It’s time for another look at which digital comics Comixology has on sale right now. What are the good reads and what are the good buys? We’ll be taking a look mostly at the sales that are ending by Thursday and what an eclectic set of digital comics it is.
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This week? Another Halloween sale and Image goes DEEP on graphic novels, plus Gerard Way, more powerless DC gems and Excalibur from Marvel.
The first Image sale we’ll look at is the Image Horror Sale, because… Halloween is coming. As Image seemed to pull projects that would have at one time gone to Vertigo, they amassed quite a bit of quality horror material and we’re looking at a baseline discount of 50% here. You really have to start with The Walking Dead. It’s an important book in the history of comics. The best buy there is the 1000+ page “Compendium” editions listed in the “Omnibuses” section. For something a little more current, Gideon Falls by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino lives up to considerable hype and I’m hesitant to say too much for fear or spoilers… but you can download the first issue for free and sample it. Note: Vol. 1 and Vol. 4 are less expensive as digital tpbs, Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 are cheaper as single issues. Ghosted by Joshua Williamson and Goran Sudzuka is a personal favorite – it starts out as an Ocean’s Eleven style caper about stealing a ghost from a haunted house… but once they leave the house, it gets much darker and takes a lot of twists as the why of it unfurls. For something a bit more under the radar, there’s Witch Doctor by Brandon Seifert and Lukas Ketner. That’s “Witch Doctor” as in “doctor of supernatural diseases,” a sort of magical medical detective, if you will, and it’s a fun series. There’s a lot more in there, from Scott Snyder to Donny Cates, so browse the top link at your leisure, this one lasts until Sunday, 11/1.
Then you’ve got Dark Horse’s Gerard Way sale running through Monday (10/19). You were aware there are three volumes of Umbrella Academy, but only two seasons on Netflix, yes?
Marvel has an Excalibur sale running through Thursday (10/22). Your best buys here are the Epic Collections. I’m from the school where the best Excalibur is Alan Davis Excalibur, which means Epic Collections 1,2 and 4. For the very best, I’d put that at Alan Davis both writing and drawing. You can get his solo run with two purchases: Excalibur Epic Edition: Curiouser and Curiouser and then finish his run with Excalibur Visionaries: Alan Davis: Vol. 3.
And then there’s another Image sale. A BIG Image sale. The Image Comics Graphic Novel Sale goes 1216 items deep. 50% off is the baseline discount and if you remember the title, odds are in favor of it being included. A few things that might be better reads than the rest: Are you a Donny Cates fan? If so, you want to read God Country. I’ve found it to be his deepest work, which is about gods, a magic sword and dementia. It’s illustrated by Geoff Shaw, so yes — it’s the Thanos Wins team before Thanos Wins. You see where Invincible is getting an animated series on Amazon Prime? The original comic is a lot of fun. It’s written by Robert Kirkman with art primarily by Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley. It’s a sort of superhero coming of age that’s a little bit of Peter Parker, a little bit of Superboy, but a bit more violent in stretches. Essentially, Kirkman creates his own superhero sandbox and has a blast with it. As with Walking Dead, the 1000+ page Compendiums are a good value here and they’re listed under “Omnibuses” on the Invincible page. Otherwise, the single issues are a slightly better buy than the “normal” graphic novels/tpbs. Manifest Destiny by Chris Dingess and Matthew Roberts is one of the best Image titles that gets relatively little hype. Lewis & Clark (yes, that Lewis & Clark) set out to explore and map the Louisiana Purchase… but they’re also on a mission to clear out the monsters inhabiting it and make it safe for the pioneers to follow. It starts out fairly lighthearted and then a descent into madness begins. Before they set up shop at Image, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips were doing pulp crime with Criminal. It’s very much part of their library, but perhaps not as well known. Vol. 6, which is a sort of pulp crime homage to Archie comics is a true work of subversive art. Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory is a little hard to describe. It’s an absurdist romp in a world where an avian flu has caused poultry to be banned and spawned speakeasies that serve chicken. Our hero works for the FDA (think Elliott Ness for a different type of prohibition) and has psychic visions related to whatever he eats. Including fingers. Throw in some aliens, vampires and a death dealing secret agent rooster and it’s a classic that probably shouldn’t have been greenlit, but we’re so much better off having it.
DC’s oddly named “Who Needs Super Powers Sale” is still going on and it’s still worth your time to browse. The Flintstones by Mark Russell and Steve Pugh is a masterpiece. Fred and Barney in a smart social satire of war, religion and politics (among other things) that’s extremely funny and occasionally bittersweet. The Sheriff of Babylon is what Tom King and Mitch Gerads were doing long before Mister Miracle. A military contractor arrives in Baghdad to train the new Iraqi police force, only to find one of his recruits murdered. Solving the murder opens a complex can of political worms. King was in Iraq with the CIA, so there’s some authenticity to this one. Gotham Central is Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano and Kano collaborating to tell tales of the Gotham City Police Department dealing with its unique criminal problem without Batman. It might sound a bit like the Gotham television show, but this one is much, much better. There’s still a lot to explore in this before it ends on Monday, from Powers (so many volumes) to Y- The Last Man.
And that bit Marvel Thor Sale is also still on until Sunday (10/18) if hammers are more your thing.
