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: GOTHAM CENTRAL

The Eisner voters called the 'Half A Life' arc in GOTHAM CENTRAL the best serialised story of the year back at the 2004 ceremony. I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment, and now the story is at last being reprinted, you'll have the chance to judge for yourself.

A police procedural series set in the crime-infested shadows of Batman's home town, GOTHAM CENTRAL offers a unique approach to the DC universe that even a DC stranger like myself can get to grips with. It's a street-level view, and you don't need to know the histories of the heroes and villains that wander the periphery (and sometimes steal centre stage) any more so than you need to read around the characters in the similarly themed POWERS.

HALF A LIFE is the series' high point so far. It centres on Detective Renee Montoya, who is outed to her work colleagues and to her family, then framed for the murder of a private investigator. The pugnacious Montoya has to clear her name with Internal Affairs while also working out how to deal with having her private life made public. HALF A LIFE is both a brilliant crime thriller and an unusually intelligent treatment of the sort of themes that comics frequently shy away from. (If you do feel you need a background briefing on Montoya, the trade also collects two earlier stories, also by HALF A LIFE writer Greg Rucka.)

The future for GOTHAM CENTRAL looks a little uncertain right now. Series artist Michael Lark redefined our view of Gotham by making it more real and familiar than it's been in years, and though his excellent work is here to be enjoyed in this second CENTRAL trade, he left DC for Marvel at the end of last year (though Marvel have yet to find the right book for his talents). Ed Brubaker, who alternates story arcs with Rucka, followed suit soon after, leaving Rucka as the last of the series' originators.

We're told the book is planned out for at least another year, but with Rucka's workload looking increasingly Bendisesque, something will surely give, and the low-selling CENTRAL looks the likely candidate. There are two further trades in the works, but with the sluggish pace at which DC released the first two (and this story won that Eisner almost a year ago, remember), there's every chance they'll never see the light of day. But even if the series were to disappear tomorrow, HALF A LIFE would still deserve a place on the bookshelf. [Andrew Wheeler]

DEAD AND LOVING IT

WRATH OF THE SPECTRE collects together the controversial (i.e. violent and bloody) series of stories by Michael Fleischer and Jim Aparo, which made a mockery of the Comics Code Authority. Before their collaboration, the Spectre was a cosmic crime fighter who surfed the spaceways dispensing two-fisted justice. Fleischer and Aparo decided to take him back to his 30s crime-fighting roots and added a liberal splash of EC horror.

The literary merits of these stories are negligible, but Fleischer conceived of many episodes of grand guignol that were gamely drawn in a spectacularly hysterical fashion by Aparo and others. It was something of a downward spiral; in order to justify the gruesome retribution meted out by the Spirit of Vengeance, the crimes committed had to be even more horrendous, and so forth. Thus we have scenes of brutal murderers being turned into a block of wood and fed through a buzzsaw, or being sliced in two by a giant pair of scissors, or being turned into a waxwork dummy and slowly melted.

Upon reading these stories for himself, Harlan Ellison famously referred to Michael Fleischer as a "bugfuck", and was promptly sued for libel, but one can't help but appreciate the original sentiment. It's certainly true that the intensity of Fleisher's vision led DC to get cold feet and prematurely cancel the series after ten issues. The writer has since dropped out of sight, but many fans continue to identify his work on the Spectre as definitive. [Bulent Yusuf]

DEFENDER BENDER

ULTIMATES 2 #6 arrives in stores this week, before a brief summer hiatus. The cover promises the first appearance of the Ultimate Defenders: Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Hellcat, Hellstrom, Nighthawk and Hank Pym.

Traditionally, the classic Defenders have been a bit of a joke team, comprised of a rotating cast of second-stringers and thoroughly awkward characters, such as Howard the Duck and Prince Namor. This summer's classic DEFENDERS miniseries promises to continue that tradition, with scripts by the JUSTICE LEAGUE team of DeMatteis and Giffen.

No previews were available for this issue, but writer Mark Millar has warned patrons of his message board that the story will not be what they are expecting. Given that Hank Pym was booted out of the Ultimates for beating his wife, one suspects that this won't be a funny little tale of the Loser Brigade.

ULTIMATES volume two has been a fantastic read thus far. Millar's excellent plotting has been supported by moments of genuine pathos and a sense of creeping menace. Bryan Hitch's art has never been better. He's replaced much of the broad open panelling of the first series with lots of tight shots, expressive character work and small, staccato panels.

Allowing Hitch and Neary to get ahead of solicitation and publishing deadlines has removed the delays that plagued the first series. Giving them a couple of months to get ahead once again seems sensible. Furthermore, it'll only add to building suspense surrounding this superb superhero thriller. [Matthew Craig]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR MAY 25th 2005:

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

DC COMICS

MAR050383D ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #640 $2.50
MAR050373D BATGIRL #64 $2.50
MAR050368D BATMAN BROKEN CITY TP $14.99
MAR050438D CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #9 $2.25
MAR050379D CATWOMAN #43 $2.50
MAR050461D CITY OF TOMORROW #2 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99
MAR050457D DIFFERENT UGLINESS DIFFERENT MADNESS TP (MR) $14.99
MAR050398D DOOM PATROL #12 $2.50
MAR050400D FLASH #222 $2.25
MAR050377D GOTHAM CENTRAL HALF A LIFE TP $14.99
MAR050479D HELLBLAZER #208 (MR) $2.75
FEB058316 JLA VOL 7 TOWER OF BABEL TP NEW PTG $12.99
FEB058317 JLA VOL 8 DIVIDED WE FALL TP NEW PTG $19.99
MAR050465D LEGEND #4 (OF 4) (MR) $5.99
MAR050414D LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #6 $2.99
MAR050483D LOSERS #24 (MR) $2.99
MAR050381D NIGHTWING ON THE RAZORS EDGE TP $14.99
MAR050415D OMAC PROJECT #2 (OF 6) $2.50
MAR050488D OTHERWORLD #3 (OF 12) (MR) $2.99
MAR050420D OUTSIDERS #24 $2.50
MAR050470D SLEEPER SEASON TWO #12 (OF 12) (MR) $2.99
MAR050433D TEEN TITANS GO #19 $2.25
MAR050425D WRATH OF THE SPECTRE TP $19.99
MAR050367D YEAR ONE BATMAN SCARECROW #1 (OF 2) $5.99

IMAGE

DEC041517D BURGLAR BILL #3 (OF 6) $2.95
MAR051671D COMMON FOE #1 (OF 4) $3.50
OCT041508 DESPERADO PRIMER $1.99

MARVEL

MAR051881D AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #520 $2.25
MAR051950D AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL 9 SKIN DEEP TP $9.99
FEB051901 CAPTAIN AMERICA #6 $2.99
MAR051946D EMMA FROST VOL 3 BLOOM DIGEST TP $7.99
MAR051935D EXCALIBUR #14 $2.99
MAR051871D FANTASTIC FOUR #527 $2.99
MAR051958D FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 6 RISING STORM TP $13.99
MAR051900D INCREDIBLE HULK #81 $2.99
MAR051873D MACHINE TEEN #1 (OF 5) $2.99
MAR051918D MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #0 $1.99
MAR051945D MARVEL MASTERWORKS INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL 2 HC VAR ED $54.99
MAR051944D MARVEL MASTERWORKS INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL 2 NEW ED HC $49.99
MAR051923D NEW X-MEN HELLIONS #1 (OF 4) $2.99
MAR051956D NIGHTCRAWLER DEVIL INSIDE TP $14.99
MAR051911D POWER PACK #3 (OF 4) $2.99
MAR051937D ROGUE #11 $2.99
MAR051913D RUNAWAYS #4 $2.99
MAR051912D SECRET WAR FROM FILES OF NICK FURY $3.99
MAR051910D SPELLBINDERS #3 (OF 6) $2.99
MAR051908D STORMBREAKER SAGA OF BETA RAY BILL #5 (OF 6) $2.99
FEB051878 ULTIMATE IRON MAN #2 (OF 5) $2.99
MAR051878D ULTIMATES 2 #6 $2.99
MAR051933D WOLVERINE SOULTAKER #4 (OF 5) $2.99
MAR051925D X-23 #6 (OF 6) $2.99
MAR051927D X-MEN #170 $2.25
FEB058475 X-MEN PHOENIX ENDSONG LTD ED VARIANT COVER #5 (OF 5) $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

MAR052598E ARCHIE #557 $2.19
MAR052599E ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #161 $3.59
DEC035280D DEEP SLEEPER #1 2ND PTG $3.50
MAR052723F ELVIRA #145 $2.50
MAR052790E GI JOE MASTER & APPRENTICE VOL II CVR B #4 $2.95
MAR052789E GI JOE MASTER & APPRENTICE VOL II UDON CVR A #4 $2.95
MAR053117E HUNGER #1 (MR) $2.99
APR042999 INU YASHA VOL 12 2ND ED TP $8.95
MAR052545E PUNCH AND JUDY TP $7.95
MAR052706F TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #32 (MR) $2.95
MAR052707F TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE DLX ED #32 (MR) $19.99
JAN052815F THIEVES & KINGS #46 (RES) $2.95
MAR052503F TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD VOL 2 THIS ONE GOES TO 11 TP $12.95
MAR052927E UNCLE SCROOGE #342 $6.95
MAR052926E WALT DISNEYS COMICS & STORIES #657 $6.95
APR052910 ZED #6 $2.95
MAR053050F ZORRO #1 $2.95

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.