Let's get the big news out of the way first. Warren Ellis has said on Twitter that Planetary #27 is in the can. Needless to say, this was LOOOOONG overdue but Wildstorm kept their word from New York Comic Con this year by saying it would be finished sometime in 2009. Let's hope we see this final issue solicited for July in the coming weeks! This announcement has gotten a lot of buzz on the internet the past 48 hours or so.
I can't comment on the quality of Planetary as I have been putting off reading it until the series is complete. Once this issue comes out and the trade is solicited I will definitely be picking up the old books and pre-ordering the new trade. I'm sure with all the buzz behind this I won't be the only guy or girl looking at picking these issues up in the form of trade paperbacks.
Also recently announced, Keith Giffen is going to pick up where Grant Morrison left off with The Authority. Grant Morrison did the first two issues before hitting a brick wall and after about two years of waiting Wildstorm has decided to move on and hand the story over to Giffen who is going to finish what's to be a 12 issue run. For more information check out the interview with Keith Giffen over at Newsarama (Link: http://www.newsarama.com/comics/030924-Giffen-Authority.html).
The thought of Giffen finishing this story doesn't excite me very much at the moment but at least the story will be finished. I would rather it finally get done rather than sit out there for two more years waiting for Grant Morrison to put it off some more. It's also hard to get excited about a title before an artist is even announced for it. As important as writing is in todays world of comics, you still can't produce a great book without great art so let's hope the creative team will be solid and timely for this one.
While we're on the subject of Grant Morrison's books, it's also been announced that Grant Morrison and Jim Lee are getting the band back together and finally sitting down to work on their Wildcats run. Rather than solicit individual issues over a period of time it's looking like Morrison and Lee will be completing their story as a graphic novel. Personally, this news has me very excited. I love the idea of being able to sit down and read this straight through without having to worry about any future delays.
I've been very excited about the fact that Wildstorm has learned not to solicit projects anymore without them being finished. I don't mind waiting for a title I just get annoyed when it's solicited and in my mind and then of course it ends up not showing up on time.
While on the topic of solicitations and upcoming books I want to stress how important pre-orders are for comics. Be it individual issues, hardcover collections or trade paperbacks the best way to support the publisher with new titles is to pre-order things you know you're going to buy. Not only are pre-orders great for the publisher but they are great for us as fans and customers for a couple different reasons. First, it ensures you'll get your copy. You don't have to drive to two or three different local comic shops to find a missing trade or issue or prowl the internet to see what's in stock. Pre-orders are also great because a perk of pre-ordering through many stores or websites includes a pretty fat discount. Online stores such as Heavy Ink, DCBS/InStockTrades and Comic Collector Live often offer amazing discounts. Heavy Ink is typically 20% off while DCBS/InStockTrades is around 40% off. Many local comic shops also offer 10-20% off for pre-orders and pull list customers.
The last thing I want to bring up today is the trade paperbacks coming out for the World's End titles this upcoming summer and fall. Wildcats and The Authority are up first with Stormwatch and Gen13 following close behind. Please, if you haven't been buying and reading Stormwatch or Gen13, consider pre-ordering the trades. These are two titles that need a serious boost in sales. If you buy the single issues, maybe consider buying a trade or two for a friend or co-worker that enjoys comics but isn't necessarily reading anything from Wildstorm. It's hard to imagine a Wildstorm universe without Gen13 or Stormwatch around so please at least consider these books for yourself or someone else when the time comes to order these. I'm currently planning to get the Stormwatch trade as it's the only title I'm not getting in single issues and possibly getting the Wildcats trade for my girlfriends niece as a Christmas present (she's starting to get pretty into comics). Even if you won't buy any of these books or if you can't afford them spread the word to friends and fellow comic readers please. Word of mouth is a powerful thing in the comics industry.
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