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 September Previews for comics due to ship out in November 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 December or later, but the pre-orders are still due by the end of September.

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 Five Shiny New Things to Watch Out For,” which is in a 1-5 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.” The focus in this column is always going to be on jumping-on points and new stuff, so if you’re wondering “Where’s DMZ?” 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.

As always, Dan Grendell will be chiming in, mainly for a manga viewpoint but also to give another voice.

Randy’s Top Five Shiny Things To Watch Out For:

Amulet Vol. 1: Stonekeeper (Graphix):
Randy: I’ve been excited about this one in increasing degrees. When it was first announced that Graphix was going to have a full-color comic from Kazu Kibuishi (Flight, Daisy Kutter), I thought that sounded pretty cool. When I saw the ad for it in the latest Bone volume, I realized “Wow, I might actually have something super-cool to give to all the moms, dads and kids who have been buying Bone in my store.” And when I saw it solicited, I realized that we were just a few months shy of an all-ages adventure that I’m betting will be as good or (pardon the heresy) better than Jeff Smith’s beloved Bone saga. And it’s Graphix, so it’s going to have great production values too. (page 308)

Dan: Like you, the idea of an all-ages book by Kibuishi excites me to no end. The guy is super talented, and the more great books out there that both kids and adults can enjoy, the better.

Annihilation Conquest #1 (Marvel):
Randy: So far, the Annihilation Conquest miniseries have been really good, in my opinion surpassing the original Annihilation, which was itself a damn fine read. So the news that the main Annihilation Conquest series is being written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, currently writing one of my favorite Marvel books with Nova, is great news. Abnett and Lanning are the perfect choice for a big, widescreen space epic, and Tom Raney is a great choice for art, as long as he can stay on time and finish the whole series. Forget World War Hulk… this is the big Marvel event I’ve been waiting for. (page M14)

Dan: World War Hulk has been good, you hater. No need to bash on it just because this will be great.

Randy: Oh, it’s plenty good, and the Incredible Hulk story Pak is writing is bordering on great. I’m just saying, Annihilation is the event for me.

Hawaiian Dick #1 (Image):
Randy: It’s hard to suppress snorts of disbelieving laughter at the notion of a Hawaiian Dick ongoing, given the delays the book has had in the past. But here’s why I’m inclined to give it another shot: 1) B. Clay Moore has a hell of a concept, and while the books have been delayed, they’ve never failed to deliver a good story 2) Art is by Scott Chantler, who is a fantastic cartoonist and, by all accounts, a guy who can hit deadlines and 3) It features phantom Japanese fighter planes from World War II in 1950s Hawaii. OK, truth to tell any one of those would be enough to give me a chance, but all three combine to make it an exciting proposition. Supernatural elements, noir elements and the unusual setting of Hawaii in the ’50s? If not for the delays, this would already be a big buzz hit. Here’s hoping this time it can get the momentum to become just that. (page 143)

Dan: I’ve read past Hawaiian Dick stuff, and while I can appreciate the quality of it, it just wasn’t for me. I am glad to see it getting an ongoing series, though, because I think it’s certainly good enough to deserve one, and it’s cool to see Scott Chantler get more work.

The Other Side of the Mirror Vol. 1 (Tokyopop):
Dan: Jo Chen’s covers for Buffy and especially Runaways have been amazing, so I’m excited to see this earlier manga work of hers come over. Only a two part series, it seems a but depressing, dealing as it does with a teen runaway turned prostitute falling in love with a guy whose life is also bad, but if I’ve learned anything from manga, it’s don’t judge a runaway prostitute book by its cover. (page 350)

Randy: Ah, manga… will your esoteric lessons never stop? Jo Chen is a favorite artist of mine, and her Runaways covers are what cinched it, but I’ve pretty much loved all the cover work she’s done. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen any sequential work from her, though, but I’ve been excited by the possibility ever since I heard about the existence of this one over on her website, which is currently under construction so I can’t point you to the links and art I once saw. (Or buy her sketchbook, as the store is currently down… damn it!) At any rate, Jo Chen = awesome. Tokyopop also equals awesome for putting out her manga.

Wormwood: One Shot (IDW):
Dan: I really can’t get enough of Ben Templesmith’s excellently crazy worm living in a zombie Wormwood. It’s my favorite project that he’s ever done, and I think it may well be his best work. (page 317)

Randy: Ditto. I came into the trade late, after hearing some buzz, which was a blessing, as it’s been a while since the trade came out and I’m already seriously jones-ing for more stories. Had I actually been waiting since the last issue came out, it would have been even longer. At any rate, if you need to hear a bit more about why I love Wormwood, check out my review of the trade. Oh, and it’s Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, not to be confused with Garth Ennis’s Chronicles of Wormwood. If you say Chronicles of Wormwood, Ben Templesmith will give you a funny look that makes you think he’s about to come over the table at you. Uh… I’ve heard.

Dan: Not that anyone would ever make that mistake, because that would be incredibly, horribly embarrassing.

Dan’s Top Five Shiny Things To Watch Out For:

Dan Brereton’s Nocturnals Vol. 1 HC (Olympian Publishing):
Dan: I’m a huge Dan Brereton whore. HUGE. There’s just something about his creepy painted art that does it for me. That said, it’s a given that I’ll be picking up this oversized hardcover reprint of the first Nocturnals miniseries, Black Planet, plus stuff from Dark Horse Presents and a brand new story. I’m even getting the Previews exclusive version, which has sixteen extra sketch pages in it for ten bucks more. If you’ve never checked out the horror noir series Nocturnals, this is a perfect chance- you get a beautiful oversized book with more than 200 pages for just thirty bucks. (page 330)

Randy: I’ve been excited about this since it was one of my picks of the month in August 2006. Oops. So they’re running late, which is a bummer, but hopefully this time Olympian will actually produce the promised hardcovers, because the book is great, and it really deserves a swanky oversized hardcover format.

Hybrid Bastards #1 (Archaia Studios Press):
Dan: Everyone who has read Greek myths knows that when Zeus visits Earth, he basically spends his time getting laid. But did you know that Hera once made him fall in love with everything he saw? The result is a bunch of half-god, half-object beings that crave Zeus’ approval. Like Corey, the apple, or Walter the stack of bricks. Well, really, the result is a miniseries that I can’t wait to read. (page 225)

Randy: Beautiful, unusual looking art too. Sounds like a rude, funny concept to go with it, and it’s Archaia, which earns it an automatic look.

Violet Rose #1 (Bluewater Productions):
Dan: I haven’t been too big a fan of Bluewater’s continuations of Ray Harryhausen projects, but this original story looks to be cut from different cloth. More of an all-ages read, it stars Violet Rose, sixth-grade detective in a town of supernatural creatures hiding behind ordinary lives. Violet investigates her town with help from her best friend and a living Renoir painting. This sounds fun as hell to me, kind of like Encyclopedia Brown meets Courtney Crumrin, and the cartoony style of the artwork looks great too.(page 252)

Azumanga Daioh Omnibus Edition (ADV):
Dan: Yotsuba! creator Kiyohiko Azuma’s cute, funny story of the coming-of-age of six high school girls is collected in its entirety for just twenty-five bucks. Told in four-panel gag strips and covering the girls’ entire high-school career, it’s touching, hilarious, and just plain fun all at once. (page 213)

Iron Man and Power Pack (Marvel):
Dan: I’m a big Power Pack fan (whatever, shut up), and the series of minis that have been coming out have really tickled my fancy. They are out of continuity, usually (but not always) written by Marc Sumerak, and capture the fun and innocence of the Pack perfectly as they team up with a different hero each time and prove they’ve got what it takes to hang with the big boys. This time out it’s Iron Man, who I hope will be acting like a hero and not commanding SHIELD to register the Power kids. We’ll see. (page M32)

Randy: I haven’t read any of these, but I need to catch up on the digests. I’ll say this, that cover is adorable.

Other stuff that caught our eye:

Action Philosophers! Giant-Sized Thing Vol. 3 TP (Evil Twin Comics):
Randy: Though this is sadly the end of the series, I’m pleased to see that Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey are collecting the remainder of their excellent Action Philosophers series into another affordable trade. It’s near impossible to properly describe this book, but it actually manages to deliver not only educational facts about philosophers and philosophy, but to do so in a way that is irreverent and often laugh-out-loud funny. (page 298)

Dan: This series has been one of those that is both so odd that you just have to shake your head and so excellent that you have to cheer. I’m glad to see the final issues collected, and I hope the trades stay available for a long time to come.

Angel: After the Fall #1 (IDW):
Randy: IDW follows the lead of Dark Horse, who turned the “what happens next?” hunger of Buffy fandom into the best-selling sales they’ve ever had. I have to admit, I’m of mixed feelings on this one. I liked the ambiguous ending of Angel, thought it was really the perfect fit for where it had gone, tonally, and I think that finding out what happens next basically ruins that ending. I’m also uncertain just how involved Whedon is, as it looks like this is mostly written by the guys who have done the latest Spike series at IDW, which is not quite as cool as having Whedon himself write the first five issues of Buffy before handing it over to A-listers like Brian Vaughan or alumni from the show’s writing staff. Still, I know that my love of the ambiguous non-ending of Angel is the minority opinion, and Whedon’s involvement should guarantee some attention for the large fanbase who wanted to know what happened next. (page 311)

Alice on Deadlines V.1 TP (Yen Press):
Dan: Yen continues their string of cool new titles with this one. When slacker shinigami (death god) Lapan gets sent to Earth in a skeleton body to collect a soul as punishment for being lazy, there’s a slight mix-up… and he ends up in hot young thing Alice’s body instead. With Lapan chasing skirts in her body, what is poor Alice, now stuck in the skeleton, going to do? That’s so bizarre, it’s cool as hell. (page 380)

Batman: The Man Who Laughs HC (DC):
Randy: Just a month or so ago, I was lamenting that this book was out of print, and now, like magic, it reappears! The lead story in this hardcover is an Ed Brubaker/Doug Mahnke gem about Batman’s first encounter with the Joker, and is almost worth the price of admission by itself. But rather than reprint a prestige special, DC has also packed in some work from Brubaker’s time on Detective Comics, featuring Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott. Who also… uh… likes to laugh? OK, you’ve got me as to why they’ve lumped these together aside from the obvious “they’re both by Brubaker,” but as I recall, those stories were a solid read as well. And getting more of Brubaker’s stuff in print is definitely a good thing. (page 93)

Dan: Yeah, I’m glad to see this back in print too, but the inclusion of an Alan Scott story just confuses me. Don’t get me wrong, I dig Alan Scott, but he doesn’t like to laugh. He likes to angst over accidentally abandoning his kids and stuff. I guess they figured what the hell, he’s a Gotham hero, so why not?

Blood+ V.1 (Dark Horse):
Dan: I’m a big fan of the short anime Blood the Last Vampire, so a manga sequel is right up my alley. It’s set a few decades later than the anime, which would make it around modern time, and bad-ass Saya has amnesia and lives with a normal life with a suburban family- until the Chiropterans (that’s vampires in Blood-speak) show back up again. My guess is it’s a story of self-discovery as Saya remembers who she is and a bloody action book as she hacks up vampires. I’m cool with both. (page 43)

B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls TP (Dark Horse):
Randy: I think I’ve said it over and over again, but it bears repeating: The current B.P.R.D. series is just all kinds of awesome. Gorgeous art by Guy Davis, great stories by Mignola and Arcudi, in many ways better than the Hellboy stuff that spawned it, and I say that as a big fan of Hellboy. This particular story features a lot more on the history of Abe Sapien and a new threat rising from his background, as well as continuing the development of the other cast members like Johann, Liz and Captain Daimio. (page 40)

Dan: I was starting to get a little tired of the exploration of Abe’s identity, but then we hit the creepy old psychic and the Victorian cyborg terrorists on their secluded island and I was back in the game. That’s right, Victorian cyborg terrorists. Drawn by Guy Davis. Oh, yeah.

Captain Marvel #1 (Marvel):
Randy: From what I’ve read of Ms. Marvel (which is admittedly not a ton), it seems to me that Brian Reed has inherited some of Brian Bendis’s worst habits in terms of pacing, dialogue, etc. And I think bringing the original Captain Marvel back was kind of a pointless, silly exercise that served only to undercut a pretty good story. So why do I even bring this miniseries up? Because it’s got art by Lee Weeks. I have no interest in the character, little faith in the writer and I’m still going to give this a look, because I know at the very least it’s going to look beautiful. (page M21)

Dan: You know what would be awesome? If this whole miniseries was just Lee Weeks drawing the Negative Zone prison and Captain Marvel sitting around looking bored. Getting coffee, reading a book, watching Negative Zone cable. Maybe ordering pizza, I dunno.

Randy: Issue #5: Captain Marvel finds the Spice channel. Then dies of boredom. Which would of course create a tear in the time/space continuum, since everybody knows he died of cancer.

The Claws Come Out HC (IDW):
Randy: Another in the line of swanky hardcovers IDW is producing that spotlight unsung indy talent, I don’t really know much about the work of Pat Lewis, but I know that the first in this line is Chiaroscuro, a truly underrated gem. So I’m inclined to give EIC Chris Ryall’s taste a chance by checking this out. Especially since the cartooning looks great, and the premise involves “an apathetic scientist defrosting the Abominable Snowman, a naive blood donor dating a rageaholic vampire, a two-bit fortuneteller inadvertently sparking a zombie epidemic, all played for laughs.” You can see more (including sample pages) HERE. (page 313)

Countdown Presents: The Search For Ray Palmer One-Shots (DC):
Randy: My gut reaction is that it’s a bad idea for DC to tie Countdown into two fondly remembered Elseworlds, Gotham by Gaslight and the vampire Batman saga begun in Red Rain. However… the Gotham by Gaslight one-shot is written by the original writer, Brian Augustyn, and the Red Rain one-shot is drawn by its original artist, Kelley Jones. So for those with a fondness for those well-remembered stories, this might be a good chance to see more of that world. Personally, I’ll probably go reread the originals again instead. (page 65)

Dan Dare #1 (Virgin Comics):
Randy: Virgin has had some big names on their books, but most of them haven’t stuck around for long, and honestly, most of their concepts haven’t seemed all that great. Dan Dare probably won’t hit huge with American audiences either, but the Flash Gordon-esque pulp space adventurer is huge in Britain, and the team they’ve got on this book is equally huge to me: Garth Ennis writing and Gary Erskine drawing. I’ve been hungry for a good space adventure comic, and I bet this is going to be pretty damn good. (page 367)

Dan: I have some interest in this one, though oddly it’s despite Ennis’ involvement. I remember playing a Dan Dare computer game when I was younger and thinking he was quite the cool space hero, and Ennis’ normal thing doesn’t really match up to the clean-cut strong-jawed pilot I remember. Of course, memory is a strange thing, and I’m not going to judge this before I see it, but I do wonder about the choice of writer.

Daredevil by Frank Miller Omnibus Companion HC (Marvel):
Randy: Here’s a weird collection from Marvel, sort of the “B-sides” of Miller’s classic Daredevil run. There’s his return to the character after his classic run, Born Again, which is probably the best work he ever did on the character. There’s his return to the character again years later to re-tell his origin with artist John Romita Jr., which is beautiful to look at but kind of painful to read. It feels like Miller’s over-the-top Sin City sensibilities weren’t a great fit for Daredevil. There’s a kind of weak experimental book with Bill Sienkiewicz that I couldn’t even get all the way through. And there’s a pretty solid little Spider-Man tale written by Bill Mantlo featuring Doc Ock and Daredevil. I’ve already got the work in here that I’d want in the Complete Frank Miller Spider-Man hardcover and the Born Again trade, but for those who don’t already have those two stories, I’d definitely recommend this book. Even the stories I’m not so huge on have great art from Sienkiewicz and Romita Jr. (page M85)

Dan: I can’t see enough in here that’s worthwhile to justify the price tag, honestly. I happily paid for the first hardcover Omnibus, but I’m gonna pass on this.

Dark Horse Heroes Omnibus (Dark Horse):
Dan: In the early nineties, Dark Horse tried to launch its own superhero universe. It didn’t do too well, and I honestly don’t remember much about it except that Ghost, which I liked, and Barb Wire came out of it. This trade collects the Comics Greatest World and Will to Power maxi-series that kicked it all off, and I’m curious to check it out and see if I actually missed anything. (page 26)

Randy: As I recall, there were some interesting stories sprinkled throughout, and some up-and-coming creators like Kurt Busiek, but most of the big names did only covers, and the whole thing felt wrong for Dark Horse. There was the Ultraverse, Milestone, Image and any number of other superhero universes, and they were jumping on the bandwagon. That said, I seem to recall that the craft was at least solid, and I think it’s kind of cool for Dark Horse to be reprinting stuff from throughout their twenty year history into these affordable and snazzy Omnibus editions. Now if only we could get some of the Dark Horse Presents and Cheval Noir stuff!

Del Rey Manga (Del Rey):
Dan: Whoever does the solicits at Del Rey needs to learn how Previews works. These solicits don’t tell me a damn thing- they say crap like “Aventura’s mix of magic, action, and school drama will appeal to both boys and girls!” and that’s all. I’m actually curious about Aventura and Pumpkin Scissors, but since I don’t have more than the most basic inkling of what they are about, I’m not ordering them. You might want to investigate further, though, so I’m pointing them out. (Page 273)

Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda GN (First Second):
Dan: An exploration of life both before and after the genocide in 1994 in Rwanda. A stark look at human tragedy and the effects it has, J. P. Stassen investigates the experiences of people caught up in violence and does so with dignity. (page 304)

Doctor Grordbort’s Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory (Dark Horse):
Randy: You know those cool WETA-designed steampunk raygun statues? This is a hardcover book that is sort of an encyclopedia of the universe those came from, along with a comic book set in that universe. I can’t help but feel that it’s mostly a gimmicky sales tool, but the designs on these things (and the steampunk/pulp vibe that they give off) is undeniably cool, and there’s more than enough room for cool stories to be set in the world they “come from.” Here’s hoping it’s more steampunk/pulp fun and less sales gimmick. I’ll say this, the goofy (and not even remotely commercial) name gives me hope. (page 27)

Dorothy of Oz V.1 GN (Udon Entertainment Corp):
Dan: It seems like everyone has been taking a crack at the Wizard of Oz in comics lately, and it’s manhwa’s turn. Son Hee-Jun gives it a shot, and I’m intrigued enough to check it out. Oz was already weird, but run it through manhwa filters and it’s gotta be crazy. (page 362)

The Engineer #1 (Archaia Studios Press):
Randy: Now this sounds like fun in the Godland vein. The Engineer uses a colossal pipe organ to battle an ancient entity that feasts on space and time. Looks good, sounds great, from the publisher that brought you Mouse Guard, The Killer and plenty more. (page 225)

Dan: I’m seeing a Metron-like figure playing an organ instead of a Moebius Chair and actually fighting instead of looking smug. And I love the New Gods, so that comparison is not an insult by any means.

Everybody Cosplay! (ADV):
Dan: If you’ve ever been to a convention, especially an anime convention, you’ve seen cosplay, or people dressed as characters from comics or movies. In Japan, the cosplay scene is huge, and there are professionals who sell photo albums and travel from convention to convention. People own dozens of complete costumes. This book, by well-known cosplayer and columnist for Newtype Jan Kurotaki, features articles and tons of pictures. Curious about cosplay? Well, here’s a chance to check it out.(page 216)

Randy: Is there a book for those who are frightened of cosplay?

Dan: Yes. I believe it’s called “Holier Than Thou: Levels of Geek Society.”

Randy: Touche’.

Fearless #1 (Image):
Randy: To be honest, the various deconstructed takes on the superhero don’t generally appeal to me, and Image has a lot of ‘em. Nothing wrong with it, they’re perfectly good for those who want that kind of thing, but I’m not really the audience. Occasionally, though, something strikes me about one of them, and that was the case with Fearless. The hero is on anti-fear meds, which convert his anxiety-ridden true self into a bold and reckless crimefighter. Interesting enough, and it’s being co-written by the creator of Grounded, Mark Sable, and features nice looking art from newcomer P.J. Holden. (page 142)

Giant Monster TP (Boom! Studios):
Randy: Steve Niles writes giant monster tale that mixes the undead with Godzilla. Many things smashed. Dark humor a-plenty. Nice art by Nat Jones. Originally thought it was kinda lame, then decided it was kinda awesome. I suspect it will read very well in trade paperback form. (page 258)

Grendel: Behold the Devil #1 (Dark Horse):
Randy: I mentioned this a few months back when the #0 issue came out, but now having read that #0 issue, I’m even more excited about Matt Wagner’s return to Hunter Rose, one of his earliest characters. Hunter Rose is a fascinating character, a prodigy who used his natural talents not for super-heroism (as would be the wont of most in comics) but to become a crime lord and assassin, as well as a best-selling novelist and well-known raconteur. He’s like Oscar Wilde, if Oscar Wilde had stabbed people with tridents in an attempt to dominate the criminal underworld. (page 20)

Dan: I’m a big Grendel fan, so I fully expect this to be excellent. Most of the Grendel material out there deals with Grendels other than Hunter Rose, so it’s especially cool to get a ‘lost’ Hunter Rose story.

Heroes HC (DC):
Randy: I tried reading a couple of the Heroes comics online and found them dreadful. Seems like the Aspen Studios guys provided the art, and I am, to say the least, not generally a fan of that style. I loved the Heroes TV show, but I’ll be skipping this hardcover of the comics. However, this is a good “get” for DC, as there are a lot of Heroes fans, and perhaps many of them will have bad taste in art. Kidding! Mostly. (page 107)

House of M: Avengers #1 (Marvel):
Randy: Speaking of mis-using talent, putting the Union Jack team of Christos Gage and Mike Perkins on a book about House of M literally years after everyone stopped caring about that flop of an event seems ridiculous. But… it’s Gage and Perkins, so it’s going to have punchy writing and great art, and hey, alternate world Avengers featuring Mockingbird, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Iron Fist and a few of my other favorites might be kind of fun. Even if the House of M tie-in seems ill-advised at best. (page M28)

Dan: Hey, Randy! Maybe Hawkeye isn’t a ninja who sleeps with Scarlet Witch in this alternate universe.

Randy: OK. Sold. See how easy it can be, Marvel?

The Legion of Super-Heroes: An Eye For an Eye TP (DC Comics):
Dan: With the rising popularity of the Legion, it’s no surprise that we’re getting reprint trades, and the Paul Levitz era is a prime target for them. It seems a bit odd that DC chose to hit the beginning of Legion v.3, the end of the Giffen era, instead going all the way back to Levitz’s first arrival on the book, especially as v.3 heads directly into the first Crisis and some funky continuity, but either way, Levitz Legion is good stuff. (page 96)

Randy: Is the Legion rising in popularity? I thought it was falling. Like you say, this is kind of a weird, arbitrary starting point (yes, it starts with #1 of the new series, but that series was sort of a second title to the other book that had been running for a while), but it’s good to finally see some of this stuff getting back in print. Those who wonder why the Legion has earned itself such a cult popularity might do well to check out these, some of the best stories the book has ever seen. Now if only we could get more controversial stories like the Giffen era or the criminally under-rated Abnett/Lanning runs in trade. But that may have to wait another 20 years, if the time it took to get this in print is anything to judge by.

Dan: Well, it’s showing up all over in JLA and other books. I assume it’s becoming more popular, though I can’t really say for sure. I’ll compromise and say it’s becoming more visible.

Lower Regions GN (Top Shelf Productions):
Randy: I’m a huge fan of Alex Robinson’s sprawling graphic novels about life, love and pop culture such as Box Office Poison and Tricked. The only downside of these huge graphic novels? It takes forever to get them, as he’s got to write and draw something like a bazillion pages. So this is a nice little break from the usual Robinson work, a story of fantasy that is a “love letter to Dungeons & Dragons,” features a “pretty barbarian lady with an axe chopping her way through a dungeon filled with monsters” and “this bloody, funny 56-page story contains only one word: ‘Thoooom!’” Boom. Sold. (page 360)

Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four V.1 HC (Marvel):
Dan: Before he was writing Marvel Adventures: Avengers… there was the Fantastic Four. That’s right, Jeff Parker worked on MA:FF first, and 11 of the 12 issues collected in this oversized hardcover are written by him. Greats like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in FF form, dinosaurs attack New York, and Klaw is a total jerk are all here in all their oversized glory. Don’t miss it. (page M92)

Randy: I’m all over this like stink on a monkey. And speaking of monkeys, this seems as good a place as any to mention the fusion of Dormammu and the supporting cast monkey in Marvel Adventures Hulk this month, which features a guest-starring Doctor Strange and some terrific art by David Nakayama. Or that Hercules is guest-starring in a Ty Templeton-penned story in Marvel Adventures Avengers, with art by Cafu, whose work on MA Avengers thus far has been impressive. Or that Fred Van Lente and the talented vet artist Graham Nolan are breaking out the stealth armor in Marvel Adventures Iron Man. Or that Fred Van Lente is doing a riff on the Doc Ock/Aunt May romance in this month’s Marvel Adventures Spider-Man. Basically, the Marvel Adventures line continues to be the place to go if you like good, solid superhero stuff that doesn’t necessarily have the modern edge (read: all that rapin’ and killin’) of the mainstream Marvel and DC Universes. Oh, and Jeff Parker’s terrific Marvel Adventures Avengers gets another digest this month too… when are we going to get a hardcover of that stuff? (pages M36-M37)

Dan: Should be next in line after this one, I hope, since we’ve seen a Spidey one already. By the way, Randy, that was some excellent Marvel Adventures pimping right there. Did you lose to Paul Benjamin and Fred Van Lente at poker again?

Randy: Don’t be silly, Dan… Paul could never beat me at poker. That’s sincere love for all-ages Marvel adventure there. These guys are riffing on the ’70s and ’80s stuff that I love.

Marvel Atlas #1 (Marvel):
Dan: Gotta say, I’m of two minds on this. On the one hand, I like these kinds of projects, and having the whole things done penciled by OHOTMU design genius Eliot R. Brown is most excellent. On the other, once you lock places down in an atlas you just end up making it easier for writers to forget where stuff “really” is and you also lock them out of creating new places easily. I tend to side with leaving locations to imagination, but if you are going to do this, Marvel is doing it the right way. (page M40)

Randy: I know which side I’m on in this debate, and it’s firmly in the “hells yeah” camp. They had me with the name Eliot R. Brown, but honestly, even without him, I think this is a super-cool idea. Done properly, this kind of thing can show off the cool locales of a universe rather than locking them down, and I really want to believe they’ll get it right. Oh, and if they do, I’d love to see companion volumes like a Marvel Weapons Locker or that kind of thing. Oh, and for those wondering, the official pronunciation of the acronym Dan dropped up there is “Oh-Hot-Moo.” It is also the way we generally refer to the beloved ’80s incarnation of the Marvel Universe handbooks in the store. There, your nugget of insight into our lives for the day. You’re welcome.

Midknight #1 (Red 5 Comics):
Randy: Last month, I gave a top five mention to Red 5, the new producers of a line of full-color comics with adventure, science-fiction and superheroes at the fore. Now I’ve actually read the first issues of all three books, and they do not disappoint. Gorgeous, gorgeous production values, great concepts with strong writing and great art, if these guys can get the books out on time and get the word out, they could really have something. Midknight is a superhero offering, which seems less fresh than their first three concepts, until you see that the heroes are a married couple with a three-year-old daughter, daytimes spent working in the ER and the District Attorneys’ Office, who were spurred into serving the city of Philadelphia by tragedy in their past. Intriguing. (page 338)

Misericordia #1 (Archaia Studios Press):
Randy: Robots taking over the Earth and ruling over the humans, complete with human resistance? Well, yeah, we’ve all seen that before. But Rebekah Brem’s “dystopian love story” sounds like it’s going to put a new spin on things, with a young girl who trades drugs with the robots for records and information and falls in with a humanoid robot obsessed with humans. Sounds like a more thoughtful take, and features stunning art. (page 225)

Dan: That’s Archaia in a nutshell- old concepts, new stories.

Munden’s Bar Vol. 1 TP (IDW):
Randy: In the back of Grimjack, John Ostrander’s story of a pan-dimensional ex-cop/freelance troubleshooter, there were stories about his favorite hang-out, Munden’s Bar. These stories ranged from comedic to tragic, and featured a pretty impressive array of talent. IDW has been collecting Grimjack, but Munden’s Bar has been a no-show… until now. This is the first volume, and it features a number of impressive names, ranging from Grimjack creators Ostrander and Truman to Brian Bolland, Phil Foglio, Steve Bissette and plenty more. (page 315)

Nightwing #138 (DC):
Randy: I’m basically apathetic about the whole “Return of Ra’s Al Ghul” story… could be good, could be bad, my Batman family interest is at an all-time low. But what got my attention here was Fabian Nicieza’s name in the writing credits. Nightwing is a good character who hasn’t really had the best writing in a while, so a solid draftsman like Nicieza makes me sit up and take notice, remembering the good old days when Chuck Dixon was writing the book. If Nicieza’s on for the long haul, it might be time for me to check back into this book. And I see it’s guest-starring Talia and Sensei, so I bet Dan will be interested too. (page 75)

Dan: Yup. I’m curious to see how they bring the Demon’s Head back, interested in Nicieza’s take on Nightwing, and it’s always nice to see the Sensei in something. That’s the Sensei, from the League of Assassins, by the way, who up until this storyline has been supposed dead, not the O-Sensei, also dead, godfather of Lady Shiva and original teacher of Bronze Tiger and Richard Dragon. Don’t get those two confused.

Randy: Maybe this is the Sensei of Earth-2. Oh, and I-Ching is figuring into this story as well… for those who don’t know, he’s the dude who got Wonder Woman into a white jumpsuit and taught her kung-fu.

Palbot: Come To America V.1 (Eigomania):
Dan: I have no idea what to expect from this, but it looks like fun. It’s based on a motivational speaking series, and it deals with a Korean businessman who comes to America and is instructed in business ethics by the robot guide Palbot. It even comes with a CD-ROM. I have a feeling this is played fully straight, but given how these things usually end up, that just seems likely to make it even more goofy. (page 295)

Pantheon Vol. 1: Welcome to the Machine TP (Lone Star Press):
Randy: Before he did Fables, Bill Willingham wrote this 12-issue superhero epic that was basically a Kingdom Come-style finale of his Elementals characters, except they were new characters because the rights to the Elementals are a huge sinkhole of legal issues. Or at least, so I understand. I never got to read any of the Elementals, which were reportedly quite good, and I’ve only read a few pages of Pantheon, because… well, because I never got around to it, honestly. But now the whole thing is being collected, in full color no less, and I’m anxious to check it out. Fans of Fables who also love the superhero (not to mention the big apocalyptic showdowns of Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, Kingdom Come, etc.) should probably do the same. (page 326)

Dan: I’ve read this series, and I did enjoy it quite a bit. It was originally released in black and white, so I’m interested to see how it looks in the new color format.

Pax Romana #1 (Image):
Randy: I never did read much of Jonathan Hickman’s Nightly News, despite the critical praise, because the visual style didn’t click with me early on. I think I’ll be giving him another shot, though, because Pax Romana, about a 5000-man unit sent back in time to change history is a great concept, and that teaser cover promises soldiers vs. centurions. Consider me on the hook for the first issue, at least. (page 144)

Dan: Yeah, the concept here has me interested, although time travel stuff is generally not my bag. I’m curious enough to give it a shot, though.

PvP: Awesomeology HC (Image):
Randy: I love Scott Kurtz’s PVP, and I love oversized hardcovers, but I just can’t justify $100 on an oversized collection of PvP. Hell, I had a hard time convincing myself to drop $75 on Absolute New Frontier. Still, I think it’s cool that PvP is getting the deluxe treatment, and I’m quite sure Kurtz will have no trouble finding 200 fans to pick up the signed and numbered limited edition. In fact, he may find that there are a lot more fans who wanted to get one. I’ll be satisfied with my softcover collections, and maybe a little wistful about the notion of dropping $100 on the hardcover. (page 148)

Dan: I just think it’s cool that a webcomic is releasing a hundred dollar hardcover collection. Yeah, I know PvP has become a lot more than just a webcomic, but still.

Queen & Country: The Definitive Edition Vol. 1 TP (Oni Press):
Dan: Greg Rucka’s realistic take on spies and politics has been a showcase for his talent as a writer and for the talents of a number of great artists, so I’m glad to see Oni keeping it around and making it more affordable in this edition collecting the first twelve issues and a short story from the second Oni Press Color Special. I assume that story will be reprinted in black and white, but even so, this is a great deal, and if you haven’t checked out Queen & Country before, this is a perfect chance. (page 330)

Randy: Yep, with the originals going out of print, Oni is re-issuing the Queen & Country volumes with more story in each one, in the bookshelf format they started using with the new Whiteout (which I saw in San Diego, and it looks great). As Dan says, if you’ve never read it, this is as good a chance as any to check in. And you should, this is one of our Hot Pants picks, which means all five of us like (and in some cases love) the book.

Resurrection #1 (Oni Press):
Randy: I haven’t read a ton of Marc Guggenheim’s DC and Marvel work, and honestly, what I have read hasn’t done a lot for me. But when Oni Press starts a new ongoing series, I sit up and take notice, and the premise on this one sounds interesting. Basically, it’s about what happens to the world after years of alien invasion are over, and Oni’s handy “just the facts” promo namechecks Lost and Battlestar Galactica, which puts it squarely in my area of interest. Nice looking art from David Dumeer, too. (page 330)

Salem #0 (Boom! Studios):
Randy: The writer is a screenwriter whose work includes Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, which doesn’t exactly inspire gasps of excitement. However, the concept is about a two-fisted witch hunter battling thirteen witches in Colonial America, the artist is the super-talented Mike Hawthorne and the ubiquitous “tradition of” blurbs here mention Solomon Kane and the Man With No Name. If writer Chris Morgan can deliver something half as cool as that sounds, I hereby swear to put Tokyo Drift on my Netflix queue. Thus earning him… well, zero residuals, probably. But it’ll be a moral victory over someone with absolutely zero power in Hollywood, that’s gotta be worth something, right? (page 256)

Dan: I actually saw Tokyo Drift, and it was decent. Boom! has a strong eye for talent, and this concept is fairly interesting, so I’ll be checking this out too.

Salvation Run #1 (DC):
Randy: DC’s villains are exiled to another planet, where they must battle for their lives! As with the other Countdown tie-ins, my general reaction is skepticism, and I worry that this is just another chance to off a bunch of perfectly good characters for momentary shock value. And though I love Bill Willingham’s non-DCU work, his DC Universe comics have tended to feature a lot of unnecessary deaths, so even that isn’t a particular selling point. However… Willingham is a good moment-to-moment writer, Sean Chen on art is a good thing, and this could be like Marvel’s underrated exiled superheroes mini Beyond if done right. (page 67)

Dan: I have a strong suspicion that this is going to end up being surprisingly fun. I have nothing really to base that on, but my gut tells me it will be, so I’m going to check it out.

Randy: Didn’t your gut once tell you that Alf pogs were going to be huge business?

Dan: Yeah. I really need to work on figuring out when my gut is being sarcastic.

Silver Surfer: In Thy Name #1 (Marvel):
Dan: Last I heard, Norrin Radd has space cancer or something, so I wasn’t expecting another mini-series so quickly. I was only vaguely interested, really, until I saw who was doing it- Simon Spurrier, whose Gutsville has only had one issue so far but that issue blew me away, and Tan Eng Huat, who has such a funky cool art style that I can’t wait to see him do the Surfer. Plus, the solicit promises organ pirates and demon beasts and that doesn’t sound like there’s going to be much navel gazing. (page M54)

Unhuman: The Elephantmen HC (Image):
Randy: An art book from Ladronn, designed by Active Images, the guys who have done gorgeous work not just on Elephantmen but Godland and many others as well? To an artbook whore like myself, it’s like early Christmas. (page 147)

Dan: I’m not such a freak for artbooks, but Ladronn does some beautiful work in the European tradition. His stuff is just sexy.

Welcome to Tranquility V.1 TP (Wildstorm/DC Comics):
Dan: This title has flown under a lot of people’s radar, but I’ve really enjoyed what Gail Simone has been doing here. The idea of a small town where old heroes and villains go to retire is a cool one, and Simone is plenty creative enough not to go for the obvious stuff. Endearing characters and a murder mystery in this first arc made this a hell of an enjoyable read. (page 116)

Wild Ones V.1 GN (Viz):
Dan: When Sachie Wakamura’s mother dies, she goes to live with her grandfather. Problem is, Grandpa’s a Yakuza boss! Life gets a bit crazy, especially when Sachie falls for her new bodyguard, who can’t get romantical with the boss’s granddaughter. Sounds like fun to me! (page 378)

Wolfmen GN (Accent UK):
Dan: A British gangster joins the notorious Wolfmen gang for a bank job, only to find that the name is a literal one. Could be some cool horror crossing over with crime here, and the idea is certainly cool enough for me to want to take a look. The idea of a werewolf pack is bad enough, but when they pack guns and rob banks, it becomes that much worse. (page 211)

Randy: Werewolves robbing banks? OK, I’ll read that. You know what would be even better, though? Mummies raiding tombs. Total irony.

Dan: Mummies can’t raid tombs. Their boobs aren’t big enough.

World of Warcraft #1 (DC Comics):
Dan: I can’t say I care too much about the video game tie-in aspect of this, but when Walter Simonson does fantasy comics, I pay attention. The Warcraft universe has plenty of room for him to maneuver for a good story, and though Ludo Lullabi and Sandra Hope are producing some cool art from what I’ve seen in preview bits, I really wish Simonson was doing the artwork on this too. I always like him better when he’s writing for himself. (page 108)

Randy: Man, I would have been all over this comic about two years ago, when I was really into World of Warcraft. Now? My addiction to the online game is long since broken, and truthfully, I’d rather see a really good Dungeons & Dragons comic (like the ones DC did in the ’80s). But that’s just me, and there’s clearly a larger market for WoW than D&D in general. You’re right that there’s plenty of room in the Warcraft universe for a good story, and Simonson, while not always my favorite writer, does have the chops for good fantasy, as he proved with Thor. Not personally excited, but hoping this works out for Wildstorm. If nothing else, they desperately need a reason to exist at this point, with DC sabotaging every success they have (The Authority, The Boys, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, etc.)

Dan: By a really good D&D comic, I assume you mean an original one, not adaptations of novels like Devil’s Due does? Whassa matter, Randy, you get a Driz’zt overload?

Randy: Yep, I want new characters, an ensemble cast and all the cool monsters and locales and that kind of thing. Drizz’t is the Wolverine of D&D… cool in concept, but at this point over-exposed and bordering on self-parody. Someone should stick him in a hole and shoot a machine gun at him… just like Wolverine.

World War Hulk: Aftersmash (Marvel):
Randy: I can’t quite decide. Is referencing a 25 year old failed sitcom for the sake of a cheesy pun kind of stupid or kind of awesome? Or both? At any rate, this one-shot promises to serve as an epilogue to World War Hulk, raising the question: Do they have an ending this time, or is their big epic just going to kind of stop, like Civil War did? (page M35)

Dan: It’ll be like Civil War. Six guys from Brooklyn will jump on the Hulk, which will remind him how much he’s hurting the people as he gets his revenge, and he’ll give up and go quietly. Oh, and somebody, let’s say Blade, will be killed.

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills Premiere HC (Marvel):
Randy: Cheers to Marvel for finally having the basic common sense to put one of the best X-Men stories of Claremont’s run, one that heavily influenced the second movie, back in print. Jeers for them doing it in the crappy premiere hardcover format, meaning that if you want to read it, you need to spend $20 for 96 pages of non-oversized work without any cool extras. I’ve got the softcover original, so it’s no skin off my nose really, but if they’d reprinted this oversized with commentary and extras by Claremont and Anderson, I would happily have bought it again. (page M99)

Dan: I can’t say for sure, but it seems like these Premiere Classic hardcovers are overall slightly better put together than the standard Premiere hardcovers. There is usually at least something extra, though not much, and I really can’t see doing an oversized hardcover for just 96 pages- it would just look weird. Still, whether they put this out in softcover or hard, I’m glad to see it back in print.

Zombies Calling (Slave Labor Graphics):
Randy: Yeah, I know, I’m tired of zombies too. But the artwork by Faith Hicks looks great, and I do like the idea of a zombie story where the heroes know the rules of the zombie movie, something you don’t see a lot of, aside from of course Shaun of the Dead. (page 219)

Dan: This sounds sort of like the Scream or Hack/Slash for zombies, and that’s not a bad thing.