By Zack Quaintance — Last weekend saw the advent of the 2020 Eisner Awards (a nice compliment to our own Extra Eisner Awards). One of the marquee prizes is the BEST CONTINUING SERIES AWARD, and this year’s prize went to the creator-owned title from Image Comics, Bitter Root. You can read more about Bitter Root in this excellent piece by Ariel Baska…and then when you’re done, you can head over to comiXology and buy the first volume of the series at a great sale price.

That’s right…Bitter Root is the pick of the week for the Best comiXology Sales: Weekend of July 31, 2020…enjoy!

Best comiXology Sales: Weekend of July 31, 2020

PICK OF THE WEEK
Bitter Root
Writers: Chuck Brown and David F. Walker
Artist: Sanford Greene
Colorists: Sofie Dodgson and Rico Renzi
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
Once known as the greatest monster hunters of all time, the Sangerye family specialized in curing the souls of those infected by hate. But those days are fading. A terrible tragedy has claimed most of the family, leaving the surviving cousins divided between by the desire to cure monsters or to kill them. Now, though, there's a new breed of monster loose on the streets of Harlem, and the Sangerye family must either come together or watch the human race fall to untold evil.
Why It’s Cool: Well, as we described above, Bitter Root is this year’s winner for the Eisner Award for BEST CONTINUING SERIES, but on a specific level, it’s a fantastic series that follows a family of monster hunters during the Harlem Renaissance. And it’s made topical for today by drawing connections between hate and the monsters being hunted. On top of that, it’s all being rendered with incredible artwork by Sanford Greene. Simply put, this is a series not to be missed.
Price: $5.39
Buy It Here: Bitter Root Vol. 1

Bad Weekend
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Colorist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
JUST IN TIME FOR CONVENTION SEASON—the ultimate comic con crime tale! Comics won’t just break your heart. Comics will kill you. Hal Crane should know, he’s been around since practically the beginning. Stuck at an out-of-town convention, waiting to receive a lifetime achievement award, Hal’s weekend takes us on a dark ride through the secret history of a medium that’s always been haunted by crooks, swindlers, and desperate dreamers. BAD WEEKEND—the story some are already calling the comic of the year from its serialization in CRIMINAL #2 and 3—has been expanded, with several new scenes added and remastered into a hardcover graphic novel, in the same format as BRUBAKER and PHILLIPS’ (KILL OR BE KILLED, FATALE, CRIMINAL) bestselling MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN JUNKIES. This gorgeous package is a must-have, an evergreen graphic novel every true comics fan will want to own.
Why It’s Cool: This past week also saw the release of a new original graphic novel by one of the best creative teams in all of comics — Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips. Dubbed Pulp, we had a review of that book. But that’s not the only big recent graphic novel release from the team of late. Enter Bad Weekend, which is technically a collection of two issues from the latest volume of Criminal, but it stands on its own perfectly-well as a graphic novel of crime and malfeasance set against the backdrop of the comics industry. Essentially, this is a must-read comic story about being in comics. Doesn’t get much better than that.
Price: $6.29
Buy It Here: Bad Weekend

Die Vol. 1 - Fantasy Heartbreaker
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Stephanie Hans
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
THE WICKED + THE DIVINE writer KIERON GILLEN teams up with artist supernova STEPHANIE HANS (THE WICKED + THE DIVINE, Journey Into Mystery) for her first ongoing comic! DIE is a pitch-black fantasy where a group of forty-something adults have to deal with the returning, unearthly horror they only just survived as teenage role-players. If KIERON’s in a rush, he describes it as “Goth Jumanji”, but that's only the tip of this critically acclaimed obsidian iceberg.
Why It’s Cool: Die, the metafictional RPG fantasy comic by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, is one of those books that we can’t get enough of (or write enough about) on this site. We absolutely love this title, which is gorgeous in every way, from the artwork to the writing…and now those who are unfamiliar with the book have a great chance to catch up with the first volume.
Price: $5.39
Buy It Here: Die Vol. 1 Fantasy Heartbreaker

The Sandman: Overture
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Artist: J.H. Williams III
Publisher: DC Comics - Vertigo
From the birth of a galaxy to the moment that Morpheus is captured, THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE features cameo appearances by fan-favorite characters such as the Corinthian, Merv Pumpkinhead and, of course, the Dream King’s siblings: Death, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destruction and Destiny. This volume collects THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE #1-6, plus bonus material.
Why It’s Cool: The original Neil Gaiman-penned run of 75 issues of Sandman comics is one of the classic books of the modern era, and it’s one we’ve featured in this best comiXology sales space often. It’s a must-read stretch of comic book storytelling. And if you can’t get enough of that, this Sandman Overture volume is just as essentially. It takes the feel of the original series in a new and visual-innovative direction while expertly conveying many of the same themes and ideas that made the first set of comics so successful.
Price: $5.09
Buy It Here: The Sandman Overture

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
Writer: Chris Claremont
Artist: Brent Anderson
Publisher: Marvel Comics
The Uncanny X-Men. Magneto, master of magnetism. The bitterest of enemies for years. But now they must join forces against a new adversary who threatens them all and the entire world besides... in the name of God.
Why It’s Cool: Perhaps no story better distills and captures the essence of the X-Men franchise and its central metaphor historically than X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, a largely-contained original graphic novel. Things have changed of late with the new Krakoa Era of X-Men, but for many years, this book was the foundational document for everything these characters and their challenges embodied. It’s a must-read, classic comic, and you can get it now in full for the ridiculous price of $.84…even though this page says it’s the fifth issue for some reason. Rest-assured, this is the full book.
Price: $.84
Buy It Here: X-Men - God Loves, Man Kills

You can find our picks for the best books on comiXology Unlimited!

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