Welcome to The Forecast. Every Monday, Ninth Art's new core team of comment writers, the Ninth Eight, will be your guides to the best, the worst, the weirdest and the most noteworthy books on their way to your local comic store. Check in every Monday for news, views, speculation and analysis.

BOOK OF THE WEEK: THE FILTH

THE FILTH (DC Vertigo) is 320 pages of absolute shit. The intellectual refuse of a disease-ridden mind and the aesthetic smear of a dirt-clad pencil. Purchasing this product puts money in the hands of Grant Morrison (THE INVISIBLES) and Chris Weston (MINISTRY OF SPACE), creators who have done more to set back staid, formulaic narrative in 13 issues than anyone has ever managed before.

I would think twice before dipping your pure virginal toe into the inviting cesspool that is THE FILTH. You'll never lose the smell after reading about Ned Slade and his reintroduction into the secretive police agency, The Hand. The various ideas contained within are enough to sicken weaker minds; Bonsai planets, monkey assassins, giant killer sperms, artificial personalities.

Admittedly, if you've encountered the foul mind of Morrison before, you may have become desensitised and could find this less challenging. However, it's one of the few times this grimy mind has worked with as equally distasteful an artist. And truly, the visual stain oozing from between these pages is something to behold. That DC deigned to collect so much putrescence in one single volume is both a disgusting and mildly dangerous concept. But then again, whoever liked being clean? [John Fellows]

DARK HORSE STAKES A CLAIM

Dark Horse, Dark Horse, Dark Horse. Where did it go wrong?

Dark Horse used to be the king of movie licences. TERMINATOR, ALIENS, and PREDATOR were the three items that brought them to everyone's attention in the 90s, while they were fostering talents like Mike Mignola. Later, they scored the Mother of all Franchises, STAR WARS, and the rest is history. Recently, however, their choices of licence have been a bit... well, off, and this week's VAN HELSING ONE SHOT doesn't seem to be taking them back in the right direction.

It's not their fault that the movies flopped, of course (I'm thinking of TITAN AE here, which I loved - hell, I actually bought the comic), and though VAN HELSING may get decent box office when it opens in cinemas this week, most of the buzz is that it's shite. This is no reflection on the talent on show in the comic, of course; artist Jason Alexander did some excellent work on Greg Rucka's QUEEN & COUNTRY for Oni a while back (collected in OPERATION BLACKWALL).

Dark Horse says this is a "special debut issue", introducing a "new comic book horror series" inspired by the movie. Even though the film smacks of LXG (right down to abandoning all source material and literary roots), and features nearly every character already popularised by the recent horror comics bandwag... uh, I mean, resurgence, I wouldn't be surprised if this already has it's own fanbase.

God. I hope I'm wrong. [Ben Wooller]

LAST MAN STANDING STRONG

Y: THE LAST MAN (DC Vertigo) is the perfect comic for anyone who loves comics but doesn't feel like reading about superheroes. This should be the template. It's not about sex and guns and vulgarity. That's not the stuff that makes people sit up and notice a comic. If anything too much of what passes for "mature" in comics (i.e. the Marvel Max books) only serves to make comics look more immature.

One theme that comes up time and again in Y: THE LAST MAN is that Yorrick Brown is a snarky, wiseass kid who thinks he knows everything, but whenever he tries to prove this, he's undone by his own sanctimoniousness. And that's the charm. Who hasn't put their foot in their own mouth? And it's no bad thing, if you can learn something from it. So Yorrick is learning, and he's growing and he's getting smarter. Meanwhile, writer Brian K Vaughan and artist Pia Guerra keep raising the stakes.

It's safe to say that things aren't getting any easier for Yorrick. This current storyline is just painful. Agent 711 is progressively taking Yorrick apart piece by piece, and there's no telling what shape he'll be in at the end of this. Thankfully, this is a book that the folks at Vertigo know is at the top of their line, or else they wouldn't be issuing trades after every story arc. But sometimes you need a fix every month, and that's the mark of a good comic - not being able to wait for the trade. [Frank Smith]

BAKER BUTCHERS PLASTIC SURGERY

Kyle Baker's PLASTIC MAN (DC Universe) is more of a letdown than EPISODE I. And, like George Lucas, Kyle Baker has somehow shattered my previously insulated little world with his refusal to do what he does best - in Baker's case, draw. Y'know, with a pencil and everything?

When this series was initially announced, my tiny black heart skipped with innocence and glee. Kyle Baker is, after all, a master cartoonist, writer/artist of classics like WHY I HATE SATURN and THE COWBOY WALLY SHOW, books that helped define the New Comics gestalt of the late eighties with intelligence, irreverence, and style. Okay, Baker definitely slipped a notch or two down the quality ladder after his initial successes. Maybe YOU ARE HERE wasn't so great. So what if I DIE AT MIDNIGHT made me want to slash my wrists at 11:59? It seemed that the opportunity to do PLASTIC MAN was too good a chance, too interesting a possibility, for Baker to screw it up.

And, of course, I was wrong. The thing that's most disappointing about this series is that Plas and Baker should be a perfect match, but given the opportunity to return his classic cartooning, Baker has chosen to slum it with this proto-animated style. His compositions are wild and confusing, his pacing shot to hell, his backgrounds are ridiculous, and his transitions non-existent. Thirty-two pages of animation cells does not a comic book make.

Jack Cole's PLASTIC MAN was groundbreaking material - an explosive, expressive, mindbending example of the fluidity and possibilities of the comics medium. Baker's PLASTIC MAN feels like it should be called MOLASSES MAN. But the potential to do something unique will always be there, because behind that celluloid veneer, there's still a master cartoonist hiding inside Baker's dreadlocked head, hopefully fighting to get back out into the world. [John Parker]

FIRESTARTER, WITH A TWIST

Firestorm is one of those characters, like Green Lantern, that seems to breed partisan fanaticism in a tiny, hardcore group of comics fans, and feelings of benign apathy among the rest of us. From 1978, when the character first appeared, to 1990, Firestorm The Nuclear Man was the fusion of jock Ron Raymond and professor Martin Stein. The resulting superhero was basically Raymond, but with Stein's disembodied psyche riding shotgun.

Firestorm could fly, shoot blasts from his hands, become intangible, and convert matter. When DC decided to bring Firestorm back, they initially asked Mike Carey (LUCIFER) to write it. His angle to give Firestorm multiple personalities seemingly wasn't what the company was after, as Carey is now doing WETWORKS at WildStorm to fill out his 55 pages a month exclusivity deal, while DC has brought in relative newcomer Dan Jolley, writer of a few JLA: ELSEWORLDS and the new BLOODHOUND series.

With Jolley's FIRESTORM #1 (DC Universe), he's taking the concept back to good old geek-becomes-demigod territory. The new Firestorm is Jason Rusch, a black teenager from an abusive home, and the gimmick is that he can fuse with any random stranger to become Firestorm. This alone has rabid Ronnie Raymond fans out for blood - if you don't believe me (or if you think racism is dead), see the DC message boards.

Now, the series may not go anywhere that STARMAN or a billion other titles haven't gone before, but it certainly doesn't deserve the fanboy outrage directed at it. Jolley understands things like characterisation and motivation, and knows how to tell a story. Art is by Chris Cross, who is familiar from OUTSIDERS and CAPTAIN MARVEL, and who has revamped Firestorm's costume so he no longer looks like a flamenco-dancing Malcolm McLaren. [Alex de Campi]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR MAY 5th:

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

DARK HORSE

MAR040032D BPRD A PLAGUE OF FROGS #3 $2.99
FEB040019 MICHAEL CHABON PRESENTS ADVENTURES O/T ESCAPIST VOL 1 TP $17.95
MAR040058D OH MY GODDESS #108 $2.99
MAR040048D SPYBOY FINAL EXAM #1 (Of 4) $2.99
MAR040034D VAN HELSING ONE SHOT $2.99

DC COMICS

MAR040302D DC 100 PAGE SUPER SPECTACULAR WORLDS GREATEST SUPER HEROS $6.95
MAR040272D DETECTIVE COMICS #794 $2.95
MAR040304D ENGINEHEAD #2 (Of 8) $2.50
MAR040361D FILTH TP (MR) $19.95
MAR040306D FIRESTORM #1 $2.50
MAR040314D HARD TIME #4 $2.50
MAR040324D JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES #31 $2.25
MAR040343D LOONEY TUNES #114 $2.25
MAR040330D PLASTIC MAN #6 $2.95
MAR040350D ROBOTECH INVASION #5 (Of 5) $2.95
MAR040371D SANDMAN PRESENTS THESALY WITCH FOR HIRE #4 (Of 4) (MR) $2.95
MAR040295D SUPERMAN BIRTHRIGHT #10 (Of 12) $2.95
NOV030217D SUPERMAN RED SON TP $17.95
MAR040374D SWAMP THING #3 (MR) $2.95
FEB040297 TOM STRONG #26 $2.95
MAR040354D WILDCATS VERSION 3.0 #21 (MR) $2.95
MAR040377D Y THE LAST MAN #22 (MR) $2.95

IMAGE

JAN041302 LIBERTY MEADOWS #36 $2.95
DEC031335D SAVAGE DRAGON VOL 10 ENDGAME TP $15.95
MAR041418D SWORD OF DRACULA #4 $2.95

MARVEL

MAR041661D ALPHA FLIGHT #3 $2.99
MAR041689D CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE FALCON #3 $2.99
MAR041655D EXILES #46 $2.99
MAR041706D MARVEL AGE FANTASTIC FOUR #2 $2.25
MAR041704D MARVEL AGE SPIDER-MAN #3 $2.25
MAR041653D OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE X-MEN 2004 $3.99
JAN045244 SECRET WAR BOOK ONE COMMEMORATIVE EDITION $3.99
MAR041708D SPIDER-GIRL #73 $2.99
MAR041672D SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED #3 $2.99
MAR041695D THANOS #10 $2.99
MAR041691D THOR #78 $2.99
MAR041667D ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #58 $2.25
MAR041648D UNCANNY X-MEN #444 $2.25
MAR041737D UNCANNY X-MEN VOL 5 SHE LIES WITH ANGELS TP $11.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

FEB042719 ALICE 19TH VOL 4 GN UNREQUITED LOVE $9.95
FEB042718 ALL NEW TENCHI MUYO VOL 4 TP GIRLS GET BUSY $9.95
JAN042114 ARCHIE AND FRIENDS #82 $2.19
FEB042116 ARCHIE DIGEST #207 $2.39
MAR042152E BLUE INFERIOR MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
MAR042150E CHRONO CRUSADE MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
MAR042153E DESERT CORAL MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
MAR042404E DUCK PRINCE BOOK 1 GN TRANSFORMATION $9.99
MAR042151E FIGURE 17 MANGA VOL 2 TP $9.99
MAR042405E GEOBREEDERS BOOK 1 GN NEW PTG $9.99
FEB042284 GI JOE #29 $2.95
MAR042242F KADE PURSUIT #2 $2.95
MAR042155E KAGEROU NOSTALGIA MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
MAY012215F LOVE AND ROCKETS VOLUME 2 #3 (MR) $3.95
FEB042290F LOVEBUNNY AND MR HELL VOL 1 TP $9.95
MAR042196E PIRATE CLUB #2 $2.95
MAR042154E PRETEAR MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
MAR042156E RULER OF THE LAND MANGA VOL 2 TP (MR) $9.99
JAN042129 SABRINA VOL 2 #57 $2.19
MAR042157E SAINT MARIE MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
MAR042167F SCURVY DOGS #4 $2.95
FEB042717 SHONEN JUMP VOL 2 #6 JUNE 2004 $4.99
FEB042505F SLAMM HARDBOILED FICTION OF CJ HENDERSON $10.95
MAR042158E STEEL ANGEL KURUMI MANGA VOL 4 TP (MR) $9.99
FEB042026 STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #65 $2.95
FEB042295J STREET FIGHTER JO CHEN POWER FOIL CVR C #7 PI
MAR042160E THOSE WHO HUNT ELVES MANGA VOL 3 TP $9.99
MAR042505E TRANSFORMERS ARMADA MORE THAN MEETS EYE #3 (Of 3) $4.95

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.