This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Comics not in Diamonds top 100 sellers for October.
This week we’re going to be looking at a list of comics that are all fantastic, but don’t get the attention that they deserve. Now I’m not even going to pretend to have a definitively exhaustive list of underrated comics here, because we’re hoping that you decide to check at least one of these series out next time you’re looking for something new either online or at your LCS, and giving you a huge list to check out would be counter productive to that. Instead, you’ll find four to six comics that are worth your attention that failed to crack the top 100 in sales. You’ll notice that there’s only one comic from a publisher featured – this was done to try and spread the love around, rather than focus exclusively on one publisher.
Where possible, I’ve also avoided comics that have appeared on the last version of this list, but the only hard stipulation for this week: not one of the comics made it into the top 100 for November’s comic sales, according to Comichron, which is why they’re Underrated.
Unholy Grail #4 (Aftershock)
November Sales Rank/Comics Sold: 311 /4,496
A revisionist take on the legend of King Arthur, this series asks “what if Merlin wasn’t a wizard, but a demon instead?” It’s a darker take than you’re used to because of the demon infusion, but the Cullen Bunn scripted tale breathes a new life into the legendary story. It also doesn’t hurt that the comic looks great.
Fence #1 (Boom! Box)
November Sales Rank/Comics Sold: 235 /7,484
An all ages tale about a fencer from a less privileged background with plenty of raw talent trying to compete against some of the best fencers in his age group. It’s a coming of age style story that handles the sport of fencing admirably well, and was one of Graphic Policy’s most anticipated comics the week it came out. Go find out why.
Eternity #2 (Valiant)
November Sales Rank/Comics Sold: 221 /8,647
The continuation of the Divinity story finds two of the most powerful beings in the Valiant universe travelling the galaxy in search of their kidnapped child. Chock full of Kirbyesque imagery, the fourth miniseries in the saga is also a pretty accessible jumping on point as well, oddly enough, as very little of the previous saga has been mentioned thus far. A wonderfully imaginative story told only as Valiant can tell it.
Kill Or Be Killed #14 (Image)
November Sales Rank/Comics Sold: 126 /16,936
A more realistic take on a gun wielding vigilante who murders evil people to sell their soul to a demon. Yes, I realize that sentence shouldn’t work, but you’ll see how great this is when you give it a look.
Deathstroke #25 (DC)
November Sales Rank/Comics Sold: 109 /20,899
I have an interesting relationship with this series. I’ve always thought that it’d do better in terms of the story if you were to read it in large chunks, but if you’re looking for something a little different from DC that doesn’t shy away from the villain’s past, then you should check out this intelligently written series that doesn’t hand you anything on a silver platter.
Unless the comics industry ceases any and all publication look for a future installment of Underrated to cover more comics that aren’t cracking the top 100.