So, your headliner for this week’s Top Comics to Buy for August 26 is, of course, Concrete, a masterwork that we’re lucky to see continue in 2026. I’m absolutely loving this new miniseries, which just passed its midpoint this week. On top of that, we get the start of a new Batman crossover, some vampire action, and much more.
And hey, if you like my weekly comics recs, I wrote a comic of my own that’s coming to Kickstarter next month! If you want more info, just go to his page, and his NOTIFY ME ON LAUNCH to get an email when the preorder window goes live … thanks!
Top Comics to Buy for August 26
Batman – Bad Seeds – Sunset #1
Writers: Matt Fraction and G. Willow Wilson
Layouts: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Finishes: Cliff Rathburn
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Gotham City’s new mayor, Pamela Isley, deserted by her allies both political and arcane, is about to make a last-ditch power play that will leave Gotham decimated by daylight. Having already declared war on the Bat-Family and flooded the streets with his private, paramilitarized police army, Police Commissioner Vandal Savage sees an opportunity to solve two problems at once. Storylines converge in Batman: Bad Seeds, a Gotham City event spanning one long, dark night in Gotham that threatens to turn the entire city into a hostile world of prehistoric plant life unlike anything on Earth for millennia, at a time when its greatest heroes are hunted and in hiding.
Why It’s Cool: Batman and Poison Ivy are two of DC’s best mainline comics, and now they’re crossing over for Bad Seeds, a story that builds on the excellent long-run taking place in the pages of Poison Ivy. And this first issue is super-sized superhero storytelling done right.
Price: $5.99
Black Tower – The Raven Conspiracy #1
Writer: Ram V.
Artist: Mike Perkins
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Andworld Design
Publisher: DC Comics – Vertigo
Twenty-three-year-old Darren Burroughs out of Audubon, PA, is a gifted rookie sent under the guise of a diplomatic aide to train with Division Nine — an obscure, outdated, and easily dismissed arm of British intelligence that specializes in dealing with paranormal incidents. In the right sort of spy circles, they’re known by a different, more feared name… Black Tower. It’s 2026, and in the age of cyber warfare and drone strikes, someone is plotting to steal the head of a giant-king to break a centuries-old ward that has kept invading forces out of Britain. Magic and espionage collide as the Black Tower’s band of misfits, led by the enigmatic Alistair Romeo, delves into a maelstrom of spells and silencers, working against time and in the shadows to fight the esoteric battles bubbling under the surface of our visible wars.
Why It’s Cool: I was thrilled to get another new Vertigo launch this week, after the first wave has become familiar reading, and it feels like arguably the most original-Vertigo-coded of the 2026 books so far. Part of this is the absolutely gritty artwork from Mikes Perkins and Spicer, and another part is the just overall storytelling, which really does feel like you’re wading into a vast conspiracy.
Price: $3.99
Concrete – Stars Over Sand #3
Cartoonist: Paul Chadwick
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Amnesiac Concrete, now in the mountains, does an uncharacteristic thing: he kills a deer and eats it. Ominously, he feels no sorrow nor empathy. Maureen hires a helicopter, possibly the last financial transaction of her life. Larry makes a secret decision that might be his most irresponsible, ever.
Why It’s Cool: For my money, Concrete is the best comic of 2026 so far, and with every new issue (this one included) it solidifies that title further. I’ve said it before, but we are just so lucky to have new issues of this amazing comic.
Price: $4.99
Hammerfist #1
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Steve Epting
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics – Giant Generator
Meet MIKE DENTON: a dirtbag hitman, junkie, and absentee father who’s spent his life chasing the easy fix — drugs, cheap sex, and murder for money — while failing the one person who still believes he can be better: his daughter. Now, on the eve of BLACK NOON — an ancient darkness that erases the light in all things — Mike has to drag himself out of the gutter, awaken a supernatural weapon powered only by love, and fight his way through the living embodiment of evil to save her.
Why It’s Cool: This book had me at its title. And its creative team. And its solicit text. And its preview art. Which is all a way of saying my anticipation for this book — which I will remind you is titled Hammerfist, and has a guy with a big fist on its cover — could not have been higher. And the first issue actually exceeded my expectations. I mentioned earlier that Black Tower felt original-Vertigo-coded, well this book absolutely does, too.
Price: $5.99
Operation Iron Coffin #2
Writer: Kenny Porter
Artist: Tyrell Cannon
Letterer: Shawn Lee
Discover the deal Dracula made with Quincy Harker that led to him assisting the Allied forces in stopping the deadly Nazi train that contains a deadly vampire virus! Dracula continues to fight his way through the train and now must face down the three augmented soldiers who follow Hazel and Ivy’s every command. He has a great deal of power, but can he combat the power of the Spear, the Gunner, and the Bell?! And how much more of Dracula’s history is about to catch up to him?
Why It’s Cool: If you like excellent, highly-kinetic, pulpy comics art, you’re going to want to read this book. It’s like the best popcorn action movie, just a total rush of comics action with bigger-than-life material like Dracula and World War II as its backdrop. What a fun book.
Price: $4.99
10 Other Comics I Enjoyed This Week
Absolute Wonder Woman #23- The Beauty #8
- Bloodland #6
- The Flash #36
- Hello Darkness #24
- Hidden Springs #4
- Mind Management – New & Improved #3
- Poison Ivy #47 (Bad Seeds)
- Superman #41 (Kingdom of Zod)
- Universal Monsters – Blood of the Wolf Man #3
New #1s and One-Shots
Batman – Bad Seeds – Sunset #1 (one-shot)- Black Tower – The Raven Conspiracy #1
- Denver #1
- Hammerfist #1
- M.A.S.K. – Origins #1 (one-shot)
- Next Level – One Shot #1 (one-shot)
- ROM Special #1 (one-shot)
- Stuff of Nightmares – The Cat in the Coffin #1 (one-shot)
- This Land Is Old And Dark #1
- Tomb of Apocalypse #1
- What If Cassandra Nova Killed Professor X #1 (one-shot)
- Witchblade / Vampirella #1 (one-shot)
Graphic Novels and Trade Collections
Absolute Martian Manhunter Vol 2 – The Agency HC/TP- Alien vs. Captain America TP
- Amazing Spider-Man: The Classic Newspaper Comics 1980 TP
- Avatar Legends – Masters of the Elements Vol 1 TP
- Batman – The Long Halloween – The Last Halloween TP
- Battlepug Cosmic Doggyssey TP
- Battler Britton Bloody Good Show HC
- Conquest of the Cosmos TP
- Daredevil & Punisher – The Devil’s Trigger TP
- Deluge TP
- Department of Truth Vol 7 TP
- EC Archives – The Complete Valor TP
- Faithless Complete Collection TP
- The Flash Vol. 4 DC KO TP
- G.I. Joe A Real American Hero Compendium Vol 4 TP
- Gigantic – The Complete Series TP
- Green Lantern Vol 6 With This Ring TP
- Impact Winter Origins TP
- Last Comic Book on the Left Vol 1 HC
Like Swimmers HC- Marvel Fanfare Omnibus Vol 3 HC Book Market / Direct Market
- Miles Morales – Spider-Man Modern Era Epic Collection Vol 4 Sitting In A Tree TP
- Planet She-Hulk TP
- The Primal Hunter Vol 1 GN
- Prince Valiant Vol 31 1997-1998 HC
- Red Robin Tim Drake Compendium TP
- Something Is Killing the Children Omnibus Vol 2 TP
- Spider-Verse: Spider-Geddon Omnibus HC Book Market / Direct Market
- Strange Tales GN
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – The Last Ronin – The Lost Years TP
- Titans Vol 5 DC KO TP
- X-Men Blue & Gold Bloodties Omnibus HC Book Market / Direct Market
- Youngblood Vol 1 TP
Read past editions of the Top Comics to Buy!
And check out the Beat’s most recent comics reviews!
