Buying comics can be an expensive hobby. A lot of fans simply can’t afford everything they’re interested in, due to rising prices and the over-saturation of the market with superhero titles.
That’s why we’re here. Every week, the Multiversity staff is asked “What would you buy this week if you couldn’t go over $20?” and shares their reasons why, in order to help others who might have similar tastes make their own decisions in buying comics on a budget. Be sure to leave your own picks in the comments!
Leo’s Picks:
We Can Never Go Home #4 ($3.99) – “We Can Never Go Home” has been a stand out for me among a really solid lineup this year from Black Mask. Even as it plays with superpowers, it’s a more understated story, touching on teenage love, road trips, and a whole lot more. Issue 4 is the penultimate issue and things are only getting more and more desperate for our two teenage protagonists.
Spread #9 ($3.50) – This has been one of my favorite books of the last year or so. Justin Jordan and Kyle Strahm are making a book that’s all kinds of fun to read while simultaneously making some of the most genuinely creepy moments in comics that I’ve read. We should all be reading this.
Roche Limit: Clandestiny #4 ($3.50) – I can never get enough sci-fi comics and Michael Moreci is probably one of the best at writing them right now. The second part of his sci-fi trilogy, “Clandestiny” is an interesting follow up to “Roche Limit”. Moreci and Charles are putting it all into this book and it shows.
Total: $11.99
Mark’s Picks:
The Sixth Gun: Valley of Death #3 ($3.99) ― This issue wraps up the last “Sixth Gun” spin-off. From here on there’s only the final three issues of the main series left. I’ll be very sad to see this series end, so I’ll relish every page.
Rumble #6 ($3.50) ― If you haven’t read any of John Arcudi and James Harren’s creator-owned series, pick this issue up. This issue stands alone rather nicely, getting new readers up to speed while giving them a taste of what the series is like. If you’ve already read “Rumble” then I don’t need to sell this to you; you’re already buying it.
Fight Club 2 #4 ($3.99) ― The webcomic “Sin Titulo” was my introduction to Cameron Stewart’s work. One thing that has impressed me right away was the density to his visual storytelling. He makes me feel like I’ve read more pages than I have (and I mean that in a good way). The same can be said for Chuck Palahniuk. So when the two of them work together, you get a comic that feels really full and deserves multiple reads. Plus it’s “Fight Club”, damn it.
Hellboy in Hell #7: The Hounds of Pluto – Part 1 ($2.99) ― This issue is amazing, even by “Hellboy” standards. “The Hounds of Pluto” is already a favourite of mine. The opening pages are simply stunning in their beauty.
Total: $14.47.
Keith’s Picks:
Roche Limit: Clandestiny #4 ($3.50) – This second volume of the “Roche Limit” trilogy, with its tonal and artistic change, is just as fascinating and beautiful as the previous series.
Low #9 ($3.50) – This remains one of the most breathtakingly beautiful series being released today.
Grayson #11 ($3.99) – It’s not only the sexiest book on the stands. It’s also one of the best.
We Are Robin #3 ($3.99) – Duke Thomas is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters and already deserves to be one of his closest allies (in or out of a costume).
Batgirl #43 ($2.99) – Luke Fox (a.k.a. Batwing) makes an appearance in this issue. I could see him making a great sidekick for Babs.
Total: $17.97 – I mistakenly thought “New MGMT” #1 was coming out last week, so make sure you pick up the conclusion of this masterpiece of a series on Wednesday.
Brian’s Picks:
Grayson #11 ($3.99) – One of the signs that DC is really behind this book is that, post-June ‘relaunch,’ it got a buck more expensive. DC’s $3.99 books are the ones that really sell/matter to them, and so it isn’t just the Multiversity folks who see how great this book is.
Continued belowHellboy in Hell #7 ($2.99) – Every month this book comes out, this gets on the list. Every time. Mignola drawing hell = some of the best comic booking there can be.
Cyborg #2 ($2.99) – The first issue was an interesting pilot for the series – I’m truly intrigued to see how far David Walker is willing to take the series into uncharted territory.
Rumble #6 ($3.50) – The second arc starts here – I’ve missed Arcudi and Harren.
Total: $13.47
Kevin’s Picks:
We Can Never Go Home #4 ($3.99)– The unflinching punk rock love story returns for the second to last issue. #3 ended with such a fantastic cliffhanger it is hard to tell where to go next. Black Mask Studios has truly found a gem for a company that has been around for so little time.
Over The Garden Wall #1 ($3.99)– The fantastic mini-series now gets it’s own mini-series. Set in between the episodes there should be a lot of story to add on to here. For those who haven’t seen the show, do yourself a favor and do that now!
Drive #1 ($3.99)– We all know the Ryan Gosling film and now it is in comic form. I suspect that it will be closer to the original novel as opposed to the film, but I am excited either way.
Total: $11.97 – A lite week for sure but if these books don’t tickle your fancy “Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Omnibus Volume 1” is a well suited replacement at $19.99 total.
NEW MGMT #1 ($3.99) – or “MIND MGMT” #36. Matt Kindt’s first ongoing series was definitely something special. From his expert plotting, experimental art, engrossing story, and fascinating characters, everything about this series just came together. He’s bowing out now, and it’s a great time to go back and reread the whole thing. See the clues. Make the connections.
Grayson #11 ($3.99) – Dick Grayson’s butt will never get old. That it’s currently starring in such an entertaining and amusing and an all-round bubble blast.
Lumberjanes #17 ($3.99) – Any week with “Lumberjanes” is a good week. Also, this is Noelle Stevenson’s last issue, so it might also be a little bittersweet.
Over the Garden Wall #1 ($3.99) – Did you all watch this series from last November? It’s pretty magnificent. I’m sort of digging how Boom! still managed to get a comic series tie-in out of it. Usually they do pretty well with these things so it’ll probably be interesting.
East of West #20 ($3.50) – Wow, it’s back.
Total: $19.46
Ken’s Picks:
Attack on Titan vol. 16 ($10.99)– Very much a latecomer to this series, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t a compelling one, for all its faults. The Titan slaying action has taken a backseat to some of the political machinations, but still good.
East of West #20 ($2.99)– Oh it has been way too long since the last issue of this. It still one of the best books out on the market and the most Jonathan Hickman book out of all of ’em.
Grayson #11 ($3.99)– While the “Dick Butt” running gag may be wearing a bit thin from rapid overuse, the book continues to be an insane amount of fun.
Total: $17.97. Switch out AoT for two books that look interesting if you must.
Greg’s Picks:
Invisible Republic vol 1 ($9.99) – Tough pickings this week. A lot of my choices on the Previews ship list are books I’d normally recommend but that are at not-the-best jump-on spots right now, or a bunch of trades that are over the $20 limit. But leave it to Image and their intro-friendly trade prices to let me pick one of them with some change to spare. This series has been the Bechko/Hardman collaboration we’ve been waiting for while they worked on other licensed properties: a gritty sci-fi story with scope and brains. A reporter uncovers someone erased from the official records of a recently deceased dictator’s regime. Who is this woman and why was the gov
ernment so determined to keep her out of the history books?
Valhalla Mad #4 ($3.50) – A pub crawl to make the pillars of heaven shake. That’s what the Gluttonalia was pitched to us as. But since the trio of The Glorious Knox, Greghorn the Battlebjorn, and the Jhago the Irritating are being written by Joe Casey and brought to life by Paul Maybury, you know it’s not going to be all fun & games. Such as checking in on an all-powerful foe now reduced to a mortal shell devoid of memories from his villainous days. But things definitely aren’t what they seem with either this Kirby-inspired trio or their exploits…
Ragnarok #6 ($3.99) – Speaking of Kirby-inspired heroes, how could I pass up a Thor comic by Walt Simonson? I can’t. But this isn’t a Chris Hemsworth Goldilocks version of the God of Thunder. For one thing, Ragnarok’s protagonist has a skull face and is missing a jaw; so there’s that. Second, it turns out Thor missed Ragnarok and has returned to find Asgard destroyed and evil running amok. While Mjolnir might eventually be used to rebuild the home of the Gods, it looks like there’s a lot of smiting to be done before we get to that point. Simonson/Workman/Martin telling stories of Norse fantasy? No way I’m passing that up!
Total: $17.48
Drew’s Pick:
NEW MGMT #1 ($3.99) – It doesn’t matter what else is coming out this week because nothing’s going to compare to the end of Kindt’s “MIND MGMT”. Over the last three and a half years, this series has pushed comics to their limits by incorporating design and style elements into the story. It will be tough to replace something as original as this, and my pull list will probably have an open slot for sometime to come. Saying “If you like comics, you have to read this” is an overused hyperbole in my opinion, but this time it’s really true. If you haven’t tried “MIND MGMT” yet, buy the first hardcover and see just what the medium is really capable of.
Total: $3.99, or whatever your shop will charge for the Geoff Darrow variant.
