By Zack Quaintance — Ah, a fifth Wednesday of the month, a weird Wednesday in which releases tend to be less in volume. The fifth Wednesday often also sees publishers putting out a grabbag of releases that maybe don’t fit neatly on other weeks. This isn’t the case with all our picks this week — see those from Image — but there’s still a feeling of a different kind of Wednesday. And you can find our Top Comics to Buy for September 30, 2020 within that below.

Enjoy!

Top Comics to Buy for September 30, 2020

PICK OF THE WEEK
The Department of Truth #1
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Martin Simmonds
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
Cole Turner has studied conspiracy theories all his life, but he isn’t prepared for what happens when he discovers that all of them are true, from the JFK assassination to flat Earth theory and reptilian shapeshifters. One organization has been covering them up for generations. What is the deep, dark secret behind the Department of Truth?
Why It’s Cool: Everyone and their sister on comics Twitter has been talking for a few weeks now about how great The Department of Truth #1 is, and you know what? The hype is real. I tore through this first issue and could not put it down. This has everything you want from a new comic series: a high-concept, an engaging rate-of-reveal, precise pacing, and a massive intriguing cliffhanger at the end. Also, I thought I’d seen every possible way for comics stories to digest the political forces at work in 2020…but no! This one has a new take on the conspiracy theory culture that has become a big part of our current moment. Put simply, don’t miss this book.
Buy It Digitally: Department of Truth #1

Dark Nights: Death Metal - Multiverse’s End #1
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Juan Gedeon
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $5.99
Perpetua, mother of all existence, has culled all life and creation in the Multiverse, condensing all beings to one planet: Earth-Prime. In her quest for power and dominance, she rules absolutely and in totality, using her children-the Monitors and Anti-Monitors-as her heralds and destructors. But a group of heroes has banded together across multiple worlds in a last-ditch effort to stop her from destroying all of existence: Owlman, President Superman, Iris West, Captain Carrot, Guy Gardner, and others have chosen to make their final stand in a battle they're destined to lose!
Why It’s Cool: The tie-in books for DC’s big 2020 event Dark Nights: Death Metal have been consistently exceeding my expectations, and this week’s Dark Nights: Death Metal - Multiverse’s End #1 is no exception. This is a book that serves as a fun, Easter Egg-laden reminder of crisises past for long-time DC Comics fans, and an orienting bit of education for readers who came aboard from the New 52 on. It’s also just a lot of fun, armed as it is with bombastic art by Juan Gedeon with Mike Spicer colors.
Buy It Digitally: Dark Nights: Death Metal - Multiverse’s End #1

The Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place #1
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Mike Del Mundo
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
TWO OF COMICS’ MOST IMAGINATIVE TALENTS UNITE FOR A HULK TALE LIKE NONE OTHER! There’s a monster raging in America’s heartland – and it’s not the Hulk. When a young girl goes missing on a Kansas farm, Bruce Banner gets the itch – the one that tells him gamma is on the loose. But this town doesn’t take kindly to strangers – especially the big, green, violent kind. Can the Hulk save a child before it’s too late, or is he about to take the blame for another massacre?
Why It’s Cool: The Immortal Hulk — which is the best ongoing series in all of superhero comics — has not had an excessive amount of tie-ins in the course of its 37-issue run, but the tie-ins it has had have all been roundly excellent, leaning into great creators outside of the usual team while remaining in keeping with the excellent questions and tone of the main title. This week’s The Immortal Hulk: The Thrashing Place from writer Jeff Lemire and artist MIke Del Mundo stands to be another great addition to this run.
Buy It Digitally: The Immortal Hulk - The Thrashing Place #1

That Texas Blood #4
Writer: Chris Condon
Artist: Jacob Phillips
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
“A BROTHER’S CONSCIENCE,” Part Three
Randy suppresses dark urges while Joe Bob investigates the death of Travis Terrill.
Why It’s Cool: That Texas Blood remains one one of the best and most mysterious stories happening in indie comics this year, combining elements of noir, crime stories, and just a touch of the supernatural with an austere, West Texas, Cormac McCarthy-esque tone that’s just perfect for the Texas setting. Oh, and have you seen this cover? It’s fantastic. What I like most about this series is that it really feels singular within comics at the moment, and I’d recommend it to anyone with even a little bit of interest in the concept. The creative team is also strong and on the rise, and I look forward to reading both of their work within the industry for many years to come.
Buy It Digitally: That Texas Blood #4

X-Ray Robot #2
Story and Art: Mile Allred
Colors: Laura Allred
Lettering: Nate Piekos
Publisher: X-Ray Robot #2
Price: $3.99
After meeting his robotic 277-year-old self, Max learns about the incoming threat of the Ultimate Nihilist, a villain determined to take all life to its ''Pre-Big Bang'' status, leading Max and the robot to travel through different timelines to protect reality and mankind. ''One of the best cartoonists in all of comics has done it again! X-Ray Robot is another Allred homerun!!''–Brian Michael Bendis
Why It’s Cool: It has been many many years since writer/artist Mike Allred has made a comic that I have not bought, and X-Ray Robot is no exception. This is a gleefully-convoluted sci-fi romp brought to life with Mike and Laura Allred’s gleaming pop art aesthetic.
Buy It Here: X-Ray Robot #2

Others Receiving Votes

• Alienated #6

• Artemis and the Assassin #5

• Ascender #13

• Avengers #36

• Goon #12

• John Constantine Hellblazer #10

• Killadelphia #8

• Ludocrats #5

• Legion of Super-Heroes #9

• Wonder Woman #763

• Year Zero #5

New #1s and One-Shots

• Batman Superman Annual #1

• Batman Joker War Warzone One-Shot

• Giant Size X-Men Tribute to Len Wein and Dave Cockrum

• Goosebumps: Secrets of the Swamp #1

• Mtsyry Octobriana 1976 One-Shot

• Shang-Chi #1

• Stranger Things: Science Camp #1

• Wonder Woman 1984 One-Shot

Original Graphic Novels and Trade Collections of Note

PICK OF THE WEEK
The Low Low Woods HC
Writer: Carmen Maria Machado
Artist: DaNi
Publisher: DC Comics - Hill House
Shudder-To-Think, Pennsylvania, has been on fire for years. The coal mines beneath it are long since abandoned. The woods are full of rabbits with human eyes, a deer woman who stalks hungry girls, and swaths of skinless men. And the people in Shudder-to-Think? Well, they’re not doing so well either.
When El and Octavia wake up in a movie theater with no memory of the last few hours of their lives, the two teenage dirtbags begin a surreal and terrifying journey to discover the truth about the strange town that they call home. Like so many women in Shudder-to-Think before them, all they have is a void where the truth once was. But as time passes, El finds herself needing to know more about what has happened, while Octavia wants nothing more than to forget the forgetting. Can these two teens reconcile their differences before the horrible things lurking beneath their town emerge and swallow them whole? Collects The Low, Low Woods #1-6.
Why It’s Cool: I’ve enjoyed the entire DC Comics Hill House horror imprint, almost down to the last book. Within that, however, my standout favorite was Low Low Woods, by the excellent literary writer Carmen Maria Machado and the comics artist visionary DaNi. The duo combined to turn out a horror concept I’m not sure I’ve ever seen done in any medium, and that’s something really special in today’s horror-laden 2020 landscape.
Buy It Digitally: Low Low Woods HC

• Comic Book Story of Basketball GN

• Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky Vol. 4 End of Hell TP

• Ditko Is Strange King-Size HC

• Gunning for Ramirez, Vol. 1 TP

• Heartbeat TP

• John Constantine Hellblazer Vol. 1 Marks of Woe TP

• Monstress Vol. 5 Warchild TP

• Olympia TP

• Tartarus Vol. 1 TP

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.