Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.

Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.

Chris Mautner

If I had $15:

I'd pick up Batman Inc. #7 ($2.99) and that would be it, so afterwards I'd pat myself on the back for not blowing my whole $15.

If I had $30:

I'd go with Farm 54 ($25), a new hardbound collection of stories by the brother and sister team of Galit and Gilad Seliktar, courtesy of Fanfare/Ponent Mon. It's basically a semi-autobiographical collection of tales capturing a young woman at various critical stages in her youth, adolescence and young adulthood, all done in a tentative, wispy watercolor. Lovely stuff to flip through, at the very least.

Splurge:

There's actually quite a lot that's splurge-worthy this week. Top Shelf has Lucille ($29.95), Ludovic Debeurme's 500-plus-page, award-winning (in Europe, natch) graphic novel about two lovestruck teens on the run, one with anorexia, the other with OCD and really bad daddy issues. It's rather striking, and occasionally breathtaking, work. Elsewhere, Humanoids has a $50 version of the classic Moebius/Jodorowsky sci-fi mash-up The Incal, which is much more reasonably priced than that $100 slipcased version they put out earlier in the year. Finally, the always reliable Sunday Press Comics has Forgotten Fantasy Sunday Comics:1900-1915, an oversized hodge-podge of early 20th century strips by such folks as Winsor McKay, Lyonel Feininger, George McManus and many more. The book features all of Feininger's Kin-Der-Kids and Wee Willie's World, which is a real treat if you haven't been exposed to that material before.

Graeme McMillan



It's the fifth week of the month, so of course, it's surprisingly quiet. That means my $15 will go towards the latest issues of series I'm already getting: Batman Incorporated #7, Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #11 (which is, unless I'm wrong, the epilogue to the War of the Green Lanterns, the final part of which -- Green Lantern #67 -- has slipped deadlines and won't ship for another two weeks. Good planning, everyone) and Xombi #4 (all of which are DC and $2.99).

If I had $30, I'd probably make a point of adding the first issue of Paul Jenkins' All Winners Squad: Band of Heroes mini (Marvel, $2.99), the latest Avengers: The Children's Crusade (#6, Marvel, $3.99, and this has skipped schedule at some point as well, surely...?) and probably The Iron Age #1, the second part -- of course, what else do you expect from a first issue -- of the series that should really be called Iron Man's Time-Traveling Marvel Team-Up (Marvel, $4.99).

Splurging, thankfully, is a far easier choice: The More Than Complete Action Philosophers is arguably the most entertaining and amusing way to spend $24.95 this week. If I was rich, I'd buy one for all of you to prove it.

Brigid Alverson



If I had $15, I wouldn't have any trouble spending it on single-issue comics this week: Sixth Gun #12 ($3.99), for some great supernatural-Western action; Richie Rich #2 ($3.95), because I want to see what Ape Entertainment is doing with this relaunch; Skullkickers #8 ($2.99), and Super Dinosaur #3 ($2.99). That leaves a dollar, and that goes toward the next purchase.

If I had $30, I'd add Yakuza Moon: The True Story of a Gangster's Daughter ($15.99), from Kodansha International (not Kodansha Comics). This is adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, who edited the AX anthology, and it looks like a fascinating read.

Splurge: Farm 54, Galit and Gilad Seliktar's semi-autobiographical graphic novel about growing up in rural Israel. It's closer to the literature end of the scale than, say, Skullkickers, but it's good in a very different way, and I'm looking forward to reading it.

Michael May



If I had $15, I'd start with Wonder Woman #612 ($2.99) to see Phil Hester begin wrapping up JMS' alternate universe story. Then I'd grab Xombi #4 ($2.99) because John Rozum. I'd also add Richard Moore's Gobs #1 ($3.99) to console myself (open-mindedly, I promise!) through my Boneyard withdrawal. Finally, I'd top off the pile with Fear Itself: Black Widow #1 ($3.99). I hate that cover, but Cullen Bunn seems to be writing all my favorite super heroes lately and that's irresistible.

With $30, I'd add Batman: Knight and Squire ($14.99) to the pile because Paul Cornell's writing an English Batman and Robin sounded like a lot of fun when it was coming out as single issues.

It's difficult again this week to pick just one splurge item. Graeme's already mentioned Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey's More Than Complete Action Philosophers ($24.95) and that's a temptation. As is the classic Aquaman: Death of a Prince collection ($29.99). And Humanoids has two cool releases this week. There's The Incal: Classic Collection ($44.95) that Chris mentioned and also Fabien Nury and John Cassaday's I Am Legion ($19.95). Pressed to make a choice though, I'm going with John Cassaday and psychic Nazis.