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:
Doctor Who Comics #4 ($3.99): There’s some real magic going on with this creative team. They’ve managed to breathe some very interesting new life into one Doctor Who episode that only just aired last year, and they’ve brought in a Doctor that plays off Thirteen’s personality very well. Somewhat sad to see things end, but with the band reuniting for a series focusing on one of the incarnations of The Master in April, I won’t mourn for long.
The Comic Book History of Animation #3 ($3.99): We’re well into the era of Looney Tunes and some real challengers to Disney dominance. This is getting GOOD.
Jo and Rus ($12.99): This should fill the “Lumberjanes” sized hole in my heart – – and it’s also something I can share with my tween-aged niece. Everyone wins!
Total: $20.97. Check the couch cushions or the backseat of the car for the extra change this week.
Vince’s Picks
Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman #2 ($3.99) – Dan Watters has a really warm take on Jon Kent and picks up and runs with Yara Flor’s character pretty seamlessly. There’s like 4-5 little perfect “Superman” or “Wonder Woman” character bits in this issue alone. Leila del Duca’s art is equally warm, delivering one of the best stories that ‘Future State’ had to offer. A perfect little 2 issue treat.
Radiant Black #1 ($3.99) – I always thought Higgins’ work at DC was fairly underrated and I’m down to try another Image superhero comic. Why the heck not?
Total: $7.98
Mark’s Picks:
Old Haunts ($9.99) – I feel like this was a title a lot of people missed, and that’s a shame because it’s really damn good. From writers Ollie Masters and Rob Williams, artist Laurence Campbell, and colorist Lee Loughridge, “Old Haunts” is such beautifully hypnotic horror. Campbell and Loughridge are doing such amazing work here, especially the way they play with lighting. If you read the digital version on Webtoon and weren’t hooked, I urge you to give it another look. The Webtoon version seriously undermines the storytelling of the panel layouts—it simply wasn’t designed for the format, and in many cases it fundamentally breaks the flow of information. Considering the visual storytelling was such a huge part of why I enjoyed the book, you need to see it in its intended presentation.
Norse Mythology #5 ($3.99) – I must admit, “Norse Mythology” makes for a strange read in single issues. It is an adaptation so faithful to the original structure of its source material that it simply tells its story until it runs out of pages and then picks up where it left off in the next issue. There are no cliffhangers or any kind of stopping point for each issue. In this case, the story in the second half is truncated abruptly after a mere four pages. Now you’d think surely those could’ve been pushed into the next issue and condensed, and the main story in this issue could’ve been stretched out a big to fill the issue properly. That may make for better individual issues, but I’d argue it’d make for a weaker overall adaptation.
P. Craig Russell has knowing opted for awkward issues to better serve his vision for “Norse Mythology,” and with an issue like this where the pacing is so crucial to the threat, callousness, and loss of the story, you can see how that choice pays off. The story of Tyr could’ve been condensed to a single issue, but by spanning it across #4 and #5 it has the room for David Rubín’s art to live in the aftermath of each moment, to feel the weight of it sinking in. (And Rubín’s work on this issue is really fantastic here.)
Continued belowBlack Hammer: Visions #1 ($3.99) – “Visions” sounds like an interesting experiment—various creative teams being invited to play in the Black Hammer Universe. The first of these experiments has Patton Oswalt writing for artist Dean Kotz, continuing the tradition of Black Hammer stories being about superheroes, but not the part where they’re doing the superheroing. This is just about Gail going to school in Rockwood, doing fourth grade over and over and over again. Plus there’s a nice nod to Enid Coleslaw and Rebecca Doppelmeyer in the form of Eunice and Barbara.
Total: $17.97. I’m also picking up “Sweet Tooth: The Return” #4.
Brian’s Picks:
Future State: Teen Titans #2 ($3.99) – While most of ‘Future State’ has been a success on some level, the books that Tim Sheridan has written have been above and beyond some of the most adventurous. His books seem like blueprints for an epic story that he plans on telling post-‘Future State’ without lacking the excitement or gravitas to pull readers in for these two-issue stories. These are comics both for the event and building for the future. It’s exciting to see a new (to comics) creator slide in some deftly.
World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated In Another World As An Aristocrat Volume 1 ($13.00) – I’ve been trying to read more manga, but tend to get trapped in the Shonen Jump world, as that’s what I know. But then you see a title like “World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated In Another World As An Aristocrat,” and you can’t help but stop in your tracks and think, “hot damn, I need to read that.” So, here we are.
Black Hammer: Visions #1 ($3.99) While I am leery of the ‘celebrities writing comics just because they are fans’ trope, this is not Patton Oswalt’s first time writing a comic, nor would I expect Jeff Lemire to be anything less than hyper diligent in making sure that anything with the “Black Hammer” name on it to be anything less than stellar.
Total: $20.98
Johnny’s Picks:
KING-CAT CLASSIX ($24.95) – There seems like a really wonderful lineage of comics both preceding and succeeding the work of John Porcellino, a consummate example of DIY indie comics of the last (almost) 30 years. From Matt Groening’s sparse yet heartfelt “Life in Hell,” to Linda Barry’s exploration of the mundane everyday in “Ernie Pook,” Porcellino has attributed both of those strips as hugely influential to his own “King-Cat Comics and Stories.” And certainly artists of today (Michael DeForge, Noah Van Sciver, Gabrielle Bell, and Keiler Roberts come to mind) seem to channel Porcellino’s style- that of stripped-down, utterly vulnerable and honest comics. This collection is a sampling across years of “King-Cat,” with tons of supplemental material for longtime fans of Porcellino to dig deeper into the artist (including essays, articles, and notes), and a primer for new fans, as well. I’m something in between a hard-core fan and a newb, but I’ll still be picking this up. Drawn & Quarterly (the publisher of this fine, 380 page tome) rarely steer people wrong.
Total: $24.95 (the book will be worth the extra $5.00, I promise!)
