Tag: Daredevil

Comixology (at Amazon) Sales: Chip Zdarsky’s Marvel Titles (DD, Spidey, Invaders); Milestone Media; Squirrel Girl and Grendel

In this week’s Comixology (at Amazon) sales, we’ve got discounts on Chip Zdarsky Marvel run – think Daredevil and Spidey, Squirrel Girl, Grendel and Milestone Media from the DC files.

Where did the New Releases and Sale pages go?

In case you’re having troubles with the new UIX (a LOT of people have been):

The Once and Future Mayor of Toronto

The Marvel Chip Zdarsky Sale runs through Monday, 6/20.

You did know that long before the Kingpin was mayor of NYC, Chip Zdarsky ran for mayor of Toronto, right?  We love that guy.

So, as you probably have heard, Zdarsky’s taking over Batman shortly and has been enjoying a very productive run at Marvel.  Let’s break down the main offerings.

So what’s good? We wouldn’t say “no” to any of it, with the caveat that we tend to look the other way when Steve Gerber isn’t the one writing Howard.

Daredevil is the title that’s probably gotten the most attention and it’s a very good one, well worth your time.  Mayor Fisk, a bizarre game of chess with billionaires and ‘ole Hornhead in jail… we have nothing but love.

You’ll hear big proponents for the Spidey work, particularly the mini’s.

However, the one that we’re the most in the bag for is actually Invaders. The original superteam of WWII reunites in the present day to try and figure out what’s going on with Namor’s erratic behavior. It’s sort of/ kind of a Sub-Mariner title, addressing several sub-plots from other titles over the years and attempting to streamline his timeline a bit. Conspiracies, global politics, Captain America. We miss this one coming out.

Daredevil by Zdarsky   Invaders

But Does She Know Bullwinkle?

The Marvel Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Sale runs through Monday, 6/20.

OK… this one is a little bit of a maze of multiple packagings of the same comics. Here’s how we’d probably approach this:

  • Unbeatable Squirrel Girl series “2015A” and “2015B” by Ryan North and Erica Henderson. This is where everything starts and the original Squirrel Girl appearances are in the first volume.  These are omnibus editions and take you up to #31 of the “2015B” series.
  • To get the rest of the series, switch over to the single volumes and V.9 – 12 will take you from issue #32 to the end. Coincidentally, this is where Derek Charm pops in as artist.

That’s the easy way. Now, if you want the absolute cheapest way, you want to sub in these two alternate packaging volumes for V.2 and V.3 of those omnibuses above (i.e. #1-21 of “2015B”).

Yes… this is way more complicated than it should be.

Squirrel Girl

The McDuffie Legacy

The DC Spotlight: Milestone Sale runs through Monday 6/20.

As you may recall, Milestone was relaunched not too long ago, so what we have here is a mix of the original run and the new run.  Let’s try and organize this a bit, since this is a real mess to try and navigate on Amazon.

Original (with $0.99 single issues)

New (with $1.99 single issues)

So, what is Milestone? It was originally an imprint set up at (but not owned by) DC by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Derek Dingle and Michael Davis. It last around 4 years, initially making quite a splash and then fading a bit amidst strong rumors of backdoor politics at DC.  You remember the Static Shock cartoon? That’s Static from Milestone.

Creators that emerged through Milestone?  A bunch. Including Mark Bright, JH Williams III, John Paul Leon, Tommy Lee Edwards and Jamal Igle.

Recently, it reformed with Cowan and Dingle joined by Reginald Hudlin, who’s show-running the revived titles.

We’re going from distant memory on this, since we mostly switched over to collected editions a few years back, the original Milestone material has been mostly out of circulation and the collected editions mostly haven’t dropped on the new material.

Our favorite Milestone book is actually the ’12 run of Xombi by John Rozum and Frazier Irving. Great book, but only the first issue is available, so we’re not bothering with a link… and we’re waiting for the original Xombi to get reissued.

We do remember, and think very highly of, the first Hardware arc by Dwayne McDuffie and Denys Cowan. Think Tony Stark inventing his armor while in a sort of indentured servitude to Lex Luthor. It’s a meditation on control and a pretty spot-on commentary about exclusive contracts and non-compete agreements. If you’ve seen some of the legalese from the tech industry around the time this was written, you might even say it had a certain basis in reality.

Past that, McDuffy didn’t write everything and Cowan didn’t draw everything… but their fingerprints are all over the place and those originals are worth a peek while they’re on sale.

Hardware

Whither Beowulf?

The Dark Horse Grendel Sale runs through Monday 6/27.

We wonder if there’s a TV debut approaching?  Hmmm…

Anyway, this is Matt Wagner’s long running (since 1982) series of the malevolent spirit of Grendel and it’s manifestations. Originally more a crime/noir with a bit o’ fantasy around the edges, it grew into horror and science fiction with some serious evolution along the way. This one’s a little easier to parse than most:

Start with the Omnibus editions.  V.1 will be what Netflix is initially adapting. V. 1-4 are the core, with Grendel Tales being side anthologies.  Disregard the expensive, not yet released, new Netflix edition of V.1.

Grendel: Devil’s Odyssey (with Matt Wagner doing art, as well as writing) is the latest continuation and takes place after Omnibus V.4

And for a side-excursion, Grendel Vs. The Shadow has the Hunter Rose version of Grendel (see: V.1) squaring off against the pulp detective.

Grendel Omnibus   Grendel: Devil's Odyssey   Grendel vs. The Shadow

🤞 Don’t miss these tips!

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy

Still On Sale

Posted on by comics_p1pusl

Comixology Sales: Daredevil, Hawkeye, DC Annuals and Beasts of Burden

This week’s Comixology Sales include a big Daredevil sale from Marvel (and their Black Friday steals are still going), DC’s annuals through the years and Beasts of Burden.

(Disclosure: If you buy something we link to on our site, we may earn commissions)

Hornhead

The Marvel Daredevil Legacy Sale runs through Thursday, 12/9. (Amazon link)

Let’s start this with a stern warning: most of the original Daredevil run is available in Epic Editions and those are on sale for $3.99 each through Sunday. The notable exceptions being the Frank Miller era (and the interim Denny O’Neil run that’s mostly out of print).  Do that instead for the older material!

So, in terms of ‘ole hornhead in the Marvel Knights era to present… honestly, it’s mostly been pretty good.

Marvel Knights Daredevil is collected oddly. In the Omnibuses section of the page, you start with Daredevil Marvel Knights Vol.1, which gives you the initial Kevin Smith/Joe Quesada arc and the David Mack arc that introduces Echo.  Then you can switch to the Bendis and Brubaker collections.  The Bendis and Brubaker runs being what most people think of for the Marvel Knight years. (And they’re GOOD.) This is Daredevil as a crime book.

But what about the Bob Gale/Phil Winslade run? That is an EXCELLENT question. And the answer is drop down to the collected editions section for Marvel Knights Daredevil: Unusual Suspects which collects that and some related mini’s.

After Marvel Knights folded up the DD tent, the  Mark Waid era began. Another excellent era, which has its own set of omnibuses to simplify explaining things. (So many new #1s…) This starts out as an attempt to lighten things up a bit, but darkens up pretty quickly.  It’s a return to more of a superhero flavor. Among other things, Daredevil moves back to San Francisco, tangles with Mr. Fear and the Purple Man and eventually deals with the problem of his public identity from the Bendis/Brubaker era.  Waid’s run is also has an embarrassment of riches on the art side: Paolo Rivera, Marcos Martin and Khoi Pham all passed through before Chris Samnee settled in.

After Waid, is the Charles Soule/Ron Garney era. This one is a very pulpy take on Daredevil with the hand, a serial killer who makes “art” and Mayor Fisk.

The current run is by Chip Zdarsky with Marco Checchetto as the lead artist. This run is more focused on character development, politics and use the power. Zdarsky picks up the Mayor Fisk threads from Soule and goes in darker places with them.

There not a bad run in the lot (with the exception of the Shadowland crossover at the end of Marvel Knights). It’s just about what flavor you’re looking for.

Daredevil Marvel Knights   Daredevil by Mark Waid  Daredevil  Daredevil by Zdarsky

Marvel’s Better Deals

Still running through Sunday (12/5) are the best deals Marvel’s had so far in ’21:

Daredevil Epic Collection   Hawkeye

Once A Year

The  DC Annuals Sale runs through Monday, 12/6.  (Amazon link)

This is something of an odd sale. DC has traditionally been less active with annuals than Marvel. They also have a tendency to be part of crossover stories or the finale to a longer storyline. [Warning – beware the Detective / Green Arrow / Question crossover where the Green Arrow Annual isn’t available.]

So here are some ideas of annuals that are a little more self-contained.  99 cents for an extra long issue is not a bad thing, after all.

Superman Annual #11 might be the pinnacle of DC annuals. This is the famous “For the Man Who Has Everything” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, wherein Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin arrive at the Fortress of Solitude for Superman’s birthday party, only to discover Mongul has ambushed the Man of Steel and trapped his mind in a fantasy world.  An excellent tale that’s reprint a few places and has been adapted for TV.

Justice League International Annual 2 finds the Joker entering into a bargain with the Dictator of Bialya. He’ll kill the members of the JLI and Bialya security forces will go through Max Lord’s rolodex and figure out Batman’s secret identity.  What could possibly go wrong?  Written by the usual 80s Justice League team of Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, drawn by Bill Willingham and Joe Rubenstein.  Yes, Bill Willingham was a sought after penciller earlier in his career.  Check out The Elementals in the back issue bins for his breakthrough writer/artist series.

And for something a little offbeat, there’s DC Comics Presents Annual #3 (Superman & Shazam), wherein Doctor Sivana has stolen the power of the gods from Captain Marvel. Roy Thomas and Joey Cavelieri have the writing chores, but the biggest draw here is Gil Kane strutting his stuff on the Big Red Cheese.

Superman Annual 11   Justice League International Annual 2   DC Comics Presents Annual 3

Paranormal Pets

The Dark Horse Beasts of Burden Sale runs through Monday, 12/6 (Amazon link)

This multi-Eisner Award winning series by Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson and Benjamin Dewey concerns a group of dogs (and a cat) who confront supernatural threats.  This sale is pretty straightforward, but it might help to know the reading order:

  • Animal Rites
  • Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men
  • Neighborhood Watch

Followed in single issues by Occupied Territory.

Beasts of Burden

🤞 Don’t miss these tips!

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy

Still on Sale

Posted on by comics_p1pusl

Comixology Sales: Black Friday Starts Early – $3.99 Marvel Epic Collections and Silly Discounts on Hawkeye!

Heads up – Black Friday sale season has officially begun and we’re probably going to be posting a little more frequently this week.  First up at bat: Marvel has a couple STOOPID cheap sales on their Epic Collections and Hawkeye.

(Disclosure: If you buy something we link to on our site, we may earn commissions)

20 Comics For the Price of 1!

The Marvel Epic Collection Sale runs through Sunday, 12/05. (Amazon link for the sale)

$3.99 Epic Collections.  Figure all of them that are older than ~6 months from debut. Since most of those collect around 20 issues, we’re serious about that 20 issues for the price of 1 headline.  ~80%-89% off, depending on list price.  If you like Marvel, this is a SPLENDID time to fill in the holes in your collection, so do some browsing.

Some suggestions?

Conan is on sale less often than other Marvel titles, so if you like the Cimmerian, you might want to grab these first. Two runs are here: The Conan Chronicles is the title for the collections of Dark Horse material. That starts out with a very strong Kurt Busiek/Cary Nord run, followed by Tim Truman tagging in as writer and adding Paul Lee and a few other to the artist rotation. Recommended for barbarian fans!  Conan the Barbarian is the classic Marvel run. Scroll down to the Collected editions on the series page for the Roy Thomas/Barry Windsor-Smith/John Buscema/Gil Kane/Neal Adams classic. This one needs no introduction.

Conan Chronicles   Conan the Barbarian

Seriously, take a good browse through this sale.  It’s hard to go wrong with ~400-500 pages for $3.99. We will make one small suggestion: you can get the widely-loved, yet under-hyped Ann Nocenti/John Romita, Jr./Al Williamson Daredevil run across three volumes and that’s sure worth a look. (This is where Typhoid Mary debuts, among other things.

Daredevil Epic Collection   Daredevil Epic Collection

Slings and Arrows…

The Marvel Hawkeye Sale also runs through Sunday, 12/5. (Amazon link for the sale)

This one is of a similar flavor to the Epic sale. You remember the Matt Fraction/David Aja (with special guest appearance by Steve Lieber) Hawkeye series that was all the rage a few years back an inspired the Disney+ series that’s about to debut? $0.99 for the first collection, $1.99 each for the rest.  It’s good AND it’s cheap. What more do you want?

We also particularly recommend the Steve Englehart Avengers West Coast run, but you’re better off with the Epic Collections with those (and the rest of the run, where available.)

Hawkeye   Avengers West Coast

Marvel has two other sales that fall into the more common ~60-67% off range, Both running through Sunday, 11/18.  We’d say hit the Epics and Hawkeye before you venture further — those are the holiday discounts!

  • The Marvel Latest and Greatest Sale (Amazon link)is an eclectic set of releases. There is a little bit of Conan – old and current – sprinkled in at random, if you’re seeking that.
  • The Champions Sale is for both the 70s and current incarnations of Champions. To illustrate our point about where the deals lie this week, The Champions Classic: The Complete Collection is the same size as an Epic Collection, but will run you $3 more.

Happy browsing and we’ll be back when the next Black Friday sales drop.

🤞 Don’t miss these tips!

We don’t spam! Read more in our privacy policy

Posted on by comics_p1pusl

Comixology Sales – Daredevil, X-Factor and a Line-Wide Archie Sale

Highlights from this week’s Comixology sales include Daredevil and X-Factor from Marvel, while Archie offers a line-wide sale that includes some choice horror, crime and superhero titles.

(Disclosure: If you buy something we link to on our site, we may earn commission.)

Hornhead

The Marvel Daredevil Massive Man Without Fear Sale runs through Sunday, 6/6.

This is a fairly well-named sale, as there’s a ton of stuff here.

Starting out with the original 1964-1998 series there’s a lot to like here. Scroll down to “Collected Editions” and check out the whole thing. We think the Epic Collections are slightly better values than the Masterworks, but pick your poison.  Everybody has their favorite run, but maybe check out the three Epic Collections of the Ann Nocenti / John Romita, Jr. run? Everything from Typhoid Mary to Mephisto, it covers a lot of disparate territory and does it well.

The Daredevil by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee Collection contains a couple different volumes of ‘ole hornhead. Waid is the constant with Marcos Martin and Paola Rivera providing some of the art early in the run. (Yes.  That’s right. Martin, Rivera and Samnee on the same extended run.  It’s a pretty set of books.) It’s one of the high points of the franchise.

You know what? The current Daredevil series is also pretty good.  Chip Zdarsky is the writer with Marco Checchetto as the artistic throughline.  A highlight of this series is a deep dive into the mind and insecurities of Wilson Fisk as he encounters a different class of political and economic clout as mayor of NYC.

Daredevil Epic Collection   Daredevil by Mark Waid   Daredevil by Zdarsky

Not Max Factor…

The  Marvel X-Factor sale runs through Thursday, 6/3.

Let’s start out with the original X-Factor run. That first Epic Collection is as cheap as you usually see those. If you’re interested in Peter David’s first run on the title (a Larry Stroman-centric art run with a bit of Joe Quesada), the cheapest way to get the whole thing is the All-New, All-Different X-Factor Epic Collection and then V. 4 of the Visionaries series.

Peter David is a little more associated with the long-running (21 collected editions worth) X-Factor as a mutant detective agency series.

X-Factor Epic Collection   X-Factor by Peter David

Everything’s Archie

The Archie line-wide sale runs through Thursday, 6/10. It comes in three links: Graphic Novels, Single Issues I and Single Issues II.

Archie has a few things in this sale that might not come to the top of the mind instantly. Like horror and crime comics. Some highlights?

Afterlife with Archie by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla. This one is Archie vs. zombies as Riverdale is overrun. Yes, it sounds goofy, but they play the concept straight and it is EXCELLENT.  Get the collected edition for #1-5 and single issues for #6-10.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Occult Edition by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Robert Hack is the basis for the Netflix series. It’s a 70s horror take on Sabrina and it’s also excellent.

Alas, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has been busy with the various Archie TV series and these two titles have gone by the wayside. We wish they’d return.

For a non-horror title, The Black Hood written by Duane Swierczynski with art by Michael Gaydos and Greg Scott (among others). This isn’t a superhero title, it’s pitch black crime story about a vigilante and addictions. A great crime comic, too.  V. 3 is listed here for some reason.

If you flip through the single issues, particularly the second link, you’ll find things like parts of the Impact line DC ran in the 90s and the ’80s Red Circle attempt at reviving the Archie superheroes. A couple things that are worth a look if you’re of the right mind set – The Black Hood, ’80s edition with art by Gray Morrow and Alex Toth.  The Fox by Mark Waid and Dean Haspiel

Afterlife with Archie   Chilling Adventures of Sabrina   Black Hood

Still on Sale

Posted on by comics_p1pusl

Comixology Sales: $0.99 Marvel Masterworks and Holiday Sales from DC, Dynamite and IDW

Looking for some Comixology sales?  Welcome to the holiday sale season.  All these new sales are running into January, too.  $0.99 Marvel Masterworks are good and Cheap. DC, IDW and Dynamite are also catering to your discount needs.  Many of these sales are “linewide,” which means pretty much everything is on sale from those publishers.  Been waiting for something to go on sale? It’s probably there.

(Disclosure: If you buy something we link to on our site, we may earn commission.)

Marvel gets CHEAP

Do you like classic Marvel?  If so you will LOVE the Marvel Masterworks sale (Amazon link) and might not get any further than this.  Volume 1’s are $0.99 and the rest are $1.99.  The page counts are always good and sometimes GREAT and you can’t beat the price.

The best buy here, and maybe the best buy on all of Comixology, is probably Black Panther Masterworks V. 1. That’s the entire Jungle Action run written by Don McGregor with art by Billy Graham, Rich Buckler and Gil Kane.  A truly excellent run that established a LOT of the character’s cast, especially Killmonger.  330 pages of excellence for $0.99?  If you haven’t tried it, this is the time.

You want a LOT of pages for your 99 cents?  Check out  Killraven (AKA War of the Worlds).  This post-apocalyptic band of freedom fighters throwing off the Martian yoke clocks in at 471 pages.  A lot of creators were involved with this, but it’s fondly remembered as a Don McGregor/P. Craig Russell feature.  And yes, it includes the graphic novel.

For something a little more off the radar, everyone remembers Jim Starlin’s Captain Marvel run. It was the first round with Thanos.  Hardly anyone remembers that Steve Englehart and Al Milgrom had an enjoyable run right after Starlin. That would be Captain Marvel Masterworks V. 4 and can be yours for a lousy $1.99 (V. 3 is the main Starlin run and grab that one if you haven’t read it.)

Black Panther Masterworks   Killraven  Captain Marvel

Head to the main link for an extended browse.  There’s a lot of very cheap classic comics and you don’t need me to tell you about Avengers and X-Men.  I will say that Doctor Strange is pretty solid the whole way through and if you like Golden Age Marvel and Atlas-era Marvel, pay close attention to the final two sections on the page.

Next up, we have the Marvel “Greatest Runs” sale.  Yes, it sounds like they need more fiber, but there are some superior deals here, too.

We’ve always been big fans of the Matt Fraction / Salvador Larroca run of Invincible Iron Man and the whole run is alternating $2.99 and $1.99 per volume.  Great prices.

Mark Waid’s superlative Daredevil run gets the omnibus treatment at $3.99 a pop.  This one starts out with Marcos Martin and Paolo Rivera as the main artists and then settles into Chris Samnee as the lead for the duration. It probably falls into the modern classic category.

Immortal Iron Fist is an incredibly fun series that’s collected in 2 omnibuses.  Volume 1 (482 pages) is primarily written by Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction and primarily drawn by David Aja. Volume 2 (474 pages) is primarily written by Duane Swierczynski and drawn by the criminally under-rated Travel Foreman. Yes, you’ll want both volumes and you’ll probably want more Fat Cobra, too.

Iron Man  Daredevil  Iron Fist V. 1 Iron Fist V. 2

DC’s Holiday Sales

DC has a couple different sales conveniently located on one page.  And really, this one looks a lot like the Black Friday sale.

First up is a Wonder Woman sale… with 69 items!  <eye roll> Yes, DC… we see what you did there.  </eye roll>

For Wonder Woman, you can  click here and two classic runs begin and end the Omnibus section.  Wonder Woman by George Perez is the post-Crisis rebirth and actually wraps up with the War of the Gods volume.  Towards the end of the Perez run, you get some early Jill Thompson art, too.  That run really set the table for modern Wonder Woman.  At the end of the section is Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka, which is also an absolutely fantastic run.

Wonder Woman by George Perez Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka

For the general graphic novel sale — and this is linewide, so while almost everything is there, here are a some ideas of things that might not immediately jump out:

Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra is getting a TV show pretty soon and it’s a great series.  Make sure you scroll to the Omnibus section — they’re same price as the “regular” collections, so double up the page count!

Swamp Thing: The Bronze Age Vol. 1 is the original Len Wein/Bernie Wrightson run.  There’s a reason it’s a classic and it’s well worth your time.

We were always fans of Paul Levitz’s Doctor Fate and it sure didn’t hurt our feelings that Sonny Liew drew most of it.  Killer creators and an interesting way to get back to Fate’s Egyptian roots.

Y the Last Man   Swamp Thing  Doctor Fate

DC’s sales are running through Monday, 1/4.

Dynamite’s Holiday Sale

The Dynamite Linewide Sale comes in three parts: Graphic Novels and then single issues broken up into A-P, P-W and W-Z.  (Amazon link) It pretty much is the entire line.  When you’re looking at the graphic novels, remember that the majority of single issues are $0.99, so 6 single issues = $5.94. Be pure, be vigilant, be cheap!

As for what we’d draw your eye to, three things come to mind as we flip through the pages.  Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg! is a hugely influential science fiction series with liberal does of satire.

The Shadow Masters Series is the absurdist and subversive take on The Shadow from the late ’80s by Andy Helfer, Bill Sienkiewicz and Kyle Baker (with a an extra special appearance by Marshall Rogers that almost defies description… old vendettas, children acting out and a nurse who used to be a professional wrestler.  It’s really something else.

Here at the Tower of Cheap, we’ve been waiting… and waiting… on the collected edition of the Christopher Priest/Ergün Gündüz Vampirella run and it keeps getting pushed back.  We keep hearing good things and the ever-reliable Priest on Vampi is so counter-intuitive, it’s probably worth it.  Guess what?  The single issues are (mostly) $0.99 if you want to get a jump on the collections.

This sale runs through Monday 1/4.

American Flagg!    The Shadow   Vampirella

IDW Holiday Sale

The IDW Linewide Sale is broken into SIX parts: Graphic Novels I, Graphic Novels II and then single issues I, II, III and IV.  (Amazon link) Which is to say, a whole lot o’ stuff.  What might we point you at the might otherwise slip your mind?

Bloom County: The Complete Library – A classic comic strip by a classic cartoonist.  Essentially, the whole archive is on sale.

Like Walt Simonson’s Thor? Then you need to check out Ragnarok. Valhalla has fallen and the survivors of the realm are picking up the pieces.  Although not everyone who survived is necessarily alive. Walt returns to the Norse mythos and it’s some of his best work.  Possibly the best thing IDW’s published.

Richard Stark’s Parker is another contender for the best thing IDW’s published. Darwyn Cooke adapts the crime novels about a professional thief who takes double-crosses extra personal. You might know the source material from the films like Point Blank and Payback.

This sale runs until Tuesday, 1/5.

Bloom County   Ragnarok Richard Stark's Parker

Still on sale

Posted on by comics_p1pusl