I had the exact same car, except a 2001. Many many issues, but luckily never a head gasket.
-Exhaust manifold cracking - they are famous for that. The cat is built into the manifold, causing temp fractures every couple of years.
-Suspension issues (almost every bushing there is), as you already know
-Ridiculously inaccurate fuel gauge - try not to run out of gas!
-Continuously warped front rotors.
Hopefully they fixed those issues by the time 2002 rolled around....
Overall, great on fuel. I averaged 34 mpg without trying too hard, aka...wife driving most of the time.
I really liked the way the automatic worked in my Civic. You have probably already noticed how much the torque converter stays locked. Waaaay more than most automatics. For example, when cruising at 20 mph it will be in the 3rd gear with TC locked, revs very low. At almost any steady speed, it locks, unlike my wife's Matrix that needs 37 mph to lock, and will only do so in 4th gear (and for some weird reason way up at 47 mph if you manually switch it to 3rd). Even if you manually switch to 3rd (from 4th) on the Civic, it will lock the TC unless you really stand on it.