Shaolin Cowboy #4:
Jump from the Read Pile, and one so prodigious that I went back and bought the previous three issues. Yeah. There's a lot of talk about mad ideas being tossed around in comics, but this is the real deal. The whys and wherefores are so unimportant that Geoffrey Darrow almost breezes past them, instead focusing on dialogue that'd make Warren Ellis blush (with a simply insane introduction by the Wachowski Brothers), and crisp detailed artwork (again by Darrow, on pencils and inks, with colors and letters by Peter Doherty) that practically leaps off the page. The single complaint I would have about this comic book is the smell. I can't understand why, but when I open the issue, I get a whiff of something that I don't recognize or like. A weirdness in the ink or printing? No matter -- worth it, nonetheless. A fun, relentless, whimsical kickass ride.

Astro City: The Dark Age Book One #4:
Wow. Talk about ending with a bang -- Busiek tosses a time travel twist (and a Namor homage by way of Noble Causes) that's just a lot of fun, with the continent of North America nearly tossed into space (cool!), a literal army of masks in action against a truly huge threat, and a complicated ending that leaves everybody shaken. Really fine superhero comics here, with Brent Anderson's always amazing artwork shining through.

The Intimates #12:
A huge let down for a series that bordered on brilliant -- the best part of this issue was the revealing info scrolls about the thinking behind the series (consider that a "DVD extra") whereas the main "story" goes nowhere (literally) and I'm still not very sure what was in the food. I also think Casey have short shrift to superhero CEO Marlowe, who seemed nowhere near as smart as he was in WildCATs 3.0. A major disappointment.

She Hulk #1:
She's baaaack! Somehow, Dan Slott managed a feat only matched by ... well, Lucifer (which we'll discuss in a moment), making tons of backstory readily accessible, flying along through what seems like scores of plot points (you feel like you really got your money's worth here) and bringing along every character that needs to be here (plus the Vision, Captain America, Spider-Woman, Boomerang, Dr. Samson, a Young Avenger and The Ox), all with Juan Bobillo's perfectly action-comedy oriented artwork to seamlessly create this world of law and spandex. Lots of fun, and a smart (non House of ATM) way to try and bring back a fan favorite. I'm so happy with this.

Top Ten: Beyond the Farthest Precinct #3:
Anchored by a speech striving for being inspirational (and almost making it), the in-jokes percentage is up at about the right ratio (showing some considerable imagination from Jerry Ordway, fitting three generations of Manhunter in the same panel with comic strip characters). Drunken Jesus, a family death, a nostalgic real estate moment ... it's all here, and at something close to Moore's level of content density. Go Paul di Fillipo! Very pleased.

Lucifer #67:
Now we're talking -- all out combat between the legions of Hell (demon and damned, side by side) facing down the hordes of the Lilim and the Pax Dei itself, all with the throne of heaven up for grabs. Instantly comprehensible (somehow Carey manages to make this issue new-reader friendly while never slowing down) and carrying along all the momentum from issue #65 (we never had an issue #66 -- that's just the way it is, it's like Rocky 4 or Han shooting first, it never freaking happened) in a wonderful and horrible (for many of the characters) climax. Where the story can go from here is a dizzying question, and I am simply enthralled by the work here (even with Peter Gross and Ryan Kelly seemingly cutting some corners on detail to make it all work).

Justice #2:
Jump from the Read Pile. Like many, I am a sucker for Alex Ross' style of art (and yes, I know I've seen some of these poses before, swipes from himself, I just don't care). His re-imagining of the Riddler (who does something so smart that I freaking love it, even though you'd think the Bat would have been ready for this of all things) is stylish and slick, the Plastic Man billboard was a wonderful touch, a trickly plot by super villains in impoverished areas is appropriately worrisome and subtle, and Aquaman gets tormented by a monkey. You read that right. The last page reveal is fun in a Silver Age way (as was the end of last issue, which just barely missed the mark on re-reading). Big scale Silver Age fun with people you're familiar with (and I have a feeling the villains united here will be a bit more impressive).

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror 2005:
Oh, you've got me where you want me now, don't you, Marvel? Damn you! Another fascinating read, both in omissions (Blade can't get an entry of his own? Oh, it's in the Marvel Knights one ... oh ...) and delving into the pasts of characters like Elsa Bloodstone or Thog (hahahahahahaha) is simply delightful. A wonderful reference tome both goofy and in-depth.

Buy Pile Breakdown: Despite the expense (and me being exhausted from the karaoke company I work for trying to break the world record for longest karaoke session all this week), a great bundle of books, even with Joe Casey letting me down (maybe he's too busy working his mojo on Godworld to spend his energy on a sinking ship).

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

Authority: Revolution #12:
No. Sad, and embarrassing. The Authority gets a new member, remixed from their past (no, no, no, no), put to rest the ghosts of Stormwatch again (argh) and get all the variant Supremes, er, Jenny Sparkses laid. Just ... no. Brubaker -- you hear me! You're better than this!

Supreme Power: Hyperion #2:
I don't know that I'd call it a super villain team up, but Nuke, Shape, Arcanna and Emil Burbank do something to Mark Milton that he could never expect -- compete. There's a lot of combat at the core of this issue, but it's handled smartly (reminding me somewhat of Morrison's Injustice League, with Luthor calling the shots and never getting involved -- "Over to the Doctor ..."). Hyperion has gotten complacent in his power, and clearly never had to learn that there's always a challenge ahead. A good lesson for him, but just shy of making the cut (despite Burbank turning in a Luthor-esque performance worthy of Michael Rosenbaum in season three).

Transformers #0:
Several years ago, Dreamwave did a great first issue that barely showed any Transformers. This one is very like that one in tone, but a bit quicker in pacing, giving some moments of interest (Ratchet using a line from Terminator 2 seemed a little weak). The problem is that this is not aimed at an audience that's wholly new to Transformers. That ship has sailed. This is for the direct market, and aimed at people (like myself) who can talk you through transforming your average triple changer over the phone, from memory. Going slow is a waste of time for fans like that, and I think IDW missed an opportunity to start strong here. (Yes, I hope this negative review doesn't affect me trying to get them to hire me to write some TF stuff, but I gotta stick to my principles, such as they are, here). My notes simply say "too humaniform," as I don't in any way care about the admittedly clever meatbag characters here (so beating up a bus full of civilians does little for me).

Robin #143:
OMAC fever ... it's drivin' me crazy ... OMAC fever ... goin' out of my mind ...

Sorry, eighties flashback. Anyhoo, the Johnny Warlock thread comes to a wholly unsatisfying conclusion as Robin somehow manages not to die in the first two seconds from creatures capable of flooring Kal-El. C'mon, Willingham. You're better than this, as well!

Ultimate Fantastic Four #24:
You've read it from BeaucoupKevin and now you'll hear it from me -- not obliterating Zombie Reed is a mistake. That said, Momma Storm is back and so is Atlantis, a sunken civilization with ancient Egyptian overtones that somehow still wrote in English (that made me see red for a moment). The kids are all right, and the addition of a second Storm parent (who's very Lauren Reed) is so delightfully complicated that it more than makes up for Reed's folks being boring. The Atlantean idiocy just was too much though -- the characters to spell "Namor" in English hadn't been devised, so why would a nine thousand year old society be writing that way with perfectly usable medu neter (what you modern folk call "hieroglyphs") available? Preposterous.

Birds of Prey #87:
A very rare smart appearance by the Society, with the Calculator trying to figure out Oracle, the Birds back undercover and having fun at it, and worry about the OMAC satellites (uh ... why doesn't Black Adam just fly up and blow it up?). Too scattered to buy, even with Bennett doing some nice artwork.

Fin Fang Four #1:
I had no opinion about this comic book. Really.

Captain Atom #1:
A few years ago (I swear I am the only person who remembers this stuff) Majestic landed in the DCU. Reverse that with Captain Atom (who implied that Maj doesn't hit as hard as Supes, which is ludicrous) and here we are, down to the "what the hell am I doing here?" from Radiohead moment. Plus, what's with that outfit? It looks like a paint store threw up on him.

Daredevil vs. Punisher #5:
Frank Castle whines his way through most of the issue as he's hunted by Murdock and ... well, everybody else. Lotsa shooting, lotsa angst, but largely just a build up.

Gren Lantern Corps #2:
One Thanagarian. One Rannian. Forced to work together and ... oh god, I didn't care during the actual Rann/Thanagar War so you know I don't care about two blank slate characters who are nothing more than planetary species for now. When you toss in the wholly idiotic idea of Mogo being threatened by a fleet of ships (a living planet with the power of a Green Lantern, powered by the will of a damned planet y'all) ... gah. Kilowog's Hill Street Blues riff was lame (yes, I remember that far back, you poozers) and this whole exercise makes me tired.

Runaways #9:
Again, the teen chemistry is right but the plot is not. Cloak is being framed for an attack on his partner, and the team gets drafted to help. Yeah, uh huh. This took a whole issue? Next.

Superman #222:
The root of the OMAC plague (it's OMAC-riffic this week) is found in the tips of needles as one comes to kill Lois at home (how did they set up an apartment like this without the neighbors going nuts -- and where did they get the money?) while she's having a spat with her super spouse. Dumb all around.

Howling Commandos #1:
Giffen's interesting scripting couldn't save this issue from wholly incomprehensible artwork, which was a chore to get through. I liked what I could tell of the characterization, especially on Warwolf and the Living Mummy, but wow was that one ugly comic book.

Klarion #4:
Out with a whimper. Right.

Read Pile Roundup: Remember when DC didn't suck in almost every book they did? Those were good times ... ow.

So, How Was It This Week? Despite The Intimates taking a knee and a craptacular showing from the kids at AOL Time Warner, the sheer quality of the buys will win the week.

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