With the Top Comics to Buy for July 5 list, there were quite a few new #1 issues to consider. This isn’t so surprising, those being the lifeblood of direct market sales and all, but it still felt like an especially heavy week for them, both in the indie space and the Big 2, where DC rolled out a half dozen event tie-in #1s. Anyway, I’ve done the thing and narrowed my recommendations, which you can find below with the other usual lists…enjoy!
Top Comics to Buy for July 5
Barnstormers #1
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Tula Lotay
Colorist: Dee Cunniffe
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
It’s 1918- the early days of the barnstorming era, when pilots competed with each other by performing deadlier and more wondrous feats, as we’ve never seen it before. Pilot John Baron is back from the frontlines of the war, where he was injured. At eighteen-years-old, he’s an adventurer who lives his life traveling from town to town in his plane, entertaining folks across the country, most of whom have never seen a car, let alone a plane. His world changes when he meets Helen, a young woman who shares his passion for aviation and adventure. They become a traveling act, flying from town to town, delighting folks with their antics. Helen even becomes John’s wing-walker, climbing out on the wing of the plane mid-flight to perform death-defying acrobatics. Along the way they bond, confessing their secrets, and begin a romance in this lush, character-driven series that explores the early days of aviation and the evolving relationship and romance between two young pilots.
Why It’s Cool: This is just such a well-done comic, from the writing to the glamorous pin-up quality art of our rascally main characters. I found myself totally immersed in this double-sized book, and anxious for the rest of this story — exactly what you want.
Price: $4.99
Knight Terrors: Poison Ivy #1
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Pencils: Atagun Ilhan
Inks: Mark Morales
Colors: Arif Prianto
Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: DC Comics
It’s another absolutely gorgeous and serene day in Pamela Isley’s lovely little new neighborhood! Everything and everyone here is wall-to-wall smiles! Nothing ever goes wrong, everyone is friends, and best of all, it’s made just for Ivy with lots and lots of love. Now, Pammy, don’t frown, don’t fuss, and don’t fret—just because this wasn’t what you thought you wanted, that doesn’t mean it won’t fit you like a glove!
Now have some pie, dear, don’t think too hard, and just smile.
Why It’s Cool: This was my favorite of the DC event comics this week, mostly because it builds right off of what is already a very excellent run in the current Poison Ivy comic. There’s definitely an event tie-in here, but it’s also a pretty great direct extension of the current book. I liked it.
Price: $4.99
Love Everlasting #9
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Elsa Charretier
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
Joan is done running and must now confront who she is, what she is, what her world is. And in this penultimate issue of the second arc, Joan comes face to face with a death that changes her forever. What does the end of everything mean to the woman whose life and loves are seemingly eternal?
Why It’s Cool: The more this series comes into focus, the more I really really like it. This is one of the most edifying issues yet, managing to play to the conceit of the book from its start and also tell a heart-rending chapter on its own merits. Really enjoyed this issue, which was an easy pick for this week’s Top Comics to Buy for July 5.
Price: $3.99
Sins of the Salton Sea #2
Writer: Ed Brisson
Artist: C.P. Smith
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: AWA Studios
After a simple armored car heist turns into something much more sinister and dangerous for brothers Wyatt and Jasper, things go from bad to worse for the ex-cons. Captured by the mysterious and dangerous cult, The Sons of the Salton Sea, Jasper comes face to face with the group’s leader, while Wyatt tries to evade the cult and the local police that work for them. In another action-packed and bloody issue, both brothers get separate peeks into why the Sons of the Salton Sea exist and why they’re going to such extreme lengths to get back what the brothers stole.
Why It’s Cool: There’s just something so satisfying about a really well-done heist story (which, of course, entails the heist going wrong), and this is definitely that. I’m also enjoying how this book is using the places within California you don’t often see in media as its setting.
Price: $3.99
Swan Songs #1
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Simmonds
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Publisher: Image Comics
SWAN SONGS comprises stories about endings…The End of the World. The End of a Marriage. The End of a Sentence. The End of the End of the World! (Which I suppose one might consider the BEGINNING of a new world…)
Why It’s Cool: W. Maxwell Prince has made some of the best single issue stand alone comics in recent memory, doing so prolifically within the pages of the long-running existensial horror series Ice Cream Man. This is the second time during that run he’s branched out into another set of one-shots, the first being a sort of circus-themed comic, Haha. Here we see artist Martin Simmonds (one of the most interesting artists working in monthly books) come aboard, and the results are unsurprisingly excellent.
Price: $3.99
Others Receiving Votes
Captain America #750- Clobberin’ Time #5
- Fence Redemption #2
- Hairball #4
- I Hate This Place #10
- Monstress #45
- Peacemaker Tries Hard #3
- Phantom Road #5
- Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Dog of War #4
- Star Trek Defiant #5
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Armageddon Game #8
- Torrent #5
- Venom #22
- X-Men #24
New #1s and One-Shots
- Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest #1
- Doctor Who: Dooms Day #1
- Knight Terrors Batman #1
- Knight Terrors Black Adam #1
- Knight Terrors First Blood #1
- Knight Terrors Joker #1
- Knight Terrors Ravager #1
- Marvel Zero #1
- Thor Vol. 6 Annual #1
- Unbelievable Unfortunately Mostly Unreadable and Nearly Unpublishable Untold Tales of I Hate Fairyland #1
- Under the Influence #1
- Weird Work #1
- X-Men: Before the Fall – Sinister Four #1
Graphic Novels and Trade Collections
- All Against All TP
- Batman One Bad Day Penguin HC
- Batman One Bad Day Two-Face HC
- Batman vs. Robin HC
- Complete Incorruptible by Mark Waid TP
- Crashing TP
- Dear Mini A Graphic Memoir
- Night of the Ghoul TP
- Old Caves GN
- Pink Lemonade TP
- Sword of Azrael TP
- Wasp Small Worlds TP
- World of Black Hammer Omnibus Vol. 1 TP
- Young Hellboy Assault on Castle Death HC
Read past editions of the Top Comics to Buy!
