The Shipping Forecast for 8th August

After a slow couple of weeks, the Ninth Art fishing crew has plenty to talk about this week, including TRANSMETROPOLITAN, JINGLE BELLE and OPERATION BOLLOCK.
06 August 2001

Summertime, and the living is easy, so sit back, kick back and unwind with the Diamond shipping list and the pick of the best and most noteworthy books hitting the shelves this week, courtesy of Ninth Art's four weather-beaten waveriders.

Please note that the shipping list is fickle, and though you thought you had something special, the list just saw it as a bit of fun.

CROMARTY PICKS:

KIN VOL 1 DESCENT OF MAN TP (Top Cow)
Gary Frank, artist of MIDNIGHT NATION and HULK, turned writer/artist sometime last year with his own series KIN, and though I didn't read it at the time, I'm going to be checking this out in-store because of the generally good reviews it received. Unlike so many of his ilk, Frank decided to actually try and tell an intelligent, plot-driven story with minimum flashy visuals. All I know of the plot is, it's something to do with Neanderthal man not being extinct and having developed along different lines from Homo Sapiens in their isolation. Now someone is trying to wipe them out in order to steal their technology. Like I said, worth a look-see.

TRANSMETROPOLITAN #48 (DC Vertigo)
If you read TRANSMET already, skip to the next paragraph. You know all this. But those of you who've maybe seen it, or heard the title, those who know the names "Ellis" and "Robertson" but can't quite place them, well then, this paragraph is for you. TRANSMET is a political allegory wrapped in science-fiction trappings: a subjective but basically moral look at how Truth is becoming outdated in pursuit of Entertainment, and how those in Power abuse the apathy of mass culture. Now: don't buy this comic. We're nearing the end here. Instead, pick up the first collection, BACK ON THE STREET, from your store this week. And it will all make sense.

VAMPIRELLA #1 NOWHERESVILLE (Harris)
I don't mean to say "I told you so," and I have no intention of actually buying this, but... Didn't they only just get rid of her? A single year into the much-hyped VAMPI relaunch by poor-man's-Matrix-extra Kevin Lau, in which Vampirella was 'reborn' for the 21st Century (by becoming a manga-style Bad Girl. Wooh), and the original is back. Already. VAMPI is still to be published, however, under Lau's own imprint, Anarchy Studios. Oh, and this version is written by Mark Millar, who has worked on VAMPIRELLA before to some acclaim. ULTIMATE VAMPIRELLA, anyone?

FISHER PICKS:

THE AUTHORITY #25 (DC Wildstorm)
We're three-quarters through this rather clumsily solicited storyline, and in spite of its distinctly fuzzy genesis, I have to admit it's actually a lot of fun. For those of you with short memories, Millar's final arc on the book was suspended when artist Frank Quitely quit to draw NEW X-MEN, to be replaced by the glacial Art Adams. So, a new story about the team's pro-establishment usurpers had to be commissioned, written and drawn from scratch to bridge a gap in the schedules. Tom Peyer, whose HOURMAN was overappreciated in some circles and ignored everywhere else, provides the story, and newcomer Dustin Nguyen makes a stunningly impressive debut with the art. The scheduling fandango has been sloppy to say the least, but it's not these guys' fault, and this story deserves your attention.

CYCLOPS #1 (Marvel)
In the old Marvel, X-Men limited series would be churned out every week with little apparent thought or discrimination. In the new Marvel, things look much the same, except they're branding the minis under the 'Icons' banner and claiming these are definitive tales. CYCLOPS is the first of the new books, so here we get to see if there's any editorial discernment behind the hype. Kicking off with the most gratingly dull of the X-Men may not have been an inspired idea, but it'll be interesting to see if writer Brian K Vaughn (SWAMP THING) can kick any spark of life into the character. The darned-near electric art is provided by former WOLVERINE artist Mark Texeira.

NEW X-MEN 2001 ANNUAL (Marvel)
Introducing MarvelScope, where the stories really are widescreen, because the staples are along the shorter edge of the comic! Will it work? It'll be interesting to find out. Grant Morrison is the writer, and he knows a thing or two about strange new ideas and well-crafted page formats. Art comes from another former WOLVERINE artist, the intricate Leinel Francis Yu, whose linework is a little reminiscent of John Cassaday's (although he gets a bit overindulgent with the monster art). Experimental X-Men? Worth a gander, surely? And if nothing else, this should fill a gap while we're waiting for the monthly comic to turn up, eh?

GERMAN BIGHT PICKS:

JINGLE BELLE THE MIGHTY ELVES ONE SHOT (Oni)
A summertime tale of Santa's delinquent daughter and her hockey team. Hooray! This is a book where the creators have obviously had a great deal of fun. Jing's not really bad, just an ordinary teenager unfortunately born to a dad with very high standards. Paul Dini gets creatively silly in the best way with a script that riffs on the Mighty Ducks, and J. Bone puts in his usual polished art job. It looks like it should be animated, but there's more than enough life in the panels to keep things going like a bobsleigh. This is going to be as flat-out enjoyable as a snowball fight.

MEASLES #8 (Fantagraphics)
Fantagraphics's all-ages book. No, really. Even if the rest of the contributions were negligible the contributions from the Hernandez brothers would be worth checking out - particularly Gilbert's 'Venus', a lovely evocation of children's observations of the world that also satisfies adult readers. However, the rest of the contributions aren't negligible in the least. There are reprints of Joost Swarte stories and solid, child-friendly offerings from Sam Henderson and many others. A shame that putting this book out through direct sales means that it'll miss its intended audience, because MEASLES deserves to be read and appreciated by kids as well as older comics readers.

MURDER ME DEAD #7 (Of 8) (El Capitan)
Okay, okay, it's little rough of me to tell you to go and buy the penultimate issue of a thriller series, but just note the name for future reference and see if you can't get the preceding issues anyway. David Lapham serves up a wonderfully twisty thriller that's about as noir as it comes. There'll probably be a collection in the fullness of time, but the suspense elements make the story perfect for serialisation. The story so far: After Steven Russell's wife hangs herself (or did she?), he finds himself reunited with Tara, an old flame from high school. He is drawn into dealing with her dark history and ends up going to jail for her. When he gets out, she's disappeared. If the last six issues weren't packed enough, Lapham has to tie the whole thing up in just two. It's going to be a rollercoaster rush of a read to the finish, and I'm really enjoying being aboard.

DOGGER PICKS:

ADVENTURES IN THE RIFLE BRIGADE: OPERATION BOLLOCK #1 (Of 3) (DC Vertigo)
Garth Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra's war comedy returns. The first series reminded me of British sitcom 'ALLO 'ALLO crossed with boy's adventure comic EAGLE, so I'll certainly give this one a look. We rejoin our heroes from the first mini as they attempt to recover an artefact of great mystic power - Hitler's missing testicle. No, it's not clever or adult to laugh at the sort of toilet humour, or the sort of stereotyping that we're almost certainly going to find in here, but so what? This isn't going to be either man's best work, but it'll be a funny three issue mini for the big kid in all of us.

TRANSMETROPOLITAN #48 (DC Vertigo)
I know I've recommended this a lot in the past, chiefly because, for my money, there isn't a better comic being published today, but I'd probably have skipped recommending it this month (just because I don't want to keep carping on the same stuff) except that I got a look at a black and white preview of this. Just when I thought the series was fairly tense, heading down into it's final year, Ellis turns the volume up another notch. Not only is the story gripping, but Darick Robertson really shines here, capturing all the emotion that the story requires with subtlety and skill.

Comics shipping in the US on August 8th:

DARK HORSE

JUN010034 DIRTY PAIR SIM HELL REMASTERED #4 (Of 4) $2.99
JUN010018 HELLBOY CONQUEROR WORM #4 (Of 4) $2.99
APR010052 OH MY GODDESS PART X #5 HAND IN HAND (PART 2 OF 2) $3.50
JUN010019 RING OF NIBELUNG GOTTERDAMMERUNG #3 (Of 4) $2.99

DC COMICS

JUN010485 ADVENTURES IN THE RIFLE BRIGADE OPERATION BOLLOCK #1 (Of 3) $2.50
JUN010405 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #595 $2.25
JUN010467 AUTHORITY #25 $2.50
JUN010414 AZRAEL AGENT OF THE BAT #81 $2.50
JUN010399 DEADMAN DEAD AGAIN #2 (Of 5) $2.50
JUN010411 DETECTIVE COMICS #761 $2.50
JUN010404 FLASH OUR WORLDS AT WAR #1 $2.95
JUN010423 HARLEY QUINN #11 $2.25
JUN010491 HUNTER THE AGE OF MAGIC #2 $2.50
JUN010448 IMPULSE #77 $2.50
JUN010425 NIGHTWING #60 $2.25
JUN010466 SCOOBY-DOO #51 $1.99
JUN010475 STAR TREK DIVIDED WE FALL #4 (Of 4) $2.95
MAR010453 TOM STRONG #14 $2.95
JUN010498 TRANSMETROPOLITAN #48 (MR) $2.50

IMAGE

MAR011263 HELLSPAWN #10 $2.50
JUN011294 KIN VOL 1 DESCENT OF MAN TP $17.95
JUN011337 LAST SHOT #1 $2.95
MAR011267 SPAWN THE DARK AGES #27 $2.50
MAY011387 TOMB RAIDER #15 $2.50

MARVEL

JUN011614 BLACK PANTHER #35 $2.50
MAY011643 CABLE #95 $2.25
JUN011586 CYCLOPS #1 $2.50
MAY011634 DAREDEVIL #21 $2.99
JUN011615 DEFENDERS #8 $2.25
JUN011616 IRON MAN #45 $2.25
MAY011642 NEW X-MEN 2001 ANNUAL $3.50
JUN011605 PUNISHER #3 $2.99
JUN011599 SPIDER-GIRL #37 $2.25
JUN011587 X-TREME X-MEN #4 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

MAY011953 ARCHIES WEIRD MYSTERIES #16 $1.99
JUN012175F BATTLE POPE SHORTS #2 (MR) $2.95
MAY011957 BETTY & VERONICA #165 $1.99
MAY011958 BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #123 $2.19
MAY012266 CYBERFROG AMPHIBIONIX 2001 $2.99
APR012177 DAN & LARRY GN (MR) $9.95
APR012057 DEADBEATS #48 $2.50
MAR011787 DREADSTAR TP VOL 4 SECRET OF Z $16.95
JUN012205F HAMMER OF THE GODS #4 (Of 5) $2.95
MAY012068 INSANE CLOWN POSSE PENDULUM #10 $5.99
MAY012331 JINGLE BELLE THE MIGHTY ELVES ONE SHOT $2.95
MAY011961 JUGHEADS DOUBLE DIGEST #79 $3.29
MAY012050 LADY DEATH MEDIEVAL WITCHBLADE #1 SUPER PREM ED $20.00
JUN012049F LODOSS WAR DEEDLITS TALE #1 $2.95
APR012078 MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO #25 $2.95
DEC002011 MEASLES #8 $2.95
MAY012209 MURDER ME DEAD #7 (Of 8) (MR) $2.95
JUN012058 MYSTIC #15 $2.95
MAY012124 PRINCESS PRINCE #10 $2.95
MAY012063 PURGATORI THE HUNTED #2 $2.99
MAY011965 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #100 $1.99
APR012081 TIME TRAVELER AI #21 (MR) $2.95
MAY012263 VAMPI TAINTED LOVE COMIC SIZED LTD ASHCAN $5.95
APR012224 VAMPIRELLA #1 NOWHERESVILLE ANACLETO CVR $2.95
APR012225 VAMPIRELLA #1 NOWHERESVILLE JAE LEE CVR $2.95

MAGAZINES

JUN012357 ANIMERICA EXTRA VOL 4 #9 $4.95
JUN012403J COMIC SHOP NEWS #738 PI
JUN012361 PULP VOL 5 #9 (MR) $5.95

RELATED MERCHANDISE

JUN012154F GHOST WORLD SCREENPLAY (RES) (MR) $16.95
MAY012404 JOHN BUSCEMA SKETCHBOOK HC $27.95

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.