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:

GRENDEL: RED, WHITE, & BLACK #1 (Dark Horse)
For years, the original Grendel (Hunter Rose) was known as the character that Matt Wagner would not let anyone draw. That all changed a couple of years ago with Wagner's GRENDEL: BLACK, WHITE, & RED mini-series, which exploded onto the scene with Wagner writing for a virtual who's who of comics. Now lightning is about to strike twice, as Wagner returns once more with more stories drawn by some of the best artists in comics, all done in black and white with touches of red. If that's not enough, Wagner's Hunter Rose stories are always intriguing, with his amazingly intelligent protagonist shaping the world around him. If you've never read GRENDEL before, this is a great introduction; just be forewarned that once you start reading GRENDEL, you may never stop.

FISHER PICKS:

CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 / ULTIMATE ADVENTURES #1 (Marvel)
So here it comes, the oh-so-exciting U Decide showdown from Marvel. The first two books out of the gate are the relaunched CAPTAIN MARVEL and the new Ultimate book, a sidekick story conceived by Joe Quesada and Ron Zimmerman that freely pastiches the Batman mythos. Putting the hype to one side for a minute, though, there is genuine reason to look forward to these titles. CAPTAIN MARVEL has been a really fun read for a while now, and Chris Cross's art is wonderful. If Peter David can jettison the continuity soup he tends to wallow in, it could really go somewhere. ADVENTURES, meanwhile, sees Duncan Fegredo on regular art duties for a monthly book in the first time for God-knows-how-long. Since Fegredo is one of the best damn artists working in comics today, this is a must-have book for me. The third U Decide book is MARVILLE, but Marvel appears to have chickened out of putting it out in the same week as...

SMALLVILLE: THE COMIC (DC)
Hey, here's an idea! Got a hit TV show based on a comic book character? Why not publish a comic that ties in directly? Smart, huh? So why is DC publishing a one-shot, and not a series? It's one of the great marketing mysteries of our age. Maybe DC doesn't actually want to make money. After all, it's just a research and development unit for Warner Brothers, right? It's meant to be a loss-leader.

SPX 2002 ANTHOLOGY (SPX) / ROSETTA COMICS ANTHOLOGY GN (Alternative Comics)
You lucky people! There are two great indie anthology extravaganzas in stores this week. ROSETTA brings together David Choe's visit to the Gaza Strip, Nick Bertozzi's meditations on Hokusai, Ivan Brunetti's reflections on Eric Satie, and contributions from James Kochalka, Tom Hart, Megan Kelso, Renee French, Dave Cooper and, yes, many more. The SPX anthology - always a highlight of the year - is usually a bit of a strange mix, but this year the stories are unified by a theme, which should hopefully improve the book's shelf life. The theme is biography, so we get Joel Priddy's take on William Blake, Paul Hornschemeier's take on Francis of Assisi, Joyce Brabner and Josh Neufeld's take on Typhoid Mary, and, yes, much much more, including works by Matt Kindt, Laurenn McCubbin and David Lasky. Go on. You know you want to.

CROMARTY PICKS:

ONE PLUS ONE #1 (Oni Press)
This is one to watch - two creators making their debut with a book whose premise alone makes you scratch your head, wondering how this is all going to pan out. There's a guy called David, who has a unique gift - he can see the fate in store for people going off the rails. And there's a guy called Leonard, who looks at you and knows how you will look after you're dead. David's job is to make sure the bad guys stay off their rails, and from what I can tell his encounter with a gambling addict is about to bring them together. All sounds like pretty novel stuff to me, and the slightly cartoony, brushed artwork is lovely.

JOHNNY THE HOMICIDAL MANIAC DIRECTOR'S CUT SC (Slave Labor Graphics)
This book is a few years old by now, but it still makes me laugh like a drain (and then feel guilty for laughing) every time I read it. Johnny is a killer - a homicidal maniac, even - who just can't seem to kill enough people to feed the walls of his house. Yes, that's right - the walls made him do it, officer. JTHM starts off funny and carries on going, but before it can become a one-note gag, Jhonen Vasquez veers off into what is probably the most irreverent philosophy on life, death, heaven and hell you'll ever read. There's a reason everyone still talks about this book, and you should find out for yourself this week.

Comics shipping in the US on September 18th:

DARK HORSE
JUL020021 AMERICAN SPLENDOR: UNSUNG HERO #2 (Of 3) $3.99
JUL020051 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #72: BEASTS (PART 7 OF 7) (MR) $2.99
JUL020049 CANNON EXAXXION STAGE TWO (PART 1 OF 5) #9 (MR) (NOTE PRICE) $3.99
JUL020024 FORT: PROPHET OF THE UNEXPLAINED #4 (Of 4) $2.99
JUL020017 GRENDEL: RED WHITE & BLACK #1 (Of 4) (MR) $4.99

DC COMICS

JUN020474 AMERICAN CENTURY #18 (MR) $2.75
JUL020217 AUTOMATIC KAFKA #3 (MR) $2.95
JUL020165 BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #33 $2.75
JUL020171 BIRDS OF PREY #47 $2.50
JUL020219 BLACK SUN #1 (RES) (MR) $2.95
JUL020222 ESTABLISHMENT #13 $2.50
JUL020199 JLA/HAVEN: ANATHEMA $5.95
JUL020200 JSA #40 $2.50
JUL020248 MIDNIGHT, MASS #6 (Of 8) (MR) $2.50
JUL020215 POWERPUFF GIRLS #30 $2.25
JUN020466 PROMETHEA #22 $2.95
JUL020178 ROBIN #106 $2.25
JUL020185 SMALLVILLE: THE COMIC $3.95
JUL020183 SUPERGIRL #74 $2.50
JUL020186 SUPERMAN IN THE FIFTIES TP $19.95
JUL020181 SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #130 $2.25
JUL020254 Y: THE LAST MAN #3 (MR) $2.95

IMAGE

MAY021161 ALONE IN THE DARK ONE SHOT SPECIAL $4.95
JUL021141 BATTLE OF THE PLANETS #3 $2.99
JUL021156 GI JOE #10 $2.95
JUN021386 GI JOE BATTLE FILES #3 (Of 3) $5.95
JUN021407 POWERS VOL 3: LITTLE DEATHS TP (MR) $19.95
JUL021206 SUPERPATRIOT: AMERICA'S FIGHTING FORCE #3 (Of 4) $2.95
JUL021207 TOMB RAIDER #24 $2.99
JUL021215 TOP COW CLASSICS MAGDALENA #1 $2.99

MARVEL

MAY021471 CAGE #5 (MR) $2.99
JUL021474 CAPTAIN MARVEL #1 $2.25
JUL021507 DAREDEVIL #37 $2.99
JUL021508 ELEKTRA #14 $2.99
JUL021464 HOOD #5 (Of 6) (MR) $2.99
JUL021517 INCREDIBLE HULK #45 $2.25
JUN021773 MARVEL VISIONARIES: JIM STERANKO TP $12.99
JUL021462 SHANG CHI, MASTER OF KUNG FU #1 (Of 4) (MR) $2.99
JUL021495 SOLDIER X #3 $2.25
JUL021486 SPIDER-MAN: PETER PARKER #48 $2.25
JUL021473 ULTIMATE ADVENTURES #1 $2.25
JUL021479 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #27 $2.25
JUL021490 UNCANNY X-MEN #413 $2.25

OTHER PUBLISHERS

JUL022351E ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO PART 1 #5 (Of 5) $2.95
JUL021801E ARCHIE AND FRIENDS #62 $1.99
JUL021804E ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #137 $3.29
JUL021996E ARKANIUM #1 $2.95
JUL022318E BATTLE ANGEL ALITA: LAST ORDER PART 1 #1 $2.95
JUL021805E BETTY #117 $1.99
JUL021970F BLOODY SCHOOL VOL 1 #2 (MR) $2.95
JUL022353E DRAGONBALL PART 5 #4 (Of 7) $2.95
JUL021916F ELVIRA #113 $2.50
JUL021920F EXPO 2002 ANTHOLOGY $9.95
JUL022169F FRANKENSTEIN GN NEW PTG $11.95
JUL021940E FRONTIER LINE VOL 1 TP $15.95
JUL021871E FUTURAMA O RAMA VOL 1 TP $12.95
JUL022117F HAIRBALL CAL MCDONALD MYSTERY #1 (MR) $2.99
JUL022334E INU YASHA PART 7 #2 (Of 8) $2.95
JUL022119F INVASION 55 GN $12.99
JUL021975F KNIGHT GUNNER VOL 1 #2 (MR) $2.95
JUL022359E MEDABOTS VOL 2 TP: LET'S READY TO ROBATTLE TP $9.95
JUL021976F MINOS VOL 1 #2 (MR) $2.95
JUL021769E MY MONKEY'S NAME IS JENNIFER #4 $2.95
JUL021954E NEGATION #10 $2.95
JUL021772F ODDJOB VOL 1 TP $19.95
JUL022198E ONE PLUS ONE #1 (Of 5) (MR) $2.95
JUL022340E RANMA 1/2 PART 11 #7 (Of 11) $2.95
JUL021761F ROSETTA COMICS ANTHOLOGY GN (MR) $19.95
JUL021957E SIGIL #28 $2.95
JUL021961E SIGIL VOL 3 TP LIZARD GOD $15.95
JUL021870E SIMPSONS COMICS #74 $2.50
JUL021980F SLASHER VOL 1 #2 (MR) $2.95
MAY021981 SNAPDRAGONS #1 $2.99
JUL021962E SOJOURN #15 $2.95
JUL022175F THIRD DEGREE #4 (Of 4) $2.95
JUN022354I VAMPIRELLA #12 LTD CVR ED $9.95
JUN022355I VAMPIRELLA #12 LTD MODEL PHOTO ED $9.95
JUN022353 VAMPIRELLA #12 REG ED $2.99
JUL021981F ZERO TAKER VOL 1 #2 (MR) $2.95
MAR021984 ZOOM'S ACADEMY FOR THE SUPER GIFTED #3 $3.50

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.