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: McSWEENEY'S

The latest salvo in the fight for comics' lit-gitimacy, to coin a word so horrible that I swear I'll never use it again, comes in the form of the thirteenth edition of literary periodical McSweeney's, which may even now be sitting in the 'obscure magazines' section of a bookshop near you between Croatian Vogue and The Lesbian Architectural Review.

McSweeney's, for those of you not called Tarquin, is literati darling David Eggers' 'Quarterly Concern', a simply precious little cocktail of fiction and non-fiction by the most fashionable young writers of the moment. This thirteenth edition sees Eggers handing over the editorial reins to comics' own darling of the literati, Chris Ware, for a volume dedicated entirely to comics.

The resulting hardback book is as impossibly handsome and unnervingly worthy as you would expect. It contains new works by many of the usual suspects, both old school and new, including R Crumb, Daniel Clowes, Ivan Brunetti and Jim Woodring, as well as some names that are sure to be unfamiliar, and text pieces by John Updike, Chip Kidd, Glen David Gold and Michael Chabon (in his Malachi B Cohen guise). Disappointingly, many of the contributions are reprints, including those from Joe Sacco, Adrian Tomine, Art Spiegelman and Chester Brown, but if you don't know the works of all of these artists, you should certainly appreciate the introduction.

What distinguishes McSweeney's from your usual comics anthology is Ware's desire to provide context. Ware has placed the pieces with care, inviting the reader to seek out parallels and contrasts between the works, and he's provided the historical context that modern readers are so rarely exposed to, with strips by Rödolphe Topffer, Milt Gross and others. (Of course, he confesses to self-indulgence in placing his own contribution between works by George Herriman and Charles Schulz).

At $24 for over 260 pages (plus a wraparound Ware cover and mini-comics by Ron Rege and John Porcellino), it's also terrific value compared to your usual slice of hardback comics lit. Even if your name isn't Tarquin. [Andrew Wheeler]

ULTIMATE, FANTASTIC... AUTHORITATIVE?

Only Warren Ellis - like some High Priest Of Astrology - has to give each rotation of his life on this Earth a specific handle. The Year Of Whoredom begins in vain with the second story-arc of the latest addition to Marvel's Ultimate line. Previously the sole vanguard of Bendillar, the multi-limbed Celtic-American best responsible for half of all comics outputs in any given month, now it has been opened up to other lesser mortals. Now Ellis, couching his return to mainstream comics as "helping out a mate" rather than "slouching back, tail between legs", has been allowed to put his mark on this new/old universe.

But it's not entirely unfamiliar territory, as this second arc focuses on the Foursome's most famous enemy (and arguably one of the greatest super-villains), Dr Doom. Previously, Ellis had been responsible for writing the exploits of DOOM 2099, which sounds far worse than the end result. Given the chance to meld his love of complete bastards with his current sci-fact obsessions (exemplified best in GLOBAL FREQUENCY), the untold promises of his return to 'mainstream' comics actually outweigh the sad failures of his creator-owned work.

Joining him is the terminally under-appreciated Stuart Immomen. Melding a realist style with the surrealist ideas on display in this series would seem a difficult balance, but it's one he appears to have captured, echoing Ellis' approach to the series as a science fiction, rather than superhero title.

It will, undoubtedly, be a slow-burning arc in the ULTIMATE tradition, but with plenty of opportunity for both Ellis and Immomen to reinvent a much beloved super-villain for the modern age. After Ellis's last straight superhero work - THE AUTHORITY - reinvented a genre, can this do the same? [John Fellows]

KNOWN UNKNOWNS

While Howard Chaykin's done a few books for DC over the last few years - AMERICAN CENTURY, BARNUM, and the underestimated SON OF SUPERMAN, all with co-writer David Tischman - for the past decade or som Howard Chaykin has worked primarily as a screenwriter for shitty comic-based TV shows like MUTANT X and THE FLASH, thus wasting his formidable talents and ruining hundreds of miserable little lives.

Luckily for us, Chaykin seems to have stopped worrying about insignificant things like income and professional respect, and is enjoying something of a personal renaissance through DC, with recent releases MIGHTY LOVE and BITE CLUB, as well as an upcoming reissue of his groundbreaking AMERICAN FLAGG through Dynamic Forces.

You'd think that would be enough, right? Well, Chaykin is a man who likes his challenges, and now he's taken on a big one - THE CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN (I apologise). Though this particular series is new ground for Chaykin, the situation isn't. Over the years he's had his way with many of DC's classic properties - The Blackhawks, The Shadow, etc. Each time, he's shown a respect for the concepts' roots, but has been unafraid to apply his forward-thinking approach.

So in CHALLENGERS, instead of it being four guys who miraculously survive a plane crash and vow to forever cheat death and... challenge the unknown, this time it's five anti-authority hardasses out to fight the government and establishment forces that are controlling our lives. It's what you call Chaykinesque.

This is the first of a six issue series written and drawn by Chaykin, under the official DC Universe flag, so don't expect too much of the sex and violence that Vertigo affords and Chaykin excels at. Do expect to see something wild and fun and remarkably different from the original concept. Something Chaykinesque. [John Parker]

SWEET MARY JANE

Inside the offices of Marvel...

"Hey, guys. Thanks for coming to this editorial meeting; sorry for the short notice. You know, I've been thinking. We really need to do something about our demographics. Maybe do more books for girls or something. Yeah! I mean, they read those manga things all the time.

"What? No, I've never read any manga myself. I don't really see the appeal but, y'know, kids today. But with the big SPIDER-MAN 2 movie coming out this summer (and don't it look sweeeet) we could totally capitalise on that by doing a spin off on - wait - I got it - MARY JANE!

"Yeah, no spandex; we'll put it in a school setting. It'll be great. I know, it's a great idea, isn't it? And now that we're canning... cough ... now that we're putting RUNAWAYS on hiatus, we've got this actual Japanese artist, what's his name, oh yeah, Takeshi Miyazaki - no, Miyazawa, oh whatever.

"He's what? Canadian? Well, he sounds Japanese. That's sure to get the manga-lovers in!

"What? No, we couldn't possibly do it in an actual manga format. Who wants to buy black and white comics, anyway? And where would we put the ads? Maybe we'll digest-size the trades. But singles, man! That's where it's at! We'll hook the girls with MARY JANE, then get them onto our other products.

"I gave Mark Millar a call the other day about doing more teen stuff after TROUBLE, but he's got that funny accent, I couldn't really tell what he was saying but I think it was no. Do any of you guys know what 'affyer fukken chump' is? Anyway, we'll get that Sean McKeever in to write it. He did MYSTIQUE, so he can totally write teenage female characters. And he's cheaper than Mark Millar.

"Yeah, MARY JANE! I'm so juiced about this. This is totally going to get girls into comic shops. Watch out, Tokyopop, here we come! And maybe we can sell it as a TV series? Somebody call Avi, he'll love this." [Alex de Campi]

THE DEVIL AND MR BENDIS

The trick is making it look easy. Brian Michael Bendis is constantly making DAREDEVIL look too easy. All it took to breath the freshest life into DAREDEVIL since the days of Frank Miller was to expose Matt Murdock's identity and then force him to accept the inevitability of becoming the new Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen.

But there are complaints, shrill though they may be: Bendis is too wordy; Alex Maleev's artwork is too stiff; and Daredevil is almost never in his costume. Regardless, DAREDEVIL remains one of the most consistent and thought-provoking titles being released by Marvel Comics. This is a bit of a surprise, as Marvel tends to destroy anything in its line with either thoughtfulness or consistency. Buckling under the weight of fanboyish nostalgia, as it were.

DAREDEVIL is one of those rare beasts that truly benefits from the expanded storytelling that dominates Marvel these days. You can see this storytelling at play in titles like SECRET WARS, which accomplish in two issues what the original series accomplished in sixteen pages. Yeah, Bendis is wordy, but his love of wordplay and language coupled with the photorealistic stiffness of Maleev's artwork benefit a title where the main character is wired so tight that he may explode, and the average issue is more likely to be structured around character and plot development than stopping two bit thugs from stealing old ladies' purses.

Many fans complain of title characters never changing and their conflicts being erased or revised over time, but each time it looks like Bendis is about to pull back and take the easy way out, he twists the knife deeper into Matt Murdock. What began as a series exploring the ramifications of secret identities has grown into an examination of vigilantism, and in effect superheroism itself. Bendis made his first big splash with crime noir - it's safe to say that this seems to be where his heart is - and DAREDEVIL is proving to be a toppling achievement as both a superhero and crime comic. [Frank Smith]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR JUNE 16th 2004:

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

DARK HORSE

APR040115D GRENDEL DEVILS REIGN #2 (Of 7) (MR) $3.50
MAR040059V HELLSING VOL 3 TP (MR) $13.95
APR040100D NAIL #1 (Of 4) (MR) $2.99

DC COMICS

APR040290D ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #629 $2.50
APR040353D AUTHORITY VOL 2 #13 (MR) $2.95
APR040274D BATMAN ADVENTURES #15 $2.25
APR040277D BATMAN BROKEN CITY HC $24.95
APR040271D BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #54 $2.95
APR040299D CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #1 (Of 6) $2.95
APR040356D EX MACHINA #1 (MR) $2.95
APR040304D FALLEN ANGEL TP (MR) $12.95
APR040285D GOTHAM CENTRAL #20 $2.50
APR040314D HAWKMAN #29 $2.50
APR040373D HUMAN TARGET #11 (MR) $2.95
APR040324D JSA #62 $2.50
APR040323D JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA ANOTHER NAIL #2 (Of 3) $5.95
APR040375D LUCIFER #51 (MR) $2.50
APR040332D PLASTIC MAN #7 $2.95
APR040346D POWERPUFF GIRLS #51 $2.25
APR040379D WAR STORIES VOL 1 TP (MR) $19.95

IMAGE

APR041438D TOMB RAIDER #43 $2.99
MAR041435D WITCHBLADE #76 $2.99

MARVEL

MAR041669D AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #508 $2.25
APR041699D CABLE DEADPOOL #4 $2.99
APR041712D CAPTAIN MARVEL #24 $2.99
APR041718D DAREDEVIL #61 $2.99
APR041710D FANTASTIC FOUR #514 $2.25
APR041743D INCREDIBLE HULK VOL 7 DEAD LIKE ME TP $12.99
APR041679D MARY JANE #1 $2.25
APR041688D NEW X-MEN #2 $2.99
APR041682D RUNAWAYS #16 $2.99
APR041713D SHE HULK #4 $2.99
APR041667D SPIDER-MAN DOCTOR OCTOPUS YEAR ONE #1 (Of 5) $2.99
APR041702D THOR #81 $2.99
APR041675D ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #7 $2.25
APR041662D ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #61 $2.25
APR041726D WOLVERINE #16 $2.25
APR041692D WOLVERINE THE END #4 (Of 6) (RES) $2.99
APR041687D X-MEN #158 $2.25

OTHER PUBLISHERS

APR042964 ANIMERICA EXTRA JULY 2004 VOL 7 #7 $4.99
APR042326 ARCHIE AND FRIENDS #83 $2.19
APR042327 ARCHIE DIGEST #208 $2.39
APR042330 BETTY & VERONICA #201 $2.19
APR042332 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #125 $3.59
APR045041 DEVIL MAY CRY #1 SPECIAL ED (PU #623) $3.95
APR042693 DONALD DUCK AND FRIENDS #317 $2.95
MAR042485F DR BLINK SUPERHERO SHRINK #0 $2.99
JAN042361 DUEL MASTERS #5 $2.95
APR042431 ELVIRA #134 $2.50
APR042993 FUSHIGI YUGI VOL 11 TP VETERAN (NOTE PRICE) $9.95
APR042265 GLOOMCOOKIE #20 (MR) $2.95
APR042239 HENCH GN $12.95
MAR042571F LUBAS COMICS AND STORIES #4 (MR) $3.50
APR042698 MICKEY MOUSE AND FRIENDS #266 $2.95
JAN042063 NIGHTMARES AND FAIRY TALES #8 $2.95
APR042277 NIGHTMARES AND FAIRY TALES #9 $2.95
APR042404 SIMPSONS COMICS #95 $2.99
APR042201 STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #66 $2.95
MAR042507E TRANSFORMERS GENERATION ONE VOL 3 #5 $2.95
MAR042166F TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD 100 STORIES TP (MR) $9.95
FEB042106 YOU CAN DRAW TRANSFORMING ROBOTS TP $19.95

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.