Best comiXology Sales: Dark Horse Comics 2021 (plus one)
By Zack Quaintance — The end of the year sales have now spilled into January, giving us a great set of books for our best comiXolog sales: Dark Horse Comics 2021 list (plus one). There’s a ton of variety within the five picks you’ll find below, ranging from recent entries in the Black Hammer and Hellboy Universes to a new edition of a modern classic. Speaking of classics, we also have one Big 2 choice that’s on sale this week that I like so much I just had to throw it in.
As always, you can find the full list below…enjoy!
Best comiXology Sales: Dark Horse Comics 2021 (plus one)
Black Hammer: Visions, Vol. 1
Writers: Patton Oswalt, Geoff Johns, Chip Zdarsky, and Mariko Tamaki
Artists: Dean Kotz, Scott Kollins, Johnnie Christmas, and Diego Olortegui
Colorists: Dave Stewart, Jason Wordie, and Bill Crabtree
Letterer: Nate Piekos
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
This collection launches the beginning of a special two volume series of exciting stories taking place in the world of Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston's Eisner Award-winning Black Hammer superhero comics. Creators such as Patton Oswalt, Geoff Johns, Mariko Tamaki, Scott Snyder, Chip Zdarsky, Kelly Thompson, Cullen Bunn, Johnnie Christmas, Cecil Castellucci, and many more of comics' top talents take on some of the greatest heroes and villains of Spiral City! This graphic novel collects Black Hammer: Visions #1–#4 and also features a sketchbook section and pinups by Gilbert Hernandez, Evan Dorkin, Kelley Jones, Christina Chung, and more!
Why It’s Cool: Jeff Lemire — the Black Hammer Universe mastermind — has opened his homage comics sandbox up to a whole range of top-tier comics folk, from Patton Oswalt to Dean Kotz, and they have all returned excellent stories about characters you likely know if you’ve been reading the other Black Hammer comics.
Price: $7.49
Read It Here: Black Hammer - Visions, Vol. 1
Enigma: The Definitive Edition
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Duncan Fegredo
Colorist: Sherilyn Van Valkenburgh
Letterer: John Costanza
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Enigma is a visceral, post-modern tale of self-discovery and sexual identity told against the backdrop of outrageous superheroes and villains. Michael Smith lives a meaningless life. But when the weird characters from Enigma, his favorite childhood comic seem to come to life, Michael embarks upon an increasingly obsessive crusade to uncover the incredible secret behind their improbable existence . . . and ultimately, his own. Considered a classic and groundbreaking graphic novel for its LGBTQIA+ themes when first released—featuring the first gay superhero in mainstream comics. With a brand-new cover by Duncan Fegredo and a treasure trove of nearly 50 pages of extras including development art, color sketches, and behind-the-scenes notes into the making of this celebrated story.
Why It’s Cool: This classic comic has just gotten a beautiful new physical edition, one I excitedly snagged for my own shelf. Now, the digital version of that book is on sale as well. If you’ve missed out on this over the years, now is the chance to change that.
Price: $7.49
Read It Here: Enigma - Definitive Edition
Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy: From the World of Black Hammer, Vol. 1
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Tonci Zonjic
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
From the world of the Eisner Award-winning Black Hammer series comes a dark tale of tragedy! Spiral City finds itself trapped in a vicious cycle of crime, corruption, and violence. With the heart of the city at stake, a vigilante rises in Skulldigger. However, when the nefarious Grimjim escapes from prison, will Skulldigger and his ward, Skeleton Boy, be enough to save Spiral City? Collects Skulldigger #1–#6 from the Eisner Award-winning writer of Jeff Lemire and superstar artist Tonci Zonjic!
Why It’s Cool: Armed with Tonci Zonjic art (one of the best in the business), this book somehow manages to stand out from the other satellite Black Hammer titles, a group which is uniformly quite strong.
Price: $5.99
Read It Here: Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy - From the World of Black Hammer, Vol. 1
Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land
Writers: Mike Mignola and Thomas Sniegoski
Artist: Craig Rosseau
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clem Robbins
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Stranded on a strange island after a mishap on their way to a South American dig site, Hellboy and Professor Bruttenholm are confronted by all manner of monsters on land, sea, and sky! A stranger who rescues them turns out to be one of Hellboy's heroes, but they still aren't as safe as they think they are! An old evil that the island protects is about to reawaken, drawing Hellboy and his new allies into a desperate battle! Collects issues #1–#4 of the miniseries.
Why It’s Cool: Young Hellboy has always been inherently one of the most fun Hellboy characters, but he’s never got the type of page time he does in this series, the first proper full-length miniseries to star Hellboy as a, um, well as a boy.
Price: $7.49
Read It Here: Young Hellboy
Silver Surfer by Dan Slott and Mike Allred, Vol. 1 - Vol. 5
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Mike Allred
Colorist: Laura Allred
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel Comics
The SILVER SURFER, the lone sentinel of the skyways, is about to discover that the best way to see the galaxy... is with someone else. Meet the Earth Girl who's challenged the Surfer to go beyond the boundaries of the known Marvel U-- into the strange, the new, and the utterly fantastic!
Why It’s Cool: We broke our Dark Horse Comics 2021 theme with this last pick, mostly because these are some of my favorite recent Marvel Comics. This series starts as a bit of a Marvel Universe riff on Doctor Who and evolves into one of the sweetest superhero love stories I’ve ever read. There’s also a good bit of formulist experimentation to these books. Check it out now!
Price: From $2.99 to $5.99 each, or $18.95 for all five
Read Them Here: Silver Surfer, Vol. 1; Silver Surfer, Vol. 2; Silver Surfer, Vol. 3; Silver Surfer, Vol. 4; and Silver Surfer, Vol. 5
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.