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: VIMANARAMA

What do you want from life? A fast car? A big house? An attractive spouse? No! What you really want from life is Grant Morrison and Philip Bond doing a three-issue mini for DC Vertigo. And if you don't, then you're not my friend anymore. Christmas cards? No more for you! Round bought? Get your own! For there is no greater goal in life than seeing Morrison and Bond doing their thing for your four-colour pleasure.

And even better, it's a crazed love-story set in modern-day England. The fact that Morrison can hop, skip and jump from Superman wrestling angels to a young Asian working in a corner-shop and lusting after an elusive beauty is, well, what makes Morrison Morrison. The fact that he can then turn a reality-based love-story into a god war involving an army of fossil demons and a 15,000 year-old super-hero is just the cherry on the icing on the cake.

Of all the attempts to master the three-issue mini (especially in today's death or glory 'six or nothing' market), it's been Morrison's recent work that's excelled. SEAGUY was utter adventure hysteria, DAN DARE via MONTY PYTHON. WE 3 was a demonstration of how structure can not only help, but vastly improve the story. But VIMANARAMA has a secret weapon - and his name is Philip Bond. He's been keeping quiet of late, but his work with Morrison on INVISIBLES Volume 3 was a highlight, and his literally iconic look has proved influential far and wide.

The last of Morrison's independent projects before he embarks on the next phase of his Take-Over Superheroes masterplan with SEVEN SOLDIERS and SUPERMAN, VIMANARAMA promises to be the perfect merging of the previous two minis' best points into a super soap-opera unlike anything else on the racks. Don't be put off by the lack of tights or the "cartoony" artwork. Pick it up. You can always start saving for your fast car next year, right? [John Fellows]

FEEL THE BURN

I never got around to reading NEGATIVE BURN. In my SANDMAN phase, I was reading another Comico comic, SAINT GERMAINE, because, well, it was like SANDMAN. Kind of. OK, not really. He was a bald magical immortal bloke. He wasn't at all mopey.

I always meant to read NEGATIVE BURN, especially when I found out it featured contributions from the very artists and writers I followed, including Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Terry Moore, Charles Vess, Tony Harris and Paul Pope. But for as long as the comic was running, I never really woke up to it. By all accounts, it was one of the more successful anthology comics of recent years, lasting an extraordinary 50 issues, attracting all the right talent and winning a heap of awards.

In the lead-up to the brand spanking new NEGATIVE BURN series, starting in March, and featuring the likes of Evan Dorkin, B Clay Moore, Jim Mahfood and Amanda Connor, Image has collected a host of "the best" stories from the original series, which gives some of us a chance to see what we missed the first time around. Then we can hit the back issue bins while we wait for March to roll around. [Ben Wooller]

TUGGING ON SUPERMAN'S CAPE

This week sees the publication of the paperback edition of Steven Seagle's critically-acclaimed IT'S A BIRD (DC Vertigo). Part autobiography, part cultural analysis, IT'S A BIRD looks at what happens when "Steve" (Seagle's alter-ego) is invited to write the ongoing adventures of Superman. Finding himself unable to get under the character's skin, and therefore unable to take the DC shilling, Steve begins to examine Superman as an icon, an inspiration, and as a fictional character, in order to understand why people still care about a sixty year-old boy scout in bright red hotpants.

The story of Steve's difficulties with the puissant Man of Steel dovetail neatly into his attempts to deal with the debilitating hereditary illness that blights his family, resulting in twenty short stories that are far beyond simple commentary or confessional. (An interview on the subject of IT'S A BIRD, and how Seagle's family history informed his treatment of The Man of Steel, can be found here.)

IT'S A BIRD features art by Seagle's HOUSE OF SECRETS collaborator Teddy Kristiansen. As this preview demonstrates, Kristiansen's art ranges from a warm pastel line that recalls Raymond Briggs to a surreal, angular style that throws teenage alienation into sharp relief.

IT'S A BIRD debuted to wide critical acclaim, but it appeared to fall through the cracks of the mainstream readership. Even hardcore Superman fans seemed to leave it on the shelves in favour of books such as Kurt Busiek's SECRET IDENTITY. Hopefully the softcover edition will expose the novel to a wider audience - one that's as interested in reading about the character of Superman as it is in following his many adventures. [Matthew Craig]

THE SHIPPING LIST FOR FEBRUARY 9th 2004:

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

DARK HORSE

DEC040048 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #98 (MR) $2.99
MAR040020V STAR WARS CLONE WARS ADVENTURES VOL 1 TP $6.95
NOV040021D THE INCREDIBLES #3 (OF 4) $2.99
JUL040045V TRIGUN ANIME MANGA VOL 1 TP $14.95

DC COMICS

DEC040241 ACTION COMICS #824 $2.50
DEC040323 ANGELTOWN #4 (OF 5) (MR) $2.95
DEC040248 AQUAMAN #27 $2.50
DEC040226 BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #188 $2.50
DEC040279 BATMAN STRIKES #6 $2.25
DEC040252 BLOODHOUND #8 $2.95
DEC040253 BREACH #2 $2.50
DEC040327 FABLES #34 (MR) $2.50
DEC040259 FLASH IGNITION TP $14.95
DEC040236 GOTHAM CENTRAL #28 $2.50
DEC040257 GREEN ARROW #47 $2.50
DEC040330 ITS A BIRD SC (MR) $17.95
DEC040267 JSA #70 $2.50
DEC040333 LUCIFER VOL 7 EXODUS TP (MR) $14.95
DEC040238 NIGHTWING #103 $2.25
NOV040285D OUTSIDERS #20 $2.50
DEC040303 SANCTUM TP (MR) $19.95
DEC040285 SCOOBY DOO #93 $2.25
DEC040337 VIMANARAMA #1 (OF 3) (MR) $2.95

IMAGE

DEC041516 BIG BANG PRESENTS ULTIMAN FAMILY #1 $3.50
NOV041537D NEGATIVE BURN VERY BEST FROM 1993-1998 TP $19.95
DEC041530 THE GIFT #10 $2.99
OCT041537 WALKING DEAD #15 (MR) $2.95

MARVEL

DEC041788 ALPHA FLIGHT #12 $2.99
DEC041762 AVENGERS EARTHS MIGHTIEST HEROES #7 (OF 8) $3.50
NOV041798D CAPTAIN AMERICA #3 $2.99
DEC041765 CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE FALCON #12 $2.99
DEC041753 DISTRICT X #10 $2.99
DEC041770 FANTASTIC FOUR FOES #2 (OF 6) $2.99
DEC041798 FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 3 RETURN DOCTOR DOOM DIGEST TP $5.99
DEC041776 GAMBIT #7 $2.99
DEC041759 INCREDIBLE HULK #78 $2.99
DEC041789 JUBILEE #6 (OF 6) $2.99
DEC041772 MARVEL AGE FANTASTIC FOUR TALES THE THING #1 $2.25
DEC041751 MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #15 $2.99
DEC041752 MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #11 $2.99
DEC041761 NEW THUNDERBOLTS #5 $2.99
DEC041795 THE PUNISHER #17 (MR) $2.99
DEC041738 ULTIMATE X-MEN #56 $2.25
DEC041807 ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 10 CRY WOLF TP $8.99
DEC041739 ULTIMATES 2 #3 $2.99
DEC041734 YOUNG AVENGERS #1 $2.99

OTHER PUBLISHERS

DEC042523 AFTERMATH INFANTRY #3 $2.95
NOV042402 ARCHIE DIGEST #214 $2.39
MAY042740V CANDYAPPLEBLACK #2 (Of 7) (MR) $3.50
NOV042594 COSMIC GUARD #6 $2.99
NOV042578 D3 PATRICK THE WOLF BOY VOL 1 PKT TP $10.95
OCT042529F DEADBEATS #69 $2.50
DEC032432F EIGHTBALL GHOST WORLD TP CURR PRTG (MR) $11.95
DEC042295 FIRST KING ADVENTURE MANGA VOL 2 TP $9.99
DEC042296 GADIROK MANGA VOL 2 TP $9.99
DEC042303 GAMERZ HEAVEN MANGA VOL 2 TP $9.99
DEC042291 GATE MANGA VOL 1 TP $9.99
DEC042516 GI JOE MASTER & APPRENTICE VOL II BRASE CVR B #1 $2.95
DEC042515 GI JOE MASTER & APPRENTICE VOL II UDON CVR A #1 $2.95
DEC042517 GI JOE VOL 6 PLAYERS & PAWNS TP $12.95
DEC042297 GUNPARADE MARCH MANGA VOL 3 TP $9.99
DEC042982F HERE DOESNT COME THE FLYING F$$$ #1 (MR) $3.95
DEC042974 HOT GIMMICK VOL 8 TP $9.99
NOV042407 JUGHEAD #163 $2.19
DEC042723F KOLCHAK TALES OF NIGHT STALKER #5 $3.50
DEC042499 MASCA VOL 1 GN (MR) $9.99
JAN042064E NIGHTMARES & FAIRY TALES VOL 1 TP $14.95
OCT042881 OJO #5 (Of 5) (MR) $2.99
DEC042315F STRANGE DAY ONE SHOT $3.95
NOV043057 VAGABOND VOL 19 TP (MR) $9.95
DEC042498 WORLD OF NARUE BOOK 4 GN $9.99

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.