Rex Mundi #13:
This is the last issue that will be drawn by EricJ, as his creative partnership with co-creator Arvid Nelson seems to have gone all Pitt and Aniston on us. For a sample of the new guy, Jim Di Bartolo, check out the front and back covers. In this issue, a wildly coincidental piece of evidence literally drops into the story from nowhere, sending our protagonist Dr. Sauniere on a quest for lost knowledge as the balance of power in Europe is poised to change dramatically. Another fascinating, insular, wildly researched and delicately crafted tale in a wholly new world of storytelling, and with such high literary merit it barely makes sense to be a floppy at all (except for, you know, economic reasons for the creators). I'm deeply interested in this alternative history story, as it's so well-done and so lovingly crafted that Nelson's thought in plotting balances out perfectly with EricJ's intricate reference study and the menace he can put on the face of the Duke of Lorraine (which is very Lex Luthor in a way).

Legion of Super-Heroes #4:
I think I finally figured out how Mark Waid is making this book so damned entertaining. First of all, he captures the core emotion of teenagers -- being uncomfortable -- in almost every panel (although I did like the harder edge to Cosmic Boy when faced with a threat to the whole team). The bookending effect with Sun Boy's doting parents was a refreshing change as well. However, all of that is just detail work -- the key here is the tight focus. The reader knows there's a gazillion Legionnaires somewhere, but you very rarely see more than three or four on panel at any given time. So when Collosal Boy (I won't call him "Micro Lad" any more than any of the characters will) and Chameleon make their clever escape from the Science Police, it plays well and doesn't need to involve the rest of the team. The delayed gratification -- i.e. not seeing Legion stalwarts Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad until next issue -- is the kind of delicate tease that happens when a new paramour strings you along and then finally gives in. When, surely, we will one day see a horde of teenaged metahumans on panel together, the promise of it is huge. It's not only the smartest way to go, against decades of Legion apathy or apprehension by many fans, but it's also the easiest way to go, as you only have to really think in small terms every issue, character wise. To quote Braniac 5, "This is almost something I would have thought of." Add to that a very poignant and cleverly told tale of Karate Kid and Phantom Girl, (which felt super old-school, in a good way, with Dave Gibbons and Drew Geraci on art), this issue is another "stellar" installment in what I hope is a lasting new history for the future's finest.

Concrete: the Human Dilemma #4:
The last page is a sure shocker. There are no fewer than five "Oh my God!" moments in this issue, and Paul Chadwick's ability to rollercoaster emotion in his plot is remarkable. Everybody is due for a surprise (and two characters get it in a way I can't even start to discuss for fear of spoilers). I really can't say much more, story wise, although it was interesting to watch the media demonize Concrete and how quickly his "simple" message got twisted. Really brilliant work, and every new issue makes me wanna go buy some TPBs.

Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1:
Reluctant, disturbing jump from the Read Pile. I did not buy this comic book because I liked it. i did not buy it because I think it's good. I will be crystal clear -- it's not. I bought this comic book so I could have proof, so I could hold it up and point to it when I'm telling people where things went finally, irrevocably wrong. So I could scan panels and post them on my website, to illustrate the point in greater detail.

Where to begin? First of all, there is a contingent of DC fans who, by all rights, should be freaking furious (yes, I am one of them, as this even casts a pall on the second funniest comic book of all time -- I can't say what it is here, as it would spoil things). As much as Identity Crisis dirtied the whimsical and lighter days of the Silver Age, this comic book takes a classic run by some amazing creators and injects an ugly, sinister motive underneath it all. It then takes a character and completely twists him into ... well, something that's not only wildly far afield of every panel of his entire life, but turns him into a cold blooded murderer (he makes the body the Bat holds possible), grafts Lex Luthor's motivations on him (for no apparent reason, and not done nearly as well as Brian Azzarello did in Lex Luthor: Man of Steel) and amps up his powers at the same time. It hints at another "Tower of Babel" style problem from the Bat (in the ad for The OMAC Project the solicitation text reads, "It was created to be Batman's greatest weapon. Now it's become the DC Universe's greatest nightmare"), which is just plain repetitive (as "War Games" trod the same path). The predictable "death of a second stringer" is almost foreseen on page one, as the doomed character behaves differently than he ever has (however, with the aforementioned character-turned-antagonist pulling strings, and yes I'm trying not to use spoilers, some of his reactions at least make sense, if he's indeed lost the phone number of every mask he's ever met). This is like fan fiction gone horribly awry, the worst of its excesses at play on one of the grandest stages of all, the actual DC Universe. Almost every single page -- most of which were like ads for the minis or other projects, as if the whole issue was stitched together from those preview things they do in the back of issues sometimes -- had me thinking, "this is a bad idea" ... well, except for Luthor, Talia, Dr. Psycho, Black Adam, Calculator and Deathstroke the Terminator having a business meeting. That's a fascinating page or two, if only for the sheer unpredictability of the personalities they've assembled (pun somewhat intended). But otherwise, this entire issue bothered me as someone who's been reading DC comics since the early '80s. In the same way that everybody is so careful not to "angst-up" Billy Batson, the characters mischaracterized here were not meant to be used this way, and these grimmer vestements do not suit them. I'm only hoping things don't get any worse.

Buy Pile Breakdown: Countdown doesn't count since it was a buck and used for demonstrative purposes only. Other than that, great purchases all around.

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

Secret War #4:
The New Avengers (sort of) go against an army or armored third-string bad guys, all at the behest of what's probably a pretty peeved Latverian (and not the one we're used to). Dell'otto's painted art work here was way too dark for my tastes, not giving enough clarity to the endless fight scene. This issue would have worked well if this week's Pulse was a back up feature ...

Richard Dragon #11:
M. Bison from the Street Fighter video game called for Shiva, he wants his plot back. The world's most dangerous woman grabs Connor and Dragon and takes 'em to Asia to fight against the best of the best in the world, and then Shiva herself. For bragging rights or something. No, I'm serious. Okay, you probably did see this same plot on a kung fu movie when you were little. Stop laughing!

Pulse #8:
A perfect supplement to Secret War unless you don't remember the barely-published mini (in the running for this year's Battle Chasers Memorial MIA Award) whereas Nick fury's mojo ain't working anymore, and Hydra's hiring. With full benefits, even. Yeah, the issue is actually more boring than that.

Outsiders #22:
Deathstroke gets around, beating the crap out of Arsenal and forcing the team to look -- hard -- at themselves. Not a lot happened, but good tension amongst characters (and the Bat manages not to laugh at anybody).

Ultimate Secret #1:
Ultimate Captain Marvel! Ignore the cover -- with the exception of the name I just mentioned, none of 'em are in this issue at all. Steve McNiven and Mark Morales beautifully depict this issue as the US government discovers an amazing new propulsion fuel for space travel and the Ultimate Kree don't like it. That's kind of it, but it's an interesting trip getting there (with plenty of Drummer-style techno talk like in Planetary). I couldn't discern any link to Ultimate Nightmare and since this wasn't really a story, just kind of a pretty preview, I'm still waiting to see what it all means (and not willing to spend money to find out).

Dr. Spectrum #6:
Joe Ledger makes a talky decision to embrace morally flexible impulses, and ... that's kind of it. The whole mini has been a mental travelogue to get here, and try and explain why he's okay being "bad." But somehow, I still don't care.

Otherworld #1:
Another pretty cheerleader comic, but at least in this case she's read some good contemporary fiction. This insanely well-drawn and colored comic book brings another "chosen one on earth must be summoned to an alien locale to save a place they've never heard of" shtick, that borrows heavily from the Amethyst books of yore, except this time the protagonist is a college student and would-be singer with fidelity issues. I was actually way more interested in the on-campus characterizations of Siobhan and her two paramours, which made for an interesting love triangle, than the cosmic and magical underpinnings which drew this book away from its strengths. Oh well.

Fantastic Four #524:
Everybody's powers are bouncing around the city, and they have to get 'em back. Reed and Ben have an interesting argument, but everything else pretty much plays by the rules and is fairly predictable.

Flash #220:
For the "opening chapter" of the long-awaited Rogue War, where the two factions of the Flash's enemies go head-to-head for reasons I'm not terribly clear on, this was awful long on chatter and short on action. However, I was very pleased to see the recent Gotham Central crossover given some page space, in old-school continuity style (maybe continuity is back ... just stupider). I don't remember seeing much of Wally, except a manipulative attempt at heart string tugging.

X-Force: Shatterstar #2:
I knew I was right not to care about this Skornn "threat" -- when an old X-villain pops up as their leader after several wildly anonymous henchmen get dispatched (and was it me, or was that panel with the big girl just really badly drawn?), I just kind of sighed at the cyclical nature of it all. Then, when 'Star gets all Marty McFly, I know that Liefeld is just revisiting old haunts now. If you didn't get enough of (or don't remember) X-Force the first time around, this is just like it ... but with lower production values ... and more expensive. Right. Let's move on ...

G.I. Joe #41:
Bang! Characters start dropping dead as battles are won at heavy costs (not spoiling the stories is hard this week ... but it's not like anybody expected the US troops not to win). One guy died, and people should be happy, and another guy died and I was really shocked at having the nerve to whack him. The issue seemed to get resolved really fast, in order to get the new threat on screen in time for next issue's series finale, which was less than satisfying (and why the issue is still at the store).

Astonishing X-Men #9:
I liked this story when it was originally done in the Legion of Super-Heroes and "The Danger Room" was called "Computo" (oh, and Ultron called, he wants his costume designer back). Whedon again gets some cute character moments with Logan (of course), Peter (is that a spoiler?) and Hank (plus, Emma got a good quip in). But as a story, this was really Star Trek: Voyager (hint: that's not good).

Ocean #5:
When I read issue one, I thought this was gonna be a huge story. It's not. It's a very small story, as is finally, completely revealed here (despite being drawn in what effectively are huge terms), and I find that something of a let down. Even with Chris Sprouse's always riveting artwork. The big ideas are boiled down to science fiction tropes, and there's a lot of questions left unanswered for the mini to have one issue left.

Age of Apocalypse #5:
Magneto is an imperfect leader of the X-Men? Shocker. His dirty laundry comes to light, as Wolvie's claws (should I call him AOA Wolvie, like I say Ultimate Wolvie? My head hurts ...) hang in front of him like an un-fulfilled promise. The post-Phoenix resurrection of Jean Gray gets an homage here (or is that swipe? I can never tell ...) with sinister forces holding the coffin keys (spoiler by way of pun, nobody can be mad at that ... I sure am using a lot of parenthetical asides this week). No, I don't care. Elseworlds books (and don't believe the lies, that's what this is) have to be a lot more interesting than this to catch my attention.

Read Pile Roundup: It stinks. Countdown technically counts in this stack, so that makes it one of the crappiest and most saddening weeks in memory.

So, How Was It This Week? The soul-crushing ennui of Countdown and the rest of the week's dreck dragged Concrete, Legion and Rex Mundi down with them, making this week as bad as my date on Monday -- all over me, but unattractive.

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