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: PUT THE BOOK BACK ON THE SHELF

The latest attempt to blur the lines between comics and music arrives in stores this week in the form of PUT THE BOOK BACK ON THE SHELF: A BELLE AND SEBASTIAN ANTHOLOGY (Image). Published to coincide with the release of their new album, THE LIFE PURSUIT, the anthology sees a veritable panoply of artists adapt Belle and Sebastian lyrics for comics. With a line up that includes strips by Andi Watson, Laurenn McCubbin, B Clay Moore and Tom Hart, the book will no doubt have something to offer the casual reader and Sebastianites alike.

B&S have fallen through the (admittedly capacious) holes in my musical appreciation net. Founded in Glasgow in 1996, the few songs that I've managed to track down have had a nice line in boggling indie pop, driven by bright and boisterous guitars. They're easier on the ear than Theaudience were, and reach towards a light orchestral texture that's a little reminiscent of My Life Story. Perhaps the most recognisable B&S track is 'The Boy With The Arab Strap', which found fame as the theme music for the Channel 4 comedy TEACHERS.

If the comics can capture the refreshingly well-balanced tone of the band (as heard here, here, here and here), then PUT THE BOOK BACK may well turn out to be one of the finest anthologies of the year - the ideal present for the gloomy alt-comics fan, struggling musician or patient and forgiving Valentine in your life. If ever there was an antidote to the blues, then Belle & Sebastian are it. [Matthew Craig]

MOON OF LOVE

He wore a costume that looked like a handkerchief, flew around in a giant half-moon helicopter, and hung out with a Frenchman nicknamed 'Frenchie'. He worshipped a moon god named Khonshu and had an arch enemy named Bushman. And somehow, his was one of the coolest Marvel comics of the 1980s.

MOON KNIGHT, the latest of Marvel's more eclectic series to find its way into a nice thick Essential volume, was a blatant fusion of Batman and the Shadow, with a healthy amount of Egyptian mythology thrown in for good measure. It was also the starting ground of Bill Sienkiewicz, whose evocative, surreal work gained a cult following on MK's solo series.

The bizarro premise involved Marc Spector, a mercenary who finds himself betrayed and left for dead in the Egyptian desert ("He was -- handsome!" weeps his future love interest, the oft-scantily-clad Marlene). Supposedly resurrected by the aforementioned Khonshu, Spector assumes his superhero identity (plus a couple of other identities for good measure), and goes off to seek justice and fight werewolves. And Bushman.

The collection includes a smattering of MK's early appearances, along with the first ten issues of the ongoing series that established him as a cult favourite. Sienkiewicz was more than able to capture the more surreal elements of writer/creator Doug Monech's pulpy, twisty storylines, and the series truly came to life as he began to cut loose, including some black-and-white covers that are still stunners.

Sadly, this volume only collects the first third of Seinkewicz's run, when he was still developing his style (readers will be denied the gorgeous jazz-themed 'Hit It', or even the story where MK fights Nimrod Strange, "leader of the third world army", who surrounds himself with bikini-clad bodyguards and wears a bucket on his head). Still, there is plenty of worthwhile material in this volume, including the rare first full-length MK story by Moench and Sienkiewicz. And Sienkiewicz's material, while somewhat restrained at this point, is served well by the black-and-white format.

With a new MK series by novelist Charlie Huston and artist David Finch coming soon, this is a perfect opportunity to see just why this character has made such an impression, Bushman be damned. [Zack Smith]

MORE TALES TO ASTONISH

It's been the unwritten consensus that on both PLANETARY and ASTONISHING X-MEN, throughout the moments of authorial stagnation, John Cassaday's pencils were what made the books worth reading. Now ASTONISHING X-MEN is back for its 'second year', and Marvel is so keen to indulge its creative team that it not only delayed this 13th issue, but it's given it a bi-monthly schedule.

ASTONISHING suffered during its first six issues from an acute case of nostalgia with the reneging on Colossus' death. The second half of the first year suffered from being, well, just not very good. It paired a terrible plot ripped off from a just-as-terrible STAR TREK episode with some very unlikely characterisation to build up to an impressively boring action sequence. Rumours abound that the second arc was ghost-written, but the rumours remain scurrilous and unfounded.

Hopefully, the gap between first and second year (and the end of Whedon's out-of-comics obligations with the movie SERENITY) will have allowed time for all concerned to work on whatever problems the title had. It's often the case that big-shot movie-types like Whedon get all 'sitting-at-the-adult-table' over-excited about writing their heroes, and blurt out their fanboy-isms straight out of the gate. Hopefully Whedon can settle in more comfortably now and show us what he's really capable of.

Cassaday, meanwhile, is just as good as he always is. Even his punishing schedule pencilling and inking two titles simultaneously - however intermittent their publishing schedules might be - hasn't allowed his work to suffer. There have been times when he wasn't at his best, but even substandard Cassaday is ten times better than the best of what most other mainstream artists have to offer. [John Fellows]

EURO-SPIDEY

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #529 comes out this week, and it's the first salvo in Marvel's 'Civil War' event, meaning that Spider-Man has gone from one line-wide crossover to another without pause, his third in eighteen months. And while the current approach has resulted in extremely healthy sales, it is, for my money, about as far from Spider-Man as you can get without accidentally opening a copy of OMAHA THE CAT DANCER.

After eighteen months away from the core Spider-Man titles, I've found myself eager for new adventures starring my favourite character, and I finally found a hit of new Spidey in the form of an original graphic novella commissioned and published by Marvel's European partners, Panini Comics. First published in Italian as IL SEGRETO DEL VETRO ('The Secret of the Glass'), then in French as LE SECRET DU VERRE, the comic is a 24-page story that sees Peter Parker travel to Venice on assignment for the Daily Bugle. Arriving in time for the Venice Carnival, Peter soon becomes involved in the revival of a 17th Century alchemist - a man whose greatest creation came at a terrible price.

Written by Tito Faraci (DYLAN DOG), and featuring art by Giorgio Cavazzano, SECRET is a fairly standard Spider-Man story, but Faraci's script motors along nicely, with moments of quiet contemplation and gentle humour, and Cavazzano's art, honed through years of work for Disney, is gorgeous, combining expressive characters with detailed backgrounds and sumptuous Venetian vistas. If Steve Ditko had trained Andi Watson, it might have looked something like this.

As of the time of writing, SECRET has yet to be translated into English. Indeed, I had to buy my copy from Amazon France, and being an ad-free oversized hardcover album, it wasn't cheap. The lack of an English version is a crying shame, as the book is a genuine delight, and would fill an issue of SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED quite nicely. It doesn't change Spider-Man forever; it doesn't tie into any other comics or crossovers; and all mystical mumbo-jumbo is confined to the villain and his idiom. Instead, SECRET is a self-contained, classic Spider-Man adventure in a refreshingly novel format, and it's well worth the one-off expense. [Matthew Craig]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR FEBRUARY 22nd 2006:

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

DARK HORSE

DEC050022D USAGI YOJIMBO #91 $2.99

DC COMICS

DEC050315D AMERICAN WAY #1 (OF 8) $2.99
DEC050224D BATMAN #650 $2.50
DEC050228D BATMAN JOURNEY INTO KNIGHT #7 (OF 12) $2.50
DEC050290D CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #18 $2.25
DEC050232D CATWOMAN #52 $2.50
DEC050304D GALS VOL 5 $9.99
DEC050256D GREEN LANTERN #9 $2.99
DEC058058D GREEN LANTERN GREEN ARROW VOL 1 TP $14.99
DEC058118D INFINITE CRISIS SECOND PTG #4 (OF 7) $3.99
DEC050264D JLA CLASSIFIED #17 $2.99
DEC050271D LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #15 $2.99
DEC050334D LUCIFER #71 (MR) $2.75
DEC050295D SCOOBY DOO VOL 5 SURFS UP $6.99
DEC050296D SCOOBY DOO VOL 6 SPACE FRIGHT $6.99
DEC050275D SOLO #9 $4.99
DEC050243D SUPERMAN THE JOURNEY TP $14.99
DEC050337D SWAMP THING BOOK 3 HEALING THE BREACH TP (MR) $17.99
DEC050285D TEEN TITANS GO #28 $2.25
OCT050295 TENJHO TENGE VOL 5 $9.99
DEC050284D VIGILANTE #6 (OF 6) $2.99
DEC050281D WARLORD #1 $2.99
DEC050282D WONDER WOMAN #226 $2.50
DEC050309D YOUNG MAGICIAN VOL 3 (MR) $9.99

IMAGE

SEP051671 DISTANT SOIL VOL 4 CODA LTD ED HC (RES) $29.95
NOV051717D INVINCIBLE SCRIPT BOOK #1 $3.99
FEB045201 MAGE VOL 1 THE HERO DISCOVERED TP $29.99
DEC051753D PUT THE BOOK BACK ON SHELF BELLE & SEBASTIAN ANTHOLOGY GN $19.99
NOV051752D PVP #23 $2.99
DEC051779D SAVAGE DRAGON #123 (RES) $2.99
NOV051758D SHADOWHAWK #9 $3.50
AUG051640D SPAWN COLLECTION VOL 1 TP $19.95

MARVEL

DEC051993D ALL NEW OFF HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE A TO Z #2 $3.99
DEC051977D AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #529 $2.50
DEC052070D ARANA 3 NIGHT OF THE HUNTER DIGEST TP $7.99
DEC052037D ASTONISHING X-MEN #13 $2.99
NOV058157 ASTONISHING X-MEN MEGA CON SKETCH VARIANT #13 PI
NOV058158 ASTONISHING X-MEN MIDTOWN SKETCH VARIANT #13 PI
NOV058151 ASTONISHING X-MEN SKETCH VARIANT #13 (PP #699) PI
DEC051983D BLACK PANTHER #13 $2.99
DEC051982D BLACK WIDOW 2 #6 (OF 6) $2.99
DEC052059D BOOK OF LOST SOULS #5 $2.99
DEC051997D CAPTAIN AMERICA #15 $2.99 SEP041812 ESSENTIAL IRON MAN VOL 2 TP $16.99
DEC052038D EXILES #77 $2.99
DEC052000D FANTASTIC FOUR #535 $2.99
DEC052076D HOUSE OF M SPIDER-MAN TP $13.99
DEC052078D HOUSE OF M WORLD OF M TP $13.99
DEC052004D I HEART MARVEL OUTLAW LOVE $2.99
DEC052001D IRON MAN THE INEVITABLE #3 (OF 6) $2.99
DEC052061D KABUKI #6 (MR) $2.99
DEC052062D KABUKI MIGNOLA CVR #6 (MR) $2.99
DEC052017D MARVEL MILESTONES DRAGON LORD SPEEDBALL & MAN IN THE SKY $3.99
DEC052016D MARVEL SPOTLIGHT JOSS WHEDON MICHAEL LARK $2.99
NOV052032D NEW WARRIORS REALITY CHECK TP $15.99
DEC052042D NEW X-MEN #23 $2.99
DEC052026D NICK FURY HOWLING COMMANDOS #5 $2.99
DEC052079D NIGHTCRAWLER THE WINDING WAY TP $14.99
DEC052030D SENTRY #6 (OF 8) $2.99
DEC051980D SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #3 $2.99
DEC052045D STORM #1 (OF 6) $2.99
DEC058339D STORM BOOK MARKET VARIANT #1 (OF 6) $2.99
OCT052018 SUPREME POWER HYPERION #4 (OF 5) (MR) $2.99
DEC052033D THING #4 $2.99
DEC051973D ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #90 $2.50
DEC051974D ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS HULK #2 (OF 6) $2.99
DEC051992D WOLVERINE #39 $2.50
DEC052050D X-MEN #183 $2.50

OTHER PUBLISHERS

DEC053043 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #29 (A) $4.99
DEC032738 ALICE 19TH VOL 3 GN $9.95
AUG053270E ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO VOL 7 TP $8.95
DEC052890 BART SIMPSON COMICS #28 $2.99
DEC053304 COFFEE AND DONUTS GN $10.00
NOV052680E CROMARTIE HIGH SCHOOL MANGA VOL 5 TP $10.95
DEC052961 DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES KURTH CVR A #7 (OF 8) $2.95
DEC052962 DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES WALPOLE CVR B #7 (OF 8) $5.95
AUG053244J EXALTED #1 POWER FOIL CVR ED PI
DEC052956 GI JOE SIGMA 6 #3 $2.95
NOV052713E GLOOMCOOKIE #26 (MR) $2.95
DEC053001 LUBAS COMICS & STORIES #7 (MR) $3.50
DEC053133 MISS DD VOL 3 GN (A) $9.95
JAN042824 NEON GENESIS EVANGELION VOL 1 2ND ED TP $9.95
DEC052775 PARIS #3 (OF 4) $2.95
NOV053063E POLLY & THE PIRATES #4 (OF 6) $2.99
FEB052996 QUEEN & COUNTRY DECLASSIFIED VOL 2 #3 (MR) $2.99
JAN063039F RUNAWAY COMICS #1 (MR) $3.50
DEC052821 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #159 $2.25
SEP053096 SPELLGAME #3 $2.99
SEP058232F STREET FIGHTER VOL 2 TP $13.99
DEC052823 TALES FROM RIVERDALE DIGEST #9 $2.39
JAN052815F THIEVES & KINGS #46 (RES) $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.