JLA Classified #9:
The "super buddies" are still fighting their way out of an alternate dimension dominated by evil dopplegangers (sadly, no goatees) and a giant mutated rampaging G'Nort (who, sadly, had zero lines of dialogue). Still, I noticed something after going through the entire pile of books -- that, comparatively, it took me a long time to read this issue. It's dense, both in terms of words and images. That's good. I really was able to enjoy the nuances of this alternate universe, and of course Maguire's always amazing artwork. Bea's shifts in character made sense and were fascinating, I liked the work with Booster, which brought him back in line with his original portrayals. I have only two real problems: one, that this left the characters perfectly positioned for the horrors that eventually happened to them in Countdown to Infinite Crisis and that this is the last issue, so I have to wait for Hero Squared to get more Giffen/DeMatteis goodness. Great stuff, and a great ending to the storyline.

Grimoire #4:
There's an unannounced crossover with Beowulf when that character offers Amadine some much needed guidance, and big pieces of the puzzle start to pop up over the surface. I enjoyed the relative density of this issue (I like my comics with some meat on their bones this week) and aside from having the cover drive me crazy (the dark background and the dark logo pretty much melt together, a huge design no-no) I was very happy with this issue, feeling like I really learned something about the characters (and a nice way to bring back Louis Bigsky).

Wonder Woman #217:
It took me a read or two to "divine" what really happened here, because the intricate plots of gods work on somewhat confusing rules. Somehow, Athena uses a similar "trick" to the one that gained her the throne to ... well, I can't tell you what she does, but I loved the twist at the end regarding Diana making a choice, and Ares is one deliciously tricky something something. I'm not fully certain I grasp the "why" behind what happened, but as a plot turn, it was solid (if a little quick) and I loved the fallout from it. Good stuff.

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Fantastic Four 2005:
Coming soon: The Ultimate Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Sears Winter Catalog 2005. I loved the detailed Doom entry and Annihilus, but I think the power ratings are a bit off (but as they are now the authoritative source, everything I know is wrong now). The individual entry art was gorgeous, I am sorry that the actual comics with Alyssa Moy were so dull since she seems like a possibly interesting character, and I'm pretty sure Uatu got shorted. Still, not bad as guides go, and the individual FF member entries are phenomenal.

Solo #5:
Jump from the Read Pile. Darwyn Cooke is a freaking genius. I mean, a complete and unabashed freaking master of form and craft. This issue, which "took a hard left at Nexus and Continuity," happens around Slam Bradley in a stream-of-consciousness fashion that riffs on various other media (the "Funny Pages" section is perfect). Like David Mack, but more coherent, this is -- again -- a leader for best single issue of the year (as Cooke had for DC New Frontier #6 last year). This guy whups ass, I tell ya. Are the rest of the issues this good? Time to go bin diving!

The Hunger #2:
Yeah, yeah, I don't normally read zombie comics, but since I sort of work with Speakeasy, this is on my pull list. I found the story pretty entertaining despite my dislike for the genre, and the character's central struggle was very well depicted. I liked the gallows humor (no, I don't say "black humor," because I'm Black, dammit) of the ending, and I can see more value in this kind of story than I once did (Shaun of the Dead can be blamed for that as well).

Spider-Man/Human Torch #5:
Really surprisingly complex -- the entire "clone" era was covered in a page, and mocked while made interesting at the same time (I'd rather read that page than the real thing), and Peter and Johnny finally came to a real sense of understanding, which was really nice. The last page or two weren't as wildly emotional as the aformentioned DC New Frontier issue, but it could easily live on the same block. An amazing close to an amazing mini, safe from the horrors of the House of M.

Planetary #23:
The secret origin of the Drummer! Also, the most informative and interesting issue in a long, long time. Drums finally shows what he's made of, and I like it. His secret origin has a lot to do with the Four (which I didn't know, but which makes a lot of things make more sense now), and his last panel reveal makes so much sense I can't believe I didn't see it before. Very happy with this issue, where I've been kind of "eh" on Planetary for an issue or three.

Runaways #5:
Victor la Mancha's dad makes a big impression ... and it's not the way you expect. I don't know why so many father-son-control-issue stories are popping up (see Lex and Connor) but I like how the team's relative newbieness is played, I like how the Excelsior "support group" looks like they're getting played like PSPs. Lotsa good stuff here, but not much I can talk about without spoiling stuff.

Buy Pile Breakdown: With a solid jump and even stuff I shouldn't like panning out, it was a great week to buy books (if a touch pricy).

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

OMAC Project #3:
Sasha goes down in the first page or two, three fully-armed OMAC units can't manage to whack the Bat, Booster Gold gets a little gritty, and the League is on the ropes. Max Lord continues his rule as the least compelling and most cardboard criminal mastermind in recent memory (I'm sure the Owl is protesting that vote, though) and the last page was both disturbing and pisses on the real core values of the DC Universe (while managing to be unclear at the same time). Like, you know, a lot of this crossover-related work has done. Urf. Let's just move on.

G.I. Joe: America's Elite #1:
The best thing here, I felt, was the parallel between Flint and Destro -- two angry men who've lost the woman they love to this conflict. Destro, however, has finally stepped out of the direct machinations of the game to work as Rucka's Ares did -- as a god of conflict, arming everyone and sowing discord for reasons of profit. There's an amazing fight scene between Scarlett and an unaligned op (artist Casselli worked it on that sequence) and I almost bought this one. But Casey's pacing seems just a hair off, with the Joe's new "titular" leader fading too far into the background, and the activity happening with all the flow of disparate mission strands on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (am I the only one who thinks everything that happened in San Fiero makes no sense?). Worth watching though.

Outsiders #25:
The fight scene here is really crappy -- unclear, all weird angles and static looks at people. Luthor and Braniac, likewise, are pretty lazy as geniuses go (is it just me, or is Braniac a freaking punching bag these days?). Worst of all was the "if you want to stop me, kill me" bit played out for way too long with such maudlin sentimentality and overwrought heartstring tugging that I had to check the credits to see if Hallmark had a hand in this issue. In the immortal words of Eddie Murphy as Bill Cosby, "filth flarn filth."

Losers #25:
The action is good, the writing is good, but I have to just admit that I just don't like this title for some reason. I can appreciate the craft of this issue -- the freighter bit was quite smart, and the angst of the Russian captain was very well done -- but I just never seem to be able to get into this stuff. Which could just be me.

Batman Allies Secret Files & Origins:
When I'm reading along and see Batman getting his costume shot up, I know we've gone off the rails. Batman's cape has been bulletproof for a considerable amount of time, and his kevlar-enhanced costume is surely resistant to small arms fire. Yet there were beat cops, riddling him with bullets (and still not incapacitating him). That's no good. Then to find out that Batgirl has learned to talk but not to read (so god forbid she need to deal with the Riddler) ... DC's format was already light on actual authoritative data, and this issue in particular just seemed filled with more madness than I can accept. No.

Fantastic Four #528:
Sue gets a susprise visit she surely doesn't like, which makes a hell of a case against her and Reed. Reed delves into the reasons behind the powers he and his family got, while getting ready to make a Fantastic Four Hundred (or more) for the Feds. Reed and Sue get deeply examined here, and the Thing deals with his look for the millionth time. The Reed and Sue stuff here, good. Thing and Johnny, eh. Two out of four.

Mr. T #1:
When a project is so overwhelmingly depressing that it can't even get to be bad, well ... I can sum this up by noting that in the interior pages, Mr. T wears only one chain. Period. How the mighty have fallen. He navel gazed and makes excuses before finally pulling the strap off his shoulder like Jerry Lawler. Against fairly stereotypical drug dealers. Really? This is what they came up with? Man ... that is sad.

Flash #223:
The reverse Flash is in the house, and he's against both camps of rogues, but he's got a surprise coming to him that's so outrageous (Hypertime!) that it made me tired. Each issue of this Rogue War has tried to ratchet things up another notch, this time throwing Grodd at the mess, but still ... it just doesn't have any core, no real raison d'etre. Eh.

Machine Teen #2:
"What am I? Aaaagh!" You can sum up the whole issue there, as "mysterious powers" are hunting our "hero" and his dad and, no, I don't care.

Green Lantern #2:
Hal is -- at best -- a mass murderer. When he made the world forget that Wally was the Flash, he must have made them forget what a collosal a-hole he was as well. Jordan walks up to people in this issue, and they're like, "Oh, hi Hal!" Like he's been out getting Starbucks or something. Gah! It makes my head hurt, this attempt to brazen it out and just pretend Hal back into heroism. The emotion is empty, the "antagonist" chosen to lead this new series off ... well, the choice is so retrograde, so boring, so "this was barely hip in the early 90s, how did you expect it to fly now?" ... wow. I swear, it's like DC Comics hates me this summer.

The Pact #3:
Another surprisingly good issue (yes, I shoulda bought it, argh), with a very nicely done story about sacrifice and smarts. Hester weaves the tale well, and the "surprise" panel with Zephyr really made me gasp. The time travel is handled well (quickly, without a great deal of extraneous info) and I liked Phil Rodriguez' rushed artwork here despite it looking a bit unfinished.

Batman #641:
DNA. Blood. Fingerprints. The Red Hood wants you and the Bat to believe that he is ... well, the WInter Soldier (so far) ain't got nothing on this resurrection, and the Bat looks all the more fool, all the more removed from Morrison's Bat God ideal. Is that a good thing? Not so much, no.

Young Avengers #5:
A smart and tricky fight with Kang as the Young Avengers use all the tricks in the book to fight the time traveler. The intra-team chemistry stuff worked better than the fight did, like a poor man's Runaways, but not bad.

Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight #3:
Close to making the jump, the last knight of a "proto-Avalon" continues the fight against unknown forces, but loses something else important as people start to believe he's the real deal. Fascinating, dense, confusing, fun material. I'll look forward to looking at the big picture.

Read Pile Roundup: Despite some really brutal material from DC, two near-jumps made it worthwhile.

So, How Was It This Week? A narrow victory fueled by some amazing purchases.

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