By Zack Quaintance — The list of the Top Comics to Buy for September 15, 2021 is here, bringing with it some of our favorite creators making comics today. You’ve got a new series launch from the team of Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino; more Mark Russell and co. religious satire; a new comic written by Grant Morrison; and more! It’s a lot of exciting comic books, and you can find our specific picks below.

Enjoy!

Top Comics to Buy for September 15, 2021

PICK OF THE WEEK
Primordial #1 (of 6)
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Andrea Sorrentino
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer/Designer: Steve Wands
Publisher: Image Comics
Mind-bending sci-fi collides with Cold War thriller in this six-issue miniseries by the bestselling and Eisner-winning creative team behind GIDEON FALLS! In 1957, the USSR launched the dog, Laika, into Earth's orbit. Two years later, the USA responded with two monkeys, Able and Baker. These animals never returned. But, unbeknownst to everyone, they did not die in orbit…they were taken. And now they are coming home.
Why It’s Cool: This is not a fresh take, but Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino have great creative chemistry together. We’ve seen it in the duo’s Big 2 work — specifically Green Arrow and Old Man Logan — and we’ve seen it with their work for Image, played out in the recently concluded horror comic, Gideon Falls. Now we get to see the duo take their aesthetic — which uses unique page designs to heighten ambiance and tone — to a new story about an alternate history around the Cold War, space race, and the animals we sent up there. It all melds together well, making for a very intriguing debut issue and our pick of the week.
Price: $3.99
More Info: Primordial #1

Eternals - Thanos Rises #1
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Dustin Weaver
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Eternals are created, not born. They have families, but their families make no new children. It’s simply not what Eternals do. Some of them thought they could find a way to change that and believed it would be for the best. They were terribly, terribly wrong.
Why It’s Cool: The Eternals comics by Kieron Gillen and Esad Ribic have really been something else, a cheeky and complex sci-fi dive into one of superhero comics most convoluted concepts, all playing out ahead of a big screen adaptation that is sure to change the tone and general perception of these characters. It’s a lot. But the creators have done a really admirable job with them, and Gillen expands his vision for The Eternals here with this one-shot, which also gives us the POV of the creators of one of the galaxy’s primal evils. It’s good stuff, with value for those following the main book as well as those who just like Thanos, although the latter group should be warned that we don’t see the Mad Titan much throughout.
Price: $3.99
More Info: Eternals - Thanos Rises #1

Second Coming - Only Begotten Son #5
Writer: Mark Russell
Layouts: Richard Pace
Finishes: Leonard Kirk
Colors: Andy Troy
Letterer: Rob Steen
Publisher: AHOY Comics
Special doubt-and-incertitude issue! The death of a disciple makes Jesus question everything, while Sunstar solicits the public's suggestions on what to accomplish with his powers. Plus a selection of AHOY illustrated prose fiction.
Why It’s Cool: I’ve really enjoyed this series from the start. Where many comics dabble in philosophical questions — usually cadging them in ghosts or aliens or something like that — this one just goes straight at them, using Jesus Christ and an analog for Superman to explore how the original messages behind both religion and heroics have slowly become twisted over time, moving away from their foundational principals. This is the issue where the story goes to heaven, and it’s great.
Price: $3.99
More Info: Second Coming - Only Begotten Son #5

Superman and the Authority #3
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artists: Mikel Janin and Travel Foreman
Colorists: Jordie Bellaire and Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: DC Comics
Superman put the Authority back together, but why? What threat is out there that only this group can contend with? The Ultra-Humanite, of course! This fearsome foe is forming a team of his own, one designed to go fist-to-fist with the Authority. It will be their baptism in battle to prove if Superman is right that regardless of who we are, there is a hero lurking inside even the worst of us. This penultimate issue is an important chapter in the new Superman mythos, helping to set up where Clark Kent goes next…and who he goes there with.
Why It’s Cool: If this is Grant Morrison’s last Big 2 superhero comic (and they say that it definitely is), it’s an interesting choice to bookend the most fascinating set of stories told with superhero characters in most of our lifetimes. I’m still sorting through my thoughts on this series, but I think Morrison’s last thematic point is going to be related to the intersection of fantastical superhero cheese with the impact that these characters have on the larger world. Whatever the case, this series has been good-looking and fun to follow throughout.
Price: $4.99
More Info: Superman and the Authority #3

Usagi Yojimbo #22
Writer/Artist/Letterer: Stan Sakai
Colorist: Hi-Fi Design
Editor: Bobby Curnow
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Usagi and Yukichi have left Lord Hikiji's province so their troubles are behind them… or so they thought! They meet up with Kitsune, the street performer/thief, who brings her own troubles. Kitsune has stolen a ledger recording bribes by a gang leader to local politicians. Usagi wants to turn it over to the area magistrate but she wants to sell it back to the mob leader. However, both plans change when Kitsune's protégé, Kiyoko, is kidnapped!
Why It’s Cool: There is no other comic as reliable as Usagi Yojimbo, Stan Sakai’s ongoing masterpiece about anthropomorphic ronin in feudal Japan. This arc has been particularly excellent, involving Usagi teaming up with Yukichi. In this issue, there are a few twists to challenge the ronin even further, all of which are — unsurprisingly — very well done.
Price: $3.99
More Info: Usagi Yojimbo #22

Others Receiving Votes

Batman ‘89 #2
Batman Urban Legends #7
Blacks Myth #3
Future State Gotham #5
Home Sick Pilots #9
Iron Man #12
Joker #7
Justice League #67
Kang, The Conqueror #2
Time Before Time #5
Wynd #10

New #1s and One-Shots

Extreme Carnage Agony #1
Godzilla Rivals Vs. Mothra #1
Harley Quinn The Animated Series - Eat Bang Kill Tour #1
Hellboy and the BPRD 1957 - Family Ties (One-Shot) #1
I Am Batman #1
Last Annihilation Wakanda #1
Maw #1
Star Wars, War of the Bounty Hunters Boushh (One-Shot) #1
Titans United #1
Vampiverse #1

Trade Collections and Graphic Novels

1984 The Graphic Novel HC
20 Fists TP
Batman (2020) Vol. 4 - The Cowardly Lot
Borders HC
Monstress Vol 6 The Vow TP
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Jennika II TP

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.