This week’s Top Comics to Buy for August 20 gives me yet another chance to tell people to read The Seasons, which is shaping up to be one of my favorite comics of 2025. But, obviously, that’s not all we’re doing with today’s column: there’s also quite a bit of good ol’ fashioned fun superhero hijinks. If you like you’re superhero comics on the adventurous/breezier side, you’re going to love the trio of books I’ve highlighted here in my top recommendations.
As always, you can find all five of my favorites this week below, followed by the usual set of release lists. And if you enjoy my recommendations, I’ve got a comic of my own coming to Kickstarter next month. You can go here to learn more about it and click the NOTIFY ME ON LAUNCH button to get an email when it goes live…cheers!
Top Comics to Buy for August 20
Batman and Robin: Year One #10
Co-Plot: Mark Waid & Chris Samnee
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Chris Samnee
Colorist: Matheus Lopes
Letterer: Clayton Cowles w/Chris Samnee
Publisher: DC Comics
Batman and Robin have their backs against the wall as Project Gemini goes into full effect! Can the dynamic duo figure out the General’s plan, or will Gotham be lost to them forever?!
Why It’s Cool: Like all of the Waid/Samnee collaborations, this series has been excellent since it’s start, but it’s really been picking up speed lately as it approaches its issue #12 conclusion. This week’s chapter is the book’s best yet, loaded with action, surprises, and maybe the best use of Clayface I’ve ever seen. Simply put, this is a very well-done superhero comic, and it was an easy pick for my list of Top Comics to Buy for August 20.
Price: $3.99
Black Cat #1
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Gleb Melnikov
Colorist: Brian Reber
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Super-thief, super… Hero?! Felicia Hardy is the Black Cat, the world’s slyest and most skilled super-thief! She loves a good score. The longer the odds — the better! But her entire world turned upside down after the Amazing Spider-Man’s battle with Hellgate, so Felicia is turning over a new leaf as New York City’s newest… super hero?! The first super villain on her list — the Lizard! But will the Black Cat risk it all after her do-gooding moral high ground attracts dangerous attention from the lowest of the city’s underworld? Easy, Kingpin of Crime, she’s still skimming off the top — honest!
Why It’s Cool: Armed with a light sense of humor and some of the best superhero artwork of the week, Black Cat #1 is a fun and breezy series launch. The art from the team of Melnikov and Reber is especially impressive here, with every page delivering kinetic storytelling and style. Wilson also seems to be having some fun scripting a book that is a bit lighter than the excellent ongoing Poison Ivy title she’s been writing for DC. If you’re looking for a nice, breezy superhero read this week, this one is it.
Price: $4.99
The Jungle #1
Writer: Keenan Marshal Keller
Artwork/Lettering/Design/Editing: Tom Neely
Publisher: Uncivilized Books
The Humans step off the Blacktop into the Big House. Johnny, Marra, and Nada face the harsh struggles of life inside California’s third-oldest (and meanest) prison, Sunland Valley Correctional, better known to the inmates as The Jungle. Forced to acclimate to the vicious world behind bars-without Broads, Bud, or Bikes!-they face off against a Dirty Warden, Crooked Screws, a Crazy Christian Cult, Mafioso Thugs, and, worst of all, their own inner demons!
Why It’s Cool: I really loved The Humans, which was published by Image Comics in the mid-2010s. Well, this series is a prequel to that one from the same creative team. The central concept of the book is back, with comics apes standing in for a Hells Angels-esque 1960s era Biker Gang, exploring themes from that time. Now, we follow a set of familiar characters into a prison known as The Jungle. Even better, the book is now being printed in a fantastic over-sized format that makes for a great physical purchase/reading experience.
Price: $10
The Seasons #7
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Paul Azaceta
Colorist: Matheus Lopes
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
As the ringleader’s twisted carnival spreads its infectious gospel of ego, the city descends into a dreamlike delusion. Winter and Autumn stand alone against a world too entranced to fight back. How do you battle an evil that everyone else welcomes with open arms?
Why It’s Cool: Subscribers to my newsletter already know that I tabbed The Seasons as one of my Best Comics of 2025 (so far), and I’m happy to report the series continues to get better and better with each issue. Where the first arc traded primarily in character beats and mystery, the second arc has delivered more action, while still pushing the plot forward. This issue is largely a chase scene, and it’s great fun. I’m also enjoying how the various ideas are starting to come together — from the iPhone-esque mirrors that people can’t staring at to the relationships between the sisters. This book feels like a comic made with top-tier craft and a team bent on defying genre conventions in interesting, meaningful ways. I love it.
Price: $3.99
Superman Unlimited #4
Writer: Dan Slott
Artists: Lucas Meyer and Rafael Albuquerque
Colorists: Marcelo Maiolo and Matt Herms
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Publisher: DC Comics
It’s a big day for Jimmy Olsen as he sets up shop in the new Gotham City branch of the Daily Planet. His first assignment: learn what has turned Superman into an uncontrollable monster–and why. Do the combined forces of the heroes of Gotham even stand a chance against this version of the Man of Steel? And what is Bruce Wayne doing a continent away in Emerald City? All this, and back in Smallville, Jon Kent begins training for the ultimate challenge–a way to combat the deadly effects of Kryptonite.
Why It’s Cool: Hot on the heels of the great new Superman movie, Superman Unlimited has quickly established itself as the over-stuffed, bonkers, Silver Age-esque book to read if you want pure Superman adventures with an unpredictable and slightly-wacky vibe. I really enjoyed this issue, which had guest stars galore and a central concept (Superman-Bat!) that would be right at home with the best Silver Age Superman stories. And I just really like that I have absolutely no idea where this book is headed month-to-month.
Price: $5.99
Other Comics I Enjoyed This Week
Absolute Flash #6- Detective Comics #1100
- Exquisite Corpses #4
- Falling In Love on the Path to Hell #9
- G.I. Joe #10
- Imperial #3
- Mothra – Queen of Monsters #5
- New Gods #9
- Nightwing #129
- Wonder Woman #24
New #1s and One-Shots
- All-New Spider-Gwen Ghost-Spider #1
- Eat Your Young #1
- Escape #1
- Event Horizon – Dark Descent #1
- Godzilla 70th Anniversary Foil Classics – Godzilla in Hell #1 (one-shot)
- Justice League Red #1
- Marvel All-On-One: The Thing vs. The Marvel Universe #1 (one-shot)
- Resident Alien – Book of Changes #1
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Journeys #1
- Venom Black White & Blood #1
- Womb Rider #1 (one-shot)
Graphic Novels and Trade Collections
- Absolute Superman Vol. 1 Last Dust of Krypton HC
- Aliens Vs. Avengers TP
- Annihilation Conquest Omnibus HC
- Arkham Horror – The Terror at the End of Time TP
- Batgirl Vol. 1 Mother TP
- Batman by Tom King Omnibus Vol. 1 HC
- Batman Detective Comics by Mariko Tamaki Omnibus HC
- Buff Soul HC
- Daredevil by Saladin Ahmed Vol. 4 Last Rites TP
- DC Finest Hawkman Wings Across Time TP
- DC Horror Presents TP
- Defenders of the Earth Vol. 2 TP
- Die Die Dei Deluxe HC
ElfQuest – The Original Quest Book 3 Wolf Blood Caged HC- Exorcism at 1600 Penn TP
- Goat Magic GN
- Hellverine Vol. 1 Lost Highways TP
- The Hive Vol. 1 TP
- Ionheart GN
- Iyanu Child of Wonder – Library Edition Vol. 1 HC
- Marvel Masterworks Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 4 HC
- Milestone Universe The Shadow Cabinet TP
- New Warriors & Night Thrasher Omnibus HC
- NYX Vol. 2 Mojo City TP
- Pop Kill TP
- Sherlock Holmes and the Empire Builders Vol. 1 HC
- Sonic the Hedgehog Vol. 19 Collision Course TP
- Space Opera Xanadax – Across the Unknown Dimensions of the Galaxy GN
- Spawn Origins Collection Vol. 31 TP
- Spider-Man Gang War Omnibus HC
- Star Trek – Strange New Worlds Omnibus Vol. 1 TP
- Star Wars – The High Republic – Adventures Phase III Vol. 4 TP
- Superman TP Box Set
- Thor Modern Era Epic Collection Vol. 3 The World Eaters TP
- TVA For All Time Always TP
- Wonder Woman Blood and Guts TP (DC Compact Comics Edition)
- X-Force by Geoffrey Thorne Vol. 2 The Solution TP
- X-Men by Jed MacKay Vol. 2 Hostile Takeover TP
Read past editions of the Top Comics to Buy!
And check out the Beat’s most recent comics reviews!
