What to look for in July 2004
by Chad Boudreau & Dana Tillusz

10. Man-Thing #1 (of 3)
Marvel Comics
(w) Hans Rodionoff
(a) Kyle Hotz

This small but fearful miniseries is the prequel to the Man-Thing motion picture due out sometime early fall 2004. This movie was a project intended to be released directly to video, but Lion's Gate Films has decided to go for the full-blown theatrical release instead. We all know this movie isn't going to do well in the theatres so how can the comic do any better? Well, screenwriter Kyle Hotz jumps on board to pen the series. That's a plus-- way better than letting some unknown jockey come up with a crappy adaptation. Oh wait…isn't Rodionoff an unknown? (DT)

9. Army of Darkness: Ashes 2 Ashes #1
Devil's Due Publishing
(w) Andy Hartnell
(a) Nick Bradshaw & Etienne St-Laurent

Give me some sugar, baby! That Ash just won't lie down. The man with the chin and the chainsaw continues his battle against evil in this new comic from Devil's Due Publishing. Ash is forced to leave his S-Mart job when a face from the past recruits him to fight the Necronomicon and its minions once again. Ash gets the chance to put to right the problems he caused by muttering the incorrect magic words in Army of Darkness. This newest tale will take him back to the infamous cabin where it all began. (CB)

8. Doom Patrol #1
DC Comics
(w) John Bryne
(a) John Bryne & Doug Hazlewood

This particular series re-launch is on this list not because I'm interested in reading it. It's on this list as an example of what a publisher should not do. John Bryne writes and illustrates this new Doom Patrol series, a superhero team that has always existed on the margins of the DCU. The most memorable Doom Patrol was the one in the hands of Grant Morrison, a writer that approached these characters in a mature, and certainly weird, manner.

You don't get much more safe and mainstream than a guy like John Bryne, and for whatever reason, DC has decided to let him basically brush aside everything Morrison has done with these characters, allowing Bryne to start from scratch, adding new heroes such as Faith to the Doom Patrol roster. I expect this type of disregard for continuity from Marvel, but not DC. For shame. (CB)

7. Justice League Elite #1 (of 12)
DC Comics
(w) Joe Kelly
(a) Doug Mahnke & Tom Nguyen

The Justice League of America is going to split itself in half in JLA #100, creating a spin-off team that's not afraid to cross the lines the JLA won't. The super-team called Elite made its debut in Action Comics #775 (also written by Joe Kelly), and now it returns as a proactive force in the DCU. This 12 issue miniseries will feature original Elite members as well as current members of the JLA that join its roster. It will be interesting to see how these heroes clash with do-gooders like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter. (CB)

6. Batman: The Order of Beasts
DC Comics
(w) Eddie Campbell & Darren White
(a) Eddie Campbell

Small press guru, Eddie Campbell, takes his shot at DC's greatest character, Batman. This 48-page Elseworlds special takes place in wartime England at the beginning of Batman's career. If you've ever read From Hell or Bacchus, you will not want to miss this. Batman: The Order of Beasts is a beautifully painted narrative filled with mystery and the clandestine. (DT)

5. Milkman Murders #1 (of 4)
Dark Horse Comics
(w) Joe Casey
(a) Steve Parkhouse

When you think horror comics, the first name that comes to mind is Joe Casey? I don't think so! These days, horror comics mean Steve Niles, but Casey is entering that genre with Milkman Murders. Dark Horse Comics and IDW Publishing continue to go head-to-head in the realm of horror, but it looks like Dark Horse is gaining the edge. IDW has a lot of Steve Niles books. Dark Horse has Niles' comics too, but they also have The Devil's Footprints, Book of Hauntings, Book of Witchcraft, and even a little funny horror title called The Goon. Diversification is the strength of Dark Horse's horror line. Milkman Murders only enhances that line further.

Barbara Vale has a not so loving family. Her husband is mentally and physically abusive, her son mutilates animals in the basement and her daughter is having an affair with one of her high school teachers. Casey creates a tale of suburban horror, and word on the street says his script is one of the most compelling reads of 2004. This story is illustrated by Steve Parkhouse who tackled the absurd side of British suburban life in his collaboration with Alan Moore, The Bojeffries Saga. He's also the man who brought Grant Morrison's vision of global insanity to life in The Invisibles. (CB)

4. Kabuki #1 / Powers #1
Marvel Comics / Icon
(w) David Mack / Brian Michael Bendis
(a) David Mack / Michael Avon Oeming

In July, Marvel Comics launches yet another imprint, but this one should prove to have stronger legs then Epic, Tsunami and Marvel Age. Icon is a home for stories outside of Marvel's own universe, creator-owned projects by the artists and writers that create Marvel's books. (Hey, wasn't Epic supposed to be a home for creator-owned series?). The first two books to find a place in Icon are Kabuki by David Mack, who recently did a stint on Daredevil, and Powers by Brian Michael Bendis, who writes almost every comic being published by Marvel. Both Kabuki and Powers were originally published by Image Comics.

I suspect Marvel would do anything to keep Bendis happy. If he left their employ, Marvel wouldn't have any comics worth reading. I also suspect Kabuki and Powers will remain the only books coming out of Icon for at least six months, and I predict Bendis will tone down the content of Powers for the Marvel reading audience. I just don't think the depraved sex and violence typically seen in Powers is going to go over well with the Marvel big-wigs, creator-owned or not. (CB)

3. The Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #1
DC Comics / Vertigo
(w) Neil Gaiman & Si Spencer
(a) Dean Ormston

Since Neil Gaiman's Sandman series concluded, fans of the Vertigo series have been searching high and low for a suitable replacement. The second volume of The Books of Magic was published in the 90s and was worthy to carry the flag for Vertigo for a while; today Mike Carey's Lucifer series is definitely the choice title based on Gaiman's created universe. In July, Vertigo Comics is releasing a brand new spanking monkey entitled The Books of Magick: Life During Wartime. Gaiman will help out with some witty creative council and hopefully we'll have a great new ongoing book jammed with the essentials. (DT)

2. Avengers #500
Marvel Comics
(w) Brian Michael Bendis
(a) David Finch

When the sales start slipping on a Marvel title there are only two options available: 1) cancel it or 2) give it to Brian Michael Bendis. Sure, you might think this an unfair statement, but do some research and you'll see a pattern. So, Bendis and Finch jump on board Avengers at the landmark #500 issue and give this core super-team title a reason to stick around. This new direction is "an event that will rock the entirety of the Marvel Universe." Find out what's going to change the Earth's Mightiest Heroes starting July 28. (DT)

1. DC Comics / Humanoids

In 1975, three French comics creators-- Moebius, Dionnet and Druillet-- founded Metal Hurlant magazine and led Humanoids Associes to become a publishing hotbed of revolutionary creators. Starting in July, DC Comics begins releasing English translated versions of material in the Humanoids catalog.

Three trade paperbacks and issue #12 of Metal Hurlant start things off. The Technopriests is an epic science-fiction saga by Alexandro Jodorowsky, Zoran Janjetov and Fred Beltran. Townscapes in a story by one of world's most renowned graphic novelists, Enki Bilal, and The Horde is a futuristic tale by Baranko. With Humanoids and the recently announced exclusive North American publishing rights to all existing and future material from UK's Rebellion, DC Comics is establishing themselves as a big player in bringing European comics to North America. (CB)