It's not always easy figuring out what comics to read each month. So let's keep it simple: If you're only going to pick up a couple of titles this August, here are a handful that are worth your time and money. Of course, there's absolutely no way to cover every comic, so consider this a monthly sampler—and leave your own suggestions in the comments.
You know that trope that evil villains always have to be stroking a cat in their lap as they reveal their dastardly schemes? Well, what if they were all the same cat—and it was actually an evil mastermind with nine lives who influenced pivotal moments in history during nine different cat-lives? That's the premise behind Paul Tobin and Benjamin Dewey's I Am the Cat, where a feline named Burma reveals his secret cat-illuminati memoirs to an inquisitive journalist, from his days as an Egyptian deity to his machinations as a 20th century evil genius. While it sounds made for the internet—CATS!—it's also clever and pretty as well, full of panels littered with visual detail and shoutouts to art history. For bonus fun, there's even a promotional flowchat that helps you determine which kind of cat mastermind you'd be.
Price: $9.99 for a complete digital version, or $1.99 per digital issue (the premiere issue is $0.99)
Date: Available now
Where to Buy It: ComiXology or your local comic shop
After four years, Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley is back with his first graphic novel since the end of his slacker hero series and its big-screen adaptation. The hero of Seconds is older too: a talented young chef named Katie who's on the cusp of 30, trying to open her own restaurant, and attempting to deal with the mundane frustrations and regrets of adulthood. That is until she finds some magical mushrooms and a notebook with mysterious instructions: "1. Write your mistake. 2. Ingest one mushroom. 3. Go to sleep. 4. Wake anew." Suddenly, any mistake can be undone, from regretful Netflix binges to life-changing breakups. O'Malley's art is more polished than ever, and it's a pleasure to see his storytelling take the next step as well. If Scott Pilgrim was about growing up, then Seconds is about being a grown-up—and how the desire for 1-ups never really runs out.
Price: $25
Date: Available now
Where to Buy It: Bookstores, comic shops, and online retailers
Emily Carroll's art will crawl under your skin and sit there for days, like a splinter of dread you can't quite pull out. If that sounds appealing, Through the Woods is a must-buy: a collection of her gorgeously gothic horror comics guaranteed to embed themselves in the darkest corners of your mind and wait for the moment when the lights to go out. For a taste of what Carroll has to offer, check out her webcomic Out of Skin and say goodbye to sleep. Besides, who needs it when you can stay up all night reading Emily Carroll?
Price: $21.99
Date: Available now
Where to Buy It: Bookstores, comic shops, and online retailers
Simon Hanselmann's Megahex is a potent, strange brew that may not go down easy for everyone, but may prove addictive to those who consume it. The adventures of a drug-addicted witch named Megg, her cat Mogg, and a humanoid owl, Hanselmann's comics are an unnerving voyage into the magical world of depression, drugs, and bad relationships/sexual mistakes—as full of all the awkwardness, nihilism, and dark humor as the real things, except with more talking animals. If you're on the fence, check out the 19-page preview over at Fantagraphics.
Price: $29.99
Date: Available now
Where to Buy It: Fantagraphics or your local comic shop
One of the great masterpieces of newspaper comics, Winsor McCay's Little Nemo strip ran from 1905 to 1926, a full-page psychedelic trip into dream logic, visual experimentation, and fantasy for a little boy named Nemo. In Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, writer Eric Shanower (Wonderful Wizard of Oz) and artist Gabriel Rodriguez (Locke and Key) take us back to the sumptuous dream architecture of Slumberland in a gorgeous little comic worthy of the Little Nemo name. Forget what I said about Emily Carroll before—read this comic, and you'll want to sleep forever.
Price: $3.99
Date: Available now
Where to Buy It: ComiXology or your local comic shop
