Fierce #4:
Everything comes full circle as rogue FBI agent Jonathan Fierce goes gun-to-gun with his Jamaican antagonists and ... well, it's his book, so it'd be quite a surprise if he took a dirt nap at the end, wouldn't it? The coloring was a bit darker than it needed to be (even while acknowledging how much of the action takes place at night), but I loved the kineticism of the artwork and the story was gripping and interesting, with a decent amount of action and some late surprises that kept me guessing (although the Law of Conservation of Characters should have clued me in). A good close to a good mini (which I didn't know it was, I thought it was ongoing ... hell, is it ongoing?).

Wildguard: Firepower #1:
The only reality show I'm willing to watch. Ignacia struggles with her place on the team, while Red Rover couldn't be more comfortable. I like the way the characters interplay (what the heck is happening with Lily Hammer, and why is it so fascinating to watch? Why doesn't Snapback's girlfriend get pushed in front of a truck?) and the fact that Nauck is able to both write this compellingly and draw so well (love the perspective on the opening page, realy believed Ignacia's frustration on her silent page, while I do admit a lot of the jawlines end up looking similar), and then letter the thing as well? Wow. A real treasure, this issue is, and this series is one I'm buying without even looking.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #14:
Jump from the Read Pile. I normally avoid Ultimate stories, because I feel like I'm buying stories we've already seen that are taking the scenic route. Not always true, and not even fair, I know, but it's my perspective. Anyhoo, this one overcame that objection in spades. The store's owner Steve LeClaire was pushing it on everybody who came in as his "pick of the week." Why did I grab it? Well, starting off with Doctor Storm threatening Reed, saying "I am going to drag your scrawny little body into the lab and experiment on you until I figure out how to make you die. I am a scientist. I can do that." I love that, and I wanted to own the comic that includes that (especially since he then grounded Sue until she was thirty). Second, Kubert's splash pages are storytelling devices as well as being pretty, not hobbling the pace of things at all. But the real reason I bought this was that it -- just a little, mind you -- brought on a tingle of genuine wonder in my jaded heart. That the grandeur and sheer impossibility of the Negative Zone is made real, in both script and art, balanced by Warren Ellis' constantly improving and now quite-solid grasp on the individual characters and their interplay. Plus, more fun, the FF get to blast off into something, just like the old days. Not too shabby, I must say, and it's got the next issue looking like it could come home as well, if they can keep this up.

Legion of Super-Heroes #1:
Another jump from the Read Pile, for the exact same reason. I spent some time on Usenet this week (rec.arts.comics.dc.lsh in particular) and I heard a lot of the arguments against another reboot, and why Superboy's loss is such a big problem for the franchise. Which I can see, to a degree. The title splash page -- youthful fists hurled aloft, flight rigns visible on each, got me. Many will complain about the seeming "duplication" on the Science Police page, which a guy called "Ken from Chicago" clarified as "the 31st Century equivalent of those annoying people who call each other on their cell phones to talk from across the room. (Or using the office intercom to talk to someone at the desk right next to theirs)." But no, Star Boy's description of why there's permanently a thousand teenagers on their lawn, or the response to "They attacked us. They said ... they'd punish us for rebelling. They said theyknew better because they were adults. How is this better?" For maybe the first time since before the Quiet Darkness Saga, I believed in the Legion again. Was it the best issue ever? Nah. Not even close -- heck the Chuck Taine/Connor Kent issue from a few months ago was better as a single issue. But it gave me back something, and I can't deny how much I appreciate that. I loved the Waid/Kitson combo on Empire but this ... this is something different. I'm with them until they screw this feeling up.

Buy Pile Breakdown: On a craft level, it may not have been the most impressive week ... but this is what I buy comics for. Two amazing indie performances by largely self-contained units outside of the mainstream, and two veterans giving me back the feeling of my childhood. I can't have any beef with that.

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

303 #2:
My notes say, "hard modern warmaking in a political context." There's a nasty bit of tactical trickery here, which leads to lots of messy gunplay (Jacen Burrows needs more to do, he's a-freaking-mazing) and while there's still only one real character here (the "old soldier") he's done so well that he carries most of the load. A clearer overall picture would have me buying this title.

Batgirl #59:
Just checking in to finish off the two-part storyline from Robin. Somehow, the criminals in Bludhaven are even stupider than they were in Gotham, as they really believe that Robin and Batgirl fight to the death. The outcome is even more ludicrous, and it's really scary how little competence there is between all the criminals around old Oswald Cobblepot. Laughable in its sheer unbelievability.

Supreme Power #14:
The first "team up" on this continuity ends badly (well, embarrassing at least) for their version of the Bat, and worse still there seems to be bigger problems in store. The tension between the speedster and Nighthawk is really well done, the art of course is great ... but the issue of Power Princess remains unsettled and dangles uncomfortably in my mind (she did put some clothes on finally, right?). It begs the question how super people could ever work together in the first place, and I couldn't really call this issue "entertaining" inasmuch as educational.

Adam Strange #4:
While I enjoy the simple, Errol Flynn-esque spacecapades here, I do have to believe nobody in fiction ever reads any fiction. When the Thanagarian (I won't say which) turns up to "help," well, I saw what finally happened coming a mile away. Still, harmless fun here if you need some harmless fun.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes #4:
Captain America gets his speechifying on and some super villains show up. Zemo sends Cap into a near-psychotic state (which I liked, as it was a really believable bit of characterization) that he again only can snap out of when action calls, the only language Steve Rogers is really fluent in. Getting their security status makes it even more interesting (in the way it happened), and I kind of like looking between the panels of the old classics. Sort of.

Captain Greedy #1:
Most of you will never see this comic, and that's a good thing. A vanity creation of a Southern California retailer, it's not as bad as, say, Wolverine/Witchblade or Superman/Batman #6 or even Iron Man #89 ... okay, it's worse than that last one. Yeah. It's closer to the Wolvie one. In a comic that featured ... well, I think "story" is too forgiving a term for any of the installments here, but a photo-narrative section inserted (a la the 3-D Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" episode) where the guy implies he won't have sex with his wife and then frames a close up of her chest ... in the words of Kate on the Drew Carey Show, "is 'pathetisad' a word?" It'd be fitting here. Truly ghastly work.

Elektra: The Hand #5:
The prequel ends by actually showing Elektra on panel, and explaning why actually dying is a minor inconvenience for the mercenary ninja clan, and how it saves on training new people. Things end badly, but some (myself included) would say that they always do. An interesting bit of Marvel history, kind of an expanded OHOTMU entry, but too prolonged for my tastes, given the thin characterization of the antagonists.

Elric #2:
Being a Moorcock fan, I tried again. I figured out what's wrong, and why I can't get into this story. First of all, the coloring is monochromatic and flat, leaving every page a big, boring mess. Second, the inking doesn't help this, by failing to point any specific part of a panel to look at. These two problems combine to leave the pages a virtual Kansas of visual boredom, which really hurts Simonson's artwork (see old issues of Orion for the way to ink and color Simonson) and Moorcock's story. Argh.

Gambit #5:
A very cute issue, with Wolverine guest starring (because he's got so much free time). The two of them end up impersonating most of the X-Men (fairly convincingly, oddly enough -- durability and energy projection cover more characters than you think) and putting the scare into credulous locals. God help us, is John Layman making this comic actually readable? If it makes it all the way to "good," make sure your bomb shelter's fully stocked.

Superman #212:
If this Azzarello story was ever on the rails -- a dicey proposition at best -- it was totally gone here, when Clark and Superman have a chat (really), there's a smoky love scene in another dimension ... yeah, I had no idea what was going on here. Vague, confusing, and worst of all dull -- a crime with Lee's artwork on deck.

Invincible #18:
A fun, quick "done in one" story (with room for a sequel) that had one of those "oh, no ..." endings. It kind of surprised me that the crew would be so forgetful, but ah well. Earth and Mars won't have any cultural exchanges going on anytime soon, and Mark's not doing too well with his "secret," as some think he's a drug dealer (pager, always disappearing, etc.). Cute, but not vital.

Iron Man #2:
More painted goodness from Adi Granov. This very talky issue doesn't really do much, but it gives you a good look at Tony's "international man of mystery" lifestyle (which I liked) but basically had another "super soldier project gone wrong" angle (which I found tedious). It feels like Ellis is still getting his bearings here, which is a shame as he's already been announced to be gone after this story, and he may never get his groove in time.

Star Wars: Empire #28:
Boba Fett story? Close enough. In another "hunt" story, Boba Fett does his thing, kills people, blows stuff up and gets away unscathed. Like every other Boba Fett story from Dark Horse. The Imperial ending was both bittersweet and fitting, but it was a bit repetitive getting there for, oh, anybody who's ever read a Boba Fett story from Dark Horse.

Savage Dragon #119:
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! The Dragon goes head to head with Dubya in his own style of campaigning (which is even more funny, since he doesn't want to campaign, let alone win). Of course, lots of mindless violence ensues, and Dubya ends up with egg on his face, which all the Image Central staff must love (especially now they've escaped Orange County and relocated in Berkeley). Fun, if that's your bag.

Star Wars: Obsession #2:
Although I liked the bits with Amidala backing off of the clearly grimmer Anakin, this issue left virtually no other impression on me. I think things went badly. I really gotta review books sooner to the release date ...

Strange #3:
S-l-o-w. Oh, and if I'm ever faced with something out of the ordinary, I hope I don't spout the same old "that's impossible!" sort of lines this Stephen Strange does. Oh, and while we're here, Morpheus called, he wants his speech to Neo back. Sigh.

Street Fighter #12:
That does it -- this Hong Kong-styled acion serial goes on the Buy Pile next issue, because it's just as solid as Birds of Prey was when Simone took over, and has been improving every month for at least half a year. In this issue, Ryu puts on a pair of shoes, Bison's machinations become more clear and (of course) there's great fight scenes. Good stuff.

Superman/Batman #16:
Sci Fi Network called -- they want their old Sliders scripts back. Supes and Bats (yeah, whadda ya gonna do, Byrne?) continuity hop through what looks like Hypertime (am I the only one who thinks Uncle Sam with a Green Lantern ring got really short sheeted on panel time?) for ... well, I can't really tell why. It's kind of like that pointless Devil's Due G.I. Joe/Transformers mini. Anyhoo, all hell has broken loose and we've gotta go back and retcon everything right again. Uh huh. No small wonder I named this the worst title of the year.

Ultimate Nightmare #4:
Again I am impressed by Ultimate Cap, whose appearance here is as strong as Brad Pitt's in Troy (was there any other character worth his salt there, outside of Achilles?) bringing it to the Russians' super soldier by way of politeness. The Russians left a big mess underneath the icea, and both X-Men and Ultimates are stuck poking a sharp stick at it. Still slow, but at least there's some fun beatings in this issue, and Ultimate Falcon gets down.

Voltron Vol. 2 #11:
Ever see an episode of Star Trek where the answer a distress call? Know how that never goes well? Same thing, just with Voltron lions. Yawn.

Warlock #4:
If you read the CrossGen series Solus then you might find the tail end of this issue familiar, as there's a really interesting reveal, an appearance by the "real" Adam Warlock, but it's still too disjointed for me to recommend, despite having great inking.

What If? (... Karen Page Lived? Magneto and Xavier Formed The X-Men? Aunt May Died? Doom Became the Thing? General Ross Became The Hulk? Jessica Jones Joined the Avengers? Somebody was Interested?):
All bad. For different reasons. The Claremont issue is virtually indistinguishable from X-Men: The End unless you're really looking very hard, in tone and dialogue and visuals, a complete work of drivel. The Jessica Jones issue is saccharine in a very bad way. The Hulk issue ends badly, but quickly. The Doom issue was disappointing, especially since I imagined the Doctor would really handle business with his brain and enhanced strength and durability beyond his armor's limitations. The Karen Page one was a very quick downer, while the Aunt May issue gives Peter his very own Oracle. I didn't like any of them.

Read Pile Roundup: If not for that crappy mountain of What If issues, it would have been a wash. As it is, slightly sucky.

So, How Was It This Week? Wonder and glory meet the gaping maw of crapulence and Stupitron particles. Hard to say ...

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