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!
Mark’s Picks:
“Shadow Roads” #10 ($3.99) – The end of the ‘Birthright’ arc has been a long time coming, but it’s well worth it. I’ve missed this series and I’m glad to have it back.
“Monstress” #30 ($3.99) – The end of the fifth arc, so it’s a great time to catch up and binge.
“Bitter Root” #10 ($3.99) – Another end of an arc issue. This recommendation is kind of a two-parter though, because if you’re picking up this, you really should also pick up…
“PanelxPanel” #38 ($3.00) – …because this month’s issue focuses on “Bitter Root.” Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s Eisner Award winning magazine is a must. If you haven’t checked it out before, do so this month. It’s full of essays, interviews, and process pieces―over a hundred pages ad free. This is the gold standard comics magazine.
Total: $14.97.
Vince’s Picks:
Lonely Receiver #1 ($4.99) – The haunting art of Jen Hickman provides some mind-bending body horror right up front in this first issue. It certainly grabbed me from the opening sequence and didn’t let go. Described by the solicit as a “horror/breakup” story, “Lonely Receiver” feels like the kind of story that will touch the right person in a deep, vulnerable place. That sounds like me. Maybe that sounds like you, too.
We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #1 ($3.99) – Dare I say that Al Ewing is comics’ best writer right now? I don’t think that’s too much of a stretch. But I also feel like you don’t truly earn that title in the comics criticism community until you put some mainstream creator-owned work on the scoreboard. “We Only Find Them When They’re Dead” is his chance to do that. In the interest of wanting to be surprised, I haven’t looked at a page of this yet. Ewing has earned “must buy” status at this point.
Hellblazer: Rise and Fall #1 ($6.99) – The recent ‘Sandman Universe’ rendition of “Hellblazer” will be too soon gone from this earth in a few months, but conveniently a Black Label iteration rises up to take its place. And hey, this one is good too. With the classic Darick Robertson look you know and love, and a script from Tom Taylor, who can do no wrong lately, this one is a must-buy for fans of DC’s darker side. It feels like a rather faithful spiritual extension of the greatest John Constantine runs of history: the Delano and Ennis ones in particular.
Total: $15.97
Christopher’s Picks:
“Stranger Things: The Bully” ($12.99) – Whatever happened to the jerks from season 1? It’s not something I’d have thought about before, and like Greg Pak and Valeria Favoccia’s previous OGN “Stranger Things: Zombie Boys,” I’m dubious about how canonical it is, but this should be a spooky, fun read regardless.
“Horizon Zero Dawn” #2 ($3.99) – The couple of issues of Guerrilla’s game expansion (confusing huh? issue #0s right?) were fine, especially Ann Maulina’s dynamic and expressive artwork, but I’m really waiting to see if there’s anything that’ll make me go “OMG, this is a monthly must read” before Forbidden West’s release. We’ll see.
Total: $16.98 – there’s a lot of great looking stuff this week.
Kate’s Picks:
Marvel Tales Captain Britain #1 ($7.99) – The Marvel Tales stories are always fun because you get a pretty decent primer to characters you don’t know, or for characters you do know, a chance to revisit classic stories. If you’re a Chris Claremont fan, this will be a treat (all the stories featured are his stories).
Continued belowDoctor Who Time Lord Victorious #1 ($5.99) – As Multiversity’s #1 Whovian, you’d all have to take my TARDIS all access pass away if I didn’t include this. I hope this lives up to the hype…
Horizon Zero Dawn #2 ($3.99) – This book was a beautiful debut, but the story was struggling just a bit to hold me. I don’t want to write it off totally yet, so let’s see what issue #2 brings.
Total: $17.97
Jason’s Picks:
We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #1 ($3.99) – The team behind this new series is fantastic, but one little tidbit had me craving it, “humanity is harvesting the corpses of giant alien gods to survive.” I mean, that sounds damn awesome! Granted I’m trying to save money and not start a new series, “We Only Find Them When They’re Dead” sounds amazing and I love the title!
Total: $3.99.
Johnny’s Picks:
We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #1 ($3.99) I might be alone on this, but I don’t think you’ll find a more striking cover on the stands this week. The bold color and size of the bizarre title of the book dominates the page in a way that blurs the line between diagetic and not, dwarfing a spaceship in the foreground. It immediately brought to mind some great title pages from the Silver Age, and more recently the title sequences in the Watchmen HBO series. The book centers on a crew of spacefarers and their driven Nemo/Ahab-esque captain who have the workaday job of dissecting and farming the parts of dead gods, which is just the kind of high-concept weird/horror I’d expect from writer Al Ewing. Ewing is paired on this BOOM! Studios project with artist Simone Di Meo, whose energetic style reminds me of Jorge Jimenez (or maybe James Harren?). Their flashy layouts this first issue gave the somewhat “menial” labor the crew was undertaking a more vibrant, kinetic feel, without feeling cluttered or hard to follow. As a big fan of both Ewing in particular and space sci-fi in general, I have some really high hopes for this book!
Total: $3.99
