Top Comics to Buy for November 20, 2024: Some great, strange comics

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This week’s list of the top comics to buy for November 20 has a couple of my favorite type of book — great and smart and very deeply strange. Talking here specifically about Paranoid Gardens, one of my favorite comics of the year, and the new sci-fi banger, Spectrum. But the other books here are also excellent. As always, you can find my recommendations and the usual release lists below … enjoy!

Top Comics to Buy for November 20, 2024

Autumn Kingdom #3
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Christopher Mitten
Colorist: Francesco Segala
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: Oni Press
Sommer and Winter continue their desperate search for their parents, stolen in the night by monsters and taken as sacrifices to the dying fae realm known as the autumn kingdom. When they encounter a fearsome huntress, the sisters rely on the powers of the mysterious sword as their battle rages through the forest, only to discover their enemy is more familiar than expected . . .
Why It’s Cool: This is a beautiful and dark portal fantasy book with the story of its family at the center. Bunn and Mitten have made for such an excellent team in this title, that it’s left me hoping they work together again in the future. It’s a great read, definitely one you should be checking out.
Price: $4.99

Jenny Sparks #4
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Jeff Spokes
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Jenny tries to negotiate for the release of Captain Atom’s hostages after the Justice League falls to his godlike powers. Can the spirit of the 20th century prevail in the 21st? Or is the reluctant hero in over her head?
Why It’s Cool: How do you face off against someone who is seemingly all powerful? Who has taken on the established guardians and beat them all? Who has the ability to do essentially whatever he wants? These are the questions at the heart of Jenny Sparks, an excellent character-driven hostage thriller that I could not be more into with just two issues now left to go.
Price: $4.99

Paranoid Gardens #5
Story: Gerard Way and Shaun Simon
Art: Chris Weston
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letterers: Nate Piekos
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
As Loo’s traumatic past is finally revealed, all hell breaks loose as the Gardens continue to crumble, patients die, and a bizarre hostile amusement park cult begin to take over.
Why It’s Cool: I have loved every issue of this book, and this penultimate chapter is no exception. It’s just so well-drawn and well-told. There’s been a patience to this comic, with the creative team confidently doling out pieces of what’s really at the exact right time for maximum impact. It’s the type of comic that trusts the reader to connect dots. It’s going to be on my Best of 2024 list, for sure.
Price: $4.99

The Question: All Along the Watchtower #1
Writer: Alex Segura
Artist: Cian Tormey
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letterer: Willie Schubert
Publisher: DC Comics
In the wake of Absolute Power, the Justice League Unlimited has created a haven for all heroes–but can they keep it secure? Enter Renee Montoya, reeling from an abrupt end to her time in Gotham and looking for a place to hang her hat. But the Trinity didn’t bring her up to the Watchtower to relax–there’s a dark threat bubbling underneath the surface, and only the Question and her ad hoc support team stand a chance of figuring out who the problem is before it’s too late.
Why It’s Cool: This is an absolutely perfect first issue superhero comic. It uses great first-person narration to catch us up with its lead character, while also making full use of the DC Universe’s shared new status quo. There are a lot of great books in this new All In era at DC, and The Question just landed among my favorites.
Price: $3.99

Spectrum #1
Writer: Rick Quinn
Artist/Letterer: Dave Chisholm
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Melody Parker is losing her mind. She’s living on the streets of Seattle during the WTO protests of 1999. She is seeing things. Androids. Aliens. Pigs in high fashion. And a creature named Echo-one of the Sustained: elemental beings with the power to alter reality through music. She invites Melody to join her as she brings about the end of the world. As Melody tries to escape this strange woman, suppressed memories from across vast spans of time flood into her awareness, bringing her very identity into question.
Why It’s Cool: Featuring some of the most interesting cartooning I’ve seen in a monthly comic in a good while (up there with Paranoid Gardens), this is a relentlessly smart first issue of a complex new sci-fi comic. I loved it.
Price: $4.99

Ultimate Spider-Man #11
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: David Messina
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Tensions rise between Spider-Man and Green Goblin in the wake of recent events! And a new villain steps up to the plate! What is her connection to the Black Cat on Kingpin’s Sinister Six?
Why It’s Cool: This book continues to be the best Spider-Man comic in many, many years, with a complex sci-fi story that puts a spin on classic characters in new, interesting ways. It’s a must-read superhero title.
Price: $4.99