This week’s Top Comics to Buy for April 22 is a creepy set of books. We’ve got a body horror spinoff from the excellent anthology, Hello Darkness. We’ve got a hard to pin down but deeply intense debut with In Your Skin #1. And we’ve got more of one of my favorite books of the year, the darkly excellent, Spirit of the Shadows.
Check out all five of my top recommendations below, along with 10 other books I enjoyed, and the usual set of weekly release lists … enjoy!
Top Comics to Buy for April 22
Hello Body Horror #1
Writers: Mark Bouchard, Michael W. Conrad, Jeremy Bastian, Robert Hack, Jenna Cha
Artists: Rye Hickman, Martin Morazzo with Chris O’Halloran, Ziyan Qiu with James Fenner, Robert Hack, Jenna Cha
Letterers: Jodie Troutman, Lucas Gattoni
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
New forms of fear are bursting onto the scene with this newest curation of jaw-breaking talent! Test your nerves and prove your guts with the grossest, squishiest, gruesomest comics in… Hello Body Horror, a fresh collection of spine-cracking tales and stomach-churning terrors!
Why It’s Cool: I’m a huge fan of the ongoing anthology series, Hello Darkness, and it’s spinning off now into a body horror one shot…which is just as good as the main book. I had a creepy good time with this one.
Price: $5.99
In Your Skin #1
Writer/Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Artist: SOM
Colorist: Francesco Segala
Publisher: Image Comics – Tiny Onion
Priyanka is a Bollywood uber-fan who has been obsessed with film star Ayesha Sen since she was a kid — she’s watched her movies over and over, and knows her dances beat for beat. But after a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet her idol goes awry, and Ayesha announces her impending retirement from movies, Priyanka decides that if Ayesha isn’t going to live the life she’s supposed to, Priyanka would be more than happy to take over for her…
Why It’s Cool: This is a really interesting debut comic, combining body horror with erotic fiction, celeb obsession, complex family dynamics, and Bollywood. It’s a list of ingredients we don’t often see in monthly comics, and it makes for a fascinating, singular title. Plus, the art is stellar.
Price: $4.99
The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #3
Writer: Chris Condon
Artist: Jacob Phillips
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: DC Comics – Vertigo
Ezra Cain meets face-to-face with the Brutal Dark… but it ain’t on his terms! His snooping around the Clockworkers’ Union has finally put his investigation on the shadowy sect’s radar. But a dash of good fortune comes Ezra’s way when reporter Sandy Williams gets a lead on the Brutal Dark’s agenda. She’s an old flame, though… is working together really in the cards for these two?
Why It’s Cool: Of the new Vertigo titles, this one has emerged as my favorite, in large part because I love a good noir story, and this one gets all the genre trappings right. It’s also a smart, patient comic. I’m all in on this one.
Price: $3.99
Powers 25 #8
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Avon Oeming
Colorist: Nick Filardi
Letterer: Joshua Reed
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics – Jinxworld
After the shocking choices she has made behind the scenes, we flashback twenty-five years in the life of the now controversial powers Detective Kutter to discover how the lessons of the original Powers detectives have affected every part of her life.
Why It’s Cool: One of the things that I think has made Powers sustain for as long as it has is that the book is not afraid to experiment. I think the best example is the Christian Walker prehistoric issue, but issues like this one — which uses a fun backwards-looking lens to great effect — also take risks. I’m just loving this new run of Powers, which has gotten better with each new issue.
Price: $4.99
Spirit of the Shadows #4
Story: Daniel Ziegler & Nick Cagnetti
Script: Daniel Ziegler
Art: Nick Cagnetti
Letterer: Ferran Delgado
Publisher: Oni Press
For the dead man turned revenant once known as Erik Leroux, the past is unraveling—page by page, revealing a cycle of obsession, violence, and regret that always ends in death… but refuses to stay buried. But when his dearest loved one’s soul is pulled back to the living world and witnesses his new form as the supernatural avenger called the Spirit of the Shadows, redemption seems possible—until a secret too painful to forgive threatens to tear them apart all over again. Superheroes! Horror! Mystery! Romance! It’s a battle to the death—and back again—as the spectacular indie hit of 2026 ushers a new hero into the pantheon of comics greats!
Why It’s Cool: It’s relatively early in the year still, but Spirit of the Shadows is rapidly emerging as one of my favorite comics of 2026. The artwork is stellar, the story is surprising and creepy, and the way they come together is surprisingly seemless, given the dark subject matter and the bright tone of the art. This week’s issue is pretty consequential, and it has so much of what I love about this book — great flashbacks, a couple of stellar two-page spreads, and a last page that shocked me.
Price: $4.99
10 Other Comics I Enjoyed This Week
- Absolute Flash #14
- Absolute Wonder Woman #19
- The Beauty #5
- Corpse Knight #1
- The Crown – A Tale of Hell #2
- Cyclops #3
- The Flash #32
- Frankenstein New World – The Speed of Darkness #1
- Justice League United #18
- Lands Unknown – The Skinless Man #2
New #1s and One-Shots
- Amazing Spider-Man Spider-Versity #1
- Blood Squad Seven Yearbook #1
- Corpse Knight #1
- Diablo Dawn of Hatred #1
- Event Horizon Inferno #1
- Frankenstein New World – The Speed of Darkness #1
- GI Joe A Real American Hero Sssilent Missions Copperhead #1 (one-shot)
- Head Lopper #1
- Hello Body Horror #1 (one-shot)
- In Your Skin #1
- Marvel DC Spider-Man Superman #1 (one-shot)
- Phantom vs The Sky Band #1 (one-shot)
- Planet Atmos Exordium #1
- Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Echoes of the Empire #1
- Thundercats X SilverHawks #1
- Vampirella #1
Graphic Novels and Trade Collections
- Animal Man By Tom Veitch and Steve Dillon Omnibus HC
- Batman Gotham by Gaslight A League For Justice HC
- Creased Comics TP
- Creepy Presents Richard Corben TP
- DC Finest Batman A Death In The Family TP
- Eat Your Young TP
- EC Archives Panic Vol 1 TP
- GI Joe A Real American Hero Compendium Vol 3 TP
- GI Joe A Real American Hero Deluxe Edition Book 1 HC
- Godzilla Here There Be Aliens TP
- Infantoms HC
- Judge Dredd Rend and Tear With Tooth and Claw TP
- Lost Fantasy Vol 2 TP
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Rise of Dark Specter TP
- No Man’s Land TP
- Of Swamp & Sea Vol 1 HC
- Orla TP
- Penny and the Yeti HC/TP
- Rabagoo Race GN
- Rat City Vol 2 TP
- Rick & Morty 10th Anniversary Omnibus Vol 5 HC
- Sisterhood – A Hyde Street Story TP
- Skullkickers Compact Attack Edition Vol 3 TP
- Someday Perfect HC/TP
- Sonic The Hedgehog Vol 21 Reprise TP
- Star Wars The High Republic Phase III Trials of the Jedi Omnibus HC
- Star Wars Hyperspace Stories Tides of Terror TP
- Star Wars The Mandalorian Seasons 1 & 2 TP
- Superman Day 2026 All Star Superman The Deluxe Edition HC
- Superman Day 2026 Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow The Deluxe Edition HC
- Superman Day 2026 Superman Vol 1 HC Supercorp
- Superman The Kryptonite Spectrum HC
- Ultimate Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol 2 HC
- Ultimate X-Men Epic Collection Vol 2 World Tour TP
- Young Shadow and the Watchdogs TP
Read past editions of the Top Comics to Buy!
And check out the Beat’s most recent comics reviews!
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