By Zack Quaintance — The great new #1 issues just keep coming this month, and — here’s my favorite part — the vast majority of creator-owned. During the first two Wednesdays alone, we got excellent new books such as Undiscovered Country #1, Black Stars Above #1, Family Tree #1, Folklords #1, and Heist or How to Steal a Planet #1. That is..a lot of excellent and original new books.

And you know what? This week it just keeps going. I’m glad to report here that both Heart Attack #1 and Olympia #1 are fantastic, just making this list longer. Anyway, those are all new #1 comics, and this list tends to shy away from recommending those (largely because everyone reviews #1 comics and they tend to sell well regardless. As we’re about to get into, the mid-run stuff this week is strong too, with two of my favorite series in comics (both of which start with the letter i) making this week’s list.

Let’s check it out!

Top Comics to Buy for November 20, 2019

*PICK OF THE WEEK*
Ice Cream Man #16
Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martin Morazzo
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
END OF STORY ARC
"TINY LIVES"
Whatever you do, do NOT read your daughter's diary.
Why It’s Cool: This is far (far) from the first time I’ve written this on this website, but Ice Cream Man is one of the best things happening in monthly comics (and has been for some time). Issues like this are a masterclass in how to tell an engaging, character-driven, and searingly-honest stories. This particular issue stands alone as well as any in the series to date, and seems (as so many Ice Cream Man issues do) to have fallen fully-formed from the minds of its creators, so polished and neat is it. In the end, however, what I have loved about this book from the start (and continue to love) is how its interest and themes raise more questions about the way we live, act, feel and think than answers. There’s a real sense in these comics of empathetic artists navigating and learning about the world, inviting the readers along with them as they go. What else could we ask for, really?

Canto #6
Writer: David M. Booher
Artist: Drew Zucker
Colorist: Vittorio Astone
Letterer: Deron Bennett
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Price: $3.99
The blockbuster finale to Canto's first epic quest is here and... there's no place like home! Atop the Emerald Tower, Canto faces the Shrouded Man to demand his beloved's heart. Having finally made it to the end of his journey, will Canto learn the truth behind his people's captivity? Can he battle the Shrouded Man... and survive to return home to tell the tale?
Why It’s Cool: This has really just been everything that our committee (of one) looks for in fantasy comics. The art has been imaginative yet familiar within the genre, as has the plotting and character motivations. The main quality this story (of which this issue is the finale...for now) has to offer, however, is a powerful amount of idealism, optimism, and hope. After years and years of fantasy stories listing toward darkness (call it the Game of Thrones effect) the pendulum seems to now be swinging back the other way, at least in comics, where we’ve gotten this book as well as some other recent sunny entries, thinking specifically here of Folklords. Anyway, if you’ve enjoyed this story to date (as much as we have!), you are all but guaranteed to also love this finale. Enjoy!

Immortal Hulk #27
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Joe Bennett
Inker: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
• Some monsters are born from gamma... other monsters worship a different kind of green.
• In his war on the human world, the Immortal Hulk is taking the fight to its lords and masters - the Roxxon Corporation.
• But when you mess with THE MINOTAUR... you get the horns.
Why It’s Cool: For the second consecutive year, Immortal Hulk has stood out as the absolute best of the superhero comics on the market. It’s almost even more impressive in this second year, given that the first year was powered in part by a new vision for the classic character. This second year has methodically built and built and built, continuing to improbably top itself in thrilling and surprising ways. Immortal Hulk #25 is a great example of this, giving the book an elemental, ethereal side that has lingered with our committee (of one) even as we’ve returned to more straightforward action. But we can unreservedly recommend this 27th issue of Immortal Hulk, because we have 26 past examples of issues that have been even better than the one that came before.

Mask: I Pledge Allegiance to the Mask #2
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artist: Patric Reynolds
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Nate Piekos
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $3.99
The bestselling comic series that inspired the blockbuster film returns with gruesome hilarity from the showrunner of AMC's Halt and Catch Fire and Hellboy's Patric Reynolds.
Empowered by an ancient mask, the "Big Head" killer's swath of mayhem cuts through Edge City, this time with presidential hopefuls as his targets. And after taking out the competition, Big Head himself makes a shocking announcement.
Why It’s Cool: This is yet another excellent title written by Christopher Cantwell (and made possible by the stellar artwork of Patric Reynolds, who has a background in TV. Cantwell first came to comics by writing for Karen Berger’s Dark Horse imprint, Berger Books, and has now branched out to a pair of long-standing characters, one of which is Doctor Doom for Marvel (a series that has also been excellent, btw), and the other of which is The Mask. I did not expect a new take on The Mask to be one of the most fearless and smart political commentaries of 2019, but here we all are the same. Through two issues, Cantwell and Reynolds (and colorist Lee Loughridge and letterer Nate Piekos) are doing an incredible job making a comic that pulls from the established history of a rich (and somewhat forgotten at times) character to tell a story that at once feels true to that history but built for our modern times. This comic is also oddly satisfying different parts of my attitude toward 2019 politics — the first being the part that wants to scream about how alternately absurd and terrifying this is, and the second being the part that wants nothing to do with politics all together. It’s impressive work, and it deserves a sizable audience.

Money Shot #2
Writer: Tim Seely & Sarah Beattie
Artist: Rebekah Isaacs
Colorist: Kurt Michael Russell
Letterer: Crank!
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
The intrepid XXX-plorers are held prisoner by a Warlord on the planet Dry Reef! Can this crew of lovers-not-fighters survive the arena long enough to find their prize-a love guru whose orgasms are powerful enough to split the atom?
Why It’s Cool: Speaking of impressive work with a lot to say about our times, next on our list is Money Shot #2. I wrote about this in my review of this series’ debut issue, but I had this book all wrong. I assumed it’s central concern would be about sex, societal attitudes toward it, etc. There are ideas related to that in here, to be sure, but what this comic is more concerned with is the relationship/tension between capitalism and true scientific discovery/invention. I’m so glad to report that that idea is an even stronger focus in this second issue, which really shows us some actual tangible inventions and discoveries that our intrepid band of porn-making scientists have come upon (sorry!) while doing their work. Aside from that, this book is just so well-written and illustrated. We’re just two issues in, but it’s decidedly a must-read.

New #1s and One-Shots

2099 Alpha One-Shot
Absolute Carnage Captain Marvel #1
Annihilation Scourge Alpha #1
Archie and Friends Travel #1
Batman White Knight Von Freeze #1
Big Hero 6: The Series #1
Deadpool #1
Disney Frozen True Treasure #1
Fantastic Four 2099 One-Shot
GLOW Vs. The Babyface #1
Hazel and Cha Cha Save Christmas, Umbrella Academy One-Shot
He-Man Masters of the Multiverse #1
Heart Attack #1
Heartbeat #1
Infected Scarab #1
Olympia #1
Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage #1
Rai #1

Others Receiving Votes

Aquaman #54
Avengers #26
Cult Classic: Creature Feature #2
Eve Stranger #4
Excalibur #2
Justice League #36
King Thor #3
Marauders #2
Once and Future #4
Outer Darkness #12
SFSX (Safe Sex) #3
Something is Killing the Children #3
Steeple #3
Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #5
Vampirella #5

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.