Black Panther #7:
Because of my concerns about the last story arc, and because it was a crossover with the House of M, I had a vague intention of not buying this issue. However, after reading it to find that two humans -- Doom and T'Challa -- stand toe to toe with Magneto's mutant nation, and T'Challa stands poised to take over from a financial standpoint. Crafty -- beating somebody before they know they're in a fight. I also liked the Council of Kings, a trick that Priest did in his run (and, strangely, with largely similar results). However, the idea that Apocalypse would be openly working for Magneto is really insanely preposterous, I'm a little concerned about Mags tossing a twelve-foot wide television out of a high window on a whim (no mutants below?), and Hudlin kind of heavy handedly delivered an accurate political point whereas a more subtle touch might have worked better. It''s always vexing -- Hudlin's Panther has the ruthlessness and confidence that I always wanted from Priest's T'Challa, but has little of the overwhelming chessmanship. His Sabretooth fight was just about right, and his "team up" was delightful. The goods outweighed the bads, so home it came because Mssr. Hudlin has earned at least that much.

Legion of Super Heroes #9:
Every once in a while, there's a panel that will affect me, a sequence in a comic book or a novel that can, in the words of Vice City DJ Fernando Martinez, "grab me by the crotch and shake me around until I don't know if I'm a man or a woman." in this issue, Mark Waid pens such a page (which works a lot better in context), where Cosmic Boy concludes a crowd of Legion deserters, "The Legion's not twenty guys with corny names and costumes! It is everyone across the galaxy who has made any kind of sacrifice to take back the future! It is everyone who has ever worn this knowing that it makes a difference!" It's a really well done page, on both art (I could see the difference in Jeanty's and Thibert's art from Kitson's, who probably needed a break) and script. Brainy's calm detachment as he arrives on Helegyn, Cosmic Boy's struggle when he steps out of the transmatter gate, and the silence of dinner at his family's home on Braal ... just really well done work. I also gotta say the acted out lettercol (complete with Retcon [tm]) freaking rocks. I can't remember the last time the Legion made me this happy consistently, and the W/KRP era (Waid Kitson Reboot Period, thanks to our friends on Usenet for the naming convention) is a must-buy for me, sight unseen.

Invincible #25:
Jump from the Read Pile. Despite the fact that this issue (and a lot of them) played like a series of scenes patched together (Kirkman's Fantastic Four: Foes felt the same way through its run), there were some really great moments here (Science Dog is a fun jab at Tom Strong) including Mark's dialogue being spot on in virtually every point, a last-page surprise that really threw me for a loop, and a set of great "origin" minis (with great guest art by Todd Nauck, Cory Walker, Joshua Luna and more) that are just plain fun. Normally, I don't buy Invincible because the issues range individually from "okay" to "good," but this one bounced between "good" and "great," which is enough to make the jump in a slow week.

Buy Pile Breakdown: Solid, dependable, and affordable. Oddly enough, my shop didn't order a single copy of Keith Giffen's What Were They Thinking? so I'll have to go find that elsewhere. I also read that Top Ten hardcover, and liked it a lot, as a nice way to fill in the blanks.

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

Ultimate X-Men Annual #1:
There's a surprise here that I was frankly pretty amazed the company would allow, after Ultimate Rogue and Ultimate Gambit steal the Gem of Cytorrak from a Fenris Corporation casino, only to run into Ultimate Juggernaut who is in love with the aforementioned Ultimate Rogue. A good done-in-one that's a must have for devoted fans of the series.

Ant #1:
The "big leagues" debut by creator Mario Gully is a mixed bag, with art that shines like a pro in some panels and falls like a less-than-stellar mini comic in others and a story that has one major plot leap that hits you like whiplash amidst a less-than-insightful overpowering first person narration (in captions, since thought balloons are so passe). Way too uneven for purchasing, which hurt me on political reasons, but it's tough love, I tell ya ...

Daredevil #76:
How outed can Matt Murdock get? Wilson Fisk decides to cut a deal with the feds and it's an ugly, but somewhat predictable continuation of the stakes raising that's been going on with The Man Without Fear. I kind of shrugged at it saying, "eh."

OMAC Project #5:
I swear, I feel dirty reading this stuff. I think I drew an alarming parallel between Brother Eye and the Spectre (if indeed Yahweh has abandoned his creation, as many Vertigo books would have us believe, the Spectre is essentially operating without oversight), and if that's intended to show us the dangers of unchecked power, I get it. I don't care, but I get it. Anyhoo, the absolute stupidest thing I've ever seen takes down Mary Marvel in a panel, as the Omega Sentinels, er, OMACs up their gambit to eliminate superhumanity from the face of the earth (another parallel -- if the Spectre whacks all magic and the OMACs whack all the supers, will the DCU become Earth Prime by way of enforcement? What happens when hostile alien worlds, as seen in the grueling Rann-Thanagar War, invade the then-helpless Earth?) by activating more than you could expect (or possibly handle). I feel like Roberto Benigni's bike in Life is Wonderful -- like we're headed down the hill, no brakes, no lights, no clue (yeah, I watch foreign films, what of it?).

Conan #19:
A cute "done in one" that ties together front and back in a neat way. Conan as thief, however, is not super compelling to me. Barely anybody got killed, and the monster in this issue was disturbingly familiar ...

Fantastic Four #530:
The arrival of a cosmic messiah is ... well, kind of cliche, I think. The Army reaction is sad, especially given how many tanks have been sacrificed to Dr. Banner over the years, but I liked the twists with The Thing, and I'm wondering how many huge spaceships appear over Manhattan a year (since there was that big "steal the island" shtick with your man Galactus last year ... or was that earlier this year?).

Day of Vengeance #5:
The best laid plans of monkeys and mages ... most of the issue is held up with a waiting game (and some skanky space sex, ew), and then back to the largely ridiculous fight and blah blah blah. Even Bill Willingham's prodigious talent can't save this mess.

Daredevil vs. Punisher #3:
More waltzing around one another (they should just get a room) with bodies stacking up on every side. Again, this seemed like more of the same from last issue.

JSA Classified #2:
From a really stupid supposition with W/KRP LSH to a really sappy bit about why Kara has a hole in her costume to kicking sand in Marv Wolfman's face -- this issue has ... well, none of the good stuff, actually. I wanted to handle it with gloves as I read it, with protective screens for my eyeglasses. It wasn't as bad as it could be, but it actively plays with the readers conceptions of things without letting them in on the joke. For a crossover. Argh.

Hulk: Destruction #2:
Talk talk talk flashback to fight talk talk talk flashback to fight talk mean gesture mean expression flashback to fight talk talk talk. Yes, they're still trying to weaponize the Abomination for freedom, and tossed in a retcon that he wasn't a communist spy after all. Peter David, how could you?

Jack Cross #1:
So Pete Wisdom wants to fight terrorism. Okay. I feel like Sunshine Anderson, because I've heard it all before.

Machine Teen #4:
This issue was almost good, with some good pacing and a decent approximation of an endangered friendship. But the lackluster art and simply pepless plot made it impossible to advocate, let alone buy.

Adventures of Superman #643:
A while ago, there was an issue of Captain America which really made me sick to my ass, where Cap was crying as he was wrapped in the flag, and asked why he couldn't just hit something and make it better. This issue reminded me of that fiasco. After admitting that he was okay slaughtering innocents (and Lois rushes to him, how Padme and Anakin) Big Blue had the nerve to get all self-righteous about Diana's decision on Maxwell Lord? Another customer in my store said, "That's why I read Majestic -- it may not be all that smart, but it's the Silver Age Superman I love, and he doesn't cry about it!" Well said, well said.

Wolverine #31:
My favorite part of this issue was Logan killing 1,800 crooks in the space of three or four pages. Mean, ugly fun as Millar keeps hurling boondoggle after atrocity at you with catapults (and big ones, at that). If I didn't loathe Logan so, I'd have probably bought this (and its predecessors).

Read Pile Roundup: Sucky.

So, How Was It This Week? A win, only because I only bought three comics and I was so "blah" on everything else, despite some really hugely goofy stuff.

The Buy Pile is a weekly collection of comic reviews done by Hannibal Tabu (www.operative.net)