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Greetings Walkers and Brain-munchers, and welcome to Comic Book Quick Hits!  Every week I’ll be writing a “Quick Hits” review piece to give some brief highlights to a handful of great comic books that have come out in the last week or two, so you can swing by your local shop and snag an issue or two while they are still hot on the shelf.  I’ll also be writing “Comic Cluster” reviews, which will be focused on 3-6 consecutive issues of one specific title, so that you can get a more in-depth feel for an over-arching storyline, art, etc., to see if you’d like to commit to a specific series for a longer haul.  Here are your Quick Hits for this week!

coverhemanHe-Man/Thundercats #1 (of 6)

Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: October 5, 2016
Physical Cover Price: $3.99
Digital Price: $3.99

Quick Hit: Listen, you don’t really need me to tell you to go and read this one, do you?  We wrote a news story about this epic crossover when it was first announced, and now it’s here… if you’re an ’80s fan and recognize these two franchises at all, then you should probably own this series, from a simple street-cred standpoint alone.  About the story: Mumm-Ra wants more power (shocker), so he asks the Ancient Spirits of Evil to search the universe for him, and they find… the Power Sword!

 

cover-astroAstro Boy Omnibus 5 (TPB)

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 5, 2016
Physical Cover Price: $19.99
Digital Price: N/A (print only)

Quick Hit: The iconic robot boy returns in this massive anthology collection from the fine folks at Dark Horse.  Astro Boy, a staple of Japanese pop culture since the 1950s, exists in a futuristic world where androids co-exist with humans; his creator, Dr. Tenma, created Astro in an attempt to replace his son who died in a car accident, so it’s a sort-of sci-fi version of Pinocchio – sorta.  Astro is lovable and awesome, and his creator is known as “the Walt Disney of Japan.”  This 688-page collection features a reprint of the very first appearance of Astro Boy from 1952, in addition to the storyline that inspired the recent full-length CGI film.

 

cover-romulusRomulus #1

Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: October 5, 2016
Physical Cover Price: $3.99
Digital Price: $3.99

Quick Hit: “Girl Power” is almost an understatement for this new series from Image!  The tale follows Ashlar, a deadly assassin that was trained by The Ancient Order of Romulus, a female-drive secret society that has existed for as long as anyone can remember.  Now, Ashlar has been betrayed by The Order, and she spends the first issue punching, kicking, and otherwise brutally managing her way to stand up to evil.  Imagine a female version of The Punisher, not using any guns, and trained by an ages-old organization – you’ll get the picture pretty quickly.

 

cover-xoX-O Manowar #50

Publisher: Valiant
Release Date: October 5, 2016
Physical Cover Price: $4.99
Digital Price: $4.99

Quick Hit: It is truly the end of an era with this issue – X-O Manowar, one of Valiant’s most long-standing characters, brings his series to a close with this mega-sized 50th issue (it’s worth noting that this series has only been running since the company’s relaunch in 2012; the character itself dates back to the early 1990s with the genesis of Valiant).  While Valiant promises us “a whole new era” for X-O, they aren’t spilling the beans on the character’s future just yet… unless you read this issue, perhaps?

 

cover-triggermanTriggerman #1

Publisher: Titan Comics
Release Date: October 5, 2016
Physical Cover Price: $3.99
Digital Price: $3.99

Quick Hit:  This offering comes from Titan’s newest imprint, the Hard Case/Crime division.  As the name implies, you’ll be seeing a lot of hard-boiled, bullet-ridden, classic action from this area of the company, and ‘Triggerman’ helps lead the charge in style.  Set in the 1930s, this first issue gives off the classic mafia story with a “whodunnit” vibe; it’s a beautiful book, and the talent behind the scenes is a key reason why: French artist Matz gorgeously illustrates the story written by Walter Hill, he of cinematic writing fame (‘The Warriors,’ ‘Last Man Standing,’ and more).

 

cover-bigescapeBig Trouble in China/Escape from New York #1 (of 6)

Publisher: Boom! Studios
Release Date: October 6, 2016
Physical Cover Price: $3.99
Digital Price: $3.99

Quick Hit: What, the He-Man/Thundercats crossover wasn’t enough for you?  Well, how about a crossover between two properties where the same actor played the title role in both films?  Wait, that’s actually a thing you want?  Okay, well here it is!  It’s all the Kurt Russell you can stomach (perhaps literally) as Snake Plissken meets Jack Burton in a case of literal mistaken identity, as Jack finds himself and his truck magically transported to dystopian New York.  This whole malarkey is somehow done with John Carpenter’s blessing, to boot!

 


cover-godzillaGodzilla: Rage Across Time #2 (of 5)

Publisher: IDW Comics
Release Date: October 5, 2016
Physical Cover Price: $3.99
Digital Price: $3.99

Quick Hit: Listen, Godzilla alone is one tough customer… now, send him on a rampage across time, and things are going to get even wackier!  As if last year’s ‘Godzilla in Hell’ comic miniseries wasn’t bonkers enough, now IDW gives us the big reptile running amok through the time stream.  This issue finds the big guy in ancient Greece, where the locals would love to see him go up against the will of the Gods themselves!

 

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If Tony Schaab had a Mega Blaster for a hand and a robotic dog named Rush that turned into a Hoverboard, you’d better believe that he’d spend all his time fighting Dr. Wily and his crazy mechanized inventions too!  A lover of most things sci-fi and horror, Tony is an author by day and a DJ by night. Come hang out with Tony on Facebook and Twitter to hear him spew semi-funny nonsense and get your opportunity to finally put him in his place.