The Shipping Forecast for January 14th

January is traditionally a light month for the industry, and this year is no exception. But take heart; the piscatorial pundits at the lighthouse can still come up with the goods with a look back at some of the books you may have missed.
12 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:

THE PUNISHER #1 (Marvel Max)
The news that Marvel was moving PUNISHER from its Marvel Knights imprint to its Marvel Max imprint came as a big surprise to me. After all, who knew that either imprint was still going? But, here it is, another opening of another show, this time allowing Garth Ennis to say fuck as often as he likes in a comic where a merciless, humourless bastard shoot midgets, cripples and the sexually dysfunctional in the head. But let's face it, Punisher was always meant to be an 'adults only' comic, as Ennis demonstrated in his Punisher origin miniseries BORN. The move to Max should see a step away from the slapstick that got so tired in 'A Confederacy Of Dunces', towards the much smarter storytelling of stories like 'Streets Of Laredo'. Art comes from an unfamiliar name, Lewis LaRosa. [Fisher]

ALSO THIS WEEK:

GLOBAL FREQUENCY PLANET ABLAZE TP (DC WildStorm)
Perhaps a curious choice for a trade, this; Warren Ellis' original premise for his 12-issue maxi-series (of which this volume collects issues #1-6) was that the stories would be self-contained, and so readers looking for a coherent and ongoing narrative may be disappointed. Each story allows a different artist to showcase their talents, and Ellis has used his influence to attract some real heavyweight artists, such as Steve Dillon, Glenn Fabry, Garry Leach and David Lloyd. This does mean that the art is of variable quality, as are some of the stories, which are about a global network of secret troubleshooters and problem-solvers. Overall however, it was a fascinating narrative experiment for Ellis, and a significant addition to his body of work. [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.

PLANETES VOL 2 (TokyoPop)
Well, Makoto Yukimora's PLANETES Volume 1 was one of the Shipping Forecast's favourite books of 2003, and TokyoPop has just released Volume 2. Go see what the fuss is about. PLANETES is a delicate and at times introspective story of members of a spaceship crew who orbit the Earth collecting up space debris. All have their own reasons for being there, as well as ambitions (or not) to leave the debris-collecting life. This volume focuses on Hachimaki, who was trained as an elite pilot and is growing restless as a space dustman. So when the Earth Development Community begins to look for a crew to man a new Mars mission in search of a specific breed of plant life, he takes an interest. However, Hachimaki's father, a famous astronaut, has been chosen as mission commander, and living up to his expectations isn't going to be easy. [Shannon]

DAVID CHELSEA IN LOVE (Reed Graphica)
Considering the international success of the AMERICAN SPLENDOR film, this is an interesting and timely re-release of a work which first appeared in the early 90s. Part of the veritable tide of autobio work that appeared around that time, DAVID CHELSEA IN LOVE is the rambling, engaging story of the titular David's search for love. Having moved to New York to further his career in illustration, he finds himself starting a romance on one of his visits home to Portland. The object of his affection, Minnie, comes with a whole lot of baggage and a boyfriend. Will it all work out? Several bus trips and many pages later, we find the answer. This is a lengthy, satisfying read, with an endearingly honest narrator whose art style owes much to Crumb and McCay. If AMERICAN SPLENDOR has whetted your appetite for quality autobiographical comics, I would heartly recommend DAVID CHELSEA IN LOVE as further reading. [German Bight]

THE DROWNERS #1 (New Flame Publishing)
Nabiel Kanan's BIRTHDAY RIOTS was a delightf self-contained story in graphic novel format, but Kanan's back to self publishing here and the small press experience seems to suggest that mini-series followed by collection is the safest economic option. In any case, you would do well to support Kanan's work in whatever format. Here he builds up a selection of mysteries that will no doubt unravel in a way that reveals ingenious connections. Kanan's straightforward art places justified emphasis on the storytelling. [Forties]

BLACKSAD (IBooks)
This one shipped to bookstores a few weeks ago now, and though it doesn't seem all that widely available in comic stores yet, it's well worth seeking out. Ninth Art first raved about the French language edition back in 2002, and Neal Adams, Will Eisner, Stan Lee, Joe Kubert and Jim Steranko are all united in praising the book to the heavens. The story by Juan Diaz Canales is a fairly standard detective noir, but the lavishly painted art by Juanjo Guarnido makes it one of the most stunningly beautiful comics you're likely to see. The characters are all anthropomorphic animals, but it's not so much that they are animals, as that they appear as the animals that best represent their personalities, and you've rarely seen an artist who can capture mood, atmosphere and movement with such confidence. Guarnido's Disney pedigree is clear, but this is a strictly adult affair. [Fisher]

VAGABOND VOL 8 (Viz)
In the eighth volume of Takehiko Inoue's gripping samurai manga of the life of the "sword saint" Miyamoto Musashi, things take a sharp turn towards the metaphysical. Japanese friends (who are now on Volume 17 of VAGABOND) say that this volume is the one where an already great story completely kicks into another gear altogether. It's almost a self-contained story: Inshun of Hozoin Temple has a rematch duel against our "hero", Mushashi. During the duel, Inshun struggles to overcome his own personal demons as well, and the narrative jumps back and forth as Inshun's life flashes before his eyes. VAGABOND is regarded in Japan as some of the most masterful storytelling there is, and Inoue is also one of the best artists in manga, if not in comics as a whole. [Shannon]

PICKS OF 2003:

In addition to our annual Lighthouse Awards, Ninth Art gives its regular pundits a chance to nominate some of their other personal favourites of the previous year. This week, Finisterre and Fisher select the books that held a special appeal for them in 2003.

FINISTERRE: 2003 saw Steve Rolston expanding his repertoire to include writing alongside his excellent art, as he created his first OGN, ONE BAD DAY, single-handed. It's a wry and well-paced piece of pulp literature with an intriguing cast, and it looks extremely cool too. The debut series of the year for me had to be Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco's extremely slick ARROWSMITH. It looks gorgeous, and the concept of a Great War era dominated by magic is one of those things that sounds simple, but takes great craft to pull off properly. The wayside is littered with examples of failed science-fantasy tales that try to shoehorn magic into real historical situations, but ARROWSMITH towers above them all. It's a real treat for history buffs and comics fans alike. Of the year's continuing series, I particularly enjoyed FABLES. Much like ARROWSMITH, it takes an intriguing premise ("what if fairy-tale characters were forced to take refuge in our world?") and builds a genuinely interesting story around it. Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham have taken this title from a low-key opening to make it one of the most interesting books in the DC Vertigo line.

FISHER: If there's one book that really touched me in 2003, it was Scott Morse's BAREFOOT SERPENT, an extraordinary, beautiful tale of grief and loss. Indeed, it's the only work of art to have moved me to tears in the past twelve months - and it really does deserve to be called a work of art. Morse has never been better. My favourite reprint of the year was BROOKLYN DREAMS, which collected the four volume Paradox Press series by JM DeMatteis and Glenn Barr. A semi-autobiographical take on DeMatteis's Brooklyn youth, its strength lies in Barr's evocative and imaginative portrait of the hero's struggles with spirituality, mortality and identity. Finally, among the many superhero series I follow religiously, DAREDEVIL remains a passionate favourite, even in spite of the hugely disappointing David Mack arc that rounded out the year. In Alex Maleev, Bendis has picked the perfect artist to tell his urban noir tale of a vigilante hero getting pushed past breaking point. And best of all, 2004 could very well be the title's best year yet.

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR JANUARY 14th:

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

DARK HORSE

OCT030045 BERSERK VOL 2 GUARDIANS OF DESIRE TP (MR) (C: 2) $13.95
OCT030050 LONE WOLF 2100 #11 $2.99
SEP030030 SYN #4 $2.99
NOV030023D TALES OF THE VAMPIRES #2 $2.99

DC COMICS

NOV030209D ACTION COMICS #811 $2.25
NOV030219D AQUAMAN #14 $2.50
NOV030198D BATMAN DEATH AND THE MAIDENS #6 (Of 9) $2.95
NOV030193D BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #175 $2.50
NOV030221D DEMON DRIVEN OUT #5 (Of 6) $2.50
NOV030271D FABLES #21 (MR) $2.50
NOV030223D FALLEN ANGEL #7 (MR) $2.50
NOV030260D GLOBAL FREQUENCY PLANET ABLAZE TP $14.95
NOV030203D GOTHAM CENTRAL #15 $2.50
NOV030225D GREEN ARROW #34 $2.50
NOV030234D HAWKMAN #23 $2.50
NOV030230D HERO #12 $2.50
NOV030232D JLA ZATANNAS SEARCH TP $12.95
NOV030204D NIGHTWING #89 $2.25
NOV030244D OUTSIDERS LOOKING FOR TROUBLE TP $12.95
OCT030281 SAGA OF SEVEN SUNS HC $24.95
NOV030257D SCOOBY DOO #80 $2.25
NOV030264D STORMWATCH TEAM ACHILLES #19 (MR) $2.95
NOV030218D SUPERMAN SECRET IDENTITY #1 (Of 4) $5.95
NOV030248D TEEN TITANS #7 $2.50
NOV030265D THUNDERCATS HAMMERHANDS REVENGE #4 (Of 5) $2.95

IMAGE

NOV031270D SHANGRI LA GN $7.95

MARVEL

NOV031528D CAPTAIN AMERICA #22 $2.99
NOV031578D CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL 4 CAPTAIN AMERICA LIVES AGAIN TP $12.99
NOV031494D CAPTAIN MARVEL #18 $2.99
NOV031489D INCREDIBLE HULK #65 $2.25
NOV031527D MARVEL 1602 #6 (Of 8) $3.50
NOV031508D SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #9 $2.25
NOV031510D SPIDER-MAN AND DR OCTOPUS NEGATIVE EXPOSURE #4 (Of 5) $2.99
NOV031507D SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED #1 $2.99
NOV031532D THE PUNISHER #1 (MR) $2.99
NOV031500D THOR #73 $2.99
MAY031549D ULTIMATE ADVENTURES #6 $2.99
NOV031513D ULTIMATE X-MEN #41 $2.25
NOV031558D ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 7 BLOCKBUSTER TP $12.99
OCT031902 UNCANNY X-MEN VOL 2 DOMINANT SPECIES TP (STAR18563) $11.99
OCT031567 WEAPON X #17 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

AUG031952E CHARM SCHOOL #9 (MR) $2.95
JUL032148F DORK TOWER COLL TP VOL 6 1D6 DEGREES OF SEPARATION $15.99
NOV032648E DRAGONBALL VOL 14 TP SHONEN J ED (C: 3) $7.95
SEP032498F JALILA #2 $2.95
NOV032181E KISS KISS BANG BANG #1 $2.95
OCT032105 LAUGH DIGEST #190 $2.39
NOV032178E MISS ME GN $9.99
OCT032583 MR MOTO WELCOME BACK MR MOTO #1 (Of 3) $2.95
NOV032660E RUROUNI KENSHIN VOL 3 GN (C: 3) $7.95
OCT032109 SABRINA VOL 2 #54 $2.19
NOV031984F SEAMONSTERS & SUPERHEROES #2 (Of 3) $2.95
OCT031985 STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #62 $2.95
NOV032271E TRANSFORMERS ENERGON #19 $2.95
NOV032661E VIDEO GIRL AI VOL 7 TP (C: 3) $12.95
NOV032204E WAY OF THE RAT #21 $2.95
NOV032662E WEDDING PEACH VOL 4 TP (C: 3 & 4) $9.95
NOV032663E X 1999 VOL 13 TP LAMENT (C: 3) $9.95
NOV032666E YU YU HAKUSHO VOL 3 TP (C: 3) $7.95

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.