Buy Pile Report

OK, give me a minute to collect my thoughts. I just finished Fantastic Four #555, and boy does Mark Millar throw a whole bunch at you at once.

His second issue on the title with artist Bryan Hitch proved to be just as strong as the first, answering some questions while bringing up others and even invoking a little bit of Stan Lee-ish ghosts. The answer we get is that the big bad threat facing Earth is -- are you ready for it -- environmental disaster. Yes, I should have guessed it with how high and mighty Millar likes to be sometimes, but that's the truth. No Galactus-esque demon, just plain old greenhouse gases.

What keeps me interested in this story, though, is the hint that this environmental disaster may not be as bad as Reed's former GF has made it out to be. Ben reminds Reed of what kind of a hold the woman can have on him, and mentions that this may all simply be a ruse to get Reed back in her life. And while that's just crazy considering the dollars that are going into this Nu-Earth project, it's plausible in that this would still be a political statement from Millar — that our environment is not too bad off.

Fantastic Four has given me a lot to ponder, which is why I felt it was the strongest book of the week. Oh, and Johnny's new super-villain girlfriend kind of reminds me of a 21st-century version of the original story featuring Johnny dating Crystal, which I love.

OK, I spoiled a lot of Fantastic Four right there. If you're not in the mood for spoilers, you shouldn't read this next section, either.

In Salvation Run #5, we finally learn who those mysterious onlookers were in the first issue, and we learn exactly what planet the villains are on. The onlooker? DeSaad. The planet? The area where DeSaad sends prospective Para-Demons as a final exam. In the words of a former co-worker of mine, DAMN!

From the start, we knew Salvation Run would have to tie-in with "Countdown" in some fashion, and I have to say that I surprisingly love where this is going. Not only do we get to see a big ole Villain Brawl next issue, but by issue seven we'll get to see them all fight off Para-Demons! It's like a Fourth-World Wet Dream.

Finally, it should go without saying that you should go and pickup Booster Gold #7. Maybe I just love it so much because I grew up with this era too, but the whole book is like Geoff Johns' love letter to the Justice League International era. We get to see just how bad the OMAC rule is in this issue, and revisit a couple of memories from the 1980's.

This issue also hints at a much larger plot in time, hatched by a team of villains — one of which (as expected) is the Black Beetle. The only downside to it all is Ted Kord's final fate is looking increasingly bleak. I love the guy, and if there is any way for him to stay alive, I am wishing with all my fanboy heart for it.

Anyway, I know it was a short buy pile report today, but those three really were the very best to hit the shelves. Enjoy!