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!
Kent’s Picks
Head Lopper #8 ($5.99) – Most wonderful time of the year? That’s easy – whenever Andrew MacLean’s quarterly adventure comic drops. This one promises a showdown between Nergal and the amazingly named Ulrich the Twice Damned (soon to be Thrice Damned when the Lopper’s through with him).
Aquaman #31 ($3.99) – It’s sad to see the cover without Stjepan Sejic’s name on it, but Dan Abnett has set up enough moving parts and machinations to keep the intrigue afloat. Riccardo Frederici is a thrilling name to continue on the story. He crafted one of the best looking of the evil bat-men “Metal” tie-ins (“Batman: The Murder Machine”) and his heavily crosshatched style makes for a compelling underwater aesthetic.
Hellboy: Krampusnacht #1 ($3.99) – If holiday themed books are your jam, this year has been wild. Hellboy joining the fun is one thing, but getting 20+ pages of Adam Hughes interiors is just unfair. 2017 might just be the high-water mark for that whole niche.
Wild Storm #10 ($3.99) – This book will never not be on this list.
Assassinistas #1 ($3.99) – Anytime Venture Brothers is mentioned as a comparable, I’m there. Same goes for Gilbert Hernandez. The Black Crown imprint has gotten off to a fantastic start, and this mix of murder-for-hire and modern family values shows no sign of messing that up.
Redlands #5 ($3.99) – Jordie Bellaire and Vanesa del Rey have carefully crafted one of this year’s best new series. Morality and motivations are as murky here as the swamplands these witches call home.
Marvel Two-in-One #1($3.99) or Tales of Suspense #100 ($3.99) – Take your pick: Chip Zdarksy writing a Thing-Johnny Storm team up or Matthew Rosenberg writing a Hawkeye-Winter Soldier one. The fact it’s felt like forty years since we’ve a Fantastic Four comic gives a slight edge to Zdarksy’s book. But if you’ve got a couple extra coins jingling in your pocket, they should both make the cut.
X-Men: Grand Design #1 ($5.99) – If anyone can make sense of the long, strange trip it’s been for the X-Men, it’s Ed Piskor. Might as well just call this the Charles Xavier Extended Family Tree.
Total: $35.92 – Budget?… Yeah, that’s not happening. “Night Business HC” ($24.99) throws a collection of Benjamin Marra’s early nastiness on the menu as well. Best just not to look at any price tags or calendars this week.
Mark’s picks:
“Hellboy: Krampusnacht” ($3.99)— Mike Mingola and Adam Hughes doing a “Hellboy” story. What more do you need to know?
“Joe Golem, Occult Detective: Flesh and Blood” #1 ($3.99)— Given that I started this series having already read the original prose novel, the first two arcs didn’t have many surprised for me. The third opened it up though, putting a new spin on things I thought I knew, so I’m very curious to see where this latest arc goes.
“Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil” #3 ($3.99)— Yeah, I’m hitting the Dark Horse books hard this week. I must say, I’m really digging this miniseries. Given the way “Black Hammer” #13 ended, I know a lot of readers must be impatient for “Black Hammer: Age of Doom” #1 in April, but personally, I like the gap. Taking time to explore Lucy Weber at this point in the story is exactly what I want.
“Head Lopper” #8 ($5.99)— Just in case I haven’t been effusive enough in the past, let me be quite clear: Oh my god, Andrew MacLean and Jordie Bellaire are incredible together. This book is fantastic.
Total: $17.99 — ’Tis the season to chill and read comics, so it’s nice to have such a good haul this week.
Continued below
Kate’s Picks:
The Harcourt Legacy #2 ($3.99) – Family drama plus a touch of the occult and plenty of humor makes for a fun story that fans of Supernatural, Penny Dreadful, and Sleepy Hollow will enjoy.
Assassinistas #1 ($3.99) – I’m clearly on a kick of comics with family drama in offbeat settings. The star of this story, Dominic Prince, just happens to have a mother who was a bounty hunter coming back into the fold to help pay his college tuition. And Dominic takes the semester off to help out, because, hey, life experience.
Dark Fang #2 ($3.99) – This comic had a very strong debut last month with a cliffhanger that may answer the question of the title’s meaning. Think An Inconvenient Truth meets True Blood.
Comic Book History of Comics Comics for All #1 ($3.99) – I love comics history, and I love that IDW is making this history in a digestable, affordable form. We look to our past to learn from our future.
The Chair #4 ($1.00) – At only $1.00 per issue, I can pick up all four for the price of just one issue of any of the books listed above, and get a psychological horror thriller in which a death row prisoner’s sanity is called under question. If you like psychological horror (like the film Wait Until Dark, this may be up your alley. (Bonus: the entire comic has been adapted into a movie!)
Total: $16.96
Kevin’s Picks:
Dark Nights: Metal #4 ($3.99) – Enter Sandman. After waiting since August for the follow up on the last page of Metal #1 and Dream’s appearance in this awesome Snyder/Capullo helmed event Dream is back as this book just gets bigger and bigger. This is looking to be the biggest installment of this already huge rock opera and I can’t wait to dive in.
Marvel Two-In-One #1 ($3.99) – I’ve been waiting for this one since Legacy #1 shipped. Here’s hoping the Fantastic Four are reunited soon!
Aquaman #31 ($3.99) – Aquaman very quickly after issue #25 became of of the best, if not the best, of DC’s Rebirth titles. Most of that had to do with the turn into Game of Thrones land the book took and the dawn of Stephan Sejic’s art. This is the first issue without Sejic in the driver’s seen as Riccardo Federici takes over, and here’s hoping this book stays just as good and beautiful.
Justice League #35 ($2.99) – Priest is great and finally this book is readable.
Quantum and Woody #1 ($3.99) – The last of Valiant’s big ICON initiative launches, and I expect big things from Daniel Kibblesmith and Kano going into the new year as Valiant just keeps rolling along.
Total – $18.95. This is a big week for comics and there are so many other good books to check out this could easily be more with “Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil” #3, “Batman” #37, “The Wild Storm” #10, “The Mighty Thor” #702, “Ms. Marvel” #25 and much more.
