Forward Thinking: And the rest ... for July 2006

"Batting clean-up on Forward Thinking this month ... Stephanie Chan and JK Parkin!" And the crowd goes wild ...

Our TGC teammates have already given you their input on DC, Marvel, Image and Dark Horse, and we're here to talk about all the other great comics appearing in Previews. You can find the complete solicits here. Let's get to it!

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ACTIVE IMAGES

KAFKA TP
JK: This is an Eisner-nominated story by American Virgin's Steven T. Seagle with art by Stefano Gaudiano about a guy in the Witness Protection Program who gets sucked back into his old life. The story sounds intriguing, and I'm enough of a fan of Seagle's to take a look at anything he does. I missed it the first time around, so it's nice to see it finally collected.

BOOM! STUDIOS

YOSHITAKA AMANO'S HERO VOL. 1
Steph: I read the solicitation for this book but I don't really need to know what it's about. If Amano is illustrating, I'm all over it! So pretty!

JOHN DOE PREVIEW BOOK
JK: Mark Waid and the fine folks at BOOM! bring us an interesting premise—a guy named John Doe uses a group of underground operatives to find out who all the unidentified corpses are in Potter's Field. It sounds kind of like Warren Ellis's Global Frequency mixed with a show like Cold Case. I wonder if it'll be a straight up crime series, or if there's a mystical element? Either way, I'm checking it out.

BURLYMAN ENTERTAINMENT

DOC FRANKENSTEIN #5
JK: While the wait between them may be long, but I find myself anticipating each issue.

SHAOLIN COWBOY #6
JK: On the other hand, my interest in Doc's sister title has waned. Despite the incredible artwork, the title really doesn't do much for me, so I've probably bought my last issue.

BUYMETOYS.COM

THE OZ/WONDERLAND CHRONICLES #1
Alice and Dorothy, together again for the first time … but where's Captain Carrot?

D. E.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #1
JK: Most tie-in comics usually have so many restrictions in place on what can and can't be done to the characters that they come across as watered down. While I don't anticipate this one being any different, I still hold on to the hope that the best series on TV will translate into a really enjoyable comic.

HIGHLANDER #0
JK: For a quarter, I'll check anything out, even though I've never really seen the appeal of the Highlander franchise beyond the first movie. Plus what I said about BSG applies here as well.

TIMOTHY TRUMAN'S SCOUT VOLUME 1 TP
JK: I think I wished for this when I blew out all my candles at my last birthday party. You're welcome.

DEVIL'S DUE PUBLISHING

G.I. JOE SCARLETT: DECLASSIFIED
Steph: I used to be into G.I. Joe back when I was eight years old. I thought I outgrew it but I guess pretty Phil Noto art might bring me back into the fold.

DABEL BROTHERS PRODUCTION

ANITA BLAKE VAMPIRE HUNTER: GUILTY PLEASURES #1
Steph: Is it just me, or has there been a lot more horror comics coming out? Not that I'm complaining, but they seem to be popping up like crazy!

FANTAGRAPHICS

CASTLE WAITING VOLUME II #1
JK: Seems like I've been waiting for this one for a long time. It is definitely worth the wait, however.

ONI PRESS INC.

WASTELAND #1
JK: "100 years after the Big Wet, Earth has been left a broken, infertile world of rock and sand. The town of Providens is like many others on the post-Big Wet planet: small, mostly illiterate, and struggling for survival." OK, I'm getting this mostly because I'm intrigued to find out just what the "Big Wet" is.

LEADING MAN #2
JK: B. Clay Moore writes a lot of really fun comics, and it looks like he's really kicking it into high gear with this one. This should be a lot of fun.

LOCAL #8
JK: A love triangle in Wicker Park … sounds like this could eb the steamiest issue of Local yet.

TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS

THE SURROGATES VOLUME 1 TP
JK: I'm not sure what attracted me to buying this series in the first place, but I'm really glad I did. Basically it's the story of
two detectives in a world where people use virtual reality and androids to interact with the world without ever leaving their homes. If you missed the singles, this is definitely worth checking out.

VIPER COMICS

THE MIDDLEMAN VOLUME 2 TP
JK: Another trade that I bought as singles that I highly recommend. If anything, the Luche Libre villains should get you in the mood for Jack Black's Nacho Libre coming out this summer.

THE DUMMY'S GUIDE TO DANGER #1
JK: I first heard of this book when I spoke to Jason Burns earlier this year about his projects at Viper. If you need one good reason to check out this book, do it to meet Mr. Bloomberg — a paraplegic ventriloquist dummy that was shot in the back by an assailant and became crippled when the bullet lodged in his spine.

Paraplegic ventriloquist dummies. What else can you ask for in a comic?
Steph: Paraplegic ventriloquist dummies? SOLD!

VIRGIN COMICS LLC

DEVI #1
THE SADHU #1
THE SNAKEWOMAN #1
JK: Virgin's debut solicitations. I'm not really sure what to expect from them, but Devi sounds the most intriguing.
Steph: I eagerly await the announcement of the Richard Branson graphic novel, "Around Half the World in Seven Days."

WILDCARD PRODUCTION

GUMBY #1
JK: Bob Burden + Rick Geary … now that's what I want out of Gumby comic. I mean, short of Burden and Art Adams, who did a bang-up job on the Comico specials back in the day.