Buy Pile Report

I was looking forward to this week's batch of comics for a few weeks. It wasn't quite worth the wait.

I was really looking forward to the conclusion of Marvel's "First Family's" "Secret Invasion" tie-in with Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four #3. But, I should have known better. After all, most Marvel crossovers don't resolve with satisfaction, so why would a tie-in mini-series? All the promise and intrigue established in this storyline, from the duplication of Sue Storm-Richards to the promise-packed idea of breaking into the Negative Zone Prison was completely lost in this final issue, resulting in a flat meaningless conclusion.

Honestly, remember how cool those last couple of page of issue #2 were? With Franklin and Valeria coming up with that "breaking villains out to help" idea? Well, that excursion is fast-forwarded to the point where you only really see one villain, who isn't even too interesting a choice despite the attempt at pulling heart strings. Another great idea ruined, Marvel.

The other two books I was really looking forward to this week also just missed the mark. And both were written by my favorite writer, Geoff Johns.

First, in Green Lantern #33, we finally get that issue dealing with Sinestro's first interactions with Hal Jordan, an issue I've been waiting for since I first heard about this "Secret Origins" idea. But, for as good as the dialog between those two characters was, it was all bogged down by Johns' attempts to tie together the upcoming "Blackest Night" arc with the past. And while I've enjoyed the little Easter Eggs he's placed in the first four issues of this "Origins" arc, this was actually one issue where all I really wanted to see was Sinestro training Hal.

This was actually one of the stronger issues of the week, it's true. I just wanted so much more out of it that just didn't deliver.

Justice Society of America Annual #1 was a pretty big failure for me too. Perhaps it's just because "Earth-2's" heyday was before my time, but I just didn't care too much about the characters here. I think the problem is, there are already too many characters in "JSA" that I really love and want more from. I would have much rather the annual look at one of those new characters than re-introduce us to all these "Earth-2" characters.

The annual also is not a standalone story, it is simply the precursor to the bulk of the story, which will appear in the normal "JSA" book -- and do we really need more going on in the book right now?!? It's way too packed, we just didn't need this right now. But, then again, if there's one writer in the world to trust, it's Johns.

Finally, I wanted to make note of Trinity #9. Not that this was the most unbelievable issue or anything, but at least I can now say it doesn't seem like Kurt Busiek is going to keep this series in a holding pattern all the time, like he did through the first five issues. He is going somewhere with the story, and introducing characters, like the "Swashbuckler" he debuts here, that is making this story a good read so far, and I find myself wondering where it is going.