Previews-o-Rama part 1: The Front

It's time once again to page through the latest Previews. Items supposedly shipping in March (but don't hold your breath or anything...)


Dark Horse

Another Conan mini-series debuts: Book of Thoth by Kurt Busiek, Len Wein, and Kelley Jones. Dark Horse are going to drive this license right into the ground just liek they did with Star Wars, aren't they?

Speaking of Star Wars, it's a chance for the better as the first issue of Star Wars: The Return of Tag & Bink--Special Edition come out. The first mini, Tag & Bink Are Dead, was highly enjoyable; if you ever called yourself a Star Wars fan, you'll want to check this out.

Paul Chadwick's Concrete: The Human Dilema--one of last year's best mini-series--gets a collected edition.



DC Comics

It's One Year Later! Or something. I'm most excited about James Robinson writing Batman and Detective Comics; Geoff Johns & Kurt Busiek writing Superman and Action Comics; and Walt Simonson & Howard Chaykin doing Hawkgirl. I'm glad to see Gail Simone syaing on Brids of Prey and the cretive team intact on Firestorm and Manhunter. Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes intrigues. I'm not so sure about the new Blue Beetle--that costume is ugly. And the new direction on Nightwing looks really bad.

But more important, there's the third issue of All Star Superman. Vootie!

And there's Showcase Presents The Superman Family--nearly 600 pages of pre-silver age wackiness.

The final issues of the last three Seven Soldiers minis all hit the racks, as does a second Seven Soldiers trade collection.

Superman in the Eighties leads off with the classic Pa Kent Returns story from Action Comics #507-508, which honestly is almost worth the price of admission right there. There's also the kick-ass "If Superman Didn't Exist" by Marv Wolfman & Gil kane from Action #554. The first Silver Banshee story from Action #595 and the Superman luvs Wonder Woman story from Action #600 (both by John Byrne); Marv Wolfman & Jerry Ordway's story from The Adventures of Superman #430, which I honestly don't remember a thing about, even after having looked at the cover; and a cosmic Superman meets The Spectre story by Len Wein & Jim Starlin from DC Comics Presents #29 (oddly the third part of a 3-part story). Wouldn't it have been useful for DC to actually include the information about which stories these are in their Previews copy?

The Johnny DC sectino has not one but two digest collections of the Justice League Unlimited comic.

Who the %&#$! asked for a crossover between Red Sonja & Claw the Unconquered?

Ah well, at least there's a new Ex Machina collection, helping to justify WildStorm's continued existance.

Over in Vertigo-land there's a new collection for 100 Bulelts, and collection of two Hellblazer minis: Papa Midnight and Lady Constantine.


Image

About that cover to Bomb Queen #2: Ummm... Really? I have a good deal of faith in Jimmie Robinson, but I dunno about this...

A new Lions, Tigers and Bears mini debuts, free from its Alias shackles.

Truth, Justin, and the American Way debuts as well.

Something I never even remotely saw coming: Dave Sim is co-writing the new Gun Fu mini.

Was the world really crying out for a return of CyberForce?


Marvel

Is anybody else worried that the copy for the new Squadron Supreme comic sounds a lot like the original premise for Youngblood?

I really don't want to be pulled in to this Annihilation thing, but darn it if Giffen didn't win me over with the Drax the Destroyer mini.

I'll be shamelessly pulled into the Untold Tales of the New Universe, at least the Justice, Star Brand and DP7 issues.

Bendis finally brings his bastard stepchild The Pulse to an end.

Thunderbolts returns to its original name and numbering with an old-fashioned #100 anniversary issue.

I love Ryan Sook and all, but it didn't take very long for fill-in artists to be called in on X-Factor, did it?

Alias gets a huge-ass 720-page oversized hardcover--for a whopping $70...

Does Thor: Blood Oath really warrant a hardcover collection?

Ooo cool--a new Runaways digest.


That wraps up part one. Part two--the middle--will be along at some point...