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.

BOOK OF THE WEEK: FOUR LETTER WORLDS

Here's something to jumpstart even the most jaded of readers' hearts: FOUR LETTER WORLDS, released last Wednesday, is an anthology of stories based around notions of Love, Hate, Fear and Fate. Each of the stories in the book has an interesting perspective to offer on the core concepts, whether it's fear of infirmity or one mother's reaction to the casual racism of others.

The list of contributors reads like an indy comics wish list. Joe Casey, Phil Hester, J Torres, Steve Rolston, Mark Ricketts, Chynna Clugston, Kieron Dwyer and others fill the book with top-drawer talent. One hates to bandy words like 'smörgåsbord' about, but there's enough variation in tone and content to guarantee something for everyone. Stories range from true-life confessional to stark totalitarian nightmare, with a generous helping of comedy thrown in for good measure.

Artistically, FOUR LETTER WORLDS covers a lot of bases: styles range from the nervous abstractions of Scott Morse to the more grounded and personable work of Mike Norton. Many of the artists will be familiar to readers through their more mainstream work, but new artists such as Matthew Roberts will surprise readers. Roberts' art is a particular delight: his work has the clean lines and character of Scott Kolins, but with far more delicious grimy depth.

Highlights of the book include Casey and Huddleston's tale of the post-break-up blues, an unexpectedly touching crime story by Jeff Parker (THE INTERMAN) and a sweet little spelunker by Steve Lieber.

FOUR LETTER WORLDS is a delightfully well-rounded book. Anthology comics appear to be enjoying a mild renaissance at the moment, and this one is as strong as any on the shelves right now. It is both an exemplar of the creative and technical excellence on display in modern comics, and a substantial piece of work in its own right. While perfectly designed to dip in and out at the reader's convenience, you may find that you won't stop until you've devoured the lot. [Matthew Craig]

RETURN FLIGHT

If, ten years ago, someone said to me that Image Comics would eventually publish decent, experimental, thought-provoking works, I'd have laughed in their face and made some witty remark about that being as likely as WETWORKS coming out on time.

If someone said the very same thing to me last year, I still would've laughed at them. Clearly, I haven't been paying very close attention to Image. Last year they published an anthology called FLIGHT, an ode to legends like Moebius and Hayao Miyazaki, and featuring artists like Clio Chiang, Jake Parker and Derek Kirk Kim. FLIGHT proved to a surprise hit, and the second volume is now in stores, with more planned for the future (the list of future contributors is on the FLIGHT website, and it's impressive).

FLIGHT volume two is double the size of the first volume, and if that doesn't say something about how well received it was, then how about the people who have contributed to it this time around? Jeff Smith, Becky Cloonan, and EARTHWORM JIM's Doug TenNapel are just a few of the names, along with FLIGHT alumni like Chiang and Parker. The stories range from the dark, to the playful, to the surreal, with much of the art defying description; more European than American in style.

As the Big Two try to outdo each other with Event Bigness, it's easy to overlook real work that truly deserves our support, and FLIGHT more than fits the bill. Don't ask questions, just pick it up and fly with it. [Ben Wooller]

MISSING THE TARGET

The great minds of humanity have spent years pondering the most important issues of the universe, eventually filing these unknowns down to specific rules - the laws of physics, geometry, biology... All have been filtered through enough cerebral sponge to siphon off any lack of definition. We know that what goes up must come down. So with all this certainty around us, the few portions of uncertainty left tend to drive most of us to distraction. And down here in the lamp-lit corner of pop culture known as comics, the one question that daily confounds our greatest minds is, "How do you launch a new series?"

Seemingly, one of the most obvious ways would be to attach a great writer - a man who's done edgy work for years and has recently been converting the mainstream to his cause - to a great couple of artists - men with definite styles, able to handle action as well as emotion - and strap them all onto a bona fide dead-cert concept already tested in mini-series and OGNs. So the announcement of Peter Milligan joined by Javier Pulido and Cliff Chiang on an ongoing HUMAN TARGET series for Vertigo should have been one of the aforementioned universal certainties.

Christopher Chance is an interesting character and a great concept, originally conceived as a two-dimensional action hero in the '70s with the unique gimmick that he protects his patrons by "becoming" them. Reinvented by Milligan for Vertigo, he became a man consumed by the identities he usurps - identities that have subverted his own - who's mixed up in a melange of psycho-drama and action-movie bluster. This pitch would seem to fit perfectly in Vertigo's more mainstream output, alongside THE LOSERS, 100 BULLETS and Y:THE LAST MAN. And with Milligan's Marvel work and two outstanding artists on the verge of achieving mainstream breakthroughs, there's no reason it should have failed.

But even though it may appear a perfect concept on paper, the reasons it failed can be guessed at. Milligan hamstrung the first issue with a continuing plot from the FINAL CUT OGN that made it an awkward read. He then insisted on short story-arcs - and in a series with a revolving cast, you really need more time to get to know who's who. Also, the ongoing rush of monthly comics seemed to sap some of the original mini's vitality and originality. It didn't help that Pulido's art became rushed, and fill-ins were required. While TPBs were promised, too many people were put off by the new set-up of the series - which failed to capitalise on the successes wrought by the barnstorming Vertigo debut.

So with the 21st issue long announced as the last, this week sees the end of Milligan's latest attempt to launch an ongoing. It's a terrible shame that a series such as this failed amongst such similar brethren that have achieved so much. There's no reason why 100 BULLETS fans shouldn't also have been able to buy and enjoy this.

I'm more than a little upset about the cancellation, as I had been so excited when the book launch was announced. Vertigo seems to have been having more success of late with launching new series (aside from the terrible mis-step that was TRIGGER) and will always suffer from these occasional hiccups. So long, Mr Chance. We hardly knew you. And that's the way you would have liked it. [John Fellows]

GASP! ZAP!

One of the things I love about my American vacations is the pile of Last Gasp newsletters that await me. Last Gasp is a San Francisco counterculture institution whose supposed purpose is to publish and sell books. I think its actual purpose is to take all my hard-earned money - it's my source for Coop and Glenn Barr illustration books, for the Journal of Modok Studies, and for countless other weird and wonderful things that seemingly only exist in their catalogue.

They also publish ZAP COMIX, Robert Crumb et al's groundbreaking 'zine. ZAP started in 1968 and is released on a schedule that makes PLANETARY look snappy.

It's hard to overemphasise the importance of ZAP. In my opinion, it was the force that defined underground comix as an art form, sticking up its middle finger at the Comics Code (read the original Comics Code rules, they're hilarious) and getting on with a wild new style of cartooning. After a five-year silence, ZAP returned with its 15th issue in March. It contains new work by Robert Crumb, S Clay Wilson, Gilbert Shelton, Victor Moscoso and Paul Mavrides. After San Francisco's recent Alternative Press Expo, Last Gasp seem to be running very low on copies of ZAP #15, but they're very good about backorders and reprints.

Also, in the "this is so fucked up I have to buy it" category, I notice that Last Gasp is selling a graphic novel by death-punk rocker Glenn Danzig and British artist Liam Sharp, called G.O.T.H. It has two headed dogs, and people-ripping monsters. And, as you'd expect given Sharp's involvement, it has scantily dressed people with bodies like a sackful of walnuts. And then of course there's what every kid needs: the GANGSTA RAP COLORING BOOK. Yes, it's exactly what you think it is. [Alex de Campi]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR APRIL 27th 2005:

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

DC COMICS

FEB050260 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #639 $2.50
FEB050333 AUTHORITY REVOLUTION #7 (OF 12) (MR) $2.99
FEB050250 BATGIRL #63 $2.50
FEB050244 BATMAN #639 $2.25
FEB050253 BATMAN BLIND JUSTICE TP NEW PTG $14.99
FEB050248 BATMAN SCARECROW TALES TP $19.99
FEB050312 CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #8 $2.25
FEB050255 CATWOMAN #42 $2.50
FEB050335 CITY OF TOMORROW #1 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99
FEB050274 DAY OF VENGEANCE #1 (OF 6) $2.50
FEB050276 DOOM PATROL #11 $2.50
FEB050317 ELFQUEST THE GRAND QUEST VOL 8 TP $9.99
FEB050277 FLASH #221 $2.25
FEB050325 FOURTH POWER TP (MR) $14.99
FEB050281 GREEN ARROW CITY WALLS TP $12.99
FEB050353 HELLBLAZER #207 (MR) $2.75
FEB050354 HUMAN TARGET #21 (MR) $2.99
FEB050292 IDENTITY CRISIS FINAL PRINTING #7 (OF 7) $3.99
FEB050334 LEGEND #3 (OF 4) (MR) $5.99
FEB050297 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #5 $2.99
FEB050355 LOSERS #23 (MR) $2.99
FEB050358 OTHERWORLD #2 (OF 12) (MR) $2.99
FEB050301 RICHARD DRAGON #12 $2.50
FEB050329 ROBO HUNTER DAY OF THE DROIDS TP $14.99
FEB050341 SLEEPER SEASON TWO #11 (OF 12) (MR) $2.99
FEB050303 SOLO #4 $4.99
FEB050311 TEEN TITANS GO #18 $2.25
FEB050343 WILD GIRL #6 (OF 6) $2.99

IMAGE

JAN051586 86 VOLTZ DEAD GIRL ONE SHOT $5.95
JAN051658 BATTLE OF THE PLANETS PRINCESS #6 (OF 6) $2.99
JAN051648 HUNTER KILLER CVR A SILVESTRI #2 $2.99
JAN051649 HUNTER KILLER CVR B LINSNER #2 $2.99
JAN051610 PACT #1 (OF 4) $2.99
JAN051612 PVP #16 $2.95

MARVEL

FEB051947 BLACK WIDOW HOMECOMING TP $14.99
JAN051845 CAPTAIN AMERICA #5 $2.99
FEB051890 DAREDEVIL #72 $2.99
FEB051924 EXILES #63 $2.99
MAR051871D FANTASTIC FOUR #527 $2.99
MAR051942D FANTASTIC FOUR #527 POSTER $5.95
FEB051914 FANTASTIC FOUR FOES #4 (OF 6) $2.99
FEB058042J HOUSE OF M SKETCHBOOK (SOLD IN BUNDLES OF 25) (PP #665) PI
JAN051869 KABUKI #4 (MR) $2.99
JAN051870 KABUKI HUGHES CVR #4 (MR) $2.99
JUL042019 MARVEL AGE RUNAWAYS VOL 2 TEENAGE WASTELAND DIGEST TP $7.99
FEB051942 MARVEL MASTERWORKS AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL 7 HC VAR ED $54.99
FEB051941 MARVEL MASTERWORKS AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL 7 NEW ED $49.99
JAN051837 NEW AVENGERS #5 $2.25
SEP048064 NEW AVENGERS #5 GRANOV VARIANT $2.25
FEB051935 PUNISHER #20 (MR) $2.99
FEB041621 RUNAWAYS VOL 1 PRIDE AND JOY DIGEST TP $7.99
FEB051904 SPELLBINDERS #2 (OF 6) $2.99
JAN051868 SUPREME POWER #16 (MR) $2.99
FEB051879 ULTIMATE SECRET #2 (OF 4) $2.99
FEB051945 WOLVERINE ENEMY OF THE STATE VOL 1 HC $19.99
FEB051929 WOLVERINE SOULTAKER #3 (OF 5) $2.99
FEB051922 X-FORCE SHATTERSTAR #3 (OF 4) $2.99
FEB051925 X-MEN AGE OF APOCALYPSE #6 (OF 6) $2.99
FEB051933 X-MEN PHOENIX ENDSONG #5 (OF 5) $2.99
FEB058347 X-MEN PHOENIX ENDSONG LTD ED VARIANT COVER #4 (OF 5) $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

DEC042321 15 MINUTES #3 $3.95
FEB052647 BART SIMPSON COMICS #23 $2.99
FEB052567 BETTY & VERONICA #208 $2.19
FEB052566 BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #156 $2.39
FEB052717 BLADE OF KUMORI #5 $2.95
FEB052716 BREAKDOWN #6 $2.95
JAN052622 DARKSTALKERS ALAN WANG CVR B #5 $2.95
JAN052623J DARKSTALKERS ARN CVR C POWER FOIL #5 PI
JAN052621 DARKSTALKERS JOE VRIENS CVR A #5 $2.95
FEB052688F ELVIRA #144 $2.50
FEB053141 EXCEL SAGA VOL 12 TP $9.99
MAR052793E GI JOE #42 $4.50
FEB052741 GI JOE RELOADED #14 $2.95
JAN052869F JACK HAGEE PRIVATE EYE GN (MR) $9.49
FEB052569 JUGHEADS DOUBLE DIGEST #112 $3.59
FEB052973F KOLCHAK TALES OF NIGHT STALKER #6 $3.50
FEB052572 SABRINA VOL 2 #66 $2.19
FEB052510 SKAGGY THE LOST TP $16.95
DEC042272 STRANGEHAVEN #17 (RES) (MR) $2.95
FEB052441 STRANGERS IN PARADISE #73 $2.95
FEB053042F THE NORM MAGAZINE #8 $4.95
FEB052867 UNCLE SCROOGE #341 $6.95
OCT042350 VAMPI VICIOUS RAMPAGE LTD ED #2 $9.95
OCT042349 VAMPI VICIOUS RAMPAGE REG ED #2 $2.99
FEB052868 WALT DISNEYS COMICS & STORIES #656 $6.95

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.