Punisher #8:
I really like this work, I should say that up front, Perfect artwork, clear storytelling, smart dialogue, smart plot. However, every time one of the "Black Irish" characters uses a certain word, I cringe. I just do. I mean, I know it's in character, and I know it makes sense for them to use it in that context. I just don't like it, and it made me uncomfortable about buying this issue. That kind of takes away any other intelligent criticism I could make.

Sleeper Season Two #1:
I'm trying to see what all the fuss is about. I read this with some information about what's going on (Miss Misery confused me until I remembered an online news outlet wrap up of the characters), so I picked it up. The story is good -- murky where it needs to be, blowing things up where it needs them blown up. The art ... argh. Between the X-Files-esque coloring and the sometimes rough pencils and inks, I just found it a little unclear at points. Because of the overwhelming acclaim, I'm giving it another issue to get me on board.

Wizard #154:
Every month I end up quoting this magazine for my CBR column. Every month I curse about it. So I said, "screw it," and bought an issue. Now, remember, I adore Toyfare which is kind of made by the same people. This reminded me why I stopped reading Wizard -- all the "news" is three months behind, all the "opinion" I wouldn't wipe my butt with, and the features -- while interesting -- are nothing to die for. Plus, almost all the movie news I'd already done. Blah.

Buy Pile Breakdown: Not great ...

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

Avengers/Thunderbolts #5:
Lots of screaming and posturing and thinking here, as Moonstone basically floats in place and people panic about it. I oversimplify, since there's some really fascinating character work with Zemo, Hawkeye, Atlas and Vantage done here. But little literally happens in this issue, and that's okay for me as a fan of the 'Bolts, but could turn some people off.

Caper #9:
After four dour issues in the 1960s, the zaniness is back with another Weiss descendant, a less-than-clear-headed courier for an organ bank and his clearly stupid friend. A simple run ends up complicated, with the screaming and the running and the gloibel. Always the gloibel. Fun, interesting stuff that's not quite to the level of the first third of this triptych mini, but still worth watching.

Classwar #5:
This issue makes the US government out to be seriously evil. Not my kind of whimsical evil. Not even the Fahrenheit 9/11 kind of money-grubbing, ill-conceived evil. No, this is serious, mustache-twirling, tie-damsels-to-train-tracks evil. The superteam Enola Gay stands pat while US soldiers invade an island country, and then are ordered to fire on each other. Holy crap. All this draws out The American, the formerly ineffectual Superman homage, to get his butt kicked by Enola Gay. In theory. The action is a little unclear, as the new artist tries to adjust, and it's interesting but the level of craft is not very high, like those clumsy early issues of Rising Stars (which actually comes out less frequently than Battle Chasers).

Legion #34:
Qward. The anti-matter universe. Wildfire being used to power an entire planet and one man's quest for dominance. Damned compelling set up, no? Sadly, the endings on this title rarely match the energy of the beginnings, as Wildfire now has a Spawn-like limitation on himself, the Espionage Squad comes in hard and fast against the Weaponers and Thunderers of Qward (weren't they all wiped out a million ... right, Hypertime, never mind), and a new enemy is made without even trying. Solidly okay, but nothing special.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #8:
Doom is ... interesting. Ben Grimm get some great lines and answers some hard questions about his biology (Sue Storm is most of the hard science in this freaking title, and for that she rocks), Johnny Storm manages to be immature and heroic in almost the same panel (the part where he thinks aloud about glass is really nice) and Reed is like Clarissa, explaining it all. I'm not sure what to take on this really, really extreme take on Doom, but it's surely intriguing. Warren Ellis has infused some genuine wonder and surprise into the old bones of this property, and I'm watching it carefully. If I was gonna buy an Ultimates title (aside from Ultimates itself, which comes out as often as Battle Chasers or a CrossGen title), this would be it.

Doom Patrol #1:
Boring from start to finish. Making its first fatal error by looking back to the "Tenth Circle" storyline in JLA, this issue introduces characters I don't know, acts as if the whole world knows who the Doom Patrol are and why they're this way (I know the old pre-Zero Hour origin, maybe Byrne and Claremont are Hypertiming this back to those halcyon days, as I thought they were extra dead) and generally doesn't bother to make sense of anything while launching stiff and uninteresting dialogue and plotting at me. No, not so much, no.

G.I. Joe #31:
Duke is not held in the same high regard as he once was, Destro is a consummate businessman (even when imprisoned) and the Dreadnoks are intent on breaking up with Cobra. This very soapy, internecine issue is in a similar place with Invincible right now. Good, but not good enough, despite me liking a lot of the characters and ideas therein.

Green Lantern #178:
It seems Marz is back at the wheel and Kyle is back from a year in space. Seems that he found a Dru Hill surprise at his apartment (I will go back and look at that issue, if nothing else to laugh at him) and now has Fatality on the loose (again) aimed at him by a wholly surprising (and somewhat confusing) new adversary (who I could have sworn was dead) for an issue long fight scene. Okay.

Invincible #13:
In this issue, a new status quo is created, Mark goes back to something like a normal life, gets his dad's old job and Kirkman gets to throw a lot of really interesting ideas against the wall to see what'll stick. I like this title, and it always skirts just below the "really great fun" line of me buying it.

Iron Man #85:
With a very deft hand, Miller balances the dumb ideas of both the Cold War and the genre conventions of superheroics with some very clever plotting and a lot of fun character moments. This guy is good. This is supposed to be an "Avengers Disassemble" prelude, but other than the fact that half of the mansion got trashed (whereas the Newsarama preview of the big show sees it all going to hell in a stretch handbasket), I don't see why it could be called that.

JLA #100
Ozymandias called -- he wants his idea back. The people of the world end up fighting against a revitalized Elite, headed by Manchester Black's cyborg sister Vera. Sort of. It's kind of a "switcheroo" thing, but I love the artwork and saw the "set up for the new spin off series" not too hackneyed. Still, even in the best of times, I wouldn't have paid for this.

Phantom Jack #4:
Invisibility and being naked seem to make for a lot of screaming, as Jack and his invisible spy girlfriend penetrate the palace of pre-war Saddam Hussein to rescue ... somebody. I don't remember who, and it kind of doesn't matter. It's an interesting story that's maybe half-a-step too slow for its own good with some great dialogue and character interplay in a surprisingly realistic setting.

Spider-Man: Doctor Octopus Year One #2:
Digging even further into the madness and mechanics of the good Doctor. Stifling relationship with his mother which robs him of normal sexual development? Check. Constant hindrance by inferior minds? Right. Bumping into the limits of one kind of science (robotics) while trying to work with another (nuclear physics)? Oh yeah. The making of the monster, a new kind of sympathizing movement in fiction these days, is at its finest here, including some really smartly done abstracted panels (one of Doc Ock heaidng up some stairs, just in Sin City-esque silhouette, really caught me) that I'd be buying if I didn't find the character himself so damned laughable. I'll admit, however, this mini is slowly chipping away at that attitude.

Star Wars Tales #20:
This was the last of the "goofy short story" versions that I tuned out on about a year ago. I'm glad. There's fan fiction for that crap. Two Jar Jar stories in one issue? That's a caning offense on at least twelve systems ...

Powerless #1:
This was being derided as the worst issue of the week as I was walking into the shop, and I agreed that it seemed pointless fanboy tripe. A psychologist dreams the Marvel universe only to wake up and be confronted by clients named Peter Parker, Matt Murdock, Frank Castle and so on, who share a lot of similarities with characters who share those names. But no super powers. And crappy art. And no real story of any interest that I can tell. Right.

Superman Secret Files '04:
Breaking down some of the changes in the life of the Man of Steel, including a surprisingly chaste pin up of the new Kara Zor-El, Clark Kent's new co-workers in the dregs of journalism, and a lead story where Pete Ross basically wusses out. Since Who's Who has gone the way of the Kucinish presidential campaign, I normally buy these as reference materials. Here? Not so much.

Ultimate X-Men #48:
In a cute story where the Danger Room sees the teenaged X-men (Iceman, Rogue, Angel, some more) complain about getting left out of the action, and a "time for some bonding while we play Scooby Doo" bit, where senior team members go wander through Manhattan like they could find anything, this issue was cute but less compelling than some of the real powerhouse issues of recent months (Wolvie whacking the kid, Hank getting a dirt nap, etc.).

Read Pile Roundup: Only Ultimate Fantastic Four really did anything for me.

So, How Was It This Week? I wish I'd stayed home and done laundry, or got my new car alarm installed.

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