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.

DOGGER PICKS:

MIDNIGHT MASS #1 (DC Vertigo)
It's been a while since Vertigo put out a new series that screamed "You Must Buy This!" at me - I've always been rather more fond of its roots in horror and the supernatural than some of the books it's been putting out lately. But MIDNIGHT MASS sounds to me like a welcome return to those roots. I admit, I've never read John Rozum's XOMBI, but I've heard good things about it and him, and this energetic-sounding take on (and modernisation of) the Lovecraftian mythos through the eyes of a husband-and-wife team of investigators appeals to me on several levels. Art comes from Jesus Saiz and Jimmy Palmiotti, and judging from the black-and-white previews, this will look as good as it sounds.

GUNWITCH: OUTSKIRTS OF DOOM TP $9.95 (Oni Press)
I bought the first issue of this, loved it, and then, to my embarrassment, neatly forgot about it each time the other issues were in the shops. By the time I realised I'd missed them, I'd missed out. Thank god for the trade, eh? This is the collection of Dan Brereton and Ted Naifeh's work on a supporting character from Brereton's NOCTURNALS series, the marvellously creepy Gunwitch, a silent, gun-toting scarecrow-thing that acts as bodyguard to the young Eve in a town full of feuding vampires. Of course it sounds faintly absurd, but it's also brilliant. Buy it!

FISHER PICKS:

BLACK WIDOW: PALE LITTLE SPIDER #1 (Marvel Max)
Igor Kordey's pencils on NEW X-MEN have been terribly rushed recently as he works to get that book back on schedule and keep it there, but hopefully he's been working on this miniseries at a much steadier pace, so PALE LITTLE SPIDER should give readers a better idea of what he's capable of. A three-issue espionage thriller from Greg Rucka, it focuses on the younger, blonder Black Widow introduced in the two Marvel Knights BLACK WIDOW series, and tells a tale of murder and deceit in the Moscow bondage scene. Given Max's pedigree, you might expect this to mean smut and exploitation, but if any writer can cover such themes intelligently, it's the man behind QUEEN & COUNTRY. Of course, in a fan culture dominated by snobbery, I don't hold out much hope for crossover between readers of the two series.

UNION JACK TP (Marvel)
A three-issue miniseries written by Ben Raab about an obscure British superhero fighting vampires doesn't quite sound like must-have material, does it? But of course, this is some of the early work of the very brilliant John Cassaday, the artist on the forthcoming CAPTAIN AMERICA relaunch, best known for his biennial issues of PLANETARY. Cassaday has a wonderful knack for making people look ruined and broken, so a story about the undead in post-imperial Britain is the perfect place for his pencils. This is also one of Raab's best outings as a writer, so this reissue is certainly worth a little pocket change.

QUEEN & COUNTRY VOL 1 TP (Oni Press)
The most recent issue of this series bore the cover legend 'Best new series 2001 - NinthArt.com'. And it's an endorsement we're proud to repeat. This collection of the first four issues shows how subterfuge and intrigue in the world of espionage exists not just on the global stage, but even between the branches of British intelligence. Rucka's writing is smart and compelling, and Steve Rolston's pencils are striking and expressive. The trade actually hit stores last week, but it's listed again this week. A welcome reminder.

FASTNET PICKS:

MIKE MIGNOLA'S BPRD - HOLLOW EARTH#2 (Dark Horse)
Now this is a real team effort: three writers (Mignola, horror novelist Chris Golden, and Tom Sniegoski) and two artists (Ryan Sook and Curtis Arnold) on one three-part miniseries. Normally, this would be a warning sign - but this is a Mignola project, and a HELLBOY spin-off at that, featuring HELLBOY's former supporting cast. The laconic fish-man Abe Sapien, philosophical homunculus Roger, and Johann Krauss, a man whose head has been replaced by a bubble, have to carry the body of their reluctant pyrokinetic colleague, Liz Sherman, to the centre of the earth to recover her stolen fire. Don't be put off by the dodgy quality of many spin-offs: Mignola's keeping a firm controlling hand here, and this is dark, rich stuff which rises above the apparent corniness of the subject matter. Mignola has his own new series, THE AMAZING SCREW-TOP HEAD, coming out next month, and new HELLBOY in July, but this'll do very nicely in the meantime.

JACK STAFF #8 (Dancing Elephant Press)
This actually came out last week, but it wasn't on the Diamond shipping list, so it slipped below our radars. Since Paul Grist decided to continue his long-running police series KANE (see review here) as original graphic novels, JACK STAFF is now his only series-form comic. And folks, it's a cracker. A 'Britain's Greatest Hero' story which isn't under any circumstances to be confused with Marvel's UNION JACK, this is very quirky and very Paul Grist - distinctive angular black-and-white artwork, characters which seem familiar but aren't what you expected, and dazzlingly innovative storytelling. This is a special self-contained 37-page story about a killer who travels the country leaving a trail of corpses missing body parts - but with no cuts on their bodies. Like this story, Grist is a complete one-off, and deserves to be much more widely-known. If you can't find a copy in your local comic shop, ask them to order you one, or contact Grist directly at Dancing Elephant Press, PO Box 104, Highbridge, TA9 4WD, England. It'll cost you £3.25 if you're in the UK, or $4.50 plus $1.50 postage in the US. It's worth the effort.

PLYMOUTH PICKS:

EAGLE VOL 5 TP (Viz)
This is the final collection of Kaiji Kawaguchi's political thriller EAGLE: THE MAKING OF AN ASIAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT, but it's as good a time as any to yet again make sure people don't forget about this incredible series. If EAGLE had been a television series, it would have jumped up and down on the corpse of THE WEST WING. As a movie, it would've ground THIRTEEN DAYS into the dirt. Since it's a comic, though, no one noticed it. Well, except for the enlightened few, and you know you want to be enlightened. Right? Right? With either the five trade paperbacks or the original twenty-two square-bound issues, you can't go wrong.

STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #49: MOLLY & POO (Abstract Studios)
This fisherman would never normally steer you in the direction of STRANGERS IN PARADISE, the ultimate example of a formerly fine catch that's long since spoiled. However, this one's a little different. When STRANGERS IN PARADISE Volume 2 first began, it contained a series of back-up prose pieces titled "Molly & Poo". For the final issue of STRANGERS IN PARADISE Volume 2, Terry Moore collected all the stories together, added in spot illustrations, and gave it a proper ending... and then let it go out of print and never collected it. MOLLY & POO is a wonderful gothic romantic horror story, with a great element of mystery and suspense. In fact, this fisher thinks it was the tastiest thing about the catch of STRANGERS IN PARADISE Volume 2. So even if you've run screaming from the remnants of a once fine catch, this is certainly worth your while.

Comics shipping in the US on Month Date:

DARK HORSE

DEC010029 MIKE MIGNOLAS BPRD HOLLOW EARTH #2 (Of 3) $2.99
FEB020095 OH MY GODDESS PART XI #9 MYSTERY CHILD (PART 7 OF 8)$2.99
FEB020032 STAR WARS EPISODE II ATTACK O/T CLONES #2 (Of 4) $3.99
FEB020033 STAR WARS EPISODE II ATTACK O/T CLONES PHOTO CV #2 (Of 4) $3.99

DC COMICS

FEB020575 BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #28 $2.50
FEB020583 BIRDS OF PREY #42 $2.50
FEB020625 ESTABLISHMENT #8 $2.50
FEB020626 GEN 13 #76 $2.50
FEB020601 HAVEN THE BROKEN CITY #5 (Of 9) $2.50
FEB020606 JSA #35 $2.50
FEB020643 LUCIFER #25 (MR) $2.50
FEB020644 MIDNIGHT MASS #1 (Of 8) (MR) $2.50
FEB020623 POWERPUFF GIRLS #26 $1.99
FEB020632 PROMETHEA #20 $2.95
FEB020620 SPIRIT ARCHIVES VOL 7 HC $49.95
FEB020592 SUPERGIRL #69 $2.25
FEB020588 SUPERMAN #181 $2.25
FEB020590 SUPERMAN THE MAN OF STEEL #125 $2.25
FEB020618 TITANS #40 $2.50

IMAGE

JAN021542 ARIA A SUMMER SPELL #1 (Of 2) $2.95
FEB021548 GI JOE BATTLE FILES #1 (Of 3) $5.95
FEB021550 KABUKI VOL 6 SCARAB HC $29.95
FEB021555 OBERGEIST DIRECTORS CUT TP $19.95
JAN021561 POWERS #19 (MR) $2.95
DEC011519 RISING STARS #18 (RES) $2.50

MARVEL

FEB021854 BLACK WIDOW PALE LITTLE SPIDER #1 (MR) $2.99
FEB021918 CAPTAIN MARVEL #31 $2.50
FEB021911 CITIZEN V & THE BATTALLION THE EVERLASTING #3 $2.99
FEB021863 DAREDEVIL #32 $2.99
NOV011868 DR STRANGE A SEPARATE REALITY TP $19.95
JAN021923 GI JOE VOL 1 TP $24.95
FEB021919 INCREDIBLE HULK #39 $2.25
FEB021920 MUTANT X DANGEROUS DECISIONS #1 $3.50
FEB021901 NEW X-MEN #125 $2.25
FEB021862 PUNISHER #11 $2.99
FEB021891 SPIDER-MAN PETER PARKER #43 $2.25
FEB021892 STARTLING STORIES THE MEGALOMANIACAL SPIDER-MAN $2.99
JAN021924 UNION JACK TP $11.50

OTHER PUBLISHERS

FEB022220 BETTY & VERONICA #174 $1.99
FEB022222 BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #129 $2.19
FEB022364 CROSSGEN CHRONICLES #7 $3.95
FEB022365 CRUX #13 $2.95
FEB022692 EAGLE VOL 5 TP $22.95
FEB022345F GENERIC COMIC BOOK #7 $1.95
FEB022187 GLOOM COOKIE #12 (MR) $2.95
FEB022722 GUNDAM THE ORIGIN #1 $7.95
FEB022586 GUNWITCH OUTSKIRTS OF DOOM TP $9.95
FEB022225 JUGHEADS DOUBLE DIGEST #85 $3.29
FEB022306 LADY DEATH THE GAUNTLET #2 (Of 4) $2.99
FEB022305I LADY DEATH THE GAUNTLET ALT CVR #2 $7.50
FEB022707 MAGICAL JOURNEY POKEMON PART 7 #2 (Of 4) $4.95
FEB022646F MARMALADE BOY #5 (Of 5) $2.99
FEB022684 MEDABOTS PART 1 #1 (Of 4) $2.75
JAN022429F NIGHTHUNTER #2 (Of 12) $3.75
JAN022564 QUEEN & COUNTRY VOL 1 TP (MR) $11.95
FEB022648F SAINT TAIL #18 $2.99
FEB022366 SCION #23 $2.95
FEB022188 SCREAMING KITTY #3 $2.95
FEB022351 SLAYERS SPECIAL #4 $2.95
FEB022352 SLAYERS SUPER EXPLOSIVE DEMON STORY #6 $2.95
FEB022151 STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #49 MOLLY & POO $2.95
FEB022724 VAGABOND PART 1 #6 (MR) $4.95
DEC012118I VAMPI #16 DLX ED $9.95
DEC012117 VAMPI #16 REG ED $2.99
NOV012134 VAMPI ULTIMATRIX LTD ASHCAN $5.95

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.