Welcome to Down the Line, our monthly look at Previews! Co-written by Randy Lander and Dan Grendell, each Down the Line looks at what’s coming out in comics (and manga) a few months down the road.

This installment covers the March Previews for comics due to ship out in May 2008. 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. Thanks to the increasing prevalence of advance solicitation, that some of the books here won’t actually ship until June or later, but the pre-orders are still due by the end of March.

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. Dan and I will both offer up a “Top Five Shiny New Things to Watch Out For,” also in alphabetical order, and then we’ll provide a rundown of “Other Stuff That Caught Our 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 Dynamo 5?” or something along those lines, we still love it, we just don’t want to keep harping on it.

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

The Amazing Joy Buzzards Vol. 1: Here Come The Spiders TP (Image):
Randy: Absolute must-reading for those who have enjoyed Scott Pilgrim, but also a sure thing for fans of Cartoon Network’s Venture Brothers. It’s about a super-popular band that secretly works for the CIA (even though they don’t know it) battling vampires, super-scientists with the help of the Mexican wrestler they can summon by putting their amulets together. It’s like a blend of the best ’80s cartoons, and it’s legitimately funny and action-packed, and features stunning artwork by Dan Hipp. Amazing Joy Buzzards is one of my favorite reads, and I’m super-psyched to see it return. (page 157)

Firebreather #1 (Image):
Randy: Firebreather is back! Phil Hester’s tale of the son of Godzilla (or a close, non-copyright-infringing facsimile) and a human woman was one of the best of Image’s superhero line, the same one that gave us Invincible. Actually, given the high school setting and the slightly off-kilter take on superheroics, Firebreather is a perfect companion book to Invincible, and it also would appeal to fans of Ultimate Spider-Man. Which I see are both name-checked in the solicit. But seriously, this isn’t just marketing speak, it’s absolutely true. Hester and artist Andy Kuhn have created a fantastic teen superhero book in Firebreather, and I couldn’t be more excited to see it return as an ongoing series at last. (page 144)

Dan: It’s great to see this back as an ongoing, and I totally agree with the comparisons. I always wondered why Invincible took off and this didn’t. Let’s hope that changes on the second go around.

Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (Marvel):
Randy: Aw hells yeah. Space-based superhero team book spinning out of Annihilation: Conquest. Written by Abnett and Lanning, my pick for best writers of 2007. Based out of a decapitated Celestial Head floating on the edge of reality. Featuring Rocket Raccoon on tactical support, and Star-Lord in a leadership role. Art by Paul Pelletier. This book packs more awesome than the rest of Marvel and DC’s lineup combined. I cannot oversell how much I’m looking forward to this comic. (page M31)

Dan: I’m with you. DnA are on fire right now, and this team is brilliant. Yes, please.

Life Sucks GN (:01 First Second):
Randy: I had the good fortune of getting an advanced copy of this gem from First Second, so I can confidently describe it as “Like Clerks, if it starred vampires and was totally awesome.” Seriously, writers Jessica Abel and Gabe Soria turn in a very funny, very human read about vampires working night shifts (hey, it makes sense) and Warren Pleece and colorist Hilary Sycamore deliver great artwork that really brings across both the mundane (night jobs, unrequited romance) and fantastic (being a vampire) aspects of the story. It’s funny, it has great characters, and it’s just a great read. (page 289)

Dan: I very much enjoyed Abel’s La Perdida, which was a much more serious book, but this looks to be a lot of fun. First Second has an eye for quality.

Runners: The Big Snow Job #1 (Archaia Studios Press):
Randy: I was excited enough to learn that Runners, one of the best action-adventure science-fiction comics put to paper in the last ten years, was coming back. Sean Wang, an animator with a real gift for designing space ships, writing chase and shootout scenes and generally doing all the things needed to put together a swashbuckling bit of sci-fi, impressed with his last outing, collected in the Runners: Bad Goods trade.

But the same exquisite cartooning and fun characters in full color from Archaia Studios Press? That’s even better. As if Guardians of the Galaxy weren’t enough, Runners provides a double dose of sci-fi action and excitement in May. (page 214)

Dan: The original Runners book was some great action sci-fi, so seeing more from Wang is great news. Seeing it in color is even better. I sorta wish it had been released as a single graphic novel, instead of a series of issues, but I’ll definitely take what I can get.

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

House of Mystery #1 (DC/Vertigo):
Randy: One of my favorite arcs of Sandman was the “Inn At World’s End” where a bunch of stranded travelers took turns telling stories while waiting for a storm to end. There were two interesting narratives, the story of what was going on with the Inn and the stories being told by the travelers. House of Mystery seems to have a similar structure, although the central story, about five characters trapped in a supernatural bar, trying to solve the mystery of how and why they’re imprisoned there, has more potential for exploration than travelers stranded by a storm. The reason for the stories is that there’s no books, TV, etc. allowed in the House, and stories become the currency for buying drinks and food in the bar. Those stories will be written by Bill Willingham and illustrated by a variety of artists, while the main story is by Matt Sturges with art by another Italian Vertigo find, Luca Rossi. I’m pretty excited about the potential for this one, and it’s clear DC is putting a lot of promotional and editorial support behind it. (page 118)

Dan: I’m pretty damn stoked about this series. Both Willingham and Sturges are imaginative guys and Rossi is extremely talented, so I’m expecting a great read. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the next Vertigo hit.

Pretty Baby Machine #1 (Image):
Dan: The idea of Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, and Machine Gun Kelly teaming up against Al Capone is enough to get me excited. Throw in art by Kody Chamberlain? I’m all over it. This should be some bad-ass mobster action, from the days when men were hard and women were dames. Ain’t nobody getting out alive! (page 150)

Good-Bye HC (Drawn & Quarterly):
Dan: The third in a series collecting alternative manga creator Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s short stories about Japanese city life. In Push Man and Other Stories and Abandon the Old in Tokyo, Tatsumi explored themes of sexuality, abandonment, emotional growth, despair, and much more, and I fully expect this to be just as thought-provoking. A must-read for fans of serious manga. (page 283)

Sky Doll #1 (Marvel):
Randy: Marvel is the latest publisher to take their shot at translating European comics for an American audience. To call it an uphill battle is to undersell it by a wide margin, as nobody seems to be able to make these beautiful books work in the market, and I’m not sure standard format comics are the way to do it, so they’ve already got a strike against them. But Sky Doll, a sci-fi comic from French publisher Soleil, looks to have gorgeous artwork, and I’ll certainly give it a shot and hope Marvel can beat the odds. (page M4)

Dan: From what I’ve seen, there’s pretty strong sexual and religious content in this book. Apparently, the main character’s journey to understanding has a pretty hefty sexual track to it. There’s some question as to whether it will make it through uncensored, under Marvel. Here’s hoping.

Manga Shakespeare GNs (Abrams):
Dan: These four manga takes on Shakespeare, all edited by Richard Appignanesi with art by various British manga artists, were originally released in the U.K. by independent publisher Self Made Hero, but are coming to the U.S. under the Abrams banner. They are abridged versions of the original plays, using the Bard’s language but manga art and storytelling to get the point across. Good idea- realistically, Shakespeare was never the easiest to read, given that it was meant to be performed, and if this helps people enjoy it more, that’s great. The four titles releasing this month are A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, The Tempest, and Romeo and Juliet.(page 200)

Other stuff that caught our eye:

American Dream #1 (Marvel):
Randy: Another Spider-Girl spinoff? Man, DeFalco must have pictures of Marvel Editorial with farm animals. But hey, it’s Todd Nauck on art, so it’s going to look purty. (page M18)

Dan: I’m actually glad to see that there’s enough of a market for these old-school stories for minis like this.

Avengers/Invaders #1 (Marvel):
Randy: Those who enjoyed Justice will probably find something exceptionally similar, except with Marvel characters, in the Alex Ross/Jim Krueger Avengers/Invaders. Interior art is by Stephen Sadowski instead of Doug Braithwaite, which is another case of Ross/Krueger getting a great artist. (page M21)

Dan: I’m torn on this. On the one hand, I dig the Invaders and having them meet the modern Avengers is cool (though something in the back of my head says they’ve done it before- I could be wrong). On the other hand, I could care less about the Avengers right now. Bleah.

Chiggers HC (Simon & Schuster):
Randy: Hope Larson returns with a new black and white graphic novel about girls at summer camp. Looks like it’s aimed at pre-teen or young teen girls, and I’m definitely not the target audience, but I dig Larson’s cartooning, and I’m quite sure this will be a great read with terrific art. Shame it isn’t in color, though, because that color cover is gorgeous. (page 337)

Dan: Feh. I don’t care who it’s aimed at, it looks great to me. Then again, I lost my manly-man cred long ago.

The Complete K Chronicles (Dark Horse):
Randy: I’ve been reading Keith Knight’s hilarious and insightful comics about racism, politics and other social issues for a while, and I have all of his previous collections, so I’m not sure I’ll buy them all again in this giant omnibus. I’m not sure I won’t, however, for two reasons. One is that Dark Horse always does nice work on their collections, and the other is that Knight’s work is great, and if there’s even any new stuff here that I haven’t seen before, it’ll be worth it. If you’ve never read Knight’s work, your decision about whether or not to pick up the Complete K Chronicles should be even easier. Do it, and you won’t be sorry. (page 40)

Dan: I’ve only checked out a few of Knight’s strips, but I’ll be reading this for sure. I’ve liked what I’ve read, and I know comics creator Tom Beland cites Knight as an influence and friend, which makes me inclined to think I’ll like his work.

DC Universe: Zero (DC):
Randy: Honestly, the DC Universe started becoming unpleasant for me back with Identity Crisis, and it has only gotten more and more uninteresting to me with each Amazon Attack, Countdown or Death of the New Gods. So I’m not really interested in seeing Dan Didio’s new “ground zero” for the DC Universe, especially since I’m not convinced there won’t be some kind of “After Crisis” event in 2009. That said, with a creative team that includes Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, George Pérez, J.G. Jones Carlos Pacheco and some other pretty impressive artistic talent, and a fifty-cent price tag, it’s hard to argue too hard against at least picking this up and seeing what happens. (page 69)

Dan: Like you, I’ve pretty much lost interest in the overall workings of the DC Universe at this point, so this issue doesn’t exactly appeal to me. It is hard to argue with that much talent, though.

Death Grub #1 (Image):
Randy: 24-Hour Comic by Invincible’s Ryan Ottley. I’m a fan of Ottley’s work and a fan of the 24 Hour Comics concept, so I’ll be checking this one out. (page 152)

Demo TP (DC/Vertigo):
Randy: Before DMZ and American Virgin, Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan worked together on twelve short stories that started out being a realistic look at super-powered people and ended up being just about people and their lives. These were awesome short stories, and while I own both the single issues, I’m definitely planning on picking up the Vertigo trade edition. And I’m very excited about the prospect of Demo 2 from Vertigo by these creators, now that each of them has grown even more beyond the already impressive talents they were when they created the first one. (page 122)

Dan: I have the original trade of this, and it’s great work. The announcement of more from Wood and Cloonan was great news.

Final Crisis #1 (DC):
Randy: If you’d told me a couple years ago that my reaction to a new book from Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones would be a yawn and an eye-roll, I would have said “Oh, they must be doing a big DC event book.” Seriously, Final Crisis may be good because it’s creative team is so damned good, but I can’t imagine it’s going to live up to the potential of putting these two creators together on something that isn’t DC’s latest attempt to jumpstart their increasingly lame universe. (page 70)

Dan: I’ll be checking this out, but more out of curiosity than the kind of real interest I would have shown a couple years ago. That, I’m sorry to say, has all faded.

The Flash #240 (DC):
Randy: From the solicit: “Estranged from Jay Garrick, The Flash is brutally double-teamed…”

Uh… Is Peyer going a, um, mature readers direction for Flash, then? (page 92)

Dan: No kidding. Why not a gentle double-teaming, DC? Why all the anger?

Gemini #1 (Image):
Randy: Jay Faerber, creator of Dynamo 5 and Noble Causes, has a new superhero book. That’s all I need to know. But for those who want a little more, Gemini’s high concept is a normal guy who doesn’t know he’s a secret organization’s weapon against crime. In other words, a superhero whose secret identity is so secret, even he doesn’t know he’s a superhero. That’s remarkably cool, and now I’m doubly sold. Oh, and I’ve read an advance copy, and can confirm that it’s a fun and original take on superheroes. So that’s triply sold. (page 149)

Ghost Talker’s Daydream V.1 (Dark Horse):
Dan: An albino virgin professional dominatrix who sees and tries to helps ghosts. Son of a bitch. Sometimes, I think these manga creators just roll big dice covered with phrases that interest me and then randomly stick them together to make a series. I mean, c’mon. How am I supposed to fight that? (page 33)

Hulk Visionaries: John Byrne Vol 1 TP (Marvel):
Randy: The first Hulk issues I bought were these by John Byrne, where Banner is separated out and goes on to lead a new Hulkbusters crew and every superhero in the Marvel Universe against the toughest, most dangerous, most bestial Hulk we’d ever seen up to this point. Just great superhero slugfest/soap opera stuff by Byrne at, if not his best, certainly still the upper end of his talents. (page M102)

Hulk: World War Hulk TP (Marvel):
Randy: Not really sure why Marvel decided to wait so long to put out a World War Hulk trade, why they didn’t do a hardcover or why they decided to include the prequel, which undeniably belongs with the main story, in with the execrable Front Line series, but hey… World War Hulk finally gets a trade collection. More importantly, Greg Pak’s excellent Incredible Hulk issues from that period, including the one that was nearly my best single issue of 2007, get their own collection as well. I don’t think I’ll pick up World War Hulk, but I’ll definitely pick up the Incredible Herc trade from that period. (page M94 & M96)

Dan: I dug World War Hulk right up until the utterly confusing ending, so I’ll pick it up, and of course the Incredible Hulk issues were dynamite, but no way in Hell am I getting that godawful Front Line stuff. Guess I’ll just miss out on the Worldbreaker Prologue.

I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space!!! (Platinum Comics):
Dan: The title pretty much says it all, really. Written and drawn by a woman, by the way, in case you were thinking it’s some crazy porn book. Which I suppose it still could be. (page 327)

In Odd We Trust GN (Del Rey):
Dan: I’ve never read the three Dean R. Koontz novels that this is a prequel to, but the idea of a fry cook who can talk to the dead and tries to solve murders is kinda cool. It’s also cool that Koontz himself co-wrote this. What has me most excited, though, is the presence of his co-author and artist: Queenie Chan, creator of the manga The Dreaming. That was some beautiful, smart work, and I’m glad to see more from her. I’m also glad to see her getting such high-profile work already. (page 256)

Randy: There are a lot of people talking to the dead in manga, aren’t there?

Dan: It’s the number two profession, right behind schoolgirl martial artist.

Indiana Jones Adventures Vol. 1 (Dark Horse):
Randy: Honestly, I would rather have seen a more PG-13, swashbuckling adventure comic akin to the movies as opposed to an all-ages, cartoony take reminiscent of Star Wars Clone Wars. But the Dark Horse Star Wars Clone Wars comics have been pretty good, and Indy does seem like a character who would take to that approach as well. Ethan Beavers, artist on this first volume, also impressed with his previous comics work, so it’s sure to look gorgeous. (page 35)

The Invincible Iron Man (Marvel):
Randy: I’m not quite sure why Marvel launched a second Iron Man title rather than putting this creative team on the other Iron Man title and making it good instead, but hey, whatever it takes to get Matt Fraction writing Iron Man, I’m for. Salvador Larroca on art is a bonus, and bringing in the son of Obadiah Stane (the villain in the first Iron Man comic I ever bought) is icing on the cake for me as well. Fraction redefined Iron Fist and made him even more awesome, he created one of the best (and most short-lived) modern superteams in The Order, he is going to rock the house on Iron Man. (page M35)

Dan: Hey, maybe we’ll get guest Order appearances here. Then we get good Iron Man and the Order.

Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas #1 (Marvel):
Randy: I think there might be an Iron Man movie coming out this month, based on the six metric tons of Iron Man stuff solicited this month. The good news is, a lot of it sounds interesting, including this miniseries written by film director (and talented writer/actor in his own right) Jon Favreau and drawn by Adi Granov. Favreau’s got a quirky sensibility in his films, and he’s a smart yet unpretentious guy, as anyone who has seen Dinner For Five knows, so I think we could get some pretty damn solid comics out of him. Certainly Iron Man fighting a plague of lizards in Las Vegas sounds promising. (page M39)

Dan: This looks to be a ton of fun. I don’t think I can handle three good Iron Man series at once, though (counting Marvel Adventures,of course)- it may cause an embolism.

Judenhass GN (Aardvark Vanaheim):
Dan: I’m not even going to go into the craziness that is Dave Sim here; suffice it to say that I choose not to personally support him by buying his work. Despite that, the man is a gifted artist, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention his second new project, this graphic look at the holocaust through historical quotes. I expect it to be moving and very well done. (page 198)

The Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs #1 (Wildstorm/DC):
Dan: As timely as today’s headlines, it’s a sequel to the hit movie The Lost Boys! Well, actually, this takes place between the first movie and the upcoming sequel, but still. I dug the movie, so I’ll check this out, but I can’t say I’m expecting greatness. Who knows? It could be awesome. (page 107)

Magic Pickle GN (Graphix):
Randy: A supersoldier project from the ’50s turns a pickle into a flying soldier who battles the villainous fallout of the experiment, including such pun-laden veggie baddies as the Romaine Gladiator. This is a long-lost Oni project by Scott Morse, and I recall it being a whole lot of fun, as Pickle re-emerges in the modern day to fight his enemies with the help of a spunky little girl. It was gorgeous in black and white, it’ll be even more impressive in color. (page 293)

The Man With No Name #1 (Dynamite Entertainment):
Randy: Trying to bring Clint Eastwood’s classic “Man With No Name” to comics is probably a fool’s errand. Especially since most of what worked about the character has been translated to comics in DC’s Jonah Hex. But I’m still up for seeing what Christos Gage comes up with, given his writing skills, and I have to admire the balls of Dynamite for venturing into sacred cow territory. (page 252)

Dan: I’m really not a Western guy, but you have a good point. Just trying this is something worthy of respect.

Marvel 1985 #1 (Marvel):
Dan: What if the Marvel super-villains attacked the real world? Our Earth? Mark Millar and Tommy Lee Edwards have the answer. I figured I’d mention this, but I just don’t care enough to comment on it. (page M42)

New X-Men by Grant Morrison Ultimate Collection Volume 1 TP (Marvel):
Randy: It’s worth noting that Marvel is correcting the mistake of having Morrison’s X-Men run out of print by putting out softcover versions of the three hardcovers that collect his entire run. Though the run was flawed, and had a weak ending, it still represents the best X-Men since Claremont at his height, in my opinion, and it’s a shame it didn’t set the direction for the books instead of being mostly retconned and erased from continuity. Still a great standalone read, though. (page M104)

Proof Vol. 1: Goatsucker TP (Image):
Randy: Collects the first five issues of a book about Bigfoot and his human partner investigating paranormal occurrences, in this case a body-stealing Chupacabra. Alex Grecian and Riley Rossmo have taken a killer high concept and turned it into a very fun, occasionally creepy and horrifying and always entertaining read. One of my favorite new books of 2007. (page 157)

Dan: As you say, one of the best new books of last year, and one that isn’t afraid to look at the effects of monsters on people, and people on monsters. Imaginative and creepy.

Skim GN (Groundwood Books):
Dan: A look at trying to find yourself in an all-girls high school in Toronto by cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki. It’s tortured teen life on parade, with what looks to be some beautiful art. I’ve had my fill of these kinds of stories, but there’s something about this one that’s just grabbing my attention. (page 294)

Studio Space TP (Image):
Randy: This is a cool project, with photos and articles about the working space of various creators including Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Duncan Fegredo, Walt Simonson and tons more. Must-have for the process wonks, and something that’ll appeal to even those like me who are casually curious about where an artist works. (page 146)

Suburban Glamour V.1 TP (Image):
Dan: I didn’t get the chance to read this in single issues, but it looked like an intriguing story, and I know McKelvie’s art is fantastic. The already-rough life of a teen girl with the addition of faerie magic and monsters? That can’t be a fun day. (page 158)

Randy: I enjoyed the first issue of this one as well, and McKelvie’s art is indeed fantastic. One to keep an eye out for.

Sunshine Sketch V.1 (Yen Press):
Dan: A new student at a prestigious academy moves into the all-girl apartment building, and these short vignettes follow her as she meets new friends, learns her way around, and just plain gets along. Done in the 4-koma style familiar to fans of Azumanga Daioh, this sounds like a sweet, funny book, something I’m always glad to find. (page 380)

Teen Titans: Year One #5 (DC):
Randy: From the solicit: “Continuing the origin of the team,”

OK, I’m cool with that, makes sense.

“Wonder Girl and Speedy go out on a first date…”

Given the personality Wolfram and Kerschl have infused both characters with, this sounds like fun.

“…that ends in tragedy!!”

…

Goddamnit, DC. (page 74)

Dan: At least they weren’t brutally double-teamed.

Randy: It’s a six-issue miniseries. You never know what they have planned for the grand finale.

Tor #1 (DC):
Dan: Joe Kubert returns to prehistoric character in a new mini-series. I never read any of the previous Tor stuff, but the idea of a lone warrior roaming the world looking for philosophical answers is up my alley, and I love Kubert’s art style, so this may very well lead to me tracking that past work down. (page 80)

The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite TP (Dark Horse):
Randy: Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba turn in a fun, chaotic and beautifully illustrated off-kilter superhero tale that has thematic ties to stuff like BPRD and Morrison’s Doom Patrol, but clearly stands on its own. It’s good enough that I almost wish Dark Horse was doing an oversized hardcover, because Ba’s work certainly deserves that canvas, but this trade will definitely be amongst my purchases in July when it’s released. (page 45)

Dan: I stopped reading this early on, when it became clear that it would read best all at once, and I’m quite looking forward to catching up. There is a freshness here that I really dug.

Usagi Yojimbo V.22: Tomoe’s Story (Dark Horse):
Dan: If you read this series in trade, like me, you anxiously await the months when they come out. This one is awesome, not just because it’s an Usagi trade, but because it has the long uncollected Usagi Yojimbo Color Special issues in it. They’re in black and white, but still. It’s not like that hurts Sakai’s art any. (page 37)

The War That Time Forgot #1 (DC):
Randy: Obscure characters like Enemy Ace and Tomahawk on dinosaur island as a result of time rifts that have created a sort of temporal warfare? Sounds great! Bruce Jones is writing it? Sounds like it’s probably gonna be boring and possibly nonsensical. (page 73)

Dan: I have to wonder how Bruce Jones could possibly hold my interest for eight issues, even with such an awesome idea. Best guess is, he won’t.

Wildguard: Insider #1 (Image):
Randy: Todd Nauck’s reality series superhero book returns, and the first go-round was a whole lot of fun, with a lot of imaginative characters and straight-up old school superhero action. Looking forward to seeing a little more. (page 151)

Wondermark: Beards of our Forefathers TP (Dark Horse):
Randy: Another great webcomic “get” for Dark Horse, who have done so well with Penny Arcade and Perry Bible Fellowship. Wondermark uses 19th-century illustrations with new, modern-day dialogue and situations and it’s a hilarious and unusual comic. I’ll definitely be picking up the print collection, and I’m a regular reader of the webcomic. (page 41)

Dan: Randy introduced me to this webcomic, and it is indeed bizarre and yes, also quite funny. I’m looking forward to a nice hardcover collection.

X-Men: Kitty Pryde & Wolverine Premiere HC (Marvel):
Randy: Insert Randy’s standard rant about hating the premiere hardcover here. Now then, as for the actual content, I have a certain fondness for this cheesy series about Kitty Pryde being seduced by a demon ninja and taken under his wing before Wolverine comes out to fight him for her soul. Not sure it’s enough of a fondness to buy the thing in hardcover, or even in trade, but I can’t deny being tempted. (page M92)

Dan: Ninjas, Randy. NINJAS. And WOLVERINE. You aren’t a man if you don’t buy this. Joking aside, I actually enjoyed this, and I’ll pick it up for pretty much the same reasons you list. Plus the ninjas.