The Best Superhero Universe Of The Past 30 Years Is Back With Ridiculous 22-Part New Release
An experienced Editor representing Canada via ScreenRant's Team Anime, J.R. has been reading manga since the first printing of Shonen Jump in North America. This passion drove him to write about anime, manga, and manhwa since 2022, having recently served as Lead Anime Editor for ComicBook.com.
His favorite moments in media coverage include reviewing the series premieres of Zom 100 and Bleach: TYBW Part 2 back-to-back and briefly meeting Junji Ito at a VIZ gallery event in 2023.
When one thinks of superhero universes, the near-unanimous response is to picture warring franchises vying for dominance on the silver screen, and a nice spread of okay-to-great streaming series in between. But not all superhero universes are Marvel or DC, even though each contains multitudes, with DC's Absolute Universe dominating the comics sales chart. But one creation that took the world by storm 30 years ago was that of Astro City, the Image Comics series co-created by Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, and the legendary artist Alex Ross.
An iconic anthology series, Astro City debuted in 1995 as a repudiation against more pessimistic superhero narratives taking hold in recent decades. It's got all the usual suspects packed into its world across superpowered heroes and villains, adversaries and allies across the power spectrum, and ordinary civilians observing a world far beyond their scope. Its characters may bear familiar archetypal traits of past heroes, but the execution of their coexistence is nothing short of breathtaking. Now, courtesy of the Humble Bundle's latest incredible deal, fans can get the entirety of its collected volumes digitally, as well as numerous other acclaimed and award-winning works by Busiek.
Superhero Comics' Best Universe In Decades Is On Sale, And It's A Total Steal
While only available digitally, the collected 17 volumes of Astro City, accompanied by Free Agents, Superstar, and volumes 1 and 2 of The Autumnlands make for some truly excellent reads in support of a good cause. Fans can get all 22 of these collected works for $18 USD, with the usual Humble Bundle tiered rewards for those wanting to donate but wishing to dip the toe first. In support of the BINC Foundation, Kurt Busiek's digital comics collection will go toward building out protections for book and comic retail workers, owners, and general booksellers in need.
Humble Bundle's Kurt Busiek Comics Collection will give the following rewards based on what users pay (in USD):
- $5 payments will get Astro City Volume 1, Autumnlands Volume 1, and Superstar Volume 1
- $10 payments will get Astro City Volumes 1-4, Autumnlands Volume 1, and Superstar Volume 1
- $18 payments will get the full set: Astro City Volumes 1-17, Autumnlands Volume 1, Arrowsmith Volume 1, Free Agents Volume 1, and Superstar Volume 1
New readers and longtime fans wanting to add a convenient digital copy to their library, bypassing seedier scan sites in the process, should act quick, though. This particular bundle is only available until its Wednesday, October 7, 2026 cutoff date, at 2:00 PM ET.
Kurt Busiek's Works Explore The Social Side Of Superheroes, Fantasy, And Sci-Fi
Fiction can't always be about high-concept narratives and gritty mysteries, even if many of its best stories frequently feature exactly that. Busiek's work frequently explores the human perspectives to be found in various genre fiction works. This includes Arrowsmith's alternate World War I-era world mixed with sword and sorcery elements, as Fletcher Arrowsmith joins the Allies in combat against the Prussians in a war fought with magic and dragons. This story offers fascinating allegories to the genuine horrors dawned in the Great War, such as chemical and biological warfare.
Other stories, like Autumnlands, tell the story of a fantasy city's ritual to summon the Great Champion only for grave consequences to befall the floating Seventh City of Keneil, while Free Agents explore intergalactic war veterans trying to move on and survive normal life on Earth, while ghosts from the past come back to haunt them. Superstar is a particularly fascinating story exploring the literal power afforded by fame for its protagonist, and is perfect not just for comic fans, but even for anime audiences coming off of To Be Hero X.
The worlds are familiar, even touted in some cases by Image Comics, like The Autumnlands as "Conan meets Game of Thrones meets Kamandi, making easy recommendations everyone should check out. Astro City is the most famous example, though, addressing the question of what everyday life could be in a superhero comic universe. Yet, with each series featured in this bundle, he weaves together fascinating premises and fun twists that no discerning reader should miss.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.