Down The Line - Previews review for May 2003 by Randy Lander While my Snap Judgments reviews cover books as they are released, I'm as avid a follower of "what's next" as anyone else. Thus these Previews reviews, covering the Diamond Previews that allow fans to preorder comics from their local retailer. This installment covers the March previews for comics due to ship out in May 2003. Make sure and also check out some of the other places to get preordering suggestions, including Chris Butcher & James Lucas Jones (Previews Review), who have created a site that centers on monthly and weekly looks at what's coming up and Johanna Draper Carlson (Comics Worth Reading), who has been doing this longer than just about anyone currently doing it. Pre-ordering is your friend. If there's stuff you want in May, letting your retailer know before the end of March is the best way to make sure you get it. BIG FOUR PICK OF THE MONTH: New Mutants #1 (Marvel) - My excitement about this project comes not from the characters (thought I like them), the concept (though it's a neat take on the New Mutants idea) or even the artwork (though Middleton's covers are gorgeous, and Grant's work on New X-Men showed me a new side of his art). No, my excitement comes from husband and wife writer team Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir, who turned out the fantastic crime/horror story Skinwalker for Oni last year. These guys are two of the most exciting new writers to come down the pike in a while, and I suspect that New Mutants will be the first place that the mainstream really gets a taste of what they can do. B.P.R.D.: The Soul of Venice (Dark Horse) - With the movie publicity gearing up, it looks like my casual interest in Hellboy is going to be fueled to outright fandom by a bunch of new projects. While I know some think it ain't Hellboy if it ain't Mignola, I love seeing other creators take their shot as his unusual creation, and I'm always a fan of Mike Avon Oeming's artwork, so Soul of Venice looks like fun. Criminal Macabre #1 (Dark Horse) - I was surprised to see this one at Dark Horse and not IDW, as it's another horror production from the 30 Days of Night team, Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith. Cal McDonald is a running character that Niles has written for Dark Horse before (in Dark Horse Presents) as well as in IDW-published novels, and he's your standard "investigator of the weird," a great protagonist for Niles and Templesmith to hang their creepy horror tales on. Illegal Alien TP (Dark Horse) - Lots of James Robinson material making its way back into print recently, timed to coincide with his screen-writing credits on (ugh) LXG. While I'm not real excited about his adaptation of Alan Moore's comic work into a summer blockbuster, though, I am interested in seeing early work from the guy who created Starman and Leave it to Chance. Illegal Alien, a 1960s period piece with a science-fiction bent, has an interesting visual courtesy of Phil Elliott and a neat central idea, so I'm curious to see it. Pop Gun War TP (Dark Horse) - Another surprise, as Pop Gun War (originally self-published, then picked up by Absence of Ink) gets a trade collection from Dark Horse. The book seems to be in that artistic, surreal indy style, involving a young boy who finds a pair of angel wings and other weirdness. I've heard nothing but good things about this book, but I'd been hoping to read it in a collected form. Courtesy of Dark Horse, I guess I get my wish. Batman: Contagion TP (DC) - Weird timing on this one. It's a lead-up to No Man's Land, which has been very successful in trades, but it's written and drawn largely by creators who aren't anywhere near DC anymore, and seems an odd fit with the current direction of the Bat titles. Good for the completists who want to see the before No Man's Land, but it seems like it should have been put back into print about a year or two ago instead. Human Defense Corps #1 (DC) - New Ty Templeton work is always reason to celebrate, but I'm particularly interested in this one because the idea of how human forces interact with superhuman and alien presences in the DC Universe has always intrigued me. Whether it's series like Chase (which introduced the DEO) or throwaway bits like the new Blackhawks (introduced in Our Worlds At War), there's always seemed to be room to explore this kind of thing. And while I don't know the artist at all, Templeton is a name that I trust, and this goes on my "anxiously awaiting" list for May. JSA: All-Stars #1 (DC) - There's a lot of things to draw my attention to JSA: All-Stars. It's written by the regular JSA team, which is a good thing. It's got a variety of celebrity writers for the back-ups, which is a neat gimmick. But what really has me interested is the art team of Sal Velluto and Bob Almond, who went from solid to spectacular during their work on Black Panther and who will no doubt shine here. The New Teen Titans: The Terror of Trigon TP (DC) - Following up on this week's re-release of The Judas Contract, this reprints the first five issues of the New Titans series. Which, as I understand it, is actually in the middle of the Wolfman/Perez run, due to the weird baxter paper/regular paper two series thing that DC tried during that era. While I would have preferred starting at volume one and moving up, I'm glad to get any chance to read some of this near-legendary stuff, since I haven't read a lot of it. The Authority Vol. 2 #1 (DC/Wildstorm) - I wish them luck. Really. But I don't think I'll be onboard for this one. The Authority was my favorite title when Ellis and Hitch were the creative leads, and I enjoyed the early Millar/Quitely stuff, but there's been too much behind-the-scenes and too much time, and it feels like the moment for these characters have passed, unless these creators can bring a completely new approach to it, rather than just a watered-down widescreen. Stormwatch: Team Achilles #11 (DC/Wildstorm) - This issue is listed as having a guest artist, but if rumors are true, his tenure might be longer than that. I hope they are, because the issues of Stormwatch without Whilce Portacio have ranged from good to great, and this book really deserves a more solid artist to go with Wright's scripts. And a trade paperback collection of the early issues wouldn't hurt this (or any of the Eye of the Storm books) either. Casefiles: Sam and Twitch #1 (Image) - Boy, do I have mixed feelings here. I don't want to support McFarlane these days, and I remember both the sudden and stupid removal of Bendis from the title and the mysterious disappearance of the series when McFarlane lost interest... but the creative team is killer. In the end, that's what makes me excited about this book. I like Andreyko's writing and Scott Morse is one of the few artists who inspires a completist mentality in me. I'm especially excited to see more color work from him after the gorgeous (and criminally under-selling) Elektra: Glimpse and Echo. Noble Causes: Extended Family (Image) - More Noble Causes is good enough news on its own. Noble Causes by a variety of guest creators, including some of my favorites, is great news. J. Torres and Tim Levins together again is the highlight for me, but I'm generally a fan of the other creators playing in each others' sandboxes, so I'm looking forward to Geoff Johns, John Layman, Phil Hester, Mike Hawthorne... aw, hell, just about everybody. Powers TP Vol IV: Supergroup (Image) - The newest trade paperback in the Powers series. Not much to say here, except kudos to Bendis and Oeming for the quick (and always cool) collections that keeps both the serial readers and the wait-for-traders equally happy. Wolverine #1 (Marvel) - I love both of these creators, and have come to just about loathe this character. So my excitement for this one is kind of low, quite honestly. But those who enjoy Wolverine should be doing cartwheels and having parades in the street... your long dark night of bad stories is just about over. Inhumans #1 (Marvel) - Another case of liking the creator and having little interest in the characters, I've never been a fan of Marvel outcasts The Inhumans or The Eternals. I was also not at all impressed with Matthew Clark's storytelling on Felon. But the previous Inhumans series, by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, was great reading, and Sean McKeever is a terrific writer, so my interest in this series is piqued anyway. The Crew #1 (Marvel) - Then there's The Crew, which gets my attention easy because Priest is writing it. I'm also a fan of at least two of the characters being used (Jim Rhodes and Kasper Cole), and I'm hoping that some of the buzz from Black Panther will rub off to get new fans reading this title. Tsunami - Second Issues (Marvel) - This month sees the solicitations of the second issues of most of the Tsunami "first wave" (save Namor, thanks to an art change). Now that I've seen Dot.comic previews of every book (except Namor), I'd like to revise my original forecast. Mystique may still be the breakout book, thanks to name recognition as well as the creative team, but I think Runaways is going to be the best of that first wave, with Sentinel close behind. Wolverine/Doop #1-2 (Marvel) - Remember earlier, when I mentioned how Scott Morse is one of those artists who inspires a completist mentality in me? Darwyn Cooke is one of the other ones. Team him up with Milligan on the highly entertaining X-Statix, complete with self-aware humor about "the most important team-up... ever!" and you've got what looks like a really fun book. Uncanny X-Men #423 (Marvel) - Kudos to Marvel for fine-tuning their marketing. The Daredevil quarter issue was ideal for new fans who were just coming in off the movie, but it shipped (and sold out) over a month before the movie came out. This issue is timed to hit after the X-Men movie hits theatres, and editorial has wisely replaced Kia Asamiya with Ron Garney for this arc, as his style will probably be more palatable to the mainstream crowd. And Chuck Austen seems to have tagged Nightcrawler as the fan-favorite he is likely to become after X2 (if the trailers are any indication), putting him front and center for this story. Agent X #11 (Marvel) - I really thought I'd have no interest in Agent X if Gail Simone wasn't around. And I'm still peeved about how all that went down. But Evan Dorkin is one of the funniest guys in comics, and if anyone else can make this book work, it's him. This is probably just a short run before the series crashes into cancellation, but those who enjoyed Simone's Agent X will probably want to give this one a shot. Elektra #23 (Marvel) - So now that Rucka is gone, we get Sean Chen on interiors and Bill Sienkiewicz on covers? Bah. It looks like Rodi is going back to the amoral, and far less interesting, version of Elektra as well. Given how strong Rucka's work on Elektra was, I can't be anything but disappointed by the way this all turned out, even if the new creative team does turn out to be stronger than I expect. Startling Stories: The Thing - Night Falls on Yancy St. #1 (Marvel) - These indy-centric mini-series don't seem to do too well in sales for Marvel, but I'm glad they keep doing them. Elektra: Glimpse and Echo and Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules were both criminally under-ordered, and this Evan Dorkin/Dean Haspiel collaboration probably will be as well. A shame, because the former two series were excellent (or have been so far) and these two creators on this character will probably be just as great. Daredevil Legends Vol. 4: Typhoid Mary TP (Marvel) - Marvel's haphazard collections schedule is starting to piss me off as much as DC's. I'm interested in seeing Ann Nocenti and John Romita Jr.'s much-lauded run on this book, but making it volume 4 in a series of loosely connected "Legends" books provides a sampling, rather than letting us read them as the ongoing story they were intended as. Good to see this turning up as a reprint at any rate, but a shame about the format. Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu Vol. 1: The Hellfire Apocalypse TP (Marvel) - My buddy "Cormorant" in the Aint-It-Cool-News League of Talkback @$$holes probably covered this best when he said this is kung-fu action fun if you're in the right mood for it. While I wasn't as taken by the rest of the series as I was by the first issue, this is a solid read and those seeking either more Shang Chi specifically or a kick-butt martial arts action comic in general might want to give the trade a look. INDY PICK OF THE MONTH: Scooter Girl #1 (Oni Press) - New Chynna-Clugston Major is always reason to celebrate. Her wacky sense of humor and manga-influenced style should appeal to guys and girls, but is especially great for those who are loving the manga explosion at Tokyo Pop and looking for more in the same vein, but with a slightly different spin. This one has been teased at summer cons for a while, and I'm glad to see it finally on the release list. Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman TP (Abiogenesis Press) - I'm not the Alan Moore worshipper that it sometimes seems 95% of the online comics community is, but I can't deny that the impact he's had on the medium earns him most of his hype. So while I'm not the target audience for this exhaustive interview/tribute/biography whatsit, I imagine there is a pretty hefty audience for it. Dork Volume 2: Circling the Drain TP (Slave Labor) - It took a long, long time for Dork! to be collected, but I'm glad that the second volume is coming out so quickly. If you've never read Dork!, you need to pick up both of the trades as soon as possible. It really is one of the funniest (if not the funniest) comics on the market. The Fallen #2 (Blue Feather Press) - Don and I recently covered this in a revamped Two in One, but it seems worth noting again that although the orders for this book will be for The Fallen #2 from Blue Feather Press, it will actually ship as Evenfall #2 from Slave Labor Graphics. A rose by any other name... Sojourn Vol. 3: The Warrior's Tale TP (CGE) - I don't have much to say about a new Sojourn trade except "Yaaayyyy! More gorgeous Greg Land artwork!" Burglar Bill #1 (Dancing Elephant Press) - I miss Kane, Paul Grist's quirky cop series, and wish that we could get some more trades of that series. But as sales realities seem to have crushed that for the moment, I'm perfectly happy to have both Jack Staff at Image and this new series, self-published by Grist. There's not much to judge the series on here, but everything Grist has done has been fun and interesting. When Realities Collide (Epoch) - I've read this one, another one-shot from Rick Lundeen, and it's really very funny. Anyone who's ever been to a convention will get a kick out of the setting, and Lundeen fills the book with science-fiction and pop-culture in-jokes, all the while making the lead story accessible and funny to anyone. CVO: Covert Vampire Operations (IDW) - Vampire special operatives. It's a great high concept, and even though I don't know Mindy Lee's work or haven't enjoyed much of Garner's previously, the fact that it's coming out from IDW and that great high concept has me interested anyway. The Complete Geisha TP (Oni Press) - Wow, a lot of stuff this month from artists who trigger my completist tendencies. Scott Morse, Darwyn Cooke, and now Andi Watson, who did Geisha for Oni Press back before I had any interest in his work. The Geisha trade has been out of print for a while, so I'm glad to see Oni putting it back out, collecting all the additional material from the one-shot and other short stories as well. Sidekicks Super Summer Fun Special One-Shot (Oni Press) - With J. Torres so busy at Marvel, I was afraid we might not see any more of his fun creation Sidekicks. Happily, I was wrong, as J. teams up with both his regular artist and some of my favorites (Steve Rolston, Scott Morse and Mike Wieringo) to tell some new stories of a school for super-teens. Those who enjoyed the X-Men Unlimited story from last week by J. and Sidekicks co-creator Takeshi Miyazawa should definitely check this out. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.