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: THE AVENGERS

Yet again it's the summer, and yet again it's time for "change" in the fictional universes that make up this industry. Change is something only rarely accomplished, but "change" occurs on a regular basis. The idea of something important happening, of an evolution, but with none of the unfortunate feelings of discomfort that occurs when something actually changes. It's an uncommon occurrence in most other forms of serial entertainment; soap-operas are infamous for change on a daily basis. The only other form that mimics this is possibly the James Bond films, but then arguably he's become a super-hero now anyway.

But this idea of a change, this need to stir up excitement around a long-stagnant character/concept/title, is held in direct defiance of the audience's need to have a constant rock of unchanging certainty. This individual they've known since childhood must never change, it is the one thing in life that can never disappoint or disappear. But you bore easily of people whose lives remain constant, so every now and again you create an artificial crisis (or indeed CRISIS) for them. Whether it's due to poor writing or editorial edict, it's the same end effect.

This is where Brian Michael Bendis takes the rulebook and lobs it out the window. Uniquely positioned as Marvel's golden boy as well as a man who can sell titles just by name alone, he has been gifted strange and wonderful powers. His work over on DAREDEVIL is genre-redefining in taking a character and making him interesting through natural evolution. Matt Murdock is suddenly interesting - but more importantly - he's different, he's changed. While it may have had some old fans up in arms, it's got new people reading.

So now he's been tasked with revamping Marvel's longest-running franchise - and conversely, the franchise that has remained untouched the longest. After the Ultimate line, the Marvel Knights line, the X-Men revamp and the Spider-Man revamp, there was only one place left to turn. It would seem too obvious to hire the Marvel everyman to do it, but that's exactly what this title needs - a change. Somebody to come along and shake up this premise and make it interesting. No other title in the industry has fallen so badly behind.

Bendis is joined by David Finch on art duties, whose hyper-detailed pencils over on ULTIMATE X-MEN impressed Bendis, Marvel, and the fans. Together, they seem intent on scouring the last vestiges of Old Marvel from the publishing line. AVENGERS is a title that existed on the foundations of its core concepts without ever realising just how flimsy they were. This revamp promises to shake up the title with changes so obvious that I'm amazed they were never considered before now. [John Fellows]

INTO PLANETARY

Warren Ellis, John Cassaday, and Laura Martin continue their final assault on the magnificent PLANETARY (DC WildStorm) as the Planetary team itself continues its final assault on The Four. In issue #20, we finally get a glimpse of a character that has been mentioned since the first year of stories, The Four's mutated pilot Jacob Greene.

Though Ellis likes to keep a relaxed pace on PLANETARY, he's been kicking the action levels up a bit in the past few issues, inciting the book on to an inevitable and what appears to be dramatic conclusion, and along the way he's written the best stories of his career - distinct characters, engrossing plots, and his usual commitment to mesmerizing ideas. Many writers give lip service to "world creating" - weaving believable realities around their stories - but Ellis is easily lightyears ahead of most of his contemporaries.

Artist John Cassaday, whose work is crisper and more energetic than ever before (despite working on Joss Whedon's ASTONISHING X-MEN as well), says that the team now plans on stretching the series' run past the originally intended 25 issues, so there may yet be a bit more PLANETARY waiting in the wings. Then again, with Ellis now exclusive to Marvel, plans may change.

Either way, issue #20 marks the official beginning of the end, the race towards the final struggle, so relish every moment that you can. Before PLANETARY, there was nothing like it, and we should count ourselves among the lucky if there remains something like it after it fades away. [John Parker]

RED WINE AND PASTA

I love Scott Morse comics, and I love alcohol. Through a process of trial and error I have discovered that one of the best ways to enjoy a Scott Morse comic is while drunk.

This is not intended as a slight. It's just that in this too-busy life I find I read most comics faster than I should, and even when I'm reading on the train to and from the office, the one time where I know there's nothing else I should be doing, I still find myself feeling rushed. While drunk, I will read my comics unhurried. With a Scott Morse comic, I will finally take the time needed to absorb each page, and give it an ounce of the care and attention that Morse himself gives his work.

Scott Morse is a craftsman. His comics are works of art; well paced, beautifully drawn, and perfectly composed. For this reason, I don't need to know much about a Morse book before I buy it, because I know I'll want to buy it anyway. And for this reason, I didn't know much about SPAGHETTI WESTERN before it came out from Oni Press last week.

It's perhaps just as well, as the blunt circumspection of a solicitation never does justice to the nuance of his work. For instance, this is the story of a bank job that doesn't quite go to plan. It's the matter of a few fleeting minutes, but it's a story with much to say about ambition, opportunity and regret. And it's a hundred times more eloquent than that.

Not everyone will love the subtle, considered storytelling of Scott Morse, but those that do will be forever glad to have discovered him. [Andrew Wheeler]

ROLLING SNAKE EYES

Look, call me a fuckwit, but I don't get it. I really don't. GI JOE REBORN? Seriously? Are you high? Can I have some too?

Maybe it's because I don't appreciate nostalgia in any form - especially for something that came from a decade as wretched and confused as the 1980s - but I think my reaction to the new GI JOE comics, collected in this week's new trade paperback from Devil's Due, went something along the lines of a minor stroke.

The toy line, cartoons, and comics of the eighties (which I have to admit had some good stories from animation vet Larry Hama) appealed to boys aged six to fourteen during a fiercely patriotic time in America, so I can understand and remember why they were so successful.

Now if boys aged six to fourteen were reading these comics today, I might be a little kinder, but the simple fact is that they're not. After the franchise slipped into a coma in the early nineties, the only people who remember the good old days are those old enough to drown themselves in whiskey, and maybe they should look into that if they get their kicks through GI JOE.

Boys aren't reading these comics. Men are. Well, man-sized boys, anyway. The only people reading GI JOE today are the type of thirty-year-old grocery store clerks who still wank over Victoria's Secret catalogues and secretly shit their pants when they hear that somebody is finally making a live-action TRANSFORMERS movie, which proves that there is a God and she or he is listening to the wrong prayers. Stop reading this book already, stop reminiscing about Vanilla Ice and slap bracelets, and read something that isn't going straight for the worthless nostalgia jugular.

This has been your weekly five minutes of misdirected anger. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle. Go Joe! [John 'Serpentor' Parker]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR JULY 28th 2004:

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

DARK HORSE

MAY040032D CONAN #6 $2.99
MAY040031D LAST TRAIN TO DEADSVILLE A CAL MCDONALD MYSTERY #3 (Of 4) $2.99
APR040075 SAMURAI EXECUTIONER VOL 1 TP (MR) $9.95
MAY040046D USAGI YOJIMBO #77 $2.99

DC COMICS

MAY040264D BATGIRL #54 $2.50
MAY040262D BATMAN #630 $2.25
MAY040295D CAPER #10 (Of 12) (MR) $2.95
MAY040345D CARTOON CARTOONS #32 $2.25
MAY040271D CATWOMAN #33 $2.50
MAY040298D CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS VOL 3 TP $14.95
MAY040302D DC COMIC PRESENTS HAWKMAN #1 $2.50
MAY040304D DC THE NEW FRONTIER #5 (Of 6) $6.95
MAY040305D DOOM PATROL #2 $2.50
MAY040314D GREEN LANTERN #179 $2.25
MAY040370D HELLBLAZER #198 (MR) $2.75
MAY040323D JLA #102 $2.25
MAY040326D JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA ANOTHER NAIL #3 (Of 3) $5.95
MAY040329D KINETIC #5 $2.50
MAY040331D LEGION #36 $2.50
MAY040371D LOSERS #14 (MR) $2.95
MAY040379D METAL HURLANT #12 (MR) $3.95
MAY040353D PLANETARY #20 $2.95
MAY040335D RICHARD DRAGON #3 $2.50
MAY040356D SLEEPER SEASON TWO #2 (Of 12) (MR) $2.95
MAY040287D SUPERMAN #207 $2.50
MAY040289D SUPERMAN BIRTHRIGHT #12 (Of 12) $2.95
MAY040338D TEEN TITANS GO #9 $2.25
MAY040381D TOWNSCAPES TP (MR) $17.95
MAY040376D WITCHING #2 (MR) $2.95

IMAGE

DEC031313D DAWN THREE TIERS #4 (Of 6) $2.95
MAY041413D DROWNED GN $9.95
APR041392D GRAY AREA #1 (Of 3) $5.95
MAY041484D TOMB RAIDER ARABIAN NIGHTS $5.99
MAY041486D WITCHBLADE #77 $2.99

MARVEL

MAY045302D AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #509 DIRECTORS CUT (PU #630) $3.99
MAY041640D AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #510 $2.25
MAY041662D ASTONISHING X-MEN #3 $2.99
MAY041632D AVENGERS #500 (#85) $3.50
MAY041665D EXCALIBUR #3 $2.99
MAY041691D FANTASTIC FOUR #516 $2.25
MAY041681D
MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #8 $2.99
MAY041675D MYSTIQUE #17 $2.99
MAY041668D POWERLESS #2 (Of 6) $2.99
MAY041706D POWERS #2 (MR) $2.95
MAY041707D POWERS THE SELL OUTS TP (RES) $19.95
MAY041667D ROGUE #1 $2.99
MAY041650D ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #9 $2.25
MAY041712D ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 1 THE FANTASTIC TP $12.99
MAY041645D VENOM #17 $2.99
APR041663D VENOM VS CARNAGE #1 (Of 4) $2.99
MAY041684D WITCHES #4 (Of 4) $2.99
MAY041682D X-STATIX #25 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

MAY042978E ANIMERICA EXTRA AUG 2004 VOL 7 #8 $4.99
MAY042308E ARCHIE AND FRIENDS #84 $2.19
MAY042567E ARMY OF DARKNESS ASHES 2 ASHES #1 (MR) $2.99
MAY042570J ARMY OF DARKNESS ASHES 2 ASHES GID PHOTO CVR #1 (MR) PI
MAY042312E BETTY & VERONICA #202 $2.19
MAY042313E BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #126 $3.59
MAY042990E CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND VOL 4 TP 2ND ED CHIDORI $9.95
MAY042989E CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND VOL 8 TP $9.95
MAR042508E DUEL MASTERS #7 $2.95
APR042662 EVIL EYE #12 (MR) $3.95
MAY042338E FATHOM CANNON HAWKE #0 $2.50
MAY042404E FUTURAMA COMICS #18 $2.99
DEC035051 GI JOE FRONTLINE VOL 1 MISSION THAT NEVER WAS TP $14.95
MAY042577E GI JOE REBORN VOL 1 TP $9.95
DEC035062 GI JOE VOL 1 REINSTATED TP $14.95
MAY042995E GUNDAM THE ORIGIN #12 $7.95
MAY042739F JANES WORLD #14 $5.95
APR042749 KYLE BAKER CARTOONIST VOL 2 TP (MR) $14.95
MAY042315E LAUGH DIGEST #195 $2.39
JUN042527F LOVE & ROCKETS VOL 2 #11 (MR) $4.50
APR042664 LUBA #8 (MR) $3.50
MAY042998E MAISON IKKOKU VOL 6 TP 2ND ED $9.95
MAY043003E NEON GENESIS EVANGELION VOL 5 TP 2ND ED $9.95
MAY043006E RANMA 1/2 TP VOL 12 2ND ED $9.95
OCT032086 RED STAR VOL 2 #5 $2.99
DEC032046 ROSETTA COMICS ANTHOLOGY VOL 2 GN (MR) $19.95
MAY043009E SENSUAL PHRASE VOL 3 GN (MR) $9.95
APR042775 SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERIES VOL 2 TP $14.95
JUL042906F SHOULDNT YOU BE WORKING #2 (MR) $5.95
JUN042642F SKYSCRAPERS OF OZ GN (A) $9.99
MAY042162E STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL III #67 $2.95
MAY042425F TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #27 (MR) $2.95
MAY042426F TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE DLX ED #27 (MR) $19.99
JUN042453 TRANSFORMERS ENERGON #26 $2.95
MAY042714E UNCLE SCROOGE #332 $6.95
JUN042573 WALT DISNEYS COMICS AND STORIES #648 $6.95
MAY043014E X 1999 VOL 15 TP $9.95

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.