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:
DC Pride 2023 #1 ($9.99): There’s plenty of great stories in this one-shot (my favorite looks to be Harley and Ivy looking for a little alone time), but I’m also really here for the preview we’re going to see of Nicole Maines’s Dreamer story. Dreamer was a character I felt got the short end of things in Supergirl, so to see her continue in comics is a great thing.
Tales From the Pandemic #1 ($6.99): It’s becoming easier to put COVID-19 in the rear-view mirror, and quite frankly 2020 and 2021 are years I would rather forget. But we can and should not forget, for we will live through another pandemic in our lives, and there are lessons from COVID-19 that can help us reshape society. This publisher’s commitment to diversity and inclusion also ensures that this one shot will provide multiple perspectives on the pandemic.
Cat Fight #1 ($4.99): The solicit calls this “John Wick meets Kill Bill meets CATS” and I’m just really curious to see how this gets pulled off (and hope that when that solicit mentions CATS, it’s not The Butthole Cut.)
Total: $21.97. A little over. Blame inflation.
Christopher’s Picks:
I Saw It ($9.99): Keiji Nakazawa’s 1972 manga memoir is an important depiction of his experience surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as a child, and a precursor to his magnum opus “Barefoot Gen.” Last Gasp’s new reprint is a timely reminder Memorial Day should not belong only to the military, but to all who die in war.
DC Pride 2023 ($9.99): I wish all LGBTQ people a good Pride Month, cos Lord knows you could all use it; at least this should be a lovely reminder our favorite superheroes are on your side.
Total: $19.98
Johnny’s Picks:
Savage Strength of Star Storm #1 ($3.99): I don’t know quite what to make of the handful of preview images and cover I’ve seen for this comic, except to say that I’m intrigued. I love the evergreen pop ditty of a superhero comic first issue: the set-up, the explosive moment when the protagonist gets their powers at a terrible cost, blossoming into a new kind of maturity, and the acceptance of a destiny filled with strife but promising adventure. Writer/artist Drew Craig seems to love them too, as this book draws from that tried-and-true well for Star Storm. An amnesiac high school student gets powers from a strange artifact after a meteor smashes into his school – this is all well-worn troping, but Craig’s art, with dollops of Kirby Krackle and finding-his-style bravado, add an undeniable energy to the proceedings. I’m not sure I’ll love this book, but dammit I’m rooting for it!
Santos Sisters #4 ($5.00): Also feeding on nostalgia, but irreverently rubbing our nostalgia-loving noses in it, is Greg & Fake Petre’s hilarious “Santos Sisters.” From an alternate universe where Archie Comics titles got super meta and drily ironic well before the 2010’s comes this book about sisters Alana and Ambar, themselves the recipients of their own mystical powers and calls to action, and their whimsically violent misadventures and droll daily interactions in a world filled with anthropomorphic animals straight out of the STAR comics line of the 80’s and heady concoction of sensibilities that defy any one specific era. This is fantastic comic book making in multiple ways, from the newspaper print format to the humor both low-brow and meta, but mostly in the way that you can tell Greg & Fake are simply having the time of their lives.
Total: $8.99
