Every week I go to the comic book store (Comics Ink at Overland and Braddock in Culver City, CA, hey Steve and Jason!) and grab a lot of comics. I sort these into two piles -- the "buy" pile (things I intend to spend money on, most often a small pile) and the "read" pile (often huge, including lots of stuff I don't actually like but wanna stay well informed about). In no particular order, here's some thoughts about all that. Due to the fact that some holiday happened last week, we're doubling up columns, so hang on to your mylars!

Week of November 23rd

Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #4:
Jump from the Read Pile. This issue was firing on all cyllinders, chock full of Vintage Grant Morrison Crazy (patent pending) when Morrison pulled a line out of his metaphorical hat that told me I was gonna buy this book. To tell you about it would be a somewhat sizeable spoiler for the finale, but it's a bit of dialogue pregnant with so much tenderness and so much power that I'd practically kill to have written it. I'd totally use it myself, in an appropriate context. Anyway, the issue of Zatanna's lost powers comes to a head, and this individual story gets concluded in a rather spectacular way. It's always hard to make a fight between magic users not look either cliched or predictable, but Ryan Sook makes some miracles happen. His use of darkness, his sense of grandeur ... magnificent. A really great comic, that waited until literally the last panel to remember, "oh, right, I'm part of a bigger story" and do the Seven Soldiers tie in. I love it. Such a satisfying conclusion.

Godland #4:
Speaking of crazy, the Kirby-esque mad fun goes on as cosmic-powered hero and former astronaut Adam Archer lets his meta story plot line lie fallow while he deals with some family business, breaks a lot of stuff, and lets somebody else take the credit. Fans of Christopher Priest's Black Panther may find the bombastic antics of Crashman famiiliar (I do kind of miss Happy Pants Panther, now I think of it) and the lunatic banter between the villains Basil Cronus and Friedrich Nickelhead was alsoquite fun. Somehow this issue didn't seem as ... I don't want to say "packed," because a lot happened. But it normally happens (in the last four issues) in a much more elegant fashion. It was just kind of all over the map, even with a very strong emotional scene between Adam and his headstrong sister as an anchor. Still good, just slightly less good than I was used to.

Lucifer #68:
Whoa. The penultimate chapter of the story "Morningstar" goes big in every possible way, with the most ... everything guest star appearance in some time. Two familiar female faces have a tete-a-tete with the Almighty, as the war rages on in the Silver City, with Lucifer going toe to toe with Fenris. I literally spent most of this issue with my mouth hanging open. After that pointless Gaudium issue a while ago, and some of the other momentary mis-steps, Carey (with Peter Gross and Ryan Kelly doing largely effective art ... I didn't like the way they did eyes at the final meeting) simply pulls out all the stops in a story that ascends and ascends to greater and more perilous stakes. Great stuff, and I'm almost terrified to read the next issue, after ratcheting up the story so far.

She Hulk #2:
Don't get excited by the cover -- Clint Barton is on time traveling jury duty, and finds a way into his costume while he's got a free second. This leads to much hilarity from Jen (who's so Ally McBeal -- even when powered up -- I'm surprised Callista Flockhart hasn't sued for some kind of infringement ... but it's a good thing) doing everything she can to warn a delightfully dense Hawkeye about his still-in-his-timeline impending demise as a part of that Disassembled mess. Add a giant killer robot, a lot of property damage and some fun legal wrangling sure to get the attention of our friends at the Comics Debunker Blog up in arms. A lot of well-thought out fun.

JSA Classified #5:
Jump from the Read Pile. The story is called "Honor Among Thieves," and in one issue, Jen Van Meter makes the members of the Injustice Society (especially the Gentleman Ghost, who now fascinates me, and the everyman-esque Icicle) more interesting than characters I've known intimately for years. Plus, this story gets to resolve/dig up a nice piece of DC arcana from Grant Morrison's JLA run that I've always found a lot of fun, and the sense of togetherness for this group of arguable friends was tangible. Fascinating, and I'm in for the whole story.

Ultimate X-Men #65:
Jump from the Read Pile. The reason why I bought this comic is best summed up in the words of our dear friend Ultimate Magneto: "Those are yesterday's ideas, my friend. It's time for something new." The escape plan has way more layers than anyone could have expected, with Ultimate Mags and Ultimate Mystique being considerably smarter than I'd have expected. The good guys came off all right, but they have no idea what really happened, and to boot the X-Men are now persona non grata with those wacky kids at Ultimate SHIELD. Fascinating stuff. The Ultimate Vision backup is nothing worth noting, but I have to admit that I like having a backup story.

Ex Machina #16:
I may still be torqued from that Y: The Last Man review from a few weeks ago (and I got all the emails, and wrote a response, but my new editor whacked it, and no I'm not super pleased about that, but whatever, that's why I archive everything as director's cuts on my own site), but this issue didn't seem to get it done, mostly telling a flashback reveal story for the Mayor's benefit as much as ours. The actual "story" is cute (I liked the lying gun a lot) but the content density just isn't what I used to enjoy here. I was already skeptical about continuing with Vaughan, but this series needs to get its groove back or I'll be gone like the Dinkins mayorship.

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

Honorable Mentions: Young Avengers #9 keeps the interaction tight even with a less-than-enthralling plot -- it's the new Runaways! Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #1 almost joined Zatanna but missed the mark by centimeters (and I loved the "breath on your neck" bit). Invincible #27 was likewise close, with some entertaining cameos, but still wasn't quite good enough. Finally, the Kingpin's chessmanship in Daredevil #79 was absolutely stunning, but it was one or two great pages in an entire issue of "whatever." I may have to go back for Punisher/Bullseye #1 because Way and Dillon are so much fun together.

Pass These Issues By: I don't know what happened in Girls #7 but I didn't like it. Flash #228 made Wally look like a moron, Robin #144 is an OMAC-filled mess, and the Winter Soldier finale in Captain America #12 was as whiny as that Reiber issue with Cap literally crying into the flag. Blech.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Three jumps, several close ... an amazing week. Shame I was off ...

Week of November 30th

Black Panther #10:
Jump from the Read Pile. Borrowing a page from the Book of Christopher Priest, this issue uses Luke Cage's perspective (and so tightly and smartly tied into continuity it made me want to hug Reggie Hudlin next time I see him) as a framing device for the often difficult to grasp T'Challa (imagine Cage as a hipper, bulletproof Everett K. Ross). However, by using a narrative stripped down to brass tacks, he's able to keep the accessible charm that Mssr. Priest was never able to master despite his higher literary abilities. The Dora Milaje get into another nightclub fight (did the last one happen? Let's not dwell on that) and Cage gets fired by a Puff Daddy analogue. The exposition is handled neatly in gossipy conversations, and the idea that Cage has been a fan of Panther for years is a nice touch (despite the many times they've met, fought together ... oh, why get mad now, I bought the book already). I don't even mind shoehorning in one true love for T'Challa in the form of a certain character we all know and love. Scott Eaton and Klaus Janson's art (pencils/inks) may not be as kinetic as they could be, but they do a great service to most of the issue, depicting every panel in loving detail. A marked improvement over the "T'Challa Light" opening and the mutant-laden follow ups, and I'm on board for this storyline.

Fear Agent #2:
Jump from the Read Pile. When I was a child, watching the pulp likes of Sinbad on Saturday afternoons in Memphis, I didn't appreciate the value of their lower production values and devil-may-care scripts. I do now, and this issue of Fear Agent manages all of that without breaking a sweat -- and I'm super grateful to Image for sending me the first issue, hooking me. Jackass spaceman adventurer Heath Hudson is in bigger trouble than he can handle (again) and setting up a classic cliffhanger of epic proportion. Everything here is right, from the vintage-but-polished artwork from Tony Moore and Sean Parsons to the watercolor influenced shadings of Lee Loughridge. Just plain fun, and I couldn't be more pleased to add this to my regular purchases.

Legion of Super Heroes #12:
In the words of Al Tariq, "It's gonna be an all-out war!" With the endless optimism of youth, the Legion faces nigh impossible odds while Brainy loses his grip (or does he?), Cos makes the tough decisions, Projectra shows her stuff (at a huge cost), and the Legion does what could be cliche in less skilled hands, but here inspires. Love it. The Garth/Imra back up was cute, too. Just a great comic, cover to cover.

Fell #3:
Damn, a guy can't even go shop for a new suit without having to do some work? Detective Fell literally stumbles on to a bit of a mystery and has to rely on his wit and his speed. Short, sweet, and solid. Nicely done, with a hint of gallows humor.

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe X-Men 2005:
If you've read these reviews before, you know I can't resist these kinds of reference materials. When you do so for one of the most confusing super teams ever (they might be tied with the multiple versions of the Legion, but the W/KRP version is fast becoming a favorite, despite not having a Kryptonian, a Daxamite nor a legacy hero in evidence) how can I turn it down? It's good to have the new Hellfire Club explained to me, the Magneto entry goes right up through House of M, and even Northstar's new turns have been included. Fantastic. Great, if a bit convoluted (which is not the fault of the book, but the source material).

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

Honorable Mentions: The noir touches of Chicanos #1 were effective, even in a downer of a story. I was stunned to hold the Image Hardcover in my own hands, but the Dragon's origin was worth it (the rest was just "okay"). The storyline much like the current one in JLA Classified wasn't as good, and should be stricken from the record in favor of this (but this is still the second "explore the fears of the JLA story in, what, two years?). There's a lot to like about the complicated relationship with The Hulk in Sentry #3 (and Beaucoup Kevin posted some of the pages, which are among my favorite Hulk panels ever), but ultimately leaving the real questions so open ended was a mistake. I also think the balance is almost ready in Cannon Hawke #3, which had a great chase scene and made some of the undersea armored guys stuff make sense ... but not all of it (the big reveal meant nothing to me because I don't have that much invested in the characters from what I've read here) and the antagonists still seem indistinct. Speaking of wet guys, Ultimate Namor's quite a surprise, but it goes farther in saying how dumb the supposed geniuses (geniusi?) here are than how impressive he is.

Pass These Issues By: A broken Mxy looking for redemption is the sole good thing in Adventures of Superman #646 while New Avengers #13 again made the Avengers look confused (and the reveal was an anticlimax). Captain Universe Silver Surfer not only wholly ignores the recent weird series, but spends the whole issue moving from point A to point B. Yawn.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Not much bad, two jumps, that's another great week of comics, woo hoo!

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