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: BONE SHARPS< COWBOYS AND THUNDER LIZARDS

I'm a simple girl. I like science, so I've been a long-time fan of Jim Ottaviani's work through his GT Labs imprint. I like science, but I love dinosaurs. And it only took one look at the cover of Ottaviani's latest, BONE SHARPS, COWBOYS AND THUNDER LIZARDS, a book about the gilded age of Wild West palaeontology (that's digging up dinosaur bones, for you in the cheap seats), to convince me that this book must be mine. As if to make my joy complete, the book also features con artists, circuses, cowboys and other good things beginning with C. Indians too, but they don't begin with C, unless they're Cherokee. Or Comanche. Or Cree.

It's been wonderful watching Ottaviani mature as a writer. From the good if quite clunky FALLOUT through to DIGNIFYING SCIENCE (buy it for your daughters, now) and then the exquisite SUSPENDED IN LANGUAGE, the always-inventive Ottaviani just gets better and better with each book.

This book is also rare in that Ottaviani works with essentially one studio, Big Time Attic, which features Zander Cannon (TOP 10 and SMAX). Big Time bring a wonderfully whimsical style and some of the best lettering I've seen outside CEREBUS to the book. Check out the introduction here to see what I mean. [Alex de Campi]

WALK THE LINE

I've never been a huge fan of Batman, the problem being S.H.I.T.O.L.A. (Substandard Heroics In Tediously Over-Long Adventures) -whereby certain characters are always easier to write as guest-stars in other titles. Like Wolverine, Batman works excellently as a guest in the shadows, but is so popular that he's been forced out of the shadows enough times to have lost all his mystique. Now he has to sustain four monthly titles, and the wear is showing - to the point where even Mark Waid thinks the character has become a dick.

So, lucky for DC they can still churn out the odd interesting mini-series that doesn't have to pander to the restraints of editorial guidelines for the ongoing - like GOTHAM COUNTY LINE, a three-issue mini-series that drags Batman out of his natural environs and into the suburbs, from the supernatural pairing of Steve Niles and Scott Hampton.

Niles has yet to do any big mainstream work after the success of his various horror series for IDW and Dark Horse. 30 DAYS OF NIGHT is still spoken of in hallowed terms as 'good horror comics' - something that doesn't happen a lot. And his CAL MACDONALD series are ace in a 'John Constantine if he were American and in a pulp novel' kinda way. Scott Hampton, meanwhile, is best known for his gorgeous painted artwork, including the initial LUCIFER mini-series with Mike Carey, and while this book sees him turning to pen-and-ink, it's still excellent, and reminiscent of Alex Maleev at his best.

So it's three issues of Bat-pulp with no requirement from you, the reader, to read anything else. It's this, more so than ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, that would provide the best perfect fodder for luring in the new fans created by BATMAN BEGINS. It's separate, it's written by a man who understands his particular musical chair in 'the New Mainstream', it has a story told in one, and it's gorgeous.

I suppose if the new reader is a kidnapping, child-beating, delusional cop-killing psychotic, then he might better appreciate the full-on dick version of Batman in ALL STAR. For all the normal well-adjusted people out there, there's BATMAN: GOTHAM COUNTY LINE. Buy it! Don't be a dick! [John Fellows]

DOUBLE OR QUITS

Let's get something out of the way first: Harvey Pekar bores the shit out of me. Whine, whine, whine, shut up you grumpy old man. Also, I read comics mainly to look at the interplay of image and text, not to plough through about a thousand words of text per page. So even though I thought AMERICAN SPLENDOR was one of the more innovative films about the comic medium to date, I was looking forward to THE QUITTER, a whole book of Pekar, like a hole in the head.

But then at San Diego I got a chance to look at the art. It's dramatic, energetic, fun brushed work from Dean Haspiel, known for indie books such as the criminally funny OPPOSABLE THUMBS. Furthermore, Haspiel has managed to somehow tame the mass of Pekar's verbiage, and the book reads quickly and lightly, a far cry from the usual snails-pace at which one usually trudges through a Pekar book. It also helps that the book focuses on Pekar's youth, when he was a troublesome, street-fightin' kid with a nasty tendency to do what my mother always called "cutting off your nose to spite your face". Benched by his football coach? He quits! Baseball actually requiring effort and possible failure? Better to quit! As autobio comics go, the writing's good, but the art pushes the whole package over the border to excellent.

This book was commissioned before Pantheon landed on the scene and started dealing out big money for indie cartoonist work, and represents excellent timing on Vertigo's part. I think, had the project been shopped around right now, Vertigo would have had to pony up considerably more for the pleasure.

It was also nice to see Vertigo engaging in a little out-of-the-box marketing, running a two-page Quitter... uh... strip in Playboy (luckily not about Pekar taking his clothes off, even the thought of which makes me want to scrub my mind's eye with steel wool). It recalls the three-page comic that Johnnie Walker had Seth create for the New Yorker's cartoon issue last November, and these sorts of things can only help in getting people interested in comics. I may not pick up Pekar's next book, but QUITTER will be mine. [Alex de Campi]

FIVE HEROES AND IT

The garish gestalt that is the Marvel Universe is replete with examples of great partnerships: Power Man and Iron Fist; Cloak and Dagger; Doctor Doom and Morgan's Anti-Chafing Creme. The shared universe affords the Marvels the opportunity to branch out beyond their usual supporting casts. This has given rise to some surprisingly compelling relationships, such as that between Spider-Man and the Human Torch.

Two series that don't often cross paths are IRON MAN and THE FANTASTIC FOUR. This might seem odd, if you think about it: both series feature (relatively) mature leading men at the cutting edge of their respective fields; both series are, in one way or another, about explorer heroes and how science makes the world better; and both series feature modern-day knights in high-tech armour. But aside from special events and world-shattering miniseries, Tony Stark and the FF are rarely seen in the same room.

Three cheers for BIG IN JAPAN, then, which takes the First Family and the Chrome Capitalist out of Manhattan and plonks them down in the middle of Tokyo, to the adulation of a nation - and just in time to head off an invasion by classic Marvel monsters such as Giganto and Eerok.

Hey. Giant Monsters rampaging across a Japanese City. What are the odds?

Predictable stereotypes aside, BIG IN JAPAN has two things going for it: Seth Fisher, whose art on projects such as WILLWORLD and VERTIGO POP TOKYO has wowed readers with its combination of razor-sharp draughtsmanship and bonkers worldview; and Zeb Wells, whose DOCTOR OCTOPUS: YEAR ONE was a fascinating look into the mind of a megalomaniac. Both men bring a fresh energy to the page that will, no doubt, translate into high adventure and big fun for cast and reader alike. Previews of issue one may be found here and here. [Matthew Craig]

PENG WIN

Picture this: I'm kicking around San Diego on the Thursday of the con after spending a week in LA, and I'm dead broke. The night before was something colloquially known as 'The Night of a Thousand Martinis (don't try it at home) and both my wallet and my head were feeling pretty darn abused. Over at the Oni booth, I pick up pretty, shiny books and dazedly put them down again. I want both SCOTT PILGRIM #1 (I had #2 already) and SHARKNIFE. I can't think. I look in my wallet: nothing but $10, and some dude's phone number. Finally I decide: SHARKNIFE.

Well, it was love at first sight, me and SHARKNIFE. It's the comic equivalent of a teenager on a sugar high, with action, love, a soliloquy on gangster fashion, and not a bad little soundtrack in the back. I've been waiting eagerly for SHARKNIFE #2 as well as Corey Lewis' next project, PENG, an extreme kickball story that has just reached stores.

Featuring Lewis standbys like ridiculously awesome names ('Rocky Hallelujah'), talking vomit, great one liners, stupidly over the top videogame-style fight scenes, and hot chicks, PENG is a book you need to own. The world owes Corey Lewis a living, so go do your part. Check out a five-page preview here. If you like Lewis' stuff, might I also suggest Kaneko Atsushi's ace manga BAMBI AND HER PINK GUN? It's out from newish publishers Digital Manga, and is about a hot punk chick with a pink gun, a kid in tow, and a price on her head, and guest stars Puffy AmiYumi - it's a J-pop chickfest in 100-decibel glory.

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR OCTOBER 5th 2005:

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

DARK HORSE

JUN050021D AEON FLUX #1 (OF 4) $2.99
AUG050015D CONAN & THE DEMONS OF KHITAI #1 (OF 4) $2.99

DC COMICS

JUN050346D ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #643 $2.50
JUN050419D ALBION #3 (OF 6) $2.99
AUG050206D AQUAMAN #35 $2.50
AUG050185D ARKHAM ASYLUM ANNIVERSARY ED SC (MR) $17.99
AUG050179D BATMAN GOTHAM COUNTY LINE #1 (OF 3) $5.99
JUL050260D BATMAN STRIKES VOL 2 IN DARKEST KNIGHT TP $6.99
AUG050207D BLOOD OF THE DEMON #8 $2.50
AUG050181D DETECTIVE COMICS #812 $2.50
AUG050192D GOTHAM CENTRAL #36 $2.50
AUG050221D JSA #78 $2.50
AUG050240D JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #14 $2.25
AUG050247D LOONEY TUNES #131 $2.25
AUG050224D OUTSIDERS #29 $2.50
JUL050320D QUITTER HC (MR) $19.99
SEP050298D ROBOTECH THE SHADOW CHRONICLES #3 (OF 5) $3.50
AUG050226D SHOWCASE PRESENTS METAMORPHO VOL 1 TP $16.99
AUG050229D SON OF VULCAN #5 (OF 6) $2.99
JUL058321D SUPERGIRL #1 THIRD PTG $2.99
AUG050198D SUPERMAN SHAZAM FIRST THUNDER #2 (OF 4) $3.50
AUG050288D SWAMP THING #20 (MR) $2.99
AUG050290D VERTIGO FIRST OFFENSES TP (MR) $4.99
JUL058296D WONDER WOMAN #220 SECOND PTG $2.50

IMAGE

AUG051731Z FRESHMEN MIGLIARI CVR #1 POSTER PI
APR051666D INVINCIBLE VOL 1 ULTIMATE COLL HC $34.95
FEB051592D JACK STAFF #9 $3.50
JUL051635D RING OF ROSES TP (RES) $13.99

MARVEL

AUG051914D AMAZING FANTASY #13 $2.99
JUN058283D ASTONISHING X-MEN SECOND PTG VARIANT #12 $2.99
AUG051980D DAREDEVIL REDEMPTION TP $14.99
AUG051938D FANTASTIC FOUR IRON MAN BIG IN JAPAN #1 (OF 4) $3.50
AUG051912D INCREDIBLE HULK #87 $2.99
AUG051939D MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #8 $2.50
AUG051932D MARVEL MONSTERS DEVIL DINOSAUR $3.99
AUG051928D MARVEL TEAM-UP #13 $2.99
JUL051925D MARY JANE VOL 2 HOMECOMING DIGEST TP $6.99
AUG051920D NEW THUNDERBOLTS #13 $2.99
AUG051978D NEW X-MEN HELLIONS TP $9.99
MAY051811 POWERS #13 (MR) $2.95
AUG051954D PUNISHER #26 (MR) $2.99
AUG051982D SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN VOL 6 FINAL CURTAIN TP $14.99
AUG051896D SPIDER-GIRL #91 $2.99
AUG051988D SPIDER-MAN DOOR POSTER $15.99
AUG051887D SPIDER-MAN THE OTHER SKETCHBOOK $2.99
AUG051956D SUPREME POWER NIGHTHAWK #2 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99
AUG051924D THOR BLOOD OATH #2 (OF 6) $2.99
AUG051964D ULTIMATE MARVEL FLIP MAGAZINE #5 $3.99
AUG051965D ULTIMATE TALES FLIP MAGAZINE #5 $3.99
AUG051941D UNCANNY X-MEN #465 $2.50
AUG051976D X-MEN COMPLETE AGE OF APOCALYPSE EPIC BOOK 2 TP $29.99
AUG051947D X-MEN UNLIMITED #11 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

AUG042663E (USE
AUG053245) STREET FIGHTER ETERNAL CHALLENGE TP $34.99
JUN053017F A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #20 (A) $4.99
JUL052637E ARCHIE DIGEST #220 $2.39
JUL052719E BART SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR #11 $4.99
JUL052639E BETTY & VERONICA #212 $2.25
JUN053081F BONEYARD #19 $2.95
AUG052717E CANNON HAWKE PRELUDE $2.50
JUN052878F DEADBEATS #73 $2.50
MAY052774E DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES VOL 13 TP $7.95
AUG052643E EMO BOY #3 $2.95
JUL052787E EVIL ERNIE IN SANTA FE #1 (OF 4) $2.95
JUL052657E FATHOM DAWN OF WAR VOL 1 TP $9.99
JUL052539E FULL METAL PANIC OVERLOAD MANGA VOL 2 TP $9.99
DEC042353E HEAVEN SENT PKT MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
JUL052918F INNOCENCE GN (A) $19.95
JUL052575E JET PACK PETS TP $14.95
APR042250E LITTLE GLOOMY ADVENTURES #2 CRYPT OF CREEPS $3.95
JUL052646E SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #154 $2.25
JUL053176F SURROGATES #2 (OF 5) $2.95
JUN053015F THIEVES & KINGS #47 $2.95
JUL052571F TRUE PORN VOL 2 TP (A) $19.95
JUL052751F TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD #15 $2.95
JUL052878E UNCLE SCROOGE #346 $6.95
JUL052879E WALT DISNEYS COMICS & STORIES #661 $6.95
JUL053008F ZORRO #5 $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.