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:

BLUE MONDAY: DEAD MAN'S PARTY (Oni Press)
Another one of BLUE MONDAY's holiday special issues comes galloping prettily up to us. (How long until the announcement of BLUE CHRISTMAS, I wonder?) This time the poptastic fun occurs in honour of Halloween, which the gang celebrates in the grand tradition of American teenagers by throwing a party and telling stories to terrify each other. So what's the betting that they do scare the heebie-jeebies out of each other and start getting spooked out by something odd out there? Adding a touch of the surreal to the proceedings, this issue sees the reappearance of the Jesus Heads which haunt out heroine, Bleu. Think Jiminy Cricket gone horribly wrong. All in all, this comic should provide good old fashioned fun to read on an autumn night when the rain's pouring down around the lighthouse.

ELECTRIC GIRL #10 (AiT/PlanetLar)
Now that ELECTRIC GIRL's been brought into the imprint of a publisher known for graphic novels, this will be the last single issue of ELECTRIC GIRL - after this, Mike Brennan's creation will continue in a regular book format. Which means more ELECTRIC GIRL. Which makes me happy. It's a perfect one-off purchase that will nevertheless get you hooked without the aid of ongoing storylines, relying instead on Brennan's sheer talent as a storyteller and artist. In this story, Virginia, the eponymous heroine, encounters a witch at Halloween. To those who've never encountered ELECTRIC GIRL, this may sound like a cue for sub-par superheroics, but Brennan's genius is making everything in Virginia's life seem like something bizarre that just happens to an ordinary girl. Including the electrical powers and the invisible gremlin.

FASTNET PICKS:

POWERS VOL 3: LITTLE DEATHS (Image)
Image's collection of Brian Bendis' only current creator-owned title continues, with a story full of sex, sex and - well - sex, as our heroes investigate the mysterious death of a superhero who's had his share of encounters with groupies. To be honest, this isn't the series' finest hour; Bendis's plotting isn't at its strongest. However, the sharpness of his character work and his inimitable dialogue is, as ever, streets ahead of virtually anyone else, and Michael Oeming's artwork is incredibly strong. For my money, the real selling point of this collection is the inclusion of the standalone story RIDE ALONG, where something really horrible happens to Warren Ellis.

LUCIFER #31 (DC Vertigo)
It's anyone's guess which is the strongest Vertigo title these days, but Mike Carey's diabolical tale - probably the closest to 'traditional' gothy Vertigo fare - is as strong as ever. Even at the 30+ issues point, it still holds up favourably to comparisons with other long-form series as a consistently enjoyable read - I honestly can't think of any boring bits. It's also unusual this far into a long series to have no idea where the main storyline is going, but the stories being told here are so compelling that, for me, it doesn't really matter.

VIKING PICKS:

DAREDEVIL #38 (Marvel Knights)
It's a little-known fact that our old fisherman's bones have unusual powers. More commonly used to predict the waxing and waning of the tides, I have decided to betray the ancient fisherman's code and use them to see what will be in this issue of Daredevil. Ommmm.. Ommmm... Ah. My bones tell me that this issue of Daredevil will contain a lot of conversation, a little angst on the part of Matt Murdock, almost no real plot progress, and perhaps the occasional shot of him in costume. And you'll still enjoy it immensely.

CAPTAIN MARVEL #2 (Marvel)
U-Decide was a load of old crap, and it went over the line for a lot of people in terms of just how blatant a marketing gimmick can be, but I don't care, because I love CAPTAIN MARVEL, the book that it was all engineered to boost. Yes, reading Peter David's INCREDIBLE HULK run was almost vital if you wanted to understand a lot of stuff in David's first crack at this title, but it looks like the relaunch will be less continuity heavy. David is crafting a really charming, readable comedy soap opera with Rick Jones and his supporting cast (because, based on past experience, we'll take some persuading before we believe that Cap is actually the star of this book), and Chris Cross' art is phenomenal. You're all scurvy landlubbers if you miss out.

THE FILTH #5 (DC Vertigo)
I don't care that you think it's too cerebral, and Morrison is firmly up his own arse. Just get it for the covers, for Christ's sake. The covers are the most spectacular looking things on the shelves right now, and I challenge you to find better this year - nay, this decade. And yeah, I hear there's some fantastic writing by Morrison and art by Chris Weston inside, but I never get to it, because I can't get beyond the pristine perfection of the covers.

Comics shipping in the US on October 16th:

DARK HORSE

AUG020030 BTVS: TALES OF THE SLAYERS: BROKEN BOTTLE OF DJINN $3.50
AUG020031 BTVS: TALES OF THE SLAYERS: BROKEN BOTTLE OF DJINN PHOTO CVR $3.50
AUG020032 CANNON EXAXXION STAGE 2 (PART 2 OF 5) #10 (MR) (NOTE PRICE) $3.50
JUN020034 LONE WOLF 2100 #4 (Of 4) $2.99

DC COMICS

AUG020262 AUTHORITY: TRANSFER OF POWER TP $17.95
AUG020264 AUTOMATIC KAFKA #4 (MR) $2.95
AUG020205 BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #34 $2.75
AUG020265 BLACK SUN #2 (MR) $2.95
AUG020266 DANGER GIRL: THE ULTIMATE COLL TP $19.95
AUG020290 FILTH #5 (Of 13) (MR) $2.95
AUG020244 JSA #41 $2.50
AUG020293 LUCIFER #31 (MR) $2.50
AUG020294 MIDNIGHT, MASS #7 (Of 8) (MR) $2.50
AUG020248 POWER COMPANY #9 $2.75
AUG020259 POWERPUFF GIRLS #31 $2.25
AUG020221 ROBIN #107 $2.25
AUG020224 SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #131 $2.25
AUG020256 YOUNG JUSTICE #50 (Note Price) $3.95

IMAGE

AUG021195 GI JOE: FRONTLINE #1 $2.95
MAR021358 INFERNO: HELLBOUND #3 (RES) $2.50
AUG021208 MICRONAUTS #3 $2.95
JUN021407 POWERS VOL 3: LITTLE DEATHS TP (MR) $19.95
JUN021410 RISING STARS VOL 3: VISITATIONS TP $8.99
APR021438 SAVAGE DRAGON #100 CURR PRTG $8.95
AUG021227 WITCHBLADE #1/2 $2.99
AUG021228 WITCHBLADE BOTP CVR #55 PI
AUG021229 WITCHBLADE BOTP CVR SGN #55 PI

MARVEL

AUG021537 CAPTAIN MARVEL #2 $2.25
AUG021525 DAREDEVIL #38 $2.99
AUG021539 INCREDIBLE HULK #46 $2.25
AUG021497 NEW X-MEN #133 $2.25
SEP021522 ORIGIN TP $14.99
AUG021494 SHANG-CHI: MASTER OF KUNG FU #2 (Of 4) (MR) $2.99
JUN021708 SPIDER-MAN/BLACK CAT: THE EVIL THAT MEN DO #3 (Of 4) $2.99
JUL021539 SPIDER-MAN TANGLED WEB VOL 3 TP $15.99
AUG021545 THOR #55 $2.25
AUG021513 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #29 $2.25
AUG021502 ULTIMATE X-MEN #23 $2.25

OTHER PUBLISHERS

AUG022374 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO PART 2 #1 (Of 5) $2.95
AUG021840 ARCHIE AND FRIENDS #63 $1.99
AUG022377 BATTLE ANGEL ALITA: LAST ORDER PART 1 #2 $2.95
AUG021843 BETTY #118 $1.99
AUG021848 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #110 $3.29
AUG022380 BIG O VOL 1 TP $15.95
AUG022271 BLUE MONDAY: DEAD MAN'S PARTY (MR) $2.95
AUG022247 BONEYARD #8 $2.95
AUG022382 CHICAGO VOL 1 GN $15.95
JUL021767E COMIC BOOK HEAVEN VOL 2 #7 (Note Price) $2.25
AUG022075 DFE GI JOE FRONTLINE ALT CVR #1 $6.99
AUG022077 DFE GI JOE FRONTLINE ALT CVR SGN #1 $19.99
AUG022076 DFE GI JOE FRONTLINE GOLD FOIL CVR #1 $10.00
AUG022406 DRAGONBALL PART 5 #5 (Of 7) $2.95
AUG021789 ELECTRIC GIRL #10 $2.95
JUL021997E FATE OF THE BLADE #2 (MR) $2.95
AUG022364 GROWING UP ENCHANTED #2 $2.95
AUG022385 GUNDAM THE ORIGIN #3 $7.95
AUG021850 HOLIDAY FUN DIGEST #7 $2.19
AUG022388 INU YASHA PART 7 #3 (Of 8) $2.95
AUG022018 LA BLUE GIRL MANGA ED BOOK 1: DESTINY (A) $16.95
AUG021804 LIKEWISE #1 (MR) $4.95
AUG021939 NEGATION #11 $2.95
MAY021769 PRIVATE BEACH #6 $2.95
JUL022203E SHOT CALLERZ #4 (Of 4) (MR) $2.95
AUG021949 SIGIL #29 $2.95
AUG021915 SIMPSONS COMICS #75 $2.50
AUG021950 SOJOURN #16 $2.95
AUG022299 SPLATTER COMIX #1 (MR) $2.95
JUL021995E TRANSFORMERS: ARMADA #3 $2.95
AUG022405 VAGABOND #12 (MR) $4.95
JUL022316F VEROTIK WORLD #1 FAN CLUB CVR (MR) $5.00

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.