William Katt, TV's Greatest American Hero, has turned comic book publisher. Writing an epic involving monsters and mayhem that will see release at the end of the Summer, Katt has also shepherded the production of the eight-issue mini-series Sparks, being released under his own imprint of Catastrophic Comics.

I can't lie to you about the hype on this book. It's a good comic, with really impressive art done completely by JM Ringuet, a guy best known for his coloring for Boom! Studios.

Writing this superhero noir thriller is Chris Folino, who wrote and directed Gamers, a mockumentary I saw over a year ago and laughed hard. Chris has a dark side coming out in this book, which might surprise fans of his film. And if you haven't seen Gamers yet, well, you're going to get another chance, as Monterey Media has just picked it up for a national release on home video on May 6. Check it out -- and see where Catastrophic Comics got its start, when William Katt plays his pivotal cameo role.

How do I know so much about this book ahead of time? Let me offer full disclosure. When William Katt and Christopher Folino decided that a comic book company would be their next collaboration, they felt they needed an editor who had been on all sides of the comics industry -- as a fan, as a critic, a journalist and as a comic book writer himself. So they called me. Not that they couldn't have done it without me, but I'm glad they let me be a part of the process.

Check out the preview art, and as always, you can click on the jpegs below for larger, lusher versions of the same images.

You can order Sparks #1 this month in the April Diamond Previews.

William Katt Presents: Sparks #1
June 2008
written by Chris Folino
art by JM Ringuet
edited by Derek McCaw
32 pages, full-color
$2.99
Diamond Previews Order # APR083679

Gamers
May 6, 2008
Monterey Media Home Video
Diamond Previews Order # APR085198

Derek McCaw