The Shipping Forecast for October 9th

In among some excellent superheroics from Bendis, Winick and Priest, there's something altogether more extraordinary on the shelves this week, in the form of Madison Clell's CUCKOO.
07 October 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:

FABLES #6 (DC Vertigo)
It's got to be difficult to be a fairy tale character in a mundane world. Even worse, though, is when you're a non-humanoid fairy tale character... because in the world of FABLES, that means you have to live in isolation on "the Farm". And it seems that the planners of Fabletown never realised that setting up an "Animal Farm" can be a deadly thing indeed. Just ask poor Snow White, who's walking right into the middle of the discontent. Bill Willingham's scripts for FABLES have been thoroughly enjoyable, and Mark Buckingham's art for this new story arc looks fabulous. A perfect jumping-on point for new readers, FABLES is being heralded as one of Vertigo's new hits, and here at the Lighthouse we suspect this new instalment will solidify those feelings even moreso.

GREEN LANTERN #155 (DC Universe)
Last month, there was an amazingly high amount of attention placed on GREEN LANTERN #154, where Green Lantern's assistant Terry was hospitalised after being gay-bashed. What's interesting, then, is how the second half of that story seems to be on the verge of slipping under people's radar... when that's when things really get started. With Kyle's actions starting to catch up with him, writer Judd Winick takes this story to its logical conclusion. Winick seems to be really finding his feet on GREEN LANTERN as of late, and this issue is no exception. Don't pick it up because of the media attention, or the issues being brought up... pick it up because of the genuinely well written story.

GERMAN BIGHT PICKS:

POWERS #24 (Image)
PEWORS, as this typographically erratic series is known affectionately around these parts, is going through one of those good phases again. Not that PORWES isn't actually better than the average comical book anyway, but sometimes Bendis' writing seems as though his concentration is elsewhere. Dunno why that would be. The previous story arc and the current one have come up to and may possibly exceed the quality storytelling that hooked so many of us in the first few issues and kept us coming back - self indulgence and non-existent proof-reading or no. (Plus, new for this story arc - no horrendous mistakes so far!) There are major plotlines coming through now, and the big picture may be larger than any of us suspected. In short - it's a corking read.

BONE #49 (Cartoon Books)
An old favourite, but one that still needs to be hyped to those who haven't given it a chance yet. From the very beginning, Jeff Smith has acknowledged the influence of Tolkien on this book, and, a little like The Lord of the Rings, BONE has moved from amusing adventures to something far more serious, plot heavy and sometimes scary. Unlike Tolkien, Smith knows how to use comedy and has mercifully laid off using any songs whatsoever. His art, smooth and polished beyond all expectations from the very first issue, is continually developing, and so is his writing. We're very close to the end of the saga now, and this reader is very much looking forward to the denouement at the end of several years of hard work for Smith and several years of pleasurable reading for the rest of us.

FISHER PICKS:

CUCKOO VOL 1 TP (Green Door Studios)
This is the first collection of what may - according to all reports - be one of the most extraordinary comics you'll ever read. It's the story of a woman who was sexually abused as a child and created a second personality to cope with the trauma. That second personality, no better at dealing with the abuse, then developed a separate personality of its own. And so it continued, until the girl's real identity was totally submerged, and the only way to deal with it was to create a dominant personality that could then forget about all the others. But this is a true story, the story of CUCKOO creator Madison Clell, who writes with astonishing frankness about her struggle to overcome Dissociative Identity Disorder. In the introduction, Patch Adams calls it a "shockingly masterful first person account". Judging from what I've seen of CUCKOO so far, readers should prepare themselves for a comic as visceral and affecting as anything they'll read this year. Don't let this pass you by.

[For more information on the comic and on Dissociative Identity Disorder, please visit the CUCKOO website.]

BLACK PANTHER #50 (Marvel)
Over the past four years, BLACK PANTHER has generally proved itself to be one of those best books you're not reading. One of Marvel's most sluggish performers, right down there with CAPTAIN MARVEL, it's now getting retooled in an effort to pick up new readers. It seems the crowd that likes superhero comics isn't interested in reading about politics or economics (there's a surprise), and the crowd that likes something challenging and intelligent to read isn't so willing to be challenged that it'll pick up a book about a man in a cat suit (another surprise). So writer Christopher Priest is now joined by new artist Dan Fraga to tell what seems to be a book about urban violence, with what may be a completely different character in the title role. It's the perfect jumping on point. But I'm really hoping Priest can ensure it's not also the perfect jumping off point.

KILLRAVEN #1 (Marvel)
If you're not getting enough scary tripod action from Alan Moore's second LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN series, here's a chance to double your monthly HG Wells-inspired comics fun! This time it's vintage comics hero Jonathan Raven fighting back against the Martian invaders - but if that name means nothing to you, then maybe the name Alan Davis will. One of the true modern greats, Davis has a clean, compelling line that has influenced a generation of artists. Like most legends, his latest work hasn't always been as good as we've come to expect, but KILLRAVEN is a real pet project for him - he's also the writer - so there's every reason to expect brain-blistering quality.

Comics shipping in the US on October 9th:

DARK HORSE

AUG020023 AMERICAN SPLENDOR: UNSUNG HERO #3 (Of 3) $3.99
JUN020025 RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT: GRIM REAPING #2 (Of 4) $2.99
JUL020054V SHADOW STAR: SHADOWS OF THE PAST TP $13.95

DC COMICS

AUG020223 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #609 $2.25
AUG020207 AZRAEL: AGENT OF THE BAT #95 $2.95
AUG020208 BATGIRL #33 $2.50
AUG020204 BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #160 $2.50
AUG020287 FABLES #6 (MR) $2.50
AUG020268 GEN 13 #2 $2.95
AUG020235 GREEN LANTERN #155 $2.25
AUG020219 HARLEY QUINN #25 $2.50
AUG020288 HUNTER: THE AGE OF MAGIC #16 (MR) $2.75
AUG020238 JLA #73 $2.25
AUG020242 JLA VOL 9: TERRA INCOGNITA TP $12.95
JUL020203 LEGION #12 $2.50
AUG020220 NIGHTWING #74 $2.25
AUG020271 POINT BLANK #3 (Of 5) (MR) $2.95
AUG020260 SCOOBY-DOO #65 $2.25
AUG020277 STORMWATCH: TEAM ACHILLES #4 (MR) $2.95

IMAGE

JUN021376 BASTARD SAMURAI #3 (Of 3) $2.95
JUN021400 POWERS #24 (MR) $2.95
JUN021410 RISING STARS VOL 3: VISITATIONS TP $8.99
JUN021434Z TOMB RAIDER VS DARKNESS SPECIAL RUBY FOIL ED PI

MARVEL

AUG021548 BLACK PANTHER #50 $2.50
AUG021534 CALL OF DUTY: THE PRECINCT #4 (Of 5) $2.25
JUN021754 CAPTAIN AMERICA #5 $2.99
JUL021534 ESSENTIAL IRON MAN VOL 1 TP NEW PRTG $14.99
AUG021546 IRON MAN #60 $2.25
AUG021540 KILLRAVEN #1 (Of 6) $2.99
JUL021531 MARVEL ENCYCLOPEDIA HC $29.99
AUG021499 MEKANIX #1 (Of 6) $2.99
AUG021556 MIGHTY MARVEL POSTER GLENN FABRY DAREDEVIL THE TARGET $5.95
JUL021526 PARADISE X DEVILS $4.50
JUL021482 SPIDER-MAN GET KRAVEN #4 (Of 7) $2.25
AUG021500 X-TREME X-MEN #19 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

JUL021800E ARCHIE #528 $1.99
JUL021803E ARCHIE DIGEST #193 $2.19
AUG022376 BASTARD VOL 2 TP (MR) $14.95
AUG022378 BIG O PART 2 #4 (Of 4) $3.50
MAY021892 BONE #49 $2.95
AUG021929 BZZZ BEE CAF #1 $3.00
AUG022382 CHICAGO VOL 1 GN $15.95
JUN022287F CRUMB SKETCHBOOK VOL 9 HC (MR) $39.95
JUN022289F CRUMB SKETCHBOOK VOL 9 SC (MR) $19.95
AUG022166 CUCKOO VOL 1 TP $13.85
JUL022020 DF RISING STARS ACT II LEATHER BOUND ED HC $49.99
AUG022407 DRAGONBALL Z PART 5 #10 (Of 10) $2.95
AUG021933 EDGE #7 $11.95
AUG021990 ELVIRA #114 $2.50
AUG021934 FIRST #24 $2.95
JUL021750F FOOT SOLDIERS VOL 3 TP $14.95
AUG022385 GUNDAM THE ORIGIN #3 $7.95
JUN022611 IVE GOTTA LIVE WITH THIS GUY TP $19.95
JUN022531I JESSE JAMES HC $27.95
AUG022197 MAGE KNIGHT: STOLEN DESTINY #1 (Of 5) $3.50
AUG022409 MEDABOTS PART 4 #1 (Of 4) $2.75
AUG021938 MYSTIC #29 $2.95
AUG021940 NEGATION: LAWBRINGER #1 $2.95
MAR021929 NIGHTMARES AND FAIRY TALES #1 $2.95
JUL022202E NOCTURNALS: UNHALLOWED EVE TP $9.95
AUG022395 OROCHI BLOOD VOL 1 GN $16.95
AUG022396 PROJECT ARMS PART 1 #2 $3.25
AUG022397 RANMA 1/2 PART 11 #8 (Of 11) $2.95
AUG022017 RECORD LODOSS WAR CHRONICLES HEROIC KNIGHT BOOK 3 $15.95
MAY022335 SPIDER DLX HC SCAVENGERS OF SLAUGHTERED SACRIFICES $34.95
JUL021736E STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #53 $2.95
AUG022047 TRANSFORMERS: THE WAR WITHIN #1 (OF 6) $2.95
AUG025081 TRANSFORMERS: WAR WITHIN LENTICULAR CVR #1 (OF 6) (PU#543) $5.95
AUG022403 UZUMAKI VOL 3 TP (MR) $16.95
MAY021783 VAMPI #21 DLX ED $9.95
MAY021782 VAMPI #21 REG ED $2.99
JUL021814E VERONICA #132 $1.99
AUG021952 WAY OF THE RAT #6 $2.95
AUG022201 WYNONNA EARP TP $17.99

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.