The Shipping Forecast for May 7th 2001

Ninth Art's crack team of crusty old fishermen makes its weekly picks of the best comics on release.
07 May 2001

Welcome to the Shipping Forecast, Ninth Art's weekly look at the latest comic book releases. Every Monday we'll show you the week's shipping list from Diamond, and our resident trio of fisherman-critics at the Ninth Art lighthouse will make their picks of the best, worst and most noteworthy books on release.

Over the coming weeks you'll hear a lot from these three salty seadogs, and you'll come to learn which of them has tastes closest to your own. This week, by way of an introduction, they're going to share with you their picks of the best books released in the last few weeks. The Diamond shipping list then follows.

The Shipping Forecast from Ninth Art. Every Monday, from somewhere out at sea.

CROMARTY PICKS:

AGE OF BRONZE VOL 1: A THOUSAND SHIPS TP
All I've heard about this book is Very Good Things. The initial release passed me (and, I don't doubt, many others) by, but it soon gained followers who were shouting its praises. Shanowar's art looks faultless, and how can you go wrong with a classic story like that of Helen of Troy?

MINISTRY OF SPACE #1
Warren Ellis pulls another Pop Comic out of the hat in his quest to create comics that appeal to the man in the street. Chris Weston's a fine choice for artist, as his technical detail is exemplary - and will be needed here is this book is going to succeed. The question is - will this be better than STRANGE KISS?

ZERO GIRL
I'm no big fan of Sam Kieth. His work up until now has generally left me cold. But ZERO GIRL is different, and in more ways than one: a surreal story of a girl who believes circles are Good, squares are Bad, and that her school counsellor harbours a secret love for her. This is a series that's well worth checking out.

FISHER PICKS:

JOKER MASK TP
This is a collection of Dark Horse's four issue crossover starring The Joker and The Mask, written and illustrated by a team you've probably never heard of. Doesn't sound promising, does it? Yet this book has some of the most shameless humour and nicest animation-style artwork I've seen in a long while. Even if you're not a fan of either character, you'll find this book ian enjoyable yarn.

TOP TEN BOOK ONE
Finally in paperback! Hardback trades strike me as a particularly malevolent idea, and fifteen dollars seems a much more sensible price to pay for a six issue trade. If you've not been reading TOP TEN, you're missing some excellent ensemble-cast scripting and some truly exquisite art. When ABC started, people complained that Alan Moore wasn't pushing the envelope anymore. This may be Alan Moore being pedestrian, but it's still one of the best books on the market.

GHOST WORLD FILM EDITION
Dan Clowes' excellent story about two girls and one long summer, full of the usual Clowes freaks and weirdoes, is soon to be a movie starring Thora Birch, Steve Buscemi and Illeana Douglas. This is the tie-in re-release of the book, and it's well worth buying, especially at under ten bucks. The movie, out June 15, is also written by Clowes, so expect a faithful adaptation.

DOGGER PICKS:

LUCIFER: DEVIL IN THE GATEWAY
I didn't get this when it first came out, dismissing it as yet another SANDMAN cash-in by Vertigo, and likely to be of the same standard as all the others. Maybe it is a SANDMAN cash-in, but this traditional Vertigo horror-fantasy has been executed to a very high standard. If you enjoyed Sandman, you shouldn't miss this.

HITMAN
Garth Ennis and John McCrea have both put in sterling work on this sixty issue series, delivering a mix of action, romance and touching humanity, all while handing out laugh-out-loud moments left, right and center. If you don't own this series already, go out and buy the trades.

THE WAITING PLACE VOLUME 1 TPB
I had never read THE WAITING PLACE before, because I heard about it late and didn't want to jump in halfway through. Now that a collection has been released, I can read this series, which any number of clever and discerning people have been recommending to me for over a year. You should probably read it too.

Comics shipping in the US on March 9th:

MAR010018 HELLBOY CONQUEROR WORM #1 (Of 4) $2.99
MAR010403 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #592 $2.25
MAR010390 AZRAEL AGENT OF THE BAT #78 $2.50
MAR010387 DETECTIVE COMICS #758 $2.50
MAR010398 HARLEY QUINN #8 $2.25
MAR010420 IMPULSE #74 $2.50
MAR010447 JENNY SPARKS THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AUTHORITY TP $14.95
MAR010423 JLA BLACK BAPTISM #3 (Of 4) $2.50
MAR010449 MONSTER WORLD #1 (Of 4) $2.95
MAR010399 NIGHTWING #57 $2.25
MAR010443 SCOOBY-DOO #48 $1.99
MAR010451 STAR TREK DIVIDED WE FALL #1 (Of 4) $2.95
MAR010432 STARMAN #79 $2.50
MAR010433 SUPER FRIENDS TP $14.95
MAR010472 SWAMP THING #15 (mature readers) $2.50
MAR010474 WEIRD WESTERN TALES #4 (Of 4) (mature readers) $2.50
JAN011275D SPAWN THE DARK AGES #25 $2.50
JAN011260D TOP COW CLASSICS WITCHBLADE #25 $2.95
FEB011292D WITCHBLADE #47 $2.50
MAR011542 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #31 $2.25
MAR011554 BLACK PANTHER #32 $2.50
MAR011556 IRON MAN #42 $2.25
MAR011543 SPIDER-GIRL #34 $2.25
FEB011556D TANGLED WEB THE THOUSAND #1 (Of 3) $2.99
FEB011588D X-FORCE #115 $2.25
MAR011527 X-TREME X-MEN #1 $2.99
FEB011834E BETTY & VERONICA SPECTACULAR #48 $1.99
JAN011788E COMIC BOOK HEAVEN VOL 2 #4 $1.95
DEC002008F COMPLEAT CANNON TP (mature readers) $19.95
MAR012224 DRAGONBALL PART 3 #12 (Of 14) $2.95
FEB012176E GUNDAM WING VOL 1 GROUND ZERO TP $14.95
MAR012212 INU YASHA PART 6 #1 (Of 15) $2.95
FEB011836E JUGHEAD WITH ARCHIE DIGEST #166 $2.19
MAR012125 LAND OF NOD TREASURY TP (mature readers) $11.95
MAR011794 LENORE CURR PTG #1 (offered again) $2.95
MAR011795 LENORE CURR PTG #6 (offered again) $2.95
FEB011957F LODOSS WAR CHRONICLES HEROIC KNIGHT #8 $2.95
MAR011965 MYSTIC #12 $2.95
FEB011986H PALOOKA VILLE #1 10TH ANNIV ED (mature readers) $3.75
FEB011838E PALS N GALS DOUBLE DIGEST #58 (note price) $3.29
MAR011790 PRIVATE BEACH #2 $2.95
OCT002088F READING THE FUNNIES (resolicited) $19.95
MAR011903 ROCK #1 $2.99
MAR011905I ROCK #1 PREMIUM ED $9.99
FEB011839E SABRINA VOL 2 #19 $1.99
MAR012230 SILENT MOBIUS LOVE & CHAOS #6 (Of 7) $2.95

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.