Welcome to The Forecast. Every Monday, Ninth Art's core team of comment writers, the Ninth Eight, will be your guides to the best, worst, weirdest and most noteworthy books on the shelves of your local comic shop.

BOOKS OF THE WEEK: EUROFILTH ROUND-UP

With DC announcing the end of its US distribution of 2000AD and Humanoids titles last week, I thought I'd take the opportunity to point out some of the many European comics available in translation from people other than DC.

So far the leader in European translations is NBM. Ignore their incredibly lo-budget website; their actual printing is top-notch. They have just released Manu Larcenet's ORDINARY VICTORIES, a best seller in France and the winner of the top award at Angoulême in 2004. It's a touching, funny account of an average Joe just trying to get by. In addition, NBM also publishes THE WAKE, in my opinion one of the best-written French sci-fi series.

NBM also have much of Schuiten & Peeters' CITIES OF THE FANTASTIC series. The Schuiten books are indispensable for anyone interested in great European comic draughtsmanship, as are NBM's list of Miguelanxo Prado books (especially TANGENTS). Fantasy lovers (or fans of Peter David's SIR APROPOS OF NOTHING books) should check out Lewis Trondheim's DUNGEON series, as it really has more funny per page than any book rightly should.

I heard a rumour that NBM will next be translating Johan Sfar's wonderful LE CHAT DU RABIN (The Rabbi's Cat), which would be excellent news. The series centers on an Israeli rabbi's cat, who swallows a parrot and gains the power of speech. The cat, a cunning, lying animal, demands its own Bar Mitzvah. The rabbi, an honest, highly moral man, refuses. Very funny complications ensue.

Other publishers are getting into the Eurofilth game now. IDW is launching the Italian black and white series DAMPYR in a digest format this month. It's a sharply drawn tale of what happens when you tell a very bad lie and it becomes the truth. IBooks released BLACKSAD and its sequel ARCTIC NATION last year - and has gotten three Eisner nominations for it. I hope it wins. ARCTIC NATION has art and story to die for.

On the indie side, Typocrat are a new publisher/translator to watch. They launched with Baladi's FRANKENSTEIN NOW & FOREVER, though that's a book I wasn't that fond of. The story looked like it was going to go in all sorts of interesting directions, then decided not to pursue any of them, and just stopped. Also, the translation was somewhat literal and stilted.

However, I put these down to teething troubles, and look forward to forthcoming Typocrat releases such as Kiloffer's 676 APPARITIONS. Typocrat will be a good, full-time addition to the occasional publication of European indie books in the US by publishers such as Pantheon and Fantagraphics (David B's EPILEPTIC), and Top Shelf (with Erik Kriek's marvellous GUTSMAN).

I'm trying to ignore Alias Enterprises' forthcoming edition of Bourne Identity-style thriller XIII, because they're retouching the nudity and taking each large-format 46 page album and dividing it into two US-size 22-24 pagers. Bah. Before you ask, I am that girl who demands her manga right to left, her anime subtitled rather than dubbed, and her European comics in their lovely, big, original format. But XIII is good, so if you're not a purist snob like me, check it out. [Alex de Campi]

TAKEN TO TASK

Indicative of their current policy of throwing any old shit against the wall and seeing what sticks, Marvel have decided to resurrect HERCULES the has-been in his very own limited series. Here's the set-up: reeling from the death of his good buddy Thor in the recent AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED crossover, the son of Zeus goes on a massive bender and falls out with the surviving heroes. Here's the pay-off: Herc then tries to rebuild his self-esteem by signing up for a reality TV show that will recreate his twelve legendary labours. This involves going on a jaunt through the Marvel Universe whilst, unbeknown to him, ancient enemies plot his downfall.

Honestly, after wafting that kind of a premise under our noses, you really have to wonder if Marvel has got any shit left to throw against the wall. Has Marvel now hit the bottom of the barrel, and is it desperately praying for an avalanche of turds to bail it out? I mean, reality TV? And the twelve labours of Hercules? It's a good job that Cerberus is featured as one of the tasks, because the whole thing sounds like a three-headed dog's dinner.

But, and this is throwing caution to the seven winds of shame, I feel obligated to carefully endorse this mini-series. Why? Because Frank Tieri and Mark Texeira are doing what any good creative team should do, and that's going back to the source material to glean some fresh ideas. The Greek mythology surrounding Hercules should provide a rich seam of villains and situations that are perfect for a comic book setting, and only the most cack-handed of hacks could fail by using it as a guideline. Indeed, Walter Simonson used Norse mythology to spectacular effect with his run on THE MIGHTY THOR way back in the 80s. Here's hoping that Tieri and Texeira can do the same for the Hero Formerly Known As Prince (of Power). [Bulent Yusuf]

SO LONG, SPIDER-FRIEND

Paul Jenkins' final Spider-Man story hits the shelves this week, with the last issue of the current run of SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (Marvel Comics). As the cover suggests, it's a bittersweet farewell. When Jenkins first joined the Spider-Team five years ago, the character was in the doldrums. Blighted for years by marketing- and editorially-driven storylines, and suffering from a lack of direction, Spider-Man was hardly worth caring about, let alone reading.

Paul Jenkins helped change all that, for a little while at least, by trying something new: he wrote about characters, not events. Indeed, it was only when Jenkins was driven to write longer stories - presumably for the burgeoning trade paperback market - that his work began to suffer.

Stories ranged from the dark obsessions of The Chameleon to a small boy's faith in his hero. Much of Jenkins' run is available in trade paperback form, and if this were that sort of column, I'd advise you to pick up a volume or two. Or five.

Some of Jenkins' strongest stories were illustrated by Mark Buckingham, so it's nicely symmetrical to have him return for one last tale. As this preview demonstrates, Buckingham and D'Israeli will be borrowing from the Calvin and Hobbes Treasury to illustrate a story of Christmas with Uncle Ben.

And while it may seem...odd to have a story such as this come out in April, it speaks directly to one of the most important themes of both the character and Jenkins' run: Peter Parker's relationship with the only father he ever knew.

Paul Jenkins' departure from the Spider-Man titles is a minor tragedy: Jenkins' stories have been some of the finest written for the character, and it seems unlikely that there will be another run like it for some time. Reason enough, then, to be grateful for a healthy trade paperback market - or failing that, a solid collection of back issues. [Matthew Craig]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR APRIL 20th 2005:

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

DARK HORSE

FEB050063 CONAN #15 $2.99

DC COMICS

JAN058098 ANIMAL MAN VOL 2 ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES TP $19.99
FEB050266 AQUAMAN #29 $2.50
FEB050246 BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #64 $2.50
FEB050247 BATMAN JEKYLL AND HYDE #1 (OF 6) $2.99
FEB050327 BILAL LIBRARY MEMORIES TP (MR) $17.99
FEB050268 BIRDS OF PREY #81 $2.50
FEB050348 BITE CLUB TP (MR) $9.99
FEB050349 BOOKS OF MAGICK LIFE DURING WARTIME #10 (MR) $2.50
JAN050296 DC COUNTDOWN TO INFINITE CRISIS #1 $1.00
FEB050336 EX MACHINA #10 (MR) $2.99
FEB050284 HAWKMAN #39 $2.50
FEB050285 HUMAN RACE #2 (OF 7) $2.99
FEB050290 IDENTITY CRISIS FINAL PRINTING #5 (OF 7) $3.99
FEB050291 IDENTITY CRISIS FINAL PRINTING #6 (OF 7) $3.99
FEB050294 JLA CLASSIFIED #6 $2.99
FEB050356 LUCIFER #61 (MR) $2.50
FEB050298 MANHUNTER #9 $2.50
FEB050314 POWERPUFF GIRLS #61 $2.25
FEB050302 QUESTION #6 (OF 6) $2.99
FEB050258 ROBIN #137 $2.25
FEB050304 SEVEN SOLDIERS KLARION THE WITCH BOY #1 (OF 4) $2.99
FEB050306 SPACE GHOST #6 (OF 6) $2.99
FEB050307 TEEN TITANS #23 $2.50
FEB050360 TRIGGER #5 (MR) $2.99

IMAGE

NOV041531D DETONATOR #3 $2.50
JAN051604 INVINCIBLE #22 $2.95
FEB051573 IRON GHOST #1 (OF 6) $2.95
OCT041528 SAVAGE DRAGON #121 $2.95
JUL041774 SAVAGE DRAGON VOL 10 ENDGAME HC $49.95
JAN051634 SMALL GODS #8 $2.95
FEB051602 SPAWN #145 (RES) $2.50

MARVEL

FEB051869 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #519 $2.25
FEB051931 CABLE DEADPOOL #14 $2.99
FEB051953 CABLE DEADPOOL VOL 2 BURNT OFFERING TP $14.99
FEB051944 DAREDEVIL VOL 11 GOLDEN AGE TP $13.99
FEB051902 FANTASTIC FOUR #525 $2.99
FEB051898 HERCULES #1 (OF 5) $2.99
FEB051906 LIVEWIRES #3 (OF 6) $2.99
FEB051896 MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #17 $2.99
FEB051883 MARVEL MILESTONES VENOM AND HERCULES $3.99
FEB051910 NEW INVADERS #9 $2.99
FEB051919 NEW X-MEN #12 $2.99
FEB051873 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE SPIDER-MAN 2005 $3.99
FEB051907 RUNAWAYS #3 $2.99
FEB051885 SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #27 (NOTE PRICE) $2.99
FEB051884 SPIDER-MAN BREAKOUT #1 (OF 5) $2.99
FEB051951 SPIDER-MAN INDIA TP $9.99
FEB051900 STORMBREAKER SAGA OF BETA RAY BILL #4 (OF 6) $2.99
FEB051877 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #76 $2.25
FEB051928 UNCANNY X-MEN #458 $2.25
FEB051895 WOLVERINE #27 $2.25
JAN058099 WOLVERINE QUESADA VARIANT CVR #27 $2.25
FEB051918 X-23 #5 (OF 6) $2.99
FEB051920 X-MEN #169 $2.25
FEB051915 YOUNG AVENGERS #3 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

JAN052932 ATOMIKA #1 CURRENT PTG $2.99
FEB053039 ATOMIKA #2 $2.99
FEB053131 BATTLE ANGEL ALITA VOL 9 2ND ED TP $9.95
FEB053041 BEOWULF #1 $2.99
FEB052565 BETTY #146 $2.19
FEB052977F BONEYARD VOL 4 TP (MR) $9.95
FEB053175 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND VOL 11 TP $9.95
FEB052718 DEFEX #6 $2.95
FEB052858 DONALD DUCK AND FRIENDS #327 $2.95
FEB053141 EXCEL SAGA VOL 12 TP $9.99
FEB053162 FLOWERS AND BEES VOL 7 TP (MR) $9.99
JAN052634 GI JOE MASTER & APPRENTICE VOL 1 TP $12.95
FEB052737 GI JOE MASTER & APPRENTICE VOL II CVR B #3 $2.95
FEB052736 GI JOE MASTER & APPRENTICE VOL II UDON CVR A #3 $2.95
MAR052562E GOLD DIGGER VOL 5 PKT MANGA TP $9.99
OCT042714 HATE ANNUAL #5 (MR) $4.95
FEB052570 JUGHEAD AND FRIENDS DIGEST #1 $2.39
FEB052973F KOLCHAK TALES OF NIGHT STALKER #6 $3.50
MAR053016F LEVEL C VOL 2 GN (A) $9.99
FEB052995 LITTLE STAR #2 $2.99
FEB052458 MABURAHO MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
FEB052866 MICKEY MOUSE AND FRIENDS #276 $2.95
FEB053158 NO NEED FOR TENCHI VOL 3 2ND ED TP $9.99
FEB052571 PALS N GALS DOUBLE DIGEST #93 $3.59
FEB053192 PLEASE SAVE MY EARTH VOL 10 TP $9.99
JAN052659F PS238 #11 $2.99
FEB053160 RANMA 1/2 VOL 17 2ND ED TP $9.95
FEB053161 RANMA 1/2 VOL 18 2ND ED TP $9.95
FEB053159 RANMA 1/2 VOL 30 TP $9.95
FEB052646 SIMPSONS COMICS #105 (NOTE PRICE) $2.99
FEB052574 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #148 $2.19
DEC042383 STARKWEATHER #4 $2.95
DEC042537 STREET FIGHTER REY CVR A #14 $2.95
FEB053040 THE GRIMOIRE #2 $2.99
FEB053195 X/1999 VOL 18 INVERSION TP $9.95

The Ninth Eight are Matthew Craig, John Fellows, Kieron Gillen, Alistair Kennedy, Zack Smith, Andrew Wheeler, Ben Wooller and Bulent Yusuf.

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.