The Shipping Forecast for January 7th

As we stumble gaily into 2004, is there any reason for faith in the future? Morrison leaving X-MEN is a bad sign, but the Drawn & Quarterly prospectus looks good. In the meantime, we can console ourselves with MY FAITH IN FRANKIE.
05 January 2004

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:

MY FAITH IN FRANKIE #1 (DC Vertigo)
Teenager Frankie has her own personal deity, Jeriven, who has always watched over her. As Frankie grows up and discovers boys, Jeriven becomes jealous - and Frankie decides she doesn't need his interfering anymore. But without Jeriven, Frankie has to learn that her actions have consequences. MY FAITH IN FRANKIE is a fantastic story aimed at a teenage female audience, by Mike Carey, one of comics' best and most subtle writers, with great art by Sonny Liew and Mark Hempel. But why, oh why, hasn't Vertigo published this as a manga? It is the most suitable story for a 180-page tankubon of anything Vertigo has put out, especially given that 'teenager-with-supernatural-ally facing slightly absurd growing-up dramas' is an accepted and loved subject area within manga. It seems as if Vertigo is cutting off a large part of Frankie's potential audience, namely the large number of girls who buy manga from bookstores, by narrow-mindedly placing the story into a US-format. Ah well, buy it anyway, and someone send Shelly Bond a copy of WISH, or CERES, or OH MY GODDESS. [Shannon]

ALSO THIS WEEK:

NEW X-MEN #151 (Marvel)
Well, it was fun while it lasted. The last of the scripts completed by Grant Morrison ahead of his signing up for a DC exclusive contract are now trickling in with this final arc, a future-set story that appears to combine that X-MEN perennial, the Days Of Future This and Days Of Future That plot, with Morrison's own approach to the Phoenix. The good news for long-time X-MEN fans is that the art this time around comes from an old favourite, Marc Silvestri, one of the original 'hot' artists. The bad news is that the end of this arc brings a Chuck Austen run, and beyond that, the identity of the new writer is yet to be confirmed (though Joss Whedon is the name most often mentioned). My advice to you is to treat this like the series finale, then drop the book like a hot rock and come back later if the new writer's any good. [Fisher]

SUPERMAN RED SON TP (DC Comics)
Of all the DCU 'Elseworld' reimaginings, this one was one of the most interesting. It has a simple and intriguing premise: What if Superman had been active at the height of the Cold War - but had been Soviet instead of American? Mark Millar has lots of fun making the Man of Steel (or 'Stalin', in Russian) into a kind of Stakhanovite propaganda fantasy, and throwing in DCU and real-life characters alike (Batman as a Cossack anarchist with a fur-tipped cowl), but the book's emphasis is more on being enjoyable than providing any brilliantly subtle political commentary. The art is by the ever-excellent Dave Johnson, Eisner Award-winning cover artist for 100 BULLETS. [Finisterre]

BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

Because we can't always give you the most up-to-date shipping information, we'll also give you an occasional look at some of the best books that have recently shipped or are expected to ship in the coming weeks.

DRAWN & QUARTERLY VOL 5 (Drawn & Quarterly)
It looks as though we were slipped an extra present when we weren't looking, because over the normally dull Christmas shipping period, this appeared on the shelves. This is the usual annual treat for fans of art-comics, those with an interest in comics history, and those who just plain enjoy quality product. As is starting to seem traditional, there's a translation of an entire MONSIEUR JEAN album by Dupuy and Berberian (who have also supplied the elegant wraparound cover), a piece of autobio from Michel Rabagliati, and another literary comics pastiche from R Sikoryak. There are also cartoons by Harry Mayerovitch, new work from Actus member Rutu Modan, nihilistic manga from Yoshihiro Tatsumi and an essay by Alberto Manguel. Perhaps most interestingly, over a third of the collection is given over to a retrospective of Quebecois cartoonist and illustrator Albert Chartier. Some of the work in DRAWN & QUARTERLY VOL 5 functions as a preview of the company's publications in 2004 (collections of work from Dupuy and Berberian and Tatsumi, plus a new volume from Rabagliati), which makes me feel somewhat optimistic about the year ahead. [German Bight]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR JANUARY 7th:

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

DARK HORSE

NOV030017 LOVE ME TENDERLOIN A CAL MCDONALD MYSTERY (ONE SHOT) $2.99
OCT030046 TRIGUN VOL 2 TP (MR) $14.95

DC COMICS

NOV030259 AUTHORITY VOL 2 #9 (MR) $2.95
NOV030197 BATMAN CITY OF LIGHT #4 (Of 8) $2.95
NOV030191 DETECTIVE COMICS #790 $2.75
NOV030233 JSA #56 $2.50
NOV030238 JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES #27 $2.25
NOV030255 LOONEY TUNES #110 $2.25
NOV030277 LUCIFER VOL 5 INFERNO TP (MR) $14.95
NOV030280 MY FAITH IN FRANKIE #1 (Of 4) (MR) $2.95
NOV030245 PLASTIC MAN #2 $2.95
NOV030263 ROBOTECH INVASION #1 (Of 5) $2.95
NOV030216 SMALLVILLE #6 $3.95
NOV030213 SUPERMAN BIRTHRIGHT #6 (Of 12) $2.95
NOV030217 SUPERMAN RED SON TP $17.95
NOV030287 Y THE LAST MAN #18 (MR) $2.95

IMAGE

OCT031332 BATTLE OF THE PLANETS VOL 1 TRIAL BY FIRE DIGEST SIZE TP $9.99
OCT031289 REALM OF THE CLAW KAELA CVR A #2 (Of 6) $2.95
OCT031290 REALM OF THE CLAW TSWANA CVR B #2 (Of 6) $2.95

MARVEL

NOV031484 AVENGERS #77 (Note Price) PI
NOV031525 ELEKTRA #31 $2.99
NOV031520 EXILES #40 $2.99
NOV035035 MARY JANE TP (PU#603) $8.99
OCT031580 MYSTIQUE #9 $2.99
NOV031511 NEW X-MEN #151 $2.25
NOV031543 SENTINEL #11 $2.99
NOV031504 SPIDER-GIRL #68 $2.99
NOV031531 SUPREME POWER #6 (MR) $2.99
NOV031497 THANOS #4 $2.99
NOV031503 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #52 $2.25
NOV031514 UNCANNY X-MEN #437 $2.25
SEP031549 WEAPON X #16 $2.99
OCT031564 WOLVERINE THE END #2 (Of 6) $2.99
OCT031576 X-TREME X-MEN #39 (Note Price) $3.50

OTHER PUBLISHERS

SEP032291 APE ONE SHOT (MR) $4.95
OCT032090 ARCHIE AND FRIENDS #79 $2.19
OCT032100 BETTY #134 $2.19
OCT032103 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #121 $3.59
OCT032272 BRATH #11 $2.95
OCT032539 CSI BAD RAP #5 (OF 5) (MR) $3.99
SEP032289 EVIL EYE #11 (MR) $3.50
NOV032243 GI JOE VOL 2 RECKONINGS TP NEW PTG $12.95
NOV032194 NEGATION #26 $2.95
NOV032179 RECORD OF LODOSS WAR LADY OF PHARIS COLLECTORS ED BOOK 2 $15.95
OCT032778 SHONEN JUMP VOL 2 #2 FEB 2004 $4.99
SEP032211 SOULSEARCHERS #63 $2.50
NOV032247 VOLTRON VOL 1 TP $11.95
NOV032248 VOLTRON VOL 2 #1 $2.95
NOV031987 WITCH #4 (RES) (MR) $4.95
SEP032499 ZEIN GHOSTS OF HELIOPOLIS #2 $2.95

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.