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:

FRIENDS OF LULU PRESENTS BROAD APPEAL (Friends Of Lulu)
While they represent an important stepping-stone for newer cartoonists as well as a sounding board for those working on longer pieces, anthologies basically live and die by the quality of their contributors. FRIENDS OF LULU PRESENTS BROAD APPEAL is a themed anthology that features interviews with working female cartoonists along with comics and illustrations from some of the finest cartoonists in the business. With a roster that includes Sara Varon (SWEATERWEATHER), Donna Barr (DESERT PEACH), Ariel Bordeaux (RAISIN PIE), Megan Kelso (ARTICHOKE TALES), Becky Cloonan (MEATHAUS), Ellen Forney (MONKEY FOOD), and a host of talented others, BROAD APPEAL has all the earmarks of an anthology that has the teeth to raise some good money for an important, not-for-profit organization that benefits all of comics. More information can be found at the Friends Of Lulu website. [Trafalgar]

ALSO THIS WEEK:

LOVE FIGHTS #1 (Oni Press)
Oni's first wholly home-grown superhero series, and of course, it's not what you'd expect. In fact, it's really the latest Andi Watson romantic comedy, with superheroes providing the backdrop. Jack is a comic book artist. Nora is a reporter on the superhero beat. Naturally, they have wildly divergent views on the caped crusaders. Boy meets girl, boy likes girl, girl likes superheroes. Does an ordinary guy stand a chance against that kind of competition? Well, of course he does, but the fun comes in getting there. Andi Watson's pretty much the go-to-guy for romantic comedy at the moment, and his gorgeously stylised pencils provide a timeless quality to this timeless theme, no matter what the setting.

AIM TO DAZZLE #1 (Alternative Comics)
Contestants of the latest season of American Idol recently released a CD single of the song "What The World Needs Now Is Love", but what they really should have sung was "What The World Needs Now Is Billy Dogma". Dean Haspiel's signature character returns in AIM TO DAZZLE, a one shot containing both new short stories as well as reprints of various anthology pieces. The centerpiece of the book is easily the loving relationship between Billy and his girlfriend Jane Legit... along with a healthy dose of surrealism. Stories weave an excellent mix of humor and drama into each piece, and Haspiel's iconic drawing style has a macho power to it that makes the vulnerable emotions displayed all the more surprising and touching. Love stories have never been this odd, or this fun. [Plymouth]

TOKYO STORM WARNING #1 (DC Wildstorm)
Warren Ellis' penchant for all things pulp continues with the debut of this miniseries, which concerns the property-damaging fights between giant robots and radioactive monsters against the backdrop of the eponymous city that always seems to get trashed during such encounters. Given Ellis' track record of levelling cities, I imagine that Tokyo doesn't stand much of a chance, although with TRANSFORMERS' James Raiz on art duties, the destruction will at least look lovely. Whether or not the ruins will smoke as much as a typical Ellis protagonist has yet to be confirmed, though. [Finisterre]

THE COWBOY WALLY SHOW (DC Vertigo)
Another reissue of one of Kyle Baker's earliest works, and hooray for that. A funny, slightly goofy lampoon of the entertainment industry and celebrity self-perpetuation, THE COWBOY WALLY SHOW is about the titular anti-hero. Wally is a supreme egotist, although reader sympathy is preserved to some extent by the fact that he's too incompetent and deluded to be truly loathsome. Venal, desperate, the sort of guy who believes that watching the movie is a substitute for reading the book, TV host Wally tries to climb the fame ladder by any means possible but winds up going the wrong way, dragging his associates with him. Baker's super-fine line art looks almost fussy next to his current fluid cartoon style, but it's still a joy to behold and the writing is an angry/funny example of outstanding satire. [German Bight]

SIDEKICKS SUPER FUN SUMMER SPECIAL (Oni Press)
Artist and co-creator Takeshi Miyazawa takes a back seat for the most part of this summer special, although he provides the art for the framing story about the superpowered schoolkids. This allows J Torres' funky and punky script to be drawn by the glittering line-up of Oni favourites Scott Morse, Steve Rolston and FANTASTIC FOUR artist Mike Wieringo. As for the story, expect enough arse-kicking teenage shenanigans to put BUFFY to shame, and that rarest of beasts, teen comic characters that are actually genuinely cool. I'm anticipating a book that'll be a whole lot of fun. [Finisterre]

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: THE DC UNIVERSE STORIES OF ALAN MOORE (DC Universe)
While its publication is hardly a momentous event like the resurrection and completion of V FOR VENDETTA, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE does represent an important and heretofore lost to the long-boxes body of Moore's work and, as such, is certainly a welcome sight. While most comic readers were irrevocably altered by their meeting with Northampton's Finest over in SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING, some - especially younger readers, were assimilated almost in a guerrilla fashion, as evidenced by the diversity of material here, which includes stories from SUPERMAN, BATMAN, THE PHANTOM STRANGER, VIGILANTE and more. While the limitations of space keep most of these stories restrained to the "immaculately crafted vignette" category, more than one, including "For the Man Who Has Everything" (with WATCHMEN collaborator Dave Gibbons) and "Footsteps" (a Swamp Thing "team-up") are classics of the form. If the moral implications of DC profiting from this material bother you too deeply, just read it off the stand for free. I'm sure Alan Moore won't mind. [Trafalgar]

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.

JUDGE DREDD: THE COMPLETE AMERICA TPB (Rebellion)
In a busy week for Judge Dredd fans, both Rebellion and Titan have released collected and reprinted versions of some of the finest tales to grace the pages of 2000AD and the JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE. Foremost among these is THE COMPLETE AMERICA, reckoned by most followers of Old Stony Face to be the definitive Dredd story. Written by John Wagner and drawn in sumptuous style by Colin MacNeil, who seems to be the man to turn to for art on poignant 2000AD stories in which major characters die, this is about as good as it gets. Dark, harrowing and relentlessly cynical, AMERICA is precisely the sort of story that has made Dredd a long-running favourite among UK comics readers. [Finisterre]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR JUNE 11th:

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

DARK HORSE

APR030050 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #79: THE WIND & THE CRANE (MR) $2.99

DC COMICS

APR030174 ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: DC UNIVERSE STORIES OF ALAN MOORE TP $19.95
APR030163 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #617 $2.25
APR030173 AQUAMAN #7 $2.50
APR030149 BATGIRL: YEAR ONE #7 (Of 9) $2.95
APR030144 BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #168 $2.50
APR030235 BLOOD AND WATER #4 (Of 5) (MR) $2.95
APR030236 COWBOY WALLY SHOW SC (MR) $14.95
APR030178 EVEN MORE SECRET ORIGINS 80 PAGE GIANT $6.95
APR030238 FABLES #14 (MR) $2.50
MAR030269 FILTH #11 (Of 13) (MR) $2.95
APR030213 GEN 13 #10 $2.95
APR030158 GOTHAM CENTRAL #8 $2.50
APR030183 GREEN ARROW #27 $2.50
APR030186 GREEN LANTERN: BROTHER'S KEEPER TP $12.95
APR030189 HERO #5 $2.50
APR030241 HUNTER: AGE OF MAGIC #24 (MR) $2.75
APR030194 JSA #49 $2.50
APR030160 NIGHTWING #82 $2.25
APR030209 SCOOBY DOO #73 $2.25
APR030221 STORMWATCH: TEAM ACHILLES #12 (MR) $2.95
APR030169 SUPERMAN AND BATMAN: GENERATIONS III #6 (Of 12) $2.95
MAR030201 SUPERMAN: RED SON #2 (Of 3) $5.95
APR030224 THUNDERCATS: RECLAIMING THUNDERA TP $12.95
APR030225 TOKYO STORM WARNING #1 (Of 3) $2.95

IMAGE

FEB031191 ANGRY CHRIST COMIX REVISED HC $29.95
MAR031280 GRRL SCOUTS: WORK SUCKS #4 (Of 4) $2.95
FEB031241 SOUL OF A SAMURAI #1 (Of 4) $5.95

MARVEL

APR031538 CAPTAIN AMERICA #14 $2.99
APR031523 DOMINO #2 $2.50
APR031597 EXILES VOL 4: LEGACY TP $12.99
APR031546 HUMAN TORCH #3 $2.50
APR031510 INCREDIBLE HULK #55 PI
APR031562 IRON MAN #69 $2.99
APR031542 KINGPIN #1 (Of 6) $2.50
APR031567 MARVEL UNIVERSE: THE END #6 (Of 6) $2.99
APR031531 PUNISHER #28 $2.99
MAR031540 X-MEN: RONIN #5 (Of 5) $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

MAR031894 AIM TO DAZZLE #1 (MR) $3.50
FEB031703 BIPOLAR #4 $2.95
JAN031902 COMIC BOOK HEAVEN COLL HC FLEE PUNY HUMANS $19.95
APR032136 ELVIRA #122 $2.50
JUN032333 FRIENDS OF LULU PRESENTS BROAD APPEAL GN $9.95
JUN022531 JESSE JAMES HC $27.95
APR031935 LITTLE SCROWLIE #2 $2.95
APR032403 LOVE FIGHTS #1 $2.99
MAR032471 NEAL ADAMS SKETCHBOOK REVISED HC ED $29.95
FEB031899 PS238 #2 $2.99
APR032168 SLAYERS SPECIAL BOOK 2: NOTORIOUS GN $15.95
NOV022484 SNAPDRAGONS #3 $2.99
FEB031685 STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #58 $2.95
MAR032152 WARLANDS VOL 3: AGE OF ICE TP $15.95
MAY031912 YELLOW BABY #1 $3.95

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.