applied it here. I'm surprised to say I like that. The zany shot of the interior of a "superhuman law" department at a major firm was a great montage. The "Danger Man" bits had some real pathos -- I loved Juan Bobillo and Marcelo Sosa's method of rendering the sad sack expression on the guy's face as things just don't work out for him. Lots to really like here, and a steady improvement from the pretty-good opening issue. I was surprised to move this over, even though somewhere in my apartment I still have the first two seasons of Ally on VHS tape.

Fables #24:
Aw crap. I'm not sure I understood the opening scenes of Baba Yaga's magical hut stomping its way around upstate New York (maybe that was just a joke), but the horrible realization of who Hugh, Drew and Lou are and who they really work for ... it's not good. Regular readers should feel a little shiver as the knowledge crawls inside their heads and has its filthy way with their unsuspecting brains. If Willingham didn't intend the years of stories to build up in such a momentous fashion, he's moe of a masterful writer than I believed. If he did, this is a well done bit of storytelling, as always ably depicted by Buckingham and Leialoha. Happy with this, but largely because I've been on this bandwagon for some time and I recognize the signposts.

Common Grounds #4:
Jump from the Read Pile. After numerous flings, Troy Hickman's really infectiously interesting super powered vignettes got me. The first story has a twist so subtle and intelligent, I actually read the story twice in the store. It's an amazingly sneaky bit of narrative, with real emotion and tenderness depicted. The second story is simply very funny, poking fun at beloved heroic ideas, and the last story is actually rather charming and romantic, I have to say. Really amazing work, honestly, and I'm either gonna go back to get the earlier issues individually or pre-order a trade. I never pre-order anything. I am simply smitten with this work.

Buy Pile Breakdown: Only the rusty ghosts of Cybertron messed up a great buzz, just a hair over fifteen bucks.

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

4 #4:
The dangerously insipid point of pride that is the central conceit of this issue (Reed turning down Tony Stark and the Avengers offering help ... gah, does Sue know about this? Does Johnny? I hear Marcellus Wallace's voice saying, "That's pride talkin' ... don't listen to it!") was so egregiously stupid, so hamfisted and out-of-character that it ruined any possible enjoyment of the admittedly striking art (I really enjoyed the panels of Reed stretching in a suit and tie, as well as the composition of the one where Sue is making dinner) and some fairly decent moments of dialogue (the jumper, a real moment of heroism). This book infuriated me so that I literally cast it across the cabinet at least once. Seeing as I'm reading Waid's FF regularly, something I haven't said since Sue was in kinky leather, this title is almost the antithesis, stupid comics at their worst. Argh.

Bite Club #1:
Chaykin doesn't slow down one second to explain how this alternate America -- steeped in vampires, every day -- came to be. In a way, I consider that a strength of this issue, which spends its 22 pages "setting up" as my retailer Steve said. The premise -- a well-connected and powerful vampire family in Florida turning over the reins of their enterprises to the prodigal priest of a son -- shares certain "huh?" factors with Fox's Arrested Development but has none of the zing. It's vaguely interesting, I suppose. It's ... well, it's billions of times better than, say, 4 or your average issue of Superman/Batman. I just didn't find it -- or its characters, save the homicidal nymphomaniac record exec daughter, and that may just be my own personal tastes coming out -- interesting at all.

Fallen Angel #10:
I was very surprised to check the email account I use to post to Usenet, and find an email from this series' writer Peter David himself. I know a squad of trolls chased him off Usenet after he made a plea for a lost photo album (and I think that's mean, which is saying a lot, to dis a man looking for a freaking family treasure). Nevertheless, he wrote, "I think the next issue is going to make a lot clearer for you exactly what this particular story arc is all about, so I hope you give it a read." I did indeed, and he was right -- I have a considerably clearer idea about the underlying "why" of the series. Truthfully it's kind of a kooky twist, which is cool. However, the characters themselves -- from the complicated Doctor Juris to the Angel herself to the troubled Black Mariah ... they're all still pretty vague. I can't really glom on to them as characters, and therefore care. In this issue, or any of the ones I've noted before. I can admire the craft in this bit of storytelling -- kind of a low impact version of what's going on in Captain Marvel, where admittedly none of the characters hold any particular mystery for me. I'm just not interested in it.

Chosen #2:
"Ultimate Jesus" turns up the intensity a notch, as the young miracle maker begins to go public, turning his small town on its ear. Lots of really interesting points brought up, while still staying in a framework of an interesting single issue narrative. Good stuff ... but me and Jesus just aren't tight enough for me to shell out cash for this.

JLA #96:
Leia (this week I called retail troll Adam exclusively by the names of princesses) saw me reading this and said, "Reading JLA now is like taking a good dump -- once you're done you'll feel better, but that don't make it good." There's some flaws in his analogy, but it's close. This is tedious, painful stuff to endure. I wrote down in my notes, "craptacular." Let's move on.

Star Wars Tales #19:
Goofy plays on minor ideas in the canon. I remember when this title used to be good. Blah.

JSA #60:
After the stunning Per Degaton issue, this month we're back down to "adequate" as Doctor Midnite fails to inspire any sympathy in what's supposed to be an emotional moment, ditto Courtney the Star Spangled Kid (where's Jakeem?) and I was hard pressed to stay interested, ultimately losing that battle.

Iron Fist #2:
Danny Rand moves to Colorado. Uh huh. Where fate pushes him towards a Native American girl who needs his help. Okay. He ends up facing off with a mysterious mystical foe. Sure. Not interesting, once again.

Nightwing #92:
Dick Grayson learns lessons that either any kid on the streets or anyone who works with computers know: the system doesn't work, and for the love of god never give anybody your only copy of anything. If it wasn't so pathetic it'd have been funny. Grayson has been turning up the heat on the embattled heir (whose secret identity is better known than Nick & Jessica's pet peeves) for a few issues now, and I think I know where she's going. I don't know if it's a good idea, but it's just beneath "interesting" unless she cops out, which will make it all much ado about nothing.

Iron Man #79:
Somehow I missed the issue where Tony tricked the Senate into confirming him. No bother -- this is (as I wrote in my notes), intricate, fascinating stuff. Which means, like WildCATs 3.0, it's doomed -- Miller is already being looked past as Bendis disassembles the Avengers this summer, and all this will come to naught. Still, like a certain Asgardian's rise to au-THOR-ity, it's an interesting trip before we race back to the status quo.

Stormwatch Team Achilles #21:
Battling Merovingian heirs! Feints within feints! Sex with scars! Hiding out and aiming guns at people!

Seriously. Especially the end. Wholly inappropriate. You're better than this.

Masters of the Universe Vol. 3 #1:
More grim action as scores of nameless cannon fodder get put to the sword (or mace, or what have you) and She-Ra's archenemy almost emerges only to bring in references to another "big bad" (to borrow a Buffy term) we've never heard of and ... oh, I just can't go on ... Suffice it to say leaving CrossGen hasn't affected this much, and it's base and slightly substandard confectionary fare for retro enthusiasts. Moving on ...

Teen Titans #10:
My favorite part here is the nods to what Bill Willingham is doing over in Robin. Otherwise this generally adequate issue kind of punched in place.

Captain America #25
A smart but somewhat talky conclusion to the main "Cap in Cuba" storyline, where Steve gets his romance on (a nice suprise) and the pacing is less solid than before. Again, as with Iron Man, this writer and this creative direction have been announced as living on borrowed time until Bendis comes in and shakes everything up, so I can't imagine investing in this sinking ship, especially with this issue being less than stellar (compared to its predecessors).

Action Comics #814:
I am stunned to say that this debut of Chuck Austen on Action is ... not bad. It's cliched, true, and somewhat predictable, but his Superman had an edge to it that ... heck, I don't remember seeing since the Silver Age. Superman is confident. Certain in his actions. Kind of giddy at the power he has, and the ability to use it in what he feels is a good way. Even humorous. I wouldn't buy it, but for the first time since the Mister Majestic issues (they never did explain what happened there), I'm not sickened by Superman. God help me ...

1602 #8:
It took the scenic road towards "building a mystery," but Neil Gaiman gave Marvel (and maybe fans of this) the gift that keeps on giving -- a self contained Elseworlds-esque continuity with no consequences and tons of fun toys to mess around with. I never did find it engaging, but hey, somebody bought this stuff ...

Touch #1:
I was bored spitless until the last four pages or so. The final twist on the narrative showed some depth, but it's still a long way from getting any of my hard-stolen ducats. Of the Focus titles, I'll say this seems the most promising. Damned by faint praise, however, that could be considered ...

Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #1:
Ow. A gritty take on the jovial web-swinger. Okay. So?

Ultimate X-Men #44:
I found this predictable -- a surprise attack on your X-Men free mutant party, shocker -- but as always it's a nice, scenic trip. I am not sure what Emma Frost's "new mutants" (is that like Bowie's "Young Americans?") are gonna end up doing, especially with the likes of Ultimate Havok looking for an identity, but it's okay enough to read without it costing me anything.

Read Pile Roundup: It was a real uphill climb this week, and that ain't good.

So, How Was It This Week? With a surprise hand grenade in the purchases (something told me to read it at the store) and a pile of dregs dragging down even interesting theological and political discourse, it was a rough week.

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