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: SMOKE & GUNS

Though my inherent Englishness prevents me from appreciating publisher Larry Young's OTT showmanship, I have been known to get a little hot under my collar for the occasional AiT/PlanetLar publication. I am still an avowed fan of CHANNEL ZERO, and I appreciate the balls it took for Young to publish something so apposite. And while I've had my ups and downs with it's other creators (for every THE ANNOTATED REX MANTOOTH by Matt Fraction, there's a LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS by Matt Fraction), I've always found their raison d'etre appealing. New works, original graphic novel format, largely non-super-hero, from creators who get short shrift elsewhere. Good stuff.

So despite the odd disappointing stab into the Troubled Astronauts Publishing House, I always pay attention to new releases. And now there's SMOKE & GUNS. Being an avowed fan of gun-porn with a disturbing ammo-fetish, I get a semi just seeing the word 'guns' in block caps. And being a 20-a-day smoker, I find 'smoke' triggers hidden receptors in my brain and I feel the need to pollute my lungs. The ampersand I can take or leave, but that still means they're two for three with the title. Anyway, my curiosity piqued, I made a conscious effort to look out for this new OGN from Kirsten Baldock and Fabio Moon.

But having written picks for the Forecast for as long as I have, I have learnt not to get excited by an interesting title. Oft times, that's all we have to judge by, but usually SEX ORGIES OF THE SIX-BREASTED LESBO BRIGADE turns out to be a cute story about cuddly teddies discovering love amongst the briar patch.

However, SMOKE & GUNS is about exactly what it says it's about. Smoking and guns. The lead, Scarlett, is a cigarette girl - one of those quaint throwbacks to a classier time. Hanging around smoke-filled gin-joints dispensing coffin nails to the seedy-looking clientele... You're already there, right?

Baldock seems to be drawing directly from life, having been a cigarette girl herself in a past life. And whilst 'selling cigarettes' sounds about as exciting as 'mopping floors' or 'emptying bins', her enthusiasm makes it sound a hundred times more thrilling. I'm a sucker for crime dramas, especially your classic '50s sleazy melodramas, and this could be something special.

Fabio Moon's artwork is gorgeous. It evokes Paul Pope's Manga-via-Euro expressiveness in the action scenes, but then has a hint of Eduardo Risso's inky black and white genius during talking heads sequences. Gorgeous stuff to look at, Moon is a real discovery. If the writing's anywhere near as good, it'll be a solid read.

Anyway, I'm off for a cigarette. [John Fellows]

PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN

Cars are all things to all people: a symbol of masculine virility (i.e.: a penis substitute), a symbol of financial solvency and economic success (i.e.: a penis substitute), and a lifeline to the elderly and the isolated.

Image Comics' THE RIDE takes the fetishisation of the motorcar to a new level. Not to be confused with Dark Horse Comics' BMW tie-in THE HIRE, THE RIDE is an anthology of stories that revolve around a classic American muscle car: the 1968 Camaro. The car takes on a number of roles, either at the heart or on the periphery of events: as a reason to stay alive in the middle of a war, as a shield from hostile fire, or, amazingly, as a thing to carry people from A to B.

THE RIDE appears firmly locked into the bullets 'n' babes crime genre, although the central gimmick appears open to a wide range of interpretations. An extensive preview of the book can be found here. (And if you want to see what the new "family-friendly" Newsarama have edited out, you can find it here, you big perv.) Contributors to the trade paperback include Cully Hamner, Chuck Dixon, Jason Pearson and Georges Jeanty.

THE RIDE has already inspired one spin-off. GUN CANDY, which also hits stores this week, combines John Woo-style gunplay with a schoolgirl fetish that makes TaTu look wholesome (look at this cover for example...). GUN CANDY #1 (previewed here) also includes a new story from the world of THE RIDE (previewed here), for those of you for whom the trade paperback isn't enough.

Cars are loved and loathed in equal measure, often for the same reasons, but one thing is for certain: our love affair with the internal combustion engine - and its four-wheeled avatar - shows no sign of cooling. Despite the high quality of the people involved, THE RIDE seems to have fallen through the cracks of the collective consciousness as a serial comic. Hopefully that small injustice will be set right by the release of this sixteen-valve storybook. [Matthew Craig]

WEAPON ECHH

Anyone who's been reading comics for any length of time will be able to tell you that very few things last forever. Unless you're AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, FANTASTIC FOUR, DETECTIVE COMICS or ACTION COMICS, chances are you've been in danger of cancellation at one point or another. That's not just a fact of life for fans, though - it's a sad reality for comics creators, too. But what can creators do if their book is cancelled out from underneath them? Well, most of them would pick themselves up, dust themselves off and move on to whatever's next.

Some, on the other hand, just won't let go. Frank Tieri is a case in point. His run on IRON MAN was forgettable, his work on WOLVERINE implausible, his time on DEADPOOL risible. His WEAPON X series was generally better received than any of these books, and so naturally his reaction upon its inevitable cancellation was to cling to it as tightly as he possibly could. In interviews on Newsarama he publicly hectored Marvel in an attempt to get his title back, and generally came across as a bit of a sore loser.

It appears to have paid off, though, because this week the first issue of WEAPON X: DAYS OF FUTURE NOW ships. Unless you're a devoted and dedicated fan of the original book, though (and it certainly did have a loyal - if small - fanbase), there's no real reason to go checking this out. Tieri's writing is deeply average at best, although he's certainly come on in leaps and bounds in recent years (the later WEAPON X issues were actually not bad - certainly better than his DEADPOOL run); the artwork is by the frequently atrocious Bart Sears, who once again turns in some hideously poor figurework; and the characters involved have been used by others to so much greater effect (Fantomex and Sublime by Grant Morrison, Chamber by Brian K Vaughan) that anyone who's a fan of them will be grinding their teeth at the sheer waste.

DAYS OF FUTURE NOW serves no purpose. It's an ugly book being published because the writer kicked up a stink and mobilised its fans into browbeating Marvel until they capitulated. People wonder why comics companies like Marvel and DC don't pay any attention to what the fans want. It's because, when they do, this is what happens. [Alistair Kennedy]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR JULY 13th 2005:

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

DARK HORSE

APR050036V BERSERK VOL 8 TP (MR) $13.95
MAY050042 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #103 (MR) $2.99
MAY050041 MAN WITH THE SCREAMING BRAIN #3 (OF 4) $2.99
MAY050013 SERENITY CASSADAY CVR #1 (OF 3) $2.99
MAY050014 SERENITY HITCH CVR #1 (OF 3) $2.99
MAY050015 SERENITY J G JONES CVR #1 (OF 3) $2.99
APR050059D SUPER MANGA BLAST #53 (MR) $5.99

DC COMICS

MAY050288 100 BULLETS #62 (MR) $2.75
MAY050214 ACTION COMICS #829 $2.50
MAY050255 BATMAN STRIKES #11 $2.25
FEB050257D BATMAN THE GREATEST BATMAN STORIES EVER TOLD TP $19.99
MAY050223 BREACH #7 $2.50
MAY050276 DESOLATION JONES #2 (MR) $2.99
MAY050228 GREEN ARROW #52 $2.50
MAY050235 JLA #116 $2.50
MAY050278 MAJESTIC #7 $2.99
MAY050297 MNEMOVORE #4 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99
MAY050204 NIGHTWING #110 $2.50
MAY050299 PREACHER VOL 4 ANCIENT HISTORY TP NEW EDITION (MR) $14.99
MAY050301 PREACHER VOL 6 WAR IN THE SUN TP NEW EDITION (MR) $17.99
MAY050300 PREACHER VOL 7 SALVATION TP NEW EDITION (MR) $17.99
MAY050265 SCOOBY DOO #98 $2.25
APR050325D SUPERMAN BATMAN VOL 3 ABSOLUTE POWER HC $19.99
MAY050306 Y THE LAST MAN VOL 5 RING OF TRUTH TP (MR) $14.99

IMAGE

MAY051543 ARMOR X #4 $2.95
MAY051527 BODY BAGS FATHERS DAY #1 (OF 2) (MR) $5.99
MAY051528 BODY BAGS FATHERS DAY SGN #1 (OF 2) (MR) $19.99
MAY051595 CITY OF HEROES #3 $2.99
MAY051530 GROUNDED #1 (OF 6) $2.95
MAY051531 GUNCANDY #1 (OF 2) (MR) $5.99
MAY051532 GUNCANDY SGN #1 (OF 2) (MR) $19.99
MAY051562 HERO CAMP #3 (OF 4) $2.95
APR051666D INVINCIBLE VOL 1 ULTIMATE COLL HC $34.95
MAR051702 PIGTALE #3 $2.95
APR051668D RIDE VOL 1 TP $9.95
MAY051572 SHADOWHAWK #3 $2.99
APR051661D SMALL GODS SPECIAL #1 $2.95
MAY051540 WILDGUARD FOOLS GOLD #2 (OF 2) $3.50
FEB051575D ZOMBIE KING #0 (MR) $2.95

MARVEL

MAY051833 AVENGERS GRUMMETT POSTER $5.95
APR051975D ESSENTIAL AVENGERS VOL 1 TP NEW PRINTING $16.99
APR051974D ESSENTIAL THOR VOL 1 TP NEW PRINTING $16.99
MAY051785 GRAVITY #2 (OF 5) $2.99
MAY051767 HERCULES #4 (OF 5) $2.99
MAY051829 MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 VOL 3 DIVINE TIME TP $14.99
MAY051780 MARVEL NEMESIS IMPERFECTS #3 (OF 6) $2.99
MAY051741 MUTOPIA X #1 (OF 5) $2.99
MAR051905 NEW AVENGERS #7 $2.25
MAY051791 NEW THUNDERBOLTS #10 $2.99
MAY051790 NEW WARRIORS #2 (OF 6) $2.99
MAY051801 NYX #6 (MR) $2.99
MAY051810 PUNISHER #23 (MR) $2.99
MAY051758 SPIDER-MAN BREAKOUT #4 (OF 5) $2.99
MAY051759 TOXIN #4 (OF 6) $2.99
MAY051750 ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #21 $2.50
APR058305D ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR VARIANT ED #21 (PP #676) $2.50
MAY051798 ULTIMATE MARVEL FLIP MAGAZINE #2 $3.99
MAY051799 ULTIMATE TALES FLIP MAGAZINE #2 $3.99
MAY051754 ULTIMATE X-MEN #61 $2.50
APR058296D ULTIMATE X-MEN COIPEL VARIANT #61 (PP #675) $2.50
MAY051826 ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 11 MOST DANGEROUS GAME TP $9.99
MAY051803 WEAPON X DAYS OF FUTURE NOW #1 (OF 5) $2.99
MAY051822 X-MEN GOLGOTHA TP $12.99
MAY051809 X-MEN THE END HEROES AND MARTYRS #5 (OF 6) $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

MAY052894E BANANA SUNDAYS #1 (OF 4) $2.99
APR052641E BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #158 $2.39
APR052555F CUTE MANIFESTO TP $19.95
JAN052657F DORK TOWER #31 $2.99
JAN052658F DR BLINK SUPERHERO SHRINK #2 $3.49
MAY058044E GI JOE AMERICAS ELITE #1 2ND PRTG $2.95
JUN052963F HAW GN NEW PTG (A) $8.95
JUN052965F ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY TP $19.95
APR052645E JUGHEADS DOUBLE DIGEST #114 $3.59
JUN053054F LEVEL C VOL 3 GN (A) $9.99
MAR052920F LIVING WITH ZOMBIES #3 (MR) $2.50
MAY052749F LOVE & ROCKETS VOL 2 #14 (MR) $4.50
JAN052628E MU MARK LEE CVR A #4 $2.95
JAN052629E MU MINWOO HYUNG CVR B #4 $2.95
MAY052446E NIGHTMARES & FAIRY TALES VOL 2 BEAUTIFUL BEASTS TP $14.95
APR052573E NIGHTMARES AND FAIRY TALES #13 (MR) $2.95
APR052647E SABRINA VOL 2 #68 $2.25
MAY053059F SATANIKA TALES #2 (MR) $3.95
MAY052512F SATANS 3 RING CIRCUS OF H$$$ TP (MR) $19.95
APR053254E SEXY VOICE AND ROBO VOL 1 GN $19.99
MAY052447E SILENT DANCE GN $14.95
JUN042642F SKYSCRAPERS OF OZ GN (A) $9.99
JUL052551F SMOKE & GUNS GN $12.95
APR052649E SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #151 $2.25
MAY052516E SOULFIRE DYING OF THE LIGHT #0 $2.50
MAY052517E SOULFIRE DYING OF THE LIGHT SIGNED ED #0 $19.99
MAR052724F SOULSEARCHERS #72 $2.50
JUN053272F SPIRAL BOUND GN $14.95
MAY052757F TALES DESIGNED TO THRIZZLE #1 (MR) $4.50
MAY053049F THE KING GN $19.95
JUN053269F TRICKED GN $19.95
MAY053044F WAHOO MORRIS VOL 2 #1 (MR) $2.75

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.