By Zack Quaintance — This week’s Top Comics to Buy for November 18, 2020 is a fun one for me, because it features some of my favorite things in all of comics. I’m thinking specifically here of a continuation of one of my favorite Vault Comics series, a new Black Hammer miniseries, and a brand-new issue of Ice Cream Man. You read more about why I think all of those things are cool below.

Enjoy!

Top Comics to Buy for November 18, 2020

PICK OF THE WEEK
A Dark Interlude #1
Writer: Ryan O’Sullivan
Artist: Andrea Mutti
Colorist: Vladimir Popov
Letterer: Andworld Design
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
After the stunning success of Fearscape, comes A Dark Interlude, the story of—No! The only offence to literature greater than the loathsome synopsis is the sequel. I will not stand idle while some poor excuse for an editor mangles and confuses my story, which is intact, perfect, and concluded, with this derivative drivel. Mark my words, this nonsense has nothing to do with my tale. I am not in it. I do not condone it. And you, dear reader, should not buy it. -HH
Why It’s Cool: I went into detail about why I like this comic in my full review, but in short, it’s a continuation of one of my all-time favorite books from Vault Comics — Fearscape — and it’s also a move in a new direction within that book’s world, seemingly poised to focus more on the titular Fearscape than on the personal travails of the excellent (and awful!) narrator, Henry Henry. Time will tell if I’m correct on that prediction, and I sure will enjoy finding out.
Buy It Digitally: A Dark Interlude #1

Barbalien: Red Planet #1
Story By: Jeff Lemire and Tate Brombal
Script By: Tate BrombaL
Art By: Gabriel Hernandez Walta
Colors By: Jordie Bellaire
Lettering By: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $3.99
From Jeff Lemires Black Hammer! A groundbreaking new sci-fi action series in the world of the Eisner Award-winning Black Hammer universe, about prejudice, honor, and identity. Mark Markz has found his place on Earth as both a decorated police officer and as the beloved superhero, Barbalien. But in the midst of the AIDS crisis, hatred from all sides makes balancing these identities seem impossible--especially when a Martian enemy from the past hunts him down to take him back, dead or alive. Origin Story for Barbalien. Art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta (New Mutants, X-Men)!
Why It’s Cool: These Black Hammer Universe spinoff series have been uniformly excellent, featuring some of the best artists in comics, and Barbalien: Red Planet #1 is no exception. This book is illustrated by Gabriel Hernandez Walta with colors by Jordie Bellaire, which is one of the best art teams in comics. Pair that with the writing of Tate Brombal, and the result is a story that feels as fantastical and mysterious as the homage-heavy Black Hammer Universe, with perfectly-placed tinges of the personal as well. This is a must-read book for any fan of Black Hammer.
Buy It Digitally: Barbalien - Red Planet #1

Commanders in Crisis #2
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Davide Tinto
Colorist: Francesca Carotenuto
Letterer: Fabio Amelia
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
The Crisis Command, last survivors of the multiverse, are faced with an impossible task: avenging the death...of an idea! DOA is EMPATHY ITSELF, and while empathy withers and dies across the world, Originator uses her abilities to bring the John Doe back for 24 hours to reveal the name of his killer!
Why It’s Cool: In the first issue of this new series, writer Steve Orlando and artist Davide Tinto essentially created a new superhero universe in the space of a single issue. Rarely have I seen such ambitious yet clean world-building in such an abbreviated space. This second issue is a very worthy followup to the first, expanding our understanding of the characters and why they’ve come to be where they are. One thing I think really works in this series favor is that all of the aforementioned world-building is being done in the service of a focused plot. The intent of this book is not to build a world, not exactly. That’s all incidental as the creators unfold a giant plot line. It’s great stuff.
Buy It Digitally: Commanders in Crisis #2

Dark Nights: Death Metal #5
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Greg Capullo
Inker: Jonathan Glapion
Colors: FCO Plascencia
Letter: Tom Napolitano
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
The Darkest Knight has won. With absolute power at the villain’s fingertips, Wonder Woman and the rest of the DC heroes are nothing to him. As the Darkest Knight turns his sights to his true goal, remaking the Multiverse in his image, can Earth’s heroes rally together to make a last stand?
Why It’s Cool: There’s a lot happening in the near future for DC Comics. In its story universe, we’re about to get Future State, a slate of new characters and new ideas brought to life by some of the most exciting characters in comics. Following that, the publisher seems likely to chart another new publication course moving forward. Off the page, the publisher is shrinking its editorial staff and increasingly moving to a distribution system that focuses on digital-first offerings, followed by more substantial trades and anthologies, rather than continuing the monthly single issues that have marked the industry for years. All of that means that the publisher’s current giant superhero event — Dark Nights: Death Metal — stands to be incredibly significant, perhaps as a course-setter for the stories that are to come as well as the last traditional massive linewide event before things change significantly. Either way, I’ve been sitting back and enjoying the ride as they try to pull off something massive with this series.
Buy It Here: Dark Nights - Death Metal #5

Ice Cream Man #21
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
“THE BIG SWEET” A candy-coated detective yarn with a sour center—told in a style that can best be described as “the French word for black,” or “how I like my eggs.”
Why It’s Cool: Ice Cream Man remains one of my absolute favorite books in all of comics, and this is another great issue. There’s two things at work in this series. It’s an anthology about existential fears of relatable human characters; and it’s also a slow-moving story of a fantastical evil. This is one of the rare issues in the series that speaks to both, recontextualizing hints that have been dropped in the margins throughout. Oh, and it’s also a bit of an homage to Watchmen, with colorist Chris O’Hallaron specifically deserving great credit for the way his shades capture the feel of that seminal work.
Buy It Here: Ice Cream Man #21

Others Receiving Votes

• Aquaman #65

• Black Magick #16

• Cable #6

• Catwoman #27

• The Devil’s Red Bride #2

• Die #15

• Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Blood #2

• Hellions #6

• Immortal Hulk #40

• Justice League #57

• Once and Future #13

• Stillwater #3

• Usagi Yojimbo #14

• We Live #2

• X-Force #14

New #1s and One-Shots

• A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night #1

• Avengers Marvel Snapshots #1

• Children of the Grave #1

• Darkness 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition #1

• Frank At Home on the Farm #1

• Marvels Voices: Indigenous Voices #1

• Recount #1

• Sea of Sorrows #1

• Star Trek Voyager: Sevens Reckoning #1

• Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #1

• Widowmakers: Red Guardian and Yelena Belova #1

Graphic Novels and Trades

• Batman by Tom King and Lee Weeks Deluxe Edition HC

• Book Tour GN

• Complete Noir of Manchette and Tardi Streets of Paris Streets of Murder HC

• Flash Year One TP

• I, Rene Tardi Prisoner of War in Stalag 2B Vol. 3 After the War HC

• JLA by Grant Morrison Omnibus HC

• Ludocrats #3

• No One’s Rose Vol. 1 TP

• Paper Girls Deluxe Edition Vol. 3 HC

• Paul at Home GN

• Pirouette 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.