WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO: WILDSTORM PANEL

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- J. Scott Campbell is on familiar turf.

Campbell is co-writing -- with Andy Hartnell -- and drawing WildSiderz, a new mini-series slated for next summer from WildStorm Productions.

At WildStorm's panel at Wizard World Chicago on Saturday, Campbell talked about the series.

"It's a book that takes place in modern times, sort of set against the backdrop of suburban high school," Campbell said. "We follow the five teenagers ... they're not mutants and they're not aliens. Their suits are actually wired up like computers and they project hologram-like force fields around different portions of their bodies that mimic organic shapes. They have different animal extensions that come off their gauntlets and backs and things of that nature.

"I think it's really cool. It's really much in the same kind of tone as a lot of things I've done, probably something closer to Gen13, where they're kids and a lot of comedy and a lot of fun. I kind of look at the projects I do as popcorn summer-movie sort of things, although it's not all fluff.

"I think the characters, I really took the time to develop the characters and their unique personalities. Pretty much the comic book does follow the kids in everyday life so when they do suit up and have these powers, you will really care about these characters and like their personalities and their personal interactions."

Campbell said the book will initially be five issues, following his trend on Danger Girl of arcs "that feel like a two-hour movie."

"It lays a lot of seeds for a follow-up arc of another five issues that I hope to start immediately after the first one's wrapped up," Campbell said. "So if all goes correctly, there's at least 10 issues planned, a couple of them being double-sized and the first issue having extra pages."

Campbell said this is the project of which he's most proud.

"There's so much time that's gone into developing this idea and really conceptualizing it," he said.

In other news from the WildStorm panel:

* J.H. Williams III will be inking his penicls on Desolation Jones, a new ongoing series written by Warren Ellis. The is series about a British former secret agent who's officially dead. Having gone underground in Los Angeles, Jones reinvents himself as a private investigator to the secret community of ex-spooks.

"It's got incredibly tasteless, wonderful things," WildStorm editor Scott Dunbier said.

* Williams is also contributing vignette artwork to the WildGirl mini-series, which will be part of the WildStorm imprint, not America's Best Comics.

* The Intimates will debut the first week of November, co-creator Jim Lee said.

* Dunbier on the next League of Extraordinary Gentlemen mini-series by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. "It sort of jumps around a little bit and you have different time frames explored," Dunbier said. "We'll see it sometime within the next year or so."

Dunbier said that Moore and O'Neill have both expressed interest in another League mini-series following the third one.

* The second story arc of Ex Machina begins in December's #6 as Mayor Mitchell Hundred attempts to deal with grafitti glyphs that are spreading across New York's five boroughs, causing inexplicable seizures in anyone who sees them.

"It's an ongoing series and are goal is for us to cover his four years in office, so it should be about 50 issues," writer Brian K. Vaughan said. "Tony Harris is going to draw every single issue. He says he won't allow a fill-in artist. So if you like Tony Harris, this is the only place you're going to be able to see him for awhile."

* Dunbier said that Gene Ha is about two-thirds of the way through the art on The 49ers, with a release expected next year.

* Lee said the WildCats will return, probably in 2006. "They are core characters, and we've got some good plans," he said.

* Jerry Ordway is drawing two Tom Strong stories and a mini-series to be announced for next summer.

* Lee said he remains booked through 2006. "I have Superman and then one other DC project," he said. "And then you'll see me back at WildStorm doing a bunch of work."

* Dunbier said he and Warren Ellis have been talking about doing "a nice, big and chunky graphic novel" for Global Frequency. Production of the Global Frequency television series pilot began on Monday.