Welcome to the top comics to buy for July 6, 2022, the first of a new weekly feature. This feature is exactly as the name implies — a round-up of the top comics coming out this week. Typically, this will mean five choices you might want to have on your radar (pending individual tastes, of course), followed by 10 – 15 more that were also good, as well as a run-down of the new #1s/one-shots, graphic novels, and trade collections for the week.
This first edition tackles a packed week, in which the flagship Batman comic gets a new writer and a new jumping on point, an interesting sci-fi take on social media makes for an equally as interesting comic, and more…enjoy!
Top Comics to Buy for July 6 2022
Absolution #1
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: AWA Studios
Nina Ryan was a hired killer who brought nothing but pain and suffering to the world. Now, she has a month to prove that she can change. A month to make up for her crimes and find absolution, or the bombs that have been implanted in her head will explode, killing her instantly. As her journey of atonement is live-streamed to a fickle public, Nina is about to discover that the road to redemption might be splattered with blood.
Why It’s Cool: Writer Peter Milligan has quietly been making some very interesting comics of late and Absolution #1 is no exception. Armed with tonally-synched artwork by Mike Deodato, Jr. with Lee Loughridge colors, Absolution #1 is essentially a near-future shoot-em-up comic that seems to want to raise a lot of questions about social media, one of which is sort of broadly about the implications of ever using its version of reality to make decisions based on how the masses react. Add to this great action sequences and a main character with an interesting back story, and the result is a really strong first issue.
Price: $3.99
Batman #125
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Jorge Jimenez, with a back-up by Belén Ortega
Colorist: Tomeu Morey, with a back-up by Luis Guerrero
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Superstar writer Chip Zdarsky joins legendary artist Jorge Jimenez to define a new era in Batman! Bruce Wayne is at a turning point, haunted by dreams of a dark future, while Gotham City billionaires are being gruesomely murdered. With the discovery of an archenemy’s involvement and a tragedy unfolding, the Dark Knight’s nightmares are just beginning. Failsafe starts here. And in the backup, there’s chaos in Gotham as the underworld fights over one of its crown jewels…and Selina Kyle is caught in the middle. Can she stop the bloodshed and maybe even make a little money in the process?
Why It’s Cool: I wrote a whole column about this earlier today as part of this site’s (Very Good) DC Round-Up feature, but in short, I found Batman#125 to be pretty close to a perfect jumping on point sort of book, one that certainly doesn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater (do people use that expression? I sometimes use that expression…) yet does just enough plate clearing to make the new story its trying to tell accessible for basically anyone who’s ever heard of Gotham City or Bruce Wayne. Add to that the very shrewd editorial decision to retain the Jorge Jimenez/Tomeu Morey art team, and you get a very exciting Batman comic that seems likely to appeal to new/old/lapsed readers alike.
Price: $5.99
The Closet #2
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Gavin Fullerton
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Publisher: Image Comics
As Thom continues the cross-country move with his son Jamie, they stop at a friend’s place for the night on their journey west. Young Jamie, in bed early, quickly realizes he is not alone, and the creature from his nightmares continues to chase him.
Why It’s Cool: Going to keep leaning on the phrase “pretty close to” here and say that for me The Closet #2 was pretty close to the ideal horror story that also has something interesting to say beneath its spooky veneer. Actually, the character-driven core of this one is arguably more on the surface than the horror stuff, but that doesn’t make either part of this book any less interesting. It’s just an engaging story about a young father on the cusp/in-the-process-of making big mistakes that will hurt his family…while what seems to be an alien terrorizes the young son he’s neglecting. I am a big fan of this one, and it gets a hearty recommendation.
Price: $3.99
Sabretooth #5
Writer: Victor LaValle
Artist: Leonard Kirk
Colorist: Rain Beredo
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
ALL THINGS MUST END…
…but how? Sabretooth has changed Krakoa but has Krakoa changed him? No one gets away clean in this story. And maybe there are fates even worse than the Pit.
Why It’s Cool: Novelist Victor LaValle has been steadily making interesting comics since his first foray into the medium with the BOOM! Studios-published Frakenstein riff, Destroyer, back in 2017. Sabretooth marks his third comics series and his first foray into superhero/Big 2 work, and it’s on the surface a difficult task — diving right into the complex Krakoa era of X-Men as a newcomer to this sort of publishing. Yet this series has been excellent, ranking as one of (if not the) best comics of this current X-Men era, one that mostly stands on its own. Featuring the fantastic art team of Leonard Kirk and Rain Beredo, Sabretooth is an interesting story that raises questions around the concept of prison, and what you can learn about a society based on how it handles laws and consequences at a systemic level. If that all weren’t enough, this week’s finale ends with a tease that this story isn’t over…
Price: $3.99
Saga #60
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Letterer: Fonografiks
Publisher: Image Comics
Will the landmark sixtieth issue of SAGA end with triumph or tragedy for Hazel and her family? This may be a “season finale” of SAGA, but the most emotional series in comics is only getting started!
Why It’s Cool: As a long-time Saga reader, I’ve loved this first arc back after the book’s lengthy hiatus. At times, I’ve felt that the new comics have exceeded the high bar for quality set by the series, and that the time away has really paid off in terms of reinvigoration. While Saga is not typically available for advanced review ahead of its publication date, I still have this one on this week’s list based on how great this first arc back has been so far, with no reason to expect a dip in quality from the finale.
Price: $2.99
Others Receiving Votes
- Amazing Spider-Man #5
- Batman ’89 #6
- Batman: Killing Time #5
- Black Panther #7
- Carnage #4
- Dark Crisis #2
- Deadbox #3
- Fire Power by Kirkman and Samnee #22
- The Joker #15
- Once and Future #27
- Poison Ivy #2
- Suicide Squad: Blaze #3
- That Texas Blood #15
New #1s and One-Shots
- Black Adam: Justice Society Files – Hawkman #1 (one-shot)
- Mind MGMT Bootleg #1
- Prodigy: The Icarus Society #1
- Promethee 1313 #1
- Savage Tales (Dynamite) #1 (one-shot)
- Starhenge Book One – The Dragon and the Boar #1
- Stranger Things Summer Special #1 (one-shot)
- There’s Something Wrong With Patrick Todd #1
- The Tiger’s Tongue #1
Direct Market Trade Collections and Graphic Novels of Note
- Batman: Urban Legends Vol. 2 TP
- The Creep TP
- Disciples HC
- Justice League: Infinity TP
- Paris Original Graphic Novel HC
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin HC
- Vertical Sea HC
