Welcome to The Forecast. Every Monday, Ninth Art's hand-picked team of crack comic pundits offer a rundown of some of the best, worst and most noteworthy books on the shelves of your local comic shop.

IN MEMORIAM: SETH FISHER

It seems particularly devastating to hear news of the death of an artist just as they were about to hit the big time. When the enormously gifted Edvin Biukovic died shortly after wowing the comics world with his superb storytelling on HUMAN TARGET, there was no doubt that readers had been robbed of a major talent.

Now the majestically mental Seth Fisher can be added to the list of extraordinary creators lost well before their time. His death at just 33 was first announced last week by friend and colleague JH Williams, and later confirmed by his family, who reported that he'd died following a fall from a nightclub roof in his hometown of Nagoya, Japan.

Fisher's most recent comics work was IRON MAN/FANTASTIC FOUR: BIG IN JAPAN, a manic monster-ridden blast through the Marvel universe with writer Zeb Wells. However, Fisher has left behind a bounty of rich madness, from the wacky college hi-jinks of HAPPYDALE through the travelogue comic VERTIGO POP: TOKYO to his work on the fringes of the DCU on titles such as DOOM PATROL and LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT.

Joe Quesada has already announced that he's planning on releasing BIG IN JAPAN as an oversized hardcover, to truly show off Fisher's art at its best, while DC has already provided a spectacular showcase for his work with GREEN LANTERN: WILLWORLD, which provided many readers with their first introduction to his talents.

The worst part of losing a creative talent so young is that we'll never know what they might have done next. Though Fisher's style was hugely idiosyncratic, he was able to find a place at both Marvel and DC for his unique vision - a weird combination of Euro-SF and Japanese abstraction and narrative tics, tied together with an obsessive attention to detail to rival Geof Darrow.

It's no surprise that Fisher was hired to design video games and CD covers, but it's clear that he had a particular and overwhelming passion for sequential art. Seth Fisher was a true original, and though it's a tragedy that he died so young, we can be grateful for the extraordinary work he left behind.

THE BIG HOUSE

Anyone who's been following the release schedule for the SHOWCASE PRESENTS series will by now have realised that there is simply no way of second-guessing which title will receive the treatment next. The first volumes in DC's answer to Marvel's ESSENTIAL line featured Superman and Green Lantern, but since then we've seen big name characters like Green Arrow and the Justice League mixed in with distinctly third-tier properties such as Jonah Hex. To perfectly illustrate the point: SHOWCASE PRESENTS METAMORPHO was the third volume in the series. SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATMAN has yet to be announced.

Sometimes this produces unexpected but welcome volumes like this week's. SHOWCASE PRESENTS HOUSE OF MYSTERY is a collection of short horror stories from writers such as Len Wein and Gerry Conway. Where it really hits the mark, though, is in the art line-up - Neal Adams, Gil Kane and Alex Toth - not to forget horror legend Bernie Wrightson.

It's a great example of how a programme of this kind can be used to its greatest effect - there's no chance of seeing this material in any other format any time before the eventual heat death of the universe, so the cheap, thick format of the SHOWCASE PRESENTS line suits it down to the ground. In addition, the nature of the horror genre means that less of the atmosphere of the stories will be lost to black and white reproductions.

DC have announced that one of their next SHOWCASE PRESENTS volumes is to be of the weird war stories of HAUNTED TANK. If they keep producing these left-field choices in among their bigger names, then DC may be able to exploit a niche that the ESSENTIALS series rarely caters to. In the meantime, this book promises some ghoulishly great treats at a bargain bin price. [Alistair Kennedy]

FROM GOTHAM

I have a depressingly small collection of Eddie Campbell comics. I have some back issues of TRIDENT that feature BACCHUS, a copy of SNAKES AND LADDERS, and the obligatory FROM HELL, but that's it. No ALEC. No Egomania. And aside from a well-thumbed copy of BIZARRO COMICS, none of his mainstream work, either. It's something I keep meaning to rectify, but rarely get the chance to.

This week throws up a brand-new opportunity to sample Campbell's writing, though not his art, with the super-sized 200th issue of LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT. Co-written by Daren White, LOTDK #200 finds Batman engaged in a mad dash to save the Joker, and in turn, the whole of Gotham City. Standing between the Clown Prince of Crime and a timely death: a young doctor who probably wishes she'd taken that job at Holby City instead.

This isn't Eddie Campbell's first Batman story, of course. 2004 saw Campbell bring Batman to Blighty for the WWII tale 'Order of the Beasts'. It'll be interesting to see how the two stories match up - especially given the contrast in styles between Campbell and LOTDK artist Bart Sears, who's more famous for meaty super-soldiers than stirring autobiography.

Sears is due to take on the cult DC fantasy character WARLORD this month, as written by HULK's Bruce Jones. It may be that in reading this week's new Batman story, Sears and Campbell will gain a wider audience for their other work. [Matthew Craig]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR FEBRUARY 8th 2006:

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

DARK HORSE

DEC050026D BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #110 (MR) $2.99
OCT050049 SUPER MANGA BLAST #59 (MR) $5.99

DC COMICS

DEC050329D 100 BULLETS #69 (MR) $2.75
DEC050227D BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #200 (NOTE PRICE) $4.99
DEC050286D BATMAN STRIKES #18 $2.25
DEC050319D CAPTAIN ATOM ARMAGEDDON #5 (OF 9) $2.99
NOV050301D CIPHER VOL 2 $9.99
DEC050302D DEVIL DOES EXIST VOL 5 $9.99
DEC050330D DMZ #4 (MR) $2.99
DEC050331D FABLES #46 (MR) $2.75
DEC050303D FROM EROICA WITH LOVE VOL 6 $9.99
DEC050257D GREEN ARROW #59 $2.50
DEC050260D HAWKMAN #49 $2.50
DEC050263D JLA #125 $2.50
DEC050270D JONAH HEX #4 $2.99
DEC050327D KID ETERNITY TP (MR) $14.99
AUG040344D LAND OF THE BLINDFOLDED VOL 1 $9.95
DEC050321D MAJESTIC #14 $2.99
DEC050306D MUSASHI #9 VOL 6 $9.99
DEC050235D ROBIN #147 $2.50
DEC050292D SCOOBY DOO #105 $2.25
DEC050261D SHOWCASE PRESENTS HOUSE OF MYSTERY VOL 1 TP $16.99
DEC050280D TEEN TITANS OUTSIDERS DEATH AND RETURN OF DONNA TROY TP $14.99
OCT058228 TENJHO TENGE VOL 1 $9.99
DEC050305D TENJHO TENGE VOL 6 $9.99
DEC050307D TESTAROTHO VOL 3 (MR) $9.99
DEC050325D WILDCATS NEMESIS #6 (OF 9) $2.99
DEC050283D WONDER WOMAN LAND OF THE DEAD TP $12.99

IMAGE

DEC051765D BONE REST #8 (MR) $2.99
DEC051760D DAWN VOL 2 RETURN OF GODDESS NEW ED TP $13.99
OCT051716 GIANT KILLER TP $14.99
AUG051685D INVINCIBLE #28 $2.99
AUG051642D SPAWN COLLECTION VOL 1 LTD ED HC $59.95

MARVEL

DEC051981D ARES #2 (OF 5) $2.99
NOV051949D BLACK WIDOW 2 #5 (OF 6) $2.99
DEC052039D CABLE DEADPOOL #25 $2.99
DEC052084D ESSENTIAL PETER PARKER THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN VOL 2 TP $16.99
DEC052002D FRANKLIN RICHARDS SON OF A GENIUS EVERYBODY LOVES FRANKLIN $2.99
DEC051986D GHOST RIDER #6 (OF 6) $2.99
DEC052072D HOUSE OF M FANTASTIC FOUR IRON MAN TP $13.99
DEC052077D HOUSE OF M UNCANNY X-MEN TP $13.99
DEC052003D I HEART MARVEL WEB OF ROMANCE $2.99
DEC052007D INCREDIBLE HULK #92 $2.99
DEC052009D MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #9 $2.50
DEC051988D MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #27 $2.99
DEC052018D MARVEL LEGACY THE 1960S HANDBOOK $4.99
DEC052015D MARVEL SELECT FLIP MAGAZINE #9 $3.99
DEC052013D MARVEL TALES FLIP MAGAZINE #8 $3.99
DEC052020D MARVEL ZOMBIES #3 (OF 5) $2.99
NOV058145D MARVEL ZOMBIES 2ND PTG VAR #1 (OF 5) $2.99
DEC052027D NEW THUNDERBOLTS #18 $2.99
DEC052060D POWERS VOL 9 PSYCHOTIC TP (MR) $19.95
DEC051987D PUNISHER BLOODY VALENTINE $3.99
DEC051976D SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #23 $2.99
DEC052044D SON OF M #3 (OF 6) $2.99
DEC052085D SQUADRON SUPREME #1 POSTER $6.99
DEC051971D ULTIMATE EXTINCTION #2 (OF 5) $2.99
DEC051975D ULTIMATE X-MEN #67 $2.50
DEC052049D X-MEN #182 $2.50
DEC052052D X-MEN THE 198 #2 (OF 5) $2.99
DEC052048D X-MEN UNLIMITED #13 $2.99
DEC052036D YOUNG AVENGERS #10 (RES) $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

OCT052976 ACTION PHILOSOPHERS WORLD DOMINATION HANDBOOK $2.95
OCT053194 ADVENT RISING ROCK THE PLANET #3 $2.25
AUG053270E ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO VOL 7 TP $8.95
DEC052993 ANGRY YOUTH COMIX #10 (MR) $4.95
NOV052756E ARCHIE DIGEST #223 $2.39
NOV052759E BETTY & VERONICA #215 $2.25
AUG053244J EXALTED #1 POWER FOIL CVR ED PI
NOV052762E JUGHEAD #171 $2.25
SEP053206F OWLY VOL 1 THE WAY HOME TP $10.00
NOV052890E PURGATORI (DDP) #4 (MR) $2.95
NOV052768E SONIC X #5 $2.25
NOV052938F TALES DESIGNED TO THRIZZLE #2 (MR) $4.50
OCT052947 UNRULY A COMIX & LITERARY JOURNAL #1 $4.99

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.