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 BEAST TRILOGY

When Enki Bilal's DECEMBER 32nd came out last summer in France, it sold over 400,000 copies in its opening weekend. It was the best-selling book of the summer in France. No, not the best selling comic book or graphic novel - the best selling book. Now Humanoids is releasing a new translation of it in America, combining Bilal's first book in this series, as THE BEAST TRILOGY, CHAPTERS 1 & 2. The series is a violent, futuristic meditation on the nature of identity, memory, and human conflict.

Nike Hatzfield, a Yugoslavian orphan, can remember everything that ever happened to him, from his birth onwards. His two earliest companions were other orphans: Layla, now a scientist at a top-secret archaeological site, and Amir, a mercenary. Although the three were separated when only days old, their fates intertwine again as a madman seeks to access Layla's site and unravel the secrets within it.

Bilal draws dystopian future like nobody else; his beautiful, crumbling cities and people stick in your mind long after you see them. One character, Sacha, has a tattoo on her shoulderblade that looks like someone borrowed it to work out some long division - a simple detail, but one that says volumes about how meaningless and disposable people are in this world. If you like this, you should also pick up Bilal's NIKOPOL TRILOGY (currently being made into a film in France), also available from Humanoids/DC. Now if Bilal would just hurry up and write the final book in the BEAST series... [Alex de Campi]

DOUBLE DIGGLE

"Beware, true believers! What follows is a Double Dose of Diggle Devastation sure to blow your mind! Ably abetted in this nefarious plan by Powerful Pascual Ferry and Jovial Jock, his Trepidatious Team-Up of Terror will surely sweep asunder all lesser comics in an awesome week of four-colour fortitude!"

Shut it, Stan! All alliteration and hyperbole out of the way, Andy Diggle launches the eagerly-awaited ADAM STRANGE revamp with the gorgeous artwork of Pascual Ferry, while Jock returns to pencil and inking duties on THE LOSERS.

Adam Strange is one of those borderline superheroes who were essentially rip-offs of movie characters, but have evolved into something more (a la, THE PUNISHER). A spoof on every Buck Rogers-style '50s sci-fi adventurer, he shoots between Earth and the distant planet of Rann on Zeta Beams with only a jetpack, a raygun and his ingenuity to protect him. But we now live in the future and the 50's over-ambitious views on what will be possible are quite depressingly false.

The revamp sees Strange as an alcoholic bum being picked up by Gotham City's finest on a charge of destroying public property - but this is the least of his problems, as Adam's discovered that his second home of Rann - along with his wife and daughter - have been destroyed in a supernova meltdown... or so he believes. Now he needs to get back home and find out what really happened.

If that's not enough for you, Monsieur Diggle's also in an explanatory mood over in his hit new Vertigo series, THE LOSERS, where he's finally going to reveal how it all went wrong for the book's titular team of rogue soldiers - and with Jock back on board, expect the book to be back on top form. [John Fellows]

PARTY LIKE IT'S 2099

Fifth week! Oh hooray, it's a fifth week! Everyone loves a fifth week! They're those special times in the year when the month never seems to end, and you feel like your paycheque is being stretched that little bit further. And then along comes Marvel to helpfully dazzle you with redundant one shots that you'll never re-read and forever regret buying.

This month's fifth week event is particularly galling, as it marks the return of the 2099 brand, the title for Marvel's not-quite-short-lived-enough and largely rotten 'future of the Marvel universe' imprint, which is really only remembered for the decent SPIDER-MAN 2099, from Peter David and Rick Leonardi, and Warren Ellis's first crack at writing Dr Doom (back before he belched poison in ULTIMATE FF).

But it's only the brand that's returning. The new 2099 one-shots bear no relationship to the old 2099 universe, begging the question, why bother at all? Surely the only thing worse than bringing back the 2099 universe is snubbing its fans by inventing a completely new one? But I fear the actual reason for the imprint is that Marvel is testing the market, and a whole new 2099 line could be around the corner.

The line's saving grace is that all five books - PUNISHER, BLACK PANTHER, INHUMANS, DAREDEVIL and MUTANT - are written by man-of-the-moment Robert Kirkman, who's demonstrated his writing chops on books like INVINCIBLE, WALKING DEAD, and now JUBILEE. Even if the one-shots don't lead to a new line, the 'event' is a tremendous show of faith in Kirkman's talents. [Andrew Wheeler]

BOOK CLUB

Forty percent of all printed reading material in Japan is manga, and although the form has made a significant impact in America, it hasn't even begun to penetrate American culture the way it does in Japan. Paul Gravett's excellent MANGA: 60 YEARS OF JAPANESE COMICS, in shops now, contains a near-encyclopaedic selection of pages from old, new, and rare manga, and will doubtless come to be relied on as inspiration for many a Western comic artist. But beyond all the pretty pictures, the book is superbly written: lively, informative, amusing, and often surprising.

Paul Gravett is something of a local hero in London, quietly producing the yearly Comica series at the Institute for Contemporary Art. In only its second year, Comica is already an unmissable week of screenings, talks, masterclasses, and good old comic-related fun. Why does Gravett do it? He loves comics, and wants to talk about them. That's all. And that's the passion and dedication that informs this book.

Another recent release in bookstores is RENT GIRL, an illustrated novel written by Michelle Tea. The illustrations are by Laurenn McCubbin, whose first foray into sequential art will come soon with Warren Ellis' QUIT CITY one-shot. RENT GIRL is the story of a twentysomething girl who, by dint of her girlfriend being a hooker, becomes one as well. As she veers between loving the job and hating it, and struggles to get out of her destructive relationship with her girlfriend, she finds her own individuality somewhere along the way. By turns hilarious, terrifying, and heartbreaking, it reads like naked autobiography.

The story is perfectly complimented by McCubbin's illustrations, which bring to life the carnival of lowlives, tricks, and friends that the narrator meets in her picaresque journey across America and around herself. I couldn't put RENT GIRL down. I stayed up all night to finish it, gasping in recognition at emotions and situations that rang so true, no matter what sort of relationship was being talked about. [Alex de Campi]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR SEPTEMBER 29th 2004:

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

DARK HORSE

JUN040013 ALIENS VS PREDATOR THRILL OF THE HUNT TP $6.95
JUL040052 SUPER MANGA BLAST #45 (MR) $5.99

DC COMICS

JUL040607 ADAM STRANGE #1 (Of 8) $2.95
JUL040582 BATMAN #632 $2.25
JUL040586 BATMAN HONG KONG SC $17.95
JUL040665 BEAST TRILOGY CHAPTERS 1 & 2 TP (MR) $14.95
JUL040611 CAPER #12 (Of 12) (MR) $2.95
JUL040594 CATWOMAN WHEN IN ROME #1 (Of 6) $3.50
JUL040614 CHALLENGERS OF UNKNOWN MUST DIE TP $19.95
JUL040612 DC THE NEW FRONTIER #6 (Of 6) $6.95
JUL040615 DOOM PATROL #4 $2.50
JUL040622 GREEN LANTERN #181 $2.25
JUL040693 HELLBLAZER #200 (MR) (Note Price) $4.50
JUL040632 JLA #106 $2.25
JUL040698 LOSERS #16 (MR) $2.95
JUL040667 METAL HURLANT #13 (MR) $3.95
JUL040643 RICHARD DRAGON #5 $2.50
JUL040645 STARMAN GRAND GUIGNOL TP $19.95
JUL040596 SUPERMAN #209 $2.50
JAN040261 TEEN TITANS A KIDS GAME TP $9.95
JUL040657 TEEN TITANS GO #11 $2.25
JUL040679 THUNDERCATS HAMMER HANDS REVENGE TP $14.95
JUL040652 WONDER WOMAN #208 $2.25

IMAGE

MAY041420D KANE VOL 3 HISTORIES TP $12.95
MAY041431D PVP #9 $2.95
DEC031330D PVP DORK AGES TP $11.95
JUN041372 SIX GN $5.95
JUL041777 SPAWN #138 (RES) $2.50
JUN041419Z TOP COW JAM POSTER 2004 PI

MARVEL

JUL042008 AMAZING FANTASY #4 $2.99
JUL042007 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #512 $2.25
JUL041960 DAREDEVIL #65 ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL (Note Price) $3.99
JUL042037 DOCTOR SPECTRUM #2 (Of 6) (MR) $2.99
JUL041963 ELEKTRA THE HAND #2 (Of 5) $2.99
JUL041996 GAMBIT #2 $2.99
JUL042032 GUARDIANS #4 $2.99
JUL042038 KABUKI #2 $2.99
JUL041979 MARVEL 65TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL $4.99
JUL041967 MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099 BLACK PANTHER #1 $2.99
JUL041966 MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099 DAREDEVIL #1 $2.99
JUL041968 MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099 INHUMANS #1 $2.99
JUL041970 MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099 MUTANT #1 $2.99
JUL041969 MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099 PUNISHER #1 $2.99
JUL042045 MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN VOL 1 DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN TP $9.99
JUL041961 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE DAREDEVIL ELEKTRA 2004 $3.50
JUL042034 POWERLESS #4 (Of 6) $2.99
JUL042030 SILVER SURFER #13 $2.99
JUL042051 WITCHES VOL 1 TP $9.99
JUL042044 WOLVERINE PUNISHER VOL 1 TP $13.99
JUL041992 X-MEN #162 $2.25

OTHER PUBLISHERS

JUL046153E (USE
JUL042813) GI JOE #34 2ND PTG $2.95
JUL046189E (USE
JUL042814) GI JOE RELOADED #7 2ND PTG $2.95
JUL046190E (USE
JUN042422) GI JOE MASTER & APPRENTICE #4 2ND PTG $2.95
APR042243 A FINE MESS #2 (MR) $3.50
AUG042892F ALONG THE CANADIAN #4 (MR) $2.95
JUL043271E ANGEL SANCTUARY VOL 4 (MR) $9.95
JUL043276E BATTLE ANGEL ALITA LAST ORDER VOL 4 TP $9.95
JUL042628E BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #151 $2.39
JUL042909F BLOOD ORANGE #3 (MR) $5.95
JUL042758E CAPTAIN CANUCK UNHOLY WAR #1 (OF 3) $2.50
JUN042096 CHRONO CRUSADE MANGA VOL 2 TP $9.99
AUG042341E DARK WATER MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
JUL042934E DONALD DUCK ADVENTURES VOL 8 TP $7.95
SEP042873F FRACTURED KISSES #4 $3.99
JUL043289E FUSHIGI YUGI VOL 4 TP 2ND ED BANDIT $9.95
JUL042727E FUTURAMA COMICS #19 $2.99
MAY042230E GHOULY BOYS #2 $2.95
JUL042814E GI JOE RELOADED #7 $2.95
JUL042559E GLOOMCOOKIE #21 (MR) $2.95
JUL042514E GUNPARADE MARCH MANGA VOL 1 TP (MR) $9.99
AUG042658E HACK SLASH GIRLS GONE DEAD CVR A (MR) $4.95
AUG042659E HACK SLASH GIRLS GONE DEAD CVR B (MR) $4.95
JUL042631E JUGHEADS DOUBLE DIGEST #107 $3.59
JUL042587F KAMUNAGARA REBIRTH OF THE DEMONSLAYER VOL 1 GN (Of 6) $9.99
JUL042515E LOUIE THE RUNE SOLDIER MANGA VOL 3 TP $9.99
MAY042681F LUBAS COMICS AND STORIES #5 (MR) $3.50
JUL040003J MARVEL AGE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL 2004 PI
AUG042342E MYTHICAL DETECTIVE LOKI MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
AUG042346E NAJICA BLITZ TACTICS MANGA VOL 2 TP (MR) $9.99
JUL042565E NIGHTMARES AND FAIRY TALES #10 $2.95
AUG042348E PEACEMAKER KUROGANE MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
AUG042344E PRETEAR MANGA VOL 3 TP $9.99
JUL042838F PS238 #8 (RES) $2.99
JUL042633E SABRINA VOL 2 #61 $2.19
JUL042568F SEAMONSTERS & SUPERHEROES #6 $2.95
JUL042728E SIMPSONS COMICS #98 $2.99
JUL042493E STRANGERS IN PARADISE PKT VOL 2 TP $17.95
AUG042343E TACTICS MANGA VOL 1 TP (MR) $9.99
JUL042734F TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #28 (MR) $2.95
JUL042735F TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE DLX ED #28 (MR) $19.99
JUN042455 TRANSFORMERS GENERATION ONE VOL 3 #8 $2.95
JUL043315E TUXEDO GIN VOL 8 TP $9.95
JUL042539F WATERWISE GN (MR) $14.95

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.