Fables #45:
The riff between the Arabian and European Fables is settled ... somewhat ... in an issue that closes down a number of storylines and pretty much allows the title to take a breath after the high amounts of tension from previous issues. A good issue, but not a stellar one, with the usual commanding work of Mssrs. Buckingham and Leialoha carrying us along. I liked the difference in voices for Snow White's children, the positive change in Rose Red, the calm certainty of Frau Totenkinder and the almost cavalier attitude of Sinbad. The Bagheera scene was fun too. But it's all just kind of a candy denouement, compared to the thick juicy steaks of recent issues.

She-Hulk #4:
Jen Walters takes a serious turn as the title's hiatus is given an in-story explanation of some emotional depth. I'm not sure, on sheer statistics, that I accept her assertation that "the Hulk has never been responsible for the loss of innocent life," unless we count the wreckage and debris falling an act of God (and she is a lawyer, although it's hard to see her as being that callous), plus I have no idea who this mystery Avenger is. Again, a good issue if not a great one, as Slott's ability to tug at heart strings is not quite as well-developed as his ability to tickle your funny bone (no pun intended).

DMZ #3:
Another "settle down" issue, and one where I realized that I don't exactly understand who the "enemy" of the Americans is. I don't see a huge sign of foreign invasion, so I can only theorize that I properly grokked the idea of a huge portion of the domestic population going all 1776 (or perhaps more accurately going all 1861, backed up by the use of the term "insurgent" for the non-American forces). Which is an idea I rather like, to be honest. The tension and combat is handled well here, but it was a quick burst of activity, leaving the lead character Matty to pontificate in a way that's less compelling than, say, Spider Jerusalem in the same situation and slightly more resonant than a Sunday news talk show. Worth having, but not as gripping as previous issues.

Cable & Deadpool #24:
Jump from the Read Pile. This title has been vexing to me, because while I like a lot about its regular bits (the recap pages are always the best part of the issue), it's not been consistently good enough to make a Buy Pile regular nor consistently weak enough to completely disregard. Nevertheless, Deadpool dominates the issue (with Cable secretly pulling his strings) and goes one-on-one with your Friendly Neighborhood You-Know-Who, and that's always good. The Tobey Maguire jokes are hilarious (and leads me to wonder that if there's a Spider-Man movie in the Marvel Universe starring Tobey Maguire, what is the "secret identity" in that world? Meta-fictional points like that always catch my attention). Also, I have a vague memory about something being all hinkety about Irene Merriweather, but I don't remember what it was. Great banter by all characters -- at the Bugle, on Providence, in Deadpool's apartment -- and a zippy, fun plot. All around good entertainment.

The X-Men 198 Files:
I missed this last week, and I kind of wished I still had. Apparently, there are only 198 mutants in the entire Marvel universe anymore, and this is a book with the Feds' files on all the ones they know about. While not as detailed as an OHOTMU (and using an irritating font color on the proposed hyper links tossed throughout the work -- annoying and hard to read), and filled with some distinctions I don't understand (the feds think that Kitty Pryde is among the most dangerous mutants alive, but think Mikhail Rasputin is less dangerous?) much less agree with, the work has a certain reference material value. Again, not great but not bad. Had I looked at it in the store and not just said, "aw crap, another handbook I can't miss," I'd have probably passed this by.

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

Honorable Mentions: Date Night on Ultimate X-Men #66 has a kind of charm to it. Ditto for Daughters of the Dragon #1, which I could easily see as a pilot episode of a television show. The opening of Ultimate Extinction #1 was good, but it dropped the ball mid issue by losing its focus. Now I think about it, the same could be said of Ares #1.

Pass These Issues By: Captain Atom #4, Supreme Power: Hyperion #1, Son of M #2, Thunderbolts #17 (super creepy), JLA Classified: Cold Steel #2, JLA #124, Green Arrow #58 and retailer Steve's early front runner for worst comic of 2006, the Wayans-powered Super Bad James Dynomite #1.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Urf ... a craptastic week all around, especially with that staggeringly bad Wayans Brothers comic and DC completely falling down on the job, barely producing a decent comic in almost a month.

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