Down the Line is our monthly look at Previews, and what titles are coming out a few months, well, “down the line.”

This installment covers the November Previews for comics due to ship out in January 2007. 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 February or later, but the preorders are still due by the end of November.

As always, the Previews rundown is in alphabetical order, rather than the order used in the 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 Local?” 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 Things To Watch Out For:

Scalped #1 (DC Comics/Vertigo) - Jason Aaron blew me away with his debut project, The Other Side, and I’m really excited about his new Vertigo ongoing. The pitch is a crime saga set on an Indian reservation, as our heroic lead Dash, an anti-hero type armed with “a set of nunchucks, a hellbent-for-leather attitude and (at least) one dark secret” runs up against a tribal leader and would-be crime boss running the shining new casino. With these kind of weird high concepts, the writing is key, and Aaron’s writing at this point looks like potential break-out best of type stuff. I’d be even happier if Jock were doing interiors instead of just covers, but Guera’s artwork in the preview looks pretty good. Really looking forward to this one. CBR has an interview with Aaron, but I can’t easily find preview art online. (page 112)

Jack of Fables Vol. 1: The Great Escape TPB (DC Comics/Vertigo) - The Fables spinoff book Jack of Fables is every bit as good as its progenitor title, and I’m glad to see DC giving it the quick collection treatment. If you’re a Fables fan, you should be reading Jack of Fables as well. And if you’re a Fables fan, it’s also worth noting that Mike Allred starts a two-issue guest art stint on the main title this month. If you’re not a Fables fan… go and read the first issue for free, and see why it’s my favorite monthly book. (page 120)

Marvel Adventures The Avengers #9 (Marvel) - The good news? Jeff Parker returns to scripting the all-ages Avengers title for Marvel. The better news? They’re up against MODOK, and this has inspired Cameron Stewart to create possibly the best cover ever. Take a look to the left and you’ll see what I mean. Bedard’s issues on Marvel Adventures Avengers thus far have been disappointing, but with Parker back, hopefully the series will regain the sense of fun and originality that made it our first ever Hot Pants pick on the site. (page M39)

Godland #16 (Image) - This is an incentive-priced issue (60 cents, the same price comics were when I first started buying them myself), and that’s as good a reason as any to check out Joe Casey and Tom Scioli’s retro-hipster cosmic epic. If you’ve never read Godland, try to imagine it as “What If The Fantastic Four were empowered by The New Gods,” run it through a modern-day filter, give the energetic stylings of Jack Kirby a twist and a coat of modern colors and… well, you’ve got the barest inkling of what the book is at that point. C’mon, it’s only 60 cents to try it out and find out for yourself! (page 142)

Usagi Yojimbo #100 (Dark Horse) - The long-running Usagi Yojimbo reaches issue number one hundred, which is a big milestone, even bigger when you realize that this is volume three, and the previous two volumes ran for close to fifty issues. Do the math, and you see that Usagi is over 12 years old, and it continues to be one of the most consistently entertaining books on the market. That’s impressive, and Dark Horse is giving the book a proper tribute with this anniversary issue, featuring work not just by Usagi creator Stan Sakai but by a host of other creators including Sergio Aragones, Guy Davis, Frank Miller, Jeff Smith and Andi Watson! If you’ve never read Usagi before but you’ve found yourself unwilling to drop the cash to try out a trade, this is probably the best possible opportunity to see what you’ve been missing. I highly recommend taking it, as I was many years behind in discovering Usagi, and now I count it amongst my favorite series of all time. (page 18)

Gyakushu! Volume 1 (Tokyopop) - Dan Hipp, artist and co-creator of the Amazing Joy Buzzards, has a new project from Tokyopop. That’s enough information to sell me. For those who need more, the project is about a nameless man with a samurai sword and a mysterious past and future, and the solicit namechecks both Tarantino and Frank Miller. Hipp is a fantastic artist, and I can’t wait to see what else he’s got up his sleeve… although I’ll still be anxiously awaiting more Joy Buzzards as well. (page 319)

The Legend of Grimjack Vol. 6 TPB (IDW) - Given the long wait between volumes, and rumblings about trouble with the original film, I was starting to worry that IDW might not be able to complete their Grimjack collections after all. Happily, that seems to be a worry without basis, as they’re soliciting a new volume of John Ostrander’s pulp sci-fi book this month, and the book is heading into territory where Tom Mandrake took over as artist. Grimjack is good stuff, with a noir tone and a great setting in the pan-dimensional city of Cynosure. (page 293)

40 Years of the Amazing Spider-Man DVD-ROM (GIT Corp) - I usually don’t stray past the comics section, but this is worth noting for comics fans. For only $50, you get 40 years of Amazing Spider-Man issues in convenient, readable PDF formats. It’s not my preferred format, but I bought the 40 Years of the Avengers DVD and I love having all those issues at my disposal. If you’d like a gigantic library of great Spider-Man stories, this is well worth the money. And I can’t wait for the Captain America set, since a lot of that stuff is never going to get reprinted in trades. (page 480)

Desperadoes: Buffalo Dreams #1 (IDW) - The horror/western cult favorite book is back! As always, Jeff Mariotte is at the helm, and he’s got a new artist, Alberto Dose, whose style (reminiscent of Eduardo Risso) seems absolutely perfect for the book. If you’ve never checked out Desperadoes before, the previous trades (with an artistic pedigree ranging from John Cassaday to Jeremy Haun) are well worth a look, and I suspect that this will be approachable if you want to try out the single issues first. (page 290)

Maggie the Mechanic: The First Volume of Locas Stories from Love and Rockets TP (Fantagraphics) - I’ve only the barest familiarity with the works of Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez. It’s a blind spot in my comics history, but what I’ve read of Gilbert’s work, both in terms of Love and Rockets and his Vertigo work, has left me cold. However… I don’t think I’ve ever actually read any of Jaime Hernandez’s work. So it seems like these new manga-sized, affordable ($15 each) chronological collections might be a good chance to check the books out and see if my initial impressions were correct or if, like seemingly everyone else, I’ll love Love and Rockets when I give it more of a chance. There’s also a volume of Gilbert Hernandez’s Palomar stories offered this month, and I think I’ll have to give both volumes a look. Whether they wind up being to my personal taste or not, though, there can be no doubt that this is a major initiative, getting a series of historical import out in an easy-to-find and read format. (page 272)

Other Stuff That Caught My Eye:

‘68 (Image) - Weird that Image has a couple new horror-themed projects coming out… in January. But regardless of the timing, this one, about a platoon in Vietnam coming face-to-face with zombies, sounds potentially interesting, and a one-shot is probably about the right amount of space for such a high concept. Steve Niles also has a zombie one-shot, about teens in a zombie apocalypse, coming out from Image this month. (page 138)

Akira Club (Dark Horse) - Dark Horse did a fantastic job of bringing Katsuhiro Otomo’s science-fiction masterpiece Akira to comics with their six-volume reprinting of the series. I’m not entirely sure I’m a big enough fan to check out this supplementary volume, especially at $30, but I am very tempted by the promise of alternate art, production sketches, advertisements and more with commentary from Otomo himself. (page 38)

Avengers Assemble Vol. 4 (Marvel) - Looks like Kurt Busiek’s entire Avengers run is getting collected in oversized hardcover, even the stuff after George Perez left, and I couldn’t be happier. This also includes the Maximum Security crossover, Busiek’s alien-heavy story that was mostly erased from continuity but which had some enjoyable moments. This run on Avengers is almost the complete opposite of what Marvel is currently doing with the franchise, so I’ll give them credit for trying to serve an underserved fanbase with these deluxe reprints. Just wish that someone would give us old school fans a modern Avengers title as well, instead of giving us two titles by Bendis, whose take on the Avengers is… well, let’s be generous and call it new and different. (page M92)

Ballad of the Sea GN (Heavy Metal) - I’ve never read any of Hugo Pratt’s Corto Maltese, but I know that Heidi MacDonald is really excited about it and I know it’s a piece of comics history. I suspect I’ll at least give this one a look when it comes out. (page 281)

The Courageous Princess (Dark Horse) - Yay to Dark Horse for rescuing Rod Espinosa’s adorable, clever and strong-willed Princess Mabelrose from relative obscurity! Yay to Dark Horse for printing the book in a swanky manga-sized format, 240 pages for only $10! Boo to Dark Horse for doing it in black and white! Rod Espinosa’s artwork shines so strongly in color, and the color is so much a part of the look, that I can’t see this as anything but a colossal mistake. If losing the color was required for the cheaper price, the answer was to raise the price. Still, I applaud the notion of getting this story of a princess who doesn’t wait around to be rescued into more peoples’ hands, but I’d suggest seeking out the more expensive color trades and hardcovers from Antarctic Press instead. (page 29)

DemonWars: The Demon Awakens #1 (Devil’s Due) - I seem to remember enjoying Crossgen’s take on R.A. Salvatore’s Demon Wars world a few years back, so I’m curious to take another trip into that fantasy world with Devil’s Due’s adaptation of the books. (page 254)

DMZ Vol. 2: Body of a Journalist TPB (DC Comics/Vertigo) - I enjoyed the first arc of DMZ, but found it a bit uneven. The book really hit its stride in this second arc, which also includes the best single issue of the run, #11, featuring guest art by Kristian Donaldson, and the unusual issue #12, designed by Brian Wood as a sort of “guide to the DMZ.” (page 117)

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (Dark Horse) - I first discovered Fritz Leiber’s barbarian/thief duo when Dungeons & Dragons published a Lankhamar - City of Thieves sourcebook, and I soon dug into Leiber’s books and quite enjoyed them. I didn’t catch this comics adaptation, written by Howard Chaykin and drawn by Mike Mignola, but Dark Horse is giving me a second chance with this graphic novel collection. Even better, the solicitation indicates that Dark Horse books is prepping to release all eight original books and Dark Horse Entertainment is developing it as a movie. (page 28)

Fall of Cthulhu #0 (Boom! Studios) - A new ongoing series based on the Cthulhu mythos sounds like a great idea, but I’m a little nervous about the solicitation copy, which announces that there are things far “bigger, badder and meaner” roaming the cosmos. Given how little Cthulhu has really been done in comics, it seems like an “everything you know is wrong” style approach is a bit wrong-headed, and that more of a classic take, showing off Cthulhu as scary rather than trying to replace him with new creations, is not only more respectful to the source material of H.P. Lovecraft but just a better basis for new stories. But that’s judging based on solicitation copy, rather than Boom!’s generally excellent record, so it’s probably being unfair. (page 236)

Ghost Rider Finale (Marvel) - Well, this is a weird surprise. See, back in the ’90s, Ivan Velez (whom I started reading in his Milestone days) wrote an unusual and pretty solid run on Ghost Rider, where he took the character into territory that was sort of proto-Vertigo. It didn’t sell well, and even though it was completed, the series was cancelled a few issues early, leaving the few fans of the run without any closure. Marvel is now reprinting those final issues, probably because they’re pumping out as much Ghost Rider material as they can before the movie and an already paid-for set of comics never published is a bonus at this point. If you were a fan of the Velez run, though, you can now rejoice, as the ending for those characters will soon be made available. (page M28)

The Helmet of Fate: Detective Chimp & Ibis the Invincible #1 (DC Comics) - Haven’t people learned by now that these weakly-linked series of one-shots don’t work? Marvel’s been serving up low-selling events in this format for the past year or two, and now DC is getting back in on the act as well. To make things worse, there’s a weak concept welded onto this weak format. A series of one-shots focusing on an inanimate object and its interactions with random obscure magical characters in the DC Universe? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Willingham will write a fun Detective Chimp story, and I’m not writing off the Dr. Fate series that will spin out of this without at least seeing the creative team, but… I can pretty much guarantee that nobody will remember these one-shots at all in a year or two, much less remember them fondly. (pages 78-79)

Iron Man: Armor Wars TPB (Marvel) - Given that he’s one of Marvel’s biggest icons, it has always seemed weird how little Iron Man there was in print. There’s still a long way to go in terms of getting him represented, but this is a good start, representing the uneven but generally entertaining story of Iron Man taking on the various armored villains (and some heroes) of the Marvel Universe, and battling it out with Captain America in a way that does not make me want to fling the comic across the room in frustration. Of course, this book was published before it was decided that Tony Stark was a Nazi dick. (page M100)

Iron Man: Hypervelocity #1 (Marvel) - I’d rather see more Livewires, but that doesn’t seem too likely, so I’ll settle for Adam Warren taking a shot at Iron Man, who is probably the best Marvel character for his manga/tech-head sensibilities. I don’t know Brian Denham’s work, so I’m not sure how the art will be, but a six-issue Iron Man arc by the guy who gave Marvel super-tech a much-needed imagination boost in the pages of Livewires sounds like potentially good stuff. (page M34)

Never Made to Last: Stories of Suburban Folklore GN (Ourobor Books) - Steven Walters’ slice-of-life tales about adolescents and the problems they face is reminiscent of The Waiting Place or Copybook Tales, and it’s well worth a look. This trade collects 168 pages of Suburban Folklore stories for only $10. (page 310)

Pantheon High Volume 1 (Tokyopop) - In the interest of full disclosure, Pantheon High writer Paul Benjamin is a good friend, but even if he weren’t, my eye would have been drawn to this promising new book. It imagines the various gods (Greek, Egyptian, Japanese, etc.) sending their demigod children to the same high school, and it features gorgeous black and white artwork from Steven Cummings, the artist of the Deadshot miniseries. (page 322)

Red Eye, Black Eye GN (Alternative Comics) - I’m only mildly familiar with the work of indy cartoonist K. Thor Jensen, but the premise of this book, an autobiographical tale about the artist going on a 10,000-mile round-trip across the United States after hitting rock bottom in his personal life, sounds intriguing. (page 214)

Runaways #24 (Marvel) - It seems worth noting that this is the final issue of Runaways by Brian Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. It’s entirely possible that Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan are going to turn in a monthly book that is as entertaining as what Vaughan, Alphona and the rest built over the course of four years. But for me, I suspect the golden age of the Runaways comes to a close with Vaughan’s departure, even though Whedon will probably give the characters the popularity boost they’ve always deserved. (page M46)

Superman & Batman Vs. Aliens & Predators #1 (DC Comics) - And the award for silliest title ever goes to…! Seriously, I thought Top Cow went all crazy with their Witchblade vs. Darkness vs. Aliens vs. Predators vs. etc., etc. but this just sounds silly. And yet… there is a certain cheesy, campy cool factor to the World’s Finest teaming up against the galaxy’s nastiest. I can’t decide whether I’m laughing at it or with it. But I’m certain I’m laughing, which probably isn’t the reaction DC and Dark Horse were hoping for. (page 72)

Thunderbolts #110 (Marvel) - For the most part, this seems like a rotten idea to me. Take one of the few enduring new concepts created for Marvel in the last 10-20 years, hand it over to someone who hates writing the superhero genre, populate the book with amoral villains who have no business being on a team together if you pay any attention to their characterization, add a Civil War tie-in and stir. Sounds like a recipe for a comic that I’m just going to hate. And yet… I can’t deny that the government-run villain team gives me a little bit of a Suicide Squad vibe, and that Ellis has written stuff in the superhero genre that I enjoy, including Planetary and The Authority. My guess is, this book will fit squarely in the “not for me” box. But I’m going to at least give the first issue a read to find out. (page M53)

Two Guns #1 (Boom! Studios) - Steven Grant wrote a great little crime comic called Damned a few years back, and so when he’s doing a new crime comic, he’s got my attention. The solicit namechecks Ocean’s Eleven and the Italian Job (with you so far) and features a bank, mob money and the DEA, so that sounds all good. The art is the big question mark, but both of the covers look terrific, and Boom! generally has pretty good luck with artists. (page 240)