Wonder Woman #203:
First, let's start with the easy stuff: I like Drew Johnson's simple, realistic pencils and Ray Snyder's crisp inking. The book looks good, and for a book that sometimes has a lot of talking heads, that's a bonus. Especially worth noting is the Adam Hughes-esque panels with the Gorgon breaking into a zoo. That's the simple stuff, out of the way, then.

What's harder to simplify is the very smart story Greg Rucka is telling here, bringing in the Bat for detective work (very well done, in my mind), and bouncing from Themyscria to New York to a mythic place and everywhere else. This issue is complicated, y'all, but in a more straightforward way than, say, Christopher Priest's work (which is not a slight to either approach). I wasn't riveted by this issue, but I enjoyed it for its place, the first part of a three part story called "Bitter Pills," where Diana will face her very own Lex Luthor, Dr. Veronica Cale. There's warships off the coast of Paradise Island, there's a lotta professionally delivered bullets in the body of one of Diana's main detractors, there's a "leucrocota" on the loose, and discussions at every level of Diana's life, from spandex and swords to UN resolutions and public policy. Worth the ride.

Star Wars: Empire #18:
In the final chapter of a storyline that placed junior officer Janek Sunber and a wildly outnumbered invasion force of Imperial troops against a horde of aliens (called the Amanin) that would have made Shaka Zulu proud, I was fascinated by the character development on both Sunber and General Ziering. The issue spotlighted a number of things -- the real ability of the Empire to develop truly dangerous operatives, the regrettable and possibly inevitable corruption that led to Captain Gage being an officer in the first place (and robbed Sunber of his battlefield promotions), and some of the real impending doom that, say, the Boers felt as the Zulus just kept coming, regardless how many gatling guns were firing (students of history will find the Boer/Zulu similarities striking). This is what I want from a book called Star Wars: Empire, hard fought and gritty tales of what Imperial life was really like, and I've enjoyed actually buying every issue of this storyline. Watch 'em have some dumb stuff with the rebels in the next issue ...

Lucifer #49:
Lucifer's team of eviction specialists are down to the last two immortals in his newfound realm, and they're the most exciting of the bunch, including a guest appearance I could only consider "adorable." Meanwhile, Lucifer offers a hilarious and terrifying FYI to his former comrades in the heavenly host (and what a buncha stiffs they are), and in every panel, every page, the chessman-like quality of the lead character is evident, laughing to himself as worlds are manuevered at his whim. This storyline has gone on a bit, with that "weaver" subplot taking up a lot more space than I liked, but this issue in particular is firing on all cyllinders.

Captain Marvel #22:
Mad, mad stuff -- that's what I expect and that's what this title delivers, month in and month out. Genis Vell, the son of the first Captain Marvel, continues flitting through the time stream, trying to save his friend's ex-wife Marlo (don't start with me on that). Anyhoo, he finds himself having the same kind of problem with his "son" that earlier issues showed him having with his own "father," which I found very smart. Really making the whole thing shine is Genis' whimsical dialogue, which makes him stand much like an outsider as everybody else in the production plays their parts, and he merely plays along when he feels like it. I adore this title so much, it's a wonder they still publish it. Fantastic work here.

Human Target #9:
The funniest thing is the surprises about who everyone really is, which refers back to the central crisis of the title character, a man desperate to understand his own identity, but who's normally so busy shooting people he doesn't have time to concentrate on it. There are feints within feints within feints, and I don't wanna say too much about them for fear of spoiling them, but Milligan definitely brought his "a" game for this issue, and Cliff Chiang's art remains remarkable. I should stop and note how effective the coloring is, as well, thanks to Lee Loughridge -- scenes that take place in darker environments leap off the page smartly without giving up any of their nocturnal feel. Normally good coloring is undistinguished, but I really notice how effective it is here, compared to some other books I've read in past months.

Buy Pile Breakdown: Five for five, nothing wrong with that at all.

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

Fantastic Four #512:
My general feel on this issue (and the title as a whole) is that it's "cute." Yes, they deal with complex issues and rough emtional scenes, but there's an air of ... I don't know if I'd call it optimism, but brightness that surrounds the characters, no matter how dire the circumstance, that permeates the reading experience. It's probably why I like this so much -- despite stories that are on average only really "on fire" once every three months or so, I could see myself buying this title soon because it's so damned charming. I haven't seen a book that combined mad ideas with a sense of genuine wonder since Levitz was doing LSH. Anyway, the "we're broke" bit is done but played down here (it makes much more sense here, as Reed almost effortlessly dreams up a way out of it without any of the navel-gazing or wildly improbable circumstances of the Marvel Knights treatment), and some hilarity ensues, along with some tenderness (I loved the scene with Ben and Alicia). Dammit, this is gonna be a Buy Pile book ... I'm already regretting leaving it in the store, and I never thought I'd be an FF regular again.

Arrowsmith/Astro City:
The Arrowsmith story here is from an online prequel I saw months ago -- if you haven't seen it, it's very good foundation for the series. I got bored, since it's old news to me. The Astro City story was all new to me, and answered some of my questions about the question of race and history in Astro City. Spellbinding storytelling with action and emotion. Too bad it was so short -- I left it at the store solely because the Arrowsmith information only mildly piqued my interest when I saw it the first time (the series was better than this material leads you to believe).

Ministry of Space Omnibus:
I didn't read Ministry of Space when it first came out, which seems to be back when dinosaurs walked the earth, or back when Rich Gannon of the Raiders was still making his own cleats. Anyway, I walked into this issue with virtually no knowledge or preconceptions. It bored me. It had some of the hopefulness and ambition of Orbiter but replaced the charm with a stiff British upper lip. I don't see what all the fuss was about, as Warren Ellis has touched on many of these same ideas in considerably more interesting ways and means.

Robin #125:
If you read Previews you already know how this issue turned out (I did). Still, it was handled smartly and would be a definite shock to anybody who's not wholly hooked in to the comic book media. Bill Willingham has made this book a thrill ride, a winner, and only because of the precarious nature of the new development I know will come (see how I spare you from spoilers) have I not started buying it already.

Daredevil #59:
Jason and I decided that Bendis took the month off, and this issue was written by Dr. Phil. Except for the fact that new character Milla spends much of the issue mostly naked. That was artist Joe Bennett's idea, I'd bet, to break up the dark panels. Anyhoo, Matt has a breakthrough and gets lots of hugs, both physical and emotional. Luke Cage has become a henpecked husband (oh, the indignity), and the Yakuza are in for a bad time. Yes, this book is extra Bendis-y (i.e. "talky"). Yes, there's lots of talking heads. But they're fairly interesting talking heads, and this storyline is treading new territory in a way that doesn't require a retcon at the end of the day (i.e. Thor) and isn't so complex it stretches continuity (i.e. Iron Man). Still worth watching, but still just a little bit off from being worth the cash.

Outsiders #11:
Dr. Phil was busy this month, as Arsenal has a breakthrough and a real Iron John, male bonding moment with Nightwing. There's a lot more silence in this issue than I'd have expected (there's some beatdown too, as this is a very action oriented book ... there's even some sex, woo hoo), and I kind of like what they're doing with Arsenal as a character (his kid's comment really threw him, and was IMNSHO the highlight of the issue), but while this issue was fairly good, it's still a bit touchy feely for my tastes (given that it's a really rather sudden depth to Roy Harper) and this title isn't consistent enough to warrant my spending.

Micronauts #2:
This issue has a unique distinction -- it's the first issue written by Dan Jolley that I actually liked. There's a very smart thematic bit with football that is used well, there's a passing nod to that victim of licensing Bug, and the kind of goofy political manuevering has some potential for real entertainment. A good sign, and a somewhat surprising one too, as I'd written this title off months ago.

Rose & Thorn #5:
The fight scenes are ... well, I find them disturbing. Thorn is well written, in that she's shocking and brutal, but it was a lot like watching Fatal Attraction. I recognize the craft and skill at work, it just weirds me out. Not my cup of tea, but Simone is developing some of her most complex work yet, and this issue is a step up from last month's, which kind of lost some momentum.

Runaways #14:
As goofy escapes go, this is one of my favorites. Plus, there's betrayal brewing that will make all kinds of things just go wacky. This book is enchanting as it dances in the shadows of the New York-centric Marvel Universe, but I never pick it up because of just that reason. The only real "special people" in this title are thousands of miles away, and the kind of rabid "anti-mutant" hysteria that I'm used to in Marvel books seems like it's happening on another world. Or, to be more accurate, it's like me sitting in Los Angeles, watching the big blackout hitting the east coast a few months ago. Vaguely interesting, but not really important. That kind of detachment from the larger world tells me either Vaughan was prohibited from more thorough world building (see Astro City) or too busy fine tuning some really great character interactions to be bothered with it. It's maybe the only thing that keeps me from buying this title, because as obvious as the Pride are in their corruption, SHIELD or somebody hasn't popped up to smack them? Preposterous.

Strykeforce #1
Like an anti-Daredevil, this book is almost all empty action (they're heroes for hire, but wanted by the law for something that happened off-panel before the series started ... okay) with one really neat twist at the end. Part Thunderbolts, part Losers, part legacy Top Cow book, this is one place Dr. Phil won't get access to. Not bad, but great either.

Adventures of Superman #627:
Greg Rucka gets Kryptonian? This very smart take on Clark as a neophyte "street beat" reporter has some of the new confidence we saw in Austen's issue last week (did editorial wise up and finally say, "Let's stop having Superman be such a pansy" at last?) but still keeps Supes' reactionary confusion, fists first and thinking later. Points for Rucka digging up a really old antagonist, as well as a really great scene with Superman and a lost little girl, but I'm shocked to say that while Rucka does Clark better, Austen did Supes better. "Forgive me, Numsi! I should be purged!"

Cable/Deadpool #2:
Cable gets Men in Black on Deadpool (which I found funny every time he did it) and has recovered some of the cool that years of confusion took from him. Cool points for having Cable use old Joe Casey-era character Irene Merriweather as his own mini-Oracle, and of the "odd couple" titles out now (also Superman/Batman), this is the most entertaining. Deadpool could be zanier, for my dollar, but Cable is on target in every panel, even though he got a surprise at the end (through no fault of his own). It lost maybe a half-step from the fun first issue. More of a balance between the characters might get me to buy this ...

Superman/Batman #9:
One look at the cover tells the tale -- Kara Zor-El is back. Ignoring the huge continuity issues (Kara is supposed to be playing pinochle in the great hereafter with Bucky Barnes and Gwen Stacy) she's got all of Suprema's naivete (thought I'd forget that, huh?) and some of the disturbing Kandorian syntax from the Michael Turner run (did that end? Did I miss the ending of that? Is everybody high in the Super-office?). On one hand, it was sort of tender and sweet watching Clark try to take care of his "cousin" (I wonder if she'll end up on the farm with Kon-El, who's also somehow in the 31st Century), and on another hand it was cliched and pat. Loeb can do better.

Uncanny X-Men #443/New X-Men #156:
I am reviewing these books together since I noticed that the exact same creative team did both, which struck me as odd. Anyway, in one of 'em (doesn't matter which) Chuck Xavier plays out the old "my way is right, Magneto's way was wrong" bit in a really Dynasty kind of way with Polaris as devil's advocate. That bored and exhausted me. In the other book, Emma seems really comfortable being Scott's main squeeze already (which thankfully Hank pointed out was really ill) and there's another anti-mutant riot (I take it there are no recognizable mutants in Los Angeles or, say, Seattle). It was a little more interesting, but not really. I am amazed that people buy this stuff.

Fraction #1:
I looked back at all the Focus titles, and they all have this monochromatic coloring, so it clearly had to be a stylistic choice. It''s a crappy one -- a B&W book would have honestly read better, and they'd have had an easier time making their money back. In any case, four friends find a suit of powered armor (think a low-rent Iron Man suit) and split it into parts. Then they agree to work together on a heist. But they're all stupid. I have zero interest in any of them or what happens to them, and to boot the suit is goofy looking. Add that to the bad color choice, and this comes out as the lamest book of the week.

Read Pile Roundup: Reading went quickly, despite two surprise stinkers from DC (Superman/Batman, Fraction) and even with speed bumps, there's two almost jump-worthy titles in there and tons of okay reads.

So, How Was It This Week? On a whole, the week was a good one for titles, with several contenders for my money. Which, actually, irks me, but hey, that's the way the cookie gets stomped on and completely obliterated (yes, I'm super happy Mos Def is headlining a Hitchhiker's Guide movie as Ford Prefect).

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