By Zack Quaintance — It’s October, and the horror comics sales on comixology are flying. In fact, as a direct result of this bit of sales seasonality, a strong majority of our Best comiXology Sales Weekend of October 9, 2020, are horror or horror-tinged, plus also there’s a book about Namor for some reason. Regardless of genre, though, as always we have five great Friday picks for digital comics shopping on a budget.

Enjoy!

Best comiXology Sales - Weekend of October 9, 2020

PICK OF THE WEEK
House of Penance
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Ian Bertram
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
A horrific take on the true story of the Winchester haunted house and one woman's mission to wash away the blood curse of the Winchester rifle from claiming her own life and soul. This is a tale of guilt, ghosts, and guns . . . of how fortune brings misfortune as a grim and determined woman oversees the construction of a house twenty-four hours a day for twenty years, with the simple motto of keep busy building or get busy dying. Collects the six-issue miniseries. "Highly expressionistic and dripping with atmosphere, House of Penance will haunt you long after you close the issue." - The Fandom Post
Why It’s Cool: This sounds weird, but I feel bad for the writers who work with Ian Bertram, one of the most talented and imaginative artists in all of comics. I feel bad for them because no matter how imaginative their ideas are, the spotlight is always going to be stolen by Bertram’s work. He’s just that good, and in this book about the fabled Winchester House, he first rose to prominence before cementing himself as a superstar last year through his work on the breakout hit, Little Bird. This book is worth it for the art alone, not that the story is bad, but that’s the lot for all comics drawn by someone as good as Bertram.
Price: $8.49
Buy It Digitally: House of Penance

Batman: Last Knight on Earth
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Greg Capullo
Inker: Jonathan Glapion
Colorist: FCO Plascencia
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Publisher: DC Comics - Black Label
Twenty years in the future, Bruce Wayne wakes up in Arkham Asylum. Young. Sane. And... he's never been Batman. So begins this sprawling tale of the Dark Knight as he embarks on a quest through a devastated DC landscape, featuring a massive cast of familiar faces from the DC Universe. As he tries to piece together the mystery of his past, he must unravel the cause of this terrible future and track down the unspeakable force that destroyed the world as he knew it... From the powerhouse creative team of writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, the team that reinvented Batman from the emotional depths of Batman: Court of Owls to the epic power of Dark Nights: Metal, DC presents what could be the last Batman story ever told... Collects Batman: Last Knight on Earth #1-3.
Why It’s Cool: This series flew a bit under the radar, perhaps because it was both out of continuity (whatever that means at this point) and also a bookend for the excellent Snyder/Capullo Batman run. That under the radar status is a big part of why I have the book on this week’s list — more readers (especially those who have enjoyed the duo’s Batman work in the past) would do well to check this out. It features possibly career-best Capullo artwork paired with Snyder’s ongoing fascination with superheroes at the end of the world.
Price: $7.64
Buy It Here: Batman - Last Knight On Earth

Hellboy in Mexico
Writer: Mike Mignola
Artist: Richard Corben
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clem Robbins
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
In 1956, Hellboy caravans across Mexico—vampire hunting with luchadores, finding the Aztec gods, fighting evil turkeys and Frankenstein’s monster, and drinking way too much tequila, in the strangest collection of his adventures yet. Collects “Hellboy versus the Aztec Mummy,” “Hellboy Gets Married,” and “The Coffin Man 2: The Rematch” from Dark Horse Presents, “The Coffin Man” from Hellboy 20th Anniversary Sampler, Hellboy in Mexico, and Hellboy: House of the Living Dead.
Why It’s Cool: As careful watchers of my website/Twitter are no doubt aware, I spent basically all of last year reading every. single. Hellboy. comic. ever. This included tie-in series and digressions outside of the main narrative and book. And of the hundreds of comics I read, the Hellboy in Mexico stories were my favorite. I love Mexico (my wife’s family is from there and I’ve travelled to nearly every major city in the country), and I liked how this story brought together obscure Mexican lure (vampire turkeys!) with familiar trappings like tequila and lucha libre, all with a tinge that was recognizably Hellboy, and a sad dose of serious heart. Great stuff all around.
Price: $6.49
Buy It Digitally: Hellboy in Mexico

Invaders Vol. 1 and Vol. 2
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artists: Butch Guice and Carlos Magno
Colorist: Alex Giumaraes
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Comics
The greatest generation of Marvel heroes is back — to stop one of their own! Captain America. The Human Torch. The Winter Soldier. Namor the Sub-Mariner. They fought together in World War II as the Invaders. But now Namor is the enemy — a global threat more powerful than ever! His deadly plans are as deep and far-reaching as the ocean, and revelations about his past could threaten the Marvel Universe! It's up to Namor's old allies to stop him, but what chance do they have against a man who knows their every move? As the Torch digs deep into Namor's past and Bucky takes on a dangerous mission, Cap takes the direct route — to Atlantis! But the clock is ticking as a new world war looms — one that will reveal the Sub-Mariner's secret history!
Why It’s Cool: I absolutely loved this Invader series, which was rightly split between events in the present and events in the past. It had a nice mystery as its center (even if I can’t tell you entirely what it was about right now), but more than all of that, it had absolutely fantastic artwork. The art duties were split between Butch Guice and Carlos Magno, and it was the latter who really captured my attention with the grandiosity of the panels and two-page spreads he laid out, many of which depicted giant battles under the sea. This is big superhero comics at their best, and if you missed that, this week gives you a great chance to change that.
Price: $3.39 for Vol. 1; $3.39 for Vol. 2; or $6.78 for both
Buy It Digitally: Invaders Vol. 1; and Invaders Vol. 2

Machine Gun Wizards
Writer: Christian Ward
Artist: Sami Kivela
Colorist: Dee Cunniffe
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Eliot Ness and his team of Untouchables work overtime taking on dangerous criminals that hide in the seedy underbelly of 1930s Chicago. Except in this world, Al Capone isn't dealing in alcohol, but in magic. With Lick, a drug that grants magical powers to anyone who ingests it, mobsters become wizards, ordinary men become monsters, and darker secrets than Ness can imagine lie at the heart of it all. Collects the four-issue miniseries and features a sketchbook section and pinups by Declan Shalvey, Ian Bertram, Tula Lotay, and more.
Why It’s Cool: And now for something completely different — in this series writer Christian Ward (an amazing artist in his own right) and artist Sami Kivela tell a compelling and imaginative story that essentially imagines the prohibition era if everyone was wizards and what was outlawed was magic. Really wild premise, done well with great comics craft. Don’t miss this one!
Price: $5.99
Buy It Digitally: Machine Gun Wizards

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.