Welcome to the Shipping Forecast, Ninth Art's pick of the best and most notable new releases hitting comic stores each week.

COMIC OF THE WEEK:

DAREDEVIL/ELEKTRA: LOVE & WAR HC (Marvel)
This hardcover collects two amazing Frank Miller/Bill Sienkiewicz collaborations that I already own - and I'll happily buy them again, because to own them in such a high quality package as a Marvel hardcover is a must. The stories are the justly classic ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN, which contains some of the most stunning visuals ever committed to the comics page, and the less well known but equally essential DAREDEVIL: LOVE AND WAR graphic novel, which sadly will probably have to be reduced in size to fit it into the hardback. Since Sienkiewicz never finished BIG NUMBERS, and since STRAY TOASTERS is out of print, this is probably the best Sienkiewicz book you'll be able to get your hands on. But even if those books were around, it would be a contender. Artistically, this is a truly inspiring work, and it also represents some of Frank Miller's finest writing. Being a Marvel hardcover, there's only a limited run available, and since the ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN softcover doesn't include LOVE AND WAR, you should probably grab your copy now. [Fisher]

ALSO THIS WEEK:

PRIVATE BEACH #7 (Slave Labor Graphics)
There's so very much to love about David Hahn's PRIVATE BEACH, it's hard to know where to begin. There are the whimsically fun stories that follow their own particular logic, but somehow work perfectly as each story comes to a conclusion. Hahn's careful to make each issue self-contained, too, so it's never too late to jump on board. Then there's Hahn's art, which does a great job of drawing great looking people who at the same time look incredibly real; in many ways, David Hahn is the spiritual heir to Jaime Hernandez. Most importantly, reading an issue of PRIVATE BEACH lets you step into a far more interesting world than the one we live in, with Magic 8-Balls gone horribly wrong, or tender, heart-warming moments getting shattered by attacking killer whales. If you've never read PRIVATE BEACH before, it's time to take a trip there now while you can still get a good place to sit. [Plymouth]

QUEEN & COUNTRY #13 (Oni Press)
OK, so we may have mentioned this book once or twice before. In fact, if you're still not reading it after all the recommendations we've made, either in issues or in trade, then maybe you should mail Ninth Art directly and we can work out what we need to do to persuade you. This issue marks the start of the fourth arc, which leads us into the murky waters of sexual politics and corporate espionage. The story's a doozy and the art, from EMPTY ZONE's Jason Alexander, meets or arguably exceeds the high standard set by the series' previous contributors. For those of you only reading the trades, the third, OPERATION CRYSTAL BALL, is due out later this month. For those of you not reading at all, please start. [Fisher]

BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

Because we can't always give you the most up-to-date shipping information, we'll also give you an occasional look at some of the best books that have recently shipped or are expected to ship in the coming weeks.

WEAPON BROWN GN (Death Ray Graphics)
Hurrah for the puerile bastardising of sacred cows! Jason Yungbluth's self-published DEEP FRIED is sordid, tacky, childish humour of the finest stripe. It's disrespectful, diabolical depravity, and this book collects the WEAPON BROWN story from the first four issues of that series. It tells the story of the kids from Peanuts all grown up and living in a bleak post-apocalyptic wasteland. Charlie Brown is a vengeful cyborg with a loyal, psycho hound called Snoopy. When he gets word that his little red haired girl is in danger, he tracks down the members of his old gang, ending in a fateful reunion at a pumpkin patch turned gateway to hell. Well, you get the idea. [Fisher]

PICKS OF 2002:

In addition to our annual Lighthouse Awards, we've asked each of our Shipping Forecast critics to make their picks of the best of the rest of 2002. We'll publish their responses every week this month, continuing this week with Cromarty and Plymouth.

Cromarty: Ending its run in 2002 was MANTOOTH, by Matt Fraction and Andy Kuhn; possibly the best humour comic since Evan Dorkin's MILK & CHEESE, it offered transvestite gorillas, ninja robots, big explosions, groan-a-minute gags and Adolf Hitler! Bendis and Oeming's POWERS rediscovered its fire in 2002, as Bendis hit us over the head with some out-of-left-field character developments and revived this fisherman's interest. Finally, although Carla Speed McNeil's FINDER was mentioned in the awards, the collection TALISMAN deserves a special nod. A story for anyone who's ever lost themselves in a book, TALISMAN would also be a great introduction to the series for anyone considering diving in.

Plymouth: ONE PLUS ONE was one of the best debuts of 2002, with its unpredictable but clever plot and sharp artwork; Neal Shaffer and Daniel Krall are two creators to keep an eye out for. Jason Little's SHUTTERBUG FOLLIES proved that not only can a web comic make the transition to print, but it can be stunningly gorgeous, absolutely enthralling, and get picked up by a major book publisher to boot! Last but not least, horror comics in English were given a shot in the arm by the continuing spiral madness of UZUMAKI, which has raised the bar on what is scary in sequential art with far-out ideas and moments to bring actual chills to its readers.

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR JANUARY 15th:

Shipping details come courtesy of Diamond. Visit the Diamond website for the latest information, as the list is subject to change.

DARK HORSE

NOV020028 CANNON GOD EXAXXION: STAGE 2 (PART 5 OF 5) #13 (MR) $3.50

DC COMICS

NOV020721 AZRAEL: AGENT OF THE BAT #98 $2.95
NOV020722 BATGIRL #36 $2.50
NOV020718 BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #37 $2.75
NOV020779 BLACK SUN #5 (Of 6) (MR) $2.95
NOV020754 FOREVER MAELSTROM #3 (Of 6) $2.95
NOV020756 GREEN LANTERN #158 $2.25
NOV020802 HUNTER: THE AGE OF MAGIC #19 (MR) $2.75
NOV020760 JLA: THE GOLDEN PERFECT TP $12.95
NOV020803 LUCIFER #34 (MR) $2.50
NOV020790 MEK #3 (Of 3) $2.95
NOV020734 NIGHTWING #77 $2.25
NOV020766 POWER COMPANY #12 $2.75
NOV020775 POWERPUFF GIRLS #34 $2.25
NOV020768 SPECTRE #25 $2.75

IMAGE

OCT021775 BATTLE OF THE PLANETS #6 $2.99
OCT021721 GI JOE FRONTLINE #3 $2.95
JUL011264 HELLSPAWN #14 $2.50
OCT021735 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE MANAPUL CVR #2 $2.95
OCT021734 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE SANTALUCIA CVR #2 $2.95
JUL021199 SAVAGE DRAGON #103 $2.95
FEB021570 SPAWN #121 $2.50

MARVEL

NOV022067 DAREDEVIL/ELEKTRA: LOVE & WAR HC (RES) $29.99
NOV022012 DAREDEVIL: THE MOVIE OFFICIAL COMIC BOOK ADAPTATION $3.50
NOV022062 DAREDEVIL: THE MOVIE TP $12.99
NOV022080 INCREDIBLE HULK MIKE DEODATO JR POSTER $5.95
NOV022053 IRON MAN #64 $2.25
NOV022025 NEW X-MEN #136 $2.25
NOV022037 SOLDIER X #7 $2.25
NOV022046 SPIDER-GIRL #56 $2.25
NOV022043 SPIDER-MAN: TANGLED WEB #22 $2.99
OCT022053 THUNDERBOLTS #75 (Note Price) $3.50
NOV022063 ULTIMATE DAREDEVIL AND ELEKTRA TP $11.99
NOV022040 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #35 $2.25
JUL021518 ULTIMATES #8 (RES) $2.25
NOV022032 WOLVERINE #185 $2.25

OTHER PUBLISHERS

NOV022798 BIG O PART 3 #3 (Of 4) $3.50
SEP022048 FATE OF THE BLADE #4 (MR) $2.95
NOV022465 GEOBREEDERS BOOK 5: BIG TROUBLE AT TOKYO TOWER $15.95
NOV022298 HSU AND CHAN #1 $2.95
NOV022811 INU YASHA PART 7 #6 (Of 8) $2.95
OCT022345 LAUGH DIGEST #181 $2.39
NOV022425 NEGATION #14 $2.95
SEP021792 PRIVATE BEACH #7 $2.95
NOV022813 PROJECT ARMS PART 1 #5 (Of 16) $3.25
NOV022670 QUEEN & COUNTRY #13 (MR) $2.95
NOV022816 RANMA 1/2 VOL 21 TP $15.95
NOV022429 ROUTE 666 #8 $2.95
OCT022348 SABRINA VOL 2 #41 $2.19
NOV022430 SIGIL #32 $2.95
NOV022432 SOJOURN #19 $2.95
SEP021761 STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #55 $2.95
NOV022818 VAGABOND #15 (MR) $4.95

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.