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!
Kate’s Picks:
Tales of Mother F Goose #1 ($6.99) – Quentin Tarantino takes on Mother Goose and the results are just as twisted as you would come to expect. Also peep that Amanda Conner and Paul Mounts variant cover paying homage to the movie that taught us about the Royale with Cheese.
Lady Mechanika: Monster of the Ministry of Hell #1 ($3.99) – If you missed Joe Benitez’s self published series of steampunk adventure when he was still self-publishing it, the good Lady has a new home at Image Comics, and a new series to boot. Let’s get our gears on.
Marvel’s Voices Comunidades #1 ($9.99) – Marvel promises the world outside your window, and the world outside your window in 2021 is more diverse than ever before. As they have done all year, their “Voices” series shines the spotlight on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) superheroes, and this one showcases the Latinx superheroes. I still want my Ghost Rider TV series though.
Total: $20.97 – don’t tell anyone I may have to borrow the extra buck from the swear jar…
Christopher’s Picks:
Devil’s Reign #1 ($5.99) – Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto’s “Daredevil” run has been simply excellent, and it’s going to be really interesting to see them expand the scope of the series to all of New York City, which is really the heart of the Marvel Universe — all hail the King(pin).
Captain America/Iron Man #1 ($3.99) – There’s been some interesting speculation as to why Captain America’s solo title hasn’t already been relaunched after the conclusion of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s run. Well, in any case, hopefully it’ll be fun to see Steven Grant Rogers and Tony Stark hang out in Derek Landy and Angel Unzueta’s miniseries in the meantime.
Fantastic Four: Life Story #5 ($4.99) – Mark Russell and Carlos Magno’s intriguing and depressingly realistic series concludes with the decade I was a teenager in, the ’00s: will it all be the doom and gloom of the Bush administration? Or will the creative team find a little Hope?
Total: $14.97
Johnny’s Picks:
Beta Ray Bill: Argent Star TP ($15.99) – Even if Daniel Warren Johnson’s follow-up to 2020’s “Wonder Woman: Dead Earth” had been about a character I *didn’t* care about, I would have bought it. DWJ has, for a few projects now, been a creator I will follow wherever his creativity deigns to wander. Lucky for me (and, really, ANY Marvel fan) he decided his big project for 2021 would be this mini-series, a celebration of a longtime fan favorite character, Beta Ray Bill. A victory lap after last year’s Wonder Woman Black Label book, this series, too, has all of the same outrageous action, dynamic and gorgeous artwork, and true gravitas that the Black Label book had, but this time highlighting a character that might just be new to many readers. One of my favorite reads of 2021, now collected and easily giftable for the holidays in trade paperback format. Don’t miss this one, folks.
Inferno #3 ($5.99) – Jonathan Hickman and R.B. Silva made magic on “Powers of X,” and I have no doubts that they will pull out all the stops together on this penultimate issue of Hickman’s X-Swan Song. I’m already sweating profusely in anticipation. Though my thoughts on the Dawn of X line are only lukewarm due to Hickman’s early departure, he was responsible for overseeing a wonderfully refreshing look at my favorite mutants not seen since the likes of Morrison, which is about as high a praise as I can bestow
Total: $21.98 – There’s also a great new “Popeye” softcover from Fantagraphics collecting the early E.C. Segar-helmed Sunday strips that are a can’t miss for any fan of the art form (but at $25 easily busts the cap here).
