The Top Comics to Buy for November 1 features a couple good examples of genre comics, specifically fantasy (with Unnatural Order) and westerns (Canary). It does my heart well to be able to spotlight a wide variety of books, and this week is a great example of the variety being published right now. You can find my suggestions, along with the usual set of recommendation lists below … enjoy!
Top Comics to Buy for November 1, 2023
Canary #1
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Dan Panosian
Letterers: Richard Starkings and Tyler Smith
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
In 1891 a mine collapsed into itself. What was the dark substance found 666 feet underground? Blending modern horror, historical fact and Western lore, Scott Snyder and Dan Panosian have created a uniquely terrifying thriller with Canary. During the final days of the Gold Rush, one mining company in Colorado, pulled up radioactive Uranium, and then the mine then collapsed in on itself. Legends sprung up about the mine being cursed or even haunted. Now the Frontier is closed, the gold and silver mines have dried up. The country is becoming “civilized,” and yet, in one stretch of the Rocky Mountains, a terrifying, new kind of violence is suddenly emerging. Random killings. People going mad and murdering neighbors, classmates without real cause. When a schoolboy kills his teacher with a hatchet, a famous federal marshal named Azrael William Holt is called in to investigate the killings. What hea brilliant young geologistis stranger and more horrifying than anything they could have ever imagined.
Why It’s Cool: I’ve been enjoying all of the recent creator-owned comics written by Scott Snyder that have been finding their way into print via Dark Horse of late, but my favorites are those that check sort of neglected genre boxes. Barnstormers was a fantastic bit of historical fiction, and this week Snyder and Dan Panosian are doing a western — and it rules. This over-sized issues is immersive and looks fantastic.
Price: $4.99
The Faceless and the Family #1
Writer/Artist:Matt Lesniewski
Publisher: Oni Press
On the broken and warped world known as the Hand Planet, the wanderer simply called Faceless ekes out existence on the margins to escape the shame that cost him his name and his identity. Exiled for his crimes, Faceless now calls the wastelands his home-until the good fortune of fate delivers him a mismatched band of fellow travelers who will soon become family . . . if they can survive a suicidal mission into the Hand Planet’s class-segregated Finger Cities to restore what lies beneath Faceless’s helmet and, with it, his hope in humanity.
Why It’s Cool: You just haven’t seen another comic like this one all year. It’s an allegory with an amazing design aesthetic that uses honest character concerns to great effect, all while adventuring on a floating world shaped like a hand. It’s the type of comic that will remind you why you read comics, and an easy addition to this week’s Top Comics to Buy for November 1.
Price: $7.99
Red Light #1
Writer: Sarah H. Cho
Artist: Priscilla Petraites
Colorist: Miroslav Mrva
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Lacy is an A.I. sex worker in a futuristic Red Light District. And Lacy knows exactly what her clients want – better than they know it themselves. Housed in a high-tech brothel under the watchful eye of the mysterious Mister, Lacy has little in her manufactured life besides work. All that changes when she befriends Natalie, an orphaned child who comes into her care. Now Lacy and Natalie are on a mission to escape the Red Light District, only to find themselves flung headlong into the mystery behind Lacy’s creation.
Why It’s Cool: It’s another smart and stylish horror-tinged comic from AWA Studios, this one following an AI sex worker. I’ll write about this book more tomorrow in our Wednesday Comics Review column, but there’s a close POV with the lead character that really works well in this one. Plus, the book looks great.
Price: $3.99
Ultimate Universe #1
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Stefano Caselli
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel Comics
After the worlds-shaking conclusion of ULTIMATE INVASION, a new team of heroes bands together to save the future! From mastermind Jonathan Hickman and superstar artist Stefano Caselli, don’t miss out on this foundational issue for the new line of Ultimate Comics!
Why It’s Cool: This one-shot is sort of a bridge between the recently concluded Ultimate Invasion miniseries and a new line of Ultimate books that are preparing to launch early next year, and, really, you do need to have read the former and plan to read the latter to appreciate this book. But if you’re into all that (all that good Hickman deep sci-fi excellence) this is great stuff.
Price: $6.99
Unnatural Order #1
Writer: Christopher Yost
Artist: Val Rodrigues
Colorist: Dearbhla Kelly
Letterer: Andworld Design
After the fall of the Britons and the Roman invasion of Hibernia, the captive known only as the Druid is released, sending a darkness across the world…an age of horrors, of fire and entrails. As the innocent burn in the Wicker fields, those who would resist learn of the existence of a man who even the Druid fears. For it is this prisoner, a soldier from a different time, who alone knows the Druid’s secret: this is not how the world is supposed to be.
Why It’s Cool: I try not to use the phrase “tour de force” so as not to cheapen it for books like Unnatural Order #1, an absolute tour de force from the first page right on through to the shocking cliffhanger. Everything about this comic fires on all cylinders, and I just can’t recommend it enough. It’s that good.
Price: $4.99
Others Receiving Votes
Detective Comics #1076- Doctor Strange #9
- Ghostlore #6
- Midnite Show #2
- The Nasty #4
- The Sacrificers #4
- Sainted Love #2
- Scarlet Witch #10
- Traveling to Mars #9
- Usagi Yojimbo – Ice & Snow #2
- Venom #27
New #1s and One-Shots
Almost Dead #1- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Special #1 (one-shot)
- Batman/Catwoman – The Gotham War – Scorched Earth #1 (one-shot)
- Blood Commandment #1
- It’s Jeff – The Jeff-Verse #1 (one-shot)
- Return of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1 (one-shot)
- Savage Red Sonja #1
- Space Between #1
- Spider-Boy #1
- Strangers Things – The Voyage #1
- Supergirl Special #1 (one-shot)
- White Widow #1
Graphic Novels and Trade Collections
Bad Karma HC- Breath of Shadows TP
- A Christmas Bestiary HC
- Demon Wars – Treasury Edition TP
- Good Comics For Bad People: An Extra Fabulous Collection HC
- Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters HC
- Lazarus Planet – Revenge of the Gods HC
- Lore Olympus HC Boxed Set Vol. 1
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Deluxe Edition Book 1 HC
- Monster-Sized Hellboy HC
- Pill Hill GN
- Powers Vol. 5 TP – Dark Horse Edition
- Super Boba Cafe HC
- Super Sons Omnibus – Super Duper Edition HC
- Unended GN
- Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber TP
Read past editions of the Top Comics to Buy!
