I know I say this not infrequently, but this week’s list of Top Comics to Buy for June 24 might actually be the most competitive week I’ve had in the eight (!!) years I’ve done this column across various websites. To start, my list of interested in books to read was a massive 43. All that means is that I think you should pay extra close attention to the 10 Comics I Also Enjoyed This Week section, because any other Wednesday, every one of them would have ended up in my top 5.
You can find that top 5 below, followed by the usual secondary recs and release subsections … enjoy!
Top Comics to Buy for June 25
Escape #8
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Daniel Acuna
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics – Giant Generator
MILTON is alive but only because good men paid the ultimate price. A coded radio transmission offers his first real shot at hope but LIEUTENANT COLONEL KLAUS REINHARDT is on his heels, forcing MILTON to choose between escape and the people who saved him.
Why It’s Cool: Escape is really turning into an excellent long-form war comic, one that sits uncomfortably in its gritty tension and themes as horror unfolds at every turn. It occurred to me that I’m fairly certain every character in this book is utterly doomed, and I still can’t look away.
Price: $3.99
Is Ted OK? #5
Cartoonist: Dave Chisholm
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Safe and sound at Christina’s secluded cabin, Ted and Sarah finally learn the story of Noah™, of Ayn-Styne, of The Dome — of it all, really. This is it, dear readers. The cards are all on the table. The gravity of the enormous truth bomb leaves Ted feeling utterly crushed, hollowed-out, thoroughly bewildered. As Sarah again tries to help Ted, everything explodes, their reality is upended, and the tables are set for the massive finale in issue 6!
Why It’s Cool: Things are really getting dark in Is Ted OK? #5, which is really saying something, because in this book, things started dark. This series remains fantastic though, with its penultimate issue ranking as its most shocking and consequential yet.
Price: $5.99
Mind MGMT – New and Improved #1
Cartoonist: Matt Kindt
Publisher: Oni Press
Ten years ago, the extra-governmental agency known as Mind Management exploded in a barrage of bullets and brain matter. Those that survived have gone underground—forging new lives with unremarkable identities and falsified pasts to obfuscate the strange abilities that once made them highly prized assets in the global war for psychic control. Now, two investigators—Detective Delphi and Detective Swan—have found themselves at the center of an unexpected puzzle. Here: A man poisoned in a coffee shop with a sophisticated neurotoxin. There: A supposed suicide victim run over by a train… with his arms found in a trash can five miles from the tracks. Their connection: Someone is killing former Mind Management agents in improbable and arcane ways… Seemingly impossible crimes committed by a faceless killer capable of evading even the most pervasive digital surveillance. What secret are they killing to protect? Who will be next? Has Mind Management returned? Did it ever go away? You are paranoid… but are you paranoid enough?
Why It’s Cool: I’ll be honest, the original run of Mind MGMT is a comics blindspot for me, but this high profile return of the book felt accessible all the same, mysterious in a way that served the story rather than kept me out. And the tone is just so intriguing. This also marks, I believe, the move of Kindt’s Flux House imprint to Oni, so that’s cool, too.
Price: $5.99
Swamp Thing 1989 #3
Writer: Rick Veitch
Artist: Tom Mandrake
Colorist: Trish Mulvihill
Letterer: Todd Klein
Publisher: DC Comics – Black Label
Swamp Thing’s journey back through time has finally led all the way to the Big Bang and beyond. There, in the presence of the Source of the Multiverse, Swamp Thing must make an impossible choice: join the Source of life itself or find his way home to Abby. While 13 billion years in the future, John Constantine works his occult network while Hell itself is ablaze with villains of yesteryears forging evil into a new and terrifying form! The child of Swamp Thing, Abby Arcane, and John Constantine, heir to the role of Earth’s Elemental, is about to be born. And everything hangs in the balance.
Why It’s Cool: DC Comics is doing so much right at the moment that it can be hard to pick a favorite project, but Swamp Thing 1989 is rapidly emerging as mine. I was skeptical it would stay excellent past the first, famously-cancelled issue, but it really has. Tom Mandrake’s art (with the wonderful coloring by Trish Mulvihill) feels right out of 1989 but still vibrant and interesting. I am only sad that this entire endeavor has an inherently short span. I would (greedily) take two dozen issues of this.
Price: $4.99
Ultimate Universe Finale #1
Writers: Johnathan Hickman, Bryan Hill, Chris Condon, Deniz Camp, and Peach Momoko
Artists: Marco Checchetto, Stefano Caselli, Alessandro Cappuccio, Juan Frigeri, and Peach Momoko
Colorists: Marcio Menyz, David Curiel, Bryan Valenza, and Federico Blee
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Comics
THE ULTIMATE GOODBYE… Following the events of ULTIMATE ENDGAME #5, the creative teams of all the Ultimate books come together one last time to say farewell…
Why It’s Cool: In short, this was a nice coda on what at its peak was a great line of comics. It’s also nice to get endings in monthly comics that feel like they come at the right time. Make sure to pick up Ultimate Endgame #5 this week as well for a double dose of conclusion.
Price: $7.99
10 Other Comics I Enjoyed This Week
- Absolute Superman #20
- Absolute Wonder Woman #21
- The Flash #34
- Hidden Springs #2
- Is Ted OK? #5
- The Peril of the Brutal Dark – An Ezra Cain Mystery #5
- Powers 25 #10
- Superman #39
- Universal Monsters – Blood of the Wolf Man #1
- Usagi Yojimbo Kaito ’84 #4
- White House Robot Romance #3
New #1s and One-Shots
- Bludwire #1
- The Eye Collector #1
- Hellboy and the BPRD – The Monster of Nivola #1 (one-shot)
- Mind MGMT – New and Improved #1
- Summer of Supergirl Special #1 (one-shot)
- Ultimate Universe Finale #1
- Universal Monsters – Blood of the Wolf Man #1
- X-Men Outback #1
Graphic Novels and Trade Collections
- Absolute Flash Vol 2 HC/TP
- Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol 7 HC
- Batman & Robin by Grant Morrison Absolute Edition HC
- Blood Squad Seven Vol 3 Wartime Ratings TP
- Casanova Compendium Book 1 TP
- DC Finest The Fourth World When The Old Gods Die TP
- Fish and Water HC
- Godzilla End of the Reign TP
- Godzilla Escape the Deadzone TP
- Iron Man Epic Collection Vol 19 Crash & Burn TP
- Last Starfighter Movie Adaptation TP
- Legends Omnibus HC
- Madman Omnibus Vol 3 TP
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Megazords & Monsters TP
- Minnie Pouches in the Microrealm TP
- Moebius Library The Depressed Hunter HC
- Monster High Worlds Scare TP
- Moomin Adventures Book 3 TP
- Punisher Confederacy of Dunces TP
- Spider-Man Brand New Day Omnibus Vol 3 HC
- Spider-Man Brand New School Day GN
- Spirits of Violence TP
- Star Wars Legends of the New Republic Omnibus Vol 3
- Starship Godzilla First Wars TP
- Supergirl The New 52 Omnibus HC
- Swamp Thing by Ram V and Mike Perkins Omnibus HC
- Tomahawk Angel Vol 3 TP
- Wolverine by Saladin Ahmed Vol 3 Mutant Protector TP
- Wonton Soup Deluxe Edition HC
- X-Men The Trail of Gambit Omnibus HC
Read past editions of the Top Comics to Buy!
And check out the Beat’s most recent comics reviews!
