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Greetings witch doctors and voodoo priestesses, 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 the week of July 20!

coverscoobydooScooby Doo Apocalypse #3

Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: July 20, 2016
Physical Cover Price: $3.99
Digital Price: $3.99

Quick Hit: Largely lost in all the hubbub of the Rebirthing and Reborn-itude that DC’s been rolling through lately is an out-of-continuity series that puts a really fun spin on some very classic characters.  Much along the lines of ‘Afterlife with Archie’ and how that book puts its well-known characters in the very-unknown situation of dealing with a zombie outbreak, ‘Scooby Doo Apocalypse’ takes the wholesome mystery-solving teen team and plops them square in the middle of one of the most real-est situations they’ve ever head to deal with: the end of the world!  Mutants and other terrible creatures stalk this dystopian universe, and it takes all the Mystery Machine-driving group has to stay alive, it seems.  It’s a really fun series so far, and I’m certainly intrigued to see where it goes, and how long it goes for.

coverfaithFaith #1

Publisher: Valiant
Release Date: July 20, 2016
Physical Cover Price: $3.99
Digital Price: $3.99

Quick Hit: One of the most “down to earth” superheroines out there, if you haven’t been keeping up with Faith’s story via her introductory mini-series or her appearances in other Valiant titles, now is the time to hop on board with this, the first issue in her new ongoing series!  Faith’s backstory is a bit of a zig-zag, eschewing conventional revenge or “gifted” origins for a more seemingly-mundane tale of a gal who’s into comics and works online who has someone accidentally unlock her latent super-ish mental powers.  Her story is definitely not all punches and posing – she actually dates another Valiant hero, Archer (of ‘Archer & Armstrong’ fame).  It’s a refreshingly different read, and here’s hoping that Valiant keeps it rolling for a long while to come.

covermmprMighty Morphin Power Rangers #5

Publisher: Boom! Studios
Release Date: July 20, 2016
Physical Cover Price: $3.99
Digital Price: $3.99

Quick Hit: An interesting alternate take tale on who the evil Rita Repulsa had targeted to take the mantle of her “evil” Green Ranger before Tommy Oliver filled the jade jumpsuit.  It bears noting that this issue is a standalone-style story, meaning you do not have to have read the first four issues of this series to know what’s going on in this issue, so feel free to snag yourself a copy without fear of being lost and confused in a storyline.  This series has been good fun from the get-go, and this issue is no exception to that rule.  Guest artist Thony Silas takes care of the art duties, reuniting with scribe Kyle Higgins and reliving their “glory days” as a team from their time working on ‘Batman Beyond.’  Go go Power Rangers!

coverbatgirlBatgirl and the Birds of Prey: Rebirth #1

Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: July 20, 2016
Physical Cover Price: $2.99
Digital Price: $2.99

Quick Hit: The Rebirth is in full swing at DC, with new series’ #1s dropping like it’s hot on the weekly!  I think I sounded pretty “street” just now, but you know who’s way more street than me?  Barbara Gordon, that’s who – you just can’t keep that girl down, no siree.  ‘Batgirl and the Birds of Prey’ see the redheaded heroine back fighting crime  on the streets of Gotham – with some help from her old friend Black Canary, to boot!  Someone has stolen not only the identity of Oracle (Barb’s informatic alter-ego from when she was paralyzed and unable to fight crime directly fist-to-face) but all of her information as well, and that’s not good for superheroes and their secret identities – as Huntress attempts to take advantage of!  It’s classic superhero crime-fighting at its finest here, and hopefully the good stuff will spill over into Batgirls other ongoing series, which is hitting shelves next week!

 

covermanplusMan: Plus TPB

Publisher: Titan
Release Date: July 20, 2016
Physical Cover Price: $14.99
Digital Price: $14.99

Quick Hit: This collected edition of the highly intriguing web comic from the mind of writer and artist Andre Lima Araujo (a name you might recognize from his more “corporate” work on Marvel fare like Ultimate Fantastic Four, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse, and more) is a great way to immerse yourself in the entire storyline without having to hunt down online mini-issues (or even the standard-sized physical issues recently put out by Titan).  It’s a bit of a futuristic cyber-noir type of story about corporations that have replaced governments and the ever-blurring line between man and machine, when cyborgs and AI become more and more lifelike.  Very well-constructed, and definitely worth your time to check out.

horizontal lineTony Schaab wishes Mars would attack, just one time – at least then we could all go back and watch the historical document ‘Mars Attacks!’ to see how our ancestors handled it back in the day.  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.