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!
Kevin’s Picks:
Black Panther #166 ($3.99) – The second best thing Marvel has been publishing in 2017 (behind “The Unstoppable Wasp”) continues and everything Ta-Nahisi Coates writes for Marvel will have all my money as long as they want it.
Detective Comics #967 ($2.99) – This arc just keeps getting better and better. This issue is amazeballs between Tynion’s writing and Alvaro Martinez’s (dare I say better than Eddy Barrow’s) art. This seems both important and impactful and is building to some Batfamily craziness for 2018.
Batman: The Merciless #1 ($3.99) – These Dark Knights one-shots are hit and miss, but Tomasi and Manapul manage to pull out the best one yet. Also I’m a huge Bruce/Diana shipper so I may be biased.
Silver Surfer #14 ($3.99) – The end of an era (finally). This fun gem will be missed.
Eternity #1 ($3.99) – The next of Valiant’s fourth Wednesday launches that you should all be picking up.
Total: $17.95. But honestly it could be so much more with “The Flash” #33, “X-O Manowar” #8, “Bloodshot Salvation” #2, “Nightwing The New Order” #3, the list goes on. Choose your wallet’s pain wisely.
Matt Lune’s Picks:
Black Crown Quarterly #1 ($6.99) – Shelly Bond’s new creator-owned imprint at IDW has really hit the ground running with last week’s “Kid Lobotomy,” so I’m super excited to read this new quarterly and see what else they’ve all got up their sleeves.
Jughead: The Hunger #1 ($3.99) – I really enjoyed the one-shot of this that came out earlier this year, so I’m eager to see if an ongoing series can capture that same magic and, more importantly, keep to a schedule that doesn’t kill my interest in it.
Ghostbusters Answer the Call #1 ($3.99) – The 2016 movie was brilliant, and as soon as I finished it I wanted more. They’ve been in comics here and there but to see them in their own series is awesome. Written by Kelly Thompson too, who’s doing awesome work on “Hawkeye” at the moment.
Southern Cross #13 ($3.99) – The start of the third arc, and continuing the horror/spooky theme of my pull-list this week is possibly my favorite horror comic out there right now. I love the blend of sci-fi and scares and Cloonan’s script is airtight.
Total: $18.96 – I’ll also be buying “DC House of Horror” but that’s a whopping $10 so will absolutely blow the budget.
Mark’s Pick:
“Avatar: The Last Airbender—North and South” (library edition, $39.99) — There were a bunch of books coming out this week that I wanted to recommend (most notably the third and final arc of “Southern Cross” kicking off), but I kept circling back to this library edition. Dark Horse always does a really nice job of these books—the idea of having a commentary from the creators in the margins is something I particularly enjoy—but I wanted to draw attention to this book for another reason: this is the last “Avatar” book from writer Gene Luen Yang and the Gurihiru art team. When the next arc begins, it’ll be from a new creative team, and while that’s certainly exciting, I’m also going to miss this old team.
Plus, when I read the story in its original three-part digest format, I had no idea while reading the third part that it was the last from the team. It’s was a one-sided goodbye. So I intend to settle in with this one, take my time with it, enjoy the commentary and sketchbook section, and remember the fun I’ve had on this team’s run. Chifuyu Sasaki, Naoko Kawano, Gene Luen Yang, thank you for being such wonderful caretakers of a series I love so dearly, especially when in adapting it from one medium to another while keeping its spirit burning bright.
Continued belowAnd so this “Avatar” cycle comes to an end…
Total: $39.99. (Brian, if it makes you feel better, I did actually write one that stayed below $20, it just wasn’t the one I submitted.)
Brian’s Picks:
Jughead: The Hunger #1 ($3.99) – No time like the present to get into the Halloween spirit, and a werewolf Jughead does the trick.
B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know #3 ($3.99) – The first arc of the new series is really starting to heat up, and with the return of Abe Sapien, there is no reason to be skipping this book.
Batgirl #16 ($3.99) – Chris Wildgoose is, perhaps, the creator who has impressed me the most since coming into my life this year. I had never seen Wildgoose’s work before he landed on “Batgirl,” and boy has he impressed. Plus, this arc has been such a confluence of things I want in a Batgirl comic – tech stuff, Dick Grayson, and the realization that she’s, perhaps, the most down to Earth and normal member of the Bat family.
Black Crown Quarterly #1 ($6.99) – With the assemblage of talent on the Black Crown line, this is an absolute must read.
Total: $18.96 – No comment, Mark.
Kent’s Picks
Street Angel: Super Hero for A Day HC ($19.99) – Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca’s current stretch of “Street Angel” graphic novels for Image have been a blast. The album-sized stories have surged with urgency and reckless, punk-rock abandon. The escalation from an after-school brawl at the bike racks to Jesse’s taking down of an entire Warriors-esque street gang means this one will probably stretch into the epic..
Total: $19.99 – Playing by the rules this week, otherwise “Victor Lavalle’s Destroyer” #6 ($3.99) and “Kaijumax Season 3” #4 ($3.99) make the cut.
