Down The Line - Previews review for September 2003 - Part Two by Randy Lander & Dave Farabee You are not having an acid flashback... it's just part two of the July edition of Down The Line, with Randy and co-host Dave Farabee. This time out, we're covering the back half of the Previews catalog, which is where a lot of the really interesting (and often very weird) stuff happens. The high concept of these Previews reviews and part one can all be found HERE. As with the first part, my comments will be the normal type, and Dave's will be in yellow. Pre-ordering is your friend. If there's stuff you want in September, letting your retailer know before the end of July is the best way to make sure you get it. INDY PICKS OF THE MONTH: El Cazador #1 (CG Entertainment) - RANDY: I have a soft spot for pirate comics in the first place, but it's not just the genre or the writer (Chuck Dixon) that draws my attention to El Cazador. No, it's the jaw-dropping artwork by Steve Epting. His work on Aquaman and Crux has been fantastic, but judging from the art in Previews, El Cazador is going to be just amazing-looking. Why this guy isn't a superstar is beyond me, but I bet that after El Cazador hits, his name will be one that fans know a lot better. DAVE: Chuck Dixon actually wrote two really entertaining Elseworlds stories that re-cast Batman in ye olde pirate days, so I know the guy knows his way around a good keelhauling, and Epting's right up there with Butch Guice as an artist. Ah, and I see that the lead is a beautiful, red-haired pirate lass! Excellent - I'm one step closer to putting Cutthroat Island behind me. RANDY: For those looking for pirate comics of a more humorous bent, you might check out Scurvy Dogs #2 from AiT/Planet Lar. The first issue came out two weeks ago and had me laughing out loud, and I'm glad to see the second one so soon. DAVE: Scurvy Dogs is hi-larious. In fact, the first issue might've been the funniest comic I read all year. The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde Vol. 1 TP (NBM) - DAVE: P. Craig Russell's one of my favorite writer/artists, and those who only know him for his Sandman contributions are encouraged to check out his literary and operatic adaptations. This volume's a particular favorite as it adapts Oscar Wilde's short children's story, "The Selfish Giant," a beautiful but melancholy allegory, which has moved me ever since I saw it as a filmstrip in first grade. This is the first time this collection has been released in softcover. Crackurz 48-Page Super Special #1 (Angry Naked Comics) - RANDY: I hadn't heard of this book until I got an email from the creator, at which point I went to check out the website. I found some gags that made me chuckle ("The Magnificent Cock," who looks like Nick Fury as a rooster) and enough to intrigue, and then I found the five-page preview, which I thought was hilarious, sick and wrong. Now I'm very much looking forward to this, and suggest that everybody take the two seconds to go check out the preview. Artesia: Known World Map Set #1 (Archaia Studios Press) - DAVE: I actually haven't ever read Artesia, though it's always looked like an impressively executed fantasy work, but this map of its fantasy worlds caught my eye flipping through the previews. Great production values. RANDY: I have read Artesia, and I'll back you up here on the notion that these maps look keen. More fantasy comics should do map-poster type tie-ins. Fathom: Dawn of War #1 (Aspen) - DAVE: There's all sorts of legal hoopla surrounding the ownership of Fathom, as Michael Turner and Top Cow duke it out in the courtrooms. If this makes it out, though, it'll be the first non-Image Fathom release, so fans will want to keep their eyes peeled. I know I had a decent bit of fun reading the first series. Alan Moore's Yuggoth Cultures #1 (Avatar Press) - DAVE: Alan Moore junkies take note: Yuggoth Cultures is a new monthly series slated to reprint long-out-of-print Alan Moore stories from early in his career. Not a bad public service from Avatar, though I've never taken to their detailed but overly busy artistic house style. RANDY: Take note, however, that some of the art here is by Bryan Talbot. Given what both of these men have created separately, it's a fair bet that the two of them collaborating on a Cthulhu-esque story will be worth the price paid. Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #9 (Bongo Comics) - RANDY: Sure, The Simpsons sucks now... but it used to be really good, and even when the luster was fading, the Halloween specials were always the refuge of the really funny jokes. Bongo Comics has managed to keep their Halloween special editions of the comics, a yearly tradition, on a pretty high plane as well, pulling in guest creators (this year it's Dan Brereton, Paul Dini & J. Bone and Gary Spencer Millidge) to create funny horror homages. One issue a few years back won the Eisner for best humor issue, and while I don't know if this one will hit those particular heights, it's a pretty safe bet it'll be a good read. DAVE: Comedy ain't easy, and while I always love the artistry of the talent brought onboard for these Halloween issues, I rarely get a lot of laughs out of 'em. Pretty strong novelty value, though, and Dini seems the likely candidate to provoke the most ha-ha's. Scion #40 (CG Entertainment) - RANDY: Of late, I've become a real fan of Scion, and if it weren't for Way of the Rat it might even be my favorite Crossgen title. I'm pretty far behind on the actual story, since I'm mostly reading the Traveler editions, but for those who are looking for a jumping-on point, this "key issue" might not be a bad idea. It sounds like more all-out warfare, which the book has done well, and while I like the current creative team of Ron Marz and Jimmy Cheung, the new team of Ian Edginton and Luke Ross certainly has potential as well. Tales of the Realm #1 (CG Entertainment/MV Creations) - RANDY: Man, Robert Kirkman must not sleep anymore. On top of three Image titles, he's now got two books from Crossgen. This one actually sounds like a lot of fun, sort of a weird high concept that combines the fantasy genre and a spoof of reality TV. No guarantees that it can live up to its amusing premise, but certainly worth a look. DAVE: I'm not so sure it's a spoof of reality TV, specifically. I think the lead characters are just actors on a regular TV show, and they just happen to be living in a modern, dog-eat-dog world that just happens to have all the trappings of a swords and sorcery setting. I like the preview art, with its image of a sword wielding warrior munching donuts on a set. Winsor McKay: Collected Early Works TP (Checker Book Publishing) - DAVE: Every couple years, I get the bug to immerse myself in classic comic strips of the early 20th century, and Winsor McCay's certainly a name I've come to admire. This volume collects some of his early, pre-Little Nemo in Slumberland work - a little more completist than I'm looking for at the moment - but bringing Winsor McCay material to the shelves is always a good thing. RANDY: Well... yeah, from a strict "yay, comics" point of view I'm pretty happy about the notion. Honestly, my appetite for classic comic strips is a little on the low side, but this is one of those examples of being happy for something that I'm not necessarily interested in personally. DAVE: That's the spirit! Too many other folks in this industry hold the bizarre notion that stuff that doesn't interest them must go away. Mainstream: Raw DVD (Club 408 Graphics) - RANDY: Kind of an interesting alternative to the slickly-produced super-hero focused Comic Book Super-Heroes Unmasked from the History Channel, Mainstream: Raw is two hours of mostly uncut interviews with a variety of names from the industry, including Frank Miller, Joe Quesada, Colleen Doran, Bob Schreck and Matt Wagner. Don and I will have a full Two in One feature on this one shortly, but in the meantime I felt it deserved pointing out as it's available in Previews this month. Second Soul GN (Cyberosia Publishing) - RANDY: Rock music, cloning and conspiracies mix in what sounds like an exceptionally weird graphic novel from Cyberosia chief Scott O. Brown. Brown's instincts in publishing are usually right on, so I'm likely to give this one a look. Megaman #1 (Dreamwave Productions) - DAVE: Never played a Mega Man game before in my life, but from the standpoint of a retailer, I'll be watching this one to see if it has any of the break-out all-ages appeal of the Sonic comics. With Dreamwave handling the art, it's sure to look good at the very least. Me, I'm still waiting for a kick-ass Dig Dug comic. Given that the game featured a hero who fired hoses into his enemies to inflate and blast them apart, I see it as a Garth Ennis vehicle. RANDY: Personally, I think Grant Morrison's Q-Bert is the videogame property to beat. Weird snorkel-nosed thing hops on pyramids while chased by snakes and other strange beasts? Right up Morrison's alley. At any rate, with you on the whole Mega Man thing... Sonic is scary popular with kids, and more kids books are good things. B. Krigstein: Comics HC (Fantagraphics Books) - DAVE: At $49.95, this one'll put a bite on you - a BIG bite - but I'm tempted. I've seen a good deal of Krigstein's classic art for EC Comics, and it's just amazing. Beautiful, confident brushstrokes and storytelling that was decades ahead of its time. The short version of this collection: it's 36 of Krigstein's best stories from throughout his career. EC fans and fans of comic art in general should take note. Vampirella: Crimson Chronicles Volume 1 TP (Harris Comics) - DAVE: This collects the first 16 Vampirella stories from the 1970's Harris magazine that made her a cult icon. Not my thing, but I know some terrific artists worked for the series, and that writers as talented as Archie Goodwin penned the tales. RANDY: I like the folks at Harris, I like the talent on the books, and yet... I just can't get into Vampirella. It's not just the cheesecake costume, because I can appreciate cheesecake from time to time, it's just that the character doesn't hold much interest for me, classic or not. Those who don't have that particular roadblock of no interest in the character might want to check this out for the impressive talent roster. Best of Ray Bradbury TP (I-Books) - DAVE: It's a good last few months for reprinting classic prose material that's been adapted for comics, with Harlan Ellison's Vic and Blood series getting a new trade, Oscar Wilde's fairy tales out in softcover courtesy of P. Craig Russell, and now this collection of Ray Bradbury stories from some of comicdom's top artists. Just dig the role call: Richard Corben, Mike Mignola, Dave Gibbons, Michael Lark, Matt Wagner, and Dave McKean. I'm buyin' it. Underworld Movie Adaptation (IDW Publishing) - RANDY: I have a weird fascination with this movie. I know, vampires and werewolves with Matrix style shooting and kung-fu and Romeo and Juliet overtones is both a weird mismash and yet also derivative... but I dunno. Maybe it's just because Kate Beckinsale looks hot in leather, or because stuff blows up real good in the trailer. At any rate, IDW, publisher of vampire horror 30 Days of Night, seems the ideal bunch of guys to translate it to comics. I could easily see myself buying spinoff comics if I wind up liking the movie as I expect to. DAVE: Yer easy, Randy, but right as rain with the Kate Beckinsale point. Actually, I do hope we continue to see horror and horror/adventure comics expand. Top Cow tried it and got bogged down with their mammary-fetish, but I'd love to see some dark escapist action in a genre better suited to "grim 'n' gritty" than superheroes. Wake the Dead #1 (IDW Publishing) - RANDY: Another example of fitting in with IDW's strengths, Waking the Dead looks to be a zombie-esque tale by Steve Niles, who has made his name as one of the guys to go to for horror comics these days. The artwork is by Milx, mysterious one-named artist who is also doing Marvel's Silver Surfer, and that cover/promo image is creepy, so I'm expecting good things. The One GN (King Hell Press) - RANDY: Haven't read this one, and part of the reason is that it's been out of print forever. Veitch's trifecta of deconstructionist super-hero comics gets another reprinting with The One, and those who enjoyed Bratpack should check this one out. From what little I know, it kind of tackles the "super-hero as celebrity" territory that Bendis and Millar have mined so effectively in the Ultimate universe, although from a sort of weirder, Vertigo-esque perspective. Lance Barnes, Post Nuke Dick TP (Moonstone Books) - RANDY: Now this is just plain weird. It's a reprinting of an Epic series that I never heard of, and the concept is so out there that it can't help but be fun. Basically, a private eye accidentally sets off nuclear devastation and then the story follows him on post-holocaust cases. Stefan Petrucha has written some fine stories, so I expect this one will live up to the humorous potential in the concept. DAVE: Also from the solicitation: "He guiltily wanders the post-apocalyptic landscape with his one-legged secretary." Love the blackly humorous concept, and coming from Marvel's old Epic line, we can presumably expect a pretty professional production. Hope it's good. Boneyard Vol. 2 TP (NBM) - RANDY: Sort of a Munsters with more sex appeal, the first volume of Boneyard was a lot of fun, and I've been impatiently awaiting the next. Now it's here. Not much more to say, I guess. Read my review if you want to know more. To Afghanistan & Back TP (NBM) - DAVE: Kinda looking forward to this, but not in a "Wheee, it's gonna be fuuuuun!" way. Ted Rall's a cartoonist who flew to Afghanistan in the wake of 9-11, and this volume (now in softcover) relates in both cartoons and prose his impressions of the conflict. Max Hamm Fairy Tale Detective Vol. 2 #1 (Nite Owl Comix) - RANDY: The first Max Hamm was a fun little Golden Book style parody, so I'm a little surprised that Frank Cammuso is following up with a three-issue mini-series instead of a self-contained tale. At any rate, those looking for a very different take on the premise of Fables should check out Max Hamm, as should those with a fondness for Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Oni Trades (Oni Press) - RANDY: Great month for Oni trades, and it appears that they are resizing just slightly to make the books appeal to the bookstore market as well. Oni was one of the companies that started the trend toward smaller trades, and their books always look great at the reduced size, as well as being nice and convenient to carry around. Portable reading material this month includes the next in the Courtney Crumrin, Blue Monday and Kissing Chaos series and the first volume of One Plus One, as well as a reissue of Hopeless Savages for those who missed it the first time. All good stuff. Killer Stunts Incorporated #1 (Pulp Mag Press) - RANDY: I've had the good fortune of reading this first issue already, and it looks like a promising new mini-series. The big secret of the issue is given away in the solicitation (it's about a vampire stuntman), but Scott's take on vampirism is kind of different and off-beat, and more to the point, the story has plenty of fighting, racing and other action that you'd expect in a book about a stuntman, served up with art by David (Private Beach) Hahn. DAVE: I peeked over your shoulder at this. Swanky art. The Metamorphosis GN (Random House) - DAVE: Kafka's morbid venture into man/bug transformations, Metamorphosis, seems like a strong candidate for graphic adaptation. Peter Kuper's surreal cartooning seems ideal for the adaptation. Looking forward to the promise of the solicitation to bring out Kafka's "often unrecognizable humor." RANDY: Expect a lot of gags where Gregor Samsa gets hit in the groin with a football. More seriously, this is a big-time book publisher putting a graphic novel out there with serious literary credibility and one of comics' big talents attached. Seems like a can't-miss proposition. Little Vampire Does Kung-Fu (Simon & Schuster) - DAVE: Sometimes, it's all in the name, and this book officially has the coolest comic title of the month. That it's being released by book publisher Simon & Schuster also suggests there may be some credible talent behind this wonky outing. RANDY: Simon & Schuster also offer up a couple new takes on old fables by Nobel prize winning author (!) Toni Morrison and her son. Not sure if these are comics or illustrated novels, but at any rate, they definitely have some mainstream credibility. The Norm Magazine #1 (The Norm Comics) - RANDY: I enjoy Michael Jantze's marriage and workplace strip The Norm on a daily basis, and the comic-book version of it is something I've been looking forward to seeing. I met Jantze in San Diego last year, and it sounds like his plan for the comic book is to have it read more like a comic than a bunch of collected strips without losing the charm of the strips, and I think The Norm could definitely work that way. At any rate, The Norm is like the strips in the newspaper, accessible and easy-to-relate-to, only actually funny. Planetes Volume 1 GN (Tokyo Pop) - DAVE: Since I'm not usually a teenage girl, TokyoPop's stuff isn't usually up my alley...except maybe this time. Planetes is a tale of a handful of roughneck, blue-collar workers in an outer space setting. There's soap opera angst, tomboy girls who smoke, and a veteran mechanic named "Pops." This seems like an ideal use of the unlimited budget of the comic book medium to produce stories that Hollywood can't without dropping a few hundred mil, so I'm just hoping the writing's up to par. RANDY: TokyoPop has a sensibility that is aimed at a much different audience than me, but the description of this one caught my eye as well. Like you, I question whether we're going to get kind of a fun, approachable take or "Speed Racer in space," but I'm curious enough to check it out and see. Wait... what you do you mean you're not usually a teenage girl? The Barefoot Serpent GN (Top Shelf Productions) - RANDY: The only thing better than Scott Morse's artwork is his work ethic. The man is a machine, contributing short pieces in various places and turning out a bunch of new work this year. Anything by Morse goes on my sight unseen buying list, and The Barefoot Serpent sounds like another fine co-production of Morse and Top Shelf. DAVE: Ambitious concept, to boot, as the book offers a look at a one-day friendship between a strange boy and a vacationing girl in Hawaii...all meant to serve to reflect the life of legendary Japanese filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa (whose life is described in biographical excerpts that serve as bookends to the tale). Whew! No screwin' around with hero/villain punch-ups for this guy! The Legion Companion (TwoMorrow's Publishing) - DAVE: I got my big Legion geek-on in the 90's under the reign of Kieth Giffen and Tom and Mary Bierbaum. It was a crazy time to make the scene, requiring extended research to understand, but really, that's how the Legion's always been. A book like The Legion Companion seems ideal for catching up to speed on the era of your choice, and with behind-the-scene art by the likes of Mike Grell, Neal Adams, Dave Cockrum, George Perez, and Curt Swan, it's probably gonna look great. I'm not even reading the current Legion run and I still expect to buy this. Once you invest in the Legion once, there's really no turning your back on them forever. RANDY: They must put something into the paper of the Legion, because the book has survived more ups and downs than any other title, and has probably the most devoted hardcore fanbase in comics. Creating a companion for the fans both casual and hardcore is a good safe bet, and it's also a safe bet that the folks at Two Morrow's will turn in a well-researched and exhaustive book that will keep up with those fans. Modern Masters Volume 2: George Perez (TwoMorrow's Publishing) - DAVE: The good folks at TwoMorrow's take a 128-page look at the legendary George Perez, just in time for the release of JLA/Avengers. That don't suck. RANDY: I like these Modern Masters things... now if only someone would take things just a step further and do the cover book/art book concept you and I have talked about for great cover guys like Adam Hughes or Brian Bolland. DAVE: Absolutely. Money in the bank. A book of covers by those guys would slay audiences. Poppie's Adventures Volume 1: Serpents in Paradise GN (Way Out Comics) - RANDY: I know nothing about this book except that it won a Xeric grant and that it's about a travel magazine writer and her photographer investigating a snake worshipping cult in Hawaii. If you're curious, there's a website up, but really, what more do you need to know? DAVE: Wow, Hawaii's hitting it big in funnybooks lately. It's highlighted in this book, in The Barefoot Serpent, and naturally enough, in Hawaiian Dick. Go Hawaiian tourism board! Star Hawks: The Complete Series HC - DAVE: Sure it's fifty bucks, but you get a whole mess of stuff for your money. For starters, this hardcover reprints the entirety of Gil Kane's highly regarded sci-fi comic strip, Star Hawks, circa 1977, which amounts to over 1200 beautifully-drawn strips. You also get an essay on the strip by its writer, Ron Goulart, a showcase of Gil Kane's compositional methods, and a signed original plate. Gil Kane fans, take note that this is a limited edition. Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross Special Edition HC - DAVE: I'm not Ross's biggest fan, but when I saw that uber-cool book designer Chip Kidd was handling the project, I suddenly took note. Kidd writes a new Batman story, Paul Dini writes a new Robin story, and Alex Ross paints the whole shebang. More importantly, though, this is 272 pages of pure Alex Ross art, jam-packed with hundreds of paintings and drawings, both published and unpublished. Even though I'm lukewarm to his work these days, if there was ever an Alex Ross retrospective I was gonna buy, this is it. RANDY: That is a whole mess of talent, and though I'm also not a guy who worships at the shrine of Alex Ross anymore, I have to admit that the writers' names and Chip Kidd on design makes me curious to check it out as well. Email Randy Lander comments about this review.