The Losers: Ante Up TP (DC Comics/Vertigo imprint) - RANDY: The Losers has been one of my favorite new series of 2003, so I'm pleased to see it getting such a quick collection. I'm even more pleased that, as with Fables and some of DC's other buzz books, it's being bargain priced at $9.95 for 6 issues, and that DC continues some solid timing by putting out a trade in the same month that a new storyline begins in the tie-in series. This trade has the single issue story that introduces all the characters as well as "Goliath," a pretty cool caper/action story that spanned the other five issues.
DAVE: I'm pretty onbaord this series, too. Occasionally veers into action movie cliches, but it's actually handling them a lot better than Hollywood lately. Good stuff. Great action sequences and characters.
Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals TP (DC Comics) - DAVE: Wow - very excited to see George Perez's classic post-Crisis revamp of Wonder Woman returning for a new generation to enjoy. I was new to DC when I discovered this series among the post-Crisis Rennaissance of Byrne's Superman, Ostrander's Suicide Squad, and Baron's Flash. It helped make this former Marvel Zombie a DC believer in general, and a fan of Wonder Woman for the first (and really, only) time. Perez and company ditched the kitsch of the character's past in favor of mythology-infused adventure and drama, and with Perez drawing every little spire of an Escher-style Mt. Olympus, it looked great too. Seeing this reprinted, along with Byrne's Superman, has been my holy grail for DC's trade program for the last few years. And now it's all happening.
DC, I could kiss you.
Open mouth.
RANDY: Huh. Little bit creeped out, actually, Dave.
But I'm definitely with you (to a much lesser, non-tongue-kissing extent) in thinking that Perez's Wonder Woman finally being in print is a huge step in the right direction for DC. I'm running out of things to bitch about. All they need now is to finish Hitman, Starman, Morrison's Doom Patrol, Shade The Changing Man, the Wolfman/Perez Titans... huh. What do you know, there's still plenty left to bitch about. But Perez Wonder Woman trades equals good, definitely.
DAVE: Seconded votes here for Teen Titans, Starman and Doom Patrol in particular, which I've been hankerin' to read lately.
Conan #1 (Dark Horse) - RANDY: From a retailer point-of-view, Dark Horse waiting to solicit the first issue of Conan until after we got to see the reaction to the quarter issue is fantastic. From a fan point-of-view, it's three months until I get another issue, and after that impressive quarter book, that seems like an awfully long time! At any rate, this is the first issue of the new Busiek/Nord ongoing, and I've become a big fan of Conan after having read the quarter issue and the first reprint trade collecting the Marvel stuff. Speaking of, it seems worth noting that this month brings volume four of Conan reprints, introducing the first art of the legendary John Buscema.
DAVE: Man, I loved that little preview issue, so I'm pretty hyped for this thing. Big fan of Buscema on the classic stuff, too, so this is pretty much a win-win scenario for Dark Horse.
Art of Hellboy/Hellboy: The Art of the Movie HC (Dark Horse) - DAVE: Mike Mignola's whole gothic/woodcut/Lovecraftian aesthetic makes for some of the best visuals in modern comics, and the Art of Hellboy book is an absolutely gorgeous representation. If you're enough of a fan, you already own the ultra-slick hardcover, but this is the softcover release for all the po' folks out there (like me). There's also an Art of the Movie coming out, jam packed with production art from both Mignola and the legendary Wayne Barlowe, commentary from Mignola, and the movie's complete script. Cool shit.
RANDY: In my brief stay at Wizard World Texas, I saw Guillermo Del Toro and Mike Mignola, and they were both super-excited about the Art of the Movie. Given how amazing the Art of Hellboy was, I have no trouble whole-heartedly recommending that in affordable softcover or deluxe hardcover, and I'm pretty sure that the Art of the Movie is going to be equally impressive.
Batman: Gotham Knights #50 (DC Comics) -
DAVE: Well that didn't take long. Remember "Hush," villain from Jeph Loeb's ultimately disappointing Batman run? Well he's back, and after, what, only two or three months? Yay Hush!
RANDY: It's kind of strange, given the mega-sales success that DC found by putting two big names on Batman, that their new tactic seems to be putting unknowns with credits in other industries (such as theatre, film or TV) on the Bat-books. One of DC's big icons seems a strange place to break in new talent.
Arkham Asylum: Living Hell TP (DC Comics) - RANDY: I never did get to read much of this series beyond its first issue, which was more impressive than I expected. What I heard from the folks who did read it was that it was a pretty good read, and I enjoyed the artwork quite a bit, so I'll probably pick up this trade. It's also another example of DC decreasing their window between end of limited series and publication of trade, which I'm all for.
DAVE: No big interest in the series from me, but I have to back your applause for DC regarding the quick trade turnarounds. I'm becoming one of those all-trades people, but if I have to wait too long on the trades, I lose a bit of the hype. Good on ya, DC.
Batman: Roomful of Strangers (DC Comics) - RANDY: I generally like Scott Morse's creator-owned work better than his work on company properties, in terms of writing. But in terms of art, his company-owned projects tend to be full color and just beautifully painted, and this story of a retired Commissioner Gordon will no doubt be no exception. In addition, we haven't really seen many stories of what happened to Gordon after he retired, which seems like a potentially rich area of storytelling.
DAVE: Morse is an underrated creator, and this project seems a better fit for his sensibilities than his recent Elektra: Glimpse & Echo. Should be interesting.
Birds of Prey: Of Like Mind TP (DC Comics) - RANDY: I've not exactly been quiet about my dislike of Ed Benes's artwork on this book, but I've been equally vocal about enjoying the writing that Gail Simone has been doing on the book. On balance, this is a pretty good action-adventure comic, and I'm glad to see DC supporting it with a trade. I'd be even happier if they'd fill in the gaps between the second trade of the Dixon/Land stuff and the Simone/Benes stuff, because there's a lot of good comics in those issues.
DAVE: I actually think Benes is a reasonably talented artist - he just needs to ease back on the ol' crotch shots, y'know? Anyway, this is good stuff, worth collecting, and I agree - if it goes over well, DC would do well to collect more of the Dixon stuff that defined the characters.
Action Comics #812 (DC Comics) - DAVE: I am very, very, very cautiously interested in this story, a definite break from the norm that's coming in the wake of whatever nutty, cuckoo events befall Superman in Superman #200. The skinny: Superman is a fugitive on Krypton (don't ask me how), his powers are changing, and he's got a really cool-lookin' motorcycle somewhere between the Tron and Akira look. Approach with caution, but a little shake-up like this could be fun.
RANDY: Same mix of cautious optimism and well-earned cynicism here. I actually don't get the huge love that DC is showing Turner, as I think he's a solid if unspectacular artist, while they're treating him like the second coming of Jim Lee on Batman. But I can't deny that his science-fiction designs for this alternative Krypton stories are kind of fun, and though I'm really jonesing for a good classic Superman style tale, that doesn't mean I'll automatically pooh-pooh an interesting and unusual take.
Superman/Batman #7 (DC Comics) -
DAVE: This is a fairly hit-and-miss series, but worthy of mention this month if only for the fact that it's drawn by Pat Lee of the Transformers comics. Kids seem to love 'im.
Aquaman #15 (DC Comics) - DAVE: H-E-R-O writer Will Pfeifer takes over, and a new direction begins. Man, "new directions" are like the status quo for poor Aquaman, but I'm at least liking the premise here: disaster strikes California, and Aquaman finds himself swimming through the sunken ruins of San Diego in a rescue effort. Sounds creepy.
RANDY: Pfeifer is a really good writer who I'm not sure is ideally suited to super-heroes, but these days, that does seem to be the place to be in comics. I've got about as much interest in Aquaman as anyone else (translation: none), but my interest in Pfeifer's work will at least get me to check out the first issue. I hear that issue #16 takes place at a sunken Comicon, full of geeky in-jokes!
Actually, I made that up. But c'mon, it'd be something different for Aquaman, right?
The Flash #207 (DC Comics) - RANDY: After a reasonably long "New Marvel"-esque story with "Ignition," Geoff Johns returns The Flash to his super-hero roots along with his new artist, Howard Porter, who has been turning in an impressive run on Fantastic Four. I'm looking forward to seeing Johns once again playing to his strengths. This month also sees the release of the third trade from the Johns/Kolins run, which features probably the most memorable scene of a super-hero using his powers to build a bridge that has ever been done.
DAVE: Even "Ignition" has been winning me over in recent issues, so I'm fully back onboard this series as it becomes primed for a return to superhero greatness. Really happy to see more of the Johns/Kolins stuff traded, too. DC's been picking all the right projects to get behind in trades lately, and you don't get more right than that Flash run.
Hard Time #1 (DC Comics/Focus imprint) - RANDY: To be honest, this Focus imprint sounds like the kind of thing that's been tried (unsuccessfully) dozens of times before, with Marvel's New Universe only one example. However, the design elements on the covers should make them pop off the rack, and their first title does seem intriguing. A kid in jail with superpowers is an interesting concept, and Steve Gerber has written some really good comics. What really interests me, though, is seeing Brian Hurtt on the title, and the preview art here is beautiful.
The Light Brigade #1 (DC Comics) - RANDY: Peter Tomasi is an editor who has a long and impressive track record at DC. Peter Snejbjerg is a guy who has done some terrific work, lately on Batman: Detective No. 27. And the concept, a platoon of American soldiers engaged by angels to prevent Nazis from getting hold of the lost Sword of God, is certainly fascinating. However, I question the wisdom of putting out a prestige format miniseries by two creators who aren't really well-known in the industry. This series may be excellent, but it's going to be a hard sell.
DAVE: Agreed on all points. Creative team = good. Prestige projects = painfully overused.
Mighty Love HC (DC Comics) - DAVE: Well, it's Howard Chaykin, and most people will know whether or not they're interested simply at the mention of his name. Me, I'm from the "not" category. Still, it's his first original solo work in over ten years, a mixture of superheroics and romantic comedy focusing on two heroes. Sounds to me like something that might be of interest to those frustrated that DC will never actually give a Batman/Wonder Woman tryst a shot.
RANDY: I wish someone would get around to reprinting American Flagg! so I could decide whether Chaykin has always been overrated or if he's just a talent who doesn't translate to the modern era. At any rate, I've tried several times to get into Chaykin's stuff, and found it to be most definitely not for me. Throw in pricey hardcover format, and I'll be giving this one a pass.
DAVE: Hey, who owns the American Flagg! rights? I missed out on that book back in th' day, too. Wonder if DC or WildStorm would be interested in reprinting it?
The Monolith #1 (DC Comics) - RANDY: Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray have done some great stuff with unusual superpowered concepts, like the horror/espionage blend of 21 Down or the science-fiction styled The Resistance. So their story of a golem created during the Great Depression and then awakened by a young girl in modern New York has a lot of promise. The art by Phil Winslade is certain to be beautiful, and a 56-page introductory issue for $3.50 should give the creators plenty of room to tell the story. I smell a winner here, honestly.
DAVE: Me too.
Coup D'Etat (DC Comics/Wildstorm) - DAVE: Sleeper bad guy, Tao, has tricked the U.S. government into committing an "interdimensional atrocity" on its own soil - interesting. Wildstorm is telling this story by means of a four-part miniseries that's essentially a big crossover between all of Wildstorm's "Eye of the Storm" titles - not so interesting. What can I say? Crossovers make me nervous. If it means more reader attention for underrated books like Sleeper, Wildcats, or Stormwatch, though, it might be worth it.
RANDY: I'm especially nervous because previous Wildstorm crossovers (even the one directed by Alan Moore) have been heinously bad. It's nice that the writers on the original titles get to write their characters' parts of this massive universal crossover, but I can't help feeling that world-shaking epic crossover is completely out-of-synch with the tone of the good Wildstorm books, and I'm afraid we're going to get some of the derivative and boring Wildstorm of old leaking into the edgier (but not as popular in terms of sales) books.
Wildcats Version 3.0: Full Disclosure TP (DC Comics/Wildstorm) - RANDY: As Wildcats Version 3.0 goes along, I'm becoming more and more fond of it, to the point that it now sits alongside Sleeper as my favorite Wildstorm title. I'm happy to see the second trade coming so quickly on the heels of the first, especially since this second trade has some of my favorite stories from the run, including a very interesting transformation of an intelligent accountant into the second Grifter, which is not without its twists.
DAVE: I've only read the first Wildcats 3.0 trade, and was a little on the fence regarding it. Definitely found much to like in it, though, so I'm looking forward to this trade to see if I want to jump onboard the series.
The Sandman Presents: Thessaly - Witch For Hire #1 (DC Comics/Vertigo imprint) - RANDY: Bill Willingham's first Thessaly miniseries was surprisingly fun, given that I wasn't a huge fan of the character. Any fan of the sort of light-hearted and yet dark tone that Willingham has brought to Fables should check this one out, probably after picking up the trade paperback Taller Tales that contains the first Thessaly story.
Alternation #1 (Image Comics) -
DAVE: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen lite? Or just a more action-packed take on the idea? Anyway, it looks potentially fun. It's the 19th century and some sort of wonky time warp has created a world in which every era of earth's history is combined into one. Dinosaurs, zeppelins, Mark Twain, Annie Okley, and even everyone's favorite Russiasn mystic, Rasputin. My suggested promotional tag: "Like League, but with less sodomy!"
RANDY: The opening page of Mark Twain trying to outrun pursuing Zeppelins in a dinosaur-driven stagecoach is really just pure fun. I'm not a huge fan of Carlos Barberi's artwork in general, but his art here looks decent enough, and the ideas are full of a sort of goofy, corny energy that intrigues me.
Dodge's Bullets OGN (Image Comics) - RANDY: Rocker by day, private eye by night. It's a fun concept, and the three preview pages shown here look like pretty solid art and good dialogue. I'm glad that Image continues to do original graphic novels, and this one looks like it could be fun.
DAVE: I really enjoyed the Previews excerpt - it's the kind of preview that actually gets me hyped for a project that would probably just elicit a shrug given a pure text solicitation. Looking forward to this.
The Last Straw Man #1 (Image Comics) - RANDY: I've seen some preview pages of this project from artist Brett Weldele and writer Jim Krueger, and it looks gorgeous. However... the imagery I've seen, and the text in the Previews, would seem to indicate that it's a western with horror elements... but I'm not sure. This is a pretty weak Previews solicitation, giving up little information about the actual book, and so I'm sold on the artwork but completely in the dark on the story.
4 #1 & 2 (Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights) -
DAVE: The Fantastic Four overkill has begun. Here's a team of superheroes that, several years ago, were lucky to be supporting one book. As of this new series, they'll be supporting three. Still, as a longtime FF fan, I wish it well. The writer's an unknown playwright - the guy slated to take over the regular FF book until Marvel made peace with Mark Waid and lured him back - and the artist's a talented guy who's been drawing Meridian for the last for months. Good luck, guys. I have a feeling you'll need it.
RANDY: Poor Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has gone from "destined to be hated" to "destined to be ignored," all due to the status of the main Fantastic Four book, which frankly is so good that I don't think anything can really compete with it. My guess is that this will be a solid book - I know that McNiven's art will be purty, at least - but it can't help but play redheaded stepchild to the more high-profile Waid/Wieringo and Bendis/Millar/Kubert books.
Secret War: Book One (Marvel Comics) - RANDY: I'm a Bendis fan from way back, and the notion of a shadow war within the Marvel Universe with such players as Luke Cage and Nick Fury certainly hits my personal interest spot. And the painted artwork by Gabriel Del'otto, especially his shot of the Helicarrier, is indeed beautiful. However, for some reason, maybe my sense that these crossover things never turn out well or my general dissatisfaction with the way Marvel is handling their second-tier and lower characters or something else, I'm just not all that psyched for this yet.
DAVE: Yeah, it'd have to be a "shadow war," 'cause there's no way in hell Bendis could write anything like the good time slugfest of the original Secret Wars miniseries. Not really a criticism of Bendis per se, but I do think readers would like an old-fashioned dust-up from Marvel every once in a while (see also the success of JLA/Avengers). Anyway, this looks to play to Bendis's strengths, which sometimes I like, sometimes I don't. Guess we'll know in a few months...
The Pulse #1 (Marvel Comics) - RANDY: The Pulse is the Bendis book that I am psyched for. Honestly, though I think Bagley is a better draftsman than folks give him credit for, I do wish they'd gotten a stronger artist to launch this new series, given that Alias was never more than a cult hit and The Pulse could have used stronger art cred for its launch. Somebody like Dave Ross or Butch Guice or someone else recently defected from Crossgen, with a more realistic style, would have been great. Still, whether The Pulse has ideal art or not, the general idea of a series based on investigative reporters, starring some of my favorite Marvel supporting characters (Ben Urich, Deadline's Kat Farrell and of course Alias's Jessica Jones) has my attention. I will miss the dirty sex and dirty language of Alias, though.
DAVE: Bendis is a frustrating writer for me, concocting many a fascinating scene, but disappointing overall. Like Secret War, I'll give this one a look, but there's no telling whether it'll win me over. Like you, Randy, I do think The Pulse sounds like the more interesting concept. Alias was a pretty engaging book.
Wolverine/Captain America #1-4 (Marvel Comics) - DAVE: An unknown creative team on a four issue miniseries teaming Cap with Wolverine in a race to track down some piece of Shi'Ar technology? Sounds iffy. I'm interested that the McGuffin of the piece is Shi'Ar technology, though. I thought that kind of acknowledgement of Marvel being a shared universe was taboo these days. Shouldn't they be fighting terrorists or something?
RANDY: Ah, the weekly mini-series. I only hope that this can live up to the high standards set by such phenomenal successes as Captain America: What Price Glory? and Hulk/Wolverine: 6 Hours.
X-Men Unlimited #1 (Marvel Comics) - RANDY: I can't bring myself to condemn Marvel for pairing known artists with new writers in an attempt to find new talent. That's a good thing. But these anthologies never work, and they usually wind up being a long-running home for mediocre stories, and I remain skeptical that the new X-Men Unlimited will be any stronger than the old one, which had a very poor ratio of good stories to crap stories.
DAVE: On the plus side, I see that Tom Mandrake's drawing one of the stories in this opening issue, so that's sure to be interesting. Other than that, I agree with you on all points.
Runaways #11 & 12 (Marvel Comics/Tsunami imprint) - DAVE: Brian Vaughan's Runaways is always a fun read. What makes these two issues particularly notable is the appearance of cult heroes, Cloak & Dagger! I've always liked the pair, rarely found them to be used in good stories, and am looking forward to Vaughan breaking the trend.
RANDY: Cloak & Dagger, as runaways turned teen heroes, are the ideal guest stars for this book, and like you, I'm looking forward to seeing these good characters actually used in a good story. It's also kind of neat that Vaughan is bucking another trend, that of Marvel not acknowledging their lesser-known characters, who are often referenced only as a punchline by writers who joke about sending in their Epic pitches. Speaking of which...
Epic Anthology #1 (Marvel Comics) -
DAVE: Marvel's pretty much pissed away all the good will and enthusiasm initially generated by their Epic talent call, which is too bad, because this 72-page anthology that's resulting from it actually has some interesting-looking stuff. There's a Sleepwalker relaunch that looked promising from the preview I read a month or so back; Young Ancient One, the story of Doctor Strange's mentor back when he was a young turk; and Strange Magic, whose premise...well, it escapes me, but the preview art looks pretty cool.
RANDY: Yep, this is a Dead On Arrival project, and everybody knows it. None of the released Epic books really knocked my socks off (in fact, Trouble was actively horrible), and none of these sound like can't-miss projects, but there's still a definite sense of missed opportunities and lost potential, and the Epic Anthology is ultimately just a gravestone printed in comic-book format.
DAVE: Hey, Gun Theory was pretty damn good, man! Hope the creators take it to Dark Horse, Image, or any more hospitable home than Marvel.
Daredevil Vol. 3 HC (Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights imprint) - RANDY: With the impending return of Bendis and Maleev to Daredevil, my enthusiasm for the book is slowly returning, such that I'm looking forward to picking up this hardcover and then engaging in a sort of massive re-reading along with volume two to get the full scope of their story.
And on that note, that's it for this installment of Down the Line. Be sure and come back next time for part two, where we take a look at the rest of the Previews catalog, which includes three different flavors of spooks, three different flavors of videogames turned comics and a military manga frog, among other things.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review.
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 December previews for comics due to ship out in February 2004.
The Losers: Ante Up TP (DC Comics/Vertigo imprint) - RANDY: The Losers has been one of my favorite new series of 2003, so I'm pleased to see it getting such a quick collection. I'm even more pleased that, as with Fables and some of DC's other buzz books, it's being bargain priced at $9.95 for 6 issues, and that DC continues some solid timing by putting out a trade in the same month that a new storyline begins in the tie-in series. This trade has the single issue story that introduces all the characters as well as "Goliath," a pretty cool caper/action story that spanned the other five issues.
