By Zack Quaintance — What a weekend. I spent it at WonderCon down in Anaheim (I’m a NorCal resident), soaking in my first show of the new con season. I’m a big fan of WonderCon, which is well organized but far more casual than San Diego, which is organized by the folks and is, in effect, this one’s big brother. You also end walking by folks on their way to Disney a bunch, which is a whole other thing unto itself.

Anyway! I had a blast at WonderCon and was reminded how much fun it is to see the comicbook-lovers community in person, rather than as little icons on the screen putting out a line here or there about what they like (or, perhaps more often, don’t like) via Twitter. The result is this Top Comics to Buy for April 3, 2019 post being very late, but also feeling to me like a little bit of rejuvenation. My whole goal with this site is to have some fun sharing what I like about comics and helping others express that too. I’m ready to get back to it with a renewed spirit.

Let’s check out the comics!

Top Comics to Buy for April 3, 2019

*PICK OF THE WEEK*
The Green Lantern #6
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Liam Sharp
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Hal Jordan's final initiation test to join the Blackstars? Kill Adam Strange! In this issue, Controller Mu and his Blackstar goon squad have invaded and occupied the planet Rann, and its protector is at their mercy! When planet after planet has fallen to the Blackstars-and these monsters are at Rann's gate-does the galaxy have any hope to survive?
Why It’s Cool: As predicted, this new run of Green Lantern is shaping up to be an all-time great run, with Morrison and Sharp having magical comics alchemy right from their earliest issues. They’ve said they’d like to do two years worth of these comics, which makes this the 1/4 complete mark...and what a memorable one it is. This looks to be a tense and compelling story with tons of secrets (my favorite plot device in comics) as well as some telegraphed twists. All of it, as usual, will be illustrated by Sharp, who’s doing career work of late both in terms of imagination and detailed execution. This is, quite simply, a MUST READ comic.

Die #5
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Stephanie Hans
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
END OF STORY ARC "FANTASY HEARTBREAKER," Conclusion
It was never going to be okay. Wait, wrong book.
Why It’s Cool: Die is one of the most emotionally complex books on the shelves right now, with every issue taking a different approach to both deconstructing the fantasy RPG nostalgia genre as well as the poorly-aged adult relationships between a group of long-time friends. This marks the end of the first incredible arc, and the stakes are very very high here. Just make sure you’re ready for the hurt, because this book is not interested in going easy on its characters or readers, in the best possible way, of course.

Immortal Hulk #16
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Joe Bennett
Inker: Ruy Jose
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99
Once upon a time, Rick Jones was the Hulk's best friend. Now Rick Jones is dead...and gone. To learn why, Bruce Banner will have to face roaming gamma experiments, an assassin out for his blood......and the one thing that can cage the IMMORTAL HULK.
Why It’s Cool: In terms of scope, craft, and ambition within modern superhero comics, Immortal Hulk is perhaps in a lofty place all alone (with the possible exception of The Green Lantern). As I’ve found myself saying over and over and over and over throughout the course of 16 issues now, it’s staggering to me that this comic is still finding new ways to get even better. Part of this has been the patience with which Ewing, Bennett, Jose, Mounts, and Petit have made use of the Hulk’s supporting cast, doling them out at a trickle as it extrapolates its dark core conceit to the people who have meant the most throughout Bruce Banner’s life (lives?). It’s complex and compelling as all hell, and now Rick Jones gets the treatment, the same Rick Jones who has been part of the Hulk mythology right from its very start.

Self/Made #5
Writer: Mathew Groom
Artist: Eduardo Ferigato
Colorist: Marcelo Costa
Color Flats: Mariana Calil
Letterer: A Larger World Studios’ Troy Peteri
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
"LEAP OF FAITH" Deep in the forests of Brazil, Amala is on the cusp of exposing a shocking secret about the nature of reality. But the final step is the hardest... and it will cost her everything she holds dear.
Why It’s Cool: Speaking of comics that just keep getting better and better and better, next we have the most recent issue of Self/Made, an unexpected and high-minded story that has to do with religion, capitalism, and transcendence. In this fifth issue, the creators take us to a natural extension of some of the themes that have been within in this one from the very start, and the result is an ending that left my absolutely riveted as to what the next issue will bring.

Young Justice #4
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Patrick Gleason & John Timms
Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez & Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
This all-new, in-continuity Wonder Comics sensation explodes as all the secrets of these heroes-Robin, Superboy, Wonder Girl, Jinny Hex, Teen Lantern, Amethyst and Impulse-are revealed! Young Justice forms once again-just in time to battle the great Dark Opal and stop his plans for an invasion of Earth that could destroy humanity. It's a big, bold new chapter into the future of the DC Universe!
Why It’s Cool: Young Justice has been an absolute delight from its start, launching with a rapidfire issue that made us remember everything we’ve loved about these characters and this team, before slowing things down a bit and getting into what it’s characters have been up to one-by-one. In this issue, Amethyst gets the bulk of the spotlight. The result is a story with an almost effortlessly cool amount of world-building to it. The tease says it’s a big bold chapter into the future of the DC Universe, and I, for one, am very excited.

Others Receiving Votes

Age of X-Man: Prisoner X #2
Amazing Spider-Man #18
Captain America #9
Dead Kings #4
Deathstroke #42
The Dreaming #8
Eclipse #14
Giant Days #49
Justice League #21
The Lodger #4
Paper Girls #27
Red Sonja #3
Redlands #12
Uncanny X-Men #16
Vindication #3

Check back to the site later this week for reviews of Section Zero #1 and War of the Realms #1, plus a run-down of the past month of Age of X-Man!

See our past top comics to buy here, and check our 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 asBatmansBookcase.

Top Comics to Buy for April 3, 2019: The Green Lantern #6, Die #5, and more

Top Comics to Buy for April 3, 2019

Top New #1 Comics and One-Shots

Others Receiving Votes