Down The Line - Previews review for January 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 November previews for comics due to ship out in January 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 January, letting your retailer know before the end of November is the best way to make sure you get it. The new year starts off with super-heroes on both covers, which was a little disappointing even for a hardcore super-hero fan like me. However, there are a lot of exciting projects to be found in the indy sections this month... I had a really hard time making my Indy Pick for this month. BIG FOUR PICK OF THE MONTH: Sleeper #1 (DC/Wildstorm) - I've been looking forward to this project since hearing about it in San Diego in 2001, and I'm glad to finally see it getting the light of day. Ed Brubaker has written some great stuff this year, and his favorite work for me always revolves around crime, so an undercover super-villain sounds like just the kind of thing I'd like to see. It's also a fairly unexplored story in comics. In addition, this is Sean Phillips on artwork, and when he works at Wildstorm with good writers (see Wildcats version 2.0), Phillips is one of the best artists around. Grendel: God and the Devil #0 (Dark Horse) - I'm a casual Grendel fan, but I've liked most of what creator Matt Wagner has done with the characters, and I had the good fortune of picking up the Grendel series from Comico from a friend for a decent price. So, if I'm reading this right, I've read this material already, as this is continuing the reprint of the classic Grendel stuff, but it's great Grendel stuff, with art by Tim Sale (and folks, he's always been good, and usually great). Lone Wolf 2100 (Dark Horse) - I had thought Lone Wolf 2100 was a four-part mini-series, but it looks like it has done very well for Dark Horse. In addition to a trade of the first four-part story arc this month, there's a one-shot that seems like a "Lone Wolf 2100 Universe" type of thing, and the newest chapter of the ongoing series. All with art by Francisco Ruiz Velasco and written by Mike Kennedy, which is good for those who have enjoyed the book so far. Batman: The Golden Streets of Gotham (DC) - I'm usually a little wary of these Batman Elseworlds prestige format specials, but this one has a creative pedigree that is too good to be true. Jen Van Meter has blown me away with her work on Hopeless Savages, and Cliff Chiang did the same with his work on "Josie Mac," and I expect this to be a great read. Birds of Prey: Old Friends, New Enemies TP (DC) - Finally, after more than four years of success with the ongoing series, DC creates a second trade paperback of the characters, containing some of the stronger work that has been done with artist Greg Land and the more focused ongoing series. Unfortunately, many of the folks who ever wanted this have probably given up on the series with Chuck Dixon departing now, but hopefully the TV series and upcoming writer stints by Gilbert Hernandez and Gail Simone will stir some new interest. Superman: Last Stand on Krypton (DC) - I really enjoyed Steve Gerber and Doug Wheatley's take on Superman as the last survivor of Earth instead of Krypton, and this new one-shot should serve as both an interesting standalone from talented creators and a nice sequel for that interesting Elseworlds tale. The Flash: Rogues TP (DC) - In stark contrast to the Birds of Prey trades, The Flash has gotten faster trade collection, and that's a good thing. While the Blood Will Run trade was great stuff, Rogues contains some of my favorite stories in the Johns/Kolins run, including the issues that focused on Captain Cold and Gorilla Grodd. This is a must-buy for even the most casual Flash fan. Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn TP (DC) - I know the story and some of its retcons were controversial at the time (Hal was a drunk driver?), but compared to what's been done to the character since, I can't imagine anyone cares anymore. So what we're left with is a pretty nifty and well-written revised origin for Green Lantern, with great artwork by Mark Bright. Hellblazer: Haunted TP (DC/Vertigo) - Warren Ellis's run on Hellblazer was cut short by creative differences, but it was good stuff all around, and it's good to see it collected. The first four issue arc was, for my taste, some of the weaker stuff in the run, but that's only by comparison to some of the strong single issue stories that came later, and at any rate, it's a solid take on the popular character. Image Super-Heroes (Image) - I'm as skeptical as anyone that Image is choosing now to launch a new super-hero line. The market is still pretty glutted with super-heroes, and the idea of enforcing some new continuity on standalone titles like Noble Causes and Savage Dragon makes me nervous as well. However, the five concepts here sound pretty good, and the creative teams are solid. Jim Krueger's Clockmaker is an off-beat super-hero book, which is a style that worked out well for him on Footsoldiers; Firebreather sounds like pure fun, and I like Phil Hester's writing a lot; Invincible takes on the second-generation hero concept that I like a lot, with writing by Robert (Superpatriot and Battle Pope) Kirkman; Dominion is Keith Giffen writing and art, which is always fun and usually cancelled before its time, but maybe he can escape the Vext, Heckler, etc. curse at Image; and Venture looks like the most fun of the bunch, with writing by Jay (Noble Causes) Faerber and great artwork from Jamal Igle. I'm not as pumped for this release as the guys at Image seem to be, but I can't deny being intrigued. Powers Supergroup HC (Image) - Another Powers collection, following fairly quickly on the heels of volume three, but I'm mildly annoyed that the hardcover is solicited first. While I would have been happy to buy all of the Powers in hardcover, I don't like to mix formats, and it sure would have been nice of Bendis and company to not follow the carrot and stick method of hardcover first production that DC and Marvel have adopted, especially since hardcover volumes of the first three books weren't really available aside from the limited edition Graphitti Designs one. Hulk/Wolverine: 6 Hours #1-2 (Marvel) - I'm honestly not that big on the whole Wolverine/Hulk connection - it's a spotty one at best - but I am big on Bruce Jones writing and Scott Kolins art, so I expect this will be a fun read. Exiles #21 (Marvel) - Wasn't the whole point of these ridiculous big picture solicitations to cut down on the spoilers ahead of time? If so, why does the scant amount of text in the Exiles solicitation give away a fairly big spoiler point that isn't going to affect retailer orders one tiny bit? The Incredible Hulk #49 (Marvel) - It's not just that the book is so good right now. When it comes to covers, Kaare Andrews is at the top of his field right now. Look at the inspired homage this month to a favorite children's book. Much as I'm looking forward to the stories in the Hulk hardcover, I'm just as much looking forward to having Andrews's covers reproduced in larger size on nice paper. Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules #1 (Marvel) - I wasn't as big on James Sturm's The Golem's Mighty Swing as others were, but I liked a lot about it, and I'm always a Guy Davis fan. So the creative pedigree for this one is solid, and the idea is intriguing as well. I could wish for a little less Sentry-ish marketing, since we all know that the Fantastic Four wasn't based on real people, but it's a neat jumping-off point for a story when taken in a fictional context. Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra TP (Marvel) - Wow, that was fast. The first issue hasn't even hit shops yet, and the trade is already solicited. It may annoy retailers, but I honestly think there are two separate groups of people who want only issues and only trades, and this won't damage the series' sales all that much. I happen to be in the latter group more often than not, and I'm glad to be guaranteed a collection of the series, which started off strongly this week. X-Force: Famous, Mutant and Mortal HC (Marvel) - The Allred/Milligan material in oversized hardcover format? Sold. I love Marvel's hardcovers, and this is one of those books I expect to be looking back on with fondness for years to come. Uncanny X-Men Volume 1: Hope TP (Marvel) - Marvel's production department seems to be having trouble counting. I know they want to emphasize the jumping-on elements of a new creative team, but calling each new collection of long-running series like Uncanny X-Men "volume one" is going to make for one confused clusterfuck of trade organization in a few years. I'm also slowly realizing that Marvel isn't going to collect everything, and some of what they're not collecting (no Elektra: Glimpse and Echo? WTF?) contrasted with what they are collected (The Call of Duty? Really?) is disappointing. Legends Series - Wolverine and Daredevil (Marvel) - Similarly, renaming trades and giving them new trade dress when the old trades are still in circulation seems like a recipe for confusion in the bookstore market, which is just starting to get its feet wet with graphic novels in a big way. Like the Marvel Visionaries trade dress, I expect that Legends will make way for something else, and we'll have material reprinted in different places with different formats, making for some confusion. Mind you, I'm glad to see all of this stuff reprinted, including Daredevil: Yellow in softcover and the Frank Miller work, but a simpler and more long-term method of organization wouldn't hurt. There are times when DC's slow and methodical style of trade collections seems like an advantage. INDY PICK OF THE MONTH: Interman Volume 1 GN (Octopus) - I haven't heard of Jeff Parker previously (although I had seen his cover for Catwoman #11), but Interman stands out above new Brian Wood work, lots of Queen & Country and some other promising indies this month because of great samples and fantastic word-of-mouth. At his website you can see a few pages of the comic, and get a sense of story and art, both of which are very strong. In addition, the concept, an adventurer with adaptation abilities, is just this side of super-heroic and right in line with espionage, and Parker brings across the basic concept very well in the small space of a Diamond solicitation. I was sold based on the small samples, but the word-of-mouth from Greg Rucka, Steven Grant, Kurt Busiek, Steve Lieber and Scott Hampton sealed the deal. Oh, and did I mention that it's an original graphic novel too? Stewart the Rat #1 (About Comics) - It's hard for me to resist a Steve Gerber/Gene Colan collaboration. Honestly, I'm not so sure about a "Howard the Duck" pastiche, even from the original creators, as I'm afraid the material might seem a little dated, but I did really enjoy Essential Howard the Duck despite some of the less timeless elements it had, so I might give this one a look at the shop. Amazing Adventures from Zoom's Academy HC (Academy of Heroes) - I only read the first issue of this series (lost track of it somehow), but I remember it being a promising beginning, and I'm surprised to see that 200 pages have been produced already. While I'm not likely to buy a hardcover sight unseen, if you have a young child (or your own sense of childlike wonder is intact) you could do worse than to drop $25 on what will probably be a beautiful and imaginative read from animator Jason Lethcoe. Brian Wood Month 2003 (AIT/Planet Lar) - I just recently reread Channel Zero and the Public Domain: Channel Zero design book, so I'm all set for the long-awaited next installment, Jennie One, which tells the story leading up to the world of Channel Zero. The art I've seen from Becky Cloonan looks great, too. There's also a sequel to Couscous Express, which I was lukewarm on largely due to the artwork, but the sequel has a new artist, Rob G, and I have liked what I've seen from him as well. So I expect The Couriers to feed my Brian Wood-written action story interest, and Jennie One to feed my Brian Wood-written activist/political story interest. Cusp (Alternative Comics) - I don't know much about Cusp, but I do know that the cover image looks very beautiful, and that the description includes inspired strangeness like "flustered astronauts, rainbow werewolves" and "crass donkey people." Cusp will no doubt be very strange, but I can't deny being very intrigued. Hsu and Chan #1 (Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics) - I haven't read Electronic Gaming Monthly (I was a PC Gamer man when I had a subscription to a games magazine), but the debut of a strip from those pages in comics form seems to have started something of a buzz. And the samples of the strip look like fun, well-drawn and interesting. If nothing else, it'll fill that "two fisted game designer" niche that has gone empty for so long now. Neotopia #1 (Antarctic Press) - I've heard a lot about Rod Espinosa's work, but have found the Antarctic Press prices to be exceptionally high, and given that I don't enjoy most of the rest of their output, I've been reluctant to spend a lot of money to sample it. That's still true, although the gorgeous color pages of Neotopia that appeared in the back of some AP titles this month did give me pause. If you're looking for a sweeping fantasy story along the lines of Meridian, you could do worse than to check this out. Askari Hodari #1 (Askari Hodari Books) - All I know about this book is what's in the solicitation copy, which sounds like it could potentially be generic urban vigilante stuff or inspired storytelling along the lines of Priest's Black Panther #50, and the cover image is a solid illustration. The website is of little help in guessing the quality of the writing, but it does confirm some solid artwork, and this is definitely one of those books that's worth a look on the shelves if nothing else. The Crossovers #1 (CG Entertainment) - While Codename: Knockout hasn't really clicked with me, I really want to like Rob Rodi's writing, and The Crossovers sounds like a lot of fun. Combining four different genres into one family sounds like a fun premise, and with Crossgen production values, I expect that it will look gorgeous. Brath Prequel (CG Entertainment) - I'm also not much of a Conan fan, but I do like most of what Chuck Dixon has written and he and artist Di Vito seem pretty excited by Brath, the story of a barbarian chieftain trying to turn aside the Roman empire. Or, since this is a Crossgen book, a Roman-like empire on an alien planet. At any rate, this may be another one that gets added to my ever-growing list of Crossgen titles to follow in trade format. Wanderlust: Heaven's Fire #1 (Chiseled Comics) - I've read the first two issues of the previous Wanderlust and found it to be interesting military science-fiction. Those who liked the Wing Commander games (not the movie... but then, that's an empty caveat; nobody liked the movie) should definitely give this a look. Content #1 (Di) - I don't know much about Content, but I do know that it's about going back to being a kid again knowing what you know now, a premise I find very interesting, the artwork in the ad and solicitation looks pretty sharp and it was awarded a Xeric grant, which is never a bad thing. So I'll be giving this a shot. Darkminds: Macropolis TP (Dreamwave) - Interesting to see this trade solicited, given that the book hasn't actually been completed yet and the artists are rumored to have departed for other projects, but I'm ordering it anyway, hoping things will sort themselves out. I really enjoyed the first few chapters that I read after San Diego. The Great Comic Book Heroes TP (Fantagraphics) - This is one of those "I've heard about it forever" books, and I'm glad to see Fantagraphics putting it back into print. Fantagraphics really seems to have taken up the challenge of keeping some of comics' history in print, whether it's well-reviewed books like their B. Krigstein biography/overview/analysis or just reprinting classic material like Gil Kane's Blackmark, or classic critical essays like this one. Super Hero Happy Hour #1 (Geekpunk) - This one's been available to you already if you have a retailer who orders through Cold Cut or if you've seen the guys at Cons, but if you haven't, it's worth a look. Don and I covered the book in a Two in One review earlier this year, and we liked what we saw. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation #1 (IDW) - I'm a big fan of CSI, and so is my wife, but that's not the only reason I'm so happy to see this comic. I'm just glad to see someone adapting a show to comics that isn't necessarily a "genre" show. CSI is pretty much straight crime drama with an intelligent investigative bent, and the choice to use Ashley Wood for the more surreal crime lab aspects of it is simply genius. And with Max Allan Collins, best known right know for Road to Perdition, on to write, I'm sure it'll be a gritty read, true to the style of the show. 30 Days of Night TP (IDW) - The price may be a little high, but this was a great horror comic and I'm happy to see it collected so fast. I'll be putting it on my shelf as soon as it's available, and though the trade may seem pricey, it's a damn sight cheaper than buying the series off of Ebay right now. The prices people are paying for 30 Days are insane. Lumakick #1 (Lumakick Studio) - Another Xeric grant winner, this one sounds quite odd, talking about a "cross between Charlie Chaplin and Alice and Wonderland" and "a batch of absurdist short strips, told in various styles and voices." Odd in a good way, or odd in a "what the hell was that?" way, I'm not sure, but as I said earlier, the Xeric approval carries with it some weight for me. Queen & Country Volume III: Crystal Ball TP (Oni Press) - Oh, it's a good month. Not one, not two, but three Queen & Country projects, including the trade of the Leandro Fernandez issues (and say what you will, I still think he was the best artist to-date on the book), the final issue of Queen & Country: Declassified and the new story arc, with art by Jason Alexander. I've liked what I've seen from Alexander in the past, but he seems to be hitting a whole new level here, as evidenced by a few preview pages I've seen and by that gorgeous cover for #13. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.