By Zack Quaintance — While compiling the list of Top Comics to Buy for April 21, 2021, it occurred to me — comics have gotten really good again. I think there was a slight downswing for monthly books a while back, almost imperceptible. But now we’ve got a thriving X-Men comics line at Marvel, a pared-down-yet rejuvenated DC Comics, Image upping its output of polished stories, and all kinds of original vibrancy from smaller publishers. I think this week’s picks reflect all that.

Enjoy!

Top Comics to Buy for April 21, 2021

PICK OF THE WEEK
Ultramega By James Harren #2
Writer/Artist: James Harren
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics
Rising out of the carnage of our debut issue, a new hero emerges to beatdown the kaiju scum! Fists fly and blood is spilled.
Fight monsters. Stand with humanity. Stand with the ULTRAMEGA!
Why It’s Cool: Ultramega by James Harren is a statement comic. It’s a book wherein a powerful artist and storyteller is flexing his craft, shocking and awing with everything from the aesthetic to the many (many!) narrative twists. It’s good. Very Good. And on a practical level, it is perhaps the first deconstruction of the kaiju concept to be executed at this massive scale in North American comics, and I’m loving every goddamned panel. Nothing is out of bounds here, no kaiju is sacred. Get on board, don’t eat too much before buckling in, and enjoy the freaking ride.
Price: $7.99
Buy It Here: Ultramega by James Harren #2

Haha #4
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Patrick Horvath
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Publisher: Image Comics
“GUSTAV IN THE WORLD OF FLOATING OBJECTS”
A wise clown once said that everything floats…and he was right.
The comic book with a literally laughable title drifts into the big, blue sky with an issue hand-painted by watercolorist PATRICK HORVATH.
Why It’s Cool: With Haha, I never know what to expect from issue to issue. Sure, all of the one-off stories in this anthology series have a shared aesthetic that has something to do with clown or clown-adjacent performers (last issue it was a mime). And yes, they all explore topics around existential dread similar to those found in W. Maxwell Prince’s other excellent anthology book, Ice Cream Man. But the execution of each of these comics has been wholly their own…and wholly excellent, armed as they are with a different top tier artist each time out. This issue — featuring the work of Patrick Horvath — is no exception.
Price: $3.99
Buy It Here: Haha #4

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr #1
Writer: Ram V.
Artist: Felipe Andrade
Letterer: AndWorld Design
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
A powerful new series for fans of The Wicked + The Divine and The Dreaming from Ram V (Justice League Dark) and Filipe Andrade (Captain Marvel) that explores the fine line between living and dying in Mumbai through the lens of magical realism.
With humanity on the verge of discovering immortality, the avatar of Death is fired and relegated to the world below to live out her now-finite days in the body of twenty-something Laila Starr in Mumbai.
Struggling with her new-found mortality, Laila has found a way to be placed in the time and place where the creator of immortality will be born...
But will Laila take her chance to permanently reverse the course of (future) history...or does a more shocking fate await her?
Why It’s Cool: You can read my full review of The Many Deaths of Laila Starr #1 now, but in brief, I found this to be an absolutely gorgeous comic, one that features stunning artwork and musical prose dancing around each other in ways that make the whole stronger. Put simply, this is a must read new comic series.
Price: $3.99
Buy It Here: The Many Deaths of Laila Starr #1

Resonant #9
Writer: David Andry
Artist: Skylar Partridge
Colorist: Jason Wordie
Letterer: Deron Bennett
Publisher: Vault Comics
Paxton begins to lose himself, falling under the influence of the Spiral. With the help of Fern, he makes a grim discovery. The kids set in motion their plan to take back the family cabin, but what chance do they have against the fiendish Preacher, the monstrous Maw, and his insatiable followers?
Why It’s Cool: Resonant has quietly become one of the most underrated books in all of indie comics, featuring as it does a singular mix of survivalism, morality parable, and end-of-the-world scenario. This second arc has really benefited from the addition of Skylar Patridge, whose linework has combined perfectly with Jason Wordie’s colors to give this book a sort of hot naturalistic feel that perfectly fits its themes. This penultimate issue of the second arc is a strong one, and I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say that once again, you can’t trust an orgy sanctuary.
Price: $3.99
Buy It Here: Resonant #9

Way of X #1
Writer: Si Spurrier
Artist: Bob Quinn
Colorist: Java Tartaglia
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Designer: Tom Mueller
Publisher: Marvel Comics
THE WAY TO THE FUTURE OF X!
Mutantkind has built a new Eden... but there are serpents in this garden. Some mutants struggle to fit in. Some mutants turn to violence and death. And the children whisper of the Patchwork Man, singing in their hearts...Only one mutant senses the looming shadows. Snared by questions of death, law and love, only NIGHTCRAWLER can fight for the soul of Krakoa. Only he - and the curious crew he assembles - can help mutants defeat their inner-darkness and find a new way to live. The WAY OF X. SI SPURRIER (X-MEN LEGACY) and BOB QUINN (CAPTAIN AMERICA) push the frontiers of Krakoa in this unmissable entry into the bold new REIGN OF X.
Why It’s Cool: One of the many things I’ve been enjoying about the new era of X-Men comics is the way that the overarching Krakoa concept has continued to enable more idiosyncratic explorations of the state of Marvel’s mutants, be it by throwing them into wacky sword and sorcery tales (as in Excalibur) or by projecting the Suicide Squad concept onto them as in Hellions (my personal favorite X-Men comic). In Way of X, we get a Nightcrawler-centric comic that seeks to grapple with higher concepts around ethics and theology…all while bamfing about with a sword. It’s fantastic.
Price: $4.99
Buy It Here: Way of X #1

Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters #2.jpg

Others Receiving Votes

Catwoman #30
Champions #6
Crimson Flower #4
I Walk With Monsters #5
Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters #2
Justice League #60
Monstress #33
Nightwing #79
Orphan and the Five Beasts #2
Post Americana #5
Radiant Black #3
Stray Dogs #3
S.W.O.R.D. #5
Usagi Yojimbo #19
X-Force #19

New #1s and One-Shots

Alice in Leatherland #1
Batman/Fortnite: Zero Point #1
Cojacaru The Skinner #1
Girls of Dimension 13 #1
Godzilla: Monsters and Protectors #1
The Mighty Valkyries #1
The Old Guard: Tales Through Time #1
Unikorn #1
Women of Marvel #1
You Promised Me Darkness #1

Trade Collections and Graphic Novels of Note

Asterix Omnibus Vol. 4
Batman: Creature of the Night TP
Dawn of X Vol. 15 TP
Guerilla Green Original Graphic Novel TP
Knights of Heliopolis HC
Thunderbolts Omnibus Vol. 1 HC
World of Black Hammer Library Edition Vol. 2 HC
Young Shadow GN

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.