Welcome to The Forecast. Every Monday, Ninth Art's hand-picked team of crack comic pundits offer a rundown of some of the best, worst and most noteworthy books on the shelves of your local comic shop.

BOOK OF THE WEEK: VAISTRON

I would like to use the same words to describe VAISTRON that Harlan Ellison used to describe Norman Spinrad's BUG JACK BARON: awful dirty.

VAISTRON is literally one of the most offensive, disgusting things I have ever seen in my life, and you're talking to someone who eats barbecued ribs while watching NIP/TUCK. Set in a futuristic city where every horrific vice known to man has been allowed to take over, VAISTRON (Slave Labor Graphics) features a protagonist whose head was blown off as a girl (she got better), a sex-crazed robot, a spoiled mistress, and other assorted sociopaths.

The plot involves a kidnapping gone wrong, which places our 'heroes' in the sights of a number of ne'er do wells, including an army of cops in flying cars and...Rob. Y'all don't want to know about Rob.

The men who bring you this filth are Andrew Dabb, mastermind of the online series SLICES, and author of a number of more family-friendly books about dark elves and GI Joe, and Boussourir, who renders this world in deceptively simple grey-tones, with plenty of sight gags. It's Tex Avery by way of Luc Besson, Alejandro Jodorowsky and a solid dash of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. I judge them not for what they hath wrought forth, for they will surely have to answer for it in the next world.

As the second issue hits stores, those who want a deeper taste might want to check out this extensive preview of the first issue, still available. If you've ever wanted to know what happens when a robot orgasms or what it's like to bite into a fried panda testicle, then there's still time to get in on a book so depraved that I'm convinced Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis and Mark Millar would only be able to respond to it with a hushed, "damn".

Along with ARSENIC LULLABY and LOWEST COMIC DENOMINATOR, this is the most wrong you can find in 32 black and white pages. If you're looking for something strange, sick and hilarious, take a trip to VAISTRON. [Zack Smith]

SPIRIT MEASURES

Will Eisner's artistic legacy is both rich and deep. An enthusiastic, innovative cheerleader for the medium (try not to imagine the uniform), Eisner was at the forefront of the graphic novel revolution, with works like A CONTRACT WITH GOD and the DROPSIE AVENUE cycle.

Perhaps his most singular creation was a blue-collar crime fighter by the name of THE SPIRIT. Closer to the pulpish, "spicy detective" story roots of the genre than other such characters, The Spirit provided a playground for Eisner to develop the signature line and narrative tricks that served him so very well as a graphic novelist. A distinctive cast of oddballs and beauties set against a backdrop of rain-soaked streets and alphanumeric architecture helped turn the series into a cult classic. And while Eisner moved on to other things in the last twenty years of his life, The Spirit remains his signature character.

A healthy line in tribute acts, such as THE NEW SPIRIT ADVENTURES and Moore and Veitch's GREYSHIRT, has helped maintain the character's popularity to this day. And for those of you eager to drink from the source, there's a line of hardcover SPIRIT ARCHIVES collecting the strips in chronological order. Unfortunately, these collections are, by their very nature, both expensive and uneven. All the more reason, then, to be grateful for this week's BEST OF THE SPIRIT collection. Issued both in time for Christmas (hint, hint) and in advance of Darwyn Cooke's revival of the character (with the creator's blessing), THE BEST OF THE SPIRIT collects 22 of Eisner's earliest Spirit stories into one fat paperback.

In bringing THE SPIRIT back to the masses, DC is maintaining a tradition of keeping one foot in yesterday and one eye on tomorrow. However, with Eisner's memory to drive it, The Spirit will likely do more to inspire creativity and innovation within the medium - even within the superhero genre - than a hundred exhumations of Hawkman. Long may he continue. [Matthew Craig]

PUNCH BACK

Originally published in 1994, MR PUNCH was part of an experiment by British publisher Victor Gollancz to produce original graphic novels for the traditional book market. In retrospect it seems it was a hopeless gamble, but the historical context was the booming popularity of SANDMAN and other DC Vertigo titles, whereupon Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean were approached to produce something in a similar vein outside the direct market ghetto. The same experiment also gave rise to SIGNAL TO NOISE (by the same team, first serialised in THE FACE) and A SMALL KILLING by Alan Moore and Oscar Zarate.

Of the three, MR PUNCH has somehow endured; since the original publication it has been adapted for both stage and radio, and is now being reissued, probably as a tie-in to Gaiman and McKean's film MIRRORMASK, currently doing the rounds on the festival circuit.

Taking the Punch and Judy folklore as a starting point, Gaiman weaves a tragic story about a little boy who stumbles across a dark family secret amid the garish background of a fairground attraction. I've seen the stage play and heard the BBC radio drama, and both of them were valid interpretations of the source material, but neither had the benefit of McKean's haunting artwork.

MR PUNCH was my first exposure to the work of Dave McKean, and I was bowled over the by the sheer complexity of the art, which veered from painting to collage to photography to modelling, all of it packed to bursting within the confines of the page. Flicking through it again, I remain impressed, and I hope that it remains in print and finds a wider audience. It's a moving story about memory and loss, and that's the kind of story that concerns us all. [Bulent Yusuf]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR DECEMBER 14th 2005:

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

DARK HORSE

OCT050045D BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #108 (MR) $2.99
OCT050021D JINGLE BELLE THE FIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS $2.99
JUL050053V OH MY GODDESS VOL 1 AUTHENTIC ED TP $10.95
MAY050043 SAMURAI EXECUTIONER VOL 7 TP $9.95
JUL050046V SAMURAI HEAVEN & EARTH TP $14.95
SEP050027V SEXY CHIX TP $12.95

DC COMICS

OCT050315D 100 BULLETS #67 (MR) $2.75
OCT050299D AUTHORITY THE MAGNIFICENT KEVIN #5 (OF 5) (MR) $2.99
JUN040197D BATMAN DEATH AND THE MAIDENS TP $19.95
OCT050219D BATMAN GOTHAM COUNTY LINE #3 (OF 3) $5.99
OCT050217D BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #198 $2.50
OCT050277D BATMAN STRIKES #16 $2.25
OCT050288D BEST OF THE SPIRIT TP $14.99
OCT050296D CAPTAIN ATOM ARMAGEDDON #3 (OF 9) $2.99
OCT050290D CHIKYU MISAKI VOL 2 $9.99
OCT050319D DMZ #2 (MR) $2.99
OCT050316D FABLES #44 (MR) $2.75
OCT050244D FIRESTORM #20 $2.50
OCT050248D GREEN ARROW #57 $2.50
OCT050252D HAWKMAN #47 $2.50
OCT050254D JLA #123 $2.50
OCT050300D MAJESTIC #12 $2.99
OCT050293D MONSTER COLLECTION VOL 4 (MR) $9.99
SEP058283D MR PUNCH SC $19.99
OCT050285D SCOOBY DOO #103 $2.25
OCT050237D SUPERMAN TRUE BRIT SC $17.99
OCT050276D VILLAINS UNITED TP $12.99
OCT050308D WILDCATS NEMESIS #4 (OF 9) $2.99
OCT050273D WONDER WOMAN EYES OF THE GORGON TP $19.99

IMAGE

OCT051725D AMAZING JOY BUZZARDS VOL 2 #3 $2.99
OCT051707D FURTHER ADVENTURES OF ONE PAGE FILLER MAN GN $11.99
FEB045201D MAGE VOL 1 THE HERO DISCOVERED TP $29.99
AUG051640 SPAWN COLLECTION VOL 1 TP $19.95
OCT051711D WALKING DEAD OMNIBUS VOL 1 HC (MR) $100.00
OCT051712D WALKING DEAD OMNIBUS VOL 1 HC SGN (MR) $150.00

MARVEL

OCT051961D BOOKS OF DOOM #2 (OF 6) $2.99
OCT052001D CABLE DEADPOOL #23 $2.99
OCT051964D FANTASTIC FOUR IRON MAN BIG IN JAPAN #3 (OF 4) $3.50
OCT052037D FANTASTIC FOUR VISIONARIES JOHN BYRNE VOL 5 TP $24.99
SEP058479D FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN 2ND PTG VAR #2 $2.99
OCT051955D GHOST RIDER #4 (OF 6) $2.99
OCT052033D GLA MISASSEMBLED TP $14.99
OCT051966D GLX-MAS SPECIAL $3.99
OCT052029D GRAVITY BIG CITY SUPER HERO DIGEST $7.99
OCT052000D MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #7 $2.50
OCT052043D MARVEL JOE MADUREIRA POSTER $5.99
OCT051956D MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #25 $2.99
OCT051945D MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #21 $2.99
OCT051972D MARVEL SELECT FLIP MAGAZINE #7 $3.99
OCT051973D MARVEL TALES FLIP MAGAZINE #6 $3.99
OCT051979D NEW AVENGERS MOST WANTED FILES $3.99
OCT051980D NEW THUNDERBOLTS #16 $2.99
OCT052006D NEW X-MEN #21 $2.99
SEP058478D NEW X-MEN SECOND PTG VARIANT #20 $2.99
OCT052039D OMEGA THE UNKNOWN CLASSIC TP $29.99
OCT051958D PUNISHER SILENT NIGHT $3.99
AUG051911 SECRET WAR BOOK FIVE (OF 5) $3.99
OCT052007D SON OF M #1 (OF 6) $2.99
OCT051939D ULTIMATE IRON MAN #5 (OF 5) $2.99
OCT052008D UNCANNY X-MEN #467 $2.50
OCT051996D WHAT IF WOLVERINE $2.99
SEP051967D X-FACTOR #1 $2.99
OCT052010D X-MEN #179 $2.50
OCT052028D X-MEN PHOENIX ENDSONG TP $14.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

SEP052976F A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #24 (A) $4.99
AUG053084F AMELIA RULES #16 $2.95
OCT052760E AP HOW TO DRAW MANGA NEXT GENERATION SUPERSIZED VOL 1 TP $19.95
OCT052863F ART OF JIM BALENT MAGICK IN B&W #2 (MR) $14.99
OCT052864F ART OF JIM BALENT MAGICK IN B&W SGN #2 (MR) $24.99
MAY052934 ATOMIKA #5 (OF 12) $2.99
SEP052751E BETTY #152 $2.25
SEP052853F ELVIRA #151 $2.50
AUG053244J EXALTED #1 POWER FOIL CVR ED PI
AUG053243F EXALTED #1 REG ED $3.49
OCT052922E GI JOE SIGMA 6 #1 $2.95
SEP048102E HANA KIMI VOL 2 GN $9.95
JUN053114F JACK COLE READER VOL 1 TP $25.00
SEP052754E JUGHEAD AND FRIENDS DIGEST #7 $2.39
DEC042708F LEVEL C VOL 1 GN (A) $9.99
MAR053016 LEVEL C VOL 2 GN (A) $9.99
JUN053054F LEVEL C VOL 3 GN (A) $9.99
OCT053136E LOCAL #2 (OF 12) (MR) $2.99
OCT052920F NOTHING BETTER #2 (MR) $2.95
SEP052755E PALS N GALS DOUBLE DIGEST #99 $3.59
SEP052689E PATTY CAKE & FRIENDS VOL 2 #15 $4.95
SEP053022F PHANTOM GRAHAM NOLAN SUNDAY VOL 2 TP $16.95
JUN042642F SKYSCRAPERS OF OZ GN (A) $9.99
SEP052758E SONIC X #4 (OF 4) $2.25
OCT053142F TEMPORARY VOL 1 TP $14.95

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.