BOOM! STUDIOS FOR OCTOBER

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING: MONSTER MASH-UP

Written by Keith Giffen, Joe Casey, Johanna Stokes, Dave Johnson, and Chris Ward, art by Steve Ditko and various.

You can't keep a good remix down! Back for a monster-filled issue just in time for Halloween, this time Keith Giffen leads a group of intrepid comedy writers that includes Joe Casey and Sci-Fi Network series Eureka writer Johanna Stokes ­ thrill as 100 Bullets cover artist Dave Johnson writes his first comics story! Retailers knew the last What Were They Thinking featured Giffen & Company writing funny word balloons Mystery Science Theater 3000-style over an old comic, but they ordered it anyway - and ordered and ordered it. Now it's back to blight comic stores with some cool Steve Ditko art (as well as a buncha classic golden age artists)!

24 pages, $3.99.

WARHAMMER 40K #1

Written by Dan Abnett, drawn by Greg Boychuk.

It all begins here! A violet, bloody intergalactic planet-spanning science fiction franchise comes to BOOM! Studios! They are the Black Templars -- mankind's greatest hope fighting the ravening hordes of invading Necrons, battering back the enemy with power gauntlet, chain sword, and bolt rifle! Elite of the elite, they are The Chapter of the Eternal Crusade, dedicated to serving their Emperor for the glory of the Imperium! World-shaking space marines who cleanse entire planets of their enemies, they are the heart of Warhammer 40K ­ from the Battle of Carrion Gulf all the way through the Torment Crusade.

Centering on a new recruit to the Templars, to an advance warrior Sword Brethren, and all the way to an ancient man-machine Dreadnaught soldier, Warhammer 40K #1 serves as an accessible opening chapter introducing new and old readers alike to this bloody, dark, ravaged universe of science fiction and fantasy! Gods of War and Ancestors, bless us now, for we go to war...

32 pages, $2.99.

TALENT #4

Written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski, drawn by Paul Azaceta.

Nicholas begins to channel a new passenger on the plane ­ someone who knows the secrets of the Cabal that's chasing him, and someone who knows how to fight them! Things turn deadly quickly in a face-to-face showdown, as all the final answers are revealed!

32 pages, $3.99.

TALENT #1 SECOND PRINT

Written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski, drawn by Paul Azaceta.

A new printing of the sell-out breakout hit from Boom! Studios that ignited a Hollywood bidding war with Dreamworks, Warner Bros, and Universal Studios! When flight 654 goes down, it takes 148 souls with it. But not Nicholas Dane. How did the 34 year old college professor survive? Was it a miracle? Now Nicholas finds that he has the memories and skills of one of the passengers from the flight -- he can channel their talents!

32 pages, $3.99.

SAVAGE BROTHERS #3

Written by Andrew Cosby and Johanna Stokes, drawn by Rafael Albuquerque.

Dale and Otis find themselves in too deep with a crew of cannibal bikers. But now that they're tangling with The Head ­ that's a guy who is a head, and that's no body, just a head -- they're in too deep to get out now. Otis just wants a drink. Dale thinks he can make time with The Stripper, but everyone knows all he's gonna get is slapped.

32 pages, $3.99.

ENIGMA CIPHER #2

Written by Andrew Cosby and Michael Alan Nelson, drawn by Greg Scott.

On the run now, Casey races to uncover the contents of the Enigma Cipher -- the contents that are attracting the attention of black ops assassins and the FBI. What secrets does the Federal Bureau of Investigations hold -- and how are they connected to the encrypted cipher that everyone seems to want?

24 pages, $3.99.

PLANETARY BRIGADE #2

Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, drawn by Julia Bax.

The return of Mister Master! In a nod to the "Go-Go Checks" era of a certain Distinguished Competition, we catch up to the Brigade years after issue #1, as Mister Master returns... with an army of deadly gophers? And he's madder than ever! How can the Brigadeers be the same team -- but composed of totally different members? A self-contained snapshot of an era of Brigade history that builds off the story elements of issue #1!

24 pages, $3.99.