Hey kids, comic picks! The Shipping Forecast is Ninth Art's weekly pick of the best and most noteworthy books on their way to the stores, as chosen by the piscatorial pundits at the Ninth Art lighthouse.

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The shipping list is taken from the Diamond website and is subject to change. Check in with Diamond for the latest updates.

PLYMOUTH PICKS:

THIEVES & KINGS TP VOL 4: SHADOW BOOK (I Box Publishing)
There are only a handful of really, really good fantasy comics out there; THIEVES & KINGS is definitely one of them. It's hard to explain much more than the basic premise, involving a young thief who pledged his service to the king's daughter, an ageless magician whose plots are so complex not even he understands them, and a mysterious woman known as the Shadow Lady. Trust me when I say that this is one of the most intricately plotted books out there - so it reads much better as a collection than as individual issues. Mark Oakley's epic is proceeding quite nicely, and his beautiful grey-toned art lives up to his imaginative vision of dream gardens and mysterious dragons. You'll want to take a look at this book.

GIRL GENIUS #5 (Studio Foglio)
Phil and Kaja Foglio are two very funny individuals. Phil's WHAT'S NEW WITH PHIL AND DIXIE?, a comic about gaming that non-gamers found just as hysterical, put him on the map. BUCK GODOT was an utter riot, and Foglio's adaptation of Robert Aspirin's MYTH ADVENTURES is sometimes called even better than the original. That may be why GIRL GENIUS threw readers for a loop. It is, for the most part, very serious. In a steampunk world where inventors are akin to royalty, Agatha Clay finds herself in over her head as her own talents come to the foreground. Though it may represent a new level of seriousness for the Foglios, I like it, and since it went to being coloured right off of Phil's pencils with #4, it looks sharper than ever. The sold-out first issue is available online at studiofoglio .com.

FISHER PICKS:

UNCANNY X-MEN #400 (Marvel Comics)
To date, there's not been much to recommend about Joe Casey's X-MEN. However, #399 at least showed some promise, which is more than could be said for the whole "Poptopia" storyline, and #399 was helped by some of the best art we've seen from the frequently excellent Tom Raney in a while. Still, the whole Church of Humanity idea leaves me a little cold, and we get more of that this issue. So why am I recommending this? Because it's the artist jam issue. That could mean the whole thing hangs together like a tramp's patchwork trousers, of course, but with talents like Eddie Campbell, Ashley Wood and Sean Phillips on board, it's got to be worth a look. Eddie Campbell drawing the X-Men? Oh my, yes.

AUTHORITY #27 (DC Wildstorm)
At last, DC has decided to trust us with the next issue of THE AUTHORITY. The company's website describes this issue as "eagerly anticipated", which is certainly a quaint euphemism. Still, at least they've kept the excuses for the delay interesting and varied, from "Quitely's off to do X-MEN with Grant Morrison" to "Armageddon has come upon us, these are the end times". For those of you without the memories of elephants, this is part two of Mark Millar's four-part 'farewell' to the series, which, barring the planned Garth Ennis special, may as well be the final farewell for a book that DC seems determined to bury. A great comic, but it's been horribly mishandled. With any luck it'll now at least be allowed to die gracefully.

ALIAS #4 (Marvel Max)
When Marvel launched the Max line it all looked a bit dismal. Three titles, all with disappointing first issues. By most accounts, US WAR MACHINE has remained a disappointment from beginning to end, but FURY and ALIAS both turned around with issue two, making those dire debuts all the more baffling. Perhaps the creators were trying so hard to be edgy, they forgot to tell stories. Anyway, it's all better now, as ALIAS, the story of a retired superhero turned private eye, is proving to be Bendis at his best. It's formulaic, but it's also thoroughly engrossing. If you gave up based on the first issue, this is well worth a second look.

DOGGER PICKS:

DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN #1 (DC Comics)
One of the things that most shaped the way I look at comics was Alan Moore's introduction to THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. He makes the point that superhero comics, often referenced as modern myth and legend, are prevented from achieving the power of their epic predecessors by their open-ended nature, suggesting (accurately) that what give the legends of Arthur or Robin Hood their power is their ending. He went on to praise THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS for doing exactly that for Batman - bringing his story to a close, and giving him a solid claim to the title of modern myth. So I confess to a little disappointment that this is happening. I'm sure it'll sell a shitload. I know I'm planning to buy the collected edition, when it arrives, and I have enough faith in Frank Miller to know the power of his own earlier work, and find a way to keep it intact through this. But still, the cynic in me asks: do we really need or want this?

WILL EISNER'S THE NAME OF THE GAME HC (DC Comics)
Will Eisner is often called the father of the Graphic Novel, and here he returns with an all new offering. One hundred and sixty pages of Eisner's remarkable talent, telling a story of a wealthy Jewish family's arrival in New York, and their subsequent integration into American society. Even if the story itself doesn't grab you, Eisner is still one of the most remarkable illustrators working in comics, and you really ought to think about forking out for this, just to watch his talent at work on the page. However, you might want to wait for the softcover to do that...

GERMAN BIGHT PICKS:

METROPOL COLL ED VOL 4 TP (Sorhenn Grafiks)
In which the battle between Good and Evil is reduced to a turf war, with Good being represented by a bedraggled group of angels who are nothing like the usual angel publicity would lead you to expect. Which we always suspected might be the case. Lately Ted McKeever seems to have gone of the boil a bit, at least for me, but Metropol is a slice of classic strangeness in a post-apocalyptic industrial environment. This is one of those books you'll want to keep and re-read. Thanks be to whoever that this is getting a reprint, and in a very nice format, too.

ABE VOL 1: WRONG FOR RIGHT REASONS (Top Shelf)
Top Shelf, a U.S. publisher, has taken upon itself to perform the noble task of reprinting the complete ABE comics of Glenn Dakin, a British cartoonist. It's a little saddening to think that no one in the U.K. had the ability and inclination to do this, but more power to Top Shelf for galloping in where other publishers are too stupid to tread. For those who read Eddie Campbell's HOW TO BE AN ARTIST, Glenn Dakin's name should ring a bell. One of Campbell's friends and contemporaries during that time in the 80s when Brit comics began to bloom, Dakin has kept going with newspaper strips and many other cartoons (it's worth finding a copy of the collected TEMPTATION, which Penguin UK bought out around 10 years ago). ABE is an autobiographical strip going way back, displaying Dakin's usual spot-on wit and endearing way with ink.

ELECTRIC GIRL #8 (Mighty Gremlin)
Clean, simple lines, black and white, little shading, lovely scripting. Electric Girl is a breath of fresh air, a little slice of pure fun comics. There's a girl called Virginia. She has the power to create electricity; not a lot, just some. Is this going to give her the ability to fight crime? No, it just causes her to break machines and give her friends and family electric shocks. And as if that wasn't inconvenience enough, she also has to cope with Oogleeoog, a gremlin invisible to everyone but Virginia, and Blammo, her capricious dog. Every issue of ELECTRIC GIRL contains three small but perfectly formed stories, but no tangled and alienating continuity. If you don't buy this, I'll post sardines through your letterbox, okay?

Comics shipping in the US on December 5th:

DARK HORSE

SEP010021 ANCIENT JOE #2 (Of 3) $3.50
SEP010040 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #62 STIGMATA (MR) $2.99
MAY010023 F5 ORIGIN $2.99
SEP010024 JOSS WHEDONS FRAY #5 (Of 8) $2.99
AUG010067 OH MY GODDESS PART XI #3 MYSTERY CHILD PART 1 (Of 8) $2.99
JUL010025 OUTLAW 7 #2 (Of 4) $2.99
SEP010055 SUPER MANGA BLAST #18 (MR) $5.99
APR010036 TENTH RESURRECTED CVR B #3 $2.99

DC COMICS

OCT010627 100 BULLETS #31 (MR) $2.50
AUG010245 AUTHORITY #27 $2.50
OCT010555 BATGIRL #23 $2.50
OCT010550 BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #150 $2.25
OCT010630 CRUSADES #10 (MR) $2.50
OCT010589 DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN #1 (Of 3) $7.95
OCT010568 DOOM PATROL #3 $2.50
OCT010609 LOONEY TUNES #85 $1.99
OCT010636 LUCIFER #21 (MR) $2.50
SEP010568 MORE SECRET ORIGINS 80 PAGE GIANT REPLICA ED (STAR10122) $4.95
OCT010617 MR MAJESTIC TP $14.95
OCT010578 SPECTRE #12 $2.50
OCT010567 SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #64 $1.99
SEP010232 WILL EISNERS THE NAME OF THE GAME HC $29.95
OCT010582 YOUNG JUSTICE #40 $2.50

IMAGE

OCT011556 CREEPS #2 $2.95
JUN011339 MR RIGHT #1 $2.95
OCT011573 RADIX #1 (Of 6) $2.95
SEP011110 RED STAR SPECIAL ED $2.95
AUG011134 SAVAGE DRAGON #91 $2.95
OCT011504 TOMB RAIDER 2001 POSTER PI
OCT011497 UNIVERSE #4 $2.50

MARVEL

OCT011844 ALIAS #4 (MR) $2.99
OCT011881 AVENGERS CELESTIAL QUEST #4 (Of 8) $2.50
OCT011852 EXILES #7 $2.25
OCT011869 GIANT SIZE MINI MARVELS STARRING SPIDEY #1 $3.50
OCT011876 MARVEL KNIGHTS MILLENNIAL VISIONS $3.99
OCT011870 SPIDER-GIRL #41 $2.25
OCT011883 THOR #44 $2.25
SEP011480 THOR GODSTORM #3 (Of 3) $3.50
SEP011457 ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM UP #10 $2.25
OCT011871 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #16 $2.25
SEP011442 ULTIMATE X-MEN #12 $2.25
SEP011430 UNCANNY X-MEN #400 (Note Price) $3.50

OTHER PUBLISHERS

SEP012217F ABE VOL 1 WRONG FOR RIGHT REASONS $14.95
AUG012108 ADVS OF BARRY WEEN 3 MONKEY TALES #5 (Of 6) (MR) $2.95
SEP011768 ARCHIE #517 $1.99
SEP011769J ARCHIES WEIRD MYSTERIES #18 (Net) PI
OCT012493 BATTLE POPE CHRISTMAS POPETACULAR #1 (MR) $4.95
SEP012218F CICADA GN $12.95
OCT012492 DALE KEOWN PITT SKETCHBOOK $5.95
AUG011894 DARK ANGEL #30 $2.95 MAR011980 DARKCHYLDE REDEMPTION #2 $2.95
SEP011952 DORK SHADOWS COLL DORK TOWER TP VOL 2 CURR PRTG $15.95
AUG012076 ELECTRIC GIRL #8 $2.95
OCT012383 FIRST #14 $2.95
OCT012359 GENERIC COMIC #5 $1.95
AUG012162 GIRL GENIUS #5 (Note Price) $3.95
SEP011775 JUGHEAD WITH ARCHIE DIGEST #171 $2.19
OCT012529 LIBERTY MEADOWS #24 $2.95
AUG011898 LODOSS WAR CHRONICLES HEROIC KNIGHT #14 $2.95
SEP012244 MAGICAL JOURNEY POKEMON PART 6 #1 (Of 4) $4.95
SEP012188F METROPOL COLL ED VOL 4 TP (Of 5) $11.95
OCT012384 MYSTIC #19 $2.95
SEP011778 PALS N GALS DOUBLE DIGEST #63 $3.29
SEP012242 POKEMON ADVS PART 5 #5 (Of 5) $4.95
AUG012192 SPACE COWBOY #1 (Of 3) (RES) $4.95
SEP012066F THIEVES & KINGS TP VOL 4 SHADOW BOOK $16.50
SEP011780 VERONICA #121 $1.99

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

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.