The Shipping Forecast is Ninth Art's pick of the best and most notable new releases hitting comic stores each week, courtesy of the fishing crew at the Ninth Art lighthouse. Shipping details come courtesy of Diamond. Check out the Diamond website for the latest information, as the list is subject to change.

GERMAN BIGHT PICKS:

ALISON DARE & THE HEART OF THE MAIDEN #1 (Oni Press)
Who would have thought that Bunty-meets-Indiana-Jones could actually work well? Ah, but it does, and with a carefree innocence to gladden your reading muscles and a more knowing undercurrent if you want to look that hard. This story actually spans over two comics, and is (oh, joy!) a boarding school mystery set in young Alison's own convent school. There may be sinister nuns. If there aren't, I'll be disappointed. I used to read old SCHOOLGIRL'S FRIEND annuals. I know what the conventions are. Then again, if anyone male and on the other side of the pond can come up with something approaching the atmosphere of those old favourites, it's the J's Bone and Torres.

MIKE MIGNOLAS BPRD: HOLLOW EARTH #1 (Dark Horse)
There's something compulsive about Mike Mignola's HELLBOY. Maybe because it's so infrequently published, maybe because the artwork is so alluringly dark, maybe because there's an underlying plot that's unfolding in an agonisingly, tantalisingly slow way through all of the HELLBOY stories so far. Or maybe it's because there's really nothing else quite like HELLBOY. Until now. BPRD stands for Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, the organisation that Hellboy quit at the end of the last series. Not wishing to let a great collection of characters lie fallow, Mignola has decided to let us know a little more about the odd folk that work for the BPRD, writing a little himself and letting Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegowski have some fun in his toybox. Artwork comes from Ryan Sook, Mignola's former assistant and near-as-dammit to Mignola stylist.

FASTNET PICKS:

TRANSMETROPOLITAN: GOUGE AWAY TP (DC Vertigo)
Collecting issues 31-36 of Warren Ellis's science fiction/political epic, this is TRANSMET at its best. TRANSMET is a novel, and this is how it's meant to be read: in chunks. Just over halfway through its run at this point, the overarching story kicks into high gear, with Spider beginning his investigation into President Gary 'Smiler' Callaghan, and feeling more invulnerable than ever, despite apparent defeats. Ellis writes with inventive obscenity, explosive humour and bitter irony, and the collected format helps you appreciate the often-overlooked delicacy of his characterisation and plotting. Darick Robertson's art reaches a manic peak - and he's accompanied by Lea Hernandez, Kieron Dwyer, Bryan Hitch, Frank Quitely and Eduardo Risso in a series of short sequences that rank both among TRANSMET's funniest and bleakest moments. Not a perfect jumping-on point, so if you haven't read TRANSMET, start at the beginning.

POWERS #17 (Image)
Brian Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming continue their Supergroup story arc, and POWERS regains some of the drive and momentum that it seemed to have lost after the opening Retro Girl story. The hunt for a superhero wanted for murder and her possibly-unstable former team-mate has a built-in tension that works well in this setting, and the sexual tension between Pilgrim and Walker is building to fever pitch. Yet although Bendis' dialogue crackles as much as ever, and Oeming's artwork seems even crisper and cleaner, this book still has a problem - the editing. Bendis' eccentric spelling and grammar is infamous, and the editors ought to ensure it's corrected by the time the comic reaches the stores. Last issue saw an interview scene with speech bubbles apparently coming from the wrong character's mouths. Please, guys, sort these problems out.

VIKING PICKS:

THE ULTIMATES #1 (Marvel)
Good lord! Marvel's sure-fire hit comes out this week - Mark Millar, still winning the hearts and minds of the comic fanbase with his work on THE AUTHORITY and ULTIMATE X-MEN, shows us his take on The Avengers. Millar's writing has gotten better and better over the past year or so, and as he's been teamed up with Bryan Hitch, who soared to the top of the ladder with his work on THE AUTHORITY and JLA: HEAVEN'S LADDER, this one's probably going to be one of the big sellers of 2002. The line-up for the team includes Captain America, Hulk, Ant-Man, Wasp, Iron Man and Thor - but this being the Ultimate universe, expect Millar to take a few liberties with the characters.

BLACK PANTHER: ENEMY OF THE STATE TPB (Marvel)
I've been waiting for the next volume of Black Panther for ages. The first Black Panther trade was an excellent take on a dull, token minority superhero, which turned him into a believable and convincing protagonist - at least in so far as the king of a small but wealthy African nation who dresses up in a black bodystocking and duffs up malcontents can be considered believable. Christopher Priest adds a lot of human interest and politics to his stories, and the visuals are not to be sneezed at either - Joe Jusko, Mike Manley and Jimmy Palmiotti are the artists on hand for this volume.

PLYMOUTH PICKS:

BATMAN #599 (DC)
Sometimes when people are sick, or feeling run down, or just in need of a pat on the back, they turn to "comfort food". Comfort food isn't always particularly delicious, or good for you, but it'll just make you feel really good. That's how I've come to accept the status of Ed Brubaker and Scott McDaniel's BATMAN during this new "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?" crossover. It's not going to be up to its normal standards, but you know, it'll just make you feel good. These guys are incredibly skilled and - along with Greg Rucka over on DETECTIVE - they've made the Batman family of books something to care about again. It's a shame they're being pushed into a crossover, but at least their involvement will still provide some entertainment when the day's done.

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #64: SKIN (Dark Horse)
If you missed last week's forecast, the shipping gods are giving you another chance. In short, Manji is a ronin warrior cursed with immortality until he kills one thousand evil men. Rin, desperate for Manji to avenge her family's deaths, goes through twists and turns along this journey of growth that you need to read to believe. Hiroaki Samura's traditional-warrior-drama meets modern-cyberpunk-story is rough, violent, in your face, and really, really sharp. You really should be reading this book.

Comics shipping in the US on January 30th:

DARK HORSE

NOV010039 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #64 SKIN (1 OF 2) (MR) $2.99
NOV010021 GROO DEATH AND TAXES #2 (Of 4) $2.99
NOV010017 MIKE MIGNOLAS BPRD HOLLOW EARTH #1 (Of 3) $2.99
DEC010045 OH MY GODDESS PART XI #6 MYSTERY CHILD (PART 4 OF 8) $2.99
AUG010047 OUTLAW 7 #3 (Of 4) $2.99
MAY010030 TENTH RESURRECTED DANIEL CVR #4 $2.99
MAY010031 TENTH RESURRECTED ROMANO CVR #4 $2.99

DC COMICS

NOV010576 ACTION COMICS #787 $2.25
NOV010560 BATMAN #599 $2.25
NOV010564 BATMAN NIGHTWING BLOODBORNE $5.95
NOV010605 CARTOON CARTOONS #9 $1.99
NOV010622 CODENAME KNOCKOUT #9 (MR) $2.50
NOV010625 HELLBLAZER #170 (MR) $2.50
NOV010588 JLA #62 $2.25
NOV010595 LEGION #4 $2.50
NOV010612 NINJA BOY #6 $2.95
NOV010614 OUT THERE #8 $2.50
NOV010549 POWER COMPANY MANHUNTER $2.50
NOV010550 POWER COMPANY SAPPHIRE $2.50
NOV010574 SUPERBOY #96 $2.25
NOV010598 TITANS #37 $2.50
NOV010616 TOM STRONGS TERRIFIC TALES #2 $2.95
NOV010634 TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOL 6 GOUGE AWAY TP (MR) $14.95
OCT010581 WONDER WOMAN #177 $2.25

IMAGE

NOV011506 FATHOM #13 (RES) $2.50
NOV011509 FELON #3 $2.95
AUG011128 KABUKI VOL 2 DREAMS HC ED $24.95
OCT011569 POWERS #17 $2.95
APR011396 SAM AND TWITCH #23 $2.50
DEC011534 UNIVERSE #5 $2.50

MARVEL

DEC011790 ALIAS #6 (MR) $2.99
OCT011906 BLACK PANTHER ENEMY OF THE STATE TP $16.95
OCT011860 BROTHERHOOD #8 $2.25
NOV011844 CAPTAIN AMERICA DEAD MAN RUNNING #1 $2.99
NOV011872 CAPTAIN MARVEL #28 $2.50
NOV011845 DOOM EMPEROR RETURNS #3 $2.50
NOV011814 MARVEL MANGAVERSE ETERNAL TWILIGHT #1 (Note Price) $3.50
NOV011825 NIGHTCRAWLER #3 $2.50
NOV011837 PUNISHER #8 $2.99
NOV011862 SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN TP $12.95
NOV011834 SPIDER-MAN TANGLED WEB #10 $2.99
NOV011806 ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM UP #12 $2.25
NOV011803 ULTIMATES #1 $2.25
NOV011827 WOLVERINE #172 $2.25
NOV011829 X-MEN EVOLUTION #3 $2.25

OTHER PUBLISHERS

NOV012470 ALISON DARE & THE HEART OF THE MAIDEN #1 (Of 2) $2.95
NOV012149 ARCHIE #519 $1.99
NOV012151 ARCHIE DIGEST #187 $2.19
NOV012233 BAD KITTY RELOADED #4 (Of 4) $2.99
NOV012234 BAD KITTY RELOADED ALT CVR #4 $7.50
OCT012291 BONE #46 $2.95
NOV012428 COOL DEVICES #3 (A) $2.95
OCT012343 DEADBEATS #51 $2.50
NOV012426 FUTABAKUN CHANGE VOL 7 #6 $2.95
DEC012273 GENERIC COMIC BOOK #6 $1.95
NOV012115 HIGHWAY 13 #5 $2.95
SEP015100 INSANE CLOWN POSSE PENDULUM #12 $5.99
NOV012472 KISSING CHAOS #6 (Of 8) (MR) $2.25
NOV012237 LADY DEATH LAST RITES #4 (Of 4) $2.99
NOV012238 LADY DEATH LAST RITES ALT CVR #4 $7.50
DEC012287 LODOSS WAR CHRONICLES HEROIC KNIGHT #18 $2.95
NOV012545 MAGICAL JOURNEY POKEMON PART 6 GREEN JEALOUSY #3 (Of 4) $4.95
NOV012298 MERIDIAN #20 $2.95
OCT012439 MURDER ME DEAD TP (MR) $19.95
NOV012554 NO NEED FOR TENCHI PART 12 #6 (Of 6) $2.95
NOV012260 OCHLOCRAT #1 $2.95
NOV012471 ODDVILLE TP $10.95
NOV012429 OGENKI CLINIC VOL 8 #6 (A) $2.95
NOV012546 POKEMON ADVS PART 6 AGATHAS ARBOK #2 (Of 4) $4.95
NOV012105 PUBLIC DOMAIN TP $12.95
DEC012571 RAGNAROK #1 (Of 4) $2.95
NOV012299 RUSE #4 $2.95
NOV012555 SILENT MOBIUS VOL 7 TP $16.95
NOV012358 STRAY BULLETS #23 (MR) $3.50
NOV012207 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #12 $2.95
NOV012289 TIME TRAVELER AI BOOK 3 SEXY NINJA GIRL TP $15.95
OCT012453 USAGI YOJIMBO VOL 6 TP NEW PRTG $15.95
NOV012427 VAMPIRE PRINCESS YUI VOL 3 #6 $2.95
NOV012164 VERONICA #123 $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.