What better way to start off the week than with the first preview of the long-anticipated Planetary #27?

Yep - it’s out this October, which is just a little over a month away. If you need to re-read the old comics and refresh yourself on the series, now wouldn’t be a bad time to start.

Pencils by Drew Johnson.

Blizzcon 2009 was nuts. Crazy nuts. But I’ll tell you, there is an amazing energy at this show that you won’t find anywhere else. Wall-to-wall gamers devoted not only to WORLD OF WARCRAFT, but all of Blizzard’s incredible roster of games, every one of them in attendance for two full days of gaming goodness in Anaheim!

It’s hard to believe that we are approaching two years of epic storytelling by Walter Simonson (joined by his better half, Louise, for the current arc). Just three Blizzcons ago we went to soak up what being part of this world even meant. Were we in for a surprise. I know a decent amount of DC continuity (I wouldn’t go up against Geoff Johns), but the fans with whom we chatted at our booth are hard-core. They know thousands of years of history. Thousands! And they’ll let you know when you get it wrong, too.

Thankfully, we have a great collaborative partnership with Blizzard, and all of our stories go through a rigorous review process. We have conference calls and a flurry of emails to get the story right, ensuring it fits within the tightly held lore of Azeroth. All the hard work is paying off for you – issue #22 hit stores last week. This week, we have two collected editions. It really wasn’t intentional – it just worked out that way!

WORLD OF WARCRAFT Book 2 Hardcover collects issues 8-14 of the monthly series, and brings Lo’Gosh into conflict with…himself? This arc is by Walter Simonson, with art by Jon Buran and newcomer Mike Bowden.

We also have the softcover edition of WORLD OF WARCRAFT Book 1, with an incredible Jim Lee cover! This collects the zero chapter as well as issues 1-7 of the monthly series, by Simonson with art by Ludo Lullabi and Sandra Hope.

You don’t need to play the game to enjoy the comic, and you don’t need to read the comic to enjoy the game. But if you do both, you’ll certainly enjoy the experience that much more!

Join us – we’re just getting started!

At Comic Con this year, Adam Beechen said he and Tim Seeley will be making their upcoming run on WildCats one of the biggest team-up books we’ve ever seen, and it sounds like they’re holding to that promise. If you read Shannon Eric Denton’s editorial post last week, he mentions that “[he has] asked Tim to draw at least 70 characters on each page and so far he’s doubled that every time.”

Wow.

Please, Shannon - please, please send me those pages when they’re ready.

I can only guess who’ll be popping up - including a few characters that have been MIA for a little while.

Which WildStorm Universe characters are you most hoping to see?

Just got in my copy of Authority: World’s End here at the office, and it looks great. (Hank pointed out that it looks great on the shelf next to the WildCats: World’s End trade, and I concur.) Some things really lend themselves to being read in one big chunk, so I’ll be looking forward to settling in, dodging the heat wave currently beating up on us outside and refreshing myself on this story arc.

Flipping through, it’s great to see the covers to the individual issues reprinted inside without the titles and dressing across them - there are few things more eye-catching than a full-page Coleby/Strachan illustration. Issue #7 is my personal favorite:

I know the buzz has certainly centered around the recently-announced Victorian Undead miniseries for the past two weeks. Ian Edginton’s got a great resume under his belt, including a lot of A-class 2000 AD work. I noticed a lot of commenters here, however, giving props to Ian’s current (excellent, I should say) run on Stormwatch: PHD, and I’ll have to agree they’re all well-deserved.

Here’s a preview of the next issue, which really starts off with a bang.

Back in June, /Film took a first look at Fiona Staples’ segment of the upcoming Trick ‘r Treat graphic novel. Some fans in San Diego were lucky enough to catch an early screening of the movie and meet writer/director Michael Dougherty at the DC booth. I consider myself a horror buff - it’s
killing me that I have to wait til October for both the DVD and the finished book.

I did get to see the whole thing in color this week - which was GREAT. We really had four top-notch artists working on this book. I’m tempted to bust them all out for you now, but I don’t want you guys to get too spoiled. Here are two pages from Christopher Gugliotti’s beautiful segment.

Stay tuned for more previews…

Admission: I’m a sucker for this stuff. I love seeing pencils, inks, sketches… Any sort of unfinished pages. I’m the guy who’s straining to peek over the editors’ shoulders as they’re discussing work with artists at the various comic shows. I’m jealous that they always get to see the whole creative process - though, I don’t envy all the blood, sweat and tears it takes to deliver the polished books. I’ll leave that to them.

I think Team WildStorm has caught on, because now and then they’ll kick little gifts over my way in the form of jpegs. When they do, I’m grateful. And you should be, too - more often than not those pages end up here on The Bleed.

North 40, Red Herring, and Killapalooza…

Ex Machina, Astro City…

American Gothic, Victorian Undead, Sparta USA…

It’s a damn good time to be a fan of WildStorm’s creator-driven books.

Speaking of new books… Newsarama’s Chris Arrant talks to writer Jeff Mariotte about his upcoming Garrison series with artist Francesco Francavilla.

I originally broke into this business as a penciler. There were a few artists who were breaking big at the time and I so wanted to do what they were doing. One of those artists was Jim Lee. So after a slight (14 years in Hollywood!) detour, here I am. Getting to work with the characters I originally fell in love with some 15 years ago.

In my mind, WildStorm is home to all of Jim’s creations. I’m hoping, now that I’m in the sandbox, we can further establish why these creations are not only incredibly relevant but…fun. I’m having fun. The teams I’m assembling for this are having fun. We’re all answering the battle call to create something fun. Something we’d want to read. Hopefully something you’ll want to read. Blasting from the uber-awesome events of World’s End, we’ll be continuing the charge!

We’ll take a new look at some familiar characters—but also reveal where EVERYONE who was ever in a WildStorm book is currently. Hey, I bought everything WildStorm before starting here…I had questions. Fun thing is now I’m the guy who gets to answer them.

Starting with an epilogue in issue 17 of THE AUTHORITY, Marc Bernardin & Adam Freeman are bringing the interstellar widescreen drama along with superstar artist Al Barrionuevo. This book is going to continue to address the big questions—and, more importantly, provide the big answers in ways you never expected.

On the stellar front, with issue 19 of WILDCATS, Adam Beechen is prepared to give ’Cats fans more action and more characters than they could ever have possibly imagined. Joining him is New York Times bestseller (for Hack/Slash) and powerhouse artist Tim Seeley. I have asked Tim to draw at least 70 characters on each page and so far he’s doubled that every time. This is widescreen action at its very best. It’s everything John Woo dreams about and then some!

So there ya go. As a fan, I’m happy. As a comic book professional, I’m happy. And we’re all hoping you join us for what’s about to be WildStorm’s best year ever!

Storm out!

-Shannon Eric Denton