The Shipping Forecast for October 30th

No tricks, just treats this Halloween week, as the industry's number one horror title starts a new arc with a top creative team, and people in funny costumes line up to take your money in ULTIMATES and USAGI YOJIMBO.
28 October 2002

Welcome to the Shipping Forecast, Ninth Art's pick of the best and most notable new releases hitting comic stores each week.

COMIC OF THE WEEK:

HELLBLAZER #177 (DC Vertigo)
It's high time Vertigo's longest running serial was a must-read again. Mike Carey, best known for his brilliant run on LUCIFER, has turned HELLBLAZER back into the sort of comic it was intended to be - a series of supernatural tales that tend towards the human rather than the occult edge of horror. Mike Carey's first story was a return to form for the title, telling a great story about Constantine's return home to Liverpool. The story for this new arc has Constantine arriving back in London to find himself in the middle of a magic-laced gang war, which sounds like a top-class idea. Carey is joined by Marcelo Frusin for this arc - a fantastic artist who has the perfect style for depicting Constantine's dark and twisted world, as he ably demonstrated during Azzarello's run. [Viking]

ALSO THIS WEEK:

ULTIMATES #7 (Ultimate Marvel)
As end-of-arc cliffhangers go, ULTIMATES #6 is going to take some beating. With one character dying, one possibly already dead, half of Manhattan levelled by one of their own and still no actual 'villains' in sight, where do the Ultimates go from here? The introduction after only one arc of a host of 'new' characters (Black Widow, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch) suggests that we're in for yet more bickering, in-fighting, one-upmanship and angst. This is something to be happy about, however, as with Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch at the reins, it will no doubt be spectacular, smart and smart-assed stuff. [Finisterre]

USAGI YOJIMBO #61 (Dark Horse)
There aren't many comics like USAGI YOJIMBO out there, which is why it's worth pushing to you readers in case you haven't tried it yet. There was a time when anthropomorphic comics weren't regarded as an alien subculture by other comics readers - yes, even a time when they were respectable (remember CRITTERS?). USAGI YOJIMBO is a child of that time. Get over any prejudice you may have against talking animals, and revel in a book whose most significant influence is LONE WOLF AND CUB. Last issue saw a duel between two major supporting characters which had been built up for several issues, and in the aftermath we're due a run of single issue stories which should be a good taster for uninitiated readers. This issue should intrigue even those unfamiliar with the characters - Chizu is a ninja on the run from her old clan. Her pursuers believe Usagi and his companion, Jotaro (who doesn't know that he's actually Usagi's son) are the key to finding her. [German Bight]

DEADLINE TP (Marvel)
Kat Farrell writes for The Daily Bugle, assigned to the comings and goings of superheroes. The problem is, she can't stand it. She'd much rather be working in the crime department - so when she gets the chance to move over, she's ready to take it. She just needs to prove herself by investigating the mysterious killings of supervillains. When you're a young reporter in a superpowered world, though, your only weapon is your brain. Good thing Kat's seems to be working well. Bill Rosemann and Guy Davis's DEADLINE mini-series was a real delight to read, both in terms of story and art; it's nice to see that Marvel has confidence in one of the best mini-series they've published in a long while and has put it into a handy trade paperback. If you missed out on DEADLINE the first time around, don't let it slip by a second time. [Plymouth]

SPIDER-MAN: TANGLED WEB #19 (Marvel)
The first two TANGLED WEB trades are among New Marvel's finest calling cards, reflecting the company's attempts to provide pure entertainment in a diverse range of styles and genres, all within the confines of a superhero universe. More recent issues haven't always achieved the heights of stories by the likes of Kaare Andrews, Duncan Fegredo and Eduardo Risso, but every issue has offered something fresh and exciting, and it's always money well spent. This issue brings together WHITE DEATH author Robbie Morrison with GRRL SCOUTS artist Jim Mahfood in a comedy one-shot about lunky animal-themed Spider-villains Rhino and Grizzly. Future issues will see the return of Zeb Wells and Darwyn Cooke, both of whom excelled in their previous contributions. Showcase books never seem to last, so for heaven's sake try to enjoy this one while you can. [Fisher]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR OCTOBER 30th:

Shipping details come courtesy of Diamond. Visit the Diamond website for the latest information, as the list is subject to change.

DARK HORSE

AUG020028 BTVS #50: HELLMOUTH TO MOUTH (PART 4 OF 4) (Note Price) $3.50
AUG020029 BTVS #50: HELLMOUTH TO MOUTH (PART 4 OF 4) PHOTO CVR (NOTE PR $3.50
JUL020055V LONE WOLF & CUB VOL 26: BATTLE IN THE DARK TP (MR) $9.95
JUL020028 SUPERMAN ALIENS II GODWAR #3 (Of 4) $2.99
AUG020021 USAGI YOJIMBO #61 $2.99

DC COMICS

JUL020236 100 BULLETS #39 (MR) $2.50
AUG020225 ACTION COMICS #796 $2.25
JUN020402 BATMAN/DEATHBLOW: AFTER THE FIRE #3 (Of 3) (RES) $5.95
SEP020152 BATMAN FAMILY: THE TRACKER #1 (Of 8) $2.95
AUG020211 BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #55 $2.25
AUG020285 CODENAME: KNOCKOUT #18 (MR) $2.75
AUG020289 FIGHT FOR TOMORROW #2 (Of 6) (MR) $2.50
AUG020232 FLASH #191 $2.25
AUG020218 GOTHAM GIRLS #3 (Of 5) $2.25
AUG020291 HELLBLAZER #177 (RES) (MR) $2.75
AUG020269 OUT THERE #14 $2.95
AUG020282 PROMETHEA #23 (Note Price) $3.50
AUG020273 RESISTANCE #2 $2.95
SEP020231 THUNDERCATS #3 (Of 5) (RES) $2.95
AUG020252 TITANS #46 $2.75
JUL020234 TOM STRONG #18 $2.95
AUG020278 WILDCATS VERSION 3.0 #3 (MR) $2.95

IMAGE

AUG021233 BATTLE OF THE PLANETS #4 $2.99
MAY021168 IMAGE INTRODUCES PRIMATE CVR A BECK #1 (O/A) $2.95
AUG021211 PARADIGM #2 $3.50
MAY021191 SUPERPATRIOT: LIBERTY & JUSTICE TP $12.95

MARVEL

AUG021507 AGENT X #4 $2.25
AUG021496 APACHE SKIES #4 (Of 4) (MR) $2.99
AUG021542 AVENGERS #59 $2.25
AUG021532 CALL OF DUTY: THE BROTHERHOOD #5 (Of 6) $2.25
JUL021532 DEADLINE TP $9.99
JUL021533 ESSENTIAL DAREDEVIL VOL 1 TP NEW PRTG $14.99
AUG021557 MIGHTY MARVEL POSTER KYLE BAKER THE TRUTH $5.95
AUG021544 PARADISE X #6 (Of 13) $2.99
AUG021527 PUNISHER #17 (RES) $2.99
AUG021521 SPIDER-MAN: TANGLED WEB #19 $2.99
MAY021528 ULTIMATES #7 $2.25
AUG021506 WOLVERINE #182 $2.25

OTHER PUBLISHERS

AUG021918 3 LITTLE KITTENS #2 (Of 3) $2.95
AUG022200 30 DAYS OF NIGHT #3 (Of 3) (MR) $3.99
AUG021842 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #138 $3.29
AUG021845 BETTY & VERONICA #181 $1.99
AUG022381 BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE 2002 GN (MR) $15.95
SEP021930 CRUX VOL 2 TP $15.95
AUG022383 FUSHIGI YUGI VOL 7: CASTAWAY TP $15.95
AUG021805 GLOOM COOKIE #14 (MR) $2.95
MAY021974 KEN LASHLEY'S LEGENDS #1 (Of 6) $2.95
MAY021975 KEN LASHLEY'S LEGENDS #1 PX CVR $4.95
AUG021808 LITTLE GLOOMY VOL 1 TP $12.95
AUG021909 LITTLE WHITE MOUSE OPEN SPACE #1 (Of 4) $2.95
AUG021937 MERIDIAN #29 $2.95
JUL003279E MIDNIGHT PANTHER BOOK 3: SCHOOL DAZE YEARBOOK (MR) $15.95
JUL003280E MIDNIGHT PANTHER BOOK 4: FEUDAL FANTASY (MR) $15.95
AUG022389 MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 0079 VOL 7 TP $9.95
JUN022438 MUTANT, TEXAS: TALES OF SHERIFF IDA RED #3 (Of 4) $2.95
AUG022393 NEON GENESIS EVANGELION PART 7 #6 (Of 6) $3.50
AUG022394 NEON GENESIS EVANGELION PART 7 COLL ED #6 (Of 6) $3.50
AUG021943 PATH #8 $2.95
JUL022118F POPBOT #3 (MR) $7.99
AUG021798 RUBBER NECKER #2 (MR) $3.50
AUG021947 RUSE #13 $2.95
AUG021855 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #116 $1.99
AUG021768 TERRY MOORE'S PARADISE TOO #10 $2.95
SEP022183 TOMB RAIDER #25: ENDGAME JAY CO VARIANT FOIL CVR ED $19.99
JUL022100I VAMPIRELLA #13 LTD GARY FRANK CVR ED $9.95
JUL022101I VAMPIRELLA #13 LTD MODEL PHOTO ED $9.95
JUL022099E VAMPIRELLA #13 REG ED $2.99

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.