Buy Pile Report

This week was a true rarity. I bought nine books (it would have been ten, if the store I had to go to in Northeast Massachusetts had Black Adam #6), and ALL of them were at least Good.

And, a couple of them were downright Great.

I have to start with Captain America #34. Not because the book debuted Bucky as the Star-spangled Avenger, but because this was quite possiblly the best non-event comic book that has come out in years. You head me, YEARS.

The pacing was perfect. The art, as always with this series, was clear and sharp. The storyline has not stopped moving forward since issue #25. And, in the span of 14 pages, Ed Brubaker clearly defines Bucky's fighting style, feelings about wearing the costume, duties as Cap, and establishes him as a potentially iconic replacement for Steve Rogers.

My worries were that Bucky wearing Cap's costume would be much like Jason Todd wearing Robin's -- he may look the part, but the character just isn't right. Instead, Bucky immediately established himself as a character that I wouldn't mind reading for at least a few years. Sure, Steve Rogers' return my be eventually inevitable, but Brubaker is making the wait a breeze.

This is a MUST READ.

Oh, and did I mention a troop of SHIELD Agents opened fire on American Citizens?

Over in the DC camp, Green Lantern #27 was pretty darned strong too. Geoff Johns' answer to the question of who the Alpha Lanterns are was downright Chilling.

In a nutshell, the Guardians, who were drawn looking like Oompa Loopas, choose a few Lanterns to be the Corps' Internal Affairs. Only, in order to give them such power to enforce the new laws of Oa, they turned the Lanterns into a GL/Manhunter hybrid. You heard me, GL Manhunters. They even said "No Green Lantern escapes the Alpha Lanterns." This is NOT GOOD for the DC Universe. Honestly Guardians, am I the only one who remembers the "Millenium" crossover?

Swinging back across town to Marvel, X-Men Emperor Vulcan #5 made me a very happy man. Remember back when Vulcan was first made Emperor, I raved about how this could be the next great X-Men villain? And I hoped and hoped that he would still be in power by the end of Brubaker's 12-part Shi'ar story? Well, not to spoil things for you, but Vulcan is Stronger Than Ever at the end of this mini-series.

In all, this five-parter really wasn't the greatest thing to read, so I am not advocating buying the TPB when it comes out (not that I am discouraging it either), but the status-quo at the end of the story is as follows: Vulcan leads a united Shi'ar empire with the Royal Guard's full allegiance, Havok, Polaris and plenty of Starjammers are in Vulcan's custody, and Lillandra and Marvel Girl are out in space.

Forget all this "Messiah CompleX/Divided we Stand" crap, THIS should be the next huge X-Men event!!!

But I just read so much good stuff this week, I don't want to leave any out. So, here's a quick recap to encourage all of you to go to the comic shop and share in my joy:

Action Comics #861: This Legion of Superheroes future adventure has been too good for you to pass up. We're about to see an all-out brawl next issue, and we were teased to a few "Lightning Saga" answers in this one.

Countdown #13: Superman Prime takes down Monarch! You heard me!

Death of the New Gods #5: Finally some answers, and lots of good Superman vs. Kalibak action.

Fantastic Four #553: A confusing at times future-characters story concludes in satisfying fashion, and I find myself sad to see McDuffie's Fan Four run end.

Project Superpowers #0: The beginnings of an interesting story and solid art (even though Alex Ross is not doing interiors) make this $1 comic a book you should give a chance.

Ultimate X-Men #90: A nice twist on the character as Apocolypse makes his first appearance. However, I'm a bit peeved to see that Angel dies in this issue, just before A-Poc shows up. I mean, come on guys, be original!