Common Grounds #5:
Fin Fang Foom would be proud. The first story is a kind of multifaceted examination of both the kind of goofy giant monster comics that don't seem to fit in today's street level comics environment and a salute to those mad ideas of yesteryear. It's not as emotionally riveting as some of the other "quickies" that this mini has offered, but it's good, and gorgeously depicted. The second story, about lost love, is very smart and keeps its chin up. Wonderful confectionary entertainment -- Warren Ellis is always on about "pop comics" and this is it. Not as amazing as some of the other issues, but good fun nonetheless.

Promethea #30:
Speaking of mad ideas ... even in tone, this feels like things are winding down. First of all, the level of detail and managing a variety of artistic styles must have J.H. Williams III looking forward to a good long nap -- the opening pages alone made me exhausted. The full page multi panel spreads (much like Powers) threw me off a bit, but I made my way throgh it. It looks like the ABC universe is having its very own Crisis (I expected to see the Anti-Monitor jammed in a corner of a panel with an intellectual property infringement lawsuit in hand) as Alan Moore takes us on another mad journey towards ... well, the next issue blurb says, "the radiant, heavenly city." In an issue that shows its creator going "uh oh" while glancing back at the reader (one of my oddest moments in comics), there's just a whole lot going on here. I imagine I'd be lost without a fairly decent grounding in ancient myth (I had a lot of free time as a youth) and having read the whole series up to now. If you're already a fan and possibly slightly crazy, this is the issue for you, in a title that makes Captain Marvel look positively tame.

Legion #33:
Jumped from the Read Pile largely due to nostalgic gooey-ness in my tummy while reading it. Superboy singing the theme from the animated Teen Titans show gave me maybe my best laugh of the week, and DnA managed both a large cast, some of the inspirational joie de vivre that makes the Legion so special to me, and some realy great action (with capable help from Christ Batista on pencils, sharp inking by Jay Leisten, and glorious colors by Sno Cone). Like issue #25, this is the sort of thing I love about the Legion, all wrapped up in one slam bang issue. Very pleased ... and interested in seeing where Waid and Kitson will take all this, later this year.

Astonishing X-Men #1:
I have not been more surprised at a jump from the Read Pile as I am by this issue. First of all, Cassaday is on fire, and the book looks great (except Beast's uniform, which is ghastly, but oh well). In three pages, it accomplishes more at establishing the new Xavier's as a real education than the entire first issue of New X-Men: Academy X. The interplay between Cyke and Wolvie is priceless, with dialogue that makes both of them simply fly off the page, with Emma doing some great moments as well ("Superpowers, a scintillating wit and the best body money can buy ... and I still rate below a corpse"). This is just a really smart, well-executed comic in every possible way, and interested me in characters I long thought of as passe. I'm astonished, like it or not. Who knew?

Buy Pile Breakdown: From good to insane to gooey to great -- nothing wrong here.

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

Punisher #6:
That did it. I'm buying the next issue, no questions asked. In the same kind of impressive force-of-nature way the Rock plowed through almost everybody in Walking Tall, the Punisher simply kills and kills and kills. Glorious in its unflinchingly relentless manner. If only the movie had been this compelling ...

G.I. Joe Reloaded #3:
This "realer" approach got endlessly patriotic (I really found Roadblock over the top here) as Reiber puts the team through some paces. I will admit the art looked good, Destro was impressive and the means of introducing lots of character info in very small spaces was very deft. Still, it was all a little too Hondo for me.

Supreme Power #10:
There's a really gross panel I wish I could un-see. Otherwise, there's tons of naked nutiness and displays of power. Most of the characters have never met, and we're ten issues in. That seems odd, but I don't know that there will ever be a "Squadron Supreme" in a literal sense. I don't know if that's a bad thing. Interesting stuff ... but not necessary, for me.

Authority More Kev #1:
I walked in and found every issue of this comic in a bag. "What gives?" I asked retailer Steve. "X-rated," he replied. "Not only do they come from a bar and have anal sex, they talk about it." I put it back on the stands. I don't need that kind of drama in my life.

Avengers #83:
The Invaders are proving themselves to be the Fox News of the super-powered set, and despite the fact they're funded by a plot of the Red Skull (don't ask), I find them just the kind of shot in the arm Marvel needs. This storyline seemed dumb last issue, now it seems hilarious, in a good way. The Avengers are status quo in a different way, and the US Agent echoes the kind of energy I get from Ultimate Cap, who I adore (despite hating virtually everything he believes in). Austen's doing better work, I have to admit ...

Losers #12:
Speaking of a book that keeps heading upwards, this issue kept the "team" on their Vice City-esque quest to find Max (the stories read like a video game plot, with "missions" and all). Good dirty fun, but not quite good enough to buy.

Classwar #4:
The visual storytelling here seemed muddy, and I was left with a vague idea of what happened at a few points. The story moved well enough, but slowly. Good to see this back, but it's hardly as compelling as it was when it first came out. Maybe lost some momentum. Or maybe it misses its old glasses ...

Caper #8:
A murky, grim ending with a really gasp-inducing, disturbing ending. None of the simple charm of the first third of the series. I don't know what to expect from the final third. As you see, I left it on the stands.

Conan #4:
Conan goes Gladiator, and I'm buying this next month. It's just too damned good. Hack and slash and plunder, by Crom! Hell yeah.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang #5
The last few pages left me a very nice twist, and were this book not nearly dead (if Newsarama is to be believed), I'd be buying it. Just really well done period work, playing with conventions while not being bound to them. Fun, fun comic, and this issue with a "female" superspy was just zanier than any other.

DC New Frontier #4:
Three pages in, I just lost interest. Some nice bits with the Bat, another statement on the anachronism of Superman, a nice piece with Martian Manhunter, but so what, you know?

G.I. Joe #30:
One man escapes the entire machinery of Cobra Island, which is so embarrasing as to not be worth mentioning. Destro gets a surprise, the Baroness doesn't care, and Cobra Commander sounds less stupid. The whimsy is slowly returning to this title, but it's hard to come by, so I'm not back on board just yet.

Iron Man #83:
A really good "done-in-one" issue (thanks for that term, Tony Isabella) which perfectly makes use of everything Tony Stark has now -- high tech, old enemies, his new gig as Secretary of Defense, and an Iron Man specific threat (although I wonder if Photon couldn't have handled it more simply). Good stuff -- I'm gonna miss this guy's take on the character.

JLA #99:
It was bad enough that this story -- and this issue, like all of the Byrne/Claremont JLA issues -- was stupid plot wise and lame in concept. On top of that, it had the unmitigated gall, the sheer audacity to be corny and saccharine as well. Plus just hypertiming the Doom Patrol back to life (wonder how Garfield Logan would take that) ... gah. A tie for worst book of the week (keep reading).

Mystique #15:
A really cool issue -- the nifty, complicated situations this title devises simply get more and more interesting as it nears a change in creative teams that might make it all irrelevant. Shortpack helping Mystique get her John Hurt on (Aliens fans know what I mean) was great, Mystique kicks butt like Sydney Bristowe without a conscience, and I like a lot that happens here. I just wish Brian K. Vaughan was staying on board, so I could be buying it. Que sera sera.

Kinetic #3:
As I went to reach for this issue, I noticed my notes said, "STOP READING FOCUS TITLES, THEY ALL SUCK." So I left it and saved myself some time.

Ultimate X-Men #46:
Storm goes punk and Alex and Scott have "issues." Chuck Xavier gets too hard core for Emma (notice how many places she's being sexualized? Years of white lace have finally borne fruit in the requited passions of fans turned editors and writers). Grim work here, but enjoyable. I just can't really buy Ultimate books, because with very few exceptions they all tread very familiar ground, simply taking the scenic route to get there.

Micronauts #3:
Only a thin slice of Acroyear Smackdown makes this issue good, as most non-Acroyear characters are simply not compelling in this issue. The man himself gets some great characterization and background, and this title is on a slight upswing after Jolley's very boring work on the last volume.

Secret War #2:
First of all, I was stunned to realize this isn't "Ultimate Secret War" as I'd erroneously believed (a white Nick Fury sold me on that). Second, the big idea here was done in Waid's Fantastic Four not six months ago. Third, flying commercial? Come on, dawg. Fourth, I'm not so sure Brian Michael Bendis isn't Aaron Sorkin, as there's a bit of dialogue here that could have easily happened on Sports Night or the original West Wing. Fifth, it's still at the shop, and I think that says it all -- a bad follow up to a promising start.

Way of the Rat #24:
Everybody comes home safe. As if it was a doubt. Still, smartly scripted, decent laughs, and fun. And probably doomed. Right.

Star Wars: Empire #20:
This issue is about Leia. I don't wanna read "Star Wars: During Imperial Rule." I wanna read a freakin' book about the freakin' Empire. No Imperials make an appearance here, instead introducing me to a bunch of Alderaanian crap I don't care about and that's essentially a footnote in canonical history. Sucky.

Superman #205:
Whiny. The same way I thought Azzarello was wrong for Luke Cage, I think he's wholly wrong for Superman. Did the memo about the new confident George Reeves-esque Superman not make it to this title? A snoozer.

Thor #79:
For months I was wondering how this title was gonna retcon itself back to the status quo. Now I know. And it's crappy. Jurgens totally wussed out, and I'm embarrassed for him. I'm glad I never bought any of this, because I'd be freakin' furious. What a disappointing, empty issue.

Witchblade/Wolverine:
This book is so bad, when it came two weeks ahead of time, my retailer Steve made me read it, proclaiming it "Monarchy bad" (Monarchy is the gold standard of crap comics in the shop, considered the worst series ever made). It's really, staggeringly awful -- Sara Pezzini (am I spelling that right? Oh who cares?) and Logan on a drunken bender, getting hitched in Vegas. But of course it's part of a plot. Not a very interesting or wholly coherent plot, but a plot. Dumb concept, dumb writing, lackluster art -- the other winner for "worst comic of the week."

Read Pile Roundup: Mostly bad. Some bright spots, but a whole lotta bad issues this week. Plus anal sex. Eww.

So, How Was It This Week? Despite four great buys and some decent reads, it was a rough week with some huge disappointments and some really bad ideas spilling all over the place.

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