After one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns EVER, Image Comics is teaming with God Hates Astronauts creator Ryan Browne to bring the beloved web comic to comic shops everywhere this October!

Check out the full press release below.

For the past six years, writer/artist Ryan Browne has been hard at work creating one of the most fun, unique, and critically acclaimed web comics out there, God Hates Astronauts. And now it’s finally finished and ready to be delivered right to your door as a fancy 180-page hardcover collection, after a Kickstarter campaign to secure the funding necessary to actually print it.

Not satisfied with just sending his already done files off to the printer, Browne has went back and make some coloring tweaks and BRAND NEW lettering. He also got some fantastic creators to draw 18 two page origin stories for some of the characters in the book. Artists like Tim Seeley, Jenny Frison, Tradd Moore, Christopher Mitten, Zandor Cannon…the list goes on and on.

Continue below to see a Kickstarter video and an image of what the final product looks like.

The Legend of Luther Strode #2
Written by Justin Jordan
Art by Tradd Moore
Colors by Felipe Sobreiro
Image Comics
Release Date: January 9, 2013
Cover Price: $3.50

This is my first time reading any Luther Strode at all, so you’ll have to pardon any ignorance I have when it comes to this book. The Legend of Luther Strode #2 takes place 5 years after the first series, and honestly, after reading this issue, I could wait another 5 years to read another issue of this book.

Writer Justin Jordan turns out a book that’s not quite sure where it’s going. The character of Luther Strode is basically the Punisher Max with some sort of super powers. Strode is putting his fist right THROUGH people, pulling theirs heads literally off their bodies, and other such violence. Now, I am the LAST person that has a problem with graphic language, violence, or anything like that, but it just doesn’t work here. Jordan tries too hard to make everyone say the F word or any other colorful language that he can come up with. Also, Jordan takes a cue from a bunch of action movies, and has a young girl try and be the voice of reason for Strode. Again, it just doesn’t work for me.

The Legend of Luther Strode #1
Written by Justin Jordan
Art by Tradd Moore
Colors by Felipe Sobreiro
Image Comics
Release Date: December 5, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

Oh boy, I’ve been waiting for the arrival of this book for a long time. From the moment I turned the last page of The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, I’ve been hungry for more blood, guts, and general mayhem. Well boys and girls, it is finally here. Fresh off of the Image presses, dripping with blood, The Legend of Luther Strode #1 is finally here. Now, the obvious next question is: was it worth the wait?

Before we dig up an answer to this loaded question, let’s consider the past and present of the Luther Strode comic book franchise. At the time of its release, The Strange Talent of Luther Strode was a highly acclaimed book, which revitalized the dog-tired superhero origin story genre. Writer Justin Jordan and artist Tradd Moore created a new superhero story that rejuvenated the public’s interest in the typical high school student turned super person story. Think of it like Peter Parker baptized in the collective blood of every drug deal and arsonist who ever raised a hand to the innocent. Needless to say, The Legend of Luther Strode had a lot to live up to.