This week’s Top Comics to Buy for June 17 has a few books that are a big deal, starting with the first new issue of Concrete in more than a decade. This comes along with a new issue of the best-selling title in monthly comics, Absolute Batman, and the second chapters of a pair of stellar creator owned. It was a tough week to narrow my top recommendations down to five, but I’ve tried my best.
You can find my five favorite comics of the week below, along with 10 other books I enjoyed and the usual set of releases lists. Enjoy!
Top Comics to Buy for June 17
Absolute Batman #21
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Nick Dragotta
Colorist: Frank Martin
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Publisher: DC Comics
Friends become enemies. Enemies become friends. Final forms are revealed, and Scarecrow’s reign of terror threatens to upend everything.
Why It’s Cool: Absolute Batman remains the most spectacular reading experience in monthly comics, with blisteringly-good art, an enthusiastic embrace of the grandiose, and the always-fun alternate universe takes on familiar characters. I keep waiting for this book to slow down, and it just does not. It’s fun.
Price: $4.99
Dead Teenagers #4
Writer: Jude Ellison S. Doyle
Artist: Caitlin Yarsky
Publisher: Oni Press
Brandy, JT, and Claire narrowly escape from their mortal enemy’s brutal rampage, taking refuge in JT’s trash heap of what passes for an apartment in the year 2026. Brandy must reckon with the realization that life is NOT, in fact, a party in the USA, and Claire must reckon with the truth of what passes for a non-celebrity’s trash heap of an apartment in the year 2026. Meanwhile, JT struggles with a decade-old secret, as a sudden realization hits her regarding the origin of their fatal time loops…
Why It’s Cool: The penultimate issue of this time-stream fluid, teenage death comic is a fantastic one, filled with interesting character beats, top-tier cartooning, and what seems likely to be this story’s biggest reveal. I just really love how this story has used genre comics to tackle how formative high school can feel for years to come.
Price: $4.99
Odin #2
Writers: James Tynion IV & Marguerite Bennett
Artist: Letizia Cadonici
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Publisher: Image Comics – Tiny Onion
Robert gave up being Roberto to fit in with his Nazi punk friends. Now those same friends have dragged him to the frozen forests of Norway to summon a “god.” And he may have to give up much, much more before they’re through with him…
Why It’s Cool: The first issue introduced us to the characters and themes of this story, and now the second one goes all in on totally gruesome survival horror. This is an intriguing book that looks great, and it’s a thrill knowing things are likely to get a whole lot worse for everyone involved.
Price: $3.99
Of The Earth #2
Writers: Chris Condon & Andrew Ehrich
Artist: Charlie Adlard
Colorist: Pip Martin
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Image Comics
A representative for the oil company, Thomas Morton, arrives at the Winters Ranch to investigate the strange phenomena surrounding Gramma Betty and a missing oil worker.
Why It’s Cool: The plot of this book has been a total banger so far through two issues, and even with just two chapters, Charlie Adlard is reminding readers that he’s one of the best horror-suspense cartoonists of this generation. I do not know where this book is headed, but I do know I’m already terrified for the poor characters in it.
Price: $3.99
Paul Chadwick’s Concrete: Stars Over Sand #1
Writer/Artist: Paul Chadwick
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Concrete has entered the desert and not come back. Larry and Maureen are frantic. Reports come that he is wandering the nearby arid mountains, covered with blood, attacking people. Concrete, lightning-struck, confused, roams a frightening world he can’t understand. Roars tear across the sky. A strange globe rises. His body is sheathed in stone. He thinks he is being hunted. People are a threat.
Why It’s Cool: Simply put, this is Paul Chadwick’s first new Concrete comic in more than a decade, and Concrete (if you somehow don’t know) is one of the most beloved indie comics of all time. This return issue is also just such a treat as a single issue comic, one that I recommend to folks who are entirely new to this series. It’s accessible in every way, while not skimping on continuing the book’s story.
Price: $4.99
10 Other Comics I Enjoyed This Week
- Absolute Green Arrow #2
- The Beauty #6
- Deathstroke The Terminator #4
- Hellboy in Love: Obsidian #1
- Hello Darkness #22
- If Destruction Be Our Lot #2
- Nightwing #139
- Smile For The Camera #4
- Super Creepshow #4
- Superman Unlimited #14
New #1s and One-Shots
- Hellboy in Love: Obsidian #1
- Land of Never #1
- Paul Chadwick’s Concrete: Stars Over Sand #1
- Phantom vs The Red Dragons #1 (one-shot)
- Spider-Man: Long Way Home #1
- The Trillion Dollar Kid #1
- What If Thor Got Spider-Man’s Symbiote Suit #1 (one-shot)
Graphic Novels and Trade Collections
- Batman: Under the Red Hood TP (DC Compact Comics Edition)
- Betas TP
- Blink and You’ll Miss It TP
- Call Me Emma GN
- Captain Marvel Highest Furthest Fastest Omnibus HC
- Catacomb of Torment Vol 1 TP
- Charity & Sylvia HC
- Dark Crisis Omnibus HC
- DC Finest Robin – The Origin of Robin TP
- Denniveniquity GN
- Department of Truth Complete Conspiracy Deluxe Edition Vol 2 HC
- Geiger Vol 5 TP
- Gigs TP
- Koshchei The Deathless Omnibus HC
- LEGO Ninjago Dark Island Trilogy TP
- Memories of Giselle GN
- Miles Morales Spider-Man by Cody Ziglar Vol 8 Revenge of Rabble TP
- Minecraft Open World The Ender Trials TP
- Mirka Andolfo’s Sweet Paprika Open For Business TP
- Motherlover GN
- Nancy For All Seasons TP
- New Adventures From the Trigan Empire Vol 1 HC
- New Space Age TP
- New X-Men Modern Era Epic Collection Vol 3 Planet X TP
- Not On Display: Female Nudes in The Louvre HC
- Pear Shape TP
- Rogue Trooper Ghost Patrol TP
- Superior Foes of Spider-Man TP
- Superman Action Comics Vol 1 Boy of Steel TP
- Transformers Worst Bot Ever Bot Swap GN
Read past editions of the Top Comics to Buy!
And check out the Beat’s most recent comics reviews!
