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: SON OF THE GUN

Alexandro Jodorowsky is one of the most frustrating writers in comics. His output makes Bendis look like a slacker, and his wild originality means he's name-checked as an influence by some of the most creative people in English comics, like Warren Ellis. But, like any prolific author with a wildly successful franchise (in his case, the METABARONS universe), the quality of his work can vary enormously.

SON OF THE GUN (DC Humanoids) is hands down his best. It's a modern day Western about the rise, fall, and repentance of orphaned gangster Juan Solo. Born with a tail, 'monster' baby Juan is chucked out onto a garbage heap in Huatulco City, Mexico, where he is found and raised by a dwarf transvestite. (Pretty much every Jodorowsky story involves dwarves and rape. You just have to accept that.) Juan's first pacifier is the barrel of a pistol, and from this symbolic beginning he grows up to be the kind of guy that makes Tony Montana look like a pussy. Juan's burning desire is to raise himself up by the gun from the garbage where he was born into Mexico's elite - and he does, but like a great Greek tragedy, the rope by which he pulls himself up becomes the noose around his throat.

Ultra-violent, unrelenting, and with a truly heartrending ending, SON OF THE GUN is the work of a master. It also boasts Georges Bess' beautiful painted work. Bess is one of the greatest artists working in France, and if more comic artists had Bess' sense of line and colour, the industry would be a better place. [Alex de Campi]

STEP CLASS

Rob Osborne wants to rule the world. Don't we all? Osborne, however, is taking the unusual step of world conquest via comics with his book 1000 STEPS TO WORLD DOMINATION (AiT/PlanetLar). God pops up every now and then to offer advice, as does the obligatory monkey, while Osborne's wife wants nothing to do with his schemes, and his dog just licks its balls.

Each step in his plan is one page of the comic, and labelled accordingly (eg, 1/1000). Each page is broken down into four panels, allowing concise observations on topics such as the human condition, or brief trips into the surreal. Osborne assures us it's all leading somewhere. World domination, presumably.

1000 STEPS TO WORLD DOMINATION won the Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics 2003 and the Broken Frontier Paper Screen Gem Award for Humour 2004 in its original form as four mini-comics, so it comes highly recommended. And the best part is, this is only Osborne's first steps. You can read more about Osborne and his 1000 STEPS in Ninth Art's Big Things.

LOVE SUPREME

J Michael Straczynski is having something of a mixed relationship with comics of late; his AMAZING SPIDER-MAN has been intermittently brilliant, but has alienated Spidey fans by the truckload by introducing some fairly spurious mysticism to Spidey's already fairly ropey origin story. He's then alienated everyone else with his terrible 'Gwen Stacy slept with Norman Osborn' arc.

However, on SUPREME POWER (Marvel), now on its second volume, he's still crafting a very enjoyable book. Yes, it's very much a cynical take on the JLA, or a SQUADRON SUPREME: REDUX, if you will, but Straczynski's penchant for worthy-but-haunted characters and lashings of portentousness works much better without decades of continuity to have to reboot. In fact, SUPREME POWER works best when it makes sly references to the established history and tropes of the likes of Superman and Batman through their analogues here, Hyperion and Nighthawk.

The plot is a nicely wrought combination of superpowered demigods being introduced into something resembling the actual course of the 20th century, so these characters are developing against a background of conspiracy, intolerance, ignorance and corruption, which promises for some pretty spectacular fallout in this volume, when Hyperion reacts to the truth that his life has been a carefully-fabricated fiction created by the government, and the analogues of Earth's greatest defenders threaten to turn into the greatest rebels. Gary Frank's lovely pencils mean that it never looks anything less than gorgeous. So, rush out and take the power back. [Lindsay Duff]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR OCTOBER 20th 2004:

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

DARK HORSE

AUG040016D CONAN #9 $2.99
AUG040036D GOON DH ED #9 $2.99
MAR040059V HELLSING VOL 3 TP (MR) $13.95
JUL040033 NAIL #4 (Of 4) (MR) $2.99
APR040124D SHI JU NEN #2 (Of 4) $2.99
JUL040056 STAR WARS EMPIRE #25 $2.99
OCT030046 TRIGUN VOL 2 TP (MR) $14.95

DC COMICS

AUG040368D ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #633 $2.50
JAN040275 AUTHORITY HARSH REALITIES TP (MR) $14.95
AUG040353D BATGIRL #57 $2.50
AUG040352D BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #58 $2.50
AUG040360D BATMAN HUSH VOL 2 TP $12.95
AUG040412D BATMAN STRIKES #2 $2.25
AUG040451D BOOKS OF MAGICK LIFE DURING WARTIME #4 (MR) $2.50
AUG040438D COUP DETAT TP (MR) $12.95
AUG040382D FIRESTORM #6 $2.50
JAN040237 FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE TP $12.95
AUG040388D HERO #21 $2.50
AUG040455D HUMAN TARGET #15 (MR) $2.95
APR045288D IDENTITY CRISIS #1 2ND PRINTING $3.95
AUG040390D IDENTITY CRISIS #5 (Of 7) $3.95
AUG040373D JIMMY OLSEN ADVENTURES BY JACK KIRBY VOL 2 TP $19.95
FEB040267 JLA ONE MILLION TP $19.95
AUG040398D JSA STRANGE ADVENTURES #3 (Of 6) $3.50
AUG040396D JSA VOL 6 SAVAGE TIMES TP $14.95
DEC030316D LOSERS ANTE UP TP (MR) $9.95
AUG040459D LUCIFER #55 (MR) $2.50
AUG040402D MANHUNTER #3 $2.50
AUG040439D OCEAN #1 (Of 6) $2.95
JAN040280 PLANETARY CROSSING WORLDS TP $14.95
AUG040405D PLASTIC MAN #11 $2.95
AUG040420D POWERPUFF GIRLS #55 $2.25
AUG040351D ROBIN #131 $2.25
AUG040432D SON OF THE GUN TP (MR) $17.95
AUG040408D TEEN TITANS #17 $2.50
AUG040445D TERRA OBSCURA VOL 2 #3 (Of 6) $2.95

IMAGE

AUG041573D PSCYTHE #2 (Of 2) (MR) $3.95
AUG041587D WICKED WEST GN $9.95

MARVEL

AUG041789D CABLE DEADPOOL #8 $2.99
AUG041865D CABLE DEADPOOL VOL 1 IF LOOKS COULD KILL TP $14.99
AUG041832D FANTASTIC FOUR #519 $2.99
AUG041792D GAMBIT #3 $2.99
AUG041838D IDENTITY DISC #5 (Of 5) $2.99
AUG041837D INVADERS #3 $2.99
AUG041809D MADROX #2 (Of 5) $2.99
AUG041825D MARVEL AGE HULK #2 (Note Price) $1.75
AUG041821D MARVEL AGE SPIDER-MAN #14 $2.25
AUG041852D MARVEL MASTERWORKS UNCANNY X-MEN VOL 4 2ND ED HC $49.99
AUG041785D NEW X-MEN #6 $2.99
AUG041780D OFFICIAL HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE WOLVERINE 2004 $3.99
AUG041796D ROGUE #4 $2.99
AUG041778D SABRETOOTH #2 (Of 5) $2.99
AUG041834D SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #20 $2.25
AUG041804D STOKERS DRACULA #1 (Of 4) $3.99
AUG041860D SUPREME POWER VOL 2 POWERS AND PRINCIPALITIES TP (MR) $14.99
AUG041829D THOR SON OF ASGARD VOL 1 WARRIORS TEEN DIGEST TP $7.99
AUG041799D ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #67 $2.25
AUG041776D UNCANNY X-MEN #451 $2.25
AUG041791D X-MEN UNLIMITED #5 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

AUG042360F 1000 STEPS TO WORLD DOMINATION VOL 1 GN $12.95
JAN042642F AMELIA RULES SUPERHEROES #3 (Of 6) $2.95
AUG042452E ARCHIE #552 $2.19
JUL042724E BART SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR #10 $4.99
JUL042959V CANDYAPPLEBLACK #4 (Of 7) (MR) $3.50
AUG042619E DARK ANGEL VOL 4 TP NEW PTG $9.99
AUG042641E DEFEX CVR A #1 $2.95
AUG042642E DEFEX CVR B #1 $2.95
AUG042776E DONALD DUCK AND FRIENDS #321 $2.95
AUG042472E FATHOM DAWN OF WAR #2 $2.99
AUG042621E FULL HOUSE BOOK 2 GN $9.99
AUG042645E GI JOE PX CVR #35 $3.95
AUG042644E GI JOE REG CVR #35 $2.95
AUG042643E GI JOE RELOADED #8 $2.95
SEP042581 GI JOE VS TRANSFORMERS VOL 2 CVR A #3 $2.95
SEP042582 GI JOE VS TRANSFORMERS VOL 2 CVR B #3 $2.95
AUG042457E HOLIDAY FUN DIGEST #9 $2.39
JAN042817 INU YASHA VOL 10 TP 2ND ED $8.95
AUG042461E JUGHEAD #161 $2.19
AUG042464E LAUGH DIGEST #197 $2.39
AUG042752F LUBA #9 (MR) $3.50
AUG042661E MEGACITY 909 CVR A #2 $2.95
AUG042662E MEGACITY 909 CVR B #2 $2.95
AUG042777E MICKEY MOUSE AND FRIENDS #270 $2.95
AUG042622E NAMBUL WAR STORIES VOL 2 GN CONQUEST (MR) $9.99
AUG043145E RANMA 1/2 VOL 13 TP (SECOND ED) $9.95
OCT032813 RUROUNI KENSHIN VOL 2 GN $7.95
AUG042555E SIMPSONS COMICS #99 $2.99
JUN042642F SKYSCRAPERS OF OZ GN (A) $9.99
AUG042944F THE NORM MAGAZINE #5 $4.95
MAR042655F THIEVES & KINGS #45 $2.95
AUG043151E VAGABOND VOL 16 TP $9.95
JUL042826E VOLTRON VOL 2 TP PARADISE LOST $9.95
AUG042562F WITCHES & WHATNOT POCKET ARTBOOK (MR) $9.99
AUG042563F WITCHES & WHATNOT POCKET ARTBOOK SGN (MR) $15.00
JUN042528F WORN TUFF ELBOW #1 (MR) $4.95
AUG042624E YONGBI THE INVINCIBLE BOOK 2 GN (Of 23) $9.99
JUN042191 YOU CAN DRAW MECHA SUPERSIZED 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.