By Zack Quaintance — As regular readers must have noticed by now, there have been some big changes to the site this week, namely...the name. We are no longer Batman’s Bookcase, moving instead to the less ironic (and, in my opinion, less funny) but far more original content friendly title of Comics Bookcase. As I wrote on Twitter, the main reason for this is that the site has grown bigger than I ever thought it would, covering an increasingly broad range of comics, and I wanted a new name to reflect that.

So, welcome to the first ever weekly Top Comics to Buy here at Comics Bookcase. Fittingly, it’s a broad group of comics this week! X-Men is still dominating the bulk of the comics reading fandom, but past that we have a nice mix of creator-owned and superhero or superhero adjacent properties. They range from a dark take on RPG nostalgia to a series about journalism to a multiversal space romp. Typing all that out, I am once again reminded that...holy hell I love this hobby.

Now, onward to the books!

Top Comics to Buy for

*PICK OF THE WEEK*
House of X #2
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Pepe Larraz
Colorist: Marte Garcia
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
Learn the truth about one of the X-Men's closest allies...and then begin the fight for the future of mutantkind! Superstar writer Jonathan Hickman (AVENGERS, SECRET WARS, FANTASTIC FOUR) continues reshaping the X-Men's world with Marvel Young Gun artist Pepe Larraz (EXTERMINATION, AVENGERS)!
Why It’s Cool: Powers of X #1 was complex and fantastic, an incredible burst of hard sci-fi as filtered through the X-Men. But let’s make no mistake here: House of X is the main event. It’s the book that seems to be detailing and unveiling Jonathan Hickman’s new X-status quo, with its first issue launching 1,000-some odd fan theories. Now, the second issue is here, and we can’t wait to see what new material we have to speculate about once we read it. On top of that, Pepe Larraz is a massive talent on the rise, and another dose of his artwork is a very good thing indeed.

Die #6
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Stephanie Hans
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
NEW STORY ARC! "SPLIT THE PARTY," Part One: Forget escaping Die-half of our heroes can't even escape the remains of shattered Glass Town. Is there any way out? Of course there is. It's just whether or not you can pay the price. Jump aboard the commercial smash series here!
Why It’s Cool: It’s been all X-Men this and X-Men that for a solid two weeks now, but the creator-owned hit Die is almost just as big a spectacle. Okay, so that is patently false. Die is actually a tragic and deeply-introspective comic that plays with ideas of youth made dull by the forces of life and aging. It’s also a gorgeous comic that for reasons I have so far been unable to successfully articulate feels just a bit more episodic in nature than most books these days, which is a quality I really appreciate as a faithful reader of monthly comics.

The Green Lantern #10
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Liam Sharp
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Twelve parallel worlds! Twelve Green Lanterns! And one unstoppable menace! Hal Jordan joins the Green Lanterns of the Multiverse-including Bat-Lantern, Tangent Green Lantern and more-to save a dying Multiverse, defeat the relentless Anti-Man and embark upon their "Quest for the Cosmic Grail"! It's another Morrison/Sharp science fantasy epic!
Why It’s Cool: Basically, because it’s Morrison in the multiverse (always a winning combo). The extra ingredient here is that it’s also being illustrated by Liam Sharp, who is operating at a career-best level on this comic. Seriously, month in and month out, The Green Lantern is one of the best-looking books in all of comics. What Sharp is accomplishing here visually is nothing short of miraculous, ably handling as he does every last complex bit of space weirdness the mad man Morrison throws his way. This is a comic that is not to be missed.

Lois Lane #2
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Mike Perkins
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99
Famed writer and reporter Lois Lane never worries about speaking truth to power-so what's she hiding from the most powerful man on the planet (and her husband), Superman? Investigating a widening international conspiracy, Lois puts herself in the crosshairs with backup from an unlikely new ally from the streets of Gotham City.
Why It’s Cool: The first issue of this new Lois Lane comic was so good that it made us sad this is only a 12-issue maxi-series...and here at Comics Bookcase, we love 12-issue maxi-series! But seriously, this is one smart comic. Rucka is a great writer who often wears his politics on his sleeve in his work, which is an absolutely perfect fit for a series about the world’s greatest journalist. He’s absolutely nailing the depiction of a reporter in 2019, while also weaving in domestic moments with Clark and a subplot with the Rene Montoya Question. There’s not much else we could ask for from this title, truth be told. It’s that good.

No One Left to Fight #2
Writer: Aubrey Sitterson
Artist: Fico Ossio
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $3.99
The comic you always wanted continues with "The Severe Tutelage of Mistress Harga!" Mastermind creators Aubrey Sitterson (The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling, G.I. Joe) & Fico Ossio (Spider-Man, Revolution) continue to explore their ambitious, fully realized world, carrying on the grand tradition of other Dark Horse creator owned universes like Hellboy, Sin City, and Black Hammer.
Why It’s Cool: It’s a young comic, but so far in 2019, No One Left to Fight has been one of the industry’s best surprises, an impeccably-illustrated book that essentially takes properties like Dragon Ball Z and tells a story about the domestic years that follow the advent of a massive fight. That’s a clever concept, and it’s one that this creative has given their all too, expertly rendering the dramatic relationships between characters in just as much creative detail as they are the sporadic moments where action threatens to breakout. It all adds up to one of the best relationship dramas in all of comics.

New #1s and One-Shots

• Absolute Carnage #1

• Agents of Atlas #1

• Archie the Married Life: 10th Anniversary #1

• Berserker Unbound #1

• Coffin Bound #1

• Comic for Flint: Hope One-Shot

• Dead End Kids #1

• Death-Defying Devil #1

• Future Foundation #1

• Over the Garden Wall: Soulful Symphonies #1

• Sensational Spider-Man: Self Improvement #1

• Sinestro: Year of the Villain #1

Others Receiving Votes

• Babyteeth #15

• Batman #76

• Birthright #38

• Crowded #8

• Daredevil #9

• DCeased #4

• Deathstroke #46

• Descendent #4

• Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #2

• Giant Days #53

• Immortal Hulk #22

• Justice League #29

• Postal: Deliverance #2

• Space Bandits #2

• Thumbs #3

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.