Buy Pile Report

Alright folks, we're going to make this quick. And no, it's not so I can get back to playing "Batman: Arkham Asylum." It's so I can go to bed ... in order to wake up extra early to play "Batman: Arkham Asylum."

What?!? There's a difference! I'm not an addict! I can quit anytime I want!

Where was I? Oh yeah, this week's comic books. And highlighting the week was one of the juiciest (yes, I said juiciest!) "Blackest Night" tie-ins yet: Green Lantern #45. This one had everything you could ask for and all without the use of any of the four Earth GLs (with the exception of two pages at the outset). So what did it have, you ask? Well, Sinestro and Carol Ferris have a heart to heart, with Carol showing her mettle and Sinestro really cutting loose with more pure power than we've seen out of him in a long time. We saw dead Sinestro Corps., lurking Black Rings, and we even saw Pariah making a very welcome cameo in his own special way.

And -- serious spoiler alert here -- does it get any better than the end of this book, with Larfleeze surrounded by Black Lantern Orange Lanterns?!?

While most comic events aim to reward readers for their anticipation, "Blackest Night" has an incredible talent for only making me anticipate the event more and more as the books roll on. And who doesn't love this production schedule, with at least one tie-in out every week?

Speaking of which, there were two "Blackest Night" tie-ins this week, the second being Blackest Night: Titans #1. I was on the fence about buying this mini or not, and now I am sure glad that I dug into my wallet for those extra three bucks. Not only did this book flat-out break my heart at one point (poor Donna Troy!), but it revealed something that's going to play into the main "Blackest Night" story (or at least I think it will). In these pages we see two Doves ... well, plenty of dead dove birds, but only two Dove heroes. We see Don Hall once again, still resistant to the Black Rings, and we see the woman who took up his mantle, Dawn. We also get to see Dawn's aura -- bright white. No predominant emotion. And the Black Ring could not read it. If you're looking into that "White Lantern" theory, there's a big clue right there.

And oh, by the way: Gar ... ew. Folks, this is NOT the mini to pass on.

So what else did we have this week? Superman #691 concluded the "Codename: Patriot" storyline with dubious and predictable results. General Lane's gambit played out with his desired result -- Earth now hates Kryptonians and all things Superman. predictable, right? But also incredibly dubious, seeing as Superman has to be about as popular and trusted as Jesus. How many times has he protected Earth? And we're not going to hear him out? This was dubious 25 years ago during the "Legends" crossover (yes, Morgan Edge, nice Glorious Godfrey impression), and it's dubious now.

I think I just set a world record for most times using "Dubious" in a paragraph.

Similarly dubious, for entirely different reasons, was X-Force #18. Overall, this issue is not bad. We just chug along with the storyline, Wolverine and Cyclops have a nice get-together, we get some cleanup from the last issue and Laura has a real pain in the ass day. But two pages are spent teasing to the upcoming "X-Force," "New Mutants," "X-Men: Legacy" crossover, "Necrosha." This tease included a man by the name of Eli Bard using his blackened hand to reanimate a corpse.

Yes, "Necrosha" will include a man who looks perfectly normal except for his black hand that can reanimate people. Where have I heard of that before? Damnit, this is going to drive me nuts. It's on the tip of my tongue.

Let's just move on, I'll think of it eventually.

I got two more and only little patience. Here's some quick thoughts:

Flash: Rebirth #4: Not the worst story, but if Geoff Johns' cards are all out there on the table now, then this event has to be considered a disappointment. The whole thing is feeling pretty convoluted right now, and if this is where Johns is taking these characters, I'm not sure I want to go along for the ride. Hopefully he finishes strong, but having to wait so many months for this issue made it easier to dislike this issue.

Justice Society of America #30: You'll love the use of new Doctor Fate, but we're starting to see the seeds for the JSA's split in this issue and I'm already not buying it in the least. Here's the problem -- we know too much of Magog's (likely) future. We know what he (likely) becomes. So even if his points have any merit here whatsoever, I cannot help but read all his actions as very misguided, if not flat out wrong. Consequently, I find myself very worried about the future for my favorite superhero team right now. But, as I've said the last couple of months, I trust Bill Willingham and Matt Sturges, so we'll see.

Whew! All done. Back to Gotham!