By Zack Quaintance — Today marks the site’s (improbable!) third anniversary. We’ve somehow kept going now for three years, always (very gradually) expanding, to reach this point. Over that time, I’ve written quite a few of these Top Comics to Buy posts, and while looking back, I can say week’s like this one are among my favorites — moderately small weeks in which a number of striking, singular books hit stores.

Let’s check out the list!

Top Comics to Buy for December 9, 2020

PICK OF THE WEEK
Home Sick Pilots #1
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Casper Wijngaard
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Designer: Tom Mueller
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
The team behind LIMBO, DAN WATTERS (Lucifer, COFFIN BOUND) and CASPAR WIJNGAARD (Star Wars, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt), launch a brand-new ONGOING SERIES. In the summer of 1994, a haunted house walks across California. Inside is Ami, lead singer of a high school punk band—who’s been missing for weeks. How did she get there, and what do these ghosts want? Expect three-chord songs and big bloody action that’s Power Rangers meets The Shining (yes, really).
Why It’s Cool: The creative chops on this team is impeccable — their past collaboration, Limbo — leaves little doubt about that, and now they’re back with a new ongoing series set in the mid-90s, which is an era that speaks very personally to me and probably the majority of folks who will pick up this one (although not all, obviously). This is a story about punk rock, coming of age, and really mysterious paranormal activity — and it’s all executed to near-perfection.
Buy It Here: Home Sick Pilots #1

Batman Black and White (2020) #1
Writers: Paul Dini, Emma Rios, James Tynion IV, JH Williams III, G. Willow Wilson
Artists: Max Fiumara, Andy Kubert, Tradd Moore, Emma Rios, Greg Smallwood
Letterers: Clayton Cowles, Todd Klein, Clem Robins, Steve Wands, Rob Leigh
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $5.99
The iconic anthology series returns with a brand-new slate of comics’ most exciting and innovative storytellers to explore the Batman mythos in stark black-and-white!
In this debut issue:
• James Tynion IV and Tradd Moore explore the world of Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Assassins
• J.H. Williams III returns to DC Comics for a trip through the Dark Knight’s history
• Emma Rios explores the eternal struggle of the Dark Knight
• Paul Dini and Andy Kubert pit Batman against an infestation of ninja Man-Bats in the Batcave
• G. Willow Wilson and Greg Smallwood portray Batman in his strangest standoff ever with Killer Croc
With a lineup this strong and a cover by legendary Batman artist Greg Capullo, you won’t want to miss the start of this tremendous collection of Batman tales by some of comics’ top creators!
Why It’s Cool: I mean, look at the creative team. It’s absurd. I know this is a brief explainer, but that’s really all there is to it.
Buy It Here: Batman Black and White (2020) #1

Lonely Receiver #4
Writer: Zac Thompson
Artist: Jen Hickman
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Publisher: AfterShock Comics
Price: $3.99
A horrific breakup story in five parts.
Catrin is truly alone and descending into madness. Lost with her thoughts, she finds herself reeling, falling deeper in love with her phone. But it refuses to love her back. So she gives her-self to it and becomes one with the machine landscape.
Reeling backward / and I'm changing //
// Not myself / I evolve / spinning into the green above
/ Descending deep / I'm alone / spiraling into others /
/ Until I meet // the one I love.
Why It’s Cool: You’ll see later this month, but Lonely Receiver is collectively one of the site’s favorite comics of the year. As the solicit text this week points out, this is a horrific breakup story, one that is artfully played out with smart use of sci-fi genre trappings extrapolated from the psychological pitfalls we’ve all stumbled into during the rapid tech acceleration of the past 10 years. This book is not always easy to read, but if you love immersive and deeply personal comics that raise intelligent questions, you simply must be reading this book.
Buy It Here: Lonely Receiver #4

Penultiman #3
Writer: Tom Peyer
Artist: Alan Robinson
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Rob Steen
Publisher: AHOY Comics
Price: $3.99
Penultiman seeks a way out of his emotional spiral by reading a self-help book about positivity, then starts acting like a jerk in public. His android understudy, Antepenultiman, ruins Penultiman's secret identity. Plus the usual AHOY extra prose stories and illustrations!
Why It’s Cool: At some point while reading this comic — which as our reviewer pointed out after #1 is ostensibly about a “sad sack Superman” — I thought to myself, damn it, I have never related to a superhero more than this one. That is to say, that this superhero — which is brought to life by the usual sci-fi premise of powers and duty — is one with relatable problems. He’s a guy who dabbles in self-help, underachieves, and just can’t seem to keep his troubles separate from his outer life. I absolutely love this comic, and each new issue continues to be a (very mopey) treat.
Buy It Here: Penultiman #3

S.W.O.R.D. #1
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Valerio Schiti
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MUTANTKIND! The Mutant nation of Krakoa has quickly become a major force on the world stage... but why stop there? Krakoa has relaunched the Sentient World Observation & Response Directorate—a fully independent organization dealing with all things extra-terrestrial on behalf of all of Earth. Al Ewing and Valerio Schitti, the team behind EMPYRE, bring us the tale of Mutantkind looking to do for the galaxy what Krakoa did for the planet.
Why It’s Cool: For starters, it’s part of Marvel’s line of X-Men comics, which remains the most exciting thing to happen with such a well-tread corporate superhero property in years. Second, it’s brought to us by writer Al Ewing, who is responsibly for one of the other very exciting superhero things to happen in years, Immortal Hulk. Ewing doing anything with mutants is enough, but add to that artist Valerio Schiti, and — boy howdy, now we’re talking.
Buy It Here: S.W.O.R.D. #1

Others Receiving Votes

American Vampire 1976 #3
Devil’s Red Bride #3
Disaster Inc #5
Getting It Together #3
Giga #2
Marauders #16
Terminal Punks #2
Usagi Yojimbo #15

New #1s and One-Shots

Byte-Sized #1
Comic Book History of Animation #1
Dark Nights - Death Metal - Last Stories of the DC Universe One-Shot
DC’s Very Merry Multiverse One-Shot
Heroes at Home One-Shot
King in Black: Namor #1
Locke and Key: Sandman Hell and Gone #0
Piecemeal Prestige One-Shot
Postal Night Shift One-Shot
Red Sonja: Price of Blood #1
Tales From the Dark Multiverse: Flashpoint One-Shot
Vampirella: Dark Powers #1

Trade Collections and Graphic Novels

Adventureman Vol. 1 The End And Everything After HC
Giant-Size X-Men by Jonathan Hickman TP
Judge Dredd: Control TP
Kill Lock TP
King of Nowhere TP
Okay, Universe: Chronicles of a Woman in Politics GN
Poppy’s Inferno HC
Superman vs. Wonder Woman: Tabloid Edition 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.