With Top Cow’s Pilot Season in the horizon (the event beings in November), the publisher has released Pilot Season: Declassified – a 32-page full color book that gives the readers a chance to take a sneak peek at their five upcoming properties. For those who might not know what Pilot Season is all about, the basic premise of the event is for the readers to vote on their favorite comic title (out of the given choices). The winner will have shot at getting its mini or ongoing series. For this year, fans of Robert Kirkman (best known for The Walking Dead and Marvel Zombies) and Marc Silvestri (Uncanny X-Men and Witchblade anyone?) will be thrilled to know that these two have joined forces and co-created the five new properties to choose from: Murderer, Demonic, Stealth, Stellar and Hardcore. Declassifiedfocuses on these five titles and for only a buck, fans can pick it up and get a taste of what’s in store for them. Thanks to a Top Cow insider, GamingAngels.com and I were able to get an advanced copy of the book and see what it’s all about. Undecided if you should get a copy? Then read on.

As I sifted through the book, it’s pretty much what you’d expect from a preview book – a collection of concept sketches, a couple of full-colored pinups and samples of storyline scripts. Most the artworks are done by Silvestri, and it’s pretty damn cool to see how much his drawing style has evolved since his days as a penciller for Uncanny X-Men. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t terrible – in fact, his style back then definitely fit the chaotic world of the Inferno storyline. However, his current style is much more defined and detailed – as evident in the sketches that are showcased in Declassified. I only wish that the book also gave sneak peeks to the two other titles from the bunch. It was disappointing but we’ll get to that soon. Still, as a long time fan of his, it was definitely a treat to gawk at them!

The book also gives the readers a chance to see Kirkman’s thought processes, and it’s pretty clear that he’s bubbling with ideas for this year’s Pilot Season – as seen in the e-mail exchanges between him and the creators. Reading the back and forth messages from the creative team will give the readers an insight on how to conceive and put together a story. Fans of this writer will also be delighted to see a personal letter from him which relates to his readers his passion for comics and his excitement over the new upcoming project. While he didn’t suggest it directly, his message is clear to those who are passionate about comic books and want to work in the industry: score an internship with the publisher and put yourself out there.

Now, according to the publisher’s official press release, “Pilot Season: Declassified is filled with top secret design sketches, documents, along with trailer pages from the five properties.” Sadly, I found that it mainly applies to Murderer, Demonic and Stealth though the first two titles were given the most attention. If I was to decide which property should win, it would be a choice between Murderer and Demonicbut it’s only because the book basically dedicated most of the pages to them. What are these two about anyway? Murderer is about Jason Sparks, a young guy who’s cursed with the ability to hear the thoughts of everyone around him. But Professor X makes it look cool – why is this a curse? He can’t shut them out – at least not in the most conventional ways. The only way he can shut out the voices in his head and keep his sanity? Murder. Now what’s stopping him from being deemed as a serial killer? He’s using his curse for good. Demonic is about Scott Grave, a married man who just happens to have a demon in his head. The demon also happens to make him strong but there’s a price: Scott needs to kill for the demon in order to spare the lives of his wife and daughter.

As for Stellar and Hardcore, both are given brief descriptions in the beginning but pretty much ceased to exist after that. They didn’t even get a concept sketch or a preliminary script. Sadness. I would have loved to have seen at least the concept art for Stellar – a genetically enhanced super-human who’s been banished from Earth since she’s become toxic to humans. It’s a pretty ambitious concept, but I’m curious to see as to how Kirkman and Silvestri would have fleshed out her character and story.

The layout of the book towards the end also threw me off. After seeing some concept ideas and designs for Stealth (guy finds out his dad, who’s diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, is really a butt-kicking masked vigilante, and he’s forced to deal with his dad’s disease and his many enemies), I had expected to see tidbits on Stellar and Hardcore to follow but instead, came upon concept ideas and artwork for Top Cow’s other ongoing titles. “Huh? I thought this book was about the new properties!” I literally had to go back a few pages just to make sure I didn’t skip a page. Newp. I guess it’s their way of pulling a ninja-like move and promoting what’s also available for readers out there. Plus hey, it also paved the way for the advertisements that filled up the rest of the five pages of the book. I get it. Gotta promote your other products too. Yet in my honest opinion (and in the risk of sounding bitter), those last few pages could have been dedicated to the other upcoming titles. But that’s just me.

So is this book worth your dollar? Yes if you’re a major fan of Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri as well as a loyal follower of Top Cow’s Pilot Season. There’s plenty enough info to pore over – at least withMurderer, Demonic and Stealth. And let’s not forget that you can also drool over Silvestri’s concept sketches (I know I did). Just keep in mind that it’s a preview book and it only highlights three out of the five upcoming new properties. For those who aren’t any of the above, save your dollar for an actual comic book.