13 hours ago
1
We’re all nursing a post-SDCC hangover, but if you’re like me, that means you’re resting up and reading comics, among them this week’s absolutely stellar Titans Annual #1. I don’t want to say too much about it here, but Phil Jimenez (who just won an Eisner!) and team deliver one of the most moving superhero comics I’ve read in some time. And the rest of the week is no slouch either.
In fact, it’s one of those weeks I had to leave off some of my favorite series (like Crush Depth) and some absolutely excellent first issues (like Speed Racer), but I did the difficult work of narrowing my top recs down to five. Still, you can’t go too wrong really this week — it’s packed, a good reminder of how fun it can be to follow weekly comics. Check out my recs below along with the usual release lists!
Top Comics to Buy for July 30, 2025
Assorted Crisis Events #5
Writer: Deniz Camp
Artist: Eric Zawadzki
Colorist: Jordie Belaire
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Publisher: Image Comics
…STRANGE LOOPS! After millions of years trapped in the same sixty seconds, Anna has to readjust to life on the straight and narrow. But even out of the time loop, all roads seem to end where they began! Will Anna be able to escape endless recursion? Find out in…
Why It’s Cool: Something really special is happening with Assorted Crisis Events, a book that takes gigantic swings and connects. This first arc has really blown me away, and Assorted Crisis Events #5 is no exception, with its poignant use of repetition and loops. Simply put, if you have any interest at all in pushing the comics form, you need to be reading this book. And, like Ice Cream Man before it, this title pulls off formulistic experimentation without sacrificing character. It’s a must-read.
Price: $3.99
Lazarus Fallen #2
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Michael Lark
Colorist: Santiago Arcas
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Publisher: Image Comics
“Rise, Part Two” Three years on the run have brought Forever and her fellow Lazarus-and younger sister-to Paris. Now, to join the Free, they must prove their loyalty. At Sequoia, Michael Barrett finds himself blackmailed by Malcolm into restarting the Lazarus Project.
Why It’s Cool: I was really stunned by Lazarus Fallen #1. As this book (my favorite long-running series in comics) starts its finale arc, the creative team did something they haven’t done much (if at all) through the course of this series, doling out the story’s current status quo with a series of time jumps. Now, Lazarus Fallen #2 takes the more familiar approach of feeling just a little more linear. It’s a great slow down after the table was set in the first chapter.
Price: $3.99
Out of Alcatraz #5
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artist/Letterer: Tyler Crook
Publisher: Oni Press
American masters Christopher Cantwell (Cruel Universe) & Tyler Crook (Harrow County) tighten the noose and kick the stool out from under the year’s most thrilling crime odyssey — with a heart-stopping conclusion that cannot be missed! All cards are on the table as the escaped Alcatraz convicts, their handler, and the G-men on their trail clash at the border. With freedom finally within reach, who will make it through to the other side… and will any survive the last test of their commitment?
Why It’s Cool: A perfect series from start to finish (and one of my favorite comics of 2025 so far), Out of Alcatraz concludes this week on the perfect note. It’s a tough issue to write about here, though, a day ahead of release without spoiling (although really, I think if you’ve been reading, you probably can guess where some of the characters are headed). I’ll have more to say about this one in tomorrow’s Wednesday Comics Review column, but for now just know — this one sticks the landing.
Price: $4.99
Titans Annual (2025) #1
Writer/Artist: Phil Jimenez
Colorist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Publisher: DC Comics
Multiple Eisner Award-winning superstar artist and storyteller Phil Jimenez (Wonder Woman: Historia) makes his grand return to another fan-favorite Wonder Woman in this oversized annual story! Donna Troy reflects on the many loves and lives that shaped her as she cuts a trail through New York City to meet her estranged father for the very first time. But what awaits her at the end of her journey will shock Donna and readers alike!
Why It’s Cool: Phil Jimenez already has multiple Eisner Awards (including one for short story he picked up over the weekend), and now he is gunning for another one with perhaps the best single issue story of 2025 so far. This is a really moving comic. It plays with the complex history of the character Donna Troy, but it’s so grounded in character, that it feels like anyone can pick it up and enjoy a heartrending experience. We’re going to write more about this one in tomorrow’s DC Round-Up, but I was absolutely blown away by it.
Price: $5.99
Ultimate Spider-Man #19
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Marco Checchetto
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Cory Petit
Publisher: Marvel Comics
FISK vs. MR. NEGATIVE vs. MYSTERIO with SPIDER-MAN and his allies caught in the middle! Will the SINISTER SIX destroy New York before they destroy each other?!
Why It’s Cool: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again but this is the single best Spider-Man comic in many years. And I’m also really enjoying the structure with the (I think) one month time jump between each issue, which is letting the creators hone in on the most interesting scenes of a rapidly-moving comics story in a way I haven’t seen in periodical comics before. But moreover, it’s just an interesting, family-driven, high-tension Spider-Man comic, and it’s great.
Price: $4.99
Other Comics I Enjoyed
- Batman – The Long Halloween – The Last Halloween #8
- Crush Depth #5
- Gehenna – Naked Aggression #2
- Lucky Devils #4
- News From the Fallout #2
- The Thing #3
- The Ultimates #14
- You’ll Do Bad Things #5
New #1s and One-Shots
- Bring on the Bad Guys: Loki #1 (one-shot)
- DC’s Kal-El-Fornia Love #1 (one-shot)
- G.O.D.S. – One World Under Doom #1 (one-shot)
- Godzilla vs America: Godzilla vs Boston #1 (one-shot)
- I Tyrant #1
- Justice League: Dark Tomorrow Special #1 (one-shot)
- Marvel & Disney What If Goofy Became Spider-Man #1 (one-shot)
- Monster High: World’s Scare #1
- Nightwing Annual (2025) #1
- Savage Wolverine #1 (one-shot)
- Spider-Man vs. The Sinister Sixteen #1 (one-shot)
- Star Wars Hyperspace Stories – Tides of Terror #1
- Star Wars: The High Republic Finale #1 (one-shot)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Best of Renet #1 (one-shot)
Graphic Novels and Trades
- Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher – A Question of Price HC
- Chibi Usagi – Attack of the Heebie Chibi’s GN Expanded Edition
- Creature Commandos Present Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. Book 2 TP
- Harley Quinn Vol. 1 Destructive Comics TP
- I Hate Fairyland Vol. 8 Happy End Game TP
- Jupiter’s Legacy Vol. 6 Finale TP
- King of Spies Library Edition HC
- Proof Compendium TP
- Renegade Royale TP
- Standstill HC
- Superman by Kurt Busiek Book 2 HC
- Superman by Phillip Kennedy Johnson Omnibus Vol. 1 HC
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Nation Vol. 1 TP
- The Terrifics – The Complete Collection TP
Read past editions of the Top Comics to Buy!
And check out the Beat’s most recent comics reviews!
English (US)