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!
Johnny’s Picks:
Astro City: That Was Then… ($3.99) – Kurt Busiek and Brent Eric Anderson’s groundbreaking series returns in a big way this week. If you have the extra coin and are unfamiliar with the title, I highly suggest the $40 hardcover collection that reprints the original runs of the book, some 20+ issues of the first couple volumes in the series. To me, Astro City is the inversion of the “Grim & Gritty” maturation of comics in the 80’s – retaining the hope and wonder of superheroics, without sacrificing the humanizing realism of that era of storytelling. Busiek and Anderson make a powerful team, re-working classic heroes and villains, bending them towards the light, and finding the hidden nooks and crannies left unexplored in the decades previous. If you love superhero books, you will love Astro City. If you don’t have the $40, just grab this little one-shot special, where Busiek introduces us to a new cast of heroes that will propel the continuing narrative of Astro City into the upcoming new series!
Immortal X-Men #1 ($5.99) – I’ll be the first to tell you that Hickman’s absence from the X-line is both noticed and missed. As the driving force behind the line for over 2 years, how can it not be, right? However, let me also be one to say that the books have hardly fallen off, just…dare I say it – mutated into something different, and we now enter a new phase of the line with another top-tier talent adding his voice to the Krakoan Age. Kieron Gillen, along with artist Lucas Wernek bring us a look at the inner workings of mutant nation politics with this series, and Gillen seems mighty chuffed at being able to return to these characters after a few years apart. Mr. Sinister, a character Gillen essentially redefined, looks to play an important role, and I honestly can’t wait to see what kind of mark Gillen looks to make on this age of the X-Men.
The X-Cellent #2 ($3.99) – Raise your hand if you could look at Mike Allred’s art all day? He’s amazing folks, and he was always the perfect artist for this pop-culture lampooning metafictional X-book. There certainly need to be more superhero books out there like this that don’t take themselves too seriously, but still manage to say something interesting about superheroics.
Hulk Grand Design: Monster #1 ($5.99) – On the heels of controversy, artist Jim Rugg releases this first issue in the third Grand Design volume. I have generally enjoyed the two previous iterations of this series, where indie creators revisit and retell large portions of a comics series’ history (Ed Piskor retold the X-Men, and Tom Scioli tackled the Fantastic Four), and Jim Rugg has for a long time been a creator whose work I’ve admired on books like “Plain Janes” and “Street Angel.” As much a love letter to the graphic design and artifice of comics and comic book making as it is to the green goliath, Jim Rugg has packed every page in these volumes to the brim with wonderful imagery, bringing all his considerable talent to bear. This book is must-read material for yours truly.
Total: $19.96 – Hot damn. If we’re playing by Price is Right rules, ya can’t do much better than that!
Kate’s Picks:
Ham-Let: A Shakespearean Mash-Up ($10.99): To be or not to be: that is the question as to whether this parody of the Danish play can bring home the bacon. (*groan*)
Sensational Wonder Woman Special #1 ($9.99): Just squeaking in at the end of Women’s History Month is this collection of three stories that put Diana Prince to the test. You’ll also want to check out the variant cover from Maria Laura Sanapo that celebrates the best of DC’s female heroes.
Continued belowTotal: $20.98. Dip into the swear jar for the overage. No one will notice, I promise.
Mark’s Picks:
In the Flood ($19.99) – Another ComiXology Original collected for print by Dark Horse Comics. I get that some people love reading digitally, but there are certain art styles that feel better in print, and for me Ray Fawkes is one of those artists. And as a writer, this is even more true. Consider how so many e-readers show only one page at a time, but Fawkes writes as if the reader can see both pages simultaneously―there’s a conversation between the two facing pages that isn’t exactly lost in digital, but it gets a little garbled and takes a little longer to absorb, and in the process I think it mutes an immediate emotional element. The print version of “In the Flood” simply feels like the format the story was written for.
Total: $19.99
Christopher’s Pick:
Killer Queens ($19.99) – I already have the single issues in digital, but David M. Booher and Claudia Balboni’s gay space adventure is too much not to recommend in trade as well; it’s so refreshing to have a lead duo who have absolutely no sexual tension between them, and there’s an angry capitalist monkey too. Balboni’s art is great beyond the jokes too; hopefully we’ll get a second volume soon.
Total: $19.99
