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:

[i1] BLANKETS (Top Shelf)
Sometimes the shipping list is a lousy indicator, failing to include absolute treats that we at the lighthouse would plead with you to try. So, BLANKETS came out last week, but you really do need to know about this. For those who haven't been paying attention, this is the long, long awaited sequel to Craig Thompson's GOOD-BYE, CHUNKY RICE, which caused a huge stir a few years back due to its being an incredibly accomplished debut graphic novel. The expectation was pretty high for BLANKETS, and thankfully there's no disappointment now it's arrived. Unlike GOOD-BYE, CHUNKY RICE, with its anthropomorphic turtle hero and other quirky touches, BLANKETS is a very straightforward story about growing up and first love. I say straightforward, but the real beauty is in the execution of that story: Narrated by Thompson himself, BLANKETS is a near perfect balance of art and writing, using both to tell the story in a way that can only succeed in comics form. Thompson uses expressionism, abstraction and a confident command of the page to truly convey the experience of growing up confused and alienated by his environment and his God, only to find the beginnings of self-knowledge the first time he falls in love. There isn't enough space to detail precisely how and why I adore this book. Please just trust me when I say it's beautiful, and that you need to read it. Now. [German Bight]

ALSO THIS WEEK:

[i2] FACTION PARADOX #1 (Image Comics)
People who have been reading the Doctor Who spin-off novels for some time now already know all about author Lawrence Miles. Affectionately referred to by many as "Mad Larry", Miles's books are full of crazy, larger than life ideas that do strange things to your mind. One of his most popular creations was Faction Paradox, a time-travelling voodoo cult that lives in the Eleven Day Empire, the non-existent eleven days in 1752 when England revised their calendars. Now they're in their own comic book, still delighting in creating paradoxes and meddling in Earth's history, even as a "War in Heaven" threatens to spill into reality as we know it. With insane ideas, gorgeously intricate art by Jim Calafiore (who has probably never been so perfectly matched to a concept before now), and some snazzy multimedia covers by Steve Johnson, this new book from Image Comics promises to knock your socks off. (Because if it doesn't, then Faction will just go back in time and make your feet never exist. So there.) Still not convinced? There's a five-page preview online. [Plymouth]

[i3] MAX HAMM, FAIRY TALE DETECTIVE VOL 2 #1 (Nite Owl Comix)
Political cartoonist Frank Cammuso brings back his porcine PI for a second stab at the grittier side of Storybookland. While FABLES did very nicely at the Eisners, I much prefer Camusso's hard-boiled reinvention of the fairy tale classics, told largely in the style of an illustrated children's book - although the content is much more Dashiell Hammett than Hans Christian Andersen. This is the first chapter of the three-part 'The Long Everafter', but it reads just fine on its own merits, which is just as well, as there was a fair old wait between the first and second MAX HAMM adventures, and issue three probably won't be rushing to the shops. Still, this is well worth picking up for a little bedtime reading with your cocoa. [Fisher]

CANNON GOD EXAXXION: STAGE 2 TP (Dark Horse)
Kenichi Sonoda first gained fame in English-speaking countries with the Dark Horse translation and release of his action-packed GUNSMITH CATS. To American readers, packing two hundred years of Puritan restraint into their reading experience, CANNON GOD EXAXXION is an exhausting read with provocative sexual themes and images underlying every facet of this carefully constructed science-fiction epic. Unlike hentai classics like URGE OF THE OVERFIEND or even the more realistic DANCE TILL TOMORROW, Sonoda twists the sexual preconceptions of the reader to make them the most outrageous element of the reading experience. Dramatic, erotically charged, and, ultimately, more fun than you might suspect from glancing at the covers alone. [Trafalgar]

HUMAN TARGET: FINAL CUT SC (DC Vertigo)
With the ongoing series just around the corner, DC is finally reprinting the second Milligan HUMAN TARGET tale in an affordable softback. This is wonderful news, because the first Milligan mini-series was a truly excellent urban fable, superbly mixing an intelligent and thorough examination of the theme of identity with action that can best be described as kick ass. Of course, one of the things that made that series such a success was the superb storytelling of Edvin Biukovic. Biukovic died not long after the series was published, and Javier Pulido handles the art on both this original graphic novel and on the forthcoming series. It wouldn't be fair to compare the artists. Suffice it to say that Pulido has real narrative flair and a beautiful line, and should provide a very able balance to Milligan's emotionally labyrinthine stories. [Fisher]

JOSS WHEDON'S FRAY #8 (Dark Horse)
Escaping its destiny as the Great, Unfinished Work by Joss Whedon (creator of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER), FRAY #8 finally ships this week, a mere two years after the story began serialisation, completing the story of Melaka Fray, which draws the fertile continuity of Whedon's successful television shows into the future. While the ANGEL mini-series that was based off of a Whedon plot was a completely forgettable experience, FRAY has been, despite the ridiculous delays between issues, a completely satisfying representation of the man's real ability to write compelling stories and an easy sell to BTVS fans who have any interest in comics at all. Now that it's done, expect this to become a much bigger deal, especially in bookstores. [Trafalgar]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR AUGUST 6th:

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

DARK HORSE

MAY030045 CANNON GOD EXAXXION: STAGE 2 TP (MR) $14.95
APR030027 JOSS WHEDON'S FRAY #8 (OF 8) (RES) $2.99
JUN030029 TONY MILLIONAIRE'S SOCK MONKEY #2 (Of 2) $2.99

DC COMICS

JUN030160 ACTION COMICS #806 $2.25
JUN030141 ARKHAM ASYLUM: LIVING HELL #4 (Of 6) $2.50
JUN030215 AUTHORITY VOL 2 #0 (MR) $2.95
JUN030216 AUTHORITY VOL 2 #4 (MR) $2.95
JUN030169 BAD GIRLS #1 (Of 6) $2.50
JUN030148 BATMAN/ALIENS II TP $14.95
JUN030151 BATMAN: DEATH AND THE MAIDENS #1 (Of 9) $2.95
JUN030146 BATMAN: NEVERMORE #5 (Of 5) $2.50
JUN030149 BATMAN: THE CULT TP NEW PTG $19.95
JUN030137 DETECTIVE COMICS #785 $2.75
JUN030218 EXTINCTION EVENT #2 (Of 5) $2.50
JUN030177 FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 (Of 6) $2.50
JUN030157 HARLEY QUINN #35 $2.50
JUN030180 HAWKMAN #18 $2.50
JUN030248 HUMAN TARGET: FINAL CUT SC (MR) $19.95
JUN030189 JSA: ALL STARS #4 (Of 8) $2.50
JUN030191 JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES #22 $2.25
JUN030207 LOONEY TUNES #105 $2.25
JUN030229 ROBOTECH LOVE AND WAR #3 (Of 6) $2.95
APR020467 SCOOBY DOO: SUPER SCAREFEST #1 $3.95
JUN030168 SUPERMAN/BATMAN #1 $2.95
JUN030163 SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT #2 (Of 12) $2.95
MAY030219 THUNDERCATS: DOGS OF WAR #2 (Of 5) $2.95
MAR035194 TITANS/YOUNG JUSTICE: GRADUATION DAY COMPENDIUM $6.95
JUN030255 VERTIGO POP!: BANGKOK #4 (Of 4) (MR) $2.95
JUN030206 WILL EISNER'S SPIRIT ARCHIVES VOL 11 HC $49.95

IMAGE

MAY031199 AGENTS #4 (Of 6) $2.95
APR031263 CASEFILES: SAM & TWITCH #2 (MR) $2.50
JUN031234 FACTION PARADOX #1 $2.95
JUN031235 FEATHER #1 (Of 6) $2.95
JUN031242 GI JOE: FRONTLINE #11 $2.95
JUN031251 HEDGE KNIGHT MILLER CVR #1 (Of 6) $2.95
APR031282 KORE #2 $2.95
AUG021216 SPAWN #127 $2.50

MARVEL

JUN031588 ALIAS #25 (MR) $2.99
JUN031583 ELEKTRA #26 $2.99
JUN031587 ETERNAL #3 (MR) $2.99
MAY035099 MARVEL MUST HAVES: ULTIMATE X-MEN 34-35 (PU#579) $2.99
MAY031512 NEW X-MEN #144 $2.25
JUN031560 SENTINEL #5 (Note Price) $2.50
JUN031598 SPIDER-GIRL #63 $2.99
JUN031556 SUPREME POWER #1 (MR) $2.99
JUN031557 SUPREME POWER SPECIAL ED #1 (MR) $4.99
JUN031578 THOR #67 $2.99
JUN031638 ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM UP VOL 3 TP $12.99
JUN031593 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #44 $2.25
MAY031514 X-MEN: PHOENIX #3 (Of 3) $2.99
MAY031521 X-TREME X-MEN #29 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

JUN032069 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #145 $3.59
MAY031997 ARCHIE MYSTERIES #30 $2.19
MAY032503 BASARA VOL 1 TP (MR) $9.95
DEC022982 BATTLE ROYALE NOVEL (MR) $15.95
MAY032000 BETTY & VERONICA #191 $2.19
JUN032386 DARK DAYS #2: 30 DAYS OF NIGHT SEQUEL (OF 6) (MR) $3.99
APR032271 DEATHMASK #4 $2.99
APR032272 FREEMIND #8 $2.99
MAR031902 HIGHWAY 13 #10 $2.95
MAY032008 JUGHEAD #153 $2.19
MAR032360 MARQUIS: SIN OF ONE #1 (MR) $2.99
JUL032399 MAX HAMM, FAIRY TALE DETECTIVE VOL 2 #1 (Of 3) $4.95
APR032273 METALLIX #7 $2.99
JUN032251 NECROWAR #2 $2.95
JUN032415 ONE BLOODY YEAR: FALL (MR) $5.30
MAY032318 PAPER MUSEUM VOL 2 #1 $2.95
MAY032363 QUEEN & COUNTRY: DECLASSIFIED VOL 1 HC (MR) $20.00
MAY032411 SHIVER IN THE DARK #2 $2.95
MAY032501 SHONEN JUMP VOL 1 #9 SEP 2003 $4.95
JUN032219 SLAYERS SPECIAL BOOK 3: LESSER OF TWO EVILS GN $15.95
MAY032014 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #126 $2.19
MAR031883 STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #59 $2.95
APR031896 TERRY MOORE'S PARADISE TOO #14 $2.95
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.