Best comiXology Black Friday Sales 2020 - Image Comics
By Zack Quaintance — On the whole, Image Comics has been my favorite publisher of the past decade, really paving the way for interesting creator-owned work that has now essentially given rise to a half dozen exciting new smaller publishers aspiring to the same space. It’s a beautiful thing, and many of the books that Image published in service of this are on sale this weekend. With that in mind, I now present to you the 10 best comiXology Black Friday sales from Image Comics…enjoy!
Best comiXology Black Friday Sales - Image Comics
The Black Monday Murders, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Tomm Coker
Colorist: Michael Garland
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
"MAMMON" ALL HAIL GOD MONEY! From JONATHAN HICKMAN (EAST OF WEST, Secret Wars, Avengers) and TOMM COKER (UNDYING LOVE) comes a new crypto-noir series about the power of dirty, filthy money... and exactly what kind of people you can buy with it. THE BLACK MONDAY MURDERS is classic occultism where the various schools of magic are actually clandestine banking cartels who control all of society: a secret world where vampire Russian oligarchs, Black popes, enchanted American aristocrats, and hitmen from the International Monetary Fund work together to keep ALL OF US in our proper place.
Why It’s Cool: Before he was the head X-Men writer, masterminding the new Krakoa status quo as well as House of X/Powers of X, Jonathan Hickman was doing the best creator-owned work of his career with The Black Monday Murders, a collaboration with Tomm Coker based around the idea that beneath all money is some kind of inherent, primal violence. It’s complex and stunning stuff, brought to life amid a detective noir narrative. The only two volumes to date are on sale now, although I personally have not given up hoping for a third, which I don’t think we’ll see until Hickman’s Time of X has ended.
Price: $7.19 for Vol. 1; and $5.84 for Vol. 2
Buy It Here: The Black Monday Murders Vol. 1; and The Black Monday Murders Vol. 2
Blue Monday, Vol. 1 - Vol. 3
Writer/Artist: Chyna Clugston Flores
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterers: Jeromy Cox and Amie Grenier
Publisher: Image Comics
Experience the Pepsi- fueled misadventures of Bleu L. Finnegan, comics' favorite blue-haired, Buster Keaton-obsessed, Adam Ant- worshipping teenager from the very beginning! Featuring an introduction from KIERON GILLEN (THE WICKED + THE DIVINE), this volume collects the original miniseries as well as early short stories and more.
Why It’s Cool: And now, for something entirely different…we go from The Black Monday Murders to Blue Monday (although, obviously they share the day of the week and almost a color in common). Blue Monday is one of the best teen, slice-of-life comics of all time. It’s also a wonderful encapsulation of a certain type of comic that felt absolutely electric in the early 2000s, the relentlessly stylish, character-driven books that were providing such a wonderful contrast to the grit and darkness of the era. With all three volumes on sale through the weekend, there’s never been a better time to go back and learn to love this wonderful series.
Price: $14.37 for all three volumes
Buy It Here: Blue Monday Vol. 1; Blue Monday Vol. 2; and Blue Monday Vol. 3
Extremity Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
Writer/Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics / Skybound
Thea dreams. Not of a better life, but of revenge on the clan that ruined her family. With ferocious battles between man, machines, and monsters ahead...who knows where her quest for vengeance will take her? Creator DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON (Space Mullet) and colorist MIKE SPICER present a bold new vision, where the beauty and imagination of Studio Ghibli meet the intensity of Mad Max, in this all-new Skybound Original.
Why It’s Cool: With the 12-issue series Extremity, writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson took one of his personal biggest fears — losing the hand with which he draws — and blew it up, extrapolating it into the absolutely bonkers (in the best way) story, Extremity. This book is one of the most imaginative sci-fi epics to hit monthly comics in some time, which is really saying a lot, given the role comics in general play as a skunkworks for imaginative sci-fi epics. If you missed this when it hit a few years back, now is your chance to get the entire series — beginning, middle, end — for less than $12.
Price: $5.84 each or $11.68 for both
Buy It Here: Extremity Vol. 1 and Extremity Vol. 2
God Country
Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Geoff Shaw
Colorist: Jason Wordie
Letterer: John J. Hill
Publisher: Image Comics
SOUTHERN BASTARDS meets American Gods in a high-stakes fantasy series that masterfully blends high-octane action and jaw-dropping worldbuilding. In GOD COUNTRY, readers meet Emmett Quinlan, an old widower rattled by dementia. Emmett isn't just a problem for his children—his violent outbursts are more than the local cops can handle. When a tornado levels his home—as well as the surrounding West Texas town—a restored Quinlan rises from the wreckage. An enchanted sword at the eye of the storm gives him more than a sound mind and body, however. He's now the only man who can face these otherworldly creatures the sword has drawn down to the Lone Star State… In GOD COUNTRY, salvation is a double-edged sword. “So much fun to watch creators find that next level. Go, Cates, go!” —BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS Collects GOD COUNTRY #1-6
Why It’s Cool: When the first issue of God Country hit in early 2017, it was somewhat of a coming out party for writer Donny Cates, who after working in indie books for years would spend the months that followed catapulting to the forefront of Marvel Comics’ writers A List. Joined by his long-time collaborator Geoff Shaw (colored here by Jason Wordie), what Cates delivered in God Country was a personal and powerful complete comic story, one with big ideas, striking narration, and some really poignant core truths about family and violence. To date, this is still Cates best work, and if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend changing that.
Price: $5.84
Buy It Here: God Country
Ice Cream Man, Vol. 1 - Vol. 5
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Publisher: Image Comics
Chocolate, vanilla, existential horror, drug 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: Ice Cream Man was my favorite comic of 2019, and while I haven’t done my “official” list for 2020 yet, I can already tell you it’s going to be near the top. This was another great year for one of the smartest, most entertaining, and most relevant books in all of comics. I’ve long been preaching about how great this series is — about the way it combines suburban fantasy with existential concern, sparking relatable horror situations — but if you haven’t listened to me as of yet, that’s okay! You can now get all five collected volumes of the book to date for a total of $31.90. Snag them now, and get lost deep in well-crafted stories of the modern human condition.
Price: Ranges from $5.84 per volume to $7.64 per volume, or $31.90 for all five volumes
Buy It Here: Ice Cream Man Vol. 1; Ice Cream Man Vol. 2; Ice Cream Man Vol. 3; Ice Cream Man Vol. 4; and Ice Cream Man Vol. 5.
Lazarus, Collection 1 - Collection 3
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Michael Lark
Colorist: Santi Arcas
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Publisher: Image Comics
In a dystopian near-future government is a quaint concept, resources are coveted, and posession is 100% of the law. A handful of Families rule, jealously guarding what they have and exploiting the Waste who struggle to survive in their domains. Forever Carlyle defends her family's holdings through deception and force as their protector, their Lazarus. Shot dead defending the family home, Forever's day goes downhill from there.
Why It’s Cool: Lazarus is pretty close to the top of my list of favorite comics of last year as well, having switched from a delay-plagued monthly schedule to new quarterly over-sized issues. In the past year, the creative team really figured out how to get the most out of that format, and it’s been absolutely excellent. In a broader sense, what I’ve long loved about Lazarus is that this is a comic that feels real…and at the same time is about immortal assassins fighting with swords on behalf of wealthy families that control the world. Just goes to show how much execution matters.
Price: Individual collections range from $12.59 to $14.39, or get them all for $41.37
Buy It Here: Lazarus Collection 1; Lazarus Collection 2; and Lazarus Collection 3
Little Bird
Writer: Darcy Van Poelgeest
Artist: Ian Bertram
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Image Comics
With the limitless scope of Star Wars and EAST OF WEST paired with the sociopolitical explorations of A Handmaid’s Tale and MONSTRESS, LITTLE BIRD tells the story of a young resistance fighter battling against an oppressive American Empire while searching for her own identity in a world on fire. A gorgeously illustrated epic from Award-winning filmmaker DARCY VAN POELGEEST and Angoulême-nominated artist IAN BERTRAM in which one girl risks everything to save her people, their land, and the freedom they so desperately deserve. Collects LITTLE BIRD #1-5
Why It’s Cool: So, this year Little Bird has gone on to win an Eisner, making it officially a big critical sensation. But what if I were to tell you that my knowledge we were one of the first (if not the first) sites to run a perfect advanced review of this book? I’m pretty sure we were. I liked this comic from the moment I read the first issue. It’s just so big in vision, scope, and ambition. Ian Bertram is a genuine visionary talent (colored to perfect here by Matt Hollingsworth), and writer Darcy Van Poelgeest’s script pays him that due, challenging him and teasing out of him stellar work, all of which is lettered by one of the best in the game, Aditya Bidikar. It all adds up to an amazing reading experience you should jump at this weekend.
Price: $8.99
Buy It Here: Little Bird
Monstress: Book One
Writer: Marjoire Liu
Artist: Sana Takeda
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
A teenage girl struggles to overcome the trauma of war in an alternate, matriarchal 1900s Asia that’s brimming with arcane dangers. This task is made all the more difficult by her mysterious psychic link to an eldritch monster of tremendous power—a connection that will transform them both, and place them in the crosshairs of both human and otherworldly powers. Creator/writer MARJORIE LIU (who made history as the first woman to win an Eisner Award for Best Writer) and creator/artist SANA TAKEDA present a deluxe, oversized hardcover edition of their beloved breakout comic in MONSTRESS, BOOK ONE. This massive edition features a striking new cover and includes never-before-seen sketches, script pages, and more for over 500 pages of award-winning content. Collects MONSTRESS #1-18
Why It’s Cool: Monstress has been the best fantasy comic we’ve had since it first hit stands in late 2015. It’s a rich and ever-expanding world, set around a cast of traditionally-marganized characters, all of whom are well-realized. The themes that run through the book are grandiose and important, and it’s all rendered by one of the best artists currently making monthly comics — Sana Takeda. This giant, 18-issue compendium covers more than half of Monstress to date, and I highly recommend it, at a price point that breaks down to about $1.25 an issue.
Price: $22.49
Buy It Digitally: Monstress - Book One
Paper Girls Book One and Book Two
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Cliff Chiang
Colorist: Matt Wilson
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Publisher: Image Comics
SAGA writer BRIAN K. VAUGHAN launches a brand-new ONGOING SERIES with superstar Wonder Woman artist CLIFF CHIANG! In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time.
Why It’s Cool: Paper Girls is a story cut from the same ‘80s teen adventure cloth as films like Back to the Future, The Goonies, or E.T., but it’s also subsequently filtered through a more modern lens where widespread timetravel can muss up reality in massive and unexpected days, all of which are brought to life by artist Cliff Chiang’s incredible design skills. It’s a fast read, one that makes it hard to put down, and now with this sale, you can get the vast majority of it at a great price point by snagging these two giant books, which contain 10 issues a piece.
Price: $12.59 each, or $25.18 for both
Buy It Here: Paper Girls Book One, and Paper Girls Book Two
Saga: Compendium One
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Letterer: Fonografiks
Publisher: Image Comics
THE ULTIMATE BINGE-READ! Collecting the first nine volumes of the critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling series into one massive paperback, this compendium tells the entire story (so far!) of a girl named Hazel and her star-crossed parents. Features 1,400 pages of gorgeously graphic full-color artwork, including a new cover from Eisner Award-winning SAGA co-creator FIONA STAPLES. Collects SAGA #1-54
Why It’s Cool: Look, I’ve made no secret about this — Saga is my favorite comic, even with the ongoing indefinite hiatus. I like it so much that I did an entire Saga Re-Read project, wherein I re-read and wrote about every single issue, all 54 of them. And you know what? This week during these Black Friday sales, you can now snag all 54 of those issues for a total of $21.59, which comes out to about $.40 per issue. It’s a staggeringly good deal for such a great story of sci-fi craziness and familial domesticity.
Price: $21.59
Buy It Here: Saga - Compendium One
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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.