Down The Line - Previews review for December 2002 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 October previews for comics due to ship out in December 2002. Some other places to get more information on preordering, as well as some very different takes on what is most important in the previews, can be had from Chris Ekman (Things To Come), Augie DeBlieck (Pipeline), Chris Butcher & James Lucas Jones (Previews Review) and Johanna Draper Carlson (Comics Worth Reading), among others. Pre-ordering is your friend. If there's stuff you want in December, letting your retailer know before the end of October is the best way to make sure you get it. It's the December Previews, which means all of the stuff that's going to be just slightly too late for the holidays but right on time for holiday money to be spent. That means there's a fair bit of interesting material in this issue, including a couple new series launches from DC, plenty of new collections and, as usual, a completely unhelpful lack of information from Marvel. Also, if rumors are true, this may be the last month for the "Big Four" pick, as Crossgen moves up and makes it the "Big Five" pick of the month. BIG FOUR PICK OF THE MONTH: Gotham Central #1-2 (DC) - I've been anticipating this one since I first heard about it, and nothing here makes me anticipate it any less. Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker, two of my favorite writers who have done well with the Batman mythos, team with Michael Lark, who made a great impression with Brubaker on Scene of the Crime, to explore the most fascinating aspect of Gotham for me: the cops. This promises to be everything I loved about Rucka's Detective Comics, focusing on the more interesting cops and robbers aspects of Gotham, and it will probably stand alongside Catwoman as the best thing coming out of the Batman editorial offices. Mike Mignola's B.P.R.D. TP (Dark Horse) - Like most, I was wary about a series related to Hellboy that was not drawn by Mike Mignola, or indeed solely written by him. But the buzz on this one was really good, and the B.P.R.D. is actually one of the most intriguing aspects of Hellboy's world for me, so I'm interested to see this trade. Reid Fleming/Flaming Carrot Crossover #1 (Dark Horse) - Two of the most offbeat properties in independent comics join for a crossover, and whatever else it is, I expect it will be very weird. Reid Fleming, for those who don't know, is the world's toughest milkman, and Flaming Carrot can battle with Madman and the denizens of Jay Stephens's Atomic City for the title of "most off-beat super-hero." Mac Rayboy's Flash Gordon Vol. 1 TP (Dark Horse) - This looks to me almost like Marvel's Essentials, the sort of thing that isn't normally up my alley but which is so much a classic of the medium that it draws my attention anyway. Classic Flash Gordon strips, space adventure with most likely bad science and pulp attitudes? Sounds interesting, and Dark Horse has a history of nice production on volumes like these, borne out most recently with their work on Lone Wolf and Cub and Akira. Batgirl: Year One (DC) - Batgirl, like Supergirl, is a character who really became popular after she was essentially gone, meaning that there's more interest in flashback stories than there ever was in the characters when they were active in the universe. This one has promise, as it's created largely by the same creative team that did such a great job on Robin: Year One, and as a benefit, it's not in the overly expensive prestige format that makes it a real gamble to try out an issue. Aquaman #1 (DC) - Meanwhile, Aquaman continues to live with Wonder Woman in that zone of "classic DC icon who can't support sales," earning another shot at an ongoing title. Rick Veitch is hit and miss for me, and so is Yvel Guichet, but the cover image, the enthusiasm Veitch has been showing over at the Newsarama boards and the nice-looking costume redesign by Guichet have piqued my interest. If this team can latch onto what makes the character work as well as has been done with new solo titles like Catwoman, Hawkman and Green Arrow, DC could have another surprise hit on their hands. Super Friends: Truth, Justice & Peace (DC) - With so many obvious holes in DC's trade paperback collections, from further volumes of Hitman, Birds of Prey and Nightwing to a complete lack of Grant Morrison Doom Patrol and Peter Milligan Shade the Changing Man... I am boggled as to why we're getting a second trade collection of the Super Friends instead. Robotech #0-1 (DC/Wildstorm) - OK, call me a retro fanboy, but this has got me really excited. I like Yune's stuff, I like a lot of what Faerber does, the artwork so far looks very pretty and I was a huge fan of Robotech back in the day. With the Robotech: Battlecry game on delivery to my house sometime in the next week, my interest in transforming Veritech fighters and the soap opera of the crew of the SDF-1 is at its peak again, and DC could not have timed this better. Not crazy about their adoption of the "zero issue" for these retro launches, though. Fables: Legends in Exile TP (DC/Vertigo) - While coinciding with the beginning of the next story arc would have been better, it's good to see that DC is starting to learn a lesson about quicker collections to capitalize on series "buzz." I only hope that sales reward this experiment, since there's a tendency from DC to view one shot as the only shot in cases like this. I'm considering picking up the trade despite already having all the issues, honestly, although that's partly because I'd like to have this series in trades as well. Hellblazer Special: Lady Constantine #1 (DC/Vertigo) - I don't know Andy Diggle's work at all, and I'm not a huge fan of this character. But the Phil Noto cover draws me in, and artwork by Goran Sudzuka (late of Outlaw Nation) certainly intrigues me. Probably worth a look on the shelf for me. Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis TP (DC/Vertigo) - Interesting to see Vertigo continuing to expand into pre-Vertigo reprints, but it's fitting that work by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson on Swamp Thing falls into this category. As I'm no big Swamp Thing fan, and I've got plenty to spend my money on, I don't know that I'll be picking this up, but the promise of full-color Wrightson artwork on a character he helped define is tempting. Y: The Last Man #6 (DC/Vertigo) - Three issues in, this is already looking like my favorite new book of the year. This is the start of a new storyline, and with a trade collection rumored to be on the way soon, this is as good a jumping-on point for any who have heard the buzz but ignored it up until now. It's not too late to get onboard for the whole ride, and trust me, it's well worth your time. Bastard Samurai TP Vol. 1: Samurai Noir (Image) - Bastard Samurai was a mixed bag for me, not as clear as I would have liked in story... but it looked great, and had some neat ideas. A good trade for those who are looking for a strong action comic or some artwork that's reminiscent of Oeming's great work on Powers. Hawaiian Dick #1 (Image) - B. Clay Moore's name is familiar to me, though I can't for the life of me remember where I've read any of his stuff before. Doesn't matter, though, because the pitch for this one, an ex-cop becoming a detective in Hawaii with supernatural overtones, is a great one. And the artwork, previewed on this two-page spread, is beautiful, full of color and character. This is how you tease a new series. Not a ton of text, not just a cover image, but a well put-together featurette. Bravo, Image, first for landing this series and then for promoting it correctly. Rex Mundi #1 (Image) - Then there's Rex Mundi, which has similarly great promotion, and takes advantage of the near-universal (heck, it may be actually universal) acclaim for the book by reprinting quotes from various websites (including this one) praising the zero issue. Rex Mundi is an inventive premise with solid writing and great artwork, and I'm glad to see the series start in earnest. Total Sell Out (Image) - I remember when this was going to be an Oni trade... seems like years ago. I'm just glad it's finally coming out, as Bendis's short stories were a lot of fun and a lot of his newer fans probably haven't seen them. I've probably seen a fair bit of it already, but I'm still anxious to have it in a more accessible form rather than in scattered issues throughout my collection. Ultimate War #1 (Marvel) - Though I'm nervous about Chris Bachalo, given the insanely hard-to-read style he's developed, the promo image is pretty solid, and the promise of the Ultimates and the Ultimate X-Men meeting is intriguing. I'm also not wild about the Ultimate universe crossing over so blatantly, but at least it's being done outside the main titles. I'm not as excited about this as I think Marvel would like me to be, but I can't deny being curious. Spider-Man's Tangled Web #21 (Marvel) - Tangled Web is a crapshoot each month, and you never know whether you're going to get a great little story or something that looks like it belonged in the filler sections of an annual. However, Darwyn Cooke's "Valentine's Day" issue was terrific, and now he re-teams with J. Bone for a similar Christmas story, which will no doubt be a lot of fun as well. Avengers #61-62 (Marvel) - I know Olivier Coipel has been tapped as the regular artist for this book, but he seems an odd match, and I find myself wishing that Gary Frank's run was more than just two issues. Nevertheless, I expect that these two issues will be the strongest, art-wise, in quite a while. Daredevil Volume 2 HC (Marvel) - Glad to see this massive tome collecting Bendis's "Kingpin assaulted/Daredevil's identity revealed" story released, but I'm curious as to why it's being listed as volume two. Unless they're going to put out an enormous volume one that comprises issues one through twenty-five, it seems an odd choice. Elektra Volume 1: Introspect (Marvel) - And on the flipside, given that there's already a trade of Bendis's Scorpio Key story and that they're skipping over Greg Rucka's first story on the book, I can't figure out why Introspect is called volume one. I mean, it's a new jumping-on point and direction for the character, but it seems strange that they're acting as if the run with Chuck Austen on art didn't even exist. New Collections (Marvel) - While there aren't a bunch of big surprises in trades this month, there are new volumes of Amazing Spider-Man, New X-Men and G.I. Joe. Also, Marvel ought to proofread their solicitations a little more carefully... unless I'm out of the loop, and Essential Spider-Man is indeed done by Darko Macan and Igor Kordey. INDY PICK OF THE MONTH: The Annotated Mantooth TP (AIT/Planet Lar) - Lots of choices this month, and I was tempted to name Raijin Comics, Courtney Crumrin, Altercations and Pistolwhip: The Yellow Menace as my pick of the month. But I can't deny my love for the 'Tooth. It's a shame that the graphic novel had to lose a great (if long) title that includes the words "kung-fu" and "gorilla," but if you haven't experienced the sheer manic joy that is Rex Mantooth, Kung-Fu Gorilla when it was first released in Double Take, get down on your knees and thank Larry Young for this second opportunity. And if you're like me, and you have the issues, you're still going to want this for the chance to see more Fraction/Kuhn madness in this expanded edition. Sure to be one of the funniest comics released all year. Alias: Agent Bristow #0 (Arcade Comics) - Every time I think of this, I want to break something. J.J. Abrams, writer of one of my absolute favorite shows of the moment, Alias, is doing a comic about the character. Comics fits Alias very well, and there's potential for this to be really good. Except that it's being done in conjunction with Rob Liefeld, who has decided to pencil half of the book while Ande Parks pencils the other half. Neither are artists I would have chosen, and I'm afraid the book will be a trainwreck... if it comes out at all. R.A. Salvatore's Demon Wars: Trial By Fire #1 (CGE/Code 6) - Another of those "not especially for me, but...", this is a big move for Crossgen. A shame that they couldn't get R.A. Salvatore to actually write the book, but he's a fairly big name in modern day fantasy novels, and should cross over quite nicely with Crossgen's current audience as well as bringing more audience members to them. Forge/Edge (Crossgen) - This is Crossgen's month to be doing everything right, something they seem to be doing more and more. Moving the compendia to a cheaper format is noble, and doing it by shrinking it to the hip "manga size" trades is even better. These ought to be more portable for the commuting target audience of these books, and it's another step in the right direction for a bold initiative. Key Issues (Crossgen) - In addition, while this is more of a marketing victory than something no one else is doing, I love that Crossgen will now have a way to mark their "jumping-on points." Marvel and DC could do worse than to follow suit with their long-running series, although they won't, as none of the companies wants to give the impression that they're actually paying attention to what any of their competitors are doing right. A complaint which can apply to Crossgen as well. It seems to be just the way the industry works. Clockwork Angels TP (Cyberosia) - I've seen the remastered Cathedral Child, and it really is an improvement, with nicer paper and some cleaned-up artwork as a result. Clockwork Angels will now benefit from the same treatment, and it's good to see this back in print. Now I just hope this means we'll get the third volume of Lea Hernandez's "Texas Steampunk" tales soon. Weapon Brown (Deathray Graphics) - A cyborg Charlie Brown hunts the post-apocalyptic wastelands for the red-headed girl who done him wrong. Nifty high concept, and from what little I got a chance to read at SPX a couple years back, hilariously funny. Glad to see this pulled out and given its own graphic novel release, as I think it could definitely appeal to a pretty wide audience. Transformers: Profile Book 1 (Dreamwave) - I'm a sucker for "Marvel Universe" and "Who's Who" type books, and I have to praise Dreamwave for doing the Transformers book in a trade paperback format right off the bat. These will no doubt look gorgeous, and anyone with even a little bit of love for the transforming giant robots should check it out. Raijin Comics #1 (Gutsoon! Entertainment) - Raijin Comics is sort of the adult equivalent of Shonen Jump, a mega-popular manga anthology with a variety of features and amazing dollar-to-page ratio. The variety in their features, including politics, sports, science-fiction, crime, conspiracy and others, has impressed me so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing these comics. Swell TP (Infospect Press) - This one is an independent anthology, which usually means it'll be hit and miss, but there are enough names in here to make me curious. Specifically, Keith Knight, James Kochalka and Shannon Wheeler got my attention. Beowulf: The Monster Maker (Lone Star Press) - Bill Willingham is making headlines right now with Fables, and those who are enjoying that work might check out this new novel, which features a similar sort of "myth meets reality" take. Beowulf the monster hunter as down-on-his-luck detective, hunting down monsters in the modern day in the setting of the much-beloved (and cut short) Coventry, sounds great to me. Chiaroscuro #5 (Meanwhile Studios) - I've only read issue one of this book so far, but I was intrigued by the unusual story and terrific art style. Those who enjoyed Paradigm should check out this similarly-toned book, and this month you can order not just #5 but also a package of #1-4, containing the first four issues of the story arc as well as a sketch drawn by the creator, Troy Little. Moonstone Noir: The Hat Squad GN (Moonstone Books) - The Hat Squad is one of those neat ideas, like the Knights of the Round Table or Robin Hood's merry men, and the chance to see Jay Faerber write some crime is very inviting. Buster's Neighborhood: Kid Comet vs. The Agents of Doom TP (Mutant Toast Productions) - This one got my attention based largely on the artwork and the full-page solicitation, enough to make me go to the website and check out some sneak preview pages. Once I'd done that, I knew I'd be checking out this beautiful looking graphic novel, which looks like a fun science-fiction adventure. Courtney Crumrin (Oni Press) - Not only is Oni Press collecting the delightful Courtney Crumrin series into a trade paperback this month, creator Ted Naifeh is back for another dose with Courtney Crumrin & The Coven of Mystics #1. This is a pretty quick follow-up, and I'm glad, because I loved the characters, the artwork, the story, the sense of humor, pretty much everything about Courtney Crumrin, and I'm looking forward to more. Altercations #1 (Sleeping Giant Comics) - David Yurkovich is an odd sort, with a love for super-heroes one doesn't usually find from a self-publisher and a style that seems an odd fit for the super-heroic set. However, his unusual heroes, from The Broccoli Agenda to the corporate super-hero comic The S.H.o.P., have made for excellent reading. His new project, a two-volume story in full color that explores super-heroics decade-by-decade, sounds just as unusual and intriguing. There's a preview HERE. The Invincible Ed #2 (Summertime Comics) - Those who liked Herobear and the Kid, Zed or other "animator comics" should not miss Invincible Ed, which combines super-heroics and high school angst into a fun and funny romp with terrific artwork. Pistolwhip: The Yellow Menace (Top Shelf Productions) - Remember when Quentin Tarantino had done Reservoir Dogs, and everyone was anxious to see what was next? And what was next was Pulp Fiction, which was even better than Reservoir Dogs? I expect that to be pretty much what happens with Pistolwhip: The Yellow Menace, the long-awaited new project from the Jason Hall and Matt Kindt, creators of much-lauded pulp crime graphic novel Pistolwhip. You can see an 11-page preview at their website. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.