Comics are expensive these days, and there are more than a hundred hitting the stands each week! “Comics on a Budget” helps you sort through mounting pile of floppies and trades to find the best graphic narratives money can (frugally) buy. Then again, this is just my opinion; I hope to hear yours!
Top Picks — $19.46
“The Star Wars” #1 (Dark Horse, $3.99) — Star Wars comics got me into comics as a whole. The first comic book I ever read was a trade collection of the Crimson Empire series, which I picked up at age 11 somewhere in Cleveland, OH while on vacation. I’ve read every Star Wars comic I could get my hands on, and I absolutely love writing reviews and histories of Star Wars comics. So for me The Star Wars (yep, that definite article is mandatory) is the most anticipated series of the year: it’s the comics adaptation of Lucas’ original Star Wars script draft from 1973…and it’s nothing like the Star Wars you know! Now why aren’t you picking this up?
“X-Men: Battle of the Atom” #1 (Marvel, $3.99) — Anyone who has been reading Uncanny X-Men or All-New X-Men since the start of Marvel ReEvolution has probably been torn between frustration at the slow narrative progression by writer Brian Michael Bendis and utter fascination with his mundane take on the X-Men. Well, Battle of the Atom promises to make some sense of where the X-Men have gone of late, including X-Men from the past, present, and future.
“Forever Evil” #1 (DC, $3.99) — It’s here, people, another end of the universe event: the Justice League(s) is dead, the villains have united, and the world is in peril. Well, it’s a bit more complex than that, and I have to give kudos to DC’s supreme creative office Geoff Johns for helping slowly build DC’s series to this event over the past two years. If you love comic book supervillains, this book is the perfect place to jump on board with DC and the New 52 publishing initiative.
“Superior Spider-Man” #17 (Marvel, $3.99) — Despite all the hate that Dan Slott has been receiving for *spoiler* killing off Peter Parker, Superior Spider-Man is a fantastic series that nonetheless captures the original series’ wit (albeit with a personality twist). As if it couldn’t get any more interesting, this issue also features the return of the futuristic Spider-Man 2099!
“Baltimore: Infernal Train” #1 (of 3) (Dark Horse, $3.50) — Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy and (Neo-)Gothic comic writer/illustrator extraordinaire, brings readers a new three-part mini-series featuring the enigmatic vampire-hunter Lord Henry Baltimore. Set in Eastern Europe during WWI, Baltimore is attempting to thwart a vampire plague while fending off the religious zealotry of the Inquisitioner. If you don’t want to be reading superhero comics, Baltimore: Infernal Train #1 is for you (also, just about anything Mignola will probably peak your interest).
