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.

PLYMOUTH PICKS:

SUICIDE SQUAD #7 (DC Comics)
In a perfect world, the fishing crew wouldn't have to point out books like this. The fact that it's bleeding sales left and right, however, says otherwise. Maybe it's because Keith Giffen's SUICIDE SQUAD exposes superhero books for the generally silly things they are, with a wry sense of humour that really doesn't take most of its characters too seriously. Maybe it's the strange contrast of Paco Medina's cartoony art and the often violent subject material. Maybe no one's realised that Giffen's managed to get into the heads of his main cast in six issues better than most superhero books do in several years. Or maybe no one even knew it was being published. Let's start reeling this catch in, before it swims away forever.

VAGABOND VOL 1 TP (Viz)
Creating a biography of Miyamoto Musashi (author of A BOOK OF FIVE RINGS and one of the greatest swordsmen to ever life) is no small feat. Takehiko Inoue, with the help of Eiji Yoshikawa's novel MUSASHI, certainly can't be accused of setting his sights low. VAGABOND story is instantly gripping, and Inoue's art is one of the few that can really illustrate what a real fight looks like. The body language, the movements of the participants, and the way that Inoue makes it all seem so easy is a minor revelation. If you've checked out LONE WOLF AND CUB following German Bight's write-up last week, and you find yourself thinking, "Where can I find more like this?", well, look no further.

VIKING PICKS:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #39 (Marvel)
Straczynski has such a handle on Spidey, it's like he was born to tell his tale. Under JMS' mature and experienced scripting hand, Spider-Man is fun, light-hearted, frequently funny, yet chock full of great character moments. It really is the perfect Spider-Man. If you've ever liked a wacky nerd-turned-superhero-via-stupid-origin story, then you owe it to yourself to start picking up Straczynski's Spider-Man. And the John Romita Jr art doesn't hurt, either. This is the last of Marvel's 'Nuff Said' comics, ostensibly delayed because of the September 11 tribute issue, although it still shouldn't be this late.

SWAMP THING: EARTH TO EARTH TPB (DC Vertigo)
I know I recommended this last week, but it's still just as brilliant this week. My reasons for recommending this so relentlessly are selfish, really. The more people buy it, the more chance there is of DC reprinting other old Vertigo stuff, and therefore I get to read it.

GERMAN BIGHT PICKS:

MY MONKEY'S NAME IS JENNIFER #1 (Slave Labor)
Well, this is just wacked. Really. I'm not even going to mention the whole "gratuitous monkey" phenomenon either. Well, not much. The monkey here is not gratuitous; there's a proper narrative reason for the chimpanzee. The main protagonist and narrator of this book is indeed a pet chimpanzee named Jennifer in spite of his gender, wearing dresses against his will. He's an angry, angry ape. Then somebody kidnaps the little girl who owns him to harvest her brain energy. Jennifer gets angrier and goes to her rescue. The preview blurb also promises transvestite ninjas. From what I've seen so far, MY MONKEY'S NAME IS JENNIFER is weird and funny in ways I really like. Check out the onlie preview at SlaveLabor.com.

SANDMAN PRESENTS THE THESSALIAD #3 (DC Vertigo)
It would be a lot easier to be cynical about Vertigo's continuing attachment to the SANDMAN mythos if the Sandman spin-offs were overwhelmingly crap. Trouble is, Vertigo seems to be taking care to use them to showcase good writing and artistic talent. THE THESSALIAD is a case in point. A slow burning mystery featuring the hard-nosed and pragmatic witch Thessaly, featuring Shawn Mc Manus's latest, more streamlined art style and Bill Willingham's intelligent scripting, this miniseries is a short and sweet treat. Standout scenes and sharp characterisation mean that I'll be thinking fondly of this for a long time to come, not to mention getting my hopes up for Willingham's forthcoming FABLES series. This will take ages to come out as a collection, so buy it now, before you forget how good you've been told it is.

FISHER PICKS:

BLADE #1 (Marvel Max)
It's been a bloody awful few weeks for new series. Lots of reliable old books have been on top form lately - especially the ABC line - but it feels like I haven't been excited about anything new in ages. And unfortunately, that even includes BLADE #1. I thought the first movie was a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to the sequel, but the last time Marvel published a comic about its half-vamp vampire hunter (to tie in with the first movie) it was an absolute travesty. Still, the Max line has had more hits than misses so far, so I'll give this new series by Steve Pugh and novelist Chrisopher Hinz one chance to win me over. I'd still rather read a Hannibal King comic, though.

X-FORCE #125 (Marvel)
It's a brand new storyline, so if you've not checked out X-FORCE before, for heaven's sake do so now. X-FORCE is without doubt one of the best comics on the shelves, with sparkling pop-literate writing by Peter Milligan and wonderful, vibrant art from the Allreds. Unless buying a Marvel superhero book is actually going to kill you, you really should give this book a go. Books like X-FORCE are the reason why I read comics.

Comics shipping in the US on March 13th:

DARK HORSE

DEC010044 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #65 SKIN (2 OF 2) (MR) $2.99
JAN020040 OH MY GODDESS PART XI #8 MYSTERY CHILD (PART 6 OF 8) $3.50

DC COMICS

JAN020581 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #602 $2.25
JAN020568 AZRAEL AGENT OF THE BAT #88 $2.50
JAN020585 DEADMAN #4 $2.50
JAN020620 FARSCAPE WAR TORN #2 (Of 2) (RES) $4.95
JAN020592 FLASH BLOOD WILL RUN TP $17.95
JAN020594 GREEN LANTERN #148 $2.25
JAN020575 HARLEY QUINN #18 $2.25
JAN020637 HUNTER THE AGE OF MAGIC #9 (MR) $2.50
JAN020596 IMPULSE #84 $2.50
JAN020601 JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES #5 $1.99
JAN020623 KINDRED #3 (Of 4) $2.50
JAN020576 NIGHTWING #67 $2.25
JAN020626 ROBO DOJO #2 $2.95
JAN020643 SANDMAN PRESENTS THE THESSALIAD #3 (Of 4) (MR) $2.50
JAN020617 SCOOBY-DOO #58 $1.99
JAN020605 SUICIDE SQUAD #7 $2.50
JAN020645 SWAMP THING VOLUME 5 EARTH TO EARTH TP (MR) $17.95
JAN020647 TRANSMETROPOLITAN #54 (MR) $2.50

IMAGE

JAN021544 BLACK TIDE #3 $2.95
JAN021553 FUSED LEE CVR #1 $2.95
JAN021554 FUSED WOODS CVR #1 $2.95
DEC011510 LAST SHOT #4 $2.95
DEC011515 OBERGEIST THE EMPTY LOCKET $2.95
NOV011523 SAVAGE DRAGON VOL 1 BAPTISM OF FIRE TP NEW PRTG $14.95
JAN021571 TOMB RAIDER #20 $2.50
JAN021573 UNIVERSE #6 $2.50
JAN021592 WITCHBLADE #54 $2.50

MARVEL

NOV011831 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #39 $2.25
OCT011902 AVENGERS CELESTIAL MADONNA TP (C: 2) $19.95
JAN021902 AVENGERS CELESTIAL QUEST #7 (Of 8) $2.50
JAN021906 BLACK PANTHER #42 $2.50
JAN021858 BLADE #1 (MR) $2.99
JAN021877 CABLE #103 $2.25
JAN021878 DEADPOOL FUNERAL FOR A FREAK #4 $2.25
JAN021904 FANTASTIC FOUR #53 $2.25
JAN021907 IRON MAN #52 $2.25
DEC011856 MARVEL MASTERWORKS X-MEN VOL 1 HC (C: 2) $49.95
JAN021873 MUTANT X #1 (RES) $3.50
OCT011863 ORIGIN #5 $3.50
OCT011900 PETER PARKER SPIDER-MAN ONE SMALL BREAK TP (C: 2) $16.95
JAN021893 PUNISHER #10 $2.99
JAN021909 TASKMASTER #2 (Of 4) $2.99
DEC011815 X-FORCE #125 $2.25
JAN021879 X-XTREME X-MEN #11 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

JAN022131 JUST A PILGRIM GARDEN OF EDEN #1 (Of 4) $2.99
DEC012517 ALISON DARE & THE HEART OF THE MAIDEN #2 (Of 2) $2.95
DEC012135 ARCHIE DIGEST #188 $2.19
OCT012164 AVAILABLE LIGHT HC $24.95
JAN022704 BASTARD #4 NINJA (2 OF 3) (MR) $3.95
DEC012139 BETTY & VERONICA SPECTACULAR #53 $1.99
DEC012324 DFE FATHOM GOLD FOIL CVR #13 $10.00
JAN022295 LADY DEATH JADE #1 $2.99
JAN022499F LIBERTY MEADOWS #25 $2.95
JAN022175 MY MONKEYS NAME IS JENNIFER #1 $2.95
JAN022347 NEGATION #4 $2.95
DEC012145 SABRINA VOL 2 #30 $1.99
JAN022351 SCION VOL 2 TP $19.95
OCT012656 SEVENTH SEA #3 ABSOLUTION (Of 4) $2.95
OCT012657 SEVENTH SEA #3 ABSOLUTION BAGGED W CCG ED (Of 4) $2.95
JAN022349 SIGIL #22 $2.95
JAN022350 SOJOURN #9 $2.95
JAN022535F THIRD DEGREE #1 $2.95
JAN022179 TRUTH SERUM #2 $2.95
JAN022713 VAGABOND PART 1 #5 (MR) $4.95
JAN022715 VAGABOND VOL 1 TP $12.95
DEC012118I VAMPI #16 DLX ED $9.95
DEC012117 VAMPI #16 REG ED $2.99

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.