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:

LOVE FIGHTS VOL 1 TPB (Oni Press)
You! Reader! Do you like superheroes? Do you feel that there are stories yet to be told in comic form that can only be recounted using the wondrous tropes and clichés of the superhero genre? Chances are, then, that this is the comic you have been waiting for... And yet, it will be so much more than you might have dared hope for. Andi Watson is at the helm for this tale, which means it involves absolutely everything one might expect from one of his comics - a charming and whimsical tale involving romances and a wicked sense of ironic humour (plus superheroes), and gorgeous, minimalist art that applies the graceful and sparse lines of Cubism, perhaps, or Soviet propaganda artwork (but with superheroes). One of the best comics out there - and it's a superhero comic! Wow! It's like it's 1987 all over again. [Finisterre]

ALSO THIS WEEK:

HEAVEN LLC GN (Image)
Here comes the latest in that popular sub-genre, 'absent God comics'. This time around, though, it's all about business - God is the CEO, and it's up to his board of trustees to get him back, presumably before Hell can make a hostile takeover. It could be diabolical, but the devil is in the detail, and the detail comes from the able pencil of the excellent Dave Crosland, John Layman's collaborator on PUFFED. Crosland's appealing art style is loose, lively and rich with humour, and with any luck we'll be seeing a lot more of him on our shelves in the future. The writing comes courtesy of Wayne Chinsang, who I'm not familiar with, but Crosland seems willing to vouch for him, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I can't tell you what's happening with pork belly futures, but I'm willing to tip HEAVEN LLC for investment. [Fisher]

BAD IDEAS #1 (Image)
Speak of the devil - here's another Dave Crosland book on the shelves - and Wayne Chinsang is back as well. BAD IDEAS presents the tales that all comics fans will want to read! Well, perhaps not if they've already seen COMIC BOOK THE MOVIE (or CHASING AMY) - you see, its a comic book about a comic convention. Joining Crosland and Chinsang this time around is Jim Mahfood, who's certainly well versed in the funny stuff, having given us GRRL SCOUTS, STUPID COMICS and CLERKS already. The three creators turn to the obvious targets, like people in superhero costumes too small for them, but they also look at the stigma of being a mature reader trapped in a world where 'mature' means T&A. They reclaim the words "comics" and "fanboy", and empower them! Erm... it should be more fun than I just made it sound. [Forties]

ASTRO CITY/ARROWSMITH (DC Homage/Cliffhanger)
After the sporadic publishing schedule of both ASTRO CITY and the lovely ARROWSMITH, it's good to see an attempt to get both back on track and to attract new readers to Kurt Busiek's two creator-owned stories. However I fear there isn't a lot for the money: two eight page stories, and lots of development and sketchbook stuff, for three dollars. I had hoped that this would be some bumper-sized bundle of joy, but apparently not. Still, it could be worth buying, as when Busiek's on form, he can outclass most mainstream comics writers easily. ASTRO CITY is his long-running series about life in a city where superheroes are commonplace; the recent 'Local Heroes' stories have been somewhat self-indulgent, but the original series was heartbreakingly beautiful. ARROWSMITH is his new, "what if World War I involved magic and fantastic beasties?" series, but it isn't all happy fluffy bunnies: it's good, solid war writing. Both series are worth picking up, not least because Busiek ropes in fantastic artists - here it's Brent Anderson and Carlos Pacheco. [Shannon]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR APRIL 21st:

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

DARK HORSE

FEB040038 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #88 (MR) $2.99
FEB040017 EL ZOMBO #1 (Of 3) $2.99
FEB040028 GOON DH ED #6 $2.99
DEC030058D LONE #6 $2.99
JAN040036 MICHAEL CHABON PRESENTS ADVENTURES O/T ESCAPIST #2 $8.95

DC COMICS

FEB040240 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #627 $2.50
FEB040291 ARROWSMITH ASTRO CITY (RES) $2.95
FEB040225 BATMAN ADVENTURES #13 $2.25
FEB040221 BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #52 $2.95
FEB040230 BATMAN IN WORLDS FINEST ARCHIVES VOL 2 HC $49.95
FEB040303 FABLES VOL 3 STORYBOOK LOVE TP (MR) $14.95
FEB040257 FRACTION #1 $2.50
FEB040261 HAWKMAN #27 $2.50
FEB040307 HUMAN TARGET #9 (MR) $2.95
FEB040267 JLA ONE MILLION TP NEW PRINTING $19.95
FEB040311 LUCIFER #49 (MR) $2.50
FEB040277 OUTSIDERS #11 $2.50
FEB040289 POWERPUFF GIRLS #49 $2.25
FEB040238 ROBIN #125 $2.25
FEB040279 ROSE AND THORN #5 (Of 6) $2.95
FEB040242 SUPERMAN BATMAN #9 $2.95
FEB040243 SUPERMAN BATMAN PUBLIC ENEMIES HC $19.95
FEB040248 SUPERMAN SECRET IDENTITY #4 (Of 4) $5.95
FEB040298 TOM STRONGS TERRIFIC TALES #10 $2.95
FEB040283 WONDER WOMAN #203 $2.25

IMAGE

OCT031261 CASEFILES SAM & TWITCH #8 (MR) $2.95
FEB041314 FRANKENSTEIN MOBSTER CVR A WHEATLEY #3 $2.95
FEB041315 FRANKENSTEIN MOBSTER CVR B ORDWAY #3 $2.95
JAN041297 HEAVEN LLC GN (MR) $12.95
MAR031303D SPAWN #134 $2.50

MARVEL

FEB041585 CABLE DEADPOOL #2 (RES) $2.99
FEB041613 CAPTAIN MARVEL #22 $2.99
FEB041572 DAREDEVIL #59 $2.99
FEB041609 FANTASTIC FOUR #512 $2.25
FEB041605 HAWKEYE #7 $2.99
FEB041643 MARVEL MASTERWORKS AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL 6 2ND ED HC $49.99
JAN041578 NEW MUTANTS #12 $2.99
FEB041583 NEW X-MEN #156 $2.25
FEB041612 RUNAWAYS #14 $2.99
FEB041578 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #57 $2.25
FEB041581 UNCANNY X-MEN #443 $2.25
FEB041563 WOLVERINE #14 $2.25
FEB041628 WOLVERINE VOL 2 COYOTE CROSSING TP $11.99
NOV031565D X-TREME X-MEN VOL 6 INTIFADA TP $16.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

JAN042113 ARCHIE #547 $2.19
FEB042728 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND VOL 3 TP 2ND ED SUZUMI $9.95
FEB042220 DARK ANGEL VOL 2 TP NEW PTG $9.99
FEB042411 DONALD DUCK AND FRIENDS #315 $2.95
FEB042484F EXPLOITATION NOW NEW PTG TP (MR) $9.95
FEB042738 FLOWERS AND BEES VOL 3 TP (MR) $9.95
DEC032500 FORGIVE ME FATHER #1 (Of 3) (MR) $2.95
JAN042499F FORGIVE ME FATHER VARIANT COVER #1 (Of 3) (MR) $5.95
FEB042073 GLOOMCOOKIE VOL 3 TP (MR) $15.95
FEB042119 JUGHEAD WITH ARCHIE DIGEST #192 $2.39
FEB042553 LOVE FIGHTS VOL 1 TP (MR) $14.95
FEB042412 MICKEY MOUSE AND FRIENDS #264 $2.95
FEB042291 MICRONAUTS #2 $2.95
FEB042500F MONTE MOORES BLOODLINES #1 $3.50
FEB042750 NEON GENESIS EVANGELION VOL 2 TP 2ND ED $9.95
FEB042121 PALS N GALS DOUBLE DIGEST #84 $3.59
FEB042076 SERENITY ROSE #3 $2.95
FEB042166 SIMPSONS COMICS #93 $2.99
FEB042622F THE NORM MAGAZINE #3 $4.95
FEB042307 TRANSFORMERS ENERGON #22 $2.95
FEB042770 VAGABOND VOL 10 TP $9.95
JAN042793F VEROTIK WORLD #2 (MR) $3.95
FEB042772 X 1999 VOL 14 TP CONCERTO $9.95
FEB042485F YOU DAMN KID VOL 1 TP (MR) $9.95

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

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