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!
Unwritten #41 ($2.99) – I’m running out of creative ways to say “Buy this comic!” I guess I’ll just have to settle for a simple buy this comic.
Ghost #0 ($2.99) – Kelly Sue DeConnick is a rising star in the comics industry, and Phil Noto is an established artistic genius. I have never read one of Dark Horse’s Ghost comics, but if there was ever a way to get me to check them out, a team like this would be it. “It’s Conan the Barbarian” all over again!
Lobster Johnson: Caput Mortuum ($3.50) – I’m not fully caught up with my Mignola-verse books — in fact, I still haven’t started any of the Hell on Earth series — but this sounds like the sort of thing you can and pick up and enjoy so long as you have the slightest familiarity with the Hellboy/B.P.R.D. franchise, and maybe even without that. Lobster Johnson is pretty much the superhero all superheroes wish they could be, even if they don’t know of him and even though they are fictional characters without any real desires besides the ones their writers give them. He’s that good.
Wonder Woman #0 ($2.99) – His Before Watchmen books may be so bad they’re almost insulting, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am enjoying Brian Azzarello’s “Wonder Woman” quite a bit. Tied with “Animal Man” for my favorite of the New 52, it has been an exciting ride including nearly everything I would want from a new Wonder Woman series — and a few things I didn’t know I wanted. If you haven’t been picking it up, Zero Month is probably the best time to give it a chance.
Godzilla: The Half Century War #2 ($3.99) – Stokoe. That’s all you should need to know.
Daredevil #18 ($2.99) – Even if you aren’t a fan of Mark Waid, this is a book you should pick up based on visual merit alone. Despite its rotating cast of artists, “Daredevil” has more visual continuity than the majority of Marvel’s titles, and is consistently in the running for their best-looking book of the month. Actually enjoying the story, like I do, is just a bonus.
Total: $19.45
Atomic Robo: Flying She-Devils of the Pacific #3 ($3.50) – Atomic Robo is an example of everything that makes comics fun. Almost a back-to-basics approach to fun, light-hearted entertainment. Always a good buy.
Dark Horse Presents #16 ($7.99) – 8 stories for 8 bucks. Richard Corben adapting Edgar Allen Poe. Palmiotti and Gray’s new creator-owned series “The Deep Sea.” More “Finder” by Carla Speed McNeil. “Aliens” by John Layman and Sam Keith. True-crime. Science fiction. Horror. “Buddy Cops.” Where else can you get all of that and more in one issue?
Ghost #0 ($2.99) – Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Noto revive one of Dark Horse’s classic “Comics’ Greatest World” characters, Elisa Cameron. This collects the Ghost stories from “Dark Horse Presents,” in case you are one of the misguided few not reading DHP. If you are and don’t want to double-up, get “Lobster Johnson: Caput Mortem” for a little one-and-done Mignolaverse action for just two quarters more.
Womanthology: Space #1 ($3.99) – “Womanthology: Heroic” was an epic project, and so successful that they were picked up by IDW for a series of miniseries anthologies, each with a central theme. The first installment is subtitled “Space,” as if they thought I needed another reason to buy it.
Total: $18.47
Ghost #0 ($2.99) – Kelly Sue Deconnick has a hot hand right now, making anything she’s writing worth taking a peek at. And since I’m a huge Phil Noto fan, this one is in the bag for at least the first arc or so.
Continued belowWonder Woman #0 ($2.99) – The events of Wonder Woman #12 had the comic book world brimming with excitement at the possibilities going forward. While I’m itching to just get right to #13, Brian Azzarello has earned the right to do whatever he wants with this one. I’ll follow him. Also, Cliff Chiang. Boom!
Revival #3 ($2.99) – I gave issue #2 a rare 9.5 in my review last month. By now, this book’s quality shouldn’t be a well-kept secret. Tim Seeley and Mike Norton are building a woodsy world of their own and it feels like it’s going weird, wonderful, horrific places. Which describes Central Wisconsin perfectly.
Daredevil #18 ($2.99) – Eisner.
Sword of Sorcery #0 ($2.99) – This’ll be an interesting one. Fantasy comics are something I want more of. A lot more. Demon Knights whets my appetite every month, but I would love nothing more than to have 1 or 2 more comics from DC playing in that sort of “corner” of the universe. That said, I have yet to really figure out who this book will be aimed at or what kind of tone it’ll have. I’m intrigued. My most anticipated of the “third wave” titles. Don’t let me down!
Total: $14.95
The Mighty Thor #20 ($3.99) – I am absolutely loving the ‘Everything Burns’ arc. Kieron Gillen and Matt Fraction are doing a great job of wrapping up their two stories with one huge epic.
Dark Avengers #181 ($2.99) – Jeff Parker is writing one of the best underrated Marvel books right now, and I don’t care how many times I say this.
Revival #3 ($2.99) – Easily one of my favorite new series in comics right now. Don’t you dare miss it.
Wonder Woman #0 ($2.99) – One of the few DC books I still read, I’m very much enjoying what is happening in this book.
Ghost #0 ($2.99) – I already have every bit of the story in Dark Horse Presents, but I will buy the heck out of this to have it all in one singular story before the new mini starts.
Godzilla: Half Century War ($3.99) – James Stokoe drawing a Godzilla comic! What more do you want?
Total: $19.94
