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!
Leo’s Picks:
Heartthrob Season 2 #1 ($3.99) – Sebela and Wilson are back with more “Heartthrob” and all is right with the world. Can’t wait to dig into this.
God Country #6 ($3.99) – This is the last issue of possibly my favorite mini of the year so far. In what has certainly been a banner year for Donny Cates, this stands out as a really fantastic work, thanks in no small part to the great things that artist Geoff Shaw is doing. I’ll be sad to see this book go.
Shirtless Bear-Fighter #1 ($3.99) – I won’t lie, I’m thinking this comic can only be one of two things: completely amazing or completely awful. I’m currently leaning towards completely amazing, given the creative team, including Sebastian Girner, editor on some of Image’s finest books, being a co-writer, and the overall concept. Hopefully I won’t be disappointed.
Colossi #3 ($3.99) – Vault continues to produce some really high-quality comics and “Colossi” is no exception. This “little people, big world” story is going in unexpected directions and being a delight to read.
Plastic #3 ($3.99) – “Plastic” has been such a weird, bloody, and great book so far. I’m here for this, no matter what weird territory it ventures into next.
Total: $19.95
Kent’s Picks
Shirtless Bear Fighter #1 ($3.99) – ‘Nuff said.
Wild Storm #5 ($3.99) – Warren Ellis’s plotting has alternated the lightning strikes of the third issue, with a lumbering slow-build of character-work and calamity. The stormclouds he’s brewing with Jon Davis-Hunt feeling like they’re rolling towards conflicts of catastrophic proportion, but they never seem to overwhelm the personal tolls. Davis-Hunt is delivering his best work ever.
Aquaman #25 ($3.99) – Dan Abnett’s DC work has been a fairly glaring blind spot of mine, ever since Rebirth began. Despite my ardent support of his 2000AD work and the astounding pair of “Wild’s End” mini-series, his mainstream cape comics just never appealed. Might have been an art thing though, because one look at that Stjepan Sejic cover and I’m getting chills just thinking what sort of atmospheric fluidity Sejic can bring to the underwater kingdom. New arc starts here, so never a better time to finally dive in.
Victor Lavalle’s Destroyer #2 ($3.99) – So, I wasn’t familiar with Lavalle as a novelist before reading last month’s issue. But if he keeps delivering work as confident and assured as that debut, then I really don’t know if I’ll have to track them down. By reviving the story of Frankenstein’s monster in the context of a society that creeps ever closer to the singularity, he’s arrived fully-grown as a force on the comics scene. Who is the real destroyer, the creator or the creation?
Swordquest #1 ($3.99) – Chad Bowers and Chris Sims zero issue felt like a melancholic rumination on the weight of nostalgia and those tiny quests to slay everyday dragons that make life worth living. In a way, this series envisions the offspring of “Oh, Killstrike” and “Superior Foes of Spider-Man” as a 40 year-old gamer with a mid-life crisis. Quest on.
Total: 19.95 – There’s a good half-dozen more books that could have made the list. They don’t really need the exposure, though; they know who they are. But as a follow-up to last week, Space Riders HC Vol. 1 ($24.99) collects the first mini-series for anyone looking to have their minds laser-warped and have something fancy to throw on the bookshelf.
Matt Lune’s Picks:
Batman #25 ($3.99) – There have been a few mixed reactions to King’s “Batman” run so far, but I’ve been enjoying the subtle deconstruction of the character. We leave Bruce at a fairly significant turning point in his life: having his own father (albeit from an alternate dimension) telling him to give up being Batman, and Bruce using that moment of reflection to decide that no, he will continue to be Batman but what he truly wants is to propose to Catwoman. Rather than continue that story though, we’re instead being thrown back in time to an early Batman tale, entitled ‘The War of Jokes and Riddles.’ This may be so that current Batman can be more freed up for ‘Metal,’ or it may be to extend that cliffhanger tease with a story set in the past, one that may help to set up some future narrative. Whatever the reason, I’m excited for King’s take on early Batman.
Continued belowGod Country #6 ($3.99) – I can’t believe this series is ending. I’m hopeful that it will continue as an ongoing at some point in the future, as this feels like an epic saga that could run and run. As it stands, Cates and Shaw have delivered one of the best books of the year, and I’ve no doubt that it’ll go out with a bang.
Headlopper #6 ($5.99) – Is “Headlopper” the best looking book being published right now? Whether it takes your personal top spot or not, it’s definitely a gorgeous series and thoroughly entertaining to boot. It comes out quarterly which is just long enough for my memory to get a little woolly about what’s come before, but when every issue is such high quality then I have no problem diving back into the longbox.
Peter Parker Spectacular Spider-Man #1 ($4.99) – It’s been a number of years since Peter Parker supported two ongoing series, and to be honest, if it weren’t for the creative team I’d be passing on this. The recent Amazing Spider-Man status quo (Tony Stark lite) doesn’t really appeal to me – although there have been some interesting stories coming out of it I miss the dynamics and drama of Parker struggling to get by in NYC, juggling both aspects of his life. Luckily, Chip Zdarsky looks to be taking a much more ‘Friendly Neighbourhood’ approach to Spidey, and frankly it’ll be fun to get a new writer tackling ol’ Webhead’s adventures.
Total: $18.96 – There’s a lot out this week, I could have picked four completely different books and still had a similarly great selection.
Matthew’s Picks:
Royals #4, US Avengers #7, and Ultimates 2 #8 ($3.99 each) – Your weekly fix of Al Ewing
Black Hammer #10 and Royal City #4 ($3.99 each) – Your weekly fix of Jeff Lemire
Total: $19.95 – I know there’s a new Spider-Man book everyone’s excited about this week, but if you ask me Lemire and Ewing are at the top of their respective games right now. Every time a new issue from one of them comes out it makes its way to the top of my read pile, and these titles consistently remind me why I buy lots and lots of comics every month: they’re fun, they’re exciting, they’re gripping, they have wonderfully told stories, and they keep me coming back for more with solid last page reveals. I couldn’t recommend these 5 titles any higher than I usually do, folks.
But, yeah, the Spider-Man book does look neat too.
