Top Comics to Buy for August 25, 2021

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By Zack Quaintance — The entire list for Top Comics to Buy for August 25, 2021 is made up of non-Big 2 books, which is one of my favorite kinds of list. To be fair, three of the five entries here are from Image Comics, which isn’t *that* much smaller than Marvel of DC, but the fun bit is still that the books are not familiar superhero IP. In addition, this is another one of those killer weeks where Vault Comics releases Barbaric and The Blue Flame, my two favorite books at that publisher right now.

All in all, this is a very good week. As always, you can find the full list of picks below…

Top Comics to Buy for August 25, 2021

PICK OF THE WEEK
Made in Korea #4
Writer: Jeremy Holt
Artist: George Schall
Letterer: Adam Wollet
Publisher: Image Comics
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Why It’s Cool: I love a comic with confidence, one that trusts its reader and takes its time to dole out the big heavy genre beats that the medium largely relies on, and Made in Korea is certainly all of that. In this fourth issue, it is also clear that this is a comic that is unafraid to put its characters through the really difficult conflicts that make for interesting stories. I just absolutely love this book, which is among my favorite new series of the year.
Price: $3.99
More Info: Made in Korea #4

Barbaric #3
Writer: Michael Moreci
Artist: Nathan Gooden
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Vault Comics
Everything's gone to sh*t. But what else is new for a barbarian cursed to do good, who has to follow the commands of a bloodthirsty axe? It's just that today's a little worse. With Owen's back against the wall, and his enemies eager to chop him to bits, things are looking especially grim as the first arc of BARBARIC comes to a close.
Why It’s Cool: Barbaric has been one of the absolute comics sensations of the summer, a madcap sword and sorcery story that is well aware of the genre’s conventions but also does not give a flying @*#&. This over-sized third issue marks the end of the book’s first arc, with a return promised to come next year. And I for one will be waiting anxiously. Also, definitely look for this book to appear on my best of the year lists come December. It’s that good!
Price: $3.99
More Info: Barbaric #3

The Blue Flame #4
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artist: Adam Gorham
Colorist: Kurt Michael Russell
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Designer: Tim Daniel
Publisher: Vault Comics
Sam spirals deeper into darkness while the Blue Flame chooses to finally face the tragedy of his life on Earth. It remains to be seen if either of them will ever recover, and if they can still be heroes. As they grapple with their identities, Sam searches his soul and seeks relief in the arms of someone who may in fact be an adversary, while the Flame finds an ally in someone he thought was working against him.
Why It’s Cool: I wrote this in our exclusive preview of this book (as well as on my Twitter account), but I think The Blue Flame very well might be the best superhero comic of 2021. It’s mysterious, it’s emotional, it’s a page-turner, and it deals with the intersection of some of the most pressing traumas of the day with the foundational concepts of superheroics. It’s an incredible series, and it’s been a joy to watch as the creators unfurl what this story is really about.
Price: $3.99
More Info: The Blue Flame #4
Check out our exclusive preview of this issue!

Ice Cream Man #25
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Publisher: Image Comics
Good afternoon, folks. This is your captain speaking. I'd like to welcome everyone aboard ICM Flight 25. We're currently cruising at an altitude of 33,000 feet, at an airspeed of about 400 miles per hour. The time is 1:25 p.m. The weather looks pretty good, and with the tailwind on our side, we're expecting to violently nosedive into the ground approximately 15 minutes ahead of schedule.
Why It’s Cool: All of these issues later, and I am still in awe of the way that Ice Cream Man tells (largely) contained stories that share little in common aside from a sensibility best described as cold sweat existential terror. This over-sized anniversary issue is no exception, yet another must-read story of the best anthology series in comics.
Price: $4.99
More Info: Ice Cream Man #25

That Texas Blood #9
Writer: Chris Condon
Artist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
"EVERSAUL, 1981," Part Three-A tense confrontation on the Wellman ranch, once a bastion of the psychedelic dream, leads to a growing rift between Eversaul and the Law in Ambrose County.
Why It’s Cool: What a fantastic series this book has been from its start, really going all in on the No Country For Old Men vibes and depicting with with stunning sparse Texas artwork and a folksy ear for dialogue throughout. This issue is probably the strongest of the second arc so far, really building towards a bad feeling that one of the characters just can’t shake. You know what? I can’t shake it either, and the effect is that I continue to really love this book. Whenever I see the new covers from this series, I instantly here the drawl of the character interactions in my head. It’s good stuff.
Price: $3.99
More Info: That Texas Blood #9

Others Receiving Votes

  • Action Comics #1034

  • Batman / Superman #21

  • Black Beacon #2

  • Checkmate #3

  • Dark Blood #2

  • Department of Truth #12

  • Die #19

  • Good Luck #3

  • Ninjak #2

  • Old Guard: Tales Through Time #5

  • Once and Future #19

  • Project Patron #5

  • Robin #5

  • United States of Captain America #3

  • Usagi Yojimbo: Dragon Bellow’s Conspiracy #3

New #1s and One-Shots

  • Avengers Annual #1

  • Cable Reloaded #1

  • Darkhawk #1

  • Echolands #1

  • Extreme Carnage Riot #1

  • King Spawn #1

  • Marvel Voices Identity #1

  • Spider-Man: Life Story Annual #1

  • St. Mercy #1

  • Superman ‘78 #1

  • Superman Vs. Lobo #1

  • Transformers: Shattered Glass #1

  • Winter Guard #1

Trade Collections and Graphic Novels of Note

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.