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:

81/2 GHOSTS (Alternative Comics)
This slim, slightly over-sized one-shot came out a couple of weeks ago, but deserves to have some attention directed its way, and we were remiss about that. The title is an obvious homage to the classic Fellini film, 81/2, and the narrator of 81/2 GHOSTS, Paul, is a young filmmaker. He's in the process of putting together a schlocky B-movie when he happens upon the perfect looking location. But as it transpires that the owners, though dead, are still in residence. Paul strikes a deal with them and the moviemaking gets underway. It should all go swimmingly, right? Rich Tommaso has produced a sweet comic with no pretensions beyond being entertaining, which is all to his credit. With artwork reminiscent of Seth and old Merrie Melodies cartoons, this is a characterful piece slim enough to fit onto anybody's bookshelves. [German Bight]

ALSO THIS WEEK:

SOULCATCHER (Moonstone Press)
Jason Henderson is a new name to me in horror comics. His SWORD OF DRACULA from Image has gathered some interest, and now he has two stories set in New Orleans coming out. STRANGE MAGIC is one of the curtailed Epic series (coming in the Epic anthology - not a good sign in the US market). But SOULCATCHER looks like having more longevity, not least because it comes from Moonstone Press, which seems to specialise in this sort of thing. Looking at a preview, I was reminded of PREACHER artist Steve Dillon. Here, a woman goes to New Orleans hoping to communicate with her dead husband. It's a city that lends itself to ghosts and (shudder) vampires, and the writer has a grasp for the lighter touch that we see in MIDNIGHT MASS and (groan) BUFFY. The ghost story is a genre that I like very much, but several series and even miniseries have been cancelled in recent years - so I wish this the very best. [Forties]

THREE STRIKES TP (Oni Press)
I've been reading the DC Focus title HARD TIME purely for the chance to enjoy Brian Hurtt's fine pencils, but I'm not convinced that it's the best use of his talents. I'll be glad to get away from the Focus line's experimental and deeply unpleasant bruises-and-bloodied-lips colouring style to enjoy Hurtt's pencils in all their virgin splendour once more, as Oni intended. This crime story re-teams Hurtt with SKINWALKER writers Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir, now perhaps better known for NEW MUTANTS. SKINWALKER was a refreshingly smart crime/horror buddy movie, but we should expect to be in much more realistic territory with THREE STRIKES, which pits a bail bondsman against a college student who's fallen foul of California's three strikes law. Socially aware comics aren't always great fun, of course, but this team should be able to spin a gripping yarn along the way. [Fisher]

BATMAN IN THE FORTIES (DC)
What? Not Batman for Forties? I thought it was just for me! Ah well. It's the Batman of a simpler time (younger readers might want to consider that it's even less complex than Frank Miller's YEAR ONE or the BATMAN ADVENTURES series). Indeed, you can compare Miller's re-telling of the Bat-Origin with the stories collected here. In the 1940s, Batman had gathered a lot of his famous supporting characters, and you can see several of them make their debuts here. There are several greats from the Batman Hall of Fame - Jerry Robinson, Dick Sprang (as seen on TV!) and, of course, Bob Kane. Notably, this book is being produced in the more affordable format that DC has been slowly introducing to complement its expensive archive series. All these 1940s comics for a fraction of what the originals would cost now! [Forties]

SPOOKED GN (Oni Press)
We normally avoid mention of books by Ninth Art's very own Antony Johnston here in the forecast, because really, why would you trust us? He can edit everything on the site, you know. Still, there's not much out, so we'll throw the guy a bone. Johnston has drawn on his own experiences and his knowledge of alternative culture to bring us SPOOKED, a dark tale of spooky kids, ghostly possession and copious piercings, in which the rather presciently-named Emily Spook has to deal with a creepy spectral muse. The art is by the extremely talented Ross Campbell, yet another wonderful Oni artist at the start of his comics career. I swear, Oni must have some sort of lab or production line somewhere. If you have any interest in the goth end of London counterculture, or if you just want to read something that no less a critic than a certain Alan Moore described as a "genuinely creepy little treat", then make sure you haunt your comic retailer this week. [Finisterre]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR MARCH 10th:

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

DARK HORSE

JAN040041 OH MY GODDESS #106 $2.99
DEC030063 SHADOW STAR VOL 5 FLOWERS FRAGRANCE TP $15.95
SEP030021 SHREK TP $9.95
DEC030064D SUPER MANGA BLAST #40 (MR) $5.99

DC COMICS

JAN040288 100 BULLETS #49 (MR) $2.50
JAN040222 ACTION COMICS #813 $2.25
JAN040213 BATMAN IN THE FORTIES TP $19.95
JAN040205 BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #177 $2.50
JAN040267 CARTOON CARTOONS VOL 1 NAME THAT TOON TP $6.95
JAN040268 CARTOON CARTOONS VOL 2 THE GANGS ALL HERE TP $6.95
JAN040276 COUP DETAT AFTERWORD (MR) $2.95
JAN040289 FABLES #23 (MR) $2.50
JAN040235 FALLEN ANGEL #9 (MR) $2.50
JAN040219 GOTHAM CENTRAL #17 $2.50
JAN040238 GREEN ARROW #36 $2.50
JAN040291 HELLBLAZER SON OF MAN TP (MR) $12.95
JAN040243 HERO #14 $2.50
JAN040245 JLA #94 $2.25
JAN040244 JSA #59 $2.50
JAN040220 NIGHTWING #91 $2.25
NOV030269D PROMETHEA #29 $2.95
JAN040284 RELOAD MEK TP (MR) $14.95
JAN040285 STORMWATCH TEAM ACHILLES #20 (MR) $2.95

IMAGE

SEP031261 CASEFILES SAM & TWITCH #7 (MR) $2.95
OCT031288 POWERS #37 (MR) $2.95

MARVEL

JAN041547 AVENGERS THUNDERBOLTS #1 (Of 6) $2.99
JAN041616 AVENGERS VOL 3 SEARCH FOR SHE HULK TP $12.99
JAN041566 CAPTAIN AMERICA #24 $2.99
JAN041576 EMMA FROST #9 $2.99
DEC031564D HAWKEYE #5 $2.99
JAN041557 INCREDIBLE HULK #68 $2.25
JAN041623 INCREDIBLE HULK VOL 6 SPLIT DECISIONS TP $12.99
JAN041553 IRON FIST #1 $2.99
JAN041545 IRON MAN #78 $2.99
JAN041564 MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #3 $2.99
JAN041560 PUNISHER THE MOVIE #2 (Of 3) $2.99
JAN041538 SHE HULK #1 $2.99
JAN041531 SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #11 $2.25
JAN041595 SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN VOL 2 COUNTDOWN TP $11.99
JAN041594 SUPREME POWER VOL 1 CONTACT TP (MR) $14.99
JAN041526 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #54 $2.25
JAN041573 ULTIMATE X-MEN #43 $2.25

OTHER PUBLISHERS

JAN042801 ANGEL SANCTUARY VOL 1 $9.95
JAN042798 ANIMERICA EXTRA APR 2004 VOL 7 #4 $4.99
DEC032154 ARCHIE #546 $2.19
JAN042804 BASARA VOL 5 TP $9.95
JAN042808 BOYS OVER FLOWERS VOL 5 TP $9.95
NOV032185E BRIAN PULIDO LADY DEATH #12 $2.95
JAN042039 DARK SIDE BLUES MANGA VOL 1 TP (MR) $14.98
JAN042809 DRAGONBALL Z VOL 15 TP SHONEN J ED $7.95
JAN042274 EL CAZADOR BLACKJACK TOM #1 $2.95
JAN042811 FLAME OF RECCA VOL 5 TP $9.95
DEC032357 HEDGE KNIGHT MILLER CVR #4 (Of 6) (RES) $2.95
DEC032358 HEDGE KNIGHT YEATES CVR #4 (Of 6) (RES) $5.95
DEC032161 JUGHEAD WITH ARCHIE DIGEST #191 $2.39
JAN042258 LA BLUE GIRL MANGA ED BOOK 6 BESTIAL BEAUTY GN (A) $16.95
JAN042032 LOUIE THE RUNE SOLDIER MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
NOV032190E MERIDIAN #44 $2.95
JAN042824 NEON GENESIS EVANGELION VOL 1 TP 2ND ED $9.95
JAN042063 NIGHTMARES AND FAIRY TALES #8 $2.95
DEC032163 PALS N GALS DOUBLE DIGEST #83 $3.59
DEC032555 PHANTOM #2 $3.50
JAN042284 RUSE ARCHARDS AGENTS DEADLY DARE $2.95
OCT032281 SCION #43 $2.95
JAN042066F SEAMONSTERS & SUPERHEROES #3 $2.95
JAN042827 SENSUAL PHRASE VOL 1 GN (MR) $9.95
JAN042036 SEVEN OF SEVEN MANGA VOL 3 TP $9.99
DEC032559 SOULCATCHER #1 (Of 2) $3.50
DEC032598 SPOOKED GN (MR) $14.95
JAN042038 STEEL ANGEL KURUMI MANGA VOL 3 TP (MR) $9.99
JAN042068 STREET ANGEL #1 $2.95
JAN042611 THREE STRIKES TP (MR) $14.95
JAN042356 TRANSFORMERS ARMADA MORE THAN MEETS EYE #1 (Of 3) $4.95
JAN042828 TUXEDO GIN VOL 5 TP $9.95
DEC032166 VERONICA #150 $2.19
DEC032313 WAY OF THE RAT #22 $2.95
JAN042831 WEDDING PEACH VOL 5 TP $9.95
JAN042833 X 1999 VOL 9 TP 2ND ED REQUIEM $9.95

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.