Buy Pile Report

So, I finally got a chance to read more than just Countdown... and if you missed it, check the post below this one for a full report on the best issue yet in that series.

The rest of today's buy pile was not as thrilling, but not ALL bad either...

The week's most pleasant surprise has to be Wonder Woman #9. if you've been following the blog, you know that for (admittedly) little reason I was very excited for the "Amazons Attack" event. Then, following the release of Amazons Attack #1 and accompanying Wonder Woman #8, I soured on the event quickly.

Well this second tie-in issue was much better, with a great balance of swift pacing and plenty of exposition. Not only do we see Diana's first interactions with her recently resurrected Mother, but we learn plenty of how the Amazons were manipulated into the war (still a bit of a weak reason, but I can suspend disbelief if the event is worth it in the end). And, my interest was really hooked toward the end of the issue, when it becomes evident that Wonder Woman may be faced with a "must kill mother to end the war" situation. And those are always neat.

My one concern, though, is with all of this exposition in a tie-in issue, will Amazons Attack #2 be a giant rehash? I mean, Amazons Attack #1 and Wonder Woman #8 were very very similar, I would not be shocked if it is happening again, with the amount of info in this issue. I'm hoping, though, the more I think about it, is that the Wonder Woman issues will deal squarely on the effect of the war on Diana, while the Amazons Attack series deals with the whole DC Universe. We'll see.

Another issue of note was Captain America #26, the first real issue of Captain America since Steve Rogers was killed. I had mixed feelings after reading this...

Brubaker does his usual great job of storytelling the aftermath of Cap's death through the eyes of the three new main characters, Winter Soldier, Sharon and Falcon, and its all effective. All the reactions were spot on with how I would picture the characters to act, and between Red Skull's apparent time-traveling plans and Winter Soldier's new found quest to kill Tony Stark (fat chance!), I am still hooked on this title.

Still, with such a slow and somber pace to this issue, it feels a little out of place right now, give the 2 month layoff since Cap #25 and all of the "Fallen Son" issues that have already dealt with Steve's death. I almost think this issue would have played better if those Fallen Son issues had never existed. I mean, they are really nothing special anyway.

The final issue of Dwayne McDuffie's first arc of Fantastic Four ended this week with Fantastic Four #546. Since his first issue, readers have been split down the middle regarding his stories -- some are killing him for ignorance toward continuity, while others have enjoyed a fresh take on the book.

Now that the first arc, which showed Black Panther, Storm, Human Torch and Thing fighting off Galactus, Silver Surfer and Star Dust (yes, all of them), is over, I've made my final verdict.

McDuffie brings a brand new sense of adventure to the Fantastic Four, which is dynamite. For as much as I scoff at the Black Panther's ability to have a "contingency plan for Galactus," it's all just a wild enjoyable ride. Personally, no, I don't love that this story is in continuity and doing such goofy things as teleporting through space with two magic frogs, but it definitely has imagination -- and at times, the Fantastic Four has lacked that for a long time (except for some of Waid's run). He's not the perfect FF writer, but he's good enough as far as I'm concerned.

So? Thoughts?