By Zack Quaintance — I try to limit the number of new #1 comics we put on these weekly lists, but this week’s Top Comics to Buy for September 16 is a rare group that has two of them on there. The reason being is twofold. I typically find that #1 comics sell well enough on their own. They get peak publisher promotion. So much so that many of you out there reading this have probably already made up your mind whether you’re going to buy this week’s new #1s. One issue is also difficult for me to recommend, because how do I know whether it’s worth following long term?

All of that just goes to show that I really believe in this week’s new #1s, as well as the other titles on our list. Check them out below!

Top Comics to Buy for September 16, 2020

*PICK OF THE WEEK*
Heavy #1
Writer: Max Bemis
Artist: Eryk Donovan
Colorist: Cris Peter
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
Bill may be dead, but he’s got a job to do. Welcome to the Big Wait, where folks who don’t quite make the cut go to work off their debt. Everyone in the Wait’s got a job. Bill is a Heavy, whose job is policing the multiverse, making sure bad eggs get what’s coming to them. He’s on track to earn his Climb and reunite with the woman he loves...until he meets his new partner: the worst dude of all time. Heavy is The Punisher for neurotics; Inception for the impatient; Preacher for…well, it’s a lot like Preacher. Max Bemis (Moon Knight, Centipede, X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever) and Eryk Donavan (Memetic, Ghost of Ohio) bring you a story about the existential purpose of dumb boys with big guns.
Why It’s Cool: I have now read the best Punisher comic of all-time, and it’s called Heavy #1. This is a first issue done right, an incredible read from start to finish that takes the well-tread Punisher concept and gives it a spin that would never be allowed in mainstream corporate comics. Everything about this issue worked for me, from the ideas to the unbelievably-good artwork by the team of Eryk Donovan and Cris Peters. I don’t know how much more plainly I can say this — you should each and every one of you buy this fantastic comic.
Buy It Digitally: Heavy #1

Detective Comics #1027
Writers: Peter J. Tomasi, Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Greg Rucka, James Tynion IV, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Marv Wolfman, Grant Morrison, Tom King, Scott Snyder, Dan Jurgens, and Mariko Tamaki
Artists: Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy, David Marquez, Chip Zdarsky, Eduardo Risso, Riley Rossmo, John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson, Emanuela Luppachino, Bill Sienkiewicz, Chris Burnham, Walter Simonson, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Kevin Nowlan, Dan Mora
Colorists: Nathan Fairbairn, Alejandro Sanchez, Ivan Plascencia, Arif Prianto, Jordie Bellaire, Laura Martin, Marcelo Maiolo, Hi-Fi, Tamra Bonvillain
Letterers: Rob Leigh, Joshua Reed, Aditya Bidikar, Tom Napolitano, Andworld Design, Troy Peteri, Carlos Mangual, Steve Wands, John Workman
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $9.99
Light the Bat-Signal, because Detective Comics #1027 is here! In honor of Batman’s first appearance in Detective Comics #27, this special, book-size celebration brings you the biggest names in comics as they chronicle the most epic Batman adventures Gotham City and the DC Universe have ever seen! The World’s Greatest Detective has a mountain of cases to crack: Who murdered Gotham’s most corrupt police officer? What does The Joker’s annual visit mean for Bruce Wayne? And most importantly, what WayneTech mystery will sow the seeds of the next epic Batman event? All this and more await you within the pages of the biggest Batman issue of them all!
Why It’s Cool: In recent months, DC Comics has really doubled-down (or triple-downed) on creator jam session anthologies. This feels a little counter-intuitive to the trained and seasoned monthly comics reader, but I’ve come to enjoy them quite a bit. The way the typically work is that we get a set of top-tier creators (and the set of this book is as top as it gets), some of whom tell one-off stories while others push forward narrative threads that will shape the future of the characters other appearances. This is, perhaps, the best superhero anthology DC has done yet, and if you have any interest in Batman whatsoever (and that’s all of us, right?), then you should definitely go out and buy this.
Buy It Digitally: Detective Comics #1027

Iron Man #1
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artist: Cafu
Colorist: Frank D’Armata
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
BIG IRON! Tony Stark is looking to restart his engine. He decides he’s going back to basics, putting away his high-tech toys and high-profile image so he can get his hands dirty again. It’s time to dig into the guts of real machines, put on some old-fashioned metal and fly. But can he really lay that Stark-sized ego down? Life isn’t that simple, something that old friends and frustrating foes are quick to point out. If you strip down a billionaire to his bolts, does he run solid or just overheat? Tony’s going to find out once a threat to the entire universe rears its head from the past. As he suits up again, Tony remains sure of one thing: he’s still IRON MAN down to his flesh and blood core.
Why It’s Cool: Over the past few years, writer Christopher Cantwell (a veteran of the television industry, specifically of the highly underrated show Halt and Catch Fire) has steadily established himself as one of the most exciting names in comics. He started by doing excellent original concepts through Dark Horse Comics Berger Books imprint — She Can Fly, Everything — before moving to established IP with The Mask and Doctor Doom. Now, Cantwell is teaming with a fantastic artistic team to do a run of Iron Man, and I personally couldn’t be more excited. Marvel is also giving these comics the Alex Ross cover treatment, which is a move the publisher makes when it has a hit on its hands. See also the next selection on this week’s list…
Buy It Digitally: Iron Man #1

Immortal Hulk #37
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Joe Bennett
Inker: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
When Bruce Banner first came to Shadow Base, he was cut up into pieces and stored in jars. Now Shadow Base is under his control. But Bruce Banner was only the second test subject. Now...THE FIRST is free.
Why It’s Cool: Simply put, this is the best ongoing run in all of superhero comics, and it’s not even really that close. Through the first 36 issues of this story, the creative team has told a remarkably consistent story that has pretty much from the first issue taken one of Marvel’s classic characters and pushed him into new territory that also feels very much in keeping with his concept and origins. This most recent arc has continued doing something that this book has also done well from its start — incorporate old pieces of the Hulk’s surprisingly vast and far-reaching mythos, giving these books the feel of the definitive run of Hulk stories, so good that they appeal to even readers who have previously had no interest in the Hulk.
Buy It Digitally: Immortal Hulk #37

Seven Secrets #2
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Daniele Di Nicuolo
Colorist: Walter Baiamonte
Color Assists By: Katia Ranalli
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Price: $3.99
After a deadly attack on the Order, their youngest member Caspar must step forward to keep the world safe from the Seven Secrets with the power to change it. But surviving The Trials doesn't mean just becoming the next Holder of a great Secret -- it also carries dangers that will change Caspar's life in unimaginable ways…
Why It’s Cool: I’m going to be honest here…I wasn’t the biggest fan of Seven Secrets #1. It felt to me like a debut issue that was trying to do a bit too much, to drop too many hints, to establishing too many characters, and as such, the end result was a single issue comic that felt a bit convoluted. In fact, I’m not sure I even really came to understand the world it was building that well in Seven Secrets #1. That, however, all changed in Seven Secrets #2, a clearer and more character-driven book — which for my money would have made a better first issue. Anyway, this second chapter starts to really show us the inherent drama to this book’s story, and it’s powerful. This series quickly went from lukewarm to me to being a must-read.
Buy It Digitally: Seven Secrets #2

Others Receiving Votes

• Billionaire Island #6

• Bleed Them Dry #3

• Captain America #23

• Catwoman #25

• Dead Day #3

• Excalibur #12 (X of Swords)

• Faithless II #4

• Finger Guns #5

• Grit #3

• Head Lopper #13

• Hellions #4

• Justice League #53

• Money Shot #8

• Once and Future #11

• X-Men #12 (X of Swords)

New #1s

• Amazing Spider-Man: Sins of Norma Osborn #1

• Giant Size X-Men: Storm #1

• Immortal Hulk #0

• Stillwater #1

• X-Men: Marvels Snapshots #1

• You Look Like Death: Tales From The Umbrella Academy #1

Trades and Graphic Novels of Note

*PICK OF THE WEEK*
Slaughter-House Five, or The Children’s Crusade: A Graphic Novel Adaptation
Writer: Kurt Vonnegut and Ryan North
Artist: Albert Monteys
Color Assistance: Richard Zaplana
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Price: $19.99
With Kurt Vonnegut's seminal anti-war story, Slaughterhouse-Five, Eisner Award-winning writer Ryan North (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Albert Monteys (Universe!) translate a literary classic into comic book form in the tradition of A Wrinkle in Time and Fight Club 2. Billy Pilgrim has read Kilgore Trout and opened a successful optometry business. Billy Pilgrim has built a loving family and witnessed the firebombing of Dresden. Billy Pilgrim has traveled to the planet Tralfamadore and met Kurt Vonnegut. Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time. Slaughterhouse-Five is at once a farcical look at the horror and tragedy of war where children are placed on the frontlines and die (so it goes), and a moving examination of what it means to be a fallible human.
Why It’s Cool: Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut is one of my favorite novels of all time, so much so that I’ve probably read it four or five times (who can remember?). And now it’s been adapted into the graphic novel format by a pair of top-tier creators: Ryan North and Albert Monteys. For someone who loves the novel as much as I do, this is a must-read/must-buy/must-put-your-shelf, a release that feels like an event. Translating writing to the visual medium is never easy, but it’s especially difficult with a writer like Vonnegut whose voice is so conversational and distinct. The team, however, does more than an admirable job, creating an excellent auxiliary book to shelve next to your dog-eared copy of the seminal anti-war novel.
Buy It Digitally: Slaughter-House Five

• Aquatlantic HC

• Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child Deluxe Edition HC

• Five Year Omnibus HC

• Henchgirl TP 2nd Edition

• Joker Killer Smile HC

• Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio HC

• Little Bird: Fight For Elder’s Hope TP

• Mueller Report Graphic Novel HC

• Old Guard Book 2 Force Multiplied TP

• Royal City Complete Collection HC

• Tenacious D: Post-Apocalypto HC

• Victory Point HC

• X-Men: Grand Design Omnibus HC

See our past top comics to buy here, and check out our reviews archive here.

Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.