Gotham Central #19:
The real pleasure in Gotham Central is how it touches on delicate, small touches. In a somewhat procedural story, a ghost of the past reveals that even simple things can be big, disturbing problems. Saying much more would be a ridiculously large spoiler, but Brubaker wields the cast like a scalpel, playing on really small, seemingly harmless details and weaving them into a grander narrative. As always, Lark's artwork is stellar, and I'm very happy with this issue.

She-Hulk #3:
I've never been as accurately able to use the adjective "episodic," but this very well crafted issue plays very much like (as I'm sure Marvel intended) an early episode of Ally McBeal (since, like early Ally the supporting cast isn't developed enough to carry subplots on their own, although the "next door neighbor" is pretty well developed in a small amount of space). I enjoyed this in the same way I enjoy Birds of Prey -- a very good confectionary treat, and one that supplements my diet of sturdier stuff.

Fables #25:
Speaking of sturdier fare, Bill WIllingham could give pretty much everybody at CrossGen a lesson in how to create a prelude to war. This issue does double duty, forwarding the existing storylines (Snow White's pregnancy, Prince Charming's mayral run, etc.) while bringing in the forces of the still-unseen Adversary (the anticipation is killing me) and shoring up the defenses of Fabletown. It's hard to offer criticism as the standard of excellence Willingham (with Buckingham and Leialoha on art) has established seems so effortless to maintain. I adore this series, and this issue is yet another reason why.

Buy Pile Breakdown: Good clean fun for less than nine bucks. You can't beat that.

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

Bite Club #2:
The charm of last issue seems to have givben way to a kind of insular, self-aware stylistic veneer that's less about characterization and more like the issues of American Century that I tuned out on. Seeing vampires sunbathing and frolicking in the Miami sun ... it's just too much. I will admit the "naked sister on top of her brother the priest" scene was one of the most ... evocative moments I've read in comics recently, but I'm not really intrigued by this anymore. It's a fairly by-the-numbers mobster tale with a spin so slight it might be called a quarter-turn.

Avengers #82:
Well, I can say this: I like the new Captain Britain. She's spicy. Still, this issue was awfully dumbass, largely because of the involvement of John Walker. The subplot he's involved with ... and really, everything I've read with him in it for some time, it's just really clueless. I understand the sales reasons behind it, but I find it all pretty shabby. Exhausting.

Batman: City of Light #8:
I can't imagine a single mini-series I've read that's more badly done, from initial concept to artwork to dialogue. It's a train wreck in every single panel. No, before you ask, it's not Monarchy bad, but it's pretty bad.

Iron Man #81:
Just when this series was ready to go out with a bang (it's soon to be cancelled), it gets really, really ... too much. A largely irrelevant metahuman opponent, a staggeringly stupid call to the cavalry ... somebody completely dropped the ball here. The art's still solid, but man this issue felt like that Vegas madness. Trying too hard and missing the mark.

JSA #61:
My notes have one word: "dumb." First of all, Hal Jordan as the Spectre was a stupid idea when it came up, and the real depth and breadth of that stupidity has rolled out of graves everywhere and started re-enacting the "Thriller" video. Second, the idea that somebody as lame, unpredictable and screwed up as Hal Jordan could alter the purpose of the very wrath of God is a level of hubris so grandiose that it boggles the mind (and I know I just cheesed off all of the HEAT members, but they'll ... oh, masturbate and get over it, or something). Third, that a crisis of such staggering proportions would limit itself to just the largely non-magical ranks of the JSA ... no Phantom Stranger, no Quintessence. Nah, it's all too much to accept, especially knowing (from news, as I am fairly well read) that this is largely set up for Hal Jordan slinging a ring again soon. Unacceptable. Wholly unacceptable.

Voltron Volume II #5:
Giant robot smackdown! Two Voltrons! Three Robeasts! I laughed and cheered and enjoyed and put it back on the stands. There's just too little actual content here to buy, but it's a fun fragment.

JLA #98:
Every issue of this Byrne-Claremont JLA exposes me to more and more plot flaws, more and more stupidity. F'r instance, while the JLA finally comes face to face with the vampires (as we all knew would happen), I recalled that a few years ago Dr. Bruce Gordon helped the JLA fight Eclipso with a gun that fired pure, undiluted sunlight. As I recall, that weapon should still be in the JLA Watchtower. Nobody has it as the team rushes in to take on the vamps, not even the ultra-prepared, "I-have-contingencies-to-take-down-anybody-even-Brother-Power-The-Geek" Bat-god. Now, sure, he could have some ultraviolet grenades in his utility belt ... but it seems like "fools rush in," and logic is not a part of this process at all. Even worse, when Rita Farr and Niles Caulder appear on panel, without even a "oh, yeah, we were dead, but what had happened was ..." It's just too much. I know Hypertime forgives all sins of continuity, but this is all too much of a smack in the head for me.

Pulse #3:
Green Goblin! Spider-Man!! The forces of the Daily Bugle circle the wagons on the death of one of their own, and it brings up all the usual suspects. Plus, you get a pretty pat "Bendis Dialogue" (tm) moment between Luke Cage and Jessica Jones as they debate her taking a job for Jolly JJJ. Not really thrilling stuff, and honestly not as compelling as the old Alias series was. I had no problems putting this back on the stands.

Nightwing #93
A major change in the series happens in this issue, but it's done in such an anticlimactic fashion that it just tired me out. It looks like Nightwing's getting a new girlfriend out of it, though, and my comics pusher likened the plot to Daredevil taking over Hell's Kitchen. I'll admit, there are a lot of similarities here. Still ... lame.

District X #1:
I liked a lot about this issue, but its getting-passed-by-snails pace (Bishop, who's the main character on the cover, doesn't appear until the last page) was a hindrance. It did a lot to look at some of the really messed up edges of the Marvel universe, and developed the concept of a whole area of New York (is it just me, or does anything happen in, oh, I dunno, Staten Island? Everything seems to be so Manhattan-centric), but it's still awfully thin on actual story, doing some mostly normal procedural stuff (with a very slight twist). I will admit Bishop has had two or three series cancelled out from under him already, so building up a supporting cast seems somewhat logical ... but I still think this concept is barely strong enough to stand on its own, much less for an ongoing series.

Fallen Angel #11:
The titular character does a lot of navel gazing, and one of her main antagonists gets better characterization than the lead herself has ever gotten. Nothing wrong, but nothing really right either. I am still reading this at all because the writer, whose work I adore in a variety of other places, actually emailed me about it. But I have yet to connect with this, a rare statement for a Peter A. David project (I even liked that goofy stuff on Supergirl).

Marvel Knights Spider Man #2:
First of all, if you did buy this, check it for production errors -- my retailer sent back 160 of a batch of 500 for printing errors and damage to the copies. Second of all, the up close melodrama of Peter's interactions with people were good, seeing two classic Spidey villains in more realistic terms was also kind of entertaining, but like the first issue, it's a lot of good parts that don't make a good whole, if you grok my meaning. Certainly Millar's considerable talents are on display, as are those of Terry Dodson. But it left me thinking, "so what?"

Green Arrow #38:
Green Arrow recruits a thousand cops and thugs to battle an army of demons as Star City is held hostage by a madman. Where Ollie should seem inspirational, he seems indifferent. Where Ollie should evoke ideas of heroism, he seems bored. I can understand why -- this is not new ground for him. I mean, sure, the specifics of the antagonist's shtick are new, but they're not insurmountable. Ollie's weird tension around everybody he knows just makes me think it may be time for the old man to hang up the quiver. Like Bobby Donnell in the last few years of The Practice, he just doesn't seem made for this kind of thing anymore.

Mystique #14:
I will say three things. First, this issue was really, really good, easily worthy of purchase. Second, this series will have a new creative team any second now, so it's highly likely that everything happening here will be rendered irrelevant. Third, because of the second reason, I put it back on the stands despite the first reason. That's pretty much all there is to that.

Monolith #4:
This issue failed to capture my imagination in the same way Fallen Angel didn't do it. There's nothing technically wrong here -- the storyline is plausible enough, the art is okay. To be honest, the scene where the female lead gets a job was really entertaining -- I could read an entire issue about stuff like what happened there, much like I enjoy the minutiae of The West Wing. But it was a brief moment of passing interest in an issue that never really takes any chances, I guess. Eh.

Ultimate X-Men #45:
Things go badly. That's almost predictable. Elements of the US government are corrupt and Nick Fury storms in to smack them around. Okay. It seems like everybody in this series has poor pattern recognition (yes, I know, Fury warned them, he gets a pass). It was good but grim, interesting but a tad derivative of the series' existing triumphs, and I am very surprised to see that the big surprise from last issue seems to be sticking. We'll see for how long ...

Action Comics #815:
Time for the second thing that'll get me kicked off message boards everywhere: Chuck Austen is writing a damned entertaining Superman. The troll-like comics pusher Adam (who I think I called "Jessica" today, as I use the MO of Scrubs character Dr. Cox to only call him little girls' names) likened it to the old George Reeves Superman, chuckling and waiting patiently while bad guys ran out of bullets before he pummeled them senseless. Compared to the priest-counseled pansy in the Jim Lee book or the borderline gay Clark in Superman/Batman, this Kal-el is a breath of fresh air. Biff pow superheroics with charm and wit. By CHuck Austen. What have you people been slipping into my drinks?

Stormwatch: Team Achilles #22:
All the really ridiculous things I've been chiding get shot and dealt with in ways that are less than mature. Santini teleports around the world acting disturbingly like (and I am cautious to bring this up) Jackson King in Monarchy. This does benefit from at least a coherent (if corny) storyline, but I'm somehow not surprised that, with this post Coup direction, this series will be dead in two issues.

Teen Titans #11:
I'm a little mixed up by some of what happened in the fight between the Titans, Brother Blood and the Deathstroke family. The writing/panels/transition from script to comic didn't really convey what was happening too well. Raven seemed sad and insecure (more like the old days, less like the cartoon), Starfire seemed mature and conflicted (a nice surprise) and Robin seemed brasher and a lot less smart than I'm used to Tim Drake being. I did like seeing Cyborg as a major bad a$$, but that's just me. Still, some unusual choices that I'm surprised made it past editing.

Two Step #3:
The ending was predictable and cloying, dumbly sentimental for little more reason than the mini was over. This felt less anticlimactic than this week's issue of Nightwing, but it's in the same zip code.

Star Wars: Empire #19:
Very close to making the jump. With very crisp art by Brian Ching, this issue was so close to the mark when it veered away from all the fanboy buttons that it was so close to -- Naboo, Vader's desire to avenge the first Death Star (great context clues, also, by the way) -- and went for meaningless if well depicted action. It's prettier than it's smart, much like several people I dated in high school.

Touch #2:
The last four pages of the first issue were all that made it interesting, but none of that translated into staying power, as I'm still not inside the arguable protagonist's head. A yawner.

Read Pile Roundup: Reading this week's books was like getting repeatedly punched in the face, only to stop twice during the punching to have a cute girl French kiss you. Briefly.

So, How Was It This Week? Despite wise spending, I'll just say, "let's move on."

The Buy Pile is a weekly collection of comic reviews done by Hannibal Tabu (www.operative.net)