By Zack Quaintance — I was downright elated to see that there was a massive Image Comics graphic novel and collected trade sale on this weekend. One of the things that frustrated me throughout the pandemic was that Image (one of my favorite publishers) wasn’t running any new sales. Well, the time to catch up has now arrived — our Best comiXology sales for the weekend of October 23 list is entirely made up of Image Comics.

Enjoy!

Best comiXology Sales Weekend of October 23, 2020

PICK OF THE WEEK
Ice Cream Man, Vol. 1 - Vol. 4
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Publisher: Image Comics
Chocolate, vanilla, existential horror, addiction, musical fantasy…there’s a flavor for everyone’s misery. ICE CREAM MAN is a genre-defying comic book series, featuring disparate “one-shot” tales of sorrow, wonder, and redemption. Each installment features its own cast of strange characters, dealing with their own special sundae of suffering. And on the periphery of all of them, like the twinkly music of his colorful truck, is the Ice Cream Man—a weaver of stories, a purveyor of sweet treats. Friend. Foe. God. Demon. The man who, with a snap of his fingers—lickety split!—can change the course of your life forever.
Why It’s Cool: I’m absolutely ecstatic that Ice Cream Man (the best monthly comic around) has basically the entire series to date on sale now in advance of Halloween. If you haven’t read this series yet, this is really the perfect chance to do so while also getting yourself into the disturbing mood of the season. What I like most about Ice Cream Man is that it is very much a comic for adults, and by that I don’t mean that there’s gratuitous sex or violence, but rather that this is an anthology series that takes on the larger existential concerns that come with maturing in a challenging world. Buy these comics; love them.
Price: $5.84 each for Vol. 1 and Vol. 2; $6.29 each for Vol. 3 and Vol. 4; or $24.26 total
Buy It Digitally: Ice Cream Man Vol. 1; Ice Cream Man Vol. 2; Ice Cream Man Vol. 3; and Ice Cream Man Vol. 4

100%
Writer/Artist: Paul Pope
Publisher: Image Comics
Following the 20th anniversary edition of PAUL POPE's HEAVY LIQUID, IMAGE is proud to release POPE's follow-up, 100%, in a newly remastered edition collecting all 5 issues, a gallery of the wraparound covers, unseen art and sketches, and a stunning wraparound cover colored by YUKO SHIMIZU. Time Magazine listed both HEAVY LIQUID and 100% among their 100 most important science fiction graphic novels of the decade, and fans and critics alike regard 100% as some of POPE's most emotionally charged and literary work, akin to Los Bros. Hernandez's Love and Rockets and the films of Wong Kar-wai.
Why It’s Cool: Cartoonist Paul Pope is a legend, and his work is uniformly interesting and gorgeous. The recently reprinted new edition of 100% is of course no exception, and while it’s set in the world of another Pope work, Heavy Liquid, what struck me most about this story during a recent review was that it feels oddly timely and prescient, involving as it does so many themes of ideological polarization, cultural warfare, and a dystopian future in which all our hopes for easier living were dashed. This is a staggering work, and a really poignant book to get lost within as we bring to a close this odd year of 2020.
Price: $8.99
Buy It Digitally: 100%

Assassin Nation Vol. 1
Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Erica Henderson
Publisher: Image Comics
Hot off her breakout success at Marvel, two-time Eisner award winner ERICA HENDERSON (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Jughead) teams up with KYLE STARKS (SEXCASTLE, Rick and Morty) for a hilarious twist on the hitman trope. The former World’s Greatest Hitman hires the 20 best assassins in the world to be his bodyguards. These mean-as-hell hired guns and murderers must work together to keep the new crime boss safe while attempting to solve the mystery of who’s trying to off him. With the same laugh-until-you-cry spirit of action-comedies like Hot Fuzz, Tropic Thunder, and Deadpool, ASSASSIN NATION is the bombastic, side-splitting murder-fest you’ve been waiting for. Collects ASSASSIN NATION #1-5
Why It’s Cool: Assassin Nation has a character named F*ck Tarkington, which should give you some sense of the really funny type of comic you’re in for with this madcap and deeply hilarious book from two of the funniest people within comics.
Price: $5.39
Buy It Digitally: Assassin Nation Vol. 1

Copra Round 1 - Round 5
Writer/Artist: Michel Fiffe
Publisher: Image Comics
They’re ugly. They’re mean. But up until today, they’ve always been loyal. So when one of their own betrays them, COPRA has no choice but to turn their nightmarish skills back on everyone who ever even looked at them funny. Here it is: the first six issues of MICHEL FIFFE’s critically acclaimed superhero revenge machine. Collects COPRA #1-6
Why It’s Cool: Comic book auteur Michel Fiffe announced this week that his magnum opus Copra (an incredible take on late 80s/early 90s gritty superhero team comics done with some of the most imaginative and outright skilled artwork in all of comics) would be returning to its self-published roots for forthcoming issues. Those of us who have followed Copra for some time know that means it will be just a bit harder to get the books, but the trades are still currently available via Image Comics…and they are also on-sale this week digitally, making it a great time to dive into one of the most rewarding comics experience around.
Price: Round 1 - 3 is $7.19 each; Round 4 is $8.99; Round 5 is $8.09; and all of it is $38.65 total
Buy It Digitally: Copra Round 1; Copra Round 2; Copra Round 3; Copra Round 4; and Copra Round 5

Pulp
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips
Colorist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
A gorgeous original graphic novel from the bestselling creators of KILL OR BE KILLED, MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN JUNKIES, and CRIMINAL. Max Winters, a pulp writer in 1930s New York, finds himself drawn into a story not unlike the tales he churns out at five cents a word—tales of a Wild West outlaw dispensing justice with a six-gun. But will Max be able to do the same when pursued by bank robbers, Nazi spies, and enemies from his past? One part thriller, one part meditation on a life of violence, PULP is unlike anything award-winning BRUBAKER & PHILLIPS have ever done before. This celebration of pulp fiction set in a world on the brink is another must-have hardcover from one of comics’ most acclaimed teams.
Why It’s Cool: Simply put, this is a new original graphic novel from the single best collaborative team in all of comics — Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. It’s also unlike anything they’ve done before, trading the usual gritty crime storytelling for a western with metafictional touches. If you’re looking for a contained weekend read (or really any other time read too), this is your book.
Price: $6.29
Buy It Digitally: Pulp

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.