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:

WHAT'S MICHAEL? FAT CAT IN THE CITY TP (Dark Horse)
What's Michael, you ask? The cat that stars in one of the funniest comics to ever come out of Japan, that's what! WHAT'S MICHAEL? manages to continually surprise and delight readers with its off-beat stories involving feeding times, the dog next door, yakuza enforcers with cat phobias, rogue veterinarians on the run from the law... you know, the sort of things that happen to all cats. Makoto Kobayashi's imagination is limitless in WHAT'S MICHAEL?, able to draw such bizarre things as synchronised swimming cats and the menace of Catzilla with equal ease. This latest collection is bound to put smiles on the biggest sourpusses out there without even breaking a sweat. [Plymouth]

ALSO THIS WEEK:

PREACHER: DEAD OR ALIVE: THE COLLECTED COVERS SC (DC Vertigo)
And it's about time - DC have waited over two years to publish a softcover version of this book, a source of frustration to those of us who wanted it but couldn't afford the high price tag. But, I can tell you that it's good - in one of my rare excursions outside the 9A lighthouse I read a friend's copy of the hardcover, and I was surprised by how candid both Fabry and Ennis are in their commentary. Their notes may not be as informative as, say, Gaiman and McKean's in the SANDMAN covers collection, but they're much funnier, and what else would you expect from the people who brought you some of the most hilarious comic covers of the last ten years? [Cromarty]

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.

I HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS GUY TP (TwoMorrows)
Not only did I miss this book the first time it came out, but I missed it last week too - time to rectify that. I HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS GUY (No, I don't know why the title's listed as 'I'VE GOTTA...' on the shipping lists either) is a collection of interviews with the 'other halves' of some very famous comic creators, from Alan Moore to Dave Sim, and more in between. Yes, it all sounds a bit tabloid, but who among us can say we've never wondered what it would be like to share a bed with Stan Lee? ... Just me, then? Ah. [Cromarty]

JOHNNY NEMO TP (Cyberosia)
Stiffed on the SKREEMER trade paperback, Cyberosia has opted instead for another classic Peter Milligan/Brett Ewins collaboration, and that's great news for those of us who missed out the first time around when the series was published in much-missed UK anthology mag DEADLINE. JOHNNY NEMO may not provide the lyricism and moral complexities of SKREEMER, but it does offer a "peroxide designer god of violence" as its lead character, cutting a bloody swathe through future-set New London. The collection also offers a new Nemo story, plus exploding nuns. [Fisher]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR FEBRUARY 19th:

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

DARK HORSE

DEC020029 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL: FALL FROST (PART 4 OF 6) #76 $2.99
DEC020032 LONE WOLF 2100 #8 $2.99
NOV020037 WHAT'S MICHAEL?: FAT CAT IN THE CITY TP $8.95

DC COMICS

NOV020778 AUTOMATIC KAFKA #7 (MR) $2.95
DEC020729 BATGIRL #37 $2.50
SEP020259 BATMAN BY JIM LEE POSTER $7.95
DEC020726 BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #38 $2.75
DEC020736 BIRDS OF PREY #52 $2.50
SEP020263 BIRDS PREY POSTER $7.95
DEC020760 FOREVER MAELSTROM #4 (Of 6) $2.95
SEP020267 JLA: SECRET ORIGINS BY ALEX ROSS POSTER $7.95
DEC020773 JSA: THE UNHOLY THREE #1 (Of 2) $6.95
DEC020820 LUCIFER #35 (MR) $2.50
DEC020744 NIGHTWING: THE HUNT FOR ORACLE TP $14.95
DEC020776 POWER COMPANY #13 $2.75
DEC020783 POWERPUFF GIRLS #35 $2.25
DEC020821 PREACHER: DEAD OR ALIVE: THE COLLECTED COVERS SC $19.95
DEC020745 ROBIN #111 $2.25
DEC020795 SLEEPER #2 $2.95
SEP020264 SUPERMAN #233 POSTER $7.95
DEC020753 SUPERMAN: METROPOLIS #1 (Of 12) $2.95
DEC020800 THUNDERCATS: THE RETURN #1 (Of 5) $2.95
OCT020810 TOM STRONG #19 $2.95
DEC020802 WILDCATS: BATTERY PARK TP $17.95
DEC020828 Y: THE LAST MAN #8 (MR) $2.95

IMAGE

JAN031319 BATTLE OF THE PLANETS #4 (O/A) $2.99
DEC021811 LOVEBUNNY AND MR HELL: A DAY IN THE LOVE LIFE $2.95
NOV021766 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE BOOTH CVR #3 $2.95
NOV021765 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE SANTALUCIA CVR #3 $2.95
SEP021207 SAVAGE DRAGON #105 $2.95
DEC021846 TOMB RAIDER: JOURNEYS #10 (Of 12) $2.99

MARVEL

DEC022126 EXILES VOL 3: OUT OF TIME TP $17.99
DEC022069 NEW X-MEN #137 $2.25
DEC022088 PUNISHER #22 $2.99
DEC022091 SHANG-CHI, MASTER OF KUNG FU #6 (Of 6) (MR) $2.99
DEC022075 SOLDIER X #8 $2.25
DEC022099 THOR #60 $2.25
DEC022094 THUNDERBOLTS #76 $2.25
DEC022095 TRUTH: RED WHITE BLACK #4 (Of 6) $3.50
DEC022066 ULTIMATE WAR #4 (Of 4) $2.25
NOV022024 ULTIMATE X-MEN #28 $2.25
DEC022115 ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 4: HELLFIRE & BRIMSTONE TP $12.99
DEC022068 UNCANNY X-MEN #419 $2.25
DEC022071 WOLVERINE #186 $2.25
DEC022070 X-TREME X-MEN #21 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

DEC022972 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO PART 2 #5 (Of 5) $2.95
DEC022950 CREATURE TECH GN NEW PTG (Note Price) $17.95
DEC022565 CROSSOVERS #2 $2.95
DEC022569 CRUX #23 $2.95
OCT022512 DORK TOWER #22 $2.99
JAN032072 FORGE #12 $7.95
OCT025236 FREEMIND #4 (PU#553) $3.50
DEC022621 LA BLUE GIRL MANGA ED BOOK 2 EVIL NINJA MASTERS (A) $16.95
OCT025239 METALLIX #3 (PU#553) $3.50
DEC023004 MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 0079 VOL 9 TP $9.95
DEC022421 NIGHTMARES AND FAIRY TALES #1 (O/A) $2.95
DEC022697 NO MORE SHAVES TP $18.95
DEC022850 QUEEN & COUNTRY #14 (MR) $2.95
DEC022576 ROUTE 666 #9 $2.95
DEC022580 SCION #33 $2.95
DEC023007 SILENT MOBIUS PART 12: HELL #3 (Of 5) $2.95
DEC022851 THREE DAYS IN EUROPE #3 (Of 5) (MR) $2.95
NOV022321 VAMPI #25 DLX ED $9.95
NOV022320 VAMPI #25 REG ED $2.99
NOV022532 WEASEL CURR PRTG #2 (O/A) (MR) $4.95

The 9A Lighthouse Crew are Trafalgar, Shannon, Fastnet, Plymouth, Viking, German Bight, Finisterre, Forties, Dogger, Cromarty and Fisher.

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