By Zack Quaintance — Hey! Today just so happens to be my birthday, and so I feel extra entitled to urge you to check out this list of the best comiXology sales for the weekend of June 4 (which is, again, my birthday!). Having extra affinity for this day as I do, I worked extra hard to get together a good list of books for you all to enjoy, potentially in my honor, if you like.

But hey! Usual picks can be found below…enjoy!

Best comiXology Sales: Weekend of June 4, 2021

Angels & Magpies - Love and Rockers
Writer: Jaime Hernandez
Artist: Jaime Hernandez
Publisher: Fantagraphics
The sublime, the superpowered, and the senior citizen converge in Angels and Magpies, which collects the Gods and Science: Return of the Ti-Girls and Love Bunglers storylines from the Love and Rockets: New Stories series, as well as Hernandez’s 2006 serial for the New York Times. In the latter, Maggie pays a visit to Queen Rena, who is living out her twilight days on an island after a lifetime as a wrestler and an adventuress. In the Ti-Girls segment, superheroics get a screwball spin when Angel of Tarzana and Maggie square off against Dark Penny Century. In the "Love Bunglers," held as perhaps Hernandez’s greatest masterpiece in his thirty-five-year career, and one of the great graphic novels of all time (it was hailed by Slate and Publishers Weekly as one of the best stories of the year), the past and present converge as Maggie and Ray’s reunion is threatened by long-buried family secrets.
Why It’s Cool: The first half of this book does a Love and Rockets riff on superheroes with the Penny Century character, and it’s just fine, Jaime Hernandez being the best living cartoonist and all. But what really makes this book an absolute must read is the story it ends on — The Love Bunglers, an absolutely perfect graphic novel that stands on its own just fine but is made extra poignant by the long continuity from Hernandez’s Locas comics. This story features one of the best last pages of any comic I’ve ever read.
Price: $6.99
Buy It Here: Angels and Magpies

Astro Boy Vol. 3
Writer: Osamu Tezuka
Artist: Osamu Tezuka
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
A timeless comics and animation classic, Osamu Tezuka' Astro Boy is still going strong nearly half a century after its creation, and Dark Horse brings Tekuza's original Astro Boy manga to America for the first time in an English-language edition. In the novel-length “The Greatest Robot on Earth,” a wealthy sultan creates a giant robot to become the ruler of all other robots on Earth. But in order for that to happen, he must defeat the seven most powerful robots in the world, including Astro Boy, who must have his horsepower raised from 100,000 to 1,000,000 to face the challenge! And his sister, Uran, also flies in to lend a helping hand! Plus, in “Mad Machine,” Professor Fuller invents a device that causes other machines to go berserk, and Astro Boy has to save the day!
Why It’s Cool: If you follow me on social media, you surely heard me a few months ago raving about Pluto, the manga by Naoki Urasawa. Well, that manga wouldn’t exist without these classic Astro Boy comics, of which it is reinterpretation. These comics are interesting both for their influence on Pluto as well as their status as perhaps the best story for one of comics most iconic characters.
Price: $3.49
Buy It Here: Astro Boy, Vol. 3

Daredevil by Bendis and Maleev, Ultimate Collection Vol. 1 - Vol. 3
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Alex Maleev
Publisher: Marvel Comics
During a character-defining run, Brian Michael Bendis crafted a pulp-fiction narrative that exploited DD's rich tapestry of characters and psychodrama, and resolved them in a nuanced, modern approach. Witness the Kingpin's downfall and see how a down-on-his-luck FBI agent can change Matt's life forever.
Why It’s Cool: Writer Brian Michael Bendis has made a lot of great comics over the past 20-some years, many of them with his frequent collaborator, Alex Maleev. Within all of those, the duo’s breakout run all those years ago on Daredevil still stands up as some of their finest work (as is often the case for creators who work on Daredevil). These comics are absolutely excellent, and you can get the full run now for about $25.
Price: $8.49 each or $25.47 for all three
Buy Them Here: Daredevil by Bendis and Maleev, Ultimate Collection Vol. 1; Daredevil by Bendis and Maleev, Ultimate Collection Vol. 2; and Daredevil by Bendis and Maleev, Ultimate Collection Vol. 3

Grendel Omnibus Vol. 1 - Vol. 4
Writer: Matt Wagner
Artist: Matt Wagner
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Matt Wagner's masterpiece celebrates its thirtieth anniversary with the first ever comprehensive collection of the complete Grendel saga! The first of four volumes presenting the entire series and following the chronology of the stories, this edition introduces millionaire Hunter Rose and his alter ego, the criminal mastermind Grendel! Volume 1 reprints Grendel: Devil by the Deed; the short story collections Grendel: Black, White, & Red and Grendel: Red, White, & Black, featuring a host of legendary guest artists; and the epic Grendel: Behold the Devil.
Why It’s Cool: So, confession time — you know how every week I suggest at least one highly-regarded run that I haven’t myself read? Well folks, now is the time for me to admit that I’ve never read Matt Wagner’s much-loved classic set of comics, Grendel. I will, however, be changing that soon, purchasing as I am the majority of these comics to date for like $24. Great deal.
Price: $5.99 each or $23.96 for all four
Buy Them Here: Grendel Omnibus Vol. 1 - Hunter Rose; Grendel Omnibus Vol. 2 - The Legacy; Grendel Omnibus Vol. 3 - Orion’s Reign; and Grendel Omnibus Vol. 4 - Prime

Sweet Tooth - Deluxe Edition, Book One - Book Three
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Jeff Lemire
Publisher: DC Comics - Vertigo
Kids like Gus have a price on their heads.
Seven years ago, the Affliction raged like a forest fire, killing billions. The only children born since are part of a new breed of human-animal hybrids. Gus is one of these children, a boy with a sweet soul, a sweeter tooth-and the features of a deer.
When vicious hunters descend on his isolated forest home, a mysterious and violent man called Jepperd rescues Gus. The hulking drifter promises to lead Gus to The Preserve, a fabled safe haven for hybrid children.
As the two cross this dangerous new American frontier, will Jepperd corrupt the boy he's nicknamed Sweet Tooth, or will Gus's heart change Jepperd?
Why It’s Cool: Post-apocalyptic America comics are all the rage now, but before this recent wave, there was Sweet Tooth, Jeff Lemire’s breakout comic for Vertigo. Now is a great time to read these books if you somehow haven’t yet, both because they’re on sale and also because the television adaptation is set to make its debut soon, already earning rave reviews.
Price: $6.79 each or $20.37 for all three
Buy It Here: Sweet Tooth Deluxe Edition - Book One; Sweet Tooth Deluxe Edition - Book Two; and Sweet Tooth Deluxe Edition - Book Three

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.