The Shipping Forecast for February 11th

It's a strong week for Marvel, though titles like EPIC ANTHOLOGY and SECRET WAR may not fill you with hope. Thankfully we can guarantee that the first LOSERS trade is a definite winner.
09 February 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:

LOSERS: ANTE UP TP (DC Vertigo)
Writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock's first ongoing title exploded into comic stores eight months ago, the sequential equivalent of a big, loud, blockbuster summer action movie. It was a truly impressive US debut from these ex 2000AD stalwarts, and this first trade collects the opening six-issue 'Goliath' arc. Diggle mixes high drama and low humour in a story of six American special-ops soldiers left for dead by the CIA after getting too close to a dirty agency secret. Jock provides stunning, moody visuals and some of the best covers in the industry. And, hallelujah, THE LOSERS also features one of the best new female characters in comics in ages: Aisha, the hard-as-nails double agent. The sharp-eyed will recognise THE LOSERS as an in-name-only revamp of a regular feature in DC's OUR FIGHTING FORCES series from the 1960s. On the back of THE LOSERS' success, Diggle and Jock signed an exclusive with DC, but it may not be long before Hollywood comes knocking with an even sweeter deal for these action-story stars. [Shannon]

ALSO THIS WEEK:

MIDNIGHT MOVER TPB (Oni Press)
Gary Phillips' second piece for Oni after SHOT CALLERZ is another piece of hard-boiled Jim Thompson-esque pulp, full of hard men and femmes fatales. Its plot is a typically noirish mix of morals-free mercenary heroes, two-faced chicks with their own agenda and a narrative with a body count that starts in the positive and will only go up from there, but Phillips is as skilled a craftsman in this genre as anyone working in comics, so what might be predictable in a different writer's hands is turned into something fresh and exciting here. Phillips' punchy story is given super-cool visuals by the pencil and pen of the extravagantly talented Jeremy Love and Jeff Wasson. Well worth checking out. [Finisterre]

THOR: VIKINGS TP (Marvel Max)
I'll bet any amount of money that THOR: VIKINGS originated with Garth Ennis and Glenn Fabry sitting in the pub making a big list of their favourite things, and seeing if they could fit them all into one story. Zombies! Vikings! Warrior women! Knights! Dr Strange! Marines getting slaughtered! The Avengers getting slaughtered! The Luftwaffe! The great thing is, Garth Ennis' favourite things are my favourite things too. I mean, all it needed was dinosaurs, spaceships and Romans, and it would have been Nirvana. The story is like a comic version of a Takashi Miike film, careering from over-the-top splatter to absurd comedy faster than you can say, "Mine's a Guinness". You may have noticed I haven't mentioned Thor yet. That's because he appears in somewhere less than 30% of the comic. In truth, it should have been titled ENEMY ACE, PRINCE VALIANT, HAGAR THE HORRIBLE'S WIFE AND NOEL COWARD vs ZOMBIE VIKINGS, (WITH SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCE BY THOR). I's the funniest thing Ennis has written since THE PRO, and Marvel, If you're listening; Ennis writes the best Dr Strange we've seen. Please let him do more. [Shannon]

CHOSEN #1 (Dark Horse)
That Mark Millar has been busily firing his comics bullets like scattershot across the backside of comics fans everywhere. This is the third of his MillarWorld titles, after WANTED (Top Cow) and THE UNFUNNIES (Avatar). (The fourth, a collaboration with Ashley Wood, has been delayed.) CHOSEN is not quite the story of a young boy bitten by a radioactive crucifix, but it is the tale of a twelve-year-old lad who turns out to be Jesus. Now, I know what you're thinking. Well, I don't, but bear with me. You might be thinking, "Didn't Mark Millar do this way back in the olden days, but have chat show host Jonathan Ross as the Saviour"? He did, but that story was never finished. CHOSEN, illustrated by Peter Gross, has been described as ULTIMATE JESUS, but don't let that put you off. If you thought you didn't like Millar's comics, give this a try, because it seems to be the one getting the least publicity, but Millar's track record for religious satire is pretty good. [Forties]

SECRET WAR #1 (Marvel)
Because DAREDEVIL, POWERS, ULTIMATE FF, ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN and the forthcoming THE PULSE aren't quite enough to fill Brian Michael Bendis's time, he's added this teensy little project to his output. It was this or sleep. The original SECRET WARS mini-series saw cosmic disco swinger The Beyonder steal a group of Marvel heroes away to the Battle World to, well, battle. The Beyonder then donned his shiny silver pants for an Earthbound sequel, and the whole thing was execrable nonsense. Even Bendis couldn't redeem it, so he's not going to try. Instead, he's reclaiming the title for a different kind of secret war, in which Nick Fury brings some of Marvel's greatest heroes together on a covert mission in New York City. (We're talking Marvel proper, incidentally. This isn't ULTIMATE SECRET WAR.) Yeah, it's really just a big crossover, but it should be fun for the Marvel zombies - especially with painted art from Gabriele Dell'otto - and hopefully it won't be too hard for everyone else to avoid. [Fisher]

4 #1 (Marvel Knights)
Another Adam Sandler movie. A glimpse of Janet's other nipple. A second term for the Bush administration. These are things the world simply does not need. We can add to this list 'a third Fantastic Four series', especially given that the first two have Mark Waid and Brian Bendis on board. This iteration boasts the unknown team of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Steve McNiven, and given that it's a long time since the FF sold on its own merits, I'm not sure why anyone would pick up the abruptly titled '4' (KNIGHTS 4 on the Diamond list - no relation to the Warriors Three). This is rumoured to be the Hollywood-friendly comedy version of the FF, designed to lure George Clooney into making the movie, so it hardly belongs in the 'edgy' Marvel Knights line. Clooney is blamed for Marvel's new conservative streak, because he allegedly turned down FURY for being too adult, which makes perfect sense when you consider how he likes to play safe with mainstream crowd pleasers like SOLARIS and CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND. Hrm. [Fisher]

EPIC ANTHOLOGY #1 (Marvel)
Ah, Epic. The farce that launched a thousand scripts. But I know a secret: The 2% of Epic pitches that didn't consist of "All the X-men, ever, fight each other! Then Wolverine and Jean Grey have sex!" were actually not too bad. And the three stories that have made it into the EPIC ANTHOLOGy are as fine as - if not better than - many mainstream titles on the shelves today. YOUNG ANCIENT ONE (Rob Worley/Andy Kuhn) is about Dr Strange's mentor The Ancient One back when he was a scrappy kung fu punk in Tibet. STRANGE MAGIC (Jason Henderson/Greg Scott) stars magician Sonia Strange, hiding out in New Orleans from her past. SLEEPWALKER (Robert Kirkman/Khary Randolph) concerns a young man who, when he falls asleep, becomes a vigilante. These creators worked their arses off to produce good stories, and they got screwed. Buy this comic, and remember their names - because, unlike Bill Jemas, they'll be back. [Shannon]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR FEBRUARY 11th:

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

DARK HORSE

DEC030061 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #87 (MR) $2.99
OCT030039 CHOSEN #1 (Of 3) (MR) $2.99
DEC030031 HELLBOY WEIRD TALES #7 $2.99
DEC030062 OH MY GODDESS #105 $2.99
DEC030041 TALES OF THE VAMPIRES #3 $2.99

DC COMICS

DEC030248 ACTION COMICS #812 $2.25
DEC030258 AQUAMAN #15 $2.50
DEC030240 BATMAN DEATH AND THE MAIDENS #7 (Of 9) $2.95
DEC030231 BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #176 $2.50
DEC030300 COUP DETAT STORMWATCH TEAM ACHILLES #2 (Of 4) (MR) $2.95
DEC030261 DEMON DRIVEN OUT #6 (Of 6) $2.50
DEC030312 FABLES #22 (MR) $2.50
DEC030262 FALLEN ANGEL #8 (MR) $2.50
DEC030264 FLASH CROSSFIRE TP $17.95
DEC030245 GOTHAM CENTRAL #16 $2.50
DEC030266 GREEN ARROW #35 $2.50
DEC030269 HERO #13 $2.50
DEC030316 LOSERS ANTE UP TP (MR) $9.95
DEC030325 MAD ABOUT THE OSCARS $12.95
DEC030246 NIGHTWING #90 $2.25
DEC030295 SCOOBY DOO #81 $2.25
DEC030287 TEEN TITANS #8 $2.50
DEC030306 THUNDERCATS HAMMERHANDS REVENGE #5 (Of 5) $2.95
DEC030311 TOMORROW STORIES BOOK TWO HC (MR) $24.95
NOV030251 WONDER WOMAN ARCHIVES VOL 4 HC $49.95

IMAGE

DEC031316 FEATHER #4 (Of 4) $2.95
JUL031224 SAVAGE DRAGON VOL 9 WORLDS AT WAR HC $24.95
JUL031223 SAVAGE DRAGON VOL 9 WORLDS AT WAR TP $16.95
NOV031275 STREET FIGHTER KIM CVR B #5 $2.95
NOV031274 STREET FIGHTER PARK CVR A #5 $2.95
NOV031276 STREET FIGHTER SHINKIRO CVR C #5 PI

MARVEL

NOV031485 AVENGERS #78 $2.25
DEC031559 CAPTAIN AMERICA #23 $2.99
DEC031573 EMMA FROST #8 (Note Price) $2.99
DEC031607 EPIC ANTHOLOGY #1 $5.99
NOV031553 ESSENTIAL PUNISHER VOL 1 TP $14.99
DEC031571 INCREDIBLE HULK #67 $2.25
DEC031567 IRON MAN #77 $2.99
DEC031549 KNIGHTS 4 #1 $2.99
DEC031562 MARVEL 1602 #7 (Of 8) $3.50
SEP031530 NEW MUTANTS #8 $2.99
DEC031553 SECRET WAR BOOK ONE (OF FIVE) (Note Price) $3.99
DEC031595 SENTINEL #12 $2.99
DEC031594 SPIDER-GIRL #70 $2.99
DEC031563 THOR #74 $2.99
DEC031617 THOR VIKINGS TP (MR) $13.99
DEC031557 ULTIMATE X-MEN #42 $2.25
DEC031581 WOLVERINE CAPTAIN AMERICA #2 $2.99
DEC031587 X-TREME X-MEN #42 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

DEC032052 13TH OF NEVER GN $7.95
DEC032063 ABSENT FRIENDS #1 $3.50
OCT032635 ANGELS WING #7 (Of 7) $7.95
DEC032146 ANT #1 $2.95
NOV032054 ARCHIE DIGEST #205 $2.39
NOV032183 BRATH #12 $2.95
NOV032455 CISCO KID #1 (Of 3) (MR) $2.95
DEC032834 COLLECTED JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR VOL #1 $24.95
OCT032031 COMIC BOOK HEAVEN VOL 2 #9 (RES) (Note Price) $3.50
DEC032596 DEEP SLEEPER #1 (Of 4) (MR) $3.50
DEC032036 FIGURE 17 MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
DEC032037 FULL METAL PANIC MANGA VOL 3 TP $9.99
DEC032724 JAMES KOCHALKAS SKETCHBOOK DIARIES VOL 4 $7.95
DEC032473 JANES WORLD #11 $2.95
DEC032722 JENNIFER DAYDREAMER #2 ANNA AND EVA $4.95
NOV032059 JUGHEAD #156 $2.19
DEC032293 JUST A GIRL BOOK 1 GN (Of 2) $9.99
DEC032759 KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC VOL 2 GN $7.95
NOV032497 MIDNIGHT MOVER TP (MR) $11.95
NOV032456 MR KEEN TRACER OF LOST PERSONS #3 (Of 3) (MR) $2.95
DEC032770 ONE PIECE VOL 3 TP $7.95
DEC032093 OUTLOOK GRIM #4 (MR) $2.95
OCT032278 PATH #22 $2.95
NOV032195 ROUTE 666 #20 $2.95
DEC032423 RUMBLE PACK #1 $4.95
NOV032065 SABRINA VOL 2 #55 $2.19
DEC032780 STEAM DETECTIVES VOL 7 TP $12.95
DEC032781 YU GI OH VOL 4 TP $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.