Lucifer #66:
When people would ask me about this title, I would tell them it runs at 75 percent -- that about one out of every four issues would be a clunker, and the other three were pure gold. I noticed that it has been a while since I saw a clunker issue ... and along comes this one. Now, as you might recall, the armies of heaven and the armies of hell are all on the plain before the silver city as the entirety of creation begins to fade. The title character has yet to play his hand. So what do we get? A human sorcerer mistakenly summons the former cherub Gaudium and wants to trade his soul for wishes. Basically, an interlude, as its outcome has zero effect on the actual ongoing story. Which annoys me to no end, as I find this out when I get home, and I coulda saved myself some money. Argh. Oh well, that means next issue should (according to the theory) kick ass.

New Avengers #10:
Jump from the Read Pile -- and no one is as surprised to see this here as I am. I always thought the whole "faux history" angle on the Sentry was lame, a shoehorn solution to give Marvel a legitimate Superman analogue (since the 616 Hyperion is a super villain and ... well, we'll deal with Squadron Supreme-verse in a bit). So when they started to do the altered memory shtick, I was pretty much tuning out. But what happens here (and I won't spoil it too much but it bears a great resemblance to Ford Prefect's creative shipping and accounting work in Douglas Adams' Mostly Harmless ... which ultimately was enough to get me to buy this issue) is one of the smartest super villain ploys I've seen ... maybe ever, counting the Marvel universe's most powerful super hero to stop himself. Which is excellent for this issue, but makes the entire Sentry mini something of a rip (and yet less crappy than Emerald Dawn that I compared it to at the time). Just interesting reading, and I've already read it three times.

Godland #3:
I just noticed something, as I was very happily reading this issue: I'm a Joe Casey fan. I don't know a single book of his, since he left whichever Superman title he was on, that hasn't piqued my interest (although I'll admit I didn't read/buy Automatic Kafka). This is no exception -- when the reason for Adam Archer's otherworldly powers come to light (in a kind of replication of the invitation at the heart of Charles Stross' ambitious but flawed Accelerando) pops up, it's both sci-fi fun and superhero classic. There's a funny subplot with his sister Neela (didn't those piercings on Angie Archer look like an art mistake at first to anybody else?), some of the funniest super villain dialogue (heavy on Whedon-esque pop culture references) from the likes of Basil Cronus, and I can't deny that I have loved virtually every single panel of this series so far. A buy-on-sight comic book if ever there was one.

Top Ten: Beyond the Farthest Precinct #2:
The cover spoils more than I could, showing that big changes are coming to the Tenth Precinct, with a somewhat unusual 9/11 reference thrown in (with all the power available in Neopolis, with teleporters and time travelers alone, the towers still fell?) as Smax keeps apartment hunting, a religious discussion gets cut short by work, and big changes come in a set of dialogue at the end of the issue. Whereas the original series had the power of Hill Street Blues, Di Filipo's take is much more NYPD Blue -- not necessarily a bad thing, but in my mind less for the transition. I do like Ordway's art (there's a panel showing Iron Man, Doctor Mid-Nite and The Phantom, a page after a corporate Scooby Gang face down protesters), and a lot of the in-jokes fans love are in this as well. But nothing "pops" the way the original did, and I for one can tell the difference.

Rocketo #2:
Sprawling, well crafted, fantasy lore for a new millennium. The title character becomes a man on the changed face of a future Earth, facing horrors and heroism while trying to honor his family legacy. I have to say this is one of the smartest, best done comics I've seen since ... well, the last issue. Which is what makes it so strange for me to say that it's not my cup of tea. I mean, I can sit down in a Lexus SUV and admire the brilliance in design and the amazing piece of worksmanship that it is, as much art as science, but I'm still going to want to get out and climb into an American sedan. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Rocketo, it just doesn't fall into my tastes. Maybe as the story progresses, maybe if the stylistic touches on the art where some sides are left open without close lines (my brain keeps twitching at that), maybe I'd be on board. But I'm not, and I don't wanna keep going on as if I am. I will definitely be getting the trade for my nieces and nephew, I can see this being something I'd want to share with lots of people I know ... but not for myself.

Buy Pile Breakdown: A little bit of this and a little bit of that, with ups and downs and bittersweet revelations. No clear outcome here.

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

Black Panther #8:
As surprised as I was to buy Bendis' New Avengers, I was just as shocked to set this issue back on the shelf. The first problem is how outlandishly stupid the X-Men are -- T'Challa points out that without a real science mind (let alone a telepath) in this squad, they really don't have the right tools to come into this situation. "Where are the real X-Men?" he asks Ororo. There's also a weird re-interpretation of the T'Challa/Ororo relationship that paints him as a heartbreaker and her as a jilted flame who can't deny still wanting him. Which is okay, I suppose, but (again) I liked the Priest "this is not our time" interpretation better (as George Michael sang, "My memory serves me far too well ..."). Likewise, Hudlin's T'Challa is considerably better at quips and considerably worse at actually fighting and beating people -- he's more entertaining in panels and less entertaining over a series of pages as he takes seemingly forever to accomplish anything. Eh.

Robin #142:
This issue came very close to making the jump, with a really well done story that conveyed tension and danger while pushing through a series of relatively new characters (and the mean-spirited goal-oriented nature of the plan was not lost on me). Really, only the fodder-esque nature of the issue's antagonist slowed me down. I'm learning under what circumstances Bill Willingham is able to shine, and away from the tie-ins and constraints of a Bat-verse, he's able to make Robin pretty darned interesting. Worth watching.

Supreme Power: Hyperion #1:
Warning: Mark Milton himself appears very briefly in this issue. Instead, we get a gathering of forces, including Ultimate Emil Burbank, er rather, the new versions of Dr. Burbank, Shape (who's been made into Big Sir, apparently), Arcanna (who has a really interesting take on multiversal quantum theory as the backbone of magic) and more forming a "team" to take on the most powerful man in this JMS-verse. Which is kind of interesting in a OHOTMU kind of way, but not really detailed or well-told enough to actually buy.

Birds of Prey #86:
The girls are back in town ... but the town they're in is Metropolis (we sure needed more capes there), Lady Blackhawk is flying a helicopter that's reminiscent of Airwolf and Blue Thunder now, and the Man Wonder may not be persona non grata anymore. Sad to see how the wedge with the clearly insane Bruce Wayne has driven so many of his intimates to (possibly healthily) develop lives outside of their hometown, but hey, it is what it is. In this case, that means unpurchased.

Captain America #10:
House of M'ed out (and serving as a history of Magneto's rise to power), Cap does it all -- killing Zemo and the Skull, capturing Hitler, being the first man on the moon (with mutant help) in 1955, and ultimately laying down the shield after getting yelled at by Senator McCarthy. But for all he wished for, his marriage disintegrates, he's seen as an anachronism in the shiny mutant future ... Steve Rogers is set aside. Which, to be honest, made me happy since I loathe the character and harbor those thoughts about him anyway. But to see the whole Marvel U (in its Elseworlds-esque fashion) turn its back on him ... it's kind of a downer. Oh well, luckily it'll all be back to some kind of normal sooner or later.

Day of Vengeance #6:
Remember the praise I gave Willingham, above and last week for Fables? He needs that credit -- this is so outlandishly dumb, in so many ways, it makes me tired. The Spectre claims to be all powerful, snatching power directly from Shazam and from the many objects of power in the Rock of Eternity. This, of course, assumes the primacy of the "god" that the Spectre "serves" (where is that guy, anyway?) over Shazam's pantheons, some of which predate all known record that the Spectre relies on. Let's set that prickly cultural point aside for a moment and look at the fact that if the Spectre can, as he claims, have any power he wants and do anything he wants, why has he been getting pasted the last, oh, five issues by a bunch of has-beens and also-rans? Don't get me wrong, I adore the Captain Marvel concept, but if he could just un-Shazam the guy all along, why did he keep letting Batson brutalize him? I did like that somebody finally remembered how insanely weak Eclipso is (despite choosing a rather smart battleground), but with the anti-ending and a magical meteor shower to put Smallville to shame ... just wholly horrible storytelling, from top to bottom.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #23:
Zombie Marvel U. Funny, but ultimately (heh) a one trick pony. Suffice it to say that Reed comes up with something (sort of) and Zombie Marvel U Magneto makes a sacrifice worthy of Joseph or some of his other "heroic" incarnations. But I didn't care.

Green Lantern Corps #1:
The Corps is now gonna be 7200 Lanterns? That many dead Lanterns, including the skinny one and Mogo, are alive again? What are they putting in these drinks? Am I having a stroke? Mommy?

G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes Declassified #2:
Wait a second ... now Snake Eyes was a two-fisted street vigilante? one day, we'll look back at this, laugh nervously, and change the subject. Maybe even today. Let's just move on.

Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #1:
The Ultimate Inhumans make their appearance, borrowing from the recent Marvel Knights 4 storyline of a youngster wanting to dodge a parental choice, with Attilan as a flawless -- but boring (think W/KRP LSH 31st Century) -- society hidden from man for ten thousand years. It had some cute moments, Johnny Storm got to be lovestruck and petulant (sometimes on the same page) and only one gender was switched. I dunno, it just lacked pep, and I don't think Jae Lee's art was the best to depict this sort of fantastic society.

JSA Classified #3:
Okay, the "Hawkmanning" of Power Girl's origins goes even more batty, as she gets played with while visiting the Huntress (who can't see the things plaguing Kara). Meanwhile, Psycho Pirate emerges from, what, decades of inactivity to suddenly have grown a spine, a sense of whimsy, and a plan. What's that? Sounds preposterous to you too? Well, maybe it's Hyper Time, and this is a Psycho Pirate who bears no relation to the earlier. Or maybe like Catman, he just went on Atkins, watched some Dr. Phil and got himself together. Still preposterous? Yeah, that's why I left it at the store.

Runaways #8:
The two-part arranged marriage story draws to a close (two arranged marriage stories this week, two Khera-influenced Coda stories last week ... editors really are overloaded) in a way I found lame. I swear, ever since this Victor kid came into the picture, this title has been going downhill. Oh well.

Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle #1:
Another "almost jump," with great art and a fairly gripping take on Shiloh's struggle to have it all, in the face of a menace from beyond the stars (tm). The new Granny and her girls are, frankly, creepy (which is a good thing) and this really did a lot for me, in tone at least. I just felt, with the great subject matter and opportunity, it lacked grandeur. With a taste of the spectacle that marked the first issue of that Shining Knight mini, it might have worked, but since all the other Seven Soldiers minis have let me down, I decided not to gamble with this one.

Ultimates Season 2 #8:
No, I won't tell you who the "traitor" in the Ultimates is (I suspect we'll see an old friend soon, if my "scenic route" memory hangs true -- I posted a theory on my MySpace blog about it), but it led to some great Nick Fury lines, I didn't like Janet's flippant attitude (and, well, neither did Cap). The "story" per se was kind of piecemeal, with none of the parts carrying requisite weight to make the issue work, but it'll read well as a part of a collection.

Supergirl #2:
Stupid fight scene? No problem -- in possibly the dumbest motivation ever (and he's got no short supply of 'em), Connor Kent goes toe to toe with the Girl of Steel and then more fighting happens and some shouting and blah blah blah. A wholly pointless issue in every possible way.

Read Pile Roundup: Again, ups and downs, with some issues reaching for greatness and some wallowing in the muck.

So, How Was It This Week? An ambiguous week all around, with no clear results to point out.

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