This week the fishing crew at the Ninth Art lighthouse have been extremely disappointed with their catch. So, if you're making the ritual trek to the comic store this week, you may feel the need to pad out your purchases with a little something extra. Here's a selection of some of the best new trades and graphic novels our team has come across in the past couple of months.

[i1] UZUMAKI VOL 1 TP (Viz)
Junji Ito presents a tale of a small town obsessed with spirals. It's not as cute as it sounds, as Ito is one of Japan's premiere horror talents, equally at home with gore or psychodrama. His artwork is gorgeous too.

ZERO GIRL TP (DC Wildstorm/Homage)
School girl Amy Smootster has fallen in love with her guidance counsellor and is being bullied by her classmates. So far, so normal. But in the hands of Sam Kieth, this becomes a brilliantly surreal story quite unlike anything you've ever read.

GALAXY EXPRESS 999 VOL 4 TP (Viz)
Leiji Matsumoto's strange and affecting series about the passengers and crew of an interstellar vintage steam engine is beguiling, atmospheric and challenging, with a sweet, sometimes elegiac tone. Well worth jumping on board.

X-FORCE: NEW BEGINNINGS TP (Marvel Comics)
A brilliant tale of media-manipulating celebrity superheroes, from the unparalleled team of Peter Milligan and Mike Allred. Arguably New Marvel's biggest triumph. Buy the trade today, and you'll want a Doop beanie tomorrow.

And now, without further ado, here's the team's slender pickings from this week's books. Remember, for the latest shipping news, check out the Diamond website.

PLYMOUTH PICKS:

[i2] LUCIFER #20 (MR) $2.50
I recently heard a lot of complaints that, "All of the SANDMAN spin-offs and tangential projects are dull, lifeless imitations of the original series." I've come to the conclusion that almost none of those complainers have actually taken a look at LUCIFER. Mike Carey's stories are sharp, clever, and he's able to make Lucifer work as an anti-hero, in part because you can't help but like him, even though he's very much out for himself alone and should never, ever be trusted. That's quite a feat. Not only is one collection already out and second due in December, but this new issue is a stand-alone issue that will get new readers up to speed, as well as advance the story in startling ways for the existing readership. LUCIFER has rapidly become one of the few books I simply cannot wait to read every month. It's time for you to get better acquainted with the Prince of Lies.

ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP #8
When this book was first announced, I really couldn't care less. "Ultimate" versions of the different Marvel characters. Who cares? Then I saw the different artists they'd attached to the book and I understood what the big deal was about. Any book that's got Bill Sienkiewicz on board for a storyline gets a big thumbs up from me. Even better, the three-part story he's illustrating for issues #6-8 (featuring Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the Punisher) is probably the best thing Brian Michael Bendis has written for Marvel. The initial origin of the Punisher makes for a very sharp storyline, and Bendis has seen the true potential of the character here. Not over the top humour and insanity, not hundreds of gadgets and hi-tech espionage. The Punisher really is back to his roots as a very dangerous, relentless man. I approve. If Bendis can keep it up, I'll have to start buying this a monthly basis.

FISHER PICKS:

X-MEN: E IS FOR EXTINCTION TP (Marvel)
Do you remember Bob Harras? Do you remember Chris Claremont, or Scott Lobdell? Nah, me neither. Things have changed. Grant Morrison is writing the X-MEN, and a couple of times a year, Frank Quitely actually draws an issue. And it really is brilliant. In some ways it's better than THE INVISIBLES because Morrison is applying a mainstream filter so his stories make sense without the aid of drugs, alcohol or alien abduction. And because it's mainstream, it's at least as subversive as THE INVISIBLES ever was. This series collects the first three Morrison/Quitely issues of NEW X-MEN, a postscript issue with art by Ethan Van Sciver, plus, perhaps a bit clumsily, the lopsided Marvelscope annual, with art by Lienel Francis Yu. Some people won't read x-books. Some people won't read superheroes, or anything published by Marvel. This book isn't for them. This book is for people who can appreciate good comics.

POWERS SCRIPTBOOK (Image)
POWERS was my favourite book of last year, but as the series continues it becomes clear that, while Michael Avon Oeming is getting better all the time, Brian Michael Bendis is getting worse. When Bendis is good, he's very good indeed, as with his first DAREDEVIL run. And when he's not-so-good, he's still, y'know, alright, as with DAREDEVIL: NINJA. Lately, he's been alright more often than he's been brilliant, and it shows most of all in POWERS, which drifts ever further from the energy and excitement of the Retro Girl storyline toward a ritual of rhythmic banter, padded plotlines and deus ex machina resolutions. Still, this collects the Retro Girl scripts (and a few others), so it's mostly Good Bendis, and will afford an interesting insight into his writing style. Unfortunately, it'll almost certainly be packed to the gills with bad grammar and spelling errors.

CROMARTY PICKS:

[i3] SLOW NEWS DAY #3
Andi Watson's stylistic successor to BREAKFAST AFTER NOON kicks into high gear: Excitement! Adventure! And really wild things, as American journalist Katharine continues her quest to boost small English paper the Wheatstone Mercury's circulation. The whole point, of course, is that this isn't exciting. SLOW NEWS DAY is a well-observed, whimsical and all-too-plausible tale of local newspapers, and what happens when ambition hits the brick wall of reality. Essential.

WEREWOLF APOCALYPSE VOL 1 GN: BONE GNAWERS
I'm beginning to feel like some kind of Moonstone pimp here, but the first two releases from their 'relaunch' stable - VAMPIRE: TOREADOR and ROBIN HOOD & THE MINSTREL - have been bloody good, and excellent value for money. WEREWOLF is the second of their White Wolf game licenses, and like VAMPIRE contains a self-contained, full-colour story focusing on one 'tribe' of werewolves. Once again, I'm personally unfamiliar with the creators, but the previews at the Moonstone site look great.

Comics shipping in the US on November 7th:

DARK HORSE

JUL010035 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #60 SECRETS (3 OF 4) (MR) $2.99
AUG010053 BTVS #38 FALSE MEMORIES (4 OF 4) $2.99
AUG010054 BTVS #38 FALSE MEMORIES PHOTO CVR (4 OF 4) $2.99
AUG010083 SUPER MANGA BLAST #17 (MR) $5.99
AUG010016 SUPERMAN TARZAN SONS OF THE JUNGLE #1 (Of 3) $2.99

DC COMICS
SEP010258 100 BULLETS #30 (MR) $2.50
AUG010262 ADVENTURES IN THE RIFLE BRIGADE OPERATION BOLLOCK #3 (Of 3) $2.50
SEP010176 BATGIRL #22 $2.50
SEP010171 BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #149 $2.25
SEP010262 BOOKS OF MAGIC VOL 3 RECKONINGS TP NEW PRTG (MR) $14.95
SEP010263 CRUSADES #9 (MR) $2.50
SEP010199 DOOM PATROL #2 $2.50
AUG010271 HELLBLAZER #167 (MR) $2.50
SEP010217 JLA HAVEN ARRIVAL $5.95
AUG010210 JOKER LAST LAUGH #6 (Of 6) $2.95
SEP010235 LOONEY TUNES #84 $1.99
SEP010268 LUCIFER #20 (MR) $2.50
SEP010251 STAR TREK VOYAGER ENCOUNTERS WITH THE UNKNOWN TP $19.95
SEP010196 SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #63 $1.99
SEP010231 YOUNG JUSTICE #39 $2.50

IMAGE

SEP011148 AGENCY #4 (Of 6) $2.95
JUN011322 ARIA THE SOUL MARKET #5 (Of 6) $2.95
SEP011087 BLACK TIDE BACHALO CVR #1 $2.95
SEP011086 BLACK TIDE MILLER CVR #1 $2.95
SEP011088 BLACK TIDE PARK CVR #1 $2.95
SEP011101 LITTLE RED HOT BOUND #3 $2.95
JUL011214 POWERS SCRIPTBOOK $19.95
JUL011219 SAVAGE DRAGON #90 $2.95
AUG011144 UNIVERSE #3 $2.50
JUL011242 ZORRO COMPLETE ALEX TOTH TP NEW PRTG $18.95

MARVEL

AUG011466 100 GREATEST MARVELS #4 $7.50
SEP011432 CYCLOPS #4 $2.50
AUG011495 DAREDEVIL VISIONARIES FRANK MILLER VOL 3 TP $24.95
SEP011433 EXILES #6 $2.25
SEP011466 FANTASTIC FOUR #49 $2.25
SEP011451 SPIDER-GIRL #40 $2.25
SEP011467 THOR #43 $2.25
JUL011516 ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM UP #8 SPIDER-MAN DAREDEVIL & PUNISHER $2.25
SEP011452 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #15 $2.25
SEP011436 WOLVERINE 2001 ANNUAL $2.99
AUG011500 X-MEN E IS FOR EXTINCTION TP $15.95

OTHER PUBLISHERS

AUG011747 ARCHIE #516 PI
AUG011749 ARCHIE DIGEST #185 $2.19
JUN012348F BURNING CIRCLE #1 $2.95 MAY012262 DIGITAL VAMPI #1 LTD DLX ED $9.95 MAY012261 DIGITAL VAMPI #1 REG ED $2.95
SEP011928 FIRST #13 $2.95
SEP011842I JADE REDEMPTION PREMIUM ED #1 $9.99
AUG012104 KISSING CHAOS #3 (Of 8) (MR) $2.25
SEP011858I LADY DEATH MISCHIEF NIGHT SUPER PREMIUM ED #1 $20.00
SEP012068F LIBERTY MEADOWS #23 $2.95
SEP011931 MYSTIC #18 $2.95
SEP011933 NEGATION PREQUEL $2.95
JUL012180E NOCTURNALS DARK FOREVER #2 (Of 3) $2.95
AUG011714 PATTY CAKE VOL 2 EVERYTHING NICE $13.95
JUL011971F RECORD OF LODOSS WAR CHRONICLES HEROIC KNIGHT BOOK 1 $15.95
SEP011727 SLEEPING DRAGONS #5 $2.95
SEP011732 SLOW NEWS DAY #3 (Of 6) $3.50
AUG011762 VERONICA #120 $1.99
SEP012103F WEREWOLF APOCALYPSE VOL 1 GN BONE GNAWERS (MR) $5.95

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.