This week’s top comics to buy for February 18 is drawn from another absolutely stacked week, as ReVertigo rolls out its second launch, and a number of my other favorite ongoings (from Minor Arcana to Powers) deliver unsurprisingly great mid-run issues. And if all that weren’t enough, we get the finale issue of Ultimate Spider-Man.
You can find my five top recommendations below, 10 other books I enjoyed, and the usual set of new #1 and graphic novel release lists … enjoy!
Top Comics to Buy for February 18, 2026
Death to Pachuco #5
Writer/Letterer: Henry Barajas
Artist: Rachel Merrill
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Publisher: Image Comics – Top Cow
The war for East L.A. rages on while Ricky has to decide if his life is worth bringing in the Sleepy Lagoon Murderer. But will the city be the same after the dust settles? Is this really the death of pachuco?! Find out in the shocking finale to the hit series!
Why It’s Cool: It’s all been leading to this. If you’ve been following this excellent Los Angeles historical fiction noir, which uses real historical events as its jumping off point, you already know this is a singular comic. And now this week we get the big finale. Definitely don’t miss this one.
Price: $3.99
End of Life #1
Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Steve Pugh
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Becca Carey
Publisher: DC Comics – Vertigo
Professional hitman Eddie Stallion has messed up. He’s accidentally robbed the Raven, a high-ranking boss of the international cabal of assassins the Menagerie, of which Eddie is a member… or he was. Now with a price on his head, Eddie chooses to hide in the one place everyone knows he’d never go… the small midwestern town of Pluto, home of his estranged father and known hard-ass George Stallion. Looking for safe harbor, Eddie instead finds his resentful father dying of cancer, old friends looking to collect that bounty, Menagerie assassins who have wandered into town, a cancelled newspaper comic-strip creator turned local crime lord, and oh yeah, his childhood first love, too.
Why It’s Cool: First and foremost, it’s the second new series launch for the revitalized Vertigo imprint at DC Comics, which makes it a must-read in itself for curiosity’s sake. But the creative team is also a great one top to bottom, and the concept for the book is fantastic. I’ve had a chance to read the first three issues of this one, and will also note that it gets better and better (and funnier and funnier) as it goes.
Price: $3.99
Minor Arcana #14
Writer/Artist: Jeff Lemire
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Overwhelmed with life in Limberlost and all that surrounds her, Theresa turns inward to look for answers. Despite good intentions, her desire to help others has placed her in the center of chaos. Can she hold all of the pieces of herself together, or will she fall apart under the pressure?
Why It’s Cool: Minor Arcana is one of those comics that has been so good for the entirety of its run, that it’s become easy to take it for granted. It’s not news to anyone at this point that Jeff Lemire is as assured and nuanced as a storyteller as there is in comics, and he’s got such an acute vision for his latest book, which combines the smalltown desperation he’s explored in past work (Essex County, and Royal City) with touches of the magical. This issue is the penultimate of the book’s third arc, and it makes great use of the full cast of established characters. Plus, Lemire really lays down some gorgeous, poignant panel layouts in this one.
Price: $4.99
Powers 25 #6
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Avon Oeming
Colorist: Nick Filardi
Letterer: Joshua Reed
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics – Jinxworld
Super-science and super-genius Archie Gates has turned the tables on the POWERS division —threatening to take them over and shut them down. Detective Kutter knows it’s all a smoke screen cover up, but can she prove it? Meanwhile, rookie Detective Moon has teamed up with veteran all-star Deena Pilgrim to confront the newest powers super group, THE GRAND. It’s a race to see who can uncover the conspiracy behind the latest murder.
Why It’s Cool: Regular readers of this column know that I’ve been absolutely loving the latest arc of Powers, which has done a great job introducing new characters as well as really intriguing police procedural concept. This issue, which is the halfway point of the arc, starts to dole out some answers, which is always tricky business for a mystery. But the case at the center of this story is so well thought out, that answers actually increase the momentum, rather than slow it.
Price: $4.99
Ultimate Spider-Man #24
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artists: Marco Checchetto and David Messina
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
THE END OF THE LINE! This is it, folks — the last you’ll see of Spidey and his Ultimate friends by Jonathan Hickman & Marco Checchetto! That’s all we can tell you!
Why It’s Cool: Now that I’ve read the finale, can safely say this is my favorite Spider-Man comic in many years. And also, I would read dozens of more issues in which Uncle Ben and J. Jonah Jameson just do journalism in this wildly conspiratorial Ultimate Universe. But in the end, this finale is just wildly emotionally satisfying for readers of this book and the wider Spider-Man line over the years.
Price: $6.99
10 Other Comics I Enjoyed This Week
- Absolute Batman #17
- Arcadia #3
- Captain Henry and the Graveyard of Time #4
- Exquisite Corpses #10
- Good As Dead #6
- Our Soot Stained Heart #3
- Sai Dimensional Rivals #2
- Superman Unlimited #10
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Battle Nexus #5
- Toxic Crusaders #4
New #1s and One-Shots
- Black Panther 60th Anniversary Special #1 (one-shot)
- Deadly Hands of Kun-Lun #1
- Death Fight Forever #1
- End of Life #1
- Florida Hippopotamus Cocaine Massacre #1
- Generation X-23 #1
- It’s Jeff Meets Daredevil #1 (one-shot)
- Lenore Curse of the Beebee Yaga #1 (one-shot)
- Muppets Noir #1
- Smile For The Camera #1
- White Sky #1
- Wolverine – Weapons of Armageddon #1
Graphic Novels and Trade Collections
- Absolute Wonder Woman Vol 2 As My Mothers Made Me HC/TP
- Batgirl Vol 2 Bloodlines TP
- Batman and Robin by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason Book 3 TP
- Black Ritual The Book of Nyx #1 TP
- Defiant The Story of Robert Smalls HC/TP
- Doom Academy TP
- Emma Frost The White Queen All Hail the Queen TP
- Flash by Mark Waid Omnibus Vol 2 HC
- Green Lantern Vol 5 Fractured Spectrum TP
- Lost Marvels Vol 3 Savage Tales of the 1980s HC
- Magik Vol 2 Shadows of Resistance TP
- MFKZ Vol 5 V HC
- Minecraft Heart of Cobblestone Vol 2 TP
- Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos Vol 3 TP
- Rick and Morty 10th Anniversary Omnibus Vol 3 HC
- Shade the Changing Man by Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo Omnibus Vol 2 HC
- Skullkickers Compact Attack Edition Vol 1 TP
- Something Is Killing the Children Vol 9 TP
- Star Wars Hidden Empire Omnibus HC
- Superior Spider-Man Returns Omnibus HC
- Tin Can Society TP
- Thunderbolts Doomstrike TP
- Ultimate Incursion TP
- Witchblade Vol 3 TP
- Young Avengers Modern Era Epic Collection Vol 3 The Children Crusade TP
Read past editions of the Top Comics to Buy!
And check out the Beat’s most recent comics reviews!
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