By Zack Quaintance —This is another one of those weeks dominated by the work of writer James Tynion IV, who has quickly become arguably the leading voice in direct market monthly comics. On the list of Top Comics to Buy for August 4, 2021, you can find his work on Batman #111 as well as Nice House on the Lake #3 in the main list, plus also Wynd #9 under others receiving votes. Wild.

But we’ve got more than just Tynion books to recommend this week. In fact, you can find the full list below…

Top Comics to Buy for August 4, 2021

PICK OF THE WEEK
Batman #111
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Jorge Jimenez with Ricardo Lopez Ortiz
Colorist: Tomeu Morey with Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Mayor Nakano announces a crackdown on masked vigilantes just as the Magistrate moves against the Unsanity Collective. Batman attempts to avert a bloodbath, while the Scarecrow makes his final move..."Fear State" is about to begin! Backup: Ghost-Maker faces his most gruesome adversary yet...the horrific Razorline!
Why It’s Cool: Look folks, I certainly didn’t set out to run a comics blog that tells people to go out and buy Batman every week, that title being the number-one selling corporate comic almost always, given an aberration here and there. That said, this run of the flagship superhero title in all of comics continues to solidify itself as a must-read, re-inventing a long-staid character in new interesting ways that speak directly to our tumultuous modern times. It’s not an easy thing to do at all, yet writer James Tynion, artist Jorge Jimenez, and the other creators who work on this run are making it look almost effortless, bringing in a steady stream of new characters (which is way harder to do than one might expect) and pacing individual issues in a way that makes them hard to put down. Plus, the back-up stories have been interesting and additive.
Price: $4.99
More Info: Batman #111

Immortal Hulk #49
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Joe Bennett
Inker: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer:
Publisher: Marvel Comics
This is the gate into the city of suffering. To the hurt that never ends. This gate is for the lost. The gate is a thing of divine power - a thing of forever. But even for the strongest one there is, it bears the warning: ABANDON HOPE, ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE.
Why It’s Cool: It’s always a little bittersweet when an all-time great run wraps up. Sweet because that type of ending tends to pay off a lot of expertly-seeded plot points, but bitter because who wants one of their favorite monthly books to end? That’s certainly the mood we find ourselves in as it pertains to this top-tier run of The Immortal Hulk.
Price: $3.99
More Info: Immortal Hulk #49

Nice House on the Lake #3
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Alvaro Martinez Bueno
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: AndWorld Design
Publisher: DC Comics - Black Label
Walter’s “rules” for their getaway strongly suggested the residents not leave the property lines of the House…but how far do they go? It’s not like Sam, the Reporter, to leave a question like that unanswered…but what he finds when he walks the perimeter of the lake might turn out to be the story of his lifetime-however much longer it lasts!
Why It’s Cool: As I’ve noted more than a few times on this site, The Nice House on the Lake is one of only three series to have scored a perfect 10 on the site so far this year. It did so with its debut issue, but the second (and now third) issue have been almost as good, building out and developing the ideas we liked so much in the debut, specifically by focusing on the varied and interesting cast. The artwork also remains absolutely amazing.
Price: $3.99
More Info: Nice House on the Lake #3

Not All Robots #1
Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: Mike Deodato, Jr.
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Publisher: AWA Studios - Upshot
In the year 2056, robots have replaced human beings in the workforce. An uneasy co-existence develops between the newly intelligent robots and the ten billion humans living on Earth. Every human family is assigned a robot upon whom they are completely reliant. What could possibly go wrong? Meet the Walters, a human family whose robot, Razorball, ominously spends his free time in the garage working on machines which they're pretty sure are designed to kill them in this sci-fi satire from Mark Russell (The Flintstones, Second Coming) and Mike Deodato Jr. (The Amazing Spider-Man,The Resistance).
Why It’s Cool: Writer Mark Russell is one of the best satirical wits in all of comics, and he pairs here with long-time superhero artist, Mike Deodato, Jr. On the surface, this seems like a bit of an odd pairing…but you know what? It works. Russell’s writing is as sharp as ever in this comic, and Deodato does a great job incorporating a few background gags in a way I’ve never seen in his work. Great stuff from all involved.
Price: $3.99
More Info: Not All Robots #1

Wrong Earth: Night and Day #6
Writer: Tom Peyer
Artist: Jamal Igle, with Peter Krause
Inker: Juan Castro
Colorist: Andy Troy, with Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Rob Steen
Publisher: AHOY Comics
Final issue! Having defeated the threat to their Earths, campy Dragonflyman and gritty Dragonfly must try to adjust to a detestable new status quo. Plus: the usual AHOY illustrated prose and extra features!
Why It’s Cool: I’ve written a lot about this book and why I like it, and I’m not going to rehash that this week. I will, however, note that finales can be really hard — sticking the landing and all that — but that this book is very entertaining, giving us a whole lot of plot in a way that gives the creators quite a bit to work with for future Wrong Earth stories.
Price: $3.99
More Info: Wrong Earth - Night and Day #6

Others Receiving Votes

American Vampire 1976 #10
Commanders in Crisis #11
Crush and Lobo #3
The Dreaming: Waking Hours #12
The Good Asian #4
Heavy #7
Hellions #14
Justice League Infinity #2
Justice League #66
The Lot #2
Out of Body #3
Suicide Squad #6
Tankers #3
Wynd #9
X-Men #2

New #1s and One-Shots

Amber Blake: Operation Dragonfly #1
Cicis Journal Vol 1 Abandoned Zoo TP
Deadpool Black, White, and Blood #1
Elvira Meets Vincent Price #1
Extreme Carnage Lasher #1
Golem Walks Among Us #1
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 6 Annual #1
Invader Zim Dookie Loop Horror #1
The Joker Presents a Puzzlebox #1
Lucky Devil #1
Maria Llovets Porcelain #1
The Me You Love in the Dark #1
Passive/Aggressive #1
Snelson #1
Spirits of Vengeance: Spirit Rider #1
Star Wars War Of The Bounty Hunters 4-LOM & Zuckuss #1
Suicide Squad: Get Joker #1
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Best of Casey Jones
Transformers: King Grimlock #1
Trover Saves the Universe #1

Trade Collections and Graphic Novels

Curse Of The Man-Thing TP
Hellions By Zeb Wells Vol 2 TP
Last God HC
Livewire Deluxe Edition HC
Lost on Planet Earth TP
Lucy In The Sky TP
Magician A GN
Queen Of The Ring Wrestling Drawings By Jaime Hernandez HC
Sandman Deluxe Edition Book 3 HC

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.