By Zack Quaintance — The Top Comics to Buy for January 13, 2021, was a tough list for me to narrow down. It was one of those weeks where the problem was that there were far more than five books I badly wanted to feature. I think I toyed with a dozen different combinations of comics to have on here, with it being really painful to leave out some of the new Future State comics, the four killer releases from Vault, and more.

But! I forced myself to make the tough decisions, and here we are…enjoy!

Top Comics to Buy for January 13, 2021

PICK OF THE WEEK
Haha #1
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Vanesa R. Del Rey
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Publisher: Image Comics
ICE CREAM MAN writer W. MAXWELL PRINCE brings his signature style of one-shot storytelling to the world of clowns—and he’s invited SOME OF THE COMIC INDUSTRY’S BEST ARTISTS to join him for the ride.
HAHA is a genre-jumping, throat-lumping look at the sad, scary, hilarious life of those who get paid to play the fool—but these ain’t your typical jokers.
With issues drawn by VANESA DEL REY (REDLANDS), GABRIEL WALTA (Vision), ROGER LANGRIDGE (Thor), and more, HAHA peeks under the big top, over the rainbow, and even inside a balloon to tell a wide-ranging slew of stories about “funny” men and women, proving that some things are so sad you just have to laugh.
Why It’s Cool: We have a full review coming later this week, but just know that if you like writer W. Maxwell Prince’s other anthology series — Ice Cream Man — you will almost certainly love this one too. The storytelling sensibility is similar; it just trades out horror touches for a more liberated approach to the big questions inside.
Price: $3.99
Buy It Digitally: Haha #1

Commanders in Crisis #4
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Davide Tinto
Colorist: Francesca Carotenuto
Letterer: Fabio Amelia
Publisher: Image Comics
As the Crisis Command faces off with Empathy's assassin, the deep conspiracy behind the murder steps out of shadows. It won't be enough just to avenge Empathy's death: to save the world, the Crisis Command will have to RESURRECT AN IDEA! The first wild arc concludes with a bang!
Why It’s Cool: I love when really cool and ambitious new superhero concepts take a moment to slow down and examine their new character backstories. This was definitely the point that Copra became one of my favorite superhero things (somewhere during Round 3), and now we see it here in Commanders and Crisis #4, which for my money is the best issue of this series since it launched, and it’s also one that makes me somehow even more excited for the next 2/3 of what has been a refreshing revelation of a superhero comic book story, free as it is from any corporate comics restraints.
Price: $3.99
Read It Digitally: Commanders in Crisis #4

Home Sick Pilots #2
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Caspar Wijngaard
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Designer: Tom Mueller
Publisher: Image Comics
The Old James House has lost its ghosts. With her new powers, it’s up to Ami to bring them back…whether they want to come home or not. Even when they’re really big ghosts wrapped in metal, with lots of sharp edges and things.
Why It’s Cool: Home Sick Pilots #1 was just such a wonderfully-stylish mash-up of teen ghost story comics and punk rock. You could tell that this creative team has a real love for both horror stories and punk music, via the care with which the dual aesthetics came through. This second issue is more of the same in the best way, and it also doles out new opportunities for artist Caspar Wijngaard to show off his ample design talents. Don’t miss this.
Price: $3.99
Read It Digitally: Home Sick Pilots #2

Lonely Receiver #5
Writer: Zac Thompson
Artist: Jen Hickman
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Publisher: AfterShock Comics
A horrific breakup story in five parts.
You have mated with it and found salvation. You watch as a life plays out that seems like it
belongs to someone else. But you’re sure it belongs to you.
Now you / see what you used to be / itself
You love and change when moving wildly toward darkness.
Enter the Leviathan / as it too / enters you
Now see / you spend a life finding / yourself.
Why It’s Cool: Come say goodbye to one of the truly unique concepts to grace comics in recent years — a break-up story with touches of tech fears and gruesome pastel-neon body horror imagery. This is truly a singular book, not to be missed, and this finale absolutely sticks the landing.
Price: $3.99
Read It Digitally: Lonely Receiver #5

Penultiman #4
Writer: Tom Peyer
Artist: Alan Robinson
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Rob Steen
Publisher: AHOY Comics
Early retirement torments Penultiman - but he just might have found the right motivational speaker to dig him out of his rut! (SPOILER: It's the wrong motivational speaker!) Meanwhile, Penultiman's android assistant, Antepenultiman, builds an artificial sidekick of its own! Also: bonus illustrated prose stories!
Why It’s Cool: No publisher does superhero satire better than AHOY Comics, and Penultiman is yet another book to bolster that title. This series essentially follows a sad sack Superman, a hero from the future where the ultimate man has been developed. This hero, however, is the second to last version of man, the penultiman, and as such he’s got too many hangups to count. Throughout all four issues so far, our protagonist has moped through his life of secret identities and fighting crime, reading self-help books and second-guessing his entire existence in painfully relatable ways. It’s great stuff.
Price: $3.99
Read It Digitally: Penultiman #4

Others Receiving Votes

A Man Among Ye #4
American Vampire 1976 #4
Autumnal #4
Bleed Them Dry #6
Heavy #4
Immortal Hulk #42
Marauders #17
Red Atlantis #3
Red Mother #12
Seven Secrets #6
S.W.O.R.D. #2

New #1s and One-Shots

Chris Claremont Anniversary Special One-Shot
Future State: Dark Detective #1
Future State: Green Lantern #1
Future State: Justice League #1
Future State: Kara Zor-El Superwoman #1
Future State: Robin Eternal #1
Future State: Superman Wonder Woman #1
Future State: Teen Titans #1
King in Black: Gwenom vs. Carnage #1
King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes #1
King in Black: Thunderbolts #1
Mann’s World #1
Red Sonja: The Superpowers #1
Serial #1
Space Bastards #1

Graphic Novels and Trade Collections of Note

47 Ronin TP
100 Bullets Omnibus Vol 1 HC
That Texas Blood Vol. 1 TP
Xed Vol. 1 TP
X-Ray Robot 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.