By Zack Quaintance — Hey kids, high-concept sci-fi comics! Of several different varieties!…that’s basically the tagline for this week’s Top Comics to Buy for October 28, 2020, which features the latest chapter of the startlingly accurate dystopian Lazarus, the tournament getting under way in X of Swords, and the new series that everyone is buzzing about — Giga. It’s a great week for complex sci-fi, and a reminder of what comics has to offer (complicated fantastical ideas with quick(er) turnaround time) that other mediums do not.

Enjoy!

Top Comics to Buy for October 28, 2020

PICK OF THE WEEK
Lazarus Risen #5
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Michael Lark
Colorist: Santi Arcas
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $7.99
“FRACTURE II,” Part One The New York Times bestselling team GREG RUCKA & MICHAEL LARK kick off a bloody new chapter in the LAZARUS saga. The Carlyle Family and their allies launch offensives on all fronts to end the Conclave War. For Forever Carlyle, that means keeping a promise. For the Morray Family, it means a visit from…la Lázara. Featuring all-new fiction by ANNIE JULIA WYMAN, artifacts from the firm of TRAUTMANN and HOWE, a never-before-seen entry in the World of Lazarus: Tools of War by RPG designer CRYSTAL FRASIER, and more…
Why It’s Cool: Well, for one - just look at this cover. Amazing. But also, Lazarus has long been one of my favorite series in comics, the type of book that feels so real and grounded…yet is ostensibly about genetically-enhanced immortal assassin’s battling each other with guns and swords for the fate of a planet that has been subjugated by a dozen wealthy families. This issue specifically sees some major developments in the wars between those families as the family dynamics at this arc’s center begin to do what the title suggests…fracture.
Buy It Digitally: Lazarus Risen #5

Bliss #4
Writer: Sean Lewis
Artist: Caitlin Yarsky
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
END OF THE FIRST ARC! Lethe's ravens have descended on Feral City. Benton has heard his son defend him in court and now knows what he must do. It's time to right the past, sacrifice himself, and return to face the Goddess of Oblivion one last time!
Why It’s Cool: There’s just something so poetic and literary to the story that Sean Lewis and Caitlin Yarsky are telling with their standout new creator-owned comic, Bliss. Indeed, it’s a story of the fantastical, but what I think I love about it most (and what takes center stage in this issue) is that more than anything it’s a story of family, of fathers and sons and mothers and even a bit past that…all played out against some truly interesting and creative concepts about the individual within a whole. I never know what’s coming each month in Bliss, but I’m always excited for it to arrive.
Buy It Digitally: Bliss #4

Giga #1
Writer: Alex Paknadel
Artist: John Lê
Colorist: ROSH
Letterer: Aditya Bidika
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
Nobody knows why the skyscraper-sized mechs known as ‘Giga’ fought their bitter, centuries’ long war. All they know is that when the fighting finally stopped, the dormant Giga became humanity’s new habitat and new gods in one. When disgraced engineer Evan Calhoun finds an apparently murdered Giga, his society and the fascistic tech-centered religious order that controls it are rapidly thrown into chaos.
Why It’s Cool: You can read my full advanced review of Giga #1, but here’s what I wrote to sum it up — “From the artwork to the mythos to the setup, Giga #1 is well-done and compelling. It’s a rich debut comic that makes a lot of promises while assuring readers they’re in good hands as they progress on toward coming surprises.” In other words, this is a nigh-perfect debut comic, one that is rapidly accumulating buzz and is basically a consensus must-read at the end of this weird year of 2020. Do it!
Buy It Digitally: Giga #1

Wasted Space #16
Writer: Michael Moreci
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Colorist: Jason Wordie
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
Legion's cosmic origins revealed!
Why It’s Cool: I can’t believe I’m typing this after everything we’ve seen in the first 15 issues of this book (my favorite space opera in all of comics), but artist Hayden Sherman (and colorist Jason Wordie) have really outdone themselves in this month’s issue of Wasted Space, which focuses on the hilariously chaotic deity Legion, specifically on its origin. It looks and reads so good. Also, as if that weren’t enough there’s a framing device that leads into it that contains this line — “Ah, the mighty boner crystals of Globatrob!” That’s just good comics.
Buy It Digitally: Wasted Space #16

X of Swords Stasis #1
Writers: Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard
Artists: Mahmud Asrar and Pepe Larraz
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
X OF SWORDS PART 11. A ritual. A parliament. A game begins.
Why It’s Cool: We are not at the exact halfway point of the X of Swords event, and the swordfighting tournament at the heart of this thing is right about to get underway. It’s all been leading up to this folks! This storyline has been great so far, starting off strong before fading a bit for a series of mostly fetch quests, but the exciting promise of a tournament in which some of our favorite mutants take up swords has really been a great engine for it…and now here we are, at the start of this thing. Expect major plot developments as the sword-slinging (finally!) gets underway.
Buy It Digitally: X of Swords - Stasis #1

Others Receiving Votes

• A Man Among Ye #1

• Action Comics #1026

• Autumnal #2

• Department of Truth #2

• Doctor Doom #8

• Heavy #2

• Immortal Hulk #39

• Killadelphia #9

• Legion of Super-Heroes #10

• Nailbiter Returns #6

• Sex Criminals #69

• Shang-Chi #2

• Tartarus #6

• Undiscovered Country #9

• Wynd #5

New #1s and One-Shots

• Black Widow: Widow’s Sting #1

• Colonel Weird Cosmagog #1

• Dark Nights: Death Metal - Rise of the New God One-Shot

• Electric Black Presents #1

• Last God: Songs of Lost Children One-Shot

• Rick and Morty Ever After #1

• Sympathy For No Devils #1

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Last Ronin #1

Trades and Original Graphic Novels of Note

Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: Who Killed Jimmy Olsen? TP
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Steve Lieber
Colorist: Nathan Fairbairn
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $19.99
Jimmy Olsen must die! Wait, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Jimmy Olsen lives! Superman’s best friend and Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen tours the bizarre underbelly of the DC Universe in this new series featuring death, destruction, giant turtles, and more, combining Silver Age energy with a distinctly modern sensibility! It’s a centuries-spanning whirlwind of weird that starts in Metropolis and ends in Gotham City. Award-winning writer Matt Fraction (Sex Criminals, Hawkeye) makes his DC debut with Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, an irreverent, hijinks-filled journey across the weirdest and wildest corners of the DCU, illustrated by Eisner Award-winning artist Steve Lieber.  Collects Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #1-12.
Why It’s Cool: Quite simply, this is the single best Superman family comic ever, combining a deep love for the characters and mythos with many nods to their history as well as dueling incredibly sharp wits from both writer Matt Fraction and artist Steve Lieber. Frequently heartfelt and always hilarious, few superhero (or superhero adjacent) comics of the past decade have been as strong as this one.
Buy It Digitally: Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen - Who Killed Jimmy Olsen TP

• Absolute Swamp Thing By Alan Moore Vol. 1 HC New Edition

• Absolute Swamp Thing By Alan Moore Vol. 2 HC New Edition

• American Terrorist GN

• Backtrack Vol. 1 TP

• Blue in Green GN

• Captain Ginger Vol. 2 TP

• Contradictions GN

• Daredevil - Man Without Fear Marvel Select HC

• Dog Days TP

• Empyre TP

• Finger Guns Vol. 1 TP

• I Want You GN

• Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus HC Book Market George Perez Cover New Printing

• Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus HC Direct Market Jim Starlin Cover New Printing

• Ironheart Meant to Fly GN

• Nineteen GN

• Odessa GN

• Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band 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.