Astro Boy #8

Volume 8 of Osamu Tezuka's original Astro Boy series arrives from Dark Horse in 2002, and the cover — penciled and inked by Tezuka himself — pulls you straight into the action: Astro Boy rockets forward fists-first, jet flames blazing at his feet, while an enormous dark robot looms overhead with mechanical tentacles splayed wide and debris scattering in every direction. It's a wonderfully kinetic image that captures exactly what makes this manga so enduring — a small, determined hero facing down something far larger than himself, rendered with Tezuka's unmistakable warmth and dynamism.