Sleeper Season 2 #11:
I think the level of "triple cross" was passed several issues before, so at this point -- with the betrayals flying fast and furious -- Holden's mad and admittedly desperate plan starts to come to a conclusion, and not exactly the way he'd like. I'll say that Tao's laughter closes the issue, and it's just about right for the horrible and wonderful things that happened here. I'm really enjoying the brutal honesty of the lead character, able to tell the truth inside of the lies and be completely compelling. I've never liked Sean Phillips' artwork here, and this issue is no exception, but I can't help but believe that with, say, Steve Dillon on art here, this would be probably the best book on the stands. As it is, it's damned good and every twist and turn kept me wanting more. I'm sorry it's almost all over.

Supreme Power #16:
Jump from the Read Pile. I've found the Ultimate Squadron Supreme (that's what I'm calling this, and you can't stop me) pretty lackluster, but this issue is simply a masterpiece of craft, using a watch as a framing device (I know, everybody from Jim Krueger to Alan Moore has done it, hear me out) to showcase some really brilliant manuevering to strike at Ultimate Hyperion (you can't stop me) in the single place he's vulnerable. The bit between Ultimate Doctor Spectrum and Ultimate Amphibian (they don't call her that, but we know who you are) was both weird and kind of cool (in a creepy way). Lots of really good writing here, with Gary Frank's always sure hand on art (check the detail on his clockworks), with so much good (the speedster, Ultimate Nighthawk's quiet scene, etc.) I couldn't leave it at the store. This is like something people should study, as it reveals the series' history in terse and well-done ways while telling one very interesting story. Nicely done.

Invincible #0:
At only fifty cents, this is as good as a "who's who" entry on Robert Kirkman's teen hero. Framed by an emotional revelation to his college girlfriend (I find his trust naively adorable), you can find out everything you ever wanted to know about Mark Grayson, serving as a bridge between issue 22 and 23 and providing the mythical "jumping on point" we're always going on about. I'm not mad at this purchase in any way.

Punisher #20:
Jump from the Read Pile. Another one so good I couldn't leave it at the store (Marvel is on fire with these brilliant little gem issues this year, as long as they avoid the big blah blah crossovers). I complained about the Doctor Spectrum mini, which tried to convince the reader that the title character was such a bad man, and spent six issues mostly failing at that goal. In twenty two pages, Garth Ennis makes Nicky Cavella more horrifying, more dangerous, more of a character than every panel of that previously mentioned mini. This guy is amazing in the depth of his characterization and pathology. I feel like I know this guy, and I don't want to, which makes the work even better. Like Robert Duvall in The Apostle, this character is made to shine at such a high level that the almost predictable story doesn't even matter, to a degree. What's even funnier is that until I started writing this sentence, I didn't even notice that the title character is not even in a single panel. That's good writing!

Wonder Woman #215:
A good but troubling issue. Don't get me started on the implications of romance for a Kithotaur, because I'm too busy being fascinated by the band of gods meeting in Hell to topple the new Olympian regime. The secret villainy of Veronica Cale becomes a little harder to hide, Athena cracks the whip one more time, and everybody at the Embassy is walking on eggshells. A very well done issue that doesn't exactly tell a complete story, but comes close enough that I didn't mind.

Legion of Super-Heroes #5:
We finally find out what Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl have been up to, and it's not good news for anybody. When another group of super powered teens shows up (calling themselves Terra Firma, but they look like the nucleus of a Legion of Super Villains to me) with Timber Wolf making a very interesting appearance as well. Just like when I was a kid, I feel like I'm reading a story that has legs, and every new issue is a chance to find out more. I really feel like I should recognize more of the faces on the last page, but I just don't. I see the shadows this casts on the shinier goings on back on 31st century Earth, especially since I recognize the guy from Dream Girl's big vision a few issues back. Very happy and very interested.

Buy Pile Breakdown: Two really amazing jumps made this week a clear winner.

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

Day of Vengeance #1:
I'm having a hard time trying to understand why Eclipso is a threat to virtually anybody. Any moron with a UV flashlight should be able to take him. We'll discuss that more a few reviews down. Anyhoo, a bunch of the DCU's mages are catching the hammer as the Spectre acts like he's Joe McCarthy and they're communists. After a rallying speech by Detective Chimp (yeah, that's where it all irrevocably went wrong) ... you know what? I just can't do it. I'm a huge fan of Bill Willingham -- he's a swell, funny, interesting guy. But this? This is just no good. It's just no good. Let's move on.

Fantastic Four: Foes #4:
Robert Kirkman, on the other hand, is much more entertaining, if a bit scattered. Reed Richards, in a desperate quest to save his family from a statistically certain doom, goes after the threats he suspects will one day whack his lovely family. This involves an innovative prison situated in the Negative Zone (something wacky is happening with the designer, but I can't figure it out at all) and doing a test run on Mole Man, who performs pretty much up to expectations. Close, but not quite there.

Losers #23:
The coloring really did a disservice to this issue, which was a fairly complicated story that needed a certain visual clarity that just wasn't there. The "team" is still finding out bombshell revelantion after bombshell revelation and in an Alias way (the TV one, not the comic one) it's kind of "what will happen next" interesting. But ewhereas the murky visual presentation worked well with the "London Calling" storyline, they are unhelpful here.

Captain America #5:
Although he's still being led around by his nose, Brubaker's Captain America has a hard edge that I found refreshing. There's also a ... shift in Bucky's history that I liked but might send some old-school fans into conniptions. The mystery Russians are revealed to have some history in an issue that's all background story. Not bad, though.

Otherworld #2:
Scattered but beautiful -- Jiminez' story feels like it was written with a shotgun. With some of the atmosphere and detail of Giffen and Doran's Reign of the Zodiac, there's a lot going on with a chosen one (and you know how tedious I find that) hiding in plain sight and reading this reminded me why I ended up breaking up with the then-19-year-old porn actress I was dating -- you can only get so far on largely aesthetic considerations.

Avengers #5:
Somehow I missed #4 and had to go back and read it (there are no beaches in Wakanda!), but I'm all caught up now. Anyhoo, the reason for the big jailbreak is known, and it's stupid. The new Avengers (minus Daredevil) head to a certain well-known Marvel locale (if I say where, you'll know who was the cause of the jailbreak since it's, like, his favorite place in the world). Anyhoo, the banter between the heroes is almost enough to buy this book all by itself, as Spidey is on freaking fire with the gags, and everybody else is keeping up (even Wolvie, who's getting lines almost as good as he gets from Whedon). SHIELD does an impression of Starfleet in Star Trek: Insurrection and the art is, of course, pretty (but is everybody squinting?). Not bad, though.

Daredevil #72:
Was Daredevil even in this? An old peripheral foe convinces his scion to carry on the family's work, and there's lots of talk and tension. Great noir work, but not really superhero comics, if that's a problem for you.

Flash #221:
Wally's in way over his heads as the Rogues are happy to tear up downtown in their not-so-civil war. I liked the rivalry/interplay between Cold and Heatwave, but the rest of the rivalries/conflicts (especially between the two Tricksters) didn't do much for me.

G.I. Joe #42:
The Joes are outflanked on every possible side, with lost resources from their federal overlords and a new enemy who seems to be every damned where. I liked the idea of the new threat and its truly transnational origins (except for the costumes, they'd have made sense squaring off against Sydney Bristowe ... yes, I watch that show too much, especially with Francie gone). Still, even with the very surprising high-level death that went down (and I was a bit surprised that such a well-known character caught the hammer), I didn't feel a sense of the stakes really being important here.

Adventures of Superman #639:
back to that Eclipso thing -- okay, it's like 11:30 at night or so (remember, he's beaten by sunlight) and our anger-fueled god of vengeance has hijacked a Lexcorp scientist and kryptonite-flavored suit of armor, all to draw out Big Blue for yet another possession (I've seen Superman posessed by Eclipso at least three times in that last big summer crossover where Eclipso was basically exposed like Gary Payton as not that challenging). Does any of this interest you? Thought not. What makes it worse is that this is 2/3 of the way into a supposed Captain Marvel storyline, and Cap gets -- I kid you not -- one single panel. Which is about what he got last month. I'm sure glad I don't buy all this mess ...

Human Target #21:
With a few brian Azzarello-styled cliches thrown in, this was a disappointing capstone to a fascinating series. Christopher Chance's ongoing identity crisis (ha ha ha ha) becomes physical instead of metaphorical, and nothing really conclusive happens. Perhaps they felt it better to fade away instead of burn out.

Hunter/Killer #2:
Sketchy -- there's one character here who's really important, but I don't remember why (I don't know if his "why" was ever clear to me). Lots of tense shouting and running and chasing. If that's your thing. I, as you see, left it at the store.

Superman/Batman #19:
There was a song out when I was in high school called "Everybody's Talkin' 'Bout MC Brains," and if you switch the has-been's name for Supergirl, that's the basic shtick here. Kara's slowly learning how to be a superheroine, and taking no credit for her successes (which are many). Everybody's a little twitchy around her, as Luthor's new "society" and the World's Finest all keep a close eye on her for twenty two pages. Does this do anything to flesh out the character herself? No. Her sole shtick is "I'm a teen, let me be." Waid's Legion handles the same M.O. with a considerably defter touch.

Ultimate Secret #2:
There's a cute and possibly intentional connection between the Cree of North America and the Kree of ... well, outer space. Ultimate Captain Marvel comes face to face with Nick Fury after some rather pyrotechnic heroics, and spills the beans about a whole lot, including what happened in Ultimate Nightmare. Meanwhile, at the Baxter Building (that brings back memories), Reed deduces Ultimate Galactus' existence maybe twenty minutes before he gets the call from Fury for a consult (and yes, Ellis' handle on the personalities of the Ultimate FF is simply perfect). This, again, doesn't stand alone as an issue, and would only work as part of a larger work. When all three of Ellis' Ultimate minis are done -- provided the ending doesn't suck -- I could see myself going for a big collection of 'em.

Richard Dragon #12:
Richard Dragon is tough. That's basically the story. There's a cute part about hoodwinking Connor Hawke out of this "kill or be killed" contest, but in the same was as Human Target, this "final issue" ended very unsatisfactorily.

Age of Apocalypse #6:
Sinister's motives are made clear, fighting, Jean doing her "am I bad or am I good" shtick again as the world's most important and unkillable mutant ... it's like the regular X-books, but with bigger shoulder pads and more Elseworlds angst.

Read Pile Roundup: One big bag o' blah.

So, How Was It This Week? Between Ennis and JMS making star turns this week, we'll call it good because what I did like I'm reading multiple times already.

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