The Shipping Forecast for July 23rd

The pick of the week's releases from Ninth Art's Breem Team - the fishermen with a little bit of heart and a whole lot of sole. (Going cheap. Can't shift the stuff.)
23 July 2001

Welcome back to the Ninth Art lighthouse, where every week our bridge team of barnacled buccaneers don their Mae Wests to brave the eddies and flows of the new comic deliveries heading for your local store. With the North Star ahead and the Diamond shipping list behind, we'll guide you to safer shores.

Please note that the shipping list is a lot less reliable than the tides.

DOGGER PICKS:

FIRE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION TP
The last of Bendis' "Definitive Collection" trades finally arrives - the story of a young CIA agent forcibly recruited out of high school. The story has an alleged grounding in truth, being based in part on events during Reagan's government. FIRE is not generally considered Bendis' best work, but it is among his earliest, and given Bendis' normal high standard, "not his best work" is hardly damning.

TANGLED WEB #4
After Garth Ennis and John McCrea's THE THOUSAND, we get Greg Rucka and Eduardo Risso with a one issue Kingpin story. The fact that Marvel is recruiting the industry's top top talent these days is hardly news, but still, these two, both famed for their hard-boiled crime work (on such titles as WHITEOUT and 100 BULLETS respectively) remain a slightly surprising choice. Whatever they deliver for us won't be normal Spider-Man fare, but then, that's the point of this title - to examine the world around Spider-Man and his affect on it.

CROMARTY PICKS:

FIRE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION TP
I already picked this a couple of weeks ago, but the dreaded Bendis Trade Delay Virus appears to have struck again. Don't let that put you off, however - FIRE is just as good as Bendis' other self-illustrated novels (such as GOLDFISH and JINX). If anything, the shorter length compared to his other works makes FIRE one of Bendis' snappier and more energetic comics, lacking his sometimes langorous approach to dialogue. And hey - it's a damn sight cheaper than TORSO!

FISHER PICKS:

FANTASTIC FOUR 1234 #1
Underhyped, and therefore probably easily overlooked if you've not ordered it, this Fantastic Four miniseries has been described by editor Stuart Moore as the essential story of Marvel's first family. Hardly surprising, with a creative team of Grant Morrison, Jae Lee and Jose Villarrubia. The art team did sterling work on Paul Jenkins' SENTRY, and Morrison has exceeded all expectations on NEW X-MEN. How can you say no? Each issue focuses on a different team member, starting with Ma Grimm's blue-eyed boy The Thing.

ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM UP: SPIDER-MAN & PUNISHER #6
I gave up reading this series when I gave up on the whole Ultimate line, though not because I wasn't enjoying it. Rather, I decided that if the line produced good stories, I might as well wait for the trades rather than add a whole new line to my monthly list. This issue might yet tempt me back, seeing as how writer Bendis is joined by the extraordinary Bill Sienkiewicz on art for this and the next two issues. Besides which, Spidey and Punisher are joined by Daredevil in this story, and bizarrely, at New Marvel these crossovers actually seem exciting once again.

GERMAN BIGHT PICKS:

DAN AND LARRY GN
Nobody does warped friendships like Dave Cooper. Actually, nobody does warped like Dave Cooper, for which we should be grateful on so many levels. For those of us who look forward to temporary forays into his surreal and disturbing worlds, this is going to be an undoubted treat, as Cooper rarely misfires. I would caution you that this will probably contain adult situations, but I don't know many adults who've been in situations like these - and I wouldn't want to. Thank goodness for the isolation of the lighthouse.

STRANGERS IN PARADISE Vol III #42
Terry Moore may very well be dragging out the reunion - or not - between Francine and Katchoo to an agonising degree, but when the journey's so scenic and enjoyable you won't hear me complain too loudly. Let's face it, if you don't want to be left holding a comic screaming, "But now what?!" at the end of it, you wouldn't be torturing yourself by reading STRANGERS IN PARADISE any more. What will we get this issue? Probably a lot of talking heads. Fortunately, Terry Moore's scripting is engaging enough, and his artwork so good at conveying the most subtle of facial expressions that it'll be worth your time and money.

Comics shipping in the US on July 23rd:

DARK HORSE

MAY010033 BTVS #35 FALSE MEMORIES (1 OF 4) $2.99
JUN013835D DIGIMON #12 (O/A) $2.99
MAY010097 STAR WARS #32 DARKNESS (1 OF 4) $2.99

DC COMICS

MAY010457 BATMAN #593 $2.25
MAY010460 BATMAN BEYOND #23 $1.99
MAY010461 BATMAN EVOLUTION TP $12.95
MAY010464 BIRDS OF PREY #33 $2.50
MAY010524 CODENAME KNOCKOUT #3 (MR) $2.50
MAY010505 CYBERNARY 2.0 #1 (Of 6) $2.95
MAY010478 FLASH #176 $2.25
MAY010479 GREEN ARROW #6 $2.50
MAY010526 HELLBLAZER #164 (MR) $2.50
MAY010449 JSA OUR WORLDS AT WAR #1 $2.95
MAY010489 LEGION WORLDS #4 (Of 6) $3.95
MAY010467 NIGHTWING THE TARGET $5.95
MAY010510 OUT THERE #3 $2.50
MAY010471 SUPERGIRL #60 $2.25
MAY010494 WONDER WOMAN #172 $2.25

IMAGE

APR011332 DOLLZ #2 $2.95
APR011337 FIRE DEFINITIVE COLL TP $9.95
MAY011357 MECH DESTROYER #3 $2.95
JUN011305D MIDNIGHT NATION #6 (O/A) $2.50
FEB011282D RED STAR #6 $2.95
MAR011299 SAVAGE DRAGON #87 $2.95

MARVEL

MAY011672 AVENGERS #44 $2.25
MAY011628 DAREDEVIL #20 (MR) $3.50
MAY011673 DEADPOOL #56 $2.25
MAY011635 FANTASTIC FOUR 1234 #1 $2.99
MAY011669 INCREDIBLE HULK #30 $2.25
MAR011536 MARVEL KNIGHTS #13 $2.99
MAY011674 STARTLING STORIES BANNER #1 $2.99
MAY011655 TANGLED WEB #4 SEVERANCE PACKAGE $2.99
MAY011656 ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM UP SPIDER-MAN & PUNISHER #6 $2.25
MAY011648 WOLVERINE #166 (Note Price) $2.99
MAY011649 X-FORCE #118 $2.25
MAY011650 X-MEN UNLIMITED #32 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

APR012169F ANGRY YOUTH COMIX #2 (MR) $2.95
MAY011955 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #127 $3.29
MAY012116 ASTRA #1 $2.95
MAY012240 BATTLE POPE MAYHEM #2 (Of 2) $2.95
MAY011956 BETTY #102 $1.99
APR012177F DAN & LARRY GN (MR) $9.95
MAY012340 DECOY ONE SHOT #2 $2.75
JUN012038F EXEC #1 $3.95
MAY012162 GOLEMS MIGHTY SWING $12.95
MAY012055 JADE #4 $2.99
MAY011959 JUGHEAD #139 $1.99
MAY012059 LADY DEATH ALIVE #4 (Of 4) $2.99
MAY012044 LADY DEATH MEDIEVAL WITCHBLADE #1 $3.50
MAY012121 LODOSS WAR CHRONICLES HEROIC KNIGHT #11 $2.95
MAY012133 MERIDIAN #14 $2.95
MAY012216 NIMROD #6 (Note Price) $3.50
APR011914E RANKLECHICK & HIS THREE LEGGED CAT #2 (Of 4) $3.95
APR012343F SEVENTH SEA #3 (Of 3) $2.95
MAY011890 STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #42 $2.95
APR012311E ZENDRA #6 (Of 6) $2.95

MAGAZINES

MAY012409 ANIMERICA VOL 9 #7 $4.95
MAY012458 COMIC SHOP NEWS #736 PI

The 9A Lighthouse Crew are Trafalgar, Shannon, Fastnet, Plymouth, Viking, German Bight, Finisterre, Forties, Dogger, Cromarty and Fisher.

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