Top Comics to Buy for March 13, 2024: Some real stunners

This week’s Top Comics to Buy for March 13 really blew me away. There’s a basically flawless new #1 with Helen of Wyndhorn. In addition, there’s a truly excellent crossover with Batman/Dylan Dog, and if that wasn’t enough, my favorite horror series really ups the tension as it heads toward a finale. More on all that below, along with the usual lists of recommendations…enjoy!

And! If you like my weekly picks, I’ve got my own project coming to Kickstarter, featuring artists Anna Readman, Nick Cagnetti, Ryan Lee, PJ Holden, and more. It’s very fun, so please go here and hit NOTIFY ME ON LAUNCH, thanks!

Top Comics to Buy for March 13, 2024

Batman/Dylan Dog #1
Writer: Roberto Recchioni
Art: Gigi Cavenago and Werther Dell’edera
Colorist (Prologue): Gigi Cavenago
Colorist: Giovanna Niro
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Publisher: DC Comics 
See how the fates of Batman and Dylan Dog intertwined in the past through their lethal nemeses: The Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime of Gotham City, and Professor Xabaras, a mad genius with a taste for bringing the dead back to life! Joker is in London to seal a hellish pact with Dylan Dog’s nemesis, the Mephistophelian Xabaras! The doorbell of Craven Road No. 7 screams, and beyond the doorway Bruce Wayne appears. For the Nightmare Investigator, an incredible adventure begins side by side with the Dark Knight. They’ll have to forge an uneasy alliance, putting aside their differences in order to successfully confront and defeat an evil that comes from the past…
Why It’s Cool: Boy, this is basically a crossover at its best, incorporating the most interesting parts of both of its central characters, while using the European art style of Dylan Dog to bring an interesting new aesthetic to Batman. The action sequences look great, the villains are written perfectly, and the book uses its crossover premise to find some fun opportunities for humor. Don’t miss this one.
Price: $4.99

Dark Spaces: Dungeon #4
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Andworld Design
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Why was Detective Madoc kept in the Dungeon? Who chose that fate for him? These questions have haunted him for years and given him countless sleepless nights. He’s now on the verge of discovering who sabotaged his whole life. But will he live to reveal the true nature of the dungeon master? Or will he once again become a doomed prisoner?
Why It’s Cool: My favorite horror comic right now gets to its penultimate issue, and holy cow is there rising tension in this one. It’s really barreling toward the ending, so much so that I muttered a curse when I got to the last page. But that’s how you do great serialized storytelling. What a comic.
Price: $4.99

Helen of Wyndhorn #1
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Bilquis Evely
Colorist: Matheus Lopes
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Following the tragic death of her late father C.K. Cole, the esteemed pulp writer and creator of the popular warrior character Othan; Helen Cole is called back to her Grandfather’s enormous and elustrious estate: Wyndhorn House. Scarred by Cole’s untimely passing and lost in a new, strange world, Helen wreaks drunken havoc upon her arrival; however, her chaotic ways begin to soften as she discovers a lifetime of secrets hiding within the myriad rooms and hallways of the expansive manor. For outside its walls, within the woods, dwell the legendary adventures that once were locked away within her father’s stories.
Why It’s Cool: Want to read a basically perfect first issue? One that absolutely hums from the intricate scripting to the unimpeachably-excellent artwork? Well, then don’t miss this book. Simply put, it’s phenomenal. We’ll have more on this book this week in our Wednesday Comics Review column. 
Price: $4.99

Little Black Book #1
Writer: Jeff McComsey
Artist: Felipe Cunha
Colorist: Marco Lesko
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Publisher: AWA Studios
In this explosive new thriller by writer Jeff McComsey (Grendel, Kentucky) and artist Felipe Cunha (Gatsby), Cole, a straight-arrow handyman, finds himself in the crosshairs of a ruthless crime syndicate-along with his pregnant wife. But what is the meaning of the “little black book” of underworld contacts Cole’s deceased father had hidden in his home? Cole’s deceased father believed the best thing he could do for his son was to stay out of his life, but does the apple fall far from the tree…?
Why It’s Cool: Did someone say a gritty crime comic set in Texas? Yes, they did, because that’s what we’re getting this week in Little Black Book. And it’s just so well-executed (pun intended), making it an easy pick for this week’s Top Comics to Buy for March 13.
Price: $3.99

Transformers #6
Writer/Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics – Skybound
ONE WILL STAND, ONE WILL FALL.
The Autobots vs. The Decepticons.
This is it.
And someone isn’t going to survive.
Why It’s Cool: This is the end of the incredible first story arc that has essentially redefined Transformers comics. I don’t want to spoil it even a little bit, but there’s so much to love in here, especially if you grew up with the 1980s animated Transformers: The Movie. I’ve already said too much…
Price: $3.99

Others Receiving Votes

• Action Comics #1063
• Adventureman: Ghost Lights #2
• Avengers Twilight #4
• Blue Book 1947 #2
• Dark Ride #11
• The One Hand #2
• Our Bones Dust #4
• Petrol Head #5
• Ultimate Black Panther #2
• Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #6

New #1s and One-Shots

• Black Widow and Hawkeye #1
• Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance #1
• I Heart Skull-Crusher #1
• John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando: Rise of the Sludge God #1
• The Last Mermaid #1
• Napalm Lullaby #1
• Rick and Morty – Super Spring Break Special #1 (one-shot)
• Star Trek: Sons of Star Trek #1
• Suicide Squad: Dream Team #1
• Symbiote Spider-Man 2099 #1

Graphic Novels and Trade Collections

• Adversary GN
• Batman, Vol. 1 – Failsafe TP
• Batman/Superman: World’s Finest Vol. 3 – Elementary HC
• Battle Action Special Vol. 2 HC
• Cat Fight TP
• Complete Invincible Library Vol. 1 HC
• Groo In The Wild TP
• Immortal Thor Vol. 1 – All Weather Turns to Storm TP
• Masters of the Nefarious Mollusk Rampage GN
• Star Trek: Day of Blood HC
• Tender HC

FOC Watch

Into the Unbeing Part I #1
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: June 12, 2024

I’m just going to double-down on the Hayden Sherman praise this week, and say if you’ve been enjoying their work on Dark Spaces – Dungeon as much as I have, you probably want to make sure you get your pre-orders in for their forthcoming project, Into the Unbeing Part I. The preview art that has shown up online is absolutely stunning, plus the book is scripted by writer Zac Thompson, who returned to creator-owned work after a lengthy break earlier this year, with the buzzy Cemetery Kids Don’t Die, from Oni. Featuring letters by Jim Campbell as well, this is for sure a book you want to get on your pull list. I mean, just look at that cover.

If you’re a publisher with books available for pre-order ahead of FOC before next week’s column, shoot them to [email protected] for consideration!

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Read past editions of the Top Comics to Buy!