At this point, I have just one Black Friday shopping tradition: my yearly purchase of deeply-discounted comiXology comics. While Amazon has made it a bit more difficult to browse comiXology sales these days, there were still a lot of great books available to pick up for cheap on Black Friday 2022. From the comfort of my basement, dressed in my pajamas and wrapped in a blanket, I did my preferred (and again, only) kind of Black Friday shopping. Here’s what I grabbed, for the low, low price of just $34.

Far Sector

Far Sector is a book that had been on my digital pull list in the past, but that I fell woefully behind on. At some point, I decided it would be a better use of my time and money to wait for Far Sector‘s collected edition – which given the book’s popularity, would inevitably be included in many comiXology sales. Lo and behold, I was right!

I am super excited to finish this story. I’ve read the first third, and it was both intriguing and gorgeous. However, I’m even more excited to have saved roughly $30 on the remainder of the series. Unlike Image and some other publishers, DC keeps their digital single issue prices even with their print prices in perpetuity. So even now, a year and change after Far Sector‘s conclusion, buying the digital single issues I needed to finish this series would have cost $32. Instead, I bought the collected edition for just $4 – the price of one single issue. This isn’t the first time I’ve employed this tactic (I ended up doing the same thing with Mister Miracle, to acquire the first half in digital form), and knowing how DC operates, it likely won’t be the last.

Inferno & X-Men

Holiday sales are my primary method of adding “new” HiX-Men comics to my collection, and this Black Friday’s sale had a couple biggies in it. The first was Gerry Duggan and co.’s first volume of X-Men, which I didn’t take to initially but has grown on me as I’ve read bits and pieces of it. At the very least, I’m always game for a good use of Ben Urich, and boy does Ben get a mystery to solve here.

Second is Jonathan Hickman’s X-it from the X-Men, in the form of the four-issue miniseries Inferno. I was able to read this series as it was coming out, but I haven’t been able to read all four issues back-to-back in one sitting until now. Ever since Hickman’s X-Men 6, I’d been waiting for Mystique (one of my faves) to make her play against Xavier, Magneto, and Moira. I expected fireworks, but I didn’t expect the final dramatic twist that made Inferno into such a game-changer for the Krakoan era.

Lois Lane: Enemy of the People

Greg Rucka? Lois Lane? 12 issues for four dollars? Sign me up!

While not as wacky or lauded as the concurrently-releasing Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, I’ve heard only good things about Lois Lane: Enemy of the People. I do not, however, know much of what the series is actually about!

The fact that I was willing to buy this series largely sight unseen says a lot about just how good I think writer Greg Rucka is (in short, very good). Here, Rucka’s paired with artist Mike Perkins, whose previous work on Captain America with Ed Brubaker makes me feel like he’ll have a great take on a more grounded version of the DCU. I don’t know if this series has any “lasting consequences” for Lois, Clark, or anyone else involved. But I also don’t care, as I expect the ride will be worth it, “consequences” or not.

Joyride

Okay, Joyride technically wasn’t on sale specifically for Black Friday. But it was on sale, and I’ve been meaning to finally purchase volumes two and three of this high-energy spacefaring series for years.

Illustrated by Marcus To and Irma Kniivila, and written by now-Marvel-big-timers Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, Joyride is the story of three teens, an alien, and a robot who leave a xenophobic Earth behind to explore the unknown. The first volume was truly joyful in a way the best adventure comics should be, while also containing just the right amount of gravitas, character, and worldbuilding. If that description (or a quick comparison to the aesthetic and energy of Cowboy Bebop) doesn’t get you on board, consider the fact that I was willing to forego actual “on sale for Black Friday” comics to finish off this series. That should say something about Joyride‘s quality. And if I haven’t sold you yet, watch this space – I’ll likely be writing about Joyride again in the future.