Down The Line - Previews review for October 2006 by Randy Lander Down the Line is The Fourth Rail's (mostly) monthly look at Previews, and what titles are coming out a few months, well, "down the line." October tends to bring with it a fair amount of Halloween-themed comics. This month includes IDW offering up Zombies vs. Robots, Chip Zdarsky launching Monster Cops, Oni introducing The Damned... all good stuff, but my favorite Halloween-themed launch of the month is the return of Dan Brereton's Nocturnals, in swanky new hardcovers. More on that, as well as a few other things worth looking at, in the column below. This installment covers the August Previews for comics due to ship out in October 2006. Remember, especially with the indy books, that pre-ordering is your friend, and the best way to make sure you get the books you want. I should mention, thanks to the increasing prevalence of advance solicitation, that several of the books here won't actually ship until November, but the preorders are still due by the end of August. As always, the Previews rundown is in alphabetical order, rather than the order used in the Previews catalog. To facilitate those seeking more information, each entry will include the page number of the solicitation. I'm going to offer up my "Top Ten Shiny New Things to Watch Out For," which is in a 1-10 order of what I'm most looking forward to (the first item is my "pick of the month," as it were.) Then I'll provide a rundown of "Other Stuff That Caught My Eye." My focus in this column is always going to be on jumping-on points and new stuff, so if you're wondering "Where's Fables?" or something along those lines, I still love it, I just don't want to keep harping on it. I'm also going to do my best to provide links to art and other preview material, or at the very least official websites, so you can track down more information. TOP TEN SHINY NEW THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR: Criminal #1 (Marvel/Icon) - Ed Brubaker may be my favorite writer at Marvel these days, rivaled only by Brian Vaughan. But the truth is, much as I enjoy Daredevil, Captain America and Uncanny X-Men, I've always felt that it was a shame that Brubaker, one of the top three crime writers in comics, had been relegated to superheroes by his move to Marvel. Criminal is Brubaker returning to his crime roots, with Sleeper cohort Sean Phillips along for the ride, and I couldn't be happier. Where Sleeper was espionage/crime/noir in a superhero package, Criminal is straight-up crime in the Richard Stark/James Ellroy vein, following a professional crook named Leo as he plans and executes heists. This probably would have been my pick of the month based solely on the premise and the creative team, but now that I've actually seen what the book is going to look and read like, thanks to this PDF preview, I'm even more excited, because I know it's going to deliver the goods. I'm not the only one excited, either. Robert Kirkman and Image are going to publish this full-color preview in the black and white Walking Dead, in a stunning show of support, and when I talked to Brubaker in San Diego, he told me he was taking a reduced (he might even have said zero) pay to make sure the book can break even if the numbers are even close to what Sleeper did. That means you probably don't have to live in fear of falling in love with this book and having it cancelled out from underneath you, folks. But what I'd really love is if Criminal didn't become the relatively low-selling niche book that expectations would set up for it. I'd love it to just sell gangbusters, based on the goodwill Brubaker has engendered from his other Marvel work. So I implore you, if you've been digging Brubaker's Daredevil, Captain America or Uncanny X-Men, give Criminal a try. I'd be shocked if you weren't just as entertained, if not moreso by seeing creators unchained from the restrictions of corporate characters and allowed to really let their talent flow freely. (page M80) Supermarket TP (IDW) - Brian Wood has been having a good year. Local and DMZ are both buzz-worthy hits. But fans of those series may have missed this gem from IDW, a miniseries set in the future and packed with crime, social commentary and satire, not to mention plenty of action, and written by Wood as well. Supermarket also has stunningly beautiful artwork from Kristian Donaldson, who had previously worked on the short-lived but beautifully rendered sci-fi book Forsaken at Image. Donaldson will be doing a guest issue of DMZ later this year, and I'd be shocked if he doesn't blow up big by 2007. Check out Supermarket, not just because it's cool and easily on par with Woods' other projects, but so you can have bragging rights when Donaldson becomes a big star and you can say "Oh yeah, I've been reading his stuff for *years*." You can see a five-page preview of Supermarket HERE. (page 305) The Other Side #1 (DC/Vertigo) - Cameron Stewart, one of my favorite artists, has had quite the run of good writer karma: Ed Brubaker, Grant Morrison and now... Jason Aaron? OK, Other Side is actually Aaron's first project, but the buzz is that his was one of the best scripts many have seen, and certainly getting in on spec at Vertigo speaks to a certain level of quality. At any rate, Other Side is a tale of the Vietnam War from two points-of-view, that of an Alabama farm boy drafted into the U.S. Army and a Vietnamese farm boy who enlists in the People's Army of Vietnam, and the black and white art of the first two issues that I saw in San Diego looked amazing. Vertigo is kind of sketchy when it comes to collecting miniseries, so you might want to give this one a look in single issues, even if that's not your usual format of choice. Publisher's Weekly has an interview with the creators and editor of the book HERE. (page 123) Marvel Adventures The Avengers Vol. 1 Digest (Marvel) - I'm not really sure how an Avengers comic aimed at all-ages and featuring Spider-Man, Wolverine, Storm and Giant-Girl can be the best Avengers book Marvel is publishing, but somehow, it is. Jeff Parker makes this weird, shaken-up line-up work so much better than Bendis's attempt to do so in New Avengers, at least for my taste. That could be because Parker's stories are generally done-in-one tales featuring classic villains like the Leader, Baron Zemo and Ultron with a little bit of a twist to keep them fresh but not so much to make them unrecognizable or lame. At any rate, I can recommend Marvel Adventures: Avengers whether you're a fan of the New Avengers (in which case you'll dig Parker's modern line-up) or if you don't like it (in which case you'll like the old school feel). The Pulse has an interview with sketches and interior pages HERE. (page M97) Dan Brereton's Nocturnals Vol 1 HC (Olympian Publishing) - I already have all of the previous Nocturnals material printed, but I don't mind paying again for these new editions, and I'll tell you why. One is that this is the first time the book has been presented in an oversized hardcover format, which means the artwork will probably look even better than before. Another is that it contains an all-new story alongside the original content. And finally, I'm just glad to see the Nocturnals back in print, with new material on the way. Brereton's painted style makes for great mood and storytelling, and his mixture of love for monster movies and noir has given birth to one of the best hybrid properties in comics. If you've never checked out Nocturnals and you have a fondness for guns, babes and monsters, trust me... give these new hardcovers a look. You can see samples of Brereton's artwork, as well as tons of information about the Nocturnals, at his official site. (page 323) The Authority #1 (DC/Wildstorm) - Wildstorm looks to be making a big splash later this year, returning to their roots in some regards. Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio and Carlos D'Anda are some of the old schoolers returning, along with newer faces to Wildstorm like Grant Morrison, Gail Simone and Brian Azzarello. There are three new titles this month, including Azzarello doing a military action/thriller with themes of trust and betrayal in Deathblow and Gail Simone probably the perfect choice for the slightly goofy Gen 13. I'm also excited by the two books launching in November, Stormwatch: PHD by Christos Gage and Doug Mahnke and Tranquility (whatever that is) by Gail Simone and Neil Googe. But the standout this month, and maybe of the whole line, is Grant Morrison, along with Top 10's Gene Ha, relaunching The Authority. Quite honestly, I figured The Authority for a dead concept, one that had seen its time and outstayed its welcome. Even Ed Brubaker couldn't resurrect my interest in the book. But Grant Morrison specializes in new spins on old concepts (or new concepts, for that matter), and I'm curious to see what his take will be on the book. There aren't any easily found previews of Authority online, but DC does have a sneak peek at Gen 13. (page 104) Dr. Strange: The Oath #1 (Marvel) - The common saying about Dr. Strange is that every creator has a pitch for him, but nobody seems to actually want to buy his series. This may be because most creators have no idea how to write him, as most recently demonstrated by Straczynski's godawful attempt to Matrix up the good doctor. Fortunately, Brian Vaughan isn't most creators, he's one of the top five writers working in comics today, and Marcos Martin is an unusual but interesting choice for art on a Doctor Strange book. It's hard to tell much from the preview, but Vaughan's snappy pacing and sense of humor seem intact, and if he can meld that with the coolness of Strange's mystic adventures, we could be in for a real treat. If I were a betting man, I'd put money on this being a memorable take on a character who has long been treated badly. (page M35) The Irredeemable Ant-Man #1 (Marvel) - I'm still a little irked with Bendis for deepening Scott Lang's character, making him really interesting and then killing him off for shock value in a lame story. I wasn't really in the market for a new Ant-Man, I thought the old one had plenty of life left in him. But... Kirkman's pitch for this new Ant-Man book, as covered by CBR, sounds like a lot of fun, and I love Phil Hester's artwork. I couldn't find the 2 preview pages from Marvel Previews online, which is a shame, as they're a pretty good and funny introduction to the new character and the new book. (page M23) Chip Zdarsky's Monster Cops #1 (Legion of Evil Press) - Chip Zdarsky is a thoroughly underrated talent, part of the Royal Academy of Illustration and Design studio that also includes Cameron Stewart, Kagan McLeod and other such talented illustrators. His previous work was the hilariously sick and wrong Prison Funnies, and his newest project, Monster Cops, promises to be a departure from that but no less entertaining. I've seen a preview of Monster Cops (high concept: Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman as cops) in the R.A.I.D. anthology book Rumble Royale, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of the characters. You can see a little preview at this site, and learn a whole lot more (probably more than you want to know) at Chip Zdarky's livejournal. (page 312) The Damned #1 (Oni Press) - Here's the pitch: Mob warfare in the Prohibition era is actually the result of strings pulled by the real powers behind the thugs, demons trading in human souls. The lead character is caught in the middle of all this mob warfare. I'm hooked on the concept alone, honestly, but there are two other big selling points. One, like Wasteland, the first issue will be double-sized for only 50 cents more, and two, the art is by Hard Time and Queen & Country vet Brian Hurtt. Fans of Hellblazer or 100 Bullets (or both) will definitely want to give this one a look. You can find more information on the official site. (page 328) OTHER STUFF THAT CAUGHT MY EYE: The Absolute Sandman Vol. 1 HC (DC/Vertigo) - The new colors are undeniably gorgeous, and the pedigree for the series certainly argues that it deserves the Absolute format. I'm not quite willing to blow $100 on a 20-issue volume (promising that the whole series will cost about $400 at least), especially since I have a mix of well-designed hardcovers and softcovers already, but kudos to DC for giving one of their prestige projects the prestige treatment. Had they given it the same treatment for about half the price, I'd probably be right onboard, but $5 an issue for a series I already own is just too high a price to pay, re-colored or no. (page 117) Action Comics #844 (DC) - One of those "holy crap" kind of revelations was the long-teased and finally-confirmed news that Superman movie director Richard Donner was going to be writing Action Comics. True, he's co-writing it with comics vet (and former Donner assistant) Geoff Johns, so how much is his contribution is always going to be in question, but still, credit to DC for a major coup in big name casting. Truthfully, I'm not sure it can be better than Morrison's All-Star Superman, and the central premise seemingly surrounding another survivor of Krypton seems potentially wrong-headed to me, but I have to admit... I'm curious. (page 68) The Art of Dragon Magazine HC (Paizo Publishing) - I usually steer clear of the games, action figures and other bric-a-brac in the Previews, and I will continue to do so, but I'm making an exception for Paizo Publishing's Art of Dragon Magazine because it's not a game product, it's an art book, akin to any art or sketch book I'd talk up in this column. Paizo has spectacular production values, and Dragon Magazine has had a ton of good fantasy art throughout its run, so I expect this to be a treat, whether you're a diehard Dungeon Master or just someone who likes a good elf or dragon painting now and again. (page 506) Astro City: The Dark Age Book 2 #1 (DC/Wildstorm) - The first part of Astro City: The Dark Age answered some big questions about the mythology, including the tale of the Silver Agent, all while introducing compelling characters and addressing meta themes about the comic book industry. It's been a bit of a wait, but the second part of the story should live up to the level of the first, and provide closure on some of the big questions in the Astro City universe. I'd rather have the book on a regular, monthly basis again, but I'll take it in small doses if I have to. (page 109) Civil Wardrobe (Brain Scan Studios Inc) - Rich Johnston parodies the comics industry, with a particular focus on... well, you can guess from the title. Johnston's comics offerings have never clicked with me the way his entertaining Lying in the Gutters column has, but he's got a lot of wit and insight into the industry, and the all-star art lineup, as varied as Fred Hembeck, Ashley Wood and Frazer Irving, at least deserves a look. (page 260) Daredevil: Devil in Cell Block D TP (Marvel) - It took several issues for Ed Brubaker to fully earn my trust in his Daredevil direction, but now that I've seen his first arc to completion, I'm ready to declare it better than any of Bendis's work (some of which I still quite like) and yet building very strongly on the foundation Bendis left. It doesn't hurt that Michael Lark, artist on Daredevil, is superb not just with the character stuff but with the action that was always missing in Bendis's run, or that Brubaker has made great use of guest stars like the Punisher and a false Daredevil whose real identity belongs to one of my favorite C-listers. No, I'm not gonna spoil it here... read the book! (page M103) Dark Horse Comics: The First Twenty Years HC (Dark Horse) - Publishing a 400-page hardcover book exulting your trailblazing history sounds more like the kind of hubris you'd expect from the Jemas/Quesada era of Marvel, but let's face it... Dark Horse has earned a little tooting of its own horn. 20 years in this business, especially with the kind of quality they've maintained and the number of cool series they've launched, is a laudable achievement, and the talent list contributing to this history book makes it almost certain to wind up on my bookshelf. (page 27) Ex Machina Vol. 4: The March to War TP (DC/Wildstorm) - Dire things happen to one of the main characters and the after-effects of 9/11 and the Iraq War come to the streets of New York in the latest volume of Ex Machina. This book seems to have fallen off a lot of peoples' buzz radar, and that's a shame, because it continues to be a great read by one of comics' best creative teams, on writing and art. (page 111) Godland #13 (Image) - Issue #12 just came out, but already I'm feeling the sting of the two month hiatus Godland is taking. Thankfully, the book returns with more cosmic action, humor and cool style in October, complete with a swanky alternate cover from Keith Giffen and Erik Larsen that perfectly captures the spirit of the book. (page 140) The Goon Vol. 5: Wicked Inclinations TP (Dark Horse) - The Goon took a turn for the more serious in this volume, as the war between the Goon and the Zombie Priest escalated and reached a climax of sorts, but it was still full of the same gorgeous artwork, violence and dark humor that has made this title a must read. Each new volume is a cause for celebration. (page 31) Hack/Slash: Slice Hard (Devil's Due) - Tim Seeley teased the premise of Slice Hard in his 25-cent issue, and it's one of the most intriguing stories for Cassie Hack, slasher hunter, thus far. If you haven't heard of the book up until now, it's most easily summed up as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but with slashers ala Jason and Freddy instead of vampires," but that really doesn't do justice to this fun horror/action gem. If you picked up any of those Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th or Texas Chainsaw Massacre books, if you're a fan of Rob Zombie's Devil's Rejects, or if you're just an old school horror movie junkie, trust me... pick up Hack/Slash... Tim Seeley is one of you, and he knows how to write what you like. (page 273) Hellcity Vol 1 TP (Gigantic Graphic Novels) - I know nothing about the creators of this graphic novel, but I know that it's being published by the guys who did Dead West and Teenagers From Mars, and that's good enough to at least earn it a look. Especially when the story looks like a mixture of hard-boiled pulp and fantastic hellscapes. (page 295) Hellstorm: Son of Satan #1 (Marvel/MAX) - Here's an argument for preview pages. I had little interest in a Son of Satan miniseries, MAX imprint or no, especially one by creators I've never heard of. But the pages revealed in the Marvel Previews present a sort of urban horror/action vibe that I quite like, and while it's hard to judge the actual story based on unlettered preview pages, certainly the tone of the story intrigues. (page M75) John Woo's Seven Brothers #1 (Virgin Comics) - Now, it may be true that John Woo's work since coming to America has run the gamut from mediocrity to outright crap. And it may be true that Garth Ennis has squandered a lot of his promise, built up on Preacher and Hitman, on writing the Punisher (regardless of how well he writes it, etc.). However, both men have proven themselves talented beyond a doubt, and the two of them working together on a new comic about seven men fulfilling an ancient prophecy, with the typically attractive art of Virgin Comics? Well, that's got to be worth a look, at least. (page 365) Jonny Crossbones: Dead Man at Devil's Cove TP (Dark Horse) - The solicit calls this "in the spirit of all-ages, globe-trotting adventure comics like TinTin..." and I've got to give them credit for that. I confess I haven't read much TinTin, but I do know that this kind of genre is not really explored in modern comics, and I wonder if some of the TinTin fans hungry for more might be looking for something in the same vein. The question when you set out in such unexplored territory is: "Are the talent up to it?" and given that the talent here is Les McClaine, who did such terrific artwork on Viper's Middleman, I think the answer is going to be yes. (page 28) The Killer #1 (Archaia Studios Press) - Archaia Studios is quickly becoming an indy publisher to watch. Mouse Guard is a buzz sensation, and this month also sees the publication of a hardcover collection of the beautifully illustrated steampunk samurai tale Robotika, which is definitely going on my buying list. So I'll definitely take a look at The Killer, their 10-part miniseries about a professional assassin, based on their reputation, a solid promo piece of art by Luc Jacamon and the intriguing tagline "one man's journey through some seriously bad mojo." (page 232) The Omega Men #1 (DC) - Truthfully, I didn't have much interest in a new take on the Omega Men, as I don't really know the characters that well, but I had the chance to talk with writer Andersen Gabrych in San Diego, and he did a pretty good job of selling me on the book. The Omega Men have always been defined by their outlaw status, but Gabrych is taking them into much more controversial territory, using a universal space religion with sinister overtones to set them up as terrorists, landing these science-fiction heroes in a story with plenty of real-world, modern themes to explore. Art is by 2000 AD vet Henry Flint, who should be right at home with this kind of action-oriented sci-fi. (page 83) The Pirates of Coney Island #1 (Image) - Kinda weird that author Rick Spears has his own graphic novel company (Gigantic), but he's publishing his own project through Image instead. However, it's full color and serialized, which might explain the seeming discrepancy. At any rate, Pirates of Coney Island looks like fun in the vein of strange, hard-to-describe books like Amazing Joy Buzzards and garish gang warfare ala cult '70s flick The Warriors. Which is to say, it looks original and has distinctive artwork, and Spears has shown an ability with this kind of story before in his urban comics fable Teenagers From Mars. (page 136) Project: Romantic TP (Adhouse Books) - Another anthology from Adhouse Books, and it's sure to be as gorgeous and well-produced as Project: Superior and Project: Telstar. Some of the creators on this one include Hope Larson, Jose Garibaldi, Jimm Rugg and Scott Morse, to name only a few of the indy big names contributing. (page 213) Ragnar's Kings of the Road GN (Baby Tattoo Books) - I fell in love with the hyper-stylized artwork of Ragnar when I picked up his Chromaphile art book last year in San Diego, and so I was drawn to this 100+ page book about the "stylized, visual exploration of American hobo culture." Strange but intriguing subject matter, and you can get huge eyefuls of what's going to be in the book by taking a look at Ragnar's livejournal, which ought to tell you everything you need to know. In short, well worth $20. Seems worth noting that Vernaculis, the "sequel" of sorts to Chromaphile, is available in this month's Previews as well. (page 249) Seven Brothers TP (AIT/Planet Lar) - The solicitation refers to this tale of seven identical Chinese brothers during the 1850s Gold Rush as a classic fable with a comic book twist. I don't know the fable, but you can get a rundown of it on Wikipedia and see if it sounds as interesting to you as it does to me. If it does, you can check out this 23-page PDF preview, with gorgeous artwork by Riley Rossmo. (page 219) Star Wars: Dark Times #1 (Dark Horse) - Dark Horse has had a fair amount of success in revamping their Star Wars comics after the Revenge of the Sith movie came out. They relaunched the classic era books as Rebellion, following up nicely on characters introduced in Star Wars: Empire while remaining accessible. They jumped on the videogame success of Knights of the Old Republic to launch a successful comic set in that time period. They had their Republic creators move over to Star Wars: Legacy and create a completely new tale set after the Expanded Universe we've seen thus far. And now, they introduce Dark Times, following up on the last stories in Star Wars: Republic to explore what happened to the last few Jedi left after Palpatine had wiped most of them out. It's an interesting time period to set a story in, and these creators did excellent work on the Republic series, so I expect it will be just as good, and even better, accessible to the new readers as well. The Star Wars movies may have disappointed, but the Star Wars comics from Dark Horse continue to shine. (page 42) Warhammer 40K #1 (Boom! Studios) - Speaking of dark futures... Boom! Studios tackles a venerable gaming property, the British apocalyptic future world known as Warhammer 40,000. They've got comics vet (and Warhammer novel vet) Andy Lanning onboard to write, which promises a tone consistent with what Warhammer fans have come to expect as well as something that should be welcome to neophyte fans. I count myself in that group, by the way, because while I've sold Warhammer 40K in my day job for years, I'd be hard-pressed to tell you much about the universe. What I do know, however, about religious zealots in powered armor, slavering aliens of varying types and the influence of chaos would seem to indicate a setting rich in potential, and Boom! will no doubt be able to tap that potential. Worth noting, it seems, that the artwork is gorgeous, and that fans of Chris Moeller's Iron Empires series especially should keep an eye out for this. (page 259) Y: The Last Man Vol. 8 TP (DC/Vertigo) - Another volume in Y: The Last Man, one of my favorite books on the stands. The book is closing in on the finale, and I know some are disappointed, but I actually really like the "60-some issues and out" model from Vertigo, and I'd rather the book have a five-year run with a strong ending than an endless run that eventually disappoints. (page 125) Zombies vs. Robots #1 (IDW) - Finally, we close with a comics series that seems like the spiritual cousin of Snakes on a Plane. The title leaves nothing to the imagination, it's right there... zombies vs. robots. Chris Ryall's story about a squad of robots that must protect the last human baby from the zombies could go B-movie territory or it might be a tad more serious, but the moody atmospheric art of Ashley Wood is probably a great choice either way. (page 306) Email Randy Lander comments about this column, or visit his MySpace profile/blog.