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:
Hexagon Bridge #1 ($3.99): The moment I saw the cover of this series, it had my attention. It just stands out immediately, and it’s a good thing too because Richard Blake’s work wasn’t on my radar. I can’t help but think this comic reminds me of how Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi felt to read—which is a good thing. It was a novel driven by the mood of empty spaces and that aspect is definitely at work in Blake’s “Hexagon Bridge.” That said, it being a comic and not prose, it speaks a very different language, one that I’m eager to explore in future issues.
The Lonesome Hunters: The Wolf Child #3 ($3.99): I haven’t read this one yet, but I can confidently recommend it. Tyler Crook’s previous issue really showed how “The Lonesome Hunters” is getting better as it progresses and I don’t expect that to change.
The Bone Orchard Mythos: Tenement #4 ($3.99): The previous issues of “Tenement” have already gone so much further than I was expecting before the series began. In “Shadow Eater,” “The Passageway,” and “Ten Thousand Black Feathers” the characters spend the bulk of those stories sensing the world beyond theirs, but that’s where “Tenement” begins and then plunges straight into the thick of it fast. If you maybe didn’t get into “The Bone Orchard Mythos” because you didn’t like the teasing nature of past stories, give it another try with “Tenement.”
Fishflies #2 ($5.99): I read this serialised on Substack until Jeff Lemire discovered he’d need to radically retool it and stopped. I’ll be waiting till the series is done before reading this time, but as a process junkie, I’m looking forward to comparing the different versions. With seven oversized issues, it’s going to be an enormous hardcover someday.
Total: $17.95, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I’ll also be picking up “Something Is Killing the Children” #33, “Wild’s End” #4, “Panya: The Mummy’s Curse” #3, “Saga” #66, and “Time Before Time” #27.
Christopher’s Pick:
Earthdivers Vol. 1: Kill Columbus ($17.99): Stephen Graham Jones and Davide Gianfelice’s IDW series follows a group of Native American time travelers trying to prevent climate catastrophe by killing the first person responsible for the capitalist machine destroying the world – sold! Suffice to say, it’s an awesome premise that I’m buying sight unseen.
Total: $17.99. There’s so many good books out this week, including Victoria Ying’s kids book “Shang-Chi and the Quest for Immortality,” but I went overbudget last week.
Johnny’s Picks:
Saga #66 ($3.99): The solicit for this issue is a simple “Uh-oh.” and fans of the long running series will know *exactly* what this is referring to, as the previous issue’s events promised fireworks as this “season” of the series closes out. “Saga” is just never not good, a fantastic cast of characters in a sideways space fantasy universe that is lovingly and brilliantly realized by artist Fiona Staples, and writer Brian K. Vaughan is simply one of the top five single issue storytellers working today. If I were to grab any comic this week and shove it in the hands of a new reader, it would likely be “Saga.”
Hexagon Bridge #1 ($3.99): Echoing my peers’ sentiments, the preview art for this mini-series debut from Image Comics was striking – creator Richard Blake’s sparse and open artwork creating a moody and haunting atmosphere, which should suit the book’s premise of parallel dimensions and shifting architecture quite well. Can’t wait to dive into this one Wednesday!
Rare Flavors #1 ($4.99): I dug the hell out writer Rav V.’s last collaboration with artist Filipe Andrade, the BOOM! mini-series “The Many Deaths of Laila Starr,” where Andrade’s kooky, exaggerated lines were a perfect match for V.’s magical-realism story of a personification of Death coming to Earth to live life as a mortal. This series, however, follows a demonic Rakshasa who wants to be the next Anthony Bourdain. Since I, too, think being the next Anthony Bourdain would be one hell of a sweet gig, I’ll certainly be snagging this one.
Continued belowKaya #11 ($3.99): I’ll never not plug this Image Comics darling, Wes Craig’s wonderful sci-fantasy fable in the vein of Jack Kirby’s “Kamandi,” with a really vividly imagined world and lore.
Junior Baker the Righteous Faker #1 ($4.99): Joe Casey’s work is often infuriatingly brilliant while in the same breath being absolutely freaking silly. This is certainly the case with this book’s predecessor, 2011’s “Butcher Baker the Righteous Maker,” an ode to hypermasculine Americana heroism of the 1970’s and 80’s that leaned into the ridiculousness while also not-so-subtly eviscerating the genre. That book had the wonderfully dynamic art of Mike Huddleston to showcase, and this sequel is now co-piloted by Ryan Quakenbush, an artist I’m altogether unfamiliar with, but if the preview pages are any indication of his art, this book will be an absolute joy to dive into. The love child of the artistic stylings of Dave McKean, David Mack, J.H. Williams III, and Alex Maleev, Quakenbush is swinging for the fences with this series, weaving in and out of mediums and styles like the hungry young talent he seems to be. Another fantastic offering from Image Comics this week!
Total: $21.95 – Image Comics is all OVER this list, and I didn’t even mention Tom Scioli’s re-mix of an old Jack Kirby tale – “Jack Kirby’s Starr Warriors: The Adventures of Adam Starr and the Solar Legion,” also out this week for $9.99, and also from Image!
