The Shipping Forecast for March 26th

It would be criminal to miss this week's comics. Detectives, cops and costumed vigilantes mark out their police lines on the shelves - and all with an extra little twist.
24 March 2003

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:

TOP TEN BOOK TWO TP (DC Wildstorm/ABC)
At last! The frugal reader's option for keeping up with the best superhero comic in years [note: opinion only, quantitative tests may prove otherwise] has finally turned up. Alan Moore has taken the conventions of TV cop shows and tied them to a world where superheroes are ordinary and, aside from having superpowers, exist in a society like ours. Some have taken issue with Moore's lifting of elements, sometimes whole storylines, from those shows, but frankly, in taking NYPD BLUE, HILL STREET BLUES and HOMICIDE as his influences, he's lifting from the best. This is a book that will reward time spent over it - the scripting is up to Moore's highest standard with themes and plotlines that are mostly subtle rather than signposted, and Gene Ha's artwork is crammed with character, jokes and activity. Even if, like me, you started out reading superhero comics but have recently found them distinctly unalluring, TOP TEN will grab your attention and not let go.

ALSO THIS WEEK:

SKINWALKER TPB (Oni Press)
One of Oni's most interesting mini-series of recent times, SKINWALKER took the fairly mundane and unpromising basic idea of a mismatched pair of cops after a murderer and gave it a macabre and fascinating twist - the killer is the eponymous 'skinwalker', a legendary Navajo ghoul who takes the skin and outward form of his victims, and the 'odd couple' hunting him are an FBI agent and a local Navajo reservation officer. The book's cinematic atmosphere stems directly from the script by DeFilippis and Weir, which was originally pitched as a film. Art is by the ever-improving Brian Hurtt, and adds a gritty edge to the book. Spine-tingling.

DRAGONBALL VOL 1 TP 2ND ED $7.95
DRAGONBALL Z VOL 1 TP 2ND ED $7.95 (Viz)
Who said you don't get a second chance in life? A couple of years ago, Viz began publishing English translations of Akira Toriyama's 42-volume epic DRAGONBALL (split into DRAGONBALL and the five-years-later DRAGONBALL Z). Both the comics and the animated series, upon their arrival into English, became an instant hit as people discovered the larger-than-life adventures of Goku and his search for the mythical Dragon Balls that grant a wish to those that collect them all. Now, Viz is reformatting the series to slightly smaller dimensions, and cutting the price almost in half. If you've been thinking about taking a look at the humorous adventures of young Goku or the martial arts explosion of the five-years-older Goku, there really isn't a better time. [Plymouth]

PARLIAMENT OF JUSTICE #1 (Image)
Discerning readers everywhere have discovered the joys of Mike Avon Oeming?s work on POWERS, and HAMMER OF THE GODS proved he was a gifted all-rounder. This time around, though, he?s limiting himself to the writing, and pushing the spotlight onto another artist you?ll be only too glad to discover; Neil Vokes. Judging from the previews, this dark, steampunk-esque take on the superhero vigilante archetype is going to propel Neil Vokes into the big time. Pinned to the right storyline, these stunningly stylish and richly atmospheric visuals could be the perfect calling card.

NEGATION VOL 2 TP: BAPTISM OF FIRE $15.95 (CrossGen)
It's amazing what happens when no one is paying attention. That's the best reason I can come up with for NEGATION and how Tony Bedard is getting away with the strangest book at CrossGen. What started out as a book about 100 people kidnapped into what could best be called an anti-matter universe has turned into a ludicrously violent kill-o-rama in space. When only the competent and helpful seem to be targeted for death, and an entire issue can be focused on the God-Emperor of the Negation Universe desperately trying to hurt an invulnerable baby with absolutely no effect (even resorting to pulling out the nukes with no luck), you quickly realise that Bedard's satire of violence isn't meant to be taken terribly seriously. In fact, it's awfully funny. You never know just what Bedard's going to do next... but please, don't tell his employers. It just wouldn't be as much fun if they took notice.

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR MONTH DATE:

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

DARK HORSE

JAN030082 BTVS #55: DAWN & HOOPY THE BEAR LEE CVR $2.99
JAN030083 BTVS #55: DAWN & HOOPY THE BEAR PHOTO CVR $2.99
JAN030069 KISS PHOTO CVR #8 $2.99
JAN030068 KISS RUBI CVR #8 $2.99
JAN030071 PUBO #3 (Of 3) $3.50
JAN030072 USAGI YOJIMBO #65 $2.99

DC COMICS

JAN030223 AQUAMAN SECRET FILES 2003 $4.95
JAN030194 BATMAN #613 $2.25
JAN030205 BATMAN: GOTHAM ADVENTURES #60 $2.25
JAN030253 CARTOON CARTOONS #16 $2.25
JAN030209 CATWOMAN #17 $2.50
JAN030260 DANGER GIRL: HAWAIIAN PUNCH $4.95
JAN030262 GLOBAL FREQUENCY #6 (Of 12) $2.95
JAN030234 GREEN LANTERN #161 $2.25
JAN030283 HELLBLAZER #182 (MR) $2.75
JAN030238 JLA #79 $2.25
JAN030244 JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES TP $9.95
JAN030245 LEGION #18 $2.50
JAN030265 RESISTANCE #7 $2.95
JAN030272 TOP TEN BOOK TWO TP $14.95
JAN030269 WILDCATS VERSION 3.0 #8 $2.95
JAN030249 WONDER WOMAN #190 $2.25
JAN030290 ZATANNA: EVERYDAY MAGIC (MR) $5.95

IMAGE

JAN031310 BATTLE OF THE PLANETS #8 $2.99
JAN031265 BULLETPROOF MONK: TALES OF THE BPM #1 $2.95
JAN031274 GRRL SCOUTS: WORK SUCKS #2 (Of 4) $2.95
JAN031282 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE VOL 2: SANTALUCIA CVR #1 $2.95
JAN031291 PARLIAMENT OF JUSTICE #1 (MR) $5.95
JAN031309 RISING STARS: BRIGHT #2 (Of 3) $2.99
JAN031301 SAMMY: TOURIST TRAP #2 (Of 4) $2.95
DEC021845 TOMB RAIDER #28 $2.99
JAN031314 TOMB RAIDER: JOURNEYS #11 (Of 12) $2.99

MARVEL

JAN031573 AGENT X #9 $2.25
JAN031581 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #51 $2.25
JAN031532 AVENGERS #65 $2.25
JAN031551 BLACK PANTHER #56 $2.50
JAN031538 CAPTAIN AMERICA #11 $2.99
JAN031536 CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHAT PRICE GLORY #4 $2.99
JAN031567 EXILES #24 $2.25
JAN031541 FANTASTIC FOUR #67 $2.25
JAN031545 FANTASTIC FOUR: UNSTABLE MOLECULES #4 (Of 4) $2.99
JAN031554 MARVEL UNIVERSE: THE END #2 (Of 6) $2.99
JAN031549 PARADISE X #9 $2.99
JAN031579 PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #54 $2.25
JAN031586 RAWHIDE KID #3 (Of 5) (MR) $2.99
JAN031560 UNCANNY X-MEN #420 $2.25
JAN031574 WEAPON X #7 $2.25
JAN031572 WOLVERINE #188 $2.25
JAN031565 X-STATIX #9 $2.25
JAN031564 X-TREME X-MEN #23 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

JAN031951 ARCHIE #534 $2.19
JAN031954 ARCHIE DIGEST #197 $2.39
DEC022982 BATTLE ROYALE NOVEL (MR) $15.95
JAN032053 BRATH #2 $2.95
JAN035110 CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION #3 (OF 5) LTD PHOTO CVR (MR) $3.99
DEC022595 DEADBEATS #58 $2.50
FEB032196 DRAGONBALL VOL 1 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032197 DRAGONBALL VOL 2 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032198 DRAGONBALL VOL 3 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032199 DRAGONBALL VOL 4 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032200 DRAGONBALL VOL 5 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032201 DRAGONBALL VOL 6 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032202 DRAGONBALL VOL 7 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032206 DRAGONBALL Z VOL 1 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032207 DRAGONBALL Z VOL 2 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032208 DRAGONBALL Z VOL 3 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032209 DRAGONBALL Z VOL 4 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032210 DRAGONBALL Z VOL 5 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032211 DRAGONBALL Z VOL 6 TP 2ND ED $7.95
FEB032212 DRAGONBALL Z VOL 7 TP 2ND ED $7.95
JAN032328 DUNGEON #5 $2.95
DEC022855 KISSING CHAOS: NONSTOP BEAUTY #4 (Of 4) (MR) $2.95
JAN032062 MARK OF CHARON #1 (Of 5) $2.95
JAN032059 MERIDIAN #34 KEY ISSUE PI
FEB031840 NEGATION VOL 2 TP: BAPTISM OF FIRE $15.95
DEC022853 ONE PLUS ONE #5 (Of 5) (MR) $2.95
JAN032061 PATH #13 $2.95
FEB031852 PATH VOL 2 TP: BLOOD ON SNOW $15.95
JAN032064 RUSE #18 $2.95
JAN032027 SIMPSONS COMICS #80 $2.50
JAN032352 SKINWALKER VOL 1 TP $11.95
JAN032067 SOLUS #1 $2.95
JAN032033 TAROT: WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #19 (MR) $2.95
JAN031875 TERRY MOORE'S PARADISE TOO #12 $2.95
JAN032353 THREE DAYS IN EUROPE #4 (Of 5) (MR) $2.95
JAN031964 VERONICA #138 $2.19

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.