The Shipping Forecast for April 2nd

Ninth Art reaches its 100th week - and its 100th forecast. This week, the crew reflects on aging with Gabrielle Bell, counts the days with James Kochalka, and looks to the future with the first wave of Tsunami.
31 March 2003

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

To celebrate our 100th forecast, we've added another new face to the crew. Please be upstanding as Trafalgar joins the core team of Plymouth, Fisher, Finisterre and German Bight!

COMIC OF THE WEEK:

WHEN I'M OLD: COLLECTED STORIES OF GABRIELLE BELL (Alternative Comics)
Now the Shipping Forecast has hit its first century it seems an appropriate time to consider WHEN I'M OLD. Like most of Alternative Comics' roster, Bell is notable in the minicomics field (though, alas, her comics haven't floated over to our side of the Atlantic) and this collection contains most of her previous work with some new materiel. Stories range from slice-of-life through surreal autobio to an adaptation of Herman Hesse's short fiction. The art looks rough at first glance, but Bell has a careful line, placing blacks with confidence, and skilfully composing every panel. For the overall effect, think of a less wispy Dame Darcy meets early Ed Brubaker and you're close. WHEN I'M OLD should find an appreciative audience in those who like quirky and deeply personal comics. [German Bight]

ALSO THIS WEEK:

MARVELOUS ADVENTURES OF GUS BEEZER STARRING INCREDIBLE HULK
MARVELOUS ADVENTURES OF GUS BEEZER STARRING SPIDER-MAN
MARVELOUS ADVENTURES OF GUS BEEZER STARRING THE X-MEN (Marvel Comics)
At a glance, this sounds like a doomed project: a young boy in the Marvel Universe with an overactive mind imagines himself to be some of its greatest heroes, and perhaps even encounters a couple of them along the way. Once the Lighthouse saw that these three one-shots were written by Gail Simone and drawn by Jason Lethcoe, though, that made it another matter entirely. Simone's writing is incredibly witty and fun to read, and she's able to switch gears so smoothly from one project to the next that it's easy to see her pulling this off. Add in Lethcoe's art on ZOOM'S ACADEMY FOR THE SUPER-GIFTED, with its energy and great depiction of young children, and you know he's a great choice to draw the book. With all three one-shots scheduled to ship this week, readers should get ready for a marvellous adventure of their own. [Plymouth]

JAMES KOCHALKA'S SKETCHBOOK DIARIES VOL 3 (Top Shelf)
With the cartoonish lines and whimsical humour that characterise much of James Kochalka's work, it is easy to overlook that he is one of comics' most prolific creators. In a segment of the industry where its most celebrated practitioners are fawned over for completing 32 pages in a year, Kochalka routinely completes several graphic novels, an album or two, and maintains a near flawless track record on his daily diary strip at americanelf.com. Since their genesis in 1998, the collected SKETCHBOOK DIARIES have been a genuine innovation in the field of comics autobiography. The discipline of producing material every day has had a maturing effect on Kochalka's already impressive command of a warm and inviting minimalist technique. Check out volume three of this classic in the making and see if you don't agree. [Trafalgar]

SENTINEL #1 (Marvel Comics)
Written by Sean McKeever, this comic promises to be one of the highlights of Marvel's new 'Tsunami' line. With a plot not entirely unreminiscent of THE IRON GIANT, SENTINEL stars a high school kid with the unlikely-sounding name of Juston who finds his very own giant robot - but this giant robot is one of those perennial X-MEN baddies, the Sentinels. McKeever has shown that he has a good handle on frustrated teens judging by his work on THE WAITING PLACE, so this could be gratifyingly fresh and witty, especially as far as Marvel projects about giant robots go. The sumptuous manga-influenced art is by UDON, best known for AGENT X. Of all the many Tsunami titles, this certainly looks like one of the ones to keep an eye on. [Finisterre]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR APRIL 2nd:

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

DARK HORSE

FEB030017 BLACKBURNE COVENANT #1 (Of 4) $2.99
DEC020035 SUPER MANGA BLAST #30 (MR) $5.99

DC COMICS

FEB030215 100 BULLETS #43 (MR) $2.50
FEB030192 21 DOWN #8 $2.95
FEB030150 ACTION COMICS #802 $2.25
FEB030143 BATMAN: NEVERMORE #1 (Of 5) $2.50
FEB030158 BIG DADDY DANGER #9 (Of 9) $2.95
FEB030218 CODENAME KNOCKOUT #23 (MR) $2.75
FEB030134 DETECTIVE COMICS #781 $2.75
FEB030161 DOOM PATROL #19 $2.50
FEB030163 FLASH: TERMINAL VELOCITY TP NEW PRTG $14.95
FEB030196 GEN 13 MEANWHILE TP $17.95
JAN030231 GOLDEN AGE SPECTRE ARCHIVES VOL 1 $49.95
FEB030169 GREEN ARROW: QUIVER TP $17.95
FEB030170 HAWKMAN #14 $2.50
FEB030176 JSA: FAIR PLAY TP $14.95
FEB030178 JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES #18 $2.25
JAN030293 MAD BATHROOM COMPANION #3 TP $9.95
FEB030201 ROBOTECH #5 (Of 6) $2.95

IMAGE

JAN031266 DAWN CONVENTION SKETCHBOOK 2003 $2.95
JAN031272 GI JOE #16 $2.95
JAN031273 GI JOE FRONTLINE #6 $2.95
JAN031281 KARZA #2 (OF 4) $2.95
JAN031300 RADISKULL & DEVIL DOLL: RADISKULL HATE LOVE ONE SHOT $2.95
OCT021765 SAVAGE DRAGON VOL 8: TERMINATED HC $28.95

MARVEL

FEB031368 ALIAS #21 (RES) (MR) $2.99
FEB031372 CALL #1 $2.25
JAN031582 DAREDEVIL #45 $2.99
FEB031402 ESSENTIAL INCREDIBLE HULK VOL 1 TP NEW PTG $14.99
JAN031568 HULK/WOLVERINE: 6 HOURS #4 (Of 4) $2.99
FEB031356 MARVELOUS ADVENTURES OF GUS BEEZER STARRING INCREDIBLE HULK $2.99
FEB031354 MARVELOUS ADVENTURES OF GUS BEEZER STARRING SPIDER-MAN $2.99
FEB031355 MARVELOUS ADVENTURES OF GUS BEEZER STARRING THE X-MEN $2.99
FEB031326 SENTINEL #1 $2.99
FEB031360 SPIDER-GIRL #59 (Note Price) $2.99
APR025045 SPIDER-MAN: MAXIMUM CARNAGE TPB NEW PRTG $29.99
FEB031357 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #39 $2.25
JAN031558 ULTIMATE X-MEN #31 $2.25
FEB031330 WOLVERINE: X-ISLE #1 $2.50
FEB031336 X-MEN 2 MOVIE ADAPTATION $3.50
JAN031562 X-MEN UNLIMITED #44 $2.50

OTHER PUBLISHERS

JAN031952 ARCHIE AND FRIENDS #69 $2.19
JAN031955 BETTY #124 $2.19
JAN031958 BETTY & VERONICA: DOUBLE DIGEST #114 $3.59
SEP021927 BONE #51 $2.95
FEB031835 FIRST #30 $2.95
JAN032026 FUTURAMA COMICS #12 $2.50
FEB031710 HSU AND CHAN #2 $2.95
FEB032219 INU-YASHA VOL 1 TP 2ND ED $8.95
FEB032220 INU-YASHA VOL 2 TP 2ND ED $8.95
JAN032423 JAMES KOCHALKA'S SKETCHBOOK DIARIES VOL 3 $7.95
MAR032256 JANE'S WORLD #5 $2.95
FEB031887 LET'S STAY TOGETHER FOREVER GN $15.95
JAN032177 LOVE & ROCKETS VOL 2 #7 (MR) $3.95
SEP022115 NIMROD #7 $3.95
JAN032351 QUEEN & COUNTRY #15 (MR) $2.95
JAN032130 SANDSCAPE #3 $2.95
JAN032441 SHONEN JUMP VOL 1 #5 MAY 2003 $4.95
DEC022751 SHRIMPY AND PAUL SC (MR) $16.95
JAN032352 SKINWALKER TP $11.95
DEC022378 STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #57 $2.95
NOV022364 THE LAB #2 $2.99
DEC022770 THIEVES & KINGS #41 $2.95
FEB031906 TRANSFORMERS ARMADA VOL 1 TP $13.95
DEC022413 WHEN I'M OLD: COLLECTED STORIES OF GABRIELLE BELL TP (MR) $12.95
JAN032468 ZOIDS #14 CHAOTIC CENTURY $5.95

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.