On The Cheap

Kodansha Comics has been around for less than a decade, but in that time it has managed to put out some remarkable titles. Now, in the latest Humble Comics Bundle, you can get a bunch of those good books for under $20 to benefit the CBLDF, Worldreader and the Mental Health Foundation. The marquee title here is Attack On Titan --- one volume unlocks with each tier. The first tier can cost you absolutely nothing, and besides Titan volume 1, you also get the first volume of horror manga Parasyte and the drama Space Brothers.

This week at Comixology, they're celebrating the 75th anniversary of Plastic Man's debut in Police Comics by offering up a sale on comics from throughout his history. It's an interesting bunch of comics, and unlike a lot of characters who get the spotlight in a sale like this, Plastic Man has had few enough appearances that, while it's certainly not complete, it's definitely pretty comprehensive, covering everything from his Golden Age appearances all the way up to last year's Convergence. But with so much to choose from, you may find yourself in need of a guide, so as always, I'm here to tell you exactly what to buy --- and you can start by picking up every issue of Kyle Baker's Plastic Man ongoing series from 2003.

Yesterday saw the announcement of this year's Eisner Award nominees, and Image Comics came away from it with a huge portion of the nominations, highlighting comics such as Sexcastle, Bitch Planet and Southern Bastards. To celebrate, Image is putting on a huge digital sale that features all of its nominated titles, reduced in both their single issue format and collected editions.

This week on Comixology, IDW is having a sale on their Mature Readers titles, and there's some pretty great stuff in there. You can grab all of Darwyn Cooke's Parker adaptations for three to five bucks each, and friends, if you've never read the story where a remorseless criminal turns an off-season amusement park into a gigantic series of deathtraps for the even more remorseless criminals who are trying to murder him, then I think you just found out what you're doing this weekend. But mixed in there in the "More Great Stories" section is one of the single best deals you're going to find in any sale: Kagan McLeod's epic Infinite Kung Fu, one of the most entertaining original graphic novels of all time, for a thin five dollars.

This week at Comixology, IDW has launched a big sale on their all-ages titles, and folks, if you have been waiting for the opportunity to jump onto the epic, ongoing saga that is Angry Birds (written by Jeff Parker and Paul Tobin, for real!), now is your opportunity. But even if your interest goes beyond flinging birds at pigs, there's plenty in there to check out, including Top Shelf titles from James Kochalka, Aaron Renier's Spiral Bound, and of course, their massively successful My Little Pony comics. But mixed in with the rest of the books, there's one title that stands out as the unquestionable star of the show: The first volume of Kelly Thompson and Sophie Campbell's Jem and the Holograms, which is not only one of ComicsAlliance's favorite ongoing titles, but may actually be the best possible adaptation of Jem - and you can grab it today for only four bucks.

Today is, of course, April Fool's Day, which means that there's a pretty good chance that you're going to be spending a good amount of time dodging "pranks" that are really just lies masquerading as good-natured shenanigans. If that's the case, and you're looking for something to read while you try to dodge all the mischief in the air, then I have some good news. Comixology is celebrating the day with a big sale featuring that most Aprilest of Fools, the Joker.

This week, Groupees is offering up a big bundle of Archie books that includes the rebooted Archie and Jughead titles, the horror-themed Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the adult-oriented crime titles from the Dark Circle line, classic stories, and one of my favorite all-ages action comics of the past five years, and you can get the whole thing for just twenty bucks. And as an added bonus, it benefits the CBLDF.

With Batman v Superman finally in theaters this weekend after months of somber trailers, lists of the best team-ups and fights, and other assorted hype, there's a good chance that you might be burnt out on seeing those two characters in action. If, however, you're still hungry for more, there's some good news: If you head over to Comixology today, it's pretty much wall-to-wall Batman and Superman, with Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League thrown in for good measure. But the one title in the entire sale that I'd recommend above all others is less about Batman and Superman fighting and more about the formation of the Justice League.

We're less than a week away from the return of Netflix's Daredevil series, and this time, The Punisher and Elektra are coming along for the ride. To celebrate this, Comixology has a fortnight long sale on some of the best Daredevil, Punisher and Elektra stories in recent memory so you can catch up on the comics before the new series begins. The sale includes the first volumes of classic Daredevil runs, including Frank Miller and Klaus Janson's legendary character defining work with the character from the eighties. Also by Miller and David Mazzucchelli is the seminal Daredevil: Born Again which was a major influence on the first season of the television series.

Remember last week, when we talked about the Humble Bundle's collection of Pathfinder RPG books? Well, if you picked those up (and you still have another week to get on it if you haven't) and thought "Hey, I really enjoy this fantasy world of dragons and dungeons, not necessarily in that order, but I wish there was a way to experience it without all of this dice-rolling," then folks, we have the deal for you. As a compliment to the RPG offer, Dynamite, Paizo and Humble Bundle have put together a new bundle full of Pathfinder comics. Fifteen bucks gets you 33 comics (and counting), featuring work from Jim Zub and Pathfinder designer Erik Mona.