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: MOON KNIGHT

Do you ever think about Batman? Does Batman ever think about you? I mean, why do we all love Batman? You do all love Batman, right? Even the laydeez love Batman. He is, you must admit, the topper-most of the popper-most and only beats out Superman because he breaks people's legs. If Superman ever needs a bit more good PR, he should try leg-breaking.

So why can't Batman's success be revisited elsewhere? There have been admirable attempts - Spawn being the most obvious. But Batman is always there, hiding in the shadows, reminding you that you're not as good as him, you should just give up and go home - oh, and his dick is bigger, too. So even in this day and age, when we all must know that Batman always wins, why bother trying to compete?

Charlie Huston and David Finch launch a new ongoing this week by the nom de guerre of MOON KNIGHT and - shock horror - it's a Batman rip-off. Of course, the Moon Knight fans out there will tell you he's been around for years and is far more interesting and developed and cool and breaks more legs and has a dick so big he needs a crutch underneath it to go for a piss. But they'd be wrong. You see, it all basically boils down to the fact that - ahh-ha-haaa - Moon Knight has a white costume and Batman has a black one. Cunning like a fox, Marvel! In fact, his Wiki entry actually says, "Moon Knight is often unfairly criticized as a 'poor man's' Batman".

And then there's his silly origin story, which involves Egyptian temples, ancient fists, men called "The Bushman" and multiple personalities; Steven Grant... and... er... Randy Lander and Rich Johnston.

But this early preview shows that Huston's hard-edged novelist's prose works wonders on the grim 'n' gritty hero, and even David Finch's 'Hall of Wonky Mirrors' over-rendered art style doesn't look too bad. I'm a firm believer that there's no such thing as a bad concept, just bad creators. In the right hands, MOON KNIGHT could work. I mean, obviously he wouldn't beat Batman in a fight, but as long as he sticks to the leg-breaking, we could all be winners. [John Fellows]

STRINGS ATTACHED

I have a secret: I used to be a bit of musician, on the side.

I learned to play the French horn from a man who was part Mr Miyagi, part Ken Stott, and who had once appeared on Top of the Pops, playing the theme from VAN DER VALK (which you can listen to here). I soon joined the school and county orchestras, as well as a couple of local brass bands (my first act of heresy, but not my last). I was an enthusiastic horn player, although I never rose above the level of gifted amateur, but I knew plenty of people for whom music was their entire reason for living. People who spent more time in the practice room than they spent in bed. People who travelled to Russia without a word of the language to learn conducting from bitter, ancient Communists. People who sacrificed relationships for the chance to audition - never mind play - for prestigious orchestras, colleges and competitions. While I admired their dedication and rued their occasional elitism, I was more than content to make a nice noise and flirt with the woodwind. I lacked the passion (and, okay, the talent) to make music my life.

This week sees the release of Keiko Yamada's music manga VS (DC Comics/CMX). Not to be confused with the Japanese action movie VERSUS, VS is the story of Reiji, a self-taught violinist who finds both a kindred spirit and a teacher in the form of Mitsuko, a former prodigy rendered unable to play after a serious accident. Each gains something different from the partnership: Mitsuko discovers an outlet for her talent, albeit by proxy, while Reiji gains the chance to escape a difficult home life.

So far, so BILLY ELLIOT. But while the synopsis may be something of a cliché, the ultra competitive backdrop and broadly redemptive character arc should, at the very least, result in some interesting drama. (See a PDF preview here.) After all, nothing worth doing is ever easy. [Matthew Craig]

NO SMITH, PLENTY JONES

It's really quite amazing to think that a cropped scene of Jessica Jones having consensual sex from behind was enough to get someone to refuse to print this, while IDENTITY CRISIS... oh, who cares?

What is important is that ALIAS, probably Brian Bendis's best work at Marvel, is now available in one hardcover volume. At nearly 600 pages and almost 30 issues of comics, it's one of the thickest (and most expensive) collections Marvel has ever put out. But it's a fitting tribute to one of the most atypical Marvel books ever published - the like of which we're not likely to see again.

For those who didn't catch it the first time, ALIAS (no relation to the TV series), tells the story of Jessica Jones, a former superhero turned foul-mouthed private investigator, prone to blackout drinking binges and fits of extreme self-awareness.

As Jessica pursues her cases, she finds herself forced to confront her demons -- her tragic past, her dysfunctional relationships, and whether she can finally pull her life together.

ALIAS isn't so much a mystery as a character study - one filled with darkness, twists and a great deal of wry humour. Jessica's detachment from the world of heroics offers some great absurd moments, such as when Ka-Zar, lord of the Savage Land, tries to get her to find his kidnapped sabre-toothed tiger (she doesn't go for it). There's also some memorably dark moments in the climactic storyline, 'Purple', which offers a creepy take on one of Marvel's goofiest villains.

The series offers the terrific, moody artwork of Michael Gaydos, occasionally aided by Bendis's other collaborators - the 'Come Home' storyline features one memorable issue in which Gaydos, David Mack and Mark Bagley each illustrate a sequence written to suit their specific styles.

ALIAS offered unrestrained Bendis, often going off in crazy directions but always guided by a strong character and a sure sense of storytelling. The characters continued in a more all-ages format with the recently-ended THE PULSE, and still make appearances in other Marvel books, but with ALIAS, you got the perverse little thrill of watching a jaded adult wander through the strangeness of a superhero universe, knowing that as screwed-up as they were, the world they inhabited was even weirder.

And while Marvel has since leaned away from mature-oriented books... well, at least the time when someone could scream "FUCK!" at Speedball with impunity has been preserved for posterity. [Zack Smith]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR APRIL 5th 2006:

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

DC COMICS

FEB050259 ACTION COMICS #826 $2.50
NOV050241D BATMAN HUSH RETURNS TP $12.99
FEB060228 BATMAN SECRETS #2 (OF 5) $2.99
JAN060306 CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN STOLEN MOMENTS BORROWED TIME TP $16.99
JAN060351 CIPHER VOL 3 $9.99
FEB060221 DETECTIVE COMICS #818 $2.50
DEC050318D EX MACHINA #19 (MR) $2.99
JAN060357 EX MACHINA VOL 3 FACT V FICTION TP (MR) $12.99
FEB060330 EXTERMINATORS #4 (MR) $2.99
FEB060274 HARD TIME SEASON TWO #5 $2.50
JAN060378 HELLBLAZER PAPA MIDNITE TP (MR) $12.99
FEB060276 JONAH HEX #6 $2.99
FEB060282 JSA #84 $2.50
FEB060297 JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #20 $2.25
FEB060303 LOONEY TUNES #137 $2.25
FEB060285 OUTSIDERS #35 $2.50
DEC050323D PLANETARY #25 $2.99
JAN060282 ROBIN TO KILL A BIRD TP $14.99
JUL050214 SUPERMAN BIRTHRIGHT TP $19.99
FEB060338 SWAMP THING #26 (MR) $2.99
FEB060322 TEAM ZERO #5 (OF 6) $2.99
MAR050448D TENJHO TENGE VOL 2 $9.99
SEP050284 TENJHO TENGE VOL 4 $9.99
FEB060323 THUNDERBOLT JAXON #3 (OF 5) $2.99
JAN060369 TOM STRONG BOOK FIVE TP $17.99
FEB060306 VS (VERSUS) VOL 1 $9.99
JAN060366 WINTER MEN #4 (OF 8) (RES) (MR) $2.99
FEB060340 Y THE LAST MAN #44 (MR) $2.99
MAY050306D Y THE LAST MAN VOL 5 RING OF TRUTH TP (MR) $14.99

MARVEL

FEB062005 ANNIHILATION SILVER SURFER #1 (OF 4) $2.99
FEB062065 BOOK OF LOST SOULS #6 $2.99
FEB062016 DOC SAMSON #4 (OF 5) $2.99
FEB062090 ESSENTIAL X-MEN VOL 7 TP $16.99
FEB062075 MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 2 DIGEST TP $6.99
FEB062025 MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #14 $2.99
FEB062033 MARVEL TEAM-UP #19 $2.99
FEB062032 MARVEL ZOMBIES #5 (OF 5) $2.99
FEB062001 MOON KNIGHT #1 $2.99
JAN068181 MOON KNIGHT FINCH SKETCH VARIANT #1 $2.99
FEB062048 NEW EXCALIBUR #6 $2.99
FEB062064 PUNISHER #32 (MR) $2.99
FEB061992 SPIDER-GIRL #97 $2.99
FEB062078 ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 5 CROSSOVER TP $12.99
FEB062023 ULTIMATE MARVEL FLIP MAGAZINE #11 $3.99
FEB062021 ULTIMATE TALES FLIP MAGAZINE #11 $3.99
FEB062042 UNDERWORLD #3 (OF 5) $2.99
FEB062092 WOLVERINE ORIGINS TURNER POSTER $6.99
FEB062059 X-MEN APOCALYPSE DRACULA #3 (OF 4) $2.99
FEB062061 X-MEN THE END MEN AND X-MEN #4 (OF 6) $2.99
FEB062058 X-MEN UNLIMITED #14 $2.99
JAN062062 YOUNG AVENGERS #11 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

DEC053204 ADVENT RISING ROCK THE PLANET #4 ROCKFIGHT $2.25
DEC052923 DEADBEATS #76 $2.50
JAN062947F ELVIRA #155 $2.50
FEB062813 EMO BOY #6 $2.95
FEB062981 GI JOE AMERICAS ELITE #10 $2.95
JAN062861 JUGHEAD #172 $2.25
SEP052656 LAGOON ENGINE EINSATZ MANGA VOL 1 TP $10.95
JAN062822 LITTLE SCROWLIE #13 $2.95
JAN063073F MIDARA GN (A) $19.95
FEB062819 NEXT EXIT #8 $2.95
FEB063003F NODWICK #32 $2.99
JAN063367 SILVER STAR GRAPHITE EDITION $19.95
JAN062865 SONIC X #7 $2.25
SEP053055 STRANGETOWN #1 (MR) $2.99
SEP058196 STREET FIGHTER #2 2ND PTG (O/A) $2.95
FEB062786F SUPERIOR SHOWCASE #1 $2.95
JAN062870 TALES FROM RIVERDALE DIGEST #10 $2.39
DEC053041 THIEVES & KINGS #48 (NOTE PRICE) $3.50
MAR063337F TRUE LOVES VOL 1 GN $12.99

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.