Article 10: Done Too Much
By Paul O'Brien
As Elektra joins the ULTIMATE line and two more X-Men characters are launched into solo series, Paul O'Brien looks at the risks of pushing a franchise too far. Can the ULTIMATE line succeed where other franchises have failed?
Comment: Four By Four
By Frank Smith
They're the first family of superhero comics - not so much nuclear as gamma irradiated - but is there really room for four FANTASTIC FOUR books on the shelves? Frank Smith spends a little time with the family.
Things To Come: Previews September for comics shipping November 2004
By Greg McElhatton
Somewhere between a STRANGEHAVEN and a SENSUAL PHRASE, a sniffly Greg McElhatton swigs back the cold medicine and gallantly plows ahead through Previews to give you a fighting chance at finding November's best comics.
Comment: Après Le Déluge
By Alex de Campi
With another San Diego behind them, three creators - RENT GIRL's Laurenn McCubbin, HOW LOATHSOME's Tristan Crane and RUMBLE GIRLS' Lea Hernandez - join Alex de Campi to look at the state of the industry.
Article 10: Clash Of The Cretins
By Paul O'Brien
First they fight, then they team up. That may be the plot of a BATMAN/DAREDEVIL crossover, or it may just be the publicity stunt that Marvel and DC have cooked up to sell it. Paul O'Brien tries to separate the children.
Comment: Library Dues
By Andrew Wheeler
With the end in sight for X-STATIX, Andrew Wheeler looks at the book's uneven legacy, Peter Milligan's future on X-MEN, and Marvel's seemingly lacklustre approach to producing trade paperbacks with lasting value.
Comment: Kindred Spirits
By Ben Wooller
Comics may not be widely read, but the artform has some friends in high places, including novelist Michael Chabon and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Ben Wooller explores the phenomenon of the comics advocate.
Comment: Net Worth
By John Parker
The usual response by print magazines to the rise and rise of Internet journalism has been to ignore it and hope it goes away, but the times, they are a-changing. Are they changing quickly enough, wonders John Parker?
Reeder's Digest 4: The Blogosphere
By Hector Reeder
From out of nowhere came... the Blogosphere! Its growth, exponential! Its appetite... insatiable! Resident expert Hector Reeder casts his eye over the latest Grant Morrison JLA plo - Sorry, over the 'future of comics journalism.'
Article 10: Launch Sequence
By Paul O'Brien
'Run it up the flapgole and see who salutes' is all very well in the army, but is it any way to launch a host of new comic series? Paul O'Brien argues not, and suggests a possible solution.