The Shipping Forecast for October 3

Astonish Comics takes us back to school, Moonstone Books takes us beyond the grave, and Oni Press takes us on a little misadventure, courtesy of this week's new comics.
01 October 2001

Welcome back to the Shipping Forecast, now in its sixth month of providing you with the pick of the best new comics hitting the shelves each week. Our four brave buccaneers have tempered the squalls of the Diamond shipping list every Monday to help you find the great little books you might have overlooked or the quality big books you might never have given a chance.

Few things in life are consistent, but over the weeks we've learned one thing above all else is true. The shipping list is subject to change. Check the Diamond website for the latest listings.

FISHER PICKS:

ZOOM'S ACADEMY FOR THE SUPER GIFTED #2 (Astonish Comics)
Not reading Mike Kunkel's HEROBEAR AND THE KID? Will you never learn? Go pick it up at once! And while you're about it, you should check out this silly, sweet, superb little series too. It comes courtesy of Kunkel's Astonish stablemate Jason Lethcoe, and is illustrated in a similarly sketchy animation style. ZOOM'S ACADEMY tells the story of Summer, who thinks she's an ordinary girl and goes to an ordinary school - until her dad makes her take the entrance exam for Zoom's. Summer discovers she's a potential superhero, and the next thing she knows, she's off to superhero school. It's like a spandex Harry Potter. And everyone loves Harry, right?

ICEMAN #1 (Marvel)
This week's x-books include the second issue of the thus-far horribly disappointing ORIGIN, the further adventures of the excellent X-FORCE, and that... well... other X-Men title, UNCANNY. And then there's the first issue of the third X-Men Icons miniseries. The first two, CYCLOPS and ROGUE, haven't appealed much, but this one, written by Abnett and Lanning and illustrated by Karl Kerschl, may have a little more appeal. Despite Scott Lobdell's best efforts, Iceman has always been an underutilised character, so there's plenty of scope for development. The last time Iceman got a limited series, he battled the abstract personification of oblivion. This time he's dealing with ex-girlfriend Opal. Much more appropriate territory.

CROMARTY PICKS:

VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE VOL 1 GN TOREADOR (Moonstone Books)
Moonstone have recently remade themselves into a Worthy Publisher, soliciting only complete, colour, self-contained graphic novels. And here's the first of their White Wolf role-playing licenses: a VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE book. One has to wonder, why the hell hasn't this been done already? The game is nearly ten years old, has a huge following, and many of its adherents are already aware of comics (and certainly SANDMAN). But whatever the reason, so long as this book doesn't cross the thin line into pretentious-goth-waffle-land, ten quid says they have a hit on their hands.

100 BULLETS #29 (DC Vertigo)
LUCIFER #19 (DC Vertigo)
POWERS #14 (Image)
This is Cromarty's Best Of The Rest. A summation, if you like, of comics you really should be reading by now. I and my carp-hungry colleagues have all recommended these books at one time or another - and we don't do this for the good of our health, you know. 100 BULLETS is smart, sexy, deadly and compelling. LUCIFER is one of the wittiest, most thoughtful comics out there. And POWERS continues to turn the superhero genre on its head in ways only Bendis can. So why aren't you reading them?

DOGGER PICKS:

MARQUIS DANSE MACABRE TP (Oni Press)
Guy Davis offers us the collected edition of his series, a story about religion, hell, faith and sanity, set in an 18th century history only a step or two removed from the real world. Sounds different and interesting to me, and might even have a certain amount of educational value, depending on how much real history is lying under the mad fantasy. This collection also includes a wealth of extra and hard-to-find material, making it a model of what a good trade paperback collection should be.

VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE VOL 1 GN TOREADOR (Moonstone Books)
Historically, comics based on roleplaying games haven't been much good, and just to make it even more worrying, fiction based on this particualr line of RPGs has been for the most part, very weak indeed. Still, a glance at the Moonstone Books website reveals that this book shows a lot more promise than it's antecedents both in and out of comics, and since it's a 48-page squarebound self-containted story, the worst that'll happen is that you'll have some lovely art for your shelf, and that'll be the end of it. But who knows - it might be really good. Go on. Give it a chance.

GERMAN BIGHT PICKS:

RETURN OF ALISON DARE LITTLE MISS ADVENTURES #3 (Of 3) (Oni Press)
Three of three. "Why didn't you tell us about it sooner, you feckless fishwife?" scream my readers. Well, both of you stop whinging. This may well be the last in a three-part series, and you can "wait for the trade" if you so wish, but these also work well as stand alone issues. Granted, it would be better if you had read the first two, because there is a little plot continuity, but just have this as a taster. The other two may still be easy to find, but that's because a lot of the good stuff gets overlooked, particularly if it's black and white. J Torres writes an engaging story, with all the verve of old Saturday morning movie serials, the like of which was also so well captured in Indiana Jones films. J Bone's art is executed with lovely bold, clear lines that just beg to be filled with colour. Let your imagination do that. Or try this - buy the comics, wait for the trade, and when it arrives, give the single issues and some crayons to any kids you know and let them do it. Teach them about comics. It may just work.

ZOOM'S ACADEMY FOR THE SUPER GIFTED #2 (Astonish Comics)
The thing with Astonish Comics is you have a long, loooong wait for any of their product. Good thing, then, that what you eventually get is of such quality and just so damn delightful to read. Jason Lethcoe's linework is more sketchy than that of his stablemate Mike Kunkel, the page layout has a very "animation storyboard" feel, but the whole package is more vibrant than you could ever hope from a comic composed entirely in shades of grey. There's a steelier heart to this than to HEROBEAR AND THE KID - the lead character is having to cope with her parent's divorce and separation from her best friend. Just as HEROBEAR sparks off memories of childhood, ZOOM'S ACADEMY brings back the discomfort of pre-pubescence before turning on the magic in the story. If you need any more encouragement to pick this up, then I'll just say this - don't expect there to be a trade for at least half a decade. Do you really want to be the last to know?

Comics shipping in the US on October 3:

DC COMICS

AUG010261 100 BULLETS #29 (MR) $2.50
AUG010181 AZRAEL AGENT OF THE BAT #83 $2.50
AUG010212 BATGIRL A KNIGHT ALONE TP $12.95
AUG010217 BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #148 $2.25
JUL010387 CODENAME KNOCKOUT #5 (MR) $2.50
AUG010270 CRUSADES #8 (MR) $2.50
AUG010228 DOOM PATROL #1 $2.50
JUL010341 FLASH ANNUAL 1963 #1 $6.95
JUL010388 HELLBLAZER #166 (MR) $2.50
JUL010390 I PAPARAZZI HC (MR) $29.95
AUG010180 JOKER LAST LAUGH #1 (Of 6) $2.95
AUG010241 LOONEY TUNES #83 $1.99
AUG010273 LUCIFER #19 (MR) $2.50
AUG010182 ORION #19 $2.50
AUG010226 SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #62 $1.99
AUG010255 WILDCATS VOL 2 #28 $2.50
JUL010357 WONDER WOMAN #174 $2.25
AUG010183 YOUNG JUSTICE #38 $2.50

IMAGE

JUL011230 10TH MUSE ANDY PARK CVR #6 $2.95
JUL011231 10TH MUSE TRIBUTE CVR #6 $2.95
JUL011246 AGENCY #3 $2.95
AUG011121 CREEPS #1 $2.95
JUL015145 GI JOE 2ND PTG #1 $2.95
MAR011263 HELLSPAWN #10 $2.50
AUG011126 IMAGE INTRODUCES PRIMATE CVR A #1 $2.95
AUG011127 IMAGE INTRODUCES PRIMATE CVR B #1 $2.95
JUN011330 KABUKI #1/2 $2.95
JUL011200 MECH DESTROYER #4 $2.95
JUL011210 NOBLE CAUSES FIRST IMPRESSIONS $2.95
MAY011358 POWERS #14 (MR) $2.95
APR011354 RED STAR #7 $2.95
APR011398 SPAWN THE DARK AGES #28 $2.50
APR011362 VIOLENT MESSIAHS #7 $2.95
JUL011250 WITCHBLADE #51 $2.50

MARVEL

AUG011408 ALIAS #2 (MR) $2.99
JUL011513 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #35 $2.25
AUG011451 AVENGERS CELESTIAL QUEST #2 (Of 8) (Note Price) $2.50
JUL011522 DAREDEVIL #25 $2.99
AUG011415 EXILES #5 $2.25
AUG011452 FANTASTIC FOUR #48 $2.25
AUG011418 ICEMAN #1 (MR) $2.50
AUG011416 ORIGIN #2 $3.50
AUG011442 SPIDER-GIRL #39 $2.25
AUG011453 THOR #42 $2.25
AUG011441 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #14 $2.25
JUL011504 ULTIMATE X-MEN #10 $2.25
JUL011498 UNCANNY X-MEN #398 $2.25
JUL011533 UNIVERSE X X $3.99
AUG011409 US WAR MACHINE #4 (MR) $1.50
JUL011509 X-FORCE #120 $2.25

OTHER PUBLISHERS

JUL012150F AFTERLIFE IN GOTHLAND #5 (MR) $2.95
JUL011829E ARCHIE AND FRIENDS STARRING JOSIE & PUSSYCATS #52 $1.99
JUL011830E ARCHIES WEIRD MYSTERIES #17 $1.99
JUL011972F ASTRA #3 $2.95
JUL011918E BAD KITTY RELOADED #1 (Of 4) $2.99
JUL011921I BAD KITTY RELOADED PREMIUM ED #1 $9.99
JUL011886E BART SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR #7 $4.50
JUL011833E BETTY & VERONICA #167 $1.99
JUL011835E BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #101 $3.29
JUN012026F DEADBEATS #49 $2.50
JUN012077 DREAMS OF THE DARKCHYLDE #6 $2.95
AUG011907 FIRST #12 $2.95
JUL012274E FUSHIGI YUGI VOL 5 RIVAL TP $15.95
JUL011930E INSANE CLOWN POSSE PENDULUM #11 $5.99
JUN012282F JAMES OBARR SAVAGES (MR) $2.95
JUN012349 KIMOTA THE MIRACLEMAN COMPANION TP $12.95
JUL011926E LEGEND OF THE SAGE #3 $2.99
JUL012287E MAGICAL POKEMON JOURNEY PART 5 #3 (Of 4) $4.95
JUL012175E MARQUIS DANSE MACABRE TP $18.95
JUL011977F MAXION #22 (MR) $2.95
JUL012288E POKEMON ADVS PART 5 #3 (Of 4) $4.95
JUN012271 RETURN OF ALISON DARE LITTLE MISS ADV #3 (Of 3) $2.95
JUL011841E SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #102 $1.99
AUG012078 VAMPIRE THE MASQUERADE VOL 1 GN TOREADOR (MR) $5.95
APR012310 VICTORIAN #10 $2.95
MAY011983 ZOOMS ACADEMY FOR THE SUPER GIFTED #2 $3.50

MAGAZINES
JUL012272E ANIMERICA VOL 9 #11 $4.95
JUL012316J COMIC SHOP NEWS #746 PI

The 9A Lighthouse Crew are Trafalgar, Shannon, Fastnet, Plymouth, Viking, German Bight, Finisterre, Forties, Dogger, Cromarty and Fisher.

Ninth Art endorses the principle of Ideological Freeware. The author permits distribution of this article by private individuals, on condition that the author and source of the article are clearly shown, no charge is made, and the whole article is reproduced intact, including this notice.