Buy Pile Report

As I said before, this was a week of substance, not depth. I myself picked up just three books... but frankly, the three I read felt like six or seven on a week full of ho-hum titles.

Let's kick things off with Uncanny X-Men #495, the first part of the "Divided We Stand" imprint. And let me tell you something — some of Ed Brubaker's characterizations in this book are off and it was a bit hokey. Let me tell you something else — the book works so well that I could give a darn.

I was hoping for a complete 180 from the drab art and crappy storytelling of "Messiah CompleX," and this book delivers. It's a very decompressed story, simply showing what the main cast has been doing with their time off (Cyke and Emma in the Savage Land, Peter, Kurt and Logan touring Europe), but that simply works for a story following such tense moments. Mike Choi's art is bright and light and clear too, unlike SOME people -cough, cough- Ramos and Bachalo- cough, cough.

And while the dialog between Shanna and Emma is pretty goofy, considering how primitive life is in the Savage Land and how little contact she and Emma have had in the past, I can certainly forgive it amidst one of the best one-page characterizations of Scott Summers that we've seen in years. It's clear that Brubaker is going to return him to his roots, not simply make him into a cool character -cough cough- Whedon- cough, cough.

You know I am not the biggest fan of Marvel lately, but this does seem to be a good jumping back on point for any of you looking to rejoin the Mighty Mutants.

The other enormous book this week was Justice Society #12. And what's funny is, especially after reading 'Uncanny,' is while the story sputters a bit in this issue, Geoff Johns' characterizations save the day. For the fourth issue in a row, we're really only teased to the next storyline with this murderer. Instead, the interactions between Superman-22 and the other new characters is what takes centerstage.

And while I really don't mind this sort of storytelling, as the back-and-forth between Starman and the Thunderbolt was priceless, bringing in all of these new characters has really slowed the momentum of this title. Especially because I've yet to become interested in ANY of these new characters. Hell, Who knew Black Lightning had a second daughter, let alone a son and a wife?

Still, I trust where Johns is taking the story, and as long as his dialog is so entertaining, I don't mind the wait.

The only other book I picked up this week was Countdown to Final Crisis #12. Yes, Virginia, Countdown was a winner again this week. Action exploded on Paradise Island, with Granny Goodness being chased back to Apokolypse and our three heroines following her there, where, coincidentally, Jimmy was headed to and and "Challengers" are already. Everything is finally coming to a boil in the world of Countdown, which is why you have to say, once again, that this book would have worked MUCH BETTER as a six-month weekly rather than a whole year.