Welcome to The Forecast. Every Monday, Ninth Art's core team of comment writers, the Ninth Eight, will be your guides to the best, worst, weirdest and most noteworthy books on the shelves of your local comic shop.

BOOK OF THE WEEK: THE SURROGATES

As computers become more powerful, and as the internet becomes faster, our interactions in xyberspace will become increasingly sophisticated. For example, we've gone from BBS to MMPORG in less time than it took for television to go from black and white to colour. The relative anonymity of the internet affords the user the freedom, for good or ill, to project the persona of his/her choice... at least while online.

But what if the fantasy was no longer confined to the virtual world? What if you could finally be whoever you wanted to be?

This week sees the publication of THE SURROGATES, a science fiction miniseries from Top Shelf Comix. Written by Robert Venditti, with art by Brett Weldele (JULIUS, COUSCOUS EXPRESS), SHE SURROGATES explores a world in which The Sims walk the streets and sometimes have sex in alleyways - a world in which artificial avatars go out into the world on our behalf, wearing the faces and bodies that we want the world to see, while our minds control them from the comfort of our own home (or possibly toilet).

Naturally, in a society where almost nobody is what they seem, there are some who would like nothing more than to see every "person of telepresence" wiped off the face of the Earth. The Surrogates centres on a clash between these two factions, as seen through the eyes of two police detectives.

THE SURROGATES is Robert Venditti's first big comics work, but you can't accuse him of rushing it. Judging by this interview, much of the attraction of THE SURROGATES will be wrapped up in Venditti's world-building abilities. As with alternate-world tales such as WATCHMEN and THE NEW STATESMEN, this series will include a number of mocked-up scientific articles, fake adverts and the like in the back of every issue. This demonstrates a near-Stanislavskian commitment to the irony of making a world of the artificial seem real.

THE SURROGATES is Brett Weldele's most mainstream work to date, and it's in full colour. The preview pages have a sweet soft-neon look to them, reminiscent of high-end animé and Scott Morse. Weldele's characters have a down-to-earth charm that should serve the story well.

THE SURROGATES looks to be a fine piece of social fiction in the making, examining the risks inherent in turning fantasy into a substitute for life. But beyond that, the story takes place in a world where the girl sitting next to you on the train might actually be a thirty-stone man, a spy for a hostile nation, or Joan Rivers. When you no longer have to trust your eyes, risk cruel taunts, or even see yourself in the mirror, then what kind of world might we build? One great party, or one great paranoid nightmare? [Matthew Craig]

NEW ALBION

If I were to revive the now-defunct characters that got me reading comics as a kid, the line would consist of Death's Head, Dragon's Claws and sundry Marvel UK characters last seen in the pages of OVERKILL. It's a good job, then, that I'm not doing that, as it would be an awful idea. Alan Moore, however, is a much safer pair of hands, and his revival of old IPC characters such as the Spider, the Steel Claw, Robot Archie and Captain Hurricane should be an interesting proposition, to say the least.

Unfortunately, the prospects of a continuing series of projects featuring the IPC characters has been thrown rather into doubt by the recent falling out between Alan Moore and DC. In the meantime, though, we have ALBION (DC WildStorm), the first new mini-series to feature these characters. Co-plotted by Moore Sr, his daughter Leah Moore and her WILD GIRL writing partner John Reppion, and written by Reppion and Ms Moore, with art by the pleasingly Mignola-esque Shane Oakley, it gathers these characters together for the first time in years.

There's the potential in this series for a UK comics version of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and anyone who enjoyed Moore and Reppion's WILD GIRL would be well advised to seek this out. If you didn't find WILD GIRL to be quite your cup of tea, however, Titan Books are doing hardback reprints of some of the classic IPC material, beginning with the Spider.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to pitch my COMBAT COLIN revival. [Alistair Kennedy]

DRUMS ALONG THE RUBICON

It's hard to believe that Warren Ellis and John Cassaday launched PLANETARY all the way back in 1999, that it was intended to be a two year ride welcoming in the new millennium, a commentary on 100 years of serial adventure fiction. But now it's 2005 and we're only 22 issues in. Other series have blossomed and died like weak genetic strains in the interim. But alas it has been nearly six years to get barely two years worth of material. It was always intended as a slow series on a five-week schedule, but then illness struck and CAPTAIN AMERICA got in the way and now it's those pesky X-MEN interfering. At this point, you'd be forgiven for discounting the series completely.

However, it's still as vibrant and energetic as it ever was. The structure and plot force this vibrancy through its tight 22-page stories. For those who are trying hard to remember what has actually happened - Elijah Snow is awoken from a memory-free limbo to rejoin his team of mystery archaeologists. Alongside Jakita Wagner and The Drummer, they dig up the mad and beautiful moments of the WildStorm Universe thought lost forever. However, Snow has discovered that a lot of the universe's behind-the-scenes machinations are the work of the dangerous Four - and Snow is determined to stop them.

In this issue, The Drummer is getting a little dubious about Snow's actions and sets out to find out what he's up to - thereby giving Ellis an excuse to show us the character's 'secret origin'. It's testament to Ellis' trust in his characterisation that he's been able to wait this long before telling us where The Drummer came from. Largely, Ellis characters don't spend a lot of time filling in their past because it's not relevant to the story. But as PLANETARY has always been about digging up the past, it had to happen eventually.

After a few overly-long issues (The 'Mystery In Space' arc criminally overstayed its welcome) and some misguided side-plots distracting from the main thrust, I'm hoping that Ellis may get back to what made PLANETARY special.

It's always been an even 50/50 split on who really makes PLANETARY great, and it's interesting to use the lengthy publication schedule to see how both Ellis and Cassaday have evolved. Ellis's writing has become more decompressed and techno-centric; Cassaday has evolved into a solid action artist.

I always think I'll never regain the excitement I felt at the birth of the series, especially with the long waits, but it still brings a smile to my face every time I see it on the rack. Ignore the delay, enjoy the read. [John Fellows]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR JUNE 29th 2005:

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

DARK HORSE

APR050019D BILLY THE KIDS OLD TIME ODDITIES #3 (OF 4) $2.99
OCT040040V MEGATOKYO VOL 3 TP $9.95

DC COMICS

APR050388D ALBION #1 (OF 6) $2.99
APR050390D AUTHORITY LOBO SPRING BREAK MASSACRE (MR) $4.99
APR050307D BATGIRL #65 $2.50
APR050308D BATMAN ALLIES SECRET FILES 2005 $4.99
APR050327D BATMAN SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN TRINITY TP $17.99
APR050365D CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #10 $2.25
APR050394D CITY OF TOMORROW #3 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99
APR050383D COMPLETE INDIGO PRIME TP (MR) $19.99
APR050371D ELFQUEST THE GRAND QUEST VOL 9 TP $9.99
APR050335D FLASH #223 $2.50
APR050407D HELLBLAZER #209 (MR) $2.75
APR050340D JLA CLASSIFIED #9 $2.99
APR050403D LOSERS #25 (MR) $2.99
APR050408D LUCIFER VOL 8 THE WOLF BENEATH THE TREE TP (MR) $14.99
MAR058203 OMAC PROJECT #2 SECOND PTG $2.50
APR050349D OMAC PROJECT #3 (OF 6) $2.50
MAR050468 PLANETARY #23 $2.99
APR050351D SEVEN SOLDIERS SHINING KNIGHT #3 (OF 4) $2.99
APR050353D SOLO #5 $4.99
MAR050392 SUPERMAN INFINITE CITY HC $24.99
APR050387D TRANSGENESIS 2025 VOL 1 ANCESTOR PROGRAM TP (MR) $17.99

IMAGE

APR051656D AVIGON GODS & DEMONS GN (MR) $19.95
APR051658D BLACKLIGHT #1 $2.99
APR058297D GIRLS NEW PRTG #1 (MR) (PP #675) $2.95
APR051686D PACT #3 (OF 4) $2.95
APR051661D SMALL GODS SPECIAL #1 $2.95
APR051690D SPAWN #147 (RES) $2.50
MAR051729 WITCHBLADE #86 $2.99

MARVEL

APR051884D AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #521 $2.50
MAR051882 ARANA HEART OF THE SPIDER #5 $2.99
FEB058021D CAPTAIN AMERICA LTD ED VARIANT #6 $2.99
APR051898D FANTASTIC FOUR #528 $2.99
APR058048D HOUSE OF M COIPEL GATEFOLD VARIANT #1 (OF 8) (PP #673) $2.99
APR051881D LAST HERO STANDING #5 (OF 5) $2.99
APR051906D MACHINE TEEN #2 (OF 5) $2.99
APR051920D MARVEL HEROES FLIP MAGAZINE #1 $3.99
APR051961D MARVEL MASTERWORKS CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL 2 HC VAR ED $54.99
APR051960D MARVEL MASTERWORKS CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL 2 NEW ED HC $49.99
APR051910D MARVEL MILESTONES DR DOOM SUB-MARINER & RED SKULL $3.99
APR051924D MARVEL SELECT FLIP MAGAZINE #1 $3.99
APR051928D NEW X-MEN HELLIONS #2 (OF 4) $2.99
APR051900D OFFICIAL HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE FANTASTIC FOUR 2005 $3.99
APR051915D RUNAWAYS #5 $2.99
MAR051888 SPIDER MAN HUMAN TORCH #5 (OF 5) $2.99
APR051933D X-MEN #172 $2.50
APR051871D X-MEN KITTY PRYDE SHADOW & FLAME #1 (OF 5) $2.99
APR051914D YOUNG AVENGERS #5 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

APR052638E ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #162 $3.59
APR052721E BART SIMPSON COMICS #24 $2.99
APR052639E BETTY #148 $2.25
SEP042615F DESIRE VOL 1 GN (MR) $12.95
APR052762F ELVIRA #146 $2.50
APR052799E FORGOTTEN REALMS DARK ELF HOMELAND CVR A #1 (OF 3) $4.95
APR052800E FORGOTTEN REALMS DARK ELF HOMELAND CVR B #1 (OF 3) $8.95
MAY052681E GI JOE AMERICAS ELITE #1 $2.95
MAY052680E GI JOE AMERICAS ELITE SIGNED ED #1 $14.95
APR053084E GRIMOIRE #4 $2.99
SEP048103E HANA KIMI VOL 3 GN (PU #646) $9.95
APR053085E HUNGER #2 (MR) $2.99
APR052644E JUGHEAD #166 $2.25
APR052503F LICENSABLE BEAR #2 $2.95
APR052912E LIFE AND TIMES OF SCROOGE MCDUCK TP $16.99
APR052913E MICKEY MOUSE ADVENTURES VOL 4 TP $7.95
APR053004F NAT TURNER #1 $3.00
MAY053045F SURROGATES #1 (OF 5) $2.95
APR053027F ZORRO #2 $2.95

The Ninth Eight are Matthew Craig, John Fellows, Kieron Gillen, Alistair Kennedy, Zack Smith, Andrew Wheeler, Ben Wooller and Bulent Yusuf.

This article is Ideological Freeware. The author grants permission for its reproduction and redistribution 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.