Human Target #18:
Despite the fact that it was recently announced that this title will be cancelled in three months, I'm gonna stick with it. In a very grim done-in-one story, Milligan's script takes Christopher Chance for a tour inside several lives touched (and in some cases ended) by the "war on terror." Three teenagers -- two white and one Black -- have started snatching people of "Middle Eastern descent" (and I use the term loosely, as one of the people they're after is a Hindu, but they don't know or care about the difference) and "interrogating" them in a locked trailer near the freeways of Southern California's Inland Empire. As could probably be guessed, things go badly for virtually everyone involved (except the Black kid, the son of a Marine in Iraq). Challenging, fascinating material (despite Javier Pulido's art looking a bit rougher than we're used to) ... and it's a shame it'll be done for soon.

Bullseye Greatest Hits #5:
Whoa. Well, as Bullseye's the title character here, you can safely guess that he doesn't, you know, die or anything. Every possible plot thread is tied up in such a nice, brilliant way that it made me smile. A grim, evil smile. I can't say much about what happens (including a huge mistake based on ego which makes it all go wrong for the "good guys") but this is an amazing close to an amazing mini-series, and Daniel Way and Steve Dillon make amazing work here with relatively limited room for variance (an underground prison facility). Very happy with this purchase.

Space Ghost #3:
In a gorgeously depicted tale of revenge, cast-aside Peacekeeper Thaddeus Bach is back with the most fearsome armaments of a dead world and all the determination you'd ever need to use them. His bitter journey for retribution was humming along nicely until it hit a sizeable snag in the form of an old enemy of his specie, bringing a lot of its friends down to play. Forget the goofy Hanna Barbera cartoon, ignore the wildly whimsical talk show. Space Ghost is a bad man, and he lives in a hard galaxy where bad things happen to everybody. Like Punisher with a space ship, this is the kind of story Charles Bronson would approve of. Very good work.

Madrox #5:
Surprise after surprise greets the Multiple Man as he fights for his life along Chicago's seamy underbelly. This final issue of the mini (and I am very unhappy to see it end, as I thought it was a six parter) pits Jamie against himself (in more ways than one) and lays every clue out in plain talk. Pablo Raimondi and Drew Hennessy make it all work with suspenseful vividness, helped along the way by Brian Reber's insightful coloring. Peter David knocks this one out of the park, and a good time was had by (almost) all (except, you know, the characters who died hard and ugly).

Lucifer #58:
In a really fascinating issue called "The Yahweh Dance," Lucifer's niece Elaine Belloc learns a lot about her grandfather's work as she struggles to control the vast demiurgic powers given to her by her dying father, the archangel Michael, which made a third creation on accident (which pretty much tops even Franklin Richards). Most fun, Uncle Morningstar simply nudges and mocks her without giving clear instruction, the magic of his character working best in a peripheral nature, as Elaine plays The Sims on a level far beyond your computer monitor. A fascinating standalone issue with a variety of artistic styles on parade from guest artist Ronald Wimberly.

Cable/Deadpool #11:
Two guest stars, another Modok appearance (he's popular these days) and a tea party in Cable's fractured mind. Deadpool gets most of the panel time in this issue, negotiating a solution for Cable's comatose state like CJ making his way through levels on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Thursday, 1/20 is my birthday, so I'll have that game soon enough myself). INteresting if a little bit scatterbrained, although I loved the picture of naked female Avengers painted on the walls of one guest star's pool and Nick Fury getting dressed down by journalist-cum-chronicler Irene Merryweather. Not stellar, but not too shabby.

Wonder Woman #212:
As the cover implies, it's dogpile on Themyscria's finest, when the Bat questions Diana's ability to hang in a combat situation. That precedes a funeral, which coincides with a power struggle on Olympus, which can't end well for much of anybody. Rucka sets a lot of plates spinning and it all seems to work, smartly told with action, poignancy and suspense.

Buy Pile Breakdown: Five really amazing reads, a solid Wonder Woman and a tolerable tale from Mssr. Nicieza ... looking good so far.

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

Wanted #6:
The last few pages of this issue made me laugh so hard, as Millar has his protagonist break the fourth wall and unmistakably show disdiain for comic book fans. Undoubtably, fans will love Millar for this spurning with his metaphorical shoe. As with many titles, this issue shows the clear sense of ennui many with villainous minds would feel after actually succeeding, and this issue explains a lot of the mechanics behind the takeover. Quite mean spirited, well drawn and well told, with just too much winking at the camera for my personal tastes.

Powers #8:
A lot happened and it seemed to do so with no brakes, as plot points flew by with little sense of pacing or clarity. Of course Oeming shows up and does his thing as only he can, but I believe Bendis' script is less than inspired, solving the case to the satisfaction of almost no one.

Adventures of Superman #636:
One of DC's biggest villains is back (here and in Teen Titans), manipulating things from so far behind the scenes that he may even be in another theatre. Even more fun, Supes admits knowing about the fun the "old" League had with Doctor Light's frotal lobe and deciding not to do anything about it, which dirties up his boy scout image quite nicely. This vastly irritates one of his best friends, who is aghast at the callous disregard for the honor of an enemy and gets very martial insisting that sometimes the old ways are best. A complicated issue which curely doesn't make Big Blue look very smart or very heroic.

Wolverine #24:
Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. continue one of the smartest Wolverine storylines since Warren Ellis dropped by, with an attack on Daredevil being a huge smoke screen for a much more insidious team-up, building up to one of the most ambitious cotstumed terrorist acts of all. Fast paced but clear, packed with fan-favorite moments but smart at the same time, if I wasn't so averse to Wolverine as a characteer (and so un-inspired to keep financing Mark Millar's publicity gags), this would have come home with me, easily.

Invincible #19:
The Martian storyline gets very little mention as comics retailer James Sime gets drawn into the book as a teleporting super-villain named Isotope (very funny) fronting for an even nastier player (who looks like I should know him, but I don't). Even cooler, the series' title character gets to hear a fun diatribe on why being a villain rocks and why being a hero is stupid (sounds like the thesis of the pitch I made to Image myself a few years ago). It also carries on the "what's Mark really doing?" subplot which has one of his friends suspecting that he sells drugs. A fun issue, but again, not one that leaps into your hands and says "buy me!"

Wolverine: The End #6:
Dumb. In facing down his "older brother," who has the same skeleton and powers as our pal Logan, a set of claws through the torso allegedly "ends" the story. I've seen Wolverine get the lower half of his body blown clear off of his unbreakable bones, and it grew back. A stab wound is supposed to stop someone just like him? As inconclusive and maddening as Origin itself.

Authority: Revolution #4:
In another classic case of winning the fight and losing the war (I don't remember the team being this stupid under Ellis or Millar), the Authority beats their patriotic-themed ancient adversaries only to have the real threat pop up and scream "booga booga booga!" I swear, with each issue, it gets harder to remember when (and how) this property was ever cool.

Ghostbusters #4:
Inside cover says that the events in this issue happen six months after beating that Stay-Puft Man looking super demon. That was, what, '83, '84 maybe? Then, perhaps four pages in, one of the Ghostbusters answers a cell phone. Not a cell phone the size of a small child, weighing more than my laptop does. No, the exact same model phone that two customers in the store had on their waists. In 2005. Oh, and by the way, the story is about as scintillating as having Ben Stein read the phone book aloud. I'm done. I'm never reading this title again.

Daredevil #69:
More flashback-y wackiness, shoehorning a pre-Kingpin into Daredevil's life with surprising ease. All the while setting up a new White Tiger (siddown, Kasper Cole, nobody believes in you). Yeah. Okay. Next?

Birds of Prey #78:
I don't know that I'd say the girls actually win (but wow is Lady Blackhawk useful), and their teamwork leaves a lot to be desired, but ... well, stuff happens here. Nothing I'd recommend. Right, moving on ...

Breakdown #3:
A nuclear-powered family reunion hits the open road as the hero formerly known as Paragon is out for revenge, and dear old dad is happy to help him get it. I liked the characterization and the tension between father and son, but there's not much story to hang it on.

Invaders #6:
Jorge Lucas, whose art I normally like, surely needs a new inker as his own inks over pencils look very indistict. When you add Chris Walkers waterlogged coloring, things don't look good. However, Allan Jacobsen's script, tying in with Millar's "Enemy of the State" storyline in Wolverine makes for some fun as the Invaders don't know what hit them. A hard way to go to get to "adequate," though.

Manhunter #6:
The lead character here manages to impress in her "secret identity" (getting most of the JLA served with subpoenas) and her costumed one (smacking down Shrapnel as he tries to kill her suspect, the Shadow Thief). Calculator (or "the Anti Oracle" as I like to call him) is working the phones trying to keep the Thief quiet before a deal is made, and that's just swell. The art and story are getting to a more consistently entertaining place, but they're not there yet. Let's see how things get as we get closer to a trial.

Mighty Man #1:
Just reprints of all the backups featuring the character from Savage Dragon. Nothing to see here, folks (especially at eight freakin' bucks, ow).

Outsiders #19:
The John Walsh storyline wraps up with some good notes but very few encouraging ones. Plus. ow, the art hurts my eyes ... it looks like The Losers threw up.

Small Gods #6:
Precognitive mayhem ensues when the new protagonist (it's bad that I can't remember his name yet) gets dragged into some mess. This second story arc is nowhere near as captivating as the first, but the art's good and the action in this issue was superb (I love how they show his powers working). But, as you can see, clearly not enough to get my hard-stolen ducats.

Teen Titans #20:
A weepy story of how Robin copes with losing his father, with the second appearance of the A-list DCU villain's return (and, more fun, this character's gear was in the crate that started off Identity Crisis, and zanier than that, he's got a fixation with one of the Titans). The dynamic between Robin and Superboy almost made me care, but not quite (and you're telling me Superboy is better off here than in the 31st Century with the iconoclastic Legion? Yeah, right).

Ultra #6:
Almost all action as last issue's shocker ending gets precious little panel time here, while the Luna brothers tie in a plot element they've been nurturing since the first issue. A solid application of craft all along, with superheroine gossip and dead heroes littering the streets. I still feel this whole storyline would have been better served as a single collection, but I understand the economics of it. Just as I understand my own and left it there.

Read Pile Roundup: No really powerful complaints in a set of reads that nudges its nose past the "acceptable" line.

So, How Was It This Week? Good buys, decent reads, that's a good way to start my 32nd year on this planet (oh, yeah, happy freakin' birthday to me, woo hoo).

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