This week’s Top Comics to Buy for June 19 features not one but three comics (mostly) about bad guys, or at least guys who aren’t traditionally admirable. From another great issue of Hellblazer to Destro anchoring the newest Energon Universe mini, there’s some bad dudes in the comics this week…and it makes things interesting. You can find my five recommendations below along with the usual lists … enjoy!
Top Comics to Buy for June 19
Briar #6
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artist: Alex Lins
Colorist: Luis NCT with Mar Silvestre
Letterer: AndWorld Design
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
In the wake of tragic devastation, Briar, Spider, and company wrestle with guilt as cold and bleak as the snow-coated mountains they make their way through.
Plagued by potential madness, fear of Briar’s origins and connections to their enemy, and magic gone awry, the party will find themselves in even more danger soon enough…
Why It’s Cool: This second arc of Briar has brought on artist Alex Lins and is really firing on all cylinders out of the gate, telling a new story that looks great. An easy choice for this week’s comics to buy for June 19, this remains one of the most interesting fantasy comics as it heads toward its conclusion in issue #8.
Price: $3.99
Destro #1
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Andrei Bressan
Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Publisher: Image Comics – Skybound
The next chapter of The Cobra Threat threat begins here! James McCullen Destro XXIV is the man behind M.A.R.S. Industries, the undisputed leader in providing high-tech weapons to world powers… for the right price. But the emergence of Energon has changed everything. As Destro’s ambitions grow, the “Crimson Twins” Tomax and Xamot Paoli emerge to destroy their competition, and Cobra Commander realizes his current ally could be his future greatest enemy.
Why It’s Cool: The slow-rolling assembly of a G.I. Joe status quo continues with the new mini-series, Destro. It’s a really good comic with great art, the perfect amount of villainy, and first glimpses of even more classic Cobra characters. In short, these new Energon Universe comics remain fantastic.
Price: $4.99
Helen of Wyndhorn #3
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Bilquis Evely
Colorist: Matheus Lopes
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Helen returns to the grounds of Wyndhorn House from what appears to have been from a fantastical warrior paradise. Was what she experienced real or from the mind of her late father who penned stories of a barbaric adventurer in a bizarre land.
Why It’s Cool: This is portal fantasy of the absolute highest order, featuring well-realized characters and some of the most gorgeous lines and colors in all of comics. Simply put, this is a must-read comic and will likely remain a fixture of this recommendation list throughout its run.
Price: $4.99
John Constantine – Hellblazer: Dead In America #6
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Aaron Campbell
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: DC Comics – Black Label
It’s here, on the outskirts of Las Vegas, where the trouble hounding John since his arrival in America finally catches up to him. Dream promises the arrival of an emissary who will help guide John toward the source of evil plaguing the country, but is their trust in this unknown envoy misplaced? And will it force John to come clean to Nat and Noah about his un-deadly secret?
Why It’s Cool: Now six issues into this excellent miniseries, John Constantine – Hellblazer: Dead in America remains one of my favorite comics of the year. Throughout its run — and this issue is no exception — this series has done a great job maximizing a pair of fantastic conceits, one being a dead-man walking Constantine travelling America, and the other being drawn from the original Sandman. It is, in a word, great.
Price: $4.99
Self Help #1
Writers: Owen King and Jesse Kellerman
Artist: Marianna Ignazzi
Colorist: Fabiana Mascolo
Letterer: Ian Chalgren
Publisher: Image Comics – Syzygy Publishing
Down-on-his-luck rideshare driver Jerry Hauser’s existence is a bleak one… especially because every fare he picks up tells him how much he looks like uber-successful self-help guru Darren Hart. But after a twist of fate, Jerry is given the chance of a lifetime… which, if he’s not careful, may well end his lifetime. So begins this California noir-a rollicking and gleefully lurid pulp crime story for our time.
Why It’s Cool: You’ve definitely never read a comic quite like this one. It’s a grounded story in some ways eschewing any kind of big fantasy or sci-fi or horror genre stuff, for an enigmatic premise that hooked me right from the jump. It’s one of those books where I have absolutely no idea where it’s going, and I love that.
Price: $3.99
Other Great Books
Batman/Superman – World’s Finest #28- Batman #149
- Blow Away #3
- Displaced #5
- Man’s Best #4
- My Bad – Escape From Peculiar Island #2
- Nightwing #115
- The One Hand #5
- Ultimate Spider-Man #6
- Wonder Woman #10
New #1s and One-Shots
- Galaxy of Madness #1
- Joy Operations 2 #1
- Misery #1
- Rick and Morty Finals Week – Wrath of Beth #1 (one-shot)
- Uncle Scrooge and the Infinity Dime #1 (one-shot)
- Venomverse Reborn #1
- The Writer #1
Graphic Novels and Trade Collections
- All My Bicycles TP
- Bloodrik TP
- Canto Vol. 1 – If I Only Had a Heart HC
- Cyn GN
- Dandelion TP
- Dark Spaces – Hollywood Special TP
- Killer Queens Vol. 2 – Kings Not Wings TP
- Matt Wagner’s Grendel Omnibus Vol. 5 – Grendel Tales TP
- Midnite Show TP
- Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos Vol. 1 TP
- Punisher MAX by Garth Ennis Omnibus Vol. 1 HC
- Rock Candy Mountain – The Collected Edition TP
- Rom Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 2 HC
- Star Trek Defiant Vol. 2 – Another Piece of the Action HC
- Super Sons – The Complete Collection Book 1 TP
- Unnatural Order TP
- Vera Bushwack GN
Read past editions of the Top Comics to Buy!
