By Zack Quaintance — You know, every time I do one of these best comiXology sales lists, I try to find a unifying theme for the books, or at least some of the books. But this week, friends, I just couldn’t do it. What emerged instead was an eclectic grab bag of excellent oddities (which could be an alternate name for this very website, tbh). And you can find that eclectic grab bag (the ol’ egb) below.

Enjoy!

Best comiXology Sales: The early year grab bag

Blubber by Gilbert Hernandez
Writer: Gilbert Hernandez
Artist: Gilbert Hernandez
Publisher: Fantagraphics
DISCLAIMER: graphic sexuality
What's this? An all-new, stand-alone, one-shot comic book from one of our greatest living cartoonists? Christmas has come early! Featuring six mostly wordless, thoroughly surreal adventures featuring a cast of misfits, monsters, and anthropomorphs that could only spring from the id of the great Gilbert Hernandez, last year's Eisner Award winner for "Best Short Story"!
Why It’s Cool: Gilbert Hernandez’s Blubber project is an interesting one, to say the least. Featuring graphic sexuality, it stars a cast of misfits, monsters, and anthropomorphic characters. It also feels like really freeing, interesting work from Hernandez, who is obviously best-known for his work with his brother Jaime on Love and Rockets, arguably the greatest comic of all time. For just $5, catching up on Blubber is an excellent way to spend an afternoon, if you’re interested in this sort of ride.
Price: $.99 per issue, or $4.95 for all five issues
Buy Them Here: Blubber #1; Blubber #2; Blubber #3; Blubber #4; and Blubber #5

Black Hammer/Justice League: Hammer of Justice!
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Michael Walsh
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Jeff Lemire! Michael Walsh! DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics team up for the ultimate superhero crossover event! A strange man arrives simultaneously on Black Hammer Farm and in Metropolis and both worlds are warped as Starro attacks! Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, Superman, and more crossover with Golden Gail, Colonel Weird and the rest of the Black Hammer gang! Collects Black Hammer/Justice League: Hammer of Justice #1–#5 and features pinup art by Yanick Paquette, Yuko Shimizu, Matteo Scalera, Andrea Sorrentino, Evan ''Doc'' Shaner, Jill Thompson, and more!
Why It’s Cool: With another DC Comics crossover story looking very likely in the pages of Image’s Crossover (it’s been heavily teased in that book from issue #1…), I started thinking about my favorite recent DC Comics crossover in recent memory — and then this week, lo and behold, it’s on sale. This is just such a fun mingling of classic tentpole DC characters with one of their all-time best homages. Highly recommend, even to readers who aren’t familiar with Black Hammer.
Price: $7.99
Buy It Here: Black Hammer/Justice League - Hammer of Justice!

The Delicacy
Writer: James Albon
Artist: James Albon
Publisher: IDW Publishing - Top Shelf
Rare and delicious fungi spell trouble for an ambitious restaurateur in this sumptuously painted graphic novel from one of Scotland’s most imaginative young cartoonists. This thrilling page-turner, a fascinating glimpse into the high-pressure world of big-city restaurants, is a must-read for foodies, Anglophiles, Food Network fans, and those with a taste for beautiful, terrible people. Tulip and his brother Rowan have left the simple comforts of their remote Scottish island with a plan: to grow succulent, organic vegetables in an idyllic market garden, and to open a restaurant serving these wholesome culinary delights to the busy sprawl of London. The world of fine dining seems impossibly competitive... until they discover a deliriously scrumptious new species of mushroom. The dish brings diners in droves, catapulting their small restaurant to success beyond their wildest dreams. Now, pressured by the demands of a hungry city, Tulip is desperate to crack the secret of their new ingredient's growth. But just how much will he sacrifice to feed his own insatiable ambition?
Why It’s Cool: Cooking, eating, and fine dining have become my obsession during this pandemic, for reasons I am yet to unpack. And as such, I’m also gravitating toward graphic novels that tackle the same; and this one by James Albon is one of the best in recent memory.
Price: $5.99
Buy It Here: The Delicacy

Silver Surfer: Parable
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Moebius
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Collects Silver Surfer (1988) #1-2 and Silver Surfer: Enslavers.
Galactus has converted humanity into his followers, and he's leading them to their doom! And the only challenger is the hero he himself trapped on Earth: the Silver Surfer. Plus: The Surfer must save his world and ours from the planet-sized peril posed by the Enslavers!
Why It’s Cool: This book features cosmic artwork by one of the best sequential artists of all time, Moebius, and, holy cow, it’s just $3. If you’ve never read this utter classic before, my friend? Now is your time. Do it! Also, this one was penned by Stan Lee, if that just so happens to do anything for you…
Buy It Here: Silver Surfer - Parable

The Thud
Writer: Mikael Ross
Artist: Mikael Ross
Publisher: Fantagraphics
This is a YA graphic novel, told from the perspective of a person with a developmental disorder, set in a real village operated by people with special needs. There’s a real village in Germany called Neuerkerode that is operated by people with mental disabilities - the local restaurant, the local bar, the local supermarket. The author spent two years living 3 or 4 days a week there, researching and getting to know its townsfolk, and the result is an empathetic depiction. This graphic novel is told entirely from a developmentally impaired boy's perspective. Noel had always lived with his mother in Berlin, until one day tragedy strikes and he finds himself alone for the first time. A man with a beard tells him he can’t stay in the apartment anymore and takes him to a place with so many strangers ― Who can he trust? Who does he like? Who loves him?
Why It’s Cool: This YA book is just so endearing, crafted as it was after the creator spent two years living in the town within which it takes place. It’s a great read from beginning to end, with a young protagonist who has a developmental disorder making his way through the world.
Price: $5.99
Buy It Here: The Thud

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.