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: ADVENTURES IN THE RIFLE BRIGADE

John Kincaid's wonderful memoirs of his time fighting in the Napoleonic Wars - an unnofficial influence on the pre-LORD OF THE RINGS Sean Bean-starring British TV series SHARPE - is finally rereleased in a facsimile edition of the original 1835 document with a new introduction. Evoking one of the greatest periods in World History - when Britain still ruled the World - through one of the most well-regarded fighting forces of the era, Kincaid's prose effortlessly...

Sorry, hang on, that's not right, is it? I open a book expecting romping old-school war action with lots of tough-as-boots old Imperial types being gentlemanly, and I get some four-colour filth about lost bollocks written by some dirty Irishman! What a disappointment.

Well, what's this 'comic' book all about then? It seems the infamous scoundrel Garth 'Shillelagh Warrior' Ennis has knocked out a couple of three-issue series for those bounders at DC Vertigo about a bunch of ne'er-do-well soldiers making a complete mockery of all who died for Mighty Blighty! Why, they're not taking the whole shebang at all seriously!

I mean, those covers by Brian Bolland are positively lurid! And as to the pencilry inside, who does this Carlos Ezquerra chap think he is? Sounds like a filthy foreigner to me. And not one of our foreigners, either! Why, the utter depravity he's demonstrating here would never have gone on in any kind of gentleman's war, and I highly doubt the claims contained herein. I mean what kind of military operation goes under the nomenclature, OPERATION BOLLOCK?

And this ringleader, chap, Ennis... I've heard he's been known to pop out a couple of interesting little funny books in his time, but this looks, well, positively French! If I were you, I'd hunt out the aforementioned memoirs and steer well clear of this sequential muck. [John Fellows]

TAKING OVER THE ASYLUM

Fifteen years ago, if you had told me that Grant Morrison was going to be the saviour of modern comics, I'd have said that you were a candidate for the funny farm. Only a fruit-loop could've suggested that the man who wrote a slightly pretentious graphic novel called ARKHAM ASYLUM (DC) would go on to become one of the most popular and versatile writers in the business. And yet there he is, catering to the fanboy fraternity with titles like JLA and NEW X-MEN without a hint of irony, while simultaneously tending to his own artistic sensibilities with stuff like THE INVISIBLES and THE FILTH. We live in strange times.

Here, then, is a chance to go back to where it all began, where Grant Morrison and (lest we forget) Dave McKean had a huge success in the American market with this gothic tale of supernatural horror. If I were a cynic I might suggest that the only reason it sold a quarter of a million copies in 1989 was because it was released shortly after Tim Burton's BATMAN had caused a big flap at the box office. But in actual fact there's something quite radical about this story and its underlying themes, something that does not appear to have diminished over time.

The premise is that the lunatics have taken over Arkham Asylum, Gotham City's home for the criminally insane. When Batman marches in to restore order, however, it soon becomes clear that Bruce Wayne is just as, well, batty as the people he claims to oppose. His emotional state and that of the rogue's gallery is vividly painted in the inimitable style of McKean, and it's hard to imagine that this story could have been properly told in any format other than sequential art. The editorial mandarins at DC might not have been entirely comfortable with such an interpretation of their most popular and well-known character, but as history shows, it was a gamble that paid off in spades.

Extras included with this anniversary hardcover edition include the original script, complete with annotations by Morrison and Karen Berger, the original editor, and thumbnail sketches of the breakdowns for each page. Even if you weren't a fan of Arkham Asylum when it was first released, this bonus material should provide a fascinating glimpse into the creative process. Excuse the pun, but you'd be mad to miss out. [Bulent Yusuf]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR DECEMBER 8th 2004:

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

DARK HORSE

OCT040043 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #96 (MR) $2.99
OCT040021 BPRD THE DEAD #2 (Of 5) $2.99
AUG040039D FIERCE #4 (Of 4) $3.95
OCT040018 SAMURAI HEAVEN & EARTH #1 $2.99

DC COMICS

OCT040348 100 BULLETS #56 (MR) $2.50
OCT040270 ACTION COMICS #822 $2.50
OCT040350 ADVENTURES IN THE RIFLE BRIGADE TP (MR) $14.95
OCT040349 ANGELTOWN #2 (OF 5) (MR) $2.95
OCT040274 AQUAMAN #25 $2.50
AUG040345D ARKHAM ASYLUM ANNIVERSARY EDITION HC (MR) $29.95
SEP040370 ASTRO CITY LOCAL HEROES HC $24.95
OCT040309 BATMAN JAM PACKED ACTION $7.99
OCT040259 BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #186 $2.50
OCT040310 BATMAN STRIKES #4 $2.25
OCT040276 BLOODHOUND #6 $2.95
OCT040353 FABLES #32 (MR) $2.50
OCT040340 GLOBAL FREQUENCY DETONATION RADIO TP (MR) $14.95
OCT040267 GOTHAM CENTRAL #26 $2.50
OCT040292 JLA #109 $2.25
OCT040294 JSA #68 $2.50
OCT040265 NIGHTWING #100 (Note Price) $2.95
OCT040315 SCOOBY DOO #91 $2.25
OCT040347 WILD GIRL #2 (Of 6) $2.95

IMAGE

OCT041559 MIDNIGHT NATION TP NEW PRTG $24.99

MARVEL

OCT041808 AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED IRON MAN TP $14.99
OCT041782 BULLSEYE GREATEST HITS #4 (Of 5) $2.99
OCT041784 DISTRICT X #8 $2.99
SEP041793 DOCTOR SPECTRUM #4 (Of 6) (MR) $2.99
OCT041777 EMMA FROST #18 $2.99
OCT041787 HULK AND THING HARD KNOCKS #4 (Of 4) $3.50
OCT041772 MARVEL AGE HULK #4 $1.75
OCT041791 MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #13 $2.99
OCT041780 MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #9 $2.99
OCT041758 MARVEL TEAM-UP #3 $2.25
SEP041749 NIGHTCRAWLER #3 $2.99
OCT041795 POWERS #7 (MR) $2.95
OCT041762 SHE HULK #10 $2.99
OCT041768 SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #22 $2.25
OCT041793 THE PUNISHER #15 (MR) $2.99
OCT041778 THOR SON OF ASGARD #11 $2.99
OCT041810 ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 2 DOOM TP $12.99
OCT041724 X-MEN FANTASTIC FOUR #1 $3.50
OCT041727 X-MEN THE END BOOK ONE DREAMERS AND DEMONS #6 (Of 6) $2.99
OCT041731 X-MEN UNLIMITED #6 $2.99
OCT041742 YOUNG GUNS 2004 SKETCH BOOK $3.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

SEP042322 15 MINUTES #2 $3.95
OCT042878 ALONG THE CANADIAN #5 (Of 6) (MR) $2.95
SEP042388 ARCHIE #553 $2.19
SEP042391 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #157 $3.59
SEP042313F BIPOLAR #5 $2.95
MAY042989E CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND VOL 8 TP $9.95
OCT042565 COUPLE VOL 3 GN (MR) $9.99
SEP042587J DARKSTALKERS CVR C POWER FOIL #1 PI
SEP042305F DEMO #12 (Of 12) $2.95
JUN042444F DORK TOWER COLL TP VOL 7 DORK SIDE OF THE GOON $15.99
OCT042355 DRAGON ARMS VOL 2 PKT MANGA TP $9.99
OCT042530 ELVIRA #140 $2.50
SEP042411 FATHOM DAWN OF WAR #3 $2.99
SEP042624F FULL FRONTAL NERDITY ANNUAL #1 $2.99
OCT042568 HARD BOILED ANGEL VOL 3 GN (MR) $9.99
SEP042964F HUTCH OWEN UNMARKETABLE GN $14.95
JAN042817 INU YASHA VOL 10 2ND ED TP $8.95
AUG042617F JAVA #3 (Of 3) $2.95
JUL042709E KIZUNA BONDS OF LOVE BOOK 1 GN (A) $15.99
OCT042325 LOYOLA CHIN AND THE SAN PELIGRAN ORDER TP $9.95
SEP042594 MU CVR A #1 $2.95
SEP042364 NEOTOPIA VOL 4 #4 $2.99
OCT042341 NIGHTMARES AND FAIRY TALES #11 (MR) $2.95
DEC032770 ONE PIECE VOL 3 TP $7.95
SEP042623F PS238 #9 $2.99
JAN042827 SENSUAL PHRASE VOL 1 GN (MR) $9.95
MAR042885E SENSUAL PHRASE VOL 2 GN (MR) $9.95
MAY042161E STRANGERS IN PARADISE PKT VOL 1 TP $17.95
SEP042756F THIEVES & KINGS TP VOL 5 WINTER BOOK $16.95
SEP042641 TRANSFORMERS GEN 1 MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE VOL 2 TP $24.95
NOV042311F TRUE TRAVEL TALES #4 (MR) $3.95
AUG042840V VIDEO #4 (MR) $2.95
SEP042336 X-RAY COMICS VOLUME 2 SWINE TP $11.95

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.