Buy Pile Report: Everything but GL

Next week is going to be a huge week. Justice League #12. Booster Gold #1. Captain America #29. Just to name a few.

Unfortunately, this week was not so hot. Fortunately, Black Adam: The Dark Age #1 made the week well worth it.

There I was thinking this mini-series was going to be nothing but milking Teth-Adam's newfound 52 fame, especially after his Countdown Cameo. Boy was I wrong. Peter Tomasi takes Adam down one ugly road -- an entirely different ugly road than we've seen before. He has his followers beat him mercilessly so his face becomes unrecognizable. He is being chased by several groups and searched for everywhere. And despite it all, Adam manages to ROB ISIS' GRAVE and take her to the LAZARUS PIT. Did I just get you interested? The second issue of this eight-parter cannot come fast enough.

Speaking of DC, have you checked in on Countdown recently? Countdown #38 was just as good as the series has been in a while -- and unfortunately, that still wasn't all that hot. Parts are interesting: Mary Marvel is becoming pretty darned power hungry. The New Gods just keep on dying. Darkseid makes an appearance. All good things, right?

Well, in this same issue, we have a couple of goofy pages with Jimmy Olsen getting turned down for the Teen Titans. We have The Question letting the Rogues get off scott free because her gut tells her they couldn't have done it (in the process, wasting one of last week's jaw-dropping moments of the rogues meeting Batwoman and the Question). Oh, and did they actually called Damage Atom Smasher? Just because they have the same mask, the editors let that one slip past the goalie? Poor poor job, editors!

Countdown is a mixed bag. But if you can wade through the crap in this series, some aspects are redeeming.

Incredible Hulk #109 made me wonder why #108 exists. Oh wait, I said last week that it felt like a junk filler issue. Issue #109 proves me right. The action picks up from where #107 leaves off, with Amadeus Cho and his band trying to get through to Hulk. They manage to do it, by proving themselves worthy in combat, helping the Warbound fight off the military. Some great stuff, great fighting, and great writing, convincing the readers that these puny humans could earn the respect of the Warbound.

It only got better late in the issue, too, as we get a good look at the dungeon Hulk is keeping the "heroes" in. I've said it before, I'll say it again, none of the tie-ins are necessary to love World War Hulk... but if you're going to read any of them, read Incredible Hulk only.

One other note before I go... I have a love/hate relationship with Ultimate X-Men. I keep teetering on the fence of whether to drop the book or not... well in Ultimate X-Men #85, the long teased to Phoenix entity was actually visible for the first time, again harassing the near-insane Jean Grey... looks like I'm stuck buying this for a bit longer... not that this month's was any good... at all...