By Zack Quaintance — We’re living through odd and difficult times, rife with slow-burning uncertainty. There are far more serious lenses to examine these times through, but comics is the one that unites us here. So — distribution of new comics physically is mostly paused, with indications suggesting it will remain this way for the foreseeable future. Yet, many of us need our hobby more than ever, confined to our homes and looking for bits of joy and escape.

With that in mind, we’re running a new post each weekday throughout April and into May. Essentially, it’s a crowdsourced coronavirus comics reading list. Each post features a recommendation generously picked by someone in comics — writer, artist, editor, journalist, publicist, etc. The motivation is twofold. This coronavirus crisis and resultant peril has made me anxious, and writing/reading/learning about comics is one of few things that relaxes me. My hope is the list helps others, too…contributors and readers alike. The other goal is to feature a different local comics shop that (as of the publication) is doing mail order or curbside service…so you can read a recommendation and then order a copy from a small business in need!

Bookmark this page or check back to the home page daily for the updates, which will go live at 3 p.m. ET/Noon PT, or you can (as always) keep an eye on the Twitter feed. It’s a bit scary to reach out and ask others to do more in the middle of a crisis, but, as always, I’ve been stunned by the generosity of comics people, who are selfless and game for collaboration always.

Here’s hoping you and yours are safe in these trying time!

A Coronavirus Comics Reading List

Featured

Writer Kieron Gillen recommends BLUE MONDAY VOL. 2: ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS

Let's recommend Volume 2, as this is where I started, which means you can start there, which means you can fall in love there too. And you'll inevitably buy the first volume at the same time, and then be doubly as grateful for me bullying you into it.

Letterer Ariana Maher recommends MAGIK: STORM & ILLYANA

I bought the four issue Magik mini-series years ago simply because Illyana Rasputin is one of my favorite characters. The very first comic I ever read happened to be Uncanny X-Men #303, the Death of Illyana. That was a heavy story for a kid to dive into, but I was left with a deep fascination of Magik and how she came to be.

Writer Mark Russell recommends Judas

My recommendation for quarantine reading is Judas, written by Jeff Loveness with art by Jakub Rebelka. Judas tells the story of the man who betrayed Christ from his perspective. His descent into Hell, as with most descents into Hell, gives Judas the opportunity for some existential reflection. Judas reflects on the nature of belief and faith and how they reduced him (and therefore us) to characters in a narrative. How he managed to make himself useful, even at the expense of his own soul. Beautifully drawn and written, Judas is intellectual but full of feeling. It is cerebral, but spiritual at the same time. It's a haunting read that stays with you long after you've finished.

Publicist David Hyde recommends Naoki Urasawa’s PLUTO

PLUTO quickly became both my gateway to manga and, arguably, my favorite comic of all time. Over the course of 8 captivating volumes, the Europol robot detective Gesicht attempts to solve the case of a series of murders of robots and humans alike. Evidence suggests a robot might be responsible for the murders, but that would be impossible. A robot has not killed a human in eight years.

Editor/Writer Tom Peyer recommends Crime SuspenStories #17

The other day, just by chance, I read Crime SuspenStories #17, a 1953 issue of an EC Comics crime anthology. Like all of the great EC Comics it's a piece of beautifully crafted, gloriously uncensored, adult-ish junk––and I mean "junk" in the best sense, of course.

Writer Stephanie Phillips recommends Sara from TKO Studios

The story is inspired by true events and follows a Soviet sniper named Sara as she fights against Nazi invaders in 1942. The story is action-packed, suspenseful, and emotional. It’s also always nice to watch Nazis get taken out, especially by some of the most formidable female snipers of the era. I’m sure this pick isn’t a surprise coming from someone who also writes about history and historical fiction, but I promise you can’t go wrong with a creative team of Garth Ennis, Steve Epting, and Elizabeth Breitweiser. This book is gorgeous and a wonderful read.

Writer Sean Lewis recommends HAWKEYE: MY LIFE AS A WEAPON

Everything I wanted to recommend was really dark. I wanted to say run out and read The Green River Killer by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case. Or Bad Weekend by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. I have a huge soft spot for American Virgin by Steven T. Seagle and Becky Cloonan. But they are all pretty dark books. I had to rack my brain…what about some hope! Some lightness. Giant Days is great if you’ve never read it. And All Star Superman for your hero fix. But I wanted to use the time allotted for HAWKEYE: MY LIFE AS A WEAPON. Matt Fraction and David Aja are great in this. Fraction makes you cry over a saved dog.

Artist Phillip Sevy recommends MIDNIGHT NATION

Whenever I have to recommend a comic to someone, I always have to evangelize my favorite comic of all time (and one that is criminally under-read and underrated): Midnight Nation by J. Michael Straczynski and Gary Frank. Published by Top Cow at the turn of the century, it follows LAPD detective David Grey as he literally loses his soul and ends up in the “In-Between” – the place where lost souls and forgotten people live. He’s provided a guide in Laurel, a tragic being forced to spend eternity living and sacrificing for the lost, and he is told he has one year to walk cross-country to New York in order to reclaim his soul. If he doesn’t, he’ll turn into one of the horrors that stalk him on his journey.

Writer Zac Thompson recommends Charles Burns' BLACK HOLE

I’ll recommend something that I think everyone who loves comics should read. It may come as no surprise: Charles Burn’s Black Hole. This sublime tome of teenage sex, angst, and body horror took ten years to make and it shows. It’ll disturb you within the opening pages, but you won’t be able to put it down.

Comics historian Jennifer DeRoss recommends Tales of Woodsman Pete

Of all the comics I could recommend right now, Tales of Woodsman Pete (With Full Particulars), by contemporary artist, cartoonist, and filmmaker Lilli Carré, might hold the most potential during a quarantine. It features a collection of introspective, folkloric vignettes that feel more relatable than ever. In addition to humorous stories featuring the old man’s conversations with a bird outside his window, the stories portray important matters that many are currently grappling with such as the loss of a loved one, how we preserve memory, and how we perceive the passing of time.

Writer Anthony Del Col recommends TWO DEAD

I think that some of the best true crime stories being told, though, are in comics. I think that this is something often overlooked, but hopefully people will really take notice. One of the books that I hope will turn that tide is TWO DEAD (Oni Press), by Van Jensen and Nate Powell.

Artist Isaac Goodhart recommends Ultimate Spider-Man

My gateway drug into comics was Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. Bagley is probably my number one art influence, and the book’s modern takes on classic stories and villains are all great. However, the best part of it for me is the end of Peter Parker’s storyline.

Writer Ben Kahn recommends DC Comics' 52

We’ve all seen our share of mega-giant universe shaking event comics. And while 2005’s Infinite Crisis wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, what happened afterwards most certainly was. Every book in the DC line jumped forward one year. What happened in the missing year? That is the story of 52, an unprecedented weekly series that brought together a veritable Justice League of comics talent: Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka & Mark Waid co-writing with Keith Giffen on layouts. Together, they told a sweeping tale that encapsulated the whole of the DC Universe, and turned into a living, breathing, changing character in its own right.

Writer Michael Moreci recommends FEAR AGENT

FEAR AGENT is exactly what I want my fiction (movies, novels, comics, etc.) to be. I love stories that are unafraid to take risks and be bold. And FEAR AGENT is nothing if not wildly bold and original. Sure, it’s a story that’s inspired by EC sci-fi pulps, and Remender fully embraces this.

Writer Deniz Camp recommends Chris Ware's BUILDING STORIES

My Quarantine Comics read pick is BUILDING STORIES by Chris Ware. Ware, one of America's greatest living cartoonists, has continually interrogated and challenged the potential of our medium, and BUILDING STORIES is the apotheosis of that life's work. No longer content to work within the boundaries of "the page", BUILDING STORIES tells one huge story by telling many smaller ones in a diverse array of formats; books, pamphlets, game boards, strips.

Colorist Stelladia recommends CANTO

As a devoted lover of all Wizard of Oz-related stuff and, of course, comics, I take every chance to check out new content that checks both of those boxes. When I first heard about David Booher and Drew Zucker’s Canto, I was already excited, knowing David is also a huge fan of this timeless story. So, a new comic book about the Tin Man written by David? Sign me us! And, goddesses, I was right to be excited. David's passion for the story he's telling shows on every page, going deep into the heart (no pun intended!).

Writer Van Jensen recommends Darwyn Cooke's Parker adaptations

Among the tonnage of graphic novels in my writing shed, there are a great many I read and reference regularly, but a scant few that I would term comfort reading. They're the ones I'll pull out if I'm under the weather and need a fun distraction, or that I'll turn to when I simply need some perfect comics to rekindle my love for the medium. Books that are immaculate and beautiful and fun as hell.

Writer Ron Marz recommends THESE SAVAGE SHORES

First and foremost, I hope everybody it safe and healthy, and doing the best they can with the quarantine measures in place. The need to keep ourselves entertained is more keen than ever. So my reading recommendation is my favorite comic from last year, now available as a collected edition: These Savage Shores, written by Ram V, drawn by Sumit Kumar, colored by Vittorio Astone, lettered by Aditya Bidikar, and published by Vault Comics.

Writer Christopher Cantwell recommends MISTER MIRACLE

I wanted to reach deep into the catacombs of my comic book knowledge and pull out something extremely obscure so as to impress the insightful readers of this wonderful site.

Publicist Melissa Meszaros recommends American Splendor #4

High school ended. Watching my friends crop off into relationships or go off to college, kind of left me in a weird headspace. At the time, it just seemed better to sit and figure things out until I had a plan. In the winter of 2001, the highlight of my life was two chili dogs for $3.50 and a trip to the flea market every Wednesday. What began as a way to score Johnny Cash records transpired into sifting through bins of sallow comics, which is where I picked up American Splendor #4, which I still own.

Writer Justin Richards recommends SHIRTLESS BEAR FIGHTER

These times call for a lot of things, from helping your kids get through school from your living room to donating time and money to those in need. It can be a lot to handle and it’s not always easy. What is easy is using a tired cliche, but sometimes: laughter really is the best medicine. This is where my recommendation comes in. Shirtless Bear Fighter.

Artist Joe Eisma recommends EXCALIBUR: THE SWORD IS DRAWN

My recommendation for quarantine reading is Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn Epic Collection by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis. Initially released at a time when the X-Men were at their peak grim and gritty, this series was a breath of fresh air. It was adventurous, fun and optimistic in stark contrast. This was the most absolutely unexpected book at the time it was released, and I was immediately hooked. For me, it's the one run of that time I can go back and reread and never get tired of.

Comics Journalist Chloe Maveal recommends ZENITH: PHASE 01

If there's any emotion we can all relate to right now it’s feeling disillusioned and jaded with the people whom we’re meant to view as heroes, and ZENITH: PHASE 01 (and the subsequent three "phases" that follow that follow it) by Grant Morrison and Steve Yeowell are here to cradle those feelings in a warm blanket made of Generation X powered apathy. Zenith manages to act as the perfect follow-up to a post-Alan Moore era of comics where heroes are not all they’re chalked up to be and evolves from being a parody of celebrity culture to a full-on parody of American superhero culture. I

Letterer Taylor Esposito recommends Swords of the Swashbucklers

If you want something with a little bit of everything, go check out Swords of the Swashbucklers. If you like space operas, if you like pirates, if you like the Starjammers — you'll love this book. Written by Bill Mantlo (the creator of freakin' Rocket Racoon!) with art by Jackson Guice, Geof Isherwood and Colleen Doran, it's a dense story that'll draw you in and keep you entertained for hours. And when you’re done, you’ll have all that wonderful art to pour over again and again. Also, if you love lettering like me, you'll find some truly gorgeous lettering from greats Ken Bruzenak and Gaspar!

Colorist Elizabeth Kramer recommends Mare Internum

Fans of The Expanse and Altered Carbon looking for a sci-fi fix will be satiated by this highly character driven story. While people look for comfort in this time, it’s also important to reflect on the uncomfortable. This graphic novel is not for the faint of heart; it touches on mental illness, PTSD, and the most human struggles of wanting to matter and personal failures. At its very core, it’s about life, death, and rebirth. If you can make it through the heavier themes, the ending is worth it.

Writer Aubrey Sitterson recommends AMERICAN FLAGG

When people talk about the big boundary-pushing genre comics work of the 1980s, they always mention Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns, but American Flagg – which began publication three years before those works – has had even further reaching impact on the medium and beyond, seeing as techniques that writer/artist Howard Chaykin pioneered (the use of television screens as panels, for instance) were later famously used in those other epochal comics.

Cartoonist Beth Barnett recommends Satoru Koda's GOLDEN KAMUY

Cartoonist Beth Barnett recommends Golden Kamuy, a tale of high adventure and survival on the Japanese frontier! Created by Satoru Noda More about Golden Kamuy. In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi Sugimoto searches the wilderness of the Japanese frontier of Hokkaido for a hoard of hidden gold.

Artist Meghan Hetrick recommends THE INCAL

I’m an artist. The stuff I love has more to do with the art and storytelling than the script (fun fact: artists are writers too, we just use pictures, haha). Storytelling is the most important thing to me – I need to be able to read the book just by looking at the pictures. Everything else after that is just bonus.

Writer David Pepose recommends Amazing Spider-Man by JMS & JRJR

My all-time comfort read has to be Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Omnibus Vol. 1 by J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita, Jr. There's so much heart and emotion and action on display in this book, whether it's the Web-Slinger leaving it all on the field in his battle royale against the unstoppable Morlun, or how a New York icon like Spider-Man faced the real-life tragedies of 9/11, or the decades-in-the-making conversation between Peter and May Parker over his secret identity.

Writer/Editor Stuart Moore recommends DOOM PATROL #53 / AVENGERS #178

ONE comic for a quarantine of this magnitude? I say thee NAY! A single title be not enough for this Ragnarok which doth engulf us…and so lo, I must pick TWO! Both of my choices are inspired—in very different ways—by the original Marvel titles created and pioneered by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and refined by Roy Thomas and his many collaborators, in the early to mid 1960s.

Featured

May 31, 2020

Writer Curt Pires recommends Final Crisis

May 31, 2020

All throughout April, we’re crowdsourcing a coronavirus comics reading list. Each weekday for a month, we’ll post a new recommendation from someone in the comics industry to help folks get through the quarantine. It’ll be a crowdsourced list of recommended reading from writers, artists, letterers, editors, comics journalists, publicists, and more…all paired with a local shop that’s currently selling the books via mail order.

May 31, 2020

May 29, 2020

Writer David Andry recommends Coda

May 29, 2020

I've beaten this drum until it's broken, but I'll keep recommending Coda by Si Spurrier and Matias Beraga until everyone reads it. Visually, it's one of the most gorgeous comics ever produced (yes, ever). But within the pages you find a story filled with heart. To me it's about living with someone with mental illness, about supporting someone without trying to 'fix' them. Hell, I'm going to reread it myself!

May 29, 2020

May 28, 2020

Writer Amy Chu recommends KILLADELPHIA

May 28, 2020

As a writer sometimes it's difficult to not dissect a successful story and just enjoy it for what it is. That series for me at the moment is Killadelphia by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander.

May 28, 2020

May 27, 2020

Superman expert Adam recommends Superman: Kryptonite

May 27, 2020

The first memory of Superman is my older brother explaining why Superman is boring because nothing can hurt him. It was the prevailing opinion of the time. Cool kids liked stories about the people who can be physically hurt, and hurt others. The late great Darwyn Cooke had this issue in mind when asked to write the debut arc for a new monthly series, Superman: Confidential. The theme of the series being a exploration of firsts in the career for the Man of Steel. First visit to Metropolis, first use of Jimmy’s signal watch, and in this case first exposure to Kryptonite.

May 27, 2020

May 26, 2020

Writer Erik Burnham recommends THE DEFENDERS: INDEFENSIBLE

May 26, 2020

Doctor Strange, Namor, The Hulk, and the Silver Surfer together with the jokes and feel of Justice League International. It was a blast, and there’s sure to be at least one laugh out loud moment in there if you have a funny bone in your body.

May 26, 2020

May 25, 2020

Writer David Avallone recommends TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

May 25, 2020

It was decades ago, so I don’t quite remember how a copy of TMNT #1 found its way into my hands. I was at Bard College in 1984. Did I get it an Iron Vic’s in Poughkeepsie? Pick it up on a trip to Manhattan, at Forbidden Planet? However I found it…

May 25, 2020

May 24, 2020

Writer Erica Schultz recommends VAMPIRELLA: GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

May 24, 2020

I’m not a big horror fan. I’ll just put that out there. I understand the thrill of a scare, and I don’t begrudge anyone for their love of the genre, but when I wanted to expand my comics repertoire a few years ago, I reached out to the incomparable Nancy Collins for some Vampirella recommendations.

May 24, 2020

May 23, 2020

Artist Jacob Edgar recommends Batman: Hush

May 23, 2020

I'm going to recommend a book that's not exactly an unknown indie, but it has a special place in my heart. I also happened to just re-read it during my own quarantine time...it's Batman: Hush! Maybe it's not as well known as it once was — we're coming up on almost twenty years since the release of the first issue! To set the scene for how long ago that was, I was at the time getting the monthly Batman title from DC by SUBSCRIPTION. In the MAIL. Which is how we're all getting comics now, right?

May 23, 2020

May 22, 2020

Writer Craig Hurd-McKenney recommends Doom Patrol Omnibus

May 22, 2020

Much like this current moment, DOOM PATROL OMNIBUS by Grant Morrison & Richard Case starts in the darkest of places. Cliff Steele, a brain trapped in a robot body, has checked himself into a psychiatric hospital after too many losses and tragedies in his superheroic life.

May 22, 2020

May 21, 2020

Artist Blacky Shepherd recommends FLASH GORDON: ZEITGEIST

May 21, 2020

Through most of the ‘90s, I hated comics. The decade started out well enough…I joined the army in 1992, and during basic training, any time the drill instructors would march us down to the PX (the Post Exchange, where we could spend our money on pizza, haircuts, toiletries and in my case, comics) I was picking up the Ghost Rider run. This was the Danny Ketch era…the art was good, the writing was good, I was happy enough.

May 21, 2020

May 20, 2020

Writer/Comicraft Founder Richard Starkings recommends HABIBI

May 20, 2020

When I first saw this at APE in San Francisco, I didn’t need any encouragement to pick it up as I’d already read and loved Craig’s Top Shelf book BLANKETS. Even then, when I sat down to read HABIBI one bright sunny Sunday morning in Los Angeles, I was not ready for the captivating, heart breaking and magnificent work of art that Craig created here. I had planned to read just a few pages of this outstanding graphic novel but as Sunday lunchtime came around I was not about to put HABIBI down and didn’t do so until I was finished with the whole book.

May 20, 2020

May 19, 2020

Art Collector Josh Crews recommends SWEET TOOTH

May 19, 2020

Sweet Tooth is an incredible post-apocalyptic story with heart and charm, featuring 40 issues of beautiful comics with one of the best endings ever. It's special to me for many reasons, but primarily because it helped bring me back to comics. I was pretty much out of comics from 1993-ish until 2010. I had started going to SDCC around 2004 or 2005, though. Not for comics originally, but because I live in San Diego and always wanted to go. Initially I just checked out big Hollywood stuff and toys. In 2009, I decided to start bringing a sketchbook. I had seen others doing it, and it seemed cool. That first con I met a then much-less-known Jeff Lemire at the DC booth. He had a signing related to The Nobody.

May 19, 2020

Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison and Richard Case…picked by writer Craig Hurd-McKenney
Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb & Jim Lee…picked by artist Jacob Edgar
Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist by Eric Trautmann and team…picked by artist Blacky Shepherd
Sweet Tooth by Jeff Lemire…picked by comics art collector Josh Crews
Habibi by Craig Thompson…picked by wrtier/Comicraft founder Richard Starkings

If you’re a retailer who is doing mail order and is interested in being featured within this project, we’d love to have you! Please reach out via email!