By Zack Quaintance — For the top comics to buy for April 13, 2022, it's a strong (if a bit dark) bunch of books this week, featuring a new Sandman Universe story, my favorite DC Black Label book now, and the continuation of the best comic about robots. It was actually tough (really tough) this week to narrow the top five down, and I know I’ll spend the rest of the week wondering if I should have changed it.

Anyway! Check out our full list of picks below…

Top Comics to Buy for April 13, 2022

PICK OF THE WEEK
The Kill Lock: The Artisan Wraith #2
Writer/Artist: Livio Ramondelli
Letterer: Shawn Lee
Editor: David Mariotte
Publisher: IDW Publishing
The Resolve Class: The unique class composed of bots from different backgrounds with one shared feature-a specialty in problem-solving. (Or assassination, as some prefer to call it.) And it's up to the Resolve, the Lurk, and a small team to solve the greatest problem in the galaxy-the Artisan Wraith, an unbeatable mind in an unbreakable body, currently serving as ruler of a planet of criminals. What could go wrong?
Why It’s Cool: This issue — like the rest of this series — is fantastic. It’s filled with great robot action, callbacks to the first book, and crushing (at times literally) twists for our rag tag team of heroes. I don’t know how much more plainly I can say it — if you’re not reading the Kill Lock comics, you are missing out.
Price: $3.99
Buy It Here: Digital
Read our review of the first issue!

Radio Spaceman: The Mission to Numa 4 #2
Writer: Mike Mignola
Artist: Greg Hinkle
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clem Robins
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
The horrors at the mysterious temple escalate as Gargooom makes his presence known! Radio Spaceman and the formerly captured doctor attempt to make their escape, but an unexpected third party has emerged from the wreckage of the crash that began their adventure.
Why It’s Cool: This series caught me off guard last month with one of the best #1 issues I’ve read all year. It’s got everything you want from a Mignola-verse comic (though it’s not set within the Mignola-verse): pulp homages, absurdity, and gruff characters making light of just how out there things get. This is a quick and excellent read that concludes here with the second issue, though I’d be shocked if we don’t see more Radio Spaceman stories down the line.
Price: $3.99
Buy It Here: Digital
Read our review of the first issue now!

Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country #1
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Lisandro Estherren
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Publisher: DC Comics - Black Label
Sometimes, nightmares walk the Earth. Every night when you sleep, the Lord of Dreams chooses the path you'll follow...into a sylvan Elysium, or down the hallways of your darkest fears. And sometimes, if it is Dream's will, those nightmares escape those halls, and go out into the world. But it is not a choice he makes lightly. Today the Corinthian walks the Earth again. The most feared of all Dream's nightmares, his ravenous mouths have made him a legend among serial killers. Letting the Corinthian out among mortals is the most dangerous thing Dream could possibly do. But he has no choice-because there is another nightmare walking the Earth, one that must be hunted...and this monster is one that Dream, lord of all nightmares, did not make. Horror-comics superstar James Tynion IV has waited his whole career to pay tribute to the mythos of The Sandman, the work that made him the writer he is today-and that time has come! Designed to welcome new readers into one of the greatest worlds in DC's library, The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country is a terrify-ing travelogue through a nation recognizable and obscene, which will show you things seen in no Sandman series ever before-with spectacular art by Lisandro Estherren (Redneck, Strange Skies Over East Berlin) and "nightmare" sequences by comics art all-stars, starting with the incredible Yanick Paquette!
Why It’s Cool: This is a comic written by James Tynion IV, who had my two personal favorite comics of last year, and it’s set within the Sandman Universes. Add to that some truly disturbing nightmare artwork by the team of Estherren and Delpeche, and you’ve got a must-buy comic.
Price: $3.99
Buy It: Digital

Suicide Squad: Blaze #2
Writer: Si Spurrier
Artist: Aaron Campbell
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: DC Comics - Black Label
The inmates who volunteered for the Blaze program are discovering fascinating things about their newfound powers-and about the best ways to torment their Suicide Squad watchdogs. Are they discovering anything about their core mission of stopping the cannibalistic metahuman who's terrorizing the planet and who, uh...might have just defeated Superman...? Well, slightly less so. But they're all going to be dead in three months. Or a lot less. Let them have fun, eh?
Why It’s Cool: I expected this comic to be good, but I didn’t expect it to be this good. I absolutely love Suicide Squad: Blaze, and, to be totally honest, I’m not even typically a fan of stories about the Suicide Squad. This one just feels different, weightier and smarter and still a natural extension of the core concept. I can’t recommend it enough.
Price: $6.99
Buy It Here: Digital / Physical

The Sword of Hyperborea #4
Writers: Mike Mignola and Rob Williams
Artist: Laurence Campbell
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Clem Robins
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
The Sword of Hyperborea appears in the unlikely possession of an up-and-coming blues musician in Chicago, 1952. Even for a talented musician, Elijah Bone is a little different, and the strange voice that whispers to him has its own plans for him to fulfill. Delta blues, supernatural creatures, and secret societies collide in the conclusion of this Mignolaverse saga!
New Mignolaverse lore, written by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola with collaborator Rob Williams, and featuring the art of Laurence Campbell with colors by Quinton Winter.
Why It’s Cool: This comic reaches back into the history of the Mignola-verse to build out the lore surrounding the magical sword of hyperborea, which features prominently in the end game of the main Hellboy and the BPRD series. Like all great Mignolaverse comics, it also draws from a great mixture of mythology and real history. Add to that Laurence Campbell’s chilling art (Campbell illustrated one of the best strethces of the original BPRD run, btw), and you’ve got another must-buy Hellboy-adjacent series here.
Price: $3.99
Buy It Here: Digital

Others Receiving Votes

Batgirls #5
Batman Urban Legends #14
Eternals #11
Human Remains #7
I Am Batman #8
Joe Hill’s Rain #4
Last Book You’ll Ever Read #7
Midnight Rose #1
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #37
Naomi Season 2 #2
Nocterra #9
Rush #5
Venom #7
We Ride Titans #3

New #1s and One-Shots

A Town Called Terror #1
Break Out #1
Dungeons and Dragons: Best of Minsc and Boo #1
Elektra #100 One-Shot
Flashpoint Beyond #0
G.I. Joe - Real American Hero 40th Anniversary Special One-Shot
Image 30th Anniversary Anthology #1
Immortal Red Sonja #1
Kaiju Score: Steal From the Gods #1
Vanity #1
Wrong Earth: Fame and Fortune #1
X-Men ‘92: House of XCII #1

Trade Collections and Graphic Novels of Note

Arrowsmith Vol 1 So Smart In Their Fine Uniforms HC
Bioripple GN
Button Pusher GN
Cable By Gerry Duggan & Phil Noto Vol 1 HC
Captain America By Ta-Nehisi Coates Vol 2 HC
Chef’s Kiss TP
Doctor Strange by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo Omnibus HC
Ghost In You - A Reckless Book HC
Gotham Central Omnibus HC (2022 Edition)
Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters Vol. 2 TP
Little Monarchs TP
Mamo TP
Moon Knight Omnibus HC Vol. 1
Rave HC
Wolverine Weapon X Gallery Edition HC

Read more great graphic novel and comics reviews!

Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He has written about comics for The Beat and NPR Books, among others. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.