The Shipping Forecast for October 2nd

Tales from the American midwest and Taleban-controlled Afghanistan jostle for shelf-space alongside epic Norse adventures and transforming robots on this week's shipping list. Experience the universe. Buy a comic.
30 September 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.

PLYMOUTH PICKS:

HAMMER OF THE GODS: MORTAL ENEMY TP (Image)
Originally published by Insight Studios Group, Mark Avon Oeming and Mark Wheatley's story of Norse myths is now available from Image Comics in a trade paperback... and in colour. Now you might be thinking, "Why did they have to go and colour it? Oeming's black and white art in HAMMER OF THE GODS looked pretty darn spiffy on its own!" Once you see what happened when colour was added, though, you'll agree that it was the right move. If seeing some gorgeous colour added to Oeming's art isn't enough, though, there's Oeming and Wheatley's epic story, with enough drama, plot twists, and tragedy to fill an opera or two. All in all, great fun.

BIRDS OF PREY TP NEW ED (DC Universe)
What does this original BIRDS OF PREY collection have to do with the upcoming television show? Almost nothing. (That may be a good thing, incidentally.) What it does contain, though, are some fun stories written by Chuck Dixon that first presented readers with the concept of Black Canary (the brawn) and Oracle (the brain) working together. The original one-shot by Dixon and Gary Frank was a great spy story, and the other stories in this volume (featuring some nice art by Matt Haley) are entertaining as well. All in all, a decent collection, and well worth a look.

FISHER PICKS:

ABEL GN (AiT/PlanetLar)
I'm always keen to read good historical fiction in comic form, because comics have an enormous power to transport the reader to an unfamiliar place, and, to my mind, there's few places more exciting than the past. Hence I'm very much looking forward to this new edition of a book that apparently sailed under my radar the first time around. A sepia-toned tale of racism and murder set in the American midwest during the Second World War, it deals with the tensions that threaten a small community when a young boy befriends a Chinese manservant. Creators William Harms and Mark Bloodsworth are completely unfamiliar to me, but the subject matter is intriguing enough that I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do.

QUEEN & COUNTRY VOL 2: MORNING STAR HC (Oni Press)
The second volume of Greg Rucka's critically acclaimed espionage thriller sees Tara Chace left behind to confront the repercussions of her last mission while her male colleagues are sent on an operation she can't undertake - a visit to Taleban-controlled Afghanistan. If you bought the first volume of this series, you should need no encouragement to pick up the second. If you still haven't given Q&C a chance, then this nine dollar book is a perfectly good introduction to the series - although it's pretty much guaranteed to send you running back for the first volume. There was no one artist for the whole of this arc, unfortunately, but if you're going to swap around, you could do a lot worse than talents like Brian Hurtt, Bryan O'Malley and Christine Norrie. Don't miss this.

VIKING PICKS:

INCREDIBLE HULK VOL 2 TP: BOILING POINT (Marvel)
The green goliath was never really a superhero. I know the more popular runs of the title in the past have taken a more superheroic path, but at its heart, the tale of the chlorochrous colossus is nothing if not an updated Jekyll & Hyde story. Bruce Jones' take on the porraceous pugilist is very much in line with this basic approach, and his run on INCREDIBLE HULK has been more akin to a horror/road movie. Actual leaf-hued leviathan sightings are quite rare, as we generally follow the tortured Bruce Banner as he attempts to hide from assassins, the government and his own mysterious past. I've no idea where the title's going, but the long, tense storyline appears to be working to a plan, so I'm in for the duration. The tales of the emerald empyrean have never been so interesting. Ok, I'm out of synonyms. Just buy it.

QUEEN & COUNTRY VOL 2: MORNING STAR (Oni Press)
Quite the best espionage thriller in the medium at the moment. I know that's not saying much, but I'm confident that even if the entire medium was overrun with well-written political espionage stories, QUEEN & COUNTRY would still be at the head of the pack. In the first collection, Greg Rucka established a brilliant cast, and a fantastic approach detailing a realistic take on modern-day espionage. Actions taken have repercussions, political and emotional, and a principle plotline of the new collection deals with just that. If you have ever liked espionage, liked films or books featuring espionage, or - like me- simply like saying the word 'espionage', you really owe it to yourself to pick up QUEEN & COUNTRY. Espionage.

SONAR / MISSED PICKS FROM LAST WEEK'S COMICS

TRANSFORMERS: TARGET: 2006 (Titan)
OK, I know. Bear with me. If you have any interest at all in the giant transforming robots of the days of yore, then this is the book to try. If you don't like this, they're not for you. TARGET: 2006 details the exploits of the mad, evil demi-god Transformer, Galvatron as he time-travels from his native 2006 to the then-present of 1986, kicks everyone's arse, and builds a colossal gun in an abandoned mining quarry for reasons known only to himself. The story is too crazy not to love, and the story features immense, issue-long fight scenes that defined Widescreen ten years before Warren Ellis spat and grumbled his way through THE AUTHORITY. Give it a chance. [VIKING]

Comics shipping in the US on October 2nd:

DARK HORSE

JUL020026 KISS PHOTO CVR #3 (Of 3) $2.99
JUL020025 KISS YU CVR #3 (Of 3) $2.99
AUG020033 OH MY GODDESS #91: TRAVELLER (PART 1 OF 5) $2.99
JUL020053V OH MY GODDESS: FINAL EXAM TP (C: 2) $13.95

DC COMICS

AUG020261 21 DOWN #2 $2.95
AUG020229 BIG DADDY DANGER #3 (Of 9) $2.95
AUG020215 BIRDS OF PREY TP NEW ED $17.95
AUG020203 DETECTIVE COMICS #775 (Note Price) $3.50
AUG020230 DOOM PATROL #13 $2.50
JUL020192 GREEN ARROW #17 $2.50
AUG020237 HAWKMAN #8 $2.50
AUG020245 JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES #12 $2.25
AUG020246 LAB RATS #7 $2.50
AUG020258 LOONEY TUNES #95 $2.25
AUG020274 RESIDENT EVIL: CODE VERONICA VOL 3 (MR) $14.95
AUG020251 SPECTRE #22 $2.75
AUG020275 STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION: FORGIVENESS SC $17.95
AUG020222 SUPERMAN #187 $2.25
AUG020299 Y: THE LAST MAN #4 (MR) $2.95

IMAGE

JUL021158 HAMMER OF THE GODS: MORTAL ENEMY TP $18.95
APR021434 RISING STARS #20 (Of 24) $2.99
AUG021232 TOMB RAIDER: JOURNEYS #7 (Of 12) $2.99
JUL021220 WITCHBLADE #59 $2.50

MARVEL

AUG021493 ALIAS #15 (MR) $2.99
JUL021465 APACHE SKIES #3 (Of 4) (MR) $2.99
AUG021551 B-SIDES #2 (Of 3) $2.99
AUG021529 ELEKTRA #15 $2.99
AUG021510 EXILES #18 $2.25
JUL021536 INCREDIBLE HULK VOL 2 TP: BOILING POINT (C: 2) $8.99
JUL021531 MARVEL ENCYCLOPEDIA HC (C: 2) $29.99
AUG021528 PUNISHER #18 $2.99
AUG021522 SPIDER-MAN: LEGEND OF THE SPIDER CLAN #1 (Of 3) $2.25
JUL021538 SPIDER-MAN: PETER PARKER: RETURN OF THE GOBLIN TP (C: 2) $8.99
AUG021512 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #28 $2.25
JUL021496 ULTIMATE X-MEN #22 $2.25
AUG021501 UNCANNY X-MEN #414 $2.25
AUG021505 WOLVERINE: NETSUKE #2 (Of 4) $3.99
AUG021509 X-MEN ICONS: CHAMBER #3 (Of 4) $2.99
JUL021488 X-STATIX #3 $2.25

OTHER PUBLISHERS

JUL021749F ABEL GN NEW ED $12.95
JUL020001J ARCHIE HALLOWEEN ASHCAN 2002 PI
JUL022328E BASTARD #10 VAMPIRE (PART 2 OF 2) (MR) $3.95
JUL021806E BETTY & VERONICA #180 $1.99
JUL021807E BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #133 $2.19
JUN022143F DEADBEATS #55 $2.50
JUL022332E EL HAZARD VOL 2 TP $15.95
AUG021935 FORGE #7 $11.95
AUG022004 GENERIC COMIC BOOK #10 (Note Price) $2.95
AUG021802 HALO & SPROCKET #3 $2.95
JUL021808E JUGHEAD #147 $1.99
JUL021810E JUGHEADS DOUBLE DIGEST #89 $3.29
JUN022415F KOLCHAK NIGHT STALKER: GET OF BELIAL GN (MR) $6.95
AUG022016 MAXION BOOK 4 TP: MANIC OBSESSIONS (MR) $15.95
AUG021936 MERIDIAN #28 $2.95
JUL022336E NEON GENESIS EVANGELION PART 7 #5 (Of 6) $2.95
JUL022337E NEON GENESIS EVANGELION PART 7 COLL ED #5 (Of 6) $2.95
AUG021942 PATH #7 $2.95
JUL022170F PHANTOM VOL 3 GN: TREASURES OF BANGALLA $6.95
JUL022201E QUEEN & COUNTRY #12 (MR) $2.95
JUL022199E QUEEN & COUNTRY VOL 2: MORNING STAR HC (MR) $20.00
JUL021761F ROSETTA COMICS ANTHOLOGY GN (MR) $19.95
AUG021946 RUSE #12 $2.95
JUL022341E SILENT MOBIUS PART 11 BLOOD #3 (Of 5) $2.95
JUL022204E SKINWALKER #4 (Of 4) (MR) $2.95
JUL021813E SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #115 $1.99
MAR022201 STRAY BULLETS #26 (MR) $3.50
JUN022535F VEROTIK WORLD #1 (MR) $3.95
JUL022316F VEROTIK WORLD #1 FAN CLUB CVR (MR) $5.00
JUL022085F VOGELEIN #4 (Of 5) (MR) $3.00
JUN022236 WARLANDS: AGE OF ICE #8 $2.95
AUG022201 WYNONNA EARP TP $17.99
MAR021984 ZOOM'S ACADEMY FOR THE SUPER GIFTED #3 $3.50

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

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