The Shipping Forecast for May 30th

The wait is over. The next issue of STRANGEHAVEN is here, the revised WHITE DEATH is on its way to a store near you, and there's the little matter of book two of THE WAITING PLACE, too!
27 May 2002

The Shipping Forecast is Ninth Art's pick of the best and most notable new releases hitting comic stores each week, courtesy of the fishing crew at the Ninth Art lighthouse. Shipping details come courtesy of Diamond. Check out the Diamond website for the latest information, as the list is subject to change.

DOGGER PICKS:

STRANGEHAVEN #14 (Abiogenesis Press)
I don't remember the last time I bought an issue of STRANGEHAVEN. They come out on a more or less yearly basis, these days. I don't care - every time I see a new issue on the forecast, I am filled with excitement. There are few series I look forward to as much as this beautifully weird tale of life in a remote English coastal town that redefines the term eccentric. The two most commonly used touchstones for this book are THE PRISONER and TWIN PEAKS, but as much as I like both of them, there's something in STRANGEHAVEN's curious rural idyll that draws me even more. So what if it comes out slowly? It's worth the wait.

ADVENTURES OF BARRY WEEN BOY GENIUS TP (Oni Press)
BARRY WEEN is, bar none, the funniest comic out there today. If you're not reading BARRY WEEN, then you're missing out on huge laughs. Judd Winick's roots are in three-panel newspaper cartoons, and in BARRY WEEN he has found a way to adapt that sort of material to a more expansive format, one that gives him more visual scope, and allows for a more adult sensibility. But the best thing about BARRY WEEN is that amidst all the hilarity there's often a serious theme being explored with just the right level of seriousness. This, the reprinted first book in the series, is essential reading. As are all the volumes in the series.

GERMAN BIGHT PICKS:

WHITE DEATH GN (AIT/PlanetLar)
A timely and welcome return for this fantastic graphic novel from Robbie Morrison and Charlie Adlard. A grim tale of the Italian front in the first world war, where the soldiers fought in the mountains against not only the enemy but also their national allegiances, their disillusionment and the titular "white death" of devastating avalanches. As a contented owner of the original edition from Les Cartoonites Dangereux, I have to say that there is not a word out of place in the script, nor a line out of place in the art. This is a book that opened my eyes to an aspect of WWI that I had known very little about, and it managed to move me as well. Strongly recommended.

SKINWALKER #1 (Of 4) (Oni Press)
Thrillers seem to be very much the order of the day for the guys at Oni lately, and good for them. Thrillers with a liberal pinch of mysticism, even better as far as I'm concerned. Writers Nunzio DeFillipis and Christina Weir have set up a serial killer story on a Navajo reservation, where a murderer is carrying out his crimes through "skinwalking" - inhabiting the skin of another living thing. There should be an interesting culture clash and possibly a smidgen of sexual tension between the two main characters, the FBI agent and the Navajo police officer who investigate and try to put a stop to the killings. Going by this publisher's previous record with thriller comics, plus the proven talents of the art and writing teams, this series should more than reward your investment.

CROMARTY PICKS:

THE WAITING PLACE BOOK 2 (Slave Labor Graphics)
My, but it's a lonely life out here in the unknown ocean, not knowing which way to turn. Not unlike our friends in Northern Plains, the small-town setting for THE WAITING PLACE. This second volume delivers more tales of teenage life in the same vein as book one (loneliness, alienation, depression, sexuality - you get the idea), but with a much more assured hand from both writer Sean McKeever and artist Mike Norton, who took over for this book. If you haven't read book one yet, reading this first won't be a problem, but you should go out and buy it anyway.

STRANGEHAVEN #14 (Abiogenesis Press)
The only problem with STRANGEHAVEN is the wait between issues, which seems to take longer each time. But everything else about this surreal, low-key and very British drama is outstanding. Centring on Alex, newly-arrived in the eponymous small village and literally unable to leave, STRANGEHAVEN is a continual delight - a book that isn't afraid to take its time building a story up, and certainly not afraid to weave conspiracies of TWIN PEAKS proportions. If you haven't read STRANGEHAVEN, you're missing out on one of the best comics of the last ten years, and any time is a good time to jump in - especially as two collections of the first twelve issues are readily available. Pay it a visit; you'll find it hard to leave, too.

PLYMOUTH PICKS:

SKINWALKER #1 (Oni Press)
What do you get when you mix a Navajo police officer with a rising star of an FBI profiler? Either a very bad movie... or in this case, a fantastic new comic from Oni Press. Television writers Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir understand how to grab a reader's attention instantly, and never let it go, as a young Navajo youth decides to update the lore of "skinwalking"... using a kind of leather that came from something walking on two legs. Add in a slick collaboration between Brian Hurtt (QUEEN & COUNTRY) and Arthur Dela Cruz (KISSING CHAOS) and you've got a really sharp package. Remember the shouts around the fishmarket the first time WHITEOUT and QUEEN & COUNTRY appeared? You're about to hear that again.

COURTNEY CRUMRIN & THE NIGHT THINGS #3 (Oni Press)
Ted Naifeh's debut mini-series for Oni Press continues on its charming little way with its third issue. Remember fairy tales where a young child gets tempted by dark arts and realises that vengeance isn't the way, and ends up making tea for all her enemies and they become friends? If that happened in COURTNEY CRUMRIN, we'd learn on the next page that Courtney put a mystical brew in the tea and transformed them all into leeches. Naifeh's stories are funny and sarcastic, with just a touch of mean-spirited wickedness that will put a big grin on your face. Better yet, since each issue stands very well on its own, you really have no excuse to not take a look.

Comics shipping in the US on May 30th:

DARK HORSE
MAR020066 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #68 BEASTS (PART 3 OF 7) (MR) $2.99
STAR09143 GUNSMITH CATS BONNIE & CLYDE TP $13.95
OCT010018 SUPERMAN TARZAN SONS OF THE JUNGLE #3 (Of 3) $2.99
MAR020031 USAGI YOJIMBO #57 $2.99

DC COMICS
MAR020367 BATMAN #603 $2.25
MAR020411 CARTOON CARTOONS #11 $1.99
MAR020430 CODENAME KNOCKOUT #13 (MR) $2.50
MAR020362 DC FIRST BATGIRL THE JOKER $3.50
MAR020688 FLASH IRON HEIGHTS (STAR13945) $5.95
MAR020393 GREEN LANTERN SECRET FILES #3 $4.95
MAR020397 JLA #66 $2.25
MAR020421 OUT THERE #11 $2.95
MAR020407 TITANS #41 $2.50
MAR020408 WONDER WOMAN #181 $2.25

IMAGE
MAR021348 BLACK TIDE GREEN CVR #4 $2.95
MAR021347 BLACK TIDE MILLER CVR #4 $2.95
STAR13070 BLUNTMAN & CHRONIC GN $14.95
STAR13071 CHASING DOGMA TP $12.95
MAR021352 DAWN CONVENTION SKETCHBOOK 2002 (MR) $2.95
JAN021551 DAWN RETURN OF THE GODDESS LTD ED HC (MR) $39.95
MAR021353 FATHOM VOL 1 TP $24.95

MARVEL
MAR021653 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #41 (RES) $2.25
MAR021645 BLADE #3 (MR) $2.99
MAR021646 CAGE #3 (MR) $2.99
FEB021859 DAREDEVIL YELLOW HC $29.95
FEB021864 ELEKTRA #10 $2.99
MAR021647 HOWARD THE DUCK #5 (MR) $2.99
DEC011797 ORIGIN HC $34.95
MAR021696 PARADISE X XEN $4.50
MAR021659 SPIDER-MAN TANGLED WEB #14 THE LAST SHOOT $2.99
MAR021668 WOLVERINE #176 $2.25
FEB021934 WOLVERINE GAMBIT VICTIMS TP $12.95
MAR021671 X-FORCE #128 $2.25
MAR021672 X-MEN EVOLUTION #7 $2.25
MAR021673 X-MEN UNLIMITED #36 $3.50

OTHER PUBLISHERS

STAR10385 ADVENTURES OF BARRY WEEN BOY GENIUS TP $8.95
MAR021965 ARCHIE AND FRIENDS #58 $1.99
MAR021967 ARCHIE DIGEST #190 $2.19
MAR021966 ARCHIES WEIRD MYSTERIES #21 $1.99
STAR14530 BAD ART COLLECTION $1.95
MAR022030 BART SIMPSON COMICS #8 $2.50
STAR06119 BATTLE ANGEL ALITA VOL 7 ANGEL OF CHAOS TP $15.95
STAR08070 BATTLE ANGEL ALITA VOL 9 ANGELS ASCENSION TP $16.95
MAR021968 BETTY #113 $1.99
MAR021970 BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #130 $2.19
FEB022186 COMIC BOOK HEAVEN VOL 2 #6 (Note Price) $2.25
MAR022349 COURTNEY CRUMRIN & THE NIGHT THINGS #3 (Of 4) $2.95
MAR022116 CRUX #14 $2.95
STAR11707 DRAGONBALL VOL 1 TP $14.95
MAR022119 EDGE #2 $9.95
JAN022531F ELECTRIC GIRL #9 $2.95
MAR022059 INSANE CLOWN POSSE DARK CARNIVAL #1 $2.99
MAR022058 INSANE CLOWN POSSE DARK CARNIVAL PREMIUM ED #1 $9.99
MAR022466 INU YASHA VOL 11 TP $15.95
MAR021972 JUGHEAD #144 $1.99
MAR021974 JUGHEADS DOUBLE DIGEST #86 $3.29
FEB022273F LITTLE WHITE MOUSE VOL 2 TP $14.95
MAY022370 MEDABOTS VOL 1 BOY & HIS BOT TP $9.95
STAR10773 NEW VAMPIRE MIYU VOL 2 GN $17.95
MAR021976 SABRINA VOL 2 #33 $1.99
MAR022117 SCION #24 $2.95
MAR022325 SECRET MESSAGES SILENT INVASION ABDUCTIONS #5 (Of 5) $2.95
MAR022347 SKINWALKER #1 (Of 4) (MR) $2.95
APR021982 STRANGEHAVEN #14 (MR) $2.95
MAR022034 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #14 $2.95
MAR021935 WAITING PLACE VOL 2 BOOK 1 TP $15.95
MAR022146 WARLANDS VOL 2 TP $11.95
JAN022170F WHITE DEATH GN $12.95
MAR022498 ZOIDS #4 $5.95

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

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