Click the full post link below for a tentative list of titles due to ship next week:
Abe Sapien The Drowning #5 (Of 5)
All New Atom #24
Amazing Spider-Man #561
American Dream #3 (Of 5)
American Splendor Season Two #3 (Of 4)
Amory Wars II #1 (Of 5)
Avengers Invaders #2 (Of 12)
Batman Death Mask #3 (Of 4)
Battlestar Galactica Origins #6
Boys #19
Brit #6
Buddha Story Of Enlightenment #3
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #15
Cable #4 Divided We Stand
Criminal 2 #3
Dark Tower Long Road Home #4 (Of 5)
Darkness #4
DC Special Raven #4 (Of 5)
Detective Comics #845
Essential Captain Marvel TP Vol 01
Fables TP Vol 10 The Good Prince
Fathom TP Vol 02 Into The Depths
Green Lantern HC Vol 02 Sinestro Corps War
Haunt Of Horror Lovecraft #1 (Of 3)
House Of Mystery #2
Hulk Vs The Marvel Universe TP
Infinity Inc #10
Infinity Inc TP Vol 01 Luthors Monsters
Invincible Iron Man #2
Jack Staff #17
Joker The Greatest Stories Ever Told TP
Jonah Hex #32
Justice League Of America HC Vol 03
Justice League Unlimited #46
Justice Society Of America #16
Kick Ass #3
Legion Of Super Heroes 1050 Years In The Future TP
Lords Of Avalon Sword Of Darkness #5 (Of 6)
Manhunter #31
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #40
Marvel Spotlight Secret Invasion
Metamorpho Year One TP
Midnighter #20
New Battlestar Galactica Season Zero #9
Nightwing #145
Noble Causes #34
Nova #14
Omega Unknown #9 (Of 10)
Path Of The Assassin TP Vol 11
Pax Romana #3 (Of 4)
Penance Relentless TP
Pilot Season Lady Pendragon #1
Programme TP Vol 01
Punisher War Journal #20
PVP TP Vol 05 PVP Treks On
Rann Thanagar Holy War #2 (Of 8)
Red Sonja #34
Robin Spoiler Special #1
Secret Invasion #3 (Of 8)
Shark-Man #3
Showcase Presents Haunted Tank TP Vol 02
Spawn #179
Spider-Man Family #9
Supergirl #30
Superior Showcase #3
Tom Strong TP Book 06
Tor #2 (Of 6)
Trinity #1
Ultimate Origins #1 (Of 5)
Vinyl Underground #9
Vinyl Underground TP Vol 01
War That Time Forgot #2 (Of 12)
Witchblade #118
Wolverine Dangerous Game
X-Factor Visionaries Peter David TP Vol 04
Young X-Men #3 Divided We Stand
Zombie Simon Garth TP
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Due to Arrive 05/06/08
The Gosh! Authority 30/05/08
Hi all! Here’s hoping the late delivery didn’t result in shaking and cold sweats for the comic fans of the capital! Still, not to worry, we’ve got more than enough in this monster of a week to calm those shakes! Most significantly, there’s that most welcome of items – a new Hellboy paperback in the form of the Darkness Calls collection. The more astute of you will remember that this is no ordinary collection, either! This collection boasts, on its title page, our exclusive bookplate featuring original artwork by Duncan Fegredo, signed by both him and Mike Mignola! It’s a big event for us and we’d love you to be a part of it, so grab these beautiful treats while they’re still around.
Pride of place in the single issue releases goes to the biggest event of the week – Final Crisis #1. Yeah, everybody’s bored of THE BIGGEST EVENT EVER YOU JUST CAN’T MISS IT, but this is the biggest thing Grant Morrison’s ever been in control of at DC, so it ought to be entertaining at the least. The preview pages that have been floating around suggest two things – firstly, that this is Morrison on top form, drawing the reader in with suspenseful writing rather than putting them off with abstruse references to obscure tie-in titles, and secondly, that artist JG Jones is seriously putting the effort in. Give it a try, it looks genuinely interesting.
And speaking of Morrison at his best, here comes All-Star Superman #11 like a bolt from the blue. It’s one of the best things DC’s had on the shelf since New Frontier, and delivers in every department, checking all the boxes on the messianic superhuman list. Action, adventure, excitement, characters you can love and hate (sometimes at the same time), and some gorgeous artwork. What’s more, this is the second-last issue of Morrison and Quitely’s big storyline! Don’t give up now!
Marvel’s biggest release of the week must be 1985 #1, kicking off Mark Millar’s ‘Narnia of comic books’ epic. Once upon a time this was going to be a photo-comic, with big money invested in models, costumes and photography equipment, but apparently unsatisfactory results led to the enlisting of artist par excellence Tommy Lee Edwards. I only mention that because it’s such an amusing little oddity, and here’s hoping that somewhere there are photos of people in Ultron costumes leaping around on a dock somewhere. But to the point – the concept’s intriguing and the artwork looks gorgeous, and this is Millar writing in a more gentle tone than normal, which often results in some of his best work (see Superman Adventures). Grab a copy and revisit YOUR childhood as a pop culture junkie. Go on.
Yet again I’m going to give a plug to Thor, which I can only describe as business as usual, but with an addendum that this is an extremely good thing. J Michael Straczynski is still working the good sense of humour, high-adrenaline action and strong characterisation that’s made this series a real joy. Coipel’s back on the artwork, so get ready to start drooling over epic vistas, hideous frost giants and beautiful princesses rendered in divine detail.
Oh, and what’s more, this week’s Marvel Comics Presents #9 should be worth a look as well, as it features an unexpected standalone 8-page story written by newcomers Mark Parsons and Tom Cohen and drawn by none other than rip-snorting Hulk series artist Ed McGuinness!
Image brings out two fine indie superhero books this week, Firebreather #1 and Astounding Wolf-Man #6. Firebreather is probably the most obscure of these titles, being as it is the re-launch of a character who’s only had four issues of a title before. But don’t let that fool you, Phil Hester’s great concept of the half-human son of a Fing-Fang-Foom-alike dragon really paid off before and it’ll most likely pay off again. What’s more, after his brilliant turn in Next Issue Project #1, I’m really keen to see how artist Andy Kuhn handles his return to this title. Wolf-Man is another Kirkman blast, whose concept is similarly straightforward – a werewolf superhero. So far events have progressed in the less-than-smooth manner you might expect, with the teammates of a murdered superhuman hunting down the Wolf-Man for revenge. I’m hopping up and down with excitement already. Seriously, it’s embarrassing.
And speaking of embarrassing, there’s an embarrassment (seamless link) of trade collections releasing from DC this week.
First up there’s Jack Kirby’s OMAC HC, collecting the King’s classic stories of genetic experiment Buddy Blank, straining against the shackles of a totalitarian government in a world he never made. Sorry, got carried away there. This book, in the eminently readable Fourth World Omnibus style, collects eight issues of Kirby at his prime, preaching pacifism through robot carnage. The whole world’s gone Kirby-mad of late, and not a moment too soon. From any one of these recent hardcover collections, even the most jaded reader can see how well his ideas and his vibrant style have dated, and OMAC is no exception. Grab it if you want a cheaper introduction to these omnibuses, or if you love superhero sci-fi in any form.
There’s also a new Fables collection out, and I’m sure by now that I don’t need to tell you how good that series is, and it’s probably the same with Tom Strong Book 6 in paperback, you know how good all this is already. Oh, which reminds me – after plugging it blindly last week, I caught up on the issues of Scalped, and my colleagues are right, it really IS that good, with a particularly heart-wrenching conclusion to the latest storyline. Twisted allegiances and raggedy old truths that just don’t sit right any more – this is the business, and exactly what you want from a publisher of ‘mature’ comics.
In the news this week – Disney has decided to reinvigorate its comics wing by striking a deal with media titans Ahmet Zappa, Harris Katleman and Christian Beranek. It’s big money, and hopefully that means big talent. No titles or creative types have yet been announced, so stay tuned for future developments!
For all those Alan Moore fans who thought that movie maker Zack Snyder would never attempt to capture some of Watchmen’s wilder moments, good news! He’s followed up on his projected plans to film a complete version of the Tales of the Black Freighter pirate comic for release on DVD at the same time as the Watchmen movie. The two will later be edited together for DVD release to form an extra-long ‘megamovie’. Sounds like a one-film movie marathon worth attending to me. Not content merely to revitalise DVD business the world over, Snyder also announced Warner Bros’ plans to release the complete Watchmen comic book as a series of filmstrip webisodes in advance of the film’s release, with voiceover narration in audiobook style. Here’s hoping that the film’s half as good as all this effort suggests!
And now for this week’s competition! We’re celebrating the release of Final Crisis by giving away two copies of the hardcover collecting all of JG Jones’ covers to 52. These were a fine assortment of beautifully-drawn, strikingly-designed weekly wonders, and this collection presents them all along with design sketches and notes from the artist! To win this prize you need only show that you love DC’s multi-layered history as much as Grant Morrison does, by telling us...
Who is this?
If you think you know, just comment on this post on our blog. If you can’t sign in to a personal account, you can comment anonymously – but don’t forget to leave your name in the comment itself! The first two people to comment with the correct answer win a copy of the book. Please note that the judge’s decision is final and that it is the responsibility of prize winners to arrange collection of the prize within a period of 14 days, after which any non-collected prizes will be offered to the runner-up.
That’s all for this week, so happy reading!
- Tom
In Store 22/05/08 - 30/05/08
Click the full post link below for a list of items in store this week:
Archie Digest #244
2000 AD #1588
Judge Dredd Megazine #272
ABC’s (Charley Harper)
Aletheia #1 Of(3)
All New Atom TP Vol 03
Angry Youth Comix #14 (J. Ryan)
Army Of Darkness Xena #3 (Of 4)
Astounding Wolf-Man #6
At a Crossroads GN
Secret History Of The Authority Hawksmoor #3
New Avengers #41 SI (Bendis)
Batman #677 RIP (Morrison)
Batman Gotham After Midnite #1
Battlestar Galactica Season 0 #8
Beyond #1 (Of 5)
Bionicle GN Vol 01
Black Adam The Dark Age TP
Blue Beetle #27
Caliber #2 (Of 5)
Clifton 5 Jade TP
Comic Arf SC
Savage Sword Of Conan TP Vol 03
Countdown To Final Crisis TP Vol 1
Damned Prodigal Sons #1 (Of 3)
Dan Dare #6 (Of 7) (Garth Ennis)
Daredevil #107 (Brubaker/Rucka)
Darkness Vs Eva #3 (Of 4)
DC Comics Super Hero Collection Darkseid
Discworld Graphic Novels HC
Downer TP Vol 01
Dr Who Magazine #396
Drafted #7
Dragonlance Chronicles Vol 3 #11
Eleventh Hour GN Vol 01
Emily The Strange II #3
Explainers HC
Fables #73
Marvel Adventures FF #36
Fathom #0
Final Crisis #1 (Of 7) (G Morrison)
Finding Peace TP
Firebreather Series #1 (A. Kuhn)
Futurama Comics #37
Green Lantern #31
Green Manor 1 TP
Grendel PVC Set
Heartburst & Other Pleasures TP
Hellboy TP Vol 08 Darkness Calls Gosh! Exclusive Duncan Fegredo Bookplate Edition Signed by both Mignola and Fegredo! (Limited edition of 200)
Hercules #2 (Of 5)
Heroes SC
Essential Rampaging Hulk TP Vol 1
King Size Hulk #1 (A Adams/Cho)
Huntress Year One #2 (Of 6)
Immortal Iron Fist #15
Immortal Iron Fist Prem HC Vol 2
India Authentic #13 Lakshmi
Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull #1
Marvel Adventures Iron Man #13
Jimmy Zhingchak One Shot
JSA Classified #38
Judenhass GN (Dave Sim)
Justice TP Vol 01 (Alex Ross)
Juxtapoz Vol 15 #6 June 2008
Knights Of The Lunch Table GN 1
La Perdida TP
Last Winter GN
Legion Of Super Heroes #42
Marvel 1985 #1 (Of 6) (M. Millar)
Marvel Comics Presents #9
Marvel Illustrated Moby Dick #4
Marvel Illustrated
Picture Dorian Gray #6 (Of 6)
Marvel Previews June 2008
Ms Marvel #27 Secret Invasion
Nearly Complete Essential Hembeck Archives Omnibus
New Warriors #12
Nightmares And Fairy Tales #23
No Pasaran GN Vol 03
Northlanders #6 (Brian Wood)
Number Of The Beast #4 (Of 6)
Omac One Man Army Corps HC
Out Of Picture Vol 2
Peckerwood 24 Minutes GN
Pendragon GN Merchant Of Death
Power Pack Day One #3 (Of 4)
Previews Vol XVIII #6
Proof #8
Shadowpact #25
She-Hulk 2 #29
Simpsons Summer Shindig #2
Skyscrapers O/T Midwest HC
Sorrow TP
Speak O/T Devil #6 (Of 6)
Star Wars Dark Times #11 Vector
Star Wars
Knights Of Old Republic #29
Starman Omnibus HC Vol 01
Action Comics #865
All Star Superman #11 (F. Quitely)
Superman World Of Krypton TP
Supernatural Rising Son #2 (Of 6)
Sword #8
Tales From The Crypt #6
Teen Titans #59
Teen Titans Go #55
Thor #9
Trains Are Mint
True Story Swear To God Archives
Ultimate Spider-Man #122
Uncanny X-Men #498 DWS
Usagi Yojimbo #112
Vampirella Quarterly Spring 2008
We Can Still be Friends
What It Is HC
Wizard Magazine #201
Angel Revelations #1 (Of 5)
Excalibur Classic TP Vol 5
Wolverine First Class #3
Wolverine Origins TP Vol 04
X-Force #4 Divided We Stand
Giant Size Astonishing X-Men #1
X-Men First Class Vol 2 #12
X-Men Legacy #212 DWS
Young Avengers Presents #5 (Of 6)
Zogonia TP Vol 01 Slice Of Death
MANGA
Appleseed TP New Ptg Vol 02
Bleach TP Vol 23
One Piece TP Vol 18
Protoculture Addicts #96
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Late Delivery This Week
Just a quick reminder to you good folk that the delivery will be arriving on Friday (30/05/08) due to the delaying effect of the bank hoilday. Normal service will be resumed next week!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Gosh Recommends... Criminal: Coward and Lawless
Story: Ed Brubaker
Art: Sean Phillips
Marvel Comics Icon
Let it be said: Criminal is cool. Not because it’s been optioned for a movie, or because it’s been frequently name-dropped by Wikipedia-savvy pop culture commentators. Rather, Criminal is a comic that manages to be identifiably of its day while remaining totally unique; that makes the medium feel fresh and exciting instead of ripe for franchise development; that stands as the unfiltered vision of two creators at the top of their game. And that’s cool.
Okay, I admit it, I’m gushing, but I can back it up. Even though the creators have openly drawn influence from pulp films, novels and comic books from the 30s up to the modern day, there’s something about Criminal that singles it out as being especially deserving of its 2007 ‘best new series’ Eisner award.
It could be Ed Brubaker’s writing, which so plainly displays his love for gritty crime stories and speaks of the twenty-odd years he’s spent refining his craft. From his semi-autobiographical Lowlife comics in the early nineties to pulp noir superhero works like Sleeper and Daredevil, Brubaker appears to have been picking away at the industry, looking for the right nook from which to tell his tawdry tales of murder and misery. In that sense, Criminal feels very much like a homecoming for him – the perfect corner in which to carve out his own world and fill it with scintillatingly tragic events.
The comic’s glowing personality could also be down to Sean Phillips’ art. It is worth noting at this point that Sean Phillips is an artistic genius, in the most genuine sense of the word. While in Criminal he employs a heavily-shadowed, realistic style, he’s not restricted by photo reference, which becomes evident in more action-heavy or comic moments in the book where small flourishes of bombastic dynamism or exaggerated expression really make the panels sing.
Most likely, as with most good comics, the answer lies in the synchronicity between writer and artist, and in that sense the Brubaker and Phillips team is one of the all-time greats. While Brubaker has also worked brilliantly with such artists as Michael Lark on Gotham Central and Scene of the Crime, his scene-setting and storytelling beats are captured with almost preternatural accuracy and effectiveness by Phillips here. Turns of the head, moments of silence or single-panel flashbacks are palpable, and no inch of space feels wasted or unnecessary.
All of which is to say nothing of the actual content of the books. Criminal has thus far been collected into two trade paperbacks, each collecting a five-issue story which can be read and enjoyed totally in isolation. With characters and events informing each other between volumes (if only in the background), there’s a real cumulative build to the series which serves to deepen your investment in the characters and their actions. Another knock-on effect of this is the fact that Criminal is one of those rare comics that you will actually come back to, picking up new in-jokes and references on the second or even third time through. As an example, by the time that Criminal Vol 2 #2 (not as yet collected) rolled around, the historical significance of Teeg Lawless, Vietnam veteran and deadbeat dad, had been so well established that the prospect of actually meeting him in the pages of the comic was a genuine thrill.
While the purpose of this article is to sell you on the trades, I recommend immediately going out and catching up with the even-cooler latest issues. After the ten issues collected here came out, the comic was re-launched in a new format with more pages of story per issue and, most importantly, more back-page articles. Criminal’s back-up columns have become legendary in a short space of time, and with good reason. Brubaker has assembled an impressive crew of industry noir enthusiasts including such diverse figures as Scalped creator Jason Aaron and actor, writer and comedian Patton Oswalt, to contribute reviews and retrospectives which should prove fascinating to anybody with even a passing interest in pulp fiction. To put the icing on the cake, each article is awash in Phillips’ gorgeous spot illustrations and portraiture.
While the stripped-down nature of the trades allows the quality of the material to speak for itself, you’re missing out on the beautiful design, expanded content and expert pacing of the monthly instalments which make this one of the increasingly rare titles on the shelves that reaffirm the value and the joy of periodical comics.
Pick up the Coward and Lawless paperbacks and then catch up with Criminal 2 #1 and #2 from our back issues. You won’t be disappointed.
Recommended by Tom - some images courtesy of Sean Phillips' excellent blog.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Scalped Vol 1 Indian Country bookplates - exclusive to Gosh!
It's no secret that we here at Gosh Comics love the heck out of Vertigo's series Scalped, but maybe you didn't realise just how much until now. That's right, we will soon be producing a limited bookplated edition of the first volume of the series, an image of which you can see on the left there. The plate features original art by series artist R.M. Guéra and will be signed by both himself and writer Jason Aaron! We'll still be offering the book at a normal cover price of £6.50 and there'll be no more than 200 copies available, so get your pre-orders in good and quick.
We're hugely grateful for both creators' time and effort in producing the plate, and we trust you like the end result as much as we do! Scalped is one of Vertigo's best new titles in years, and when better to catch up on it than now? Look out for the Gosh-exclusive first volume, in store soon!
Due to Arrive 30/05/08
Click the full post link below for a tentative list of titles due to ship next week:
Action Comics #865
Aletheia #1 Of(3)
All New Atom Vol 3 Hunt For Ray Palmer TP
All Star Superman #11
Angel Revelations #1 (Of 5)
Angry Youth Comix #14
Army Of Darkness Xena Why Not #3 (Of 4)
Astounding Wolf-Man #6
Batman #677 RIP
Batman Gotham After Midnite #1 (Of 12)
Betty & Veronica Double Digest #161
Beyond #1 (Of 5)
Black Adam The Dark Age TP
Blue Beetle #27
Countdown To Final Crisis Vol 1 TP
Crawl Space Vol 1 XXXombies TP
Dan Dare #6 (Of 7)
Daredevil #107
Darkness Vs Eva #3 (Of 4)
DC Universe Special Superman Mongul
Drafted #7
Dragonlance Chronicles Vol 3 #11 (Of 12)
Emily The Strange II Be All You Can Be #3
Essential Rampaging Hulk Vol 1 TP
Excalibur Classic TP Vol 5
Fables #73
Fables Vol 10 The Good Prince TP
Final Crisis #1 (Of 7)
Firebreather Series #1
Futurama Comics #37
Giant Size Astonishing X-Men #1
Green Lantern #31
Huntress Year One #2 (Of 6)
Immortal Iron Fist #15
India Authentic #13 Lakshmi
Infinity Inc TP Vol 01 Luthors Monsters
JSA Classified #38
Judenhass GN
Jughead And Friends Digest #28
Justice League Of America Vol 3 Injustice League HC
Justice Society Vol 1 TP
King Size Hulk #1
Legion Of Super Heroes #42
Legion Of Super Heroes 1050 Years In The Future TP
Marvel 1985 #1 (Of 6)
Marvel Adventures Avengers Vol 1 Heroes Assembled Digest TP
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #36
Marvel Adventures Iron Man #13
Marvel Comics Presents #9
Marvel Illustrated Moby Dick #4 (Of 6)
Marvel Illustrated Picture Dorian Gray #6
Marvel Previews June 2008 Extras
Ms Marvel #27 Secret Invasion
New Avengers #41 Secret Invasion
New Battlestar Galactica Season Zero #8
New Warriors #12
Nightmares And Fairy Tales #23
Northlanders #6
Number Of The Beast #4 (Of 6)
Power Pack Day One #3 (Of 4)
Previews Vol XVIII #6
Proof #8
Resurrection #5
Secret History The Authority Jack Hawksmoor #3 (Of 6)
Shadowpact #25
She-Hulk 2 #29
Showcase Presents Haunted Tank Vol 2 TP
Simpsons Summer Shindig #2
Snakewoman Curse Of The 68 #4 (Of 4)
Speak Of The Devil #6 (Of 6)
Star Wars Dark Times #11 Vector Part 5
Star Wars Knights Of Old Republic #29 Exalted Part 1 (Of 2)
Superior Showcase #3
Superman World Of Krypton TP
Supernatural Rising Son #2 (Of 6)
Sword #8
Tales From The Crypt #6
Teen Titans #59
Teen Titans Go #55
Thor #9
Tom Strong Book 6 TP
True Story Swear To God Archives Vol 1 TP
Ultimate Spider-Man #122
Uncanny X-Men #498 Divided We Stand
Usagi Yojimbo #112
Vampirella Quarterly Spring 2008
Wizard Magazine #201
Wolverine First Class #3
X-Force #4 Divided We Stand
X-Force Legacy Of Vengeance One Shot
X-Men First Class Vol 2 #12
X-Men Legacy #212 Divided We Stand
Young Avengers Presents #5 (Of 6)
The Gosh! Authority 22/05/08
Hello! This week the Gosh Authority’s pole position goes to the Superman Escape From Bizarro World HC, written by Superman mainstay Geoff Johns and drawn by Eric Powell, creator of The Goon. While it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the Legion story that followed it in Action Comics (understandably, being only three issues long), this arc still stands up as exceptional and the artwork alone justifies it. Eric Powell’s interpretation of Bizarro-World and its inhabitants is rivalled only by Frank Quitely’s recent efforts in All-Star Superman, and he does a surprisingly good job of portraying the clean-cut Supes at his blemish-less best to boot. It’s a heap of fun, with an assortment of classic Bizarro stories thrown in to round out the collection, and is well worth any Bizarro-fan’s time. Or should I say: it am not worth any Bizarro-fan’s time.
Many of you crazy kids out there will be pleased to see that Scalped #17 has arrived (not me, I’m still on the trades), but you might also be thinking that it is about chuffing time. Still your raging tempers, though, because we’ve got the mainline gossip from artist R.M. Guéra that the reason it took so long to come out is because it’s an extra-special issue, and he had to take the time to get it just right. How can we possibly be so in touch with the intricate details of the process of such a high-profile artist? We found out while arranging our exclusive Scalped bookplate! Keep an eye on the blog for more news on that coming very soon indeed!
Otherwise, Marvel dominates the new release schedule, with an assortment of other gems. First up is Incredible Hercules #117. If you’ve ever felt that the industry was lacking a comic featuring a genius kid and a drunken demigod tearing around the country wreaking bitter revenge on the unfeeling government that wronged them, then you literally can’t miss out on this series. If you wanted this hypothetical comic to tie in with the latest big event, it might actually approach criminal negligence not to pick this (and the previous) issue up right now. But seriously, folks, writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente have done a great job carving out a fun story in their own little corner of Secret Invasion, and new series artist Rafael Sandoval is doing an excellent job replacing Khoi Pham. Grab it; it is – in a strange way – the best Hulk title currently on the racks.
Time for a quick nod to a title you might have missed from last week – Genext #1. While you might mistake it for just another post-Messiah Complex X-title, don’t be misled! This is in fact the sequel to the immensely popular X-Men: The End, brought to you by that series’ mastermind, Chris Claremont.
There’s also the second issue of Dan Slott and Marcos Martin’s arc on Amazing Spider-Man. From the number of issues left of the first part of this story, I can tell you’re not really listening to me out there. However annoyed you were at One More Day, no matter how uninspiring you’ve found… certain recent storylines… anything with Dan Slott’s name on it is always worth a look. What’s more, this is Marcos Martin drawing Spider-Man! That doesn’t happen nearly enough! Did you SEE Doctor Strange: The Oath!? It was gorgeous! Anyway, as I say, we’ve got plenty of copies of last week’s first part of the storyline, so catch up in time to grab these next two issues. And then go buy Doctor Strange: The Oath and Batgirl: Year One. Go on!
But you don’t get off that easy, folks. Time for more unashamed comic-pushing with the much-awaited arrival of Hawaiian Dick #4. After two fine miniseries (Byrd of Paradise and The Last Resort), I did wonder how the title would survive the leap of becoming an ongoing series, but the short-term answer appears to be ‘very well’. It’s not like the title’s changed very much, it’s still the perfect daiquiri-esque blend of private snooper noir, tropical tiki voodoo and post-war politics, only now brought to you by artist Scott Chantler. At least, that was the original pitch, but it turns out that original co-creator and artist Stephen Griffin is still working his lowbrow art magic with back-up stories written by his own good self. There’s just no downside, folks!
By far our most exciting indie arrival of the week is Monster Truck, by long-time favourite Shaky Kane. Described by Gosh staff member Nathaniel Metcalfe as a ‘four-colour pop culture explosion for the eyes’, this book collects some truly inspired insanity from a creator of whom we don’t hear nearly enough these days. What’s more, our copies came from the man himself and they’re all signed! The book also contains more than four colours, but we’ll let young Metcalfe off on that one.
The news this week starts on a low note, with word that one of the all-time great cartoonists from the original Mad Magazine Usual Gang of Idiots, Will Elder, passed away last Wednesday at the age of 86. Alongside Harvey Kurtzman, Elder helped set the tone of Mad from the very first issue with his madcap style, anarchic humour and layer upon layer of background gags. The latter of these was such a popular element that it garnered the nickname ‘chicken fat’ and remained a Mad mainstay. Later, after a string of ultimately unsuccessful humour magazines, Kurtzman and Elder created the wildly popular Little Annie Fanny, which ran in the back of Playboy magazine for 26 years. Elder will be remembered for the huge body of work he left behind and the revolutionary vein of humour he helped America tap into.
On a more positive note, there has been a tremendous outpouring of support for comic book art great Gene Colan in the form of an online auction of donated art. After Colan’s recent liver failure, he and his wife Adrienne were left with formidable medical bills which they are struggling to meet, prompting comic creator Clifford Meth to organise the fundraiser. Among the earliest contributors of signed items were such luminaries as Neil Gaiman, Stan Lee, Mark Evanier and Peter David, with many, many more following. More information can be found at Meth’s blog here: http://thecliffordmethod.blogspot.com. Keep an eye on that link, as information as to the channel and date of the auction will be going up soon.
Now to our competition! This week we’ve got two copies of the Vertigo hardcover original graphic novel Cairo to give away. In true Vertigo style, it blends real-world concerns with folktale background to produce a magical realist thriller packed full of guns, ghosts and gibbons (okay, no gibbons) from acclaimed illustrator M. K. Perker and Cairo-based journalist G. Willow Wilson. To win a copy, all you need to do is answer the following question:
The creators of Cairo have a new ongoing Vertigo series in the works – what’s its name?
If you think you know the correct answer, just comment on this post on our blog. If you can’t sign in to a personal account, you can comment anonymously – but don’t forget to leave your name in the comment itself! The first two people to comment with the correct answer win a copy of the book. Please note that the judge’s decision is final and that it is the responsibility of prize-winners to arrange collection of the prize within a period of 14 days, after which any non-collected prizes will be offered to the runner-up.
That’s all for the week – happy reading!
- Tom
In Store 22/05/08
Click the full post link below for a list of items in store this week:
Betty & Veronica Digest #184
Jugheads Double Digest #140
2000 AD #1587
Slaine The King SC New Ptg
American Dream #2 (Of 5)
Avengers Classic #12
Avengers Initiative #13
Marvel Adventures Avengers #24
Mighty Avengers #14 Secret Invasion
Batman And The Outsiders #7
Batman Vs Two Face TP
Birds Of Prey #118
Black Panther #36
Black Summer Auxiliary #6
Bottomless Belly Button SC
Brave And The Bold #13
Captain America #38
Casey Blue Beyond Tomorrow #1
Catwoman #79
Checkmate #26
Classics Illustrated
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
Black Beauty
Swiss Family Robinson
Treasure Island
Countdown To Mystery #8 (Of 8)
Dark Ivory #2 (Of 4)
DC Special Cyborg #1 (Of 5)
DC Wildstorm Dreamwar #2
Dead She Said #1 (Wrightson)
Doktor Sleepless Manual #1
Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files #2
Dynamo 5 #13
Terry Moore’s Echo #3
End League #3
Fall Of Cthulhu #12
Fantastic Four #557 (Millar)
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four Vol 8 Digest TP
Ultimate Fantastic Four #54
Flash #240
Gargoyles Bad Guys #3
Ghost Rider #23
Godland #23
Showcase Presents Green Lantern Vol 3 TP
Grendel Behold The Devil #7
Grendel Devil Child HC (T. Sale)
Grendel Devil Quest HC (Wagner)
Gutwrencher #3 (Of 3)
Hawaiian Dick #4
Heavy Metal July 2008 #117
Hellblazer #244
Hellboy Companion TP
Hulk Visionaries John Byrne Vol 1 TP
Igor Movie Prequel #1
Incredible Hercules #117 Secret Invasion
Incredible Hulk Omnibus Vol 1 HC
Invincible Universe Primer #1
Iron Man Director Of Shield #29
Marvel Masterworks Iron Man 1962-1963 TP
Marvel Platinum Definitive Iron Man TP
Justice League Of America #21
Justice Society Of America #15
Knights Of The Dinner Table #139
Loveless #24
Madame Mirage #6
Marvel Illustrated Iliad #6 (Of 8)
Men’s Adventure Magazines 25th Anniversary
Monster Truck TP (Shaky Kane - signed!)
Nexus Archives Vol 7 HC
Pigeons From Hell #2 (Of 4)
Prisoner Of The Stars TP
Programme #11 (Of 12)
Project Kalki #1 (Of 4)
Rebel Visions Underground Comix Revolution SC
Robin #174
Robots GN
Scalped #17
Scooby Doo #132
SFX #170
Best Of Golden Age Sheena Vol 1 TP
Sheena Queen Of The Jungle Vol 1 TP
Simpsons Comics #142
Spawn #178
Amazing Spider-Man #560 (Slott/Martin)
Spider-Man Brand New Day Vol 1 HC (Slott)
Spirit #17
Star Trek Assignment Earth #1 (John Byrne)
Star Wars Legacy #24
Super Friends #3
Superman Batman #48
Superman Escape From Bizarro World HC (Johns/Powell)
Tangent Superman’s Reign #3
Tank Girl Visions Of Booga #1
Marvel Masterworks Mighty Thor Vol 7 HC & Var
Tim Sale Black & White HC
Torchwood #5 (Paul Grist)
Pilot Season Twilight Guardian
Wall-E
Little Golden Book
Lots of Bots HC
Saves The Day Pop-Up
Walking Dead Special Ed #1
War Is Hell First Flight Phantom Eagle #3
World Of Warcraft #7
Wolverine Origins #25
X-Factor #31 Divided We Stand
X-Men Divided We Stand #2 (Frazer Irving)
Ultimate X-Men #94
Zombies Hunters #1
MANGA
Aria Vol 2 TP
Case Closed Vol 23 GN
Getbackers Vol 24 GN
Initial D Vol 30 GN
Tea For Two Vol 1 GN (Yaoi)
Trinity Blood #6
Gosh Recommends... Tekkon Kinkreet
Story and Art: Taiyo Matsumoto
Viz Media
Picture a Batman and Robin story put through a Peter Pan filter by Takeshi Kitano and you’d only be halfway to conceiving the unique, terrible beauty that is Tekkon Kinkreet, previously published under the name Black & White. Its creator, Taiyo Matsumoto, is singular amongst manga authors in that not only does he seem to take a stab at a different genre with each comic he produces, but also in that his inspirations and driving influences aren’t entirely Japanese. Indeed, to build a more complete picture of the book you’d need to take into account the vast impact that European comic authors such as Moebius had on Matsumoto’s work from an early stage. These influences are clear here as in all of his later work, but in theme, style and setting, Tekkon Kinkreet remains eminently Japanese.
Matsumoto puts his large cast of characters through traumatic, joyful and harrowing events that deal with the key themes of duty, trust and the loss of innocence. Despite the long cast list, Matsumoto tethers this ballad to inner-city life around the central characters Black and White, two pre-teen kids living on the streets of the metropolitan Treasure Town.
This is their story, and it’s one told through expert use of magical realism and comic book tradition, as the pseudo-superheroic Black and White leap between rooftops and beat down gangsters with more-than-human strength and agility. Black is the protector in the relationship, keeping a caring eye on the younger, more vulnerable, slightly unhinged White. At its core, Tekkon Kinkreet is the story of Black’s attempts to keep White emotionally and physically safe from the dark secrets of the big city and the obstacles he encounters on his way. White’s childish innocence and enthusiasm are truly convincing and cement the book’s heartbreakingly bittersweet tone.
Tekkon Kinkreet is a genuinely memorable work of fiction. Matsumoto’s story and aesthetic straddle literary and artistic traditions to create something entirely unique, evoking a great deal with great clarity in a deceptively chaotic style. The pace of the storytelling communicates the book’s ideas and plot faultlessly and the dialogue rings true at just about every turn, but the true effect that Tekkon Kinkreet has on the reader is most certainly more than the sum of its parts. On top of all this, it’s a deeply enjoyable read – and one that will stay with you long after you’ve reached the end.
Recommended by Tom
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Sunny Days Indoors 12/05/08
Well, no reviews last week because my motivation ebbs when I've nothing new to tell the world. Last week I picked up the excellent B.P.R.D Killing Ground collection which has no surprise in the sense that it's excellent. However, it does contain plenty of twists with the characters, the whole story taking place at 'home' in Colorado. If you're reading it already, there's nothing to tell as you know it's great, and if you're not picking it up, you're missing one of the best monthly books currently published. Guy Davis' art just gets creepier and creepier and the freaky monsters just get freakier. On a side note I picked up his own series the Marquis a little while back which he wrote and drew: black, white and lots of great zipper tone... and cracked-out monsters too. It's collected by Oni in two books but tricky to find.
The only floppy comic I picked up was Action Comics 864, which I must have ordered based on how much I was enjoying the previous run with Gary Frank. While I'm now much more up to speed on the Legion Of Superheroes, this issue left me lost with a big reveal of a villain who I don't know but suspect I'm supposed to. Also leads into the Legion of Superheroes Crisis thingy which I won't be reading. Art-wise, nothing to show, and I’m feeling that if I've nothing nice to scan then don't scan anything at all. I feel used...
This week, however, I had comics to buy! First up, to show no hard feelings, Action Comics Annual 11 which I believe we've waited a year for. Though I don't know what happened to Adam Kubert to make him run SO late on this, I don't overly care. There've been plenty of good Action Comics and Busiek Superman(s) in the meantime and some iffy fill-ins which I just skipped :) Although Dave Stewart's not on the colours, Edgar Delgado fills in fine, mostly matching the style and maintaining the unique finish. Also fun is that Richard Donner and Geoff Johns manage to surprise with the story, but I don't do spoilers. A great read that, if you've not been keeping up, will stand alone happily as a trade paperback.
The softcover of New Avengers Illuminati came out, which I'd been waiting a while for. I really like Jimmy Cheung, and have done since Iron Man and Maverick, back before he was a "Marvel Young Gun". There's something straight but fun about his art that I can't put my finger on. I sometimes feel he makes everyone look like a teenager, but that’s not really true (see the collection's cover). It did make him the perfect choice for Young Avengers where, with great inker John Dell and perfectly suited colourist Justin Posner, I decided to keep my eye on what he was up to in the future. I wouldn't pick up everything he does...but this series fits.
It's a retrofitted Marvel history telling of how a few key Marvel players have manipulated things from behind the scenes. Secret Wars and the Kree Skrull War are good, but my personal fave was that they put a punctuation mark at the end of Morrison's Marvel Boy run, which was a great cosmic trilogy cut short by Bill Jemas worrying that he couldn't make a movie of it. The book also coincided with an all-Skrull, Secret Invasion tie-in that follows on from Illuminati.
The third part of Risso and Vaughan's Logan mini came out and while overall the series was a little light, it was good fun that didn't stray from the character, though perhaps featuring a slightly dated version of him. Risso's art is superb as always and the last page almost justifies the series alone. I imagine there's a hardcover coming of it but for three issues, I'd be careful...
Following my last post I found out that the Hellboy Golden Army preview comic I got for free was perhaps not very liberally distributed so I've taken the liberty of scanning the thing. My logic, and I hope it'd stand up in court, is that 1) the comic was free and 2) it was meant to be read by the masses to promote the movie and comic. It's at the end of this post at its original location here. Low-res so you can't print it but complete so you can enjoy it. So: enjoy it!
- Billy
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Due to Arrive 22/05/08
Click the full post link below for a tentative list of titles due to ship next week:
All New Atom Vol 3 The Hunt For Ray Palmer TP
Amazing Spider-Man #560
American Dream #2 (Of 5)
Archie Digest #244
Avengers Classic #12
Avengers Initiative #13
Batman And The Outsiders #7
Batman Vs Two Face TP
Birds Of Prey #118
Black Adam The Dark Age TP
Black Panther #36
Brave And The Bold #13
Caliber #2 (Of 5)
Captain America #38
Catwoman #79
Checkmate #26
Countdown To Final Crisis Vol 1 TP
Countdown To Mystery #8 (Of 8)
Dark Ivory #2 (Of 4)
DC Special Cyborg #1 (Of 5)
DC Wildstorm Dreamwar #2 (Of 6)
Dynamo 5 #13
Eden Vol 07 TP
Elephantmen #12
Fantastic Four #557
Firebreather Series #1
Flash #240
Gargoyles Bad Guys #3
Ghost Rider #23
Godland #23
Grendel Behold The Devil #7 (Of 8)
Gutwrencher #3 (Of 3)
Hawaiian Dick #4
Hellblazer #244
Hercules #2 (Of 5)
Hulk Visionaries John Byrne Vol 1 TP
Incredible Hercules #117 Secret Invasion
Invincible Universe Primer #1
Iron Man Director Of Shield #29
Jack Kirby’s OMAC One Man Army Corps HC
Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files #2 (Of 4) Judenhass GN
Justice League Of America #21
Justice Society Of America #15
Justice Society Vol 1 TP
Loveless #24
Madame Mirage #6
Marvel Adventures Avengers #24
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four Vol 8 TP
Marvel Illustrated Iliad #6 (Of 8)
Mighty Avengers #14 Secret Invasion
Pax Romana #3 (Of 4)
Pigeons From Hell #2 (Of 4)
Pilot Season Twilight Guardian
Programme #11 (Of 12)
Project Kalki #1 (Of 4)
Resurrection #5
Robin #174
Scalped #17
Showcase Presents Green Lantern Vol 3 TP
Simpsons Comics #142
Spawn #178
Spirit #17
Star Wars Legacy #24
Starman Omnibus Vol 1 HC
Super Friends #3
Superman Batman #48
Superman World Of Krypton TP
Tangent Superman's Reign #3 (Of 12)
Ultimate Fantastic Four #54
Ultimate X-Men #94
War Is Hell
First Flight Phantom Eagle Max #3 (Of 5)
Wolverine Origins #25
World Of Warcraft #7
X-Factor #31 Divided We Stand
X-Men Divided We Stand #2 (Of 2)
The Gosh! Authority 15/05/08
Hello! It’s rough justice week here at Gosh Comics, so prepare for a column so raw, so extreme, that it had to be brought to you in the magic of monochrome text. Kings of rough justice this week are comic creators Bryan Talbot, Mark Buckingham, Sean Phillips, Charlie Adlard, Mark Stafford, Hunt Emerson, Ian Edginton, D’israeli and Gilbert Shelton, who were kind enough to sign, and in some cases sketch, a big load of trade paperback collections for us! The products of these unions are now for sale in the shop for not a penny more than cover price! Check it out.
Tripwire creators Joel Meadows and Gary Marshall, who recently completed their book Studio Space, were good enough to get copies to us ahead of the release date! These guys are so daring that they actually infiltrated the inner sanctums of such dangerous dudes as Mike Mignola, Brian Bolland, Frank Miller, Joe Kubert and many, many more to retrieve confidential information about the creators’ working process. There’s also reprints of some of the creators’ prettiest and most obscure work, so grab yourself a copy while they’re still early!
DC have shown their familiarity with tough love by threatening to knock off two of their classic Bat characters! First up, there’s the first part of the supposedly groundbreaking storyline Batman RIP, by the series’ current regular writer, Grant Morrison. Though the story is going to have some knock-on effect for concurrent issues of Detective, Nightwing and Robin, they won’t be essential to the main plot, which will be totally self contained in the monthly Batman title. The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul this ain’t, so hop on board and don’t sweat the crossovers. Unless you want to, in which case that’s fine too.
Secondly there’s Bat Lash #6, the final issue of the miniseries that has thrilled us, chilled us and, through candlesticks in the shoulder and arrows through the neck, embodied the true spirit of rough justice. A suggestive cover and some unsubtle solicitation hints tell us that we might be so unlucky as to never see Bat or his compadres alive again! But who can say for sure in this wacky comics world of ours? For myself, I’m hoping that DC gives Bat a break, because some more adventures of the West’s weirdest hero from Aragonés, Brandvold and Severin would be much welcome.
Marvel joins in the party as well, with the latest issue of Garth Ennis’ final Punisher Max story. While Ennis’ run has had its weak patches, his recent arcs have been firing on all cylinders, both metaphorically and literally. If the phrase ‘firing on all cylinders’ was a reference to guns and not cars, that would have been brilliant what I did just there, but never mind. Not only has Ennis brought more captivating drama to a Punisher series than you might expect, he’s also presented a convincingly human cast of characters and an over-arcing story that deals with cycles of violence and revenge’s erosion of the soul. But don’t worry, there’s lots of guns and shooting and stuff too. The series plays off its own past history cleverly, and this looks to be the most action-packed arc yet, sending Ennis off with a bang. Rough justice.
Also worth noting from Marvel this week are the final issue of Jason Aaron’s Wolverine run and the first issue of Dan Slott’s second arc on the thrice-monthly Amazing Spider-Man. This time, Slott is backed up by the most excellent Marcos Martin of Batgirl Year One and Doctor Strange The Oath fame. Like Zeb Wells’ recent run, this is one even for those who hate the Brand New Day and everything it stands for, because it’s just plain good Spidey.
There’s no justice rougher than that of a psychotic sister, and Roger Langridge knows it, which is why his character, Knuckles the Malevolent Nun, is making a long overdue return to comics in a new special issue. While the majority of it is drawn by Langridge himself, there’s the odd fill-in by top New Zealand talent and some beautiful pin-ups by Bob Fingerman and Mike Mignola to round out the package. And all for only two pounds. Why, that’s such a bargain that I’d accuse us of being soft on the customers during rough justice week. Oh, also it’s really funny. Pick it up, you!
There are two more comics I want to push this week, those being The Goon #24 and Screamland #3 respectively. You’ve heard me bang on about Screamland before, but trust me, it’s worth the reading, and if my comely contemporary Matt’s recommendation of The Goon’s back catalogue the other day didn’t persuade you, think again. It’s a complete package of a comic which, especially lately, has balanced plot with humour and art brilliantly. Grab it and witness the magic.
Seeing that comics and the art of graphic storytelling have received little-to-no attention in the halls of British colleges, the co-ordinators at Newi College in North Wales have sorted it out. The college now offers a course which ‘enables students to specialise in writing and developing extended narratives (images and characters) for graphic novels through practical experience and detailed knowledge and techniques’. So watch out, Kubert!
Fans of cartoons and excellent paintings should check out Cherubs artist Mark Stafford’s new exhibition at the Railway Tavern at Station Rise in Tulse Hill, Lambeth. The exhibition itself is called Mark Stafford’s Pandemonium Carnival: A Series of Unfortunate Paintings, and is running from this Saturday 17th May. Mark’s paintings are rough glories of lowbrow art justice, and are going for bargain prices. Take a look and you might well find it impossible not to buy one to fill a space on your wall. You have been warned.
And now for this week’s competition! To celebrate this roughest, toughest of weeks, we’ve got two hardcover editions of Virgin Comics’ Garth Ennis’ John Woo’s Seven Brothers to give away. It’s a blood-drenched, mythic yakuza epic in a style that could only be brought to you by the one-two punch of Ennis and Woo. To win, you need only answer the following question:
John Woo has served as producer for exactly one Hollywood comic book movie – what was that movie called?
If you think you know the correct answer, just comment on this post on our blog. If you can’t sign in to a personal account, you can comment anonymously – but don’t forget to leave your name in the comment itself! The first two people to comment with the correct answer win a copy of the book. Please note that the judge’s rough justice is final and that it is the responsibility of prize-winners to arrange collection of the prize within a period of 14 days, after which any non-collected prizes will be offered to the runner-up.
That’s all for now – but please remember to observe rough justice week in your own personal way.
- Tom
In Store 15/05/08
Click the full post link below for a list of items in store this week:
Pals N Gals Double Digest #121
52 Aftermath The Four Horsemen TP
Anita Blake Guilty Pleasures #11
Army Of Darkness #9
Bat Lash #6 (Of 6)
Batman #676 RIP (G. Morrison)
Batman Confidential #17
Batman Strikes #45
Batman The Joker’s Last Laugh TP
Batman The Resurrection Of Ra’s Al Ghul HC (Morrison Et Al)
Booster Gold #9
Booster Gold Vol 1 52 Pick Up HC
BPRD 1946 #5 (Of 5)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Vol 2 No Future For You TP
Captain Britain And MI:13 #1 Secret Invasion (P. Cornell)
Casanova #14
Checkmate Vol 3 The Fall Of The Wall TP
Cinema Retro #11
Civil War Chronicles #11
Clandestine #4 (Of 5) (Alan Davis)
Cthulhu Tales #2
Dead Of Night Featuring Man Thing #4
Death Grub (One Shot) (R. Ottley)
DMZ #31 (Brian Wood)
Erotic Comics A Graphic History HC
Everybody’s Dead #3
Final Crisis Sketchbook
Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein #1
FX #3 (Of 6) (John Byrne)
Gamekeeper Series 2 #3
Gen 13 #20
Ghost Whisperer #3
Giant Size Incredible Hulk #1
Goon #24 (Eric Powell)
Gotham Underground #8 (Of 9)
Green Arrow Black Canary #8
Green Lantern Corps #24
Green Lantern No Fear TP
Guardians Of The Galaxy #1 (Abnett/Lanning)
Huntress Year One #1 (Of 6)
All New Iron Manual
Iron Man Legacy Of Doom #2
Iron Man And Power Pack TP
Kaput & Zosky GN (Trondheim)
Knuckles The Malevolent Nun #1 (Langridge)
Last Defenders #3 (Of 6) (Casey)
Legion Of Super Heroes In The 31st Century #14
Life Sucks GN (Jessica Abel Et Al)
Little Vampire GN (Joann Sfar)
Locke & Key #4
Lost Boys Reign Of Frogs #1 (Of 4)
Amor Y Cohetes SC (Hernandez)
Mad Magazine #490
Maintenance #10
Marvel Adventures Hulk #11
Marvel Spotlight Hulk Movie
Mome Vol 11 GN
Newuniversal Shockfront #1 (Of 6) (Ellis)
North Wind #5 (Of 5)
Number Of The Beast #3 (Of 6)
Essential Official Handbook Marvel Universe Master Ed Vol 1 TP
100 Bullets #91 (Eduardo Risso)
Perhapanauts #2
Phantom #23
Potential GN (Ariel Schrag)
Project Superpowers #3 (Of 7)
Punisher #57 (Ennis)
Red Sonja #33
Return Of The Gremlins #3 (Of 3)
Rex GN (Daniel Zezelj)
Salt Water Taffy Vol 1 Legend Of Old Salty GN
Absolute Sandman Vol 3 HC
Screamland #3 (Of 5)
Secret Invasion Fantastic Four #1
Serenity Better Days #3 (Of 3)
Simon Dark #8 (Scott Hampton)
Big Brilliant Book Of Bart Simpson TP
Spawn Collection Vol 5 TP
Amazing Spider-Girl #20
Amazing Spider-Girl Vol 3 Mind Games TP
Amazing Spider-Man #559 (Slott/Martin)
Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic #28
Studio Space SC
Superman #676
Thunderbolts #120 (Warren Ellis)
Tiny Titans #4
Titans #2
Toyfare #131
Transformers Best Of UK Space Pirates #3
Transformers Devastation TP
Best Of Transformers Vol 1 GN UK
Transhuman #2 (Of 4)
Twelve #5 (Of 12) (Chris Weston)
Ultimate Hulk Vs Iron Man Ultimate Human Prem HC
Un-Men #10
Vertigo First Cut TP
Wacky Packages HC
Walking Dead #49
Warhammer Condemned By Fire #1 (Of 5)
Wasteland #17
Welcome To Tranquility Vol 2 TP
Wolverine #65 DWS (J. Aaron)
Wolverine Amazing Immortal Man Bloody Tales #1 (D Lapham)
Wonder Woman #20
World War Hulk Gamma Corps TP
World War Hulk X-Men TP
Genext #1 (Of 5)
New Exiles #6
X-Men Legacy #211 DWS
New X-Men By Grant Morrison Ultimate Collection TP
X-Men Origin Colossus
Young Liars #3 (Dave Lapham)
Zombie Tales #1
Zorro #3
MANGA
Blood Plus Vol 2 GN
Parasyte GN Vol 03 (Of 8)
Piq Magazine Jun 2008
Prince Charming Vol 3 GN
Tsubasa Vol 17 GN
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Gosh Recommends... Eric Powell's The Goon
Story and Art: Eric Powell
Dark Horse Comics
There exists an interesting dichotomy in the comics world. You cannot often have a continuing series that is consistently both a superb read and a feast for the eyes. Don’t get me wrong, there are fantastic comics with very good art (Invincible being a notable example) but it is rare where both the writing and the art are incredible.
For five years now, Dark Horse have had such a comic in Eric Powell’s The Goon. The story follows Goon, a street tough who runs his local town under the guise of an enforcer for Mafia don Labrazio. In reality Goon’s murdered the don and is running the show using the dead mobster’s name as mythical tool to scare people into paying up. Goon is joined on his endeavours by Franky, a pint-sized degenerate who enjoys nothing more than violence and infidelity.
Goon’s gang fights to keep his turf safe from all manner of hoodlums and monsters, with his arch nemesis being a nameless zombie priest and his horde of slack-jawed zombies.
The series is insane and hilarious; Powell is a master of comic timing. His artistic mastery accentuates his side-splitting dialogue, in an almost cinematic way. He manages to create genuinely likable characters, and you’ll undoubtedly fall in love with The Goon’s myriad of supporting cast members. My personal favourites are Spider (a small time criminal, who’s also a giant spider) and Willie Nagel (a zombie con-man.)
Early on in the series the audience is told in passing of a tragic, unspoken-of event in Goon’s past which occurred in Chinatown and four years later, Powell revealed the secret in the original graphic novel named, appropriately enough, Chinatown. A departure from the usual comedic flair, this wholly serious story is beautifully crafted, with some of the artist’s best work to date. The story itself is incredibly moving, bringing a lump to your throat as you see the Goon’s heart ripped asunder. Powell uses a slow build, allowing the reader to know there’s no happy ending in sight, but still delivers a punch to the gut in the final pages. Eric Powell demonstrates the depth of his creation by showing that this funny book can transcend its comic horror stable, and move into the more serious dramatic arena. If you’ve enjoyed the regular series, don’t be put off.
What’s brilliant about this series, and became evident in re-visiting the beginning issues, is that Powell has been crafting a long plot from the very beginning. Where issues have seemed incongruous to the overall workings, they’ve later been revealed as part of a larger whole. With the series soon to hit its quarter century, revelations are sure to abound.
The Goon is easily one of the most enjoyable reads in comics today. It is consistently entertaining, filled with thrills, chills and laughs. Having just re-read from the beginning, through the original graphic novel Chinatown, to the latest issue (#23), I remembered that comics can still be moving and astonishing. If you enjoy solid stories with a comic edge, and some of the most gorgeous and finely crafted art being produced in the medium, then make yours Goon.
Goon is currently in book form up to and including #18 of the current series, as well as the separate Chinatown OGN. There is also a collection of Powell’s first Goon work called Rough Stuff, this doesn’t play into the current series.
The complete list of currently available collections is as follows:
Vol 0 SC Rough Stuff
Vol 1 SC Nothin’ But Misery
Vol 2 SC My Murderous Childhood
Vol 3 SC Heaps of Ruination
Vol 4 SC Virtue and the Grim Consequences Thereof
Vol 5 SC Wicked Inclinations
Chinatown HC
Recommended by Matt
Due to Arrive 15/05/08
Click the full post link below for a tentative list of titles due to ship next week:
100 Bullets #91
52 Aftermath The Four Horsemen TP
All New Iron Manual
Amazing Spider-Girl #20
Amazing Spider-Man #559
Anita Blake VH Guilty Pleasures #11 (Of 12)
Archie & Friends #119
Army Of Darkness #9 Long Road Home
Bat Lash #6 (Of 6)
Batman #676 RIP
Batman Confidential #17
Batman Strikes #45
Batman The Jokers Last Laugh TP
Batman Vs Two Face TP
Betty & Veronica Digest #184
Booster Gold #9
BPRD 1946 #5 (Of 5)
Casanova #14
Checkmate TP Vol 03 The Fall Of The Wall
Civil War Chronicles #11
Clandestine #4 (Of 5)
Dead Of Night Featuring Man Thing #4 (Of 4)
DMZ #31
Drafted TP Vol 01
Dragonlance Chronicles Vol 3 #11 (Of 12)
Essential Off Hb Marvel Univ Master Ed TP Vol 02
Final Crisis Sketchbook
Firebreather Series #1
Gamekeeper Series 2 #3
Gargoyles #3
Gen 13 #20
Genext #1 (Of 5)
Goon #24
Gotham Underground #8 (Of 9)
Green Arrow Black Canary #8
Green Lantern Corps #24
Green Lantern No Fear TP
Hulk WWH TP Gamma Corps
Huntress Year One #1 (Of 6)
Iron Man And Power Pack TP Armored Digest
Jack Kirby’s Omac One Man Army Corps HC
Jughead’s Double Digest #140
Last Defenders #3 (Of 6)
Legion Of Super Heroes In The 31st Century #14
Lost Boys Reign Of Frogs #1 (Of 4)
Marvel Adventures Hulk #11
Marvel Spotlight Hulk Movie
New Exiles #6
Newuniversal Shockfront #1 (Of 6)
Number Of The Beast #3 (Of 6)
Phantom #23
Project Superpowers #3 (Of 7)
Punisher #57
Red Sonja #33
Return O/T Gremlins #3 (Of 3)
Screamland #3 (Of 5)
Serenity Better Days #3 (Of 3)
Showcase Presents Green Lantern TP Vol 03
Simon Dark #8
Star Wars Knights Of Old Republic #28 Vector Part 4
Starman Omnibus HC Vol 01
Superman #676
Tiny Titans #4
Titans #2
Twelve #5 (Of 12)
Un-Men #10
Welcome To Tranquility TP Vol 02
Wonder Woman #20
Worlds Of Dungeons & Dragons #2
X-Men Origin Colossus
Young Liars #3
Zorro #3
The Gosh! Authority 09/05/08
Hello, The Internet! Since we’ve moved to a blog format with these columns, I feel a real impetus to make an effort to put the truly exceptional comics first and foremost, so that they’re properly spotlighted to really show the authors that their efforts and their work are appreciated. As such, I feel no more justification is needed to make Jack Staff #16 my absolute, number one, tip-top tip of the week. Since making the leap of going monthly, Paul Grist has kept to an admirably disciplined release schedule at no sacrifice to the quality of the material being produced. The storytelling is still inspired, the characters are as sympathetic as ever, and the art’s still oh-so pretty in that quintessential Grist style. If you’ve never picked up Jack Staff or Grist’s other title Kane before, this is the week it all changes. Do yourself a favour and grab a trade, you won’t regret it.
You’d almost think there’d been some kind of Iron Man film released in the last week, because Marvel’s brought out not one, not two, but three new releases featuring ol’ Shellhead, all at once! Funny, isn’t it? The two that will be getting the most attention are Viva Las Vegas and Invincible Iron Man, both being very clearly painted in the image of Hollywood. Viva Las Vegas is even drawn by the designer of the film’s suit, Adi Granov, and written by director Jon Favreau! Invincible Iron Man, however, is planned as an ongoing title, and seems more accessible than the still-running Iron Man Director of SHIELD comic while remaining in continuity. Whatever that means. More importantly, Invincible Iron Man #1 makes for a fun read, written, as it is, by upcoming-and-actually-good comics scribe Matt Fraction, and chock-full, as it is, of technological paranoia.
However, without a doubt the best in Marvel’s Iron-tastic release pantheon is Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin in paperback, collecting Joe Casey and Eric Canete’s six-issue miniseries from last year. This is cheating a bit, as it hardly has anything whatsoever to do with the movie, but it provides some well-written, pacy, beautifully-drawn robot-suit beat-upping, and frankly that should be enough for any Iron Fan. If you missed this the first time around, I strongly recommend that you pick up this handy, affordable gem of a trade paperback. While some people may find Canete’s artwork a bit wild and not exactly to their taste, those people are wrong, and they know that they are wrong.
Hey, look, it’s Secret Invasion #2! This is what happens when you hire an artist who gets stuff done for your big event comic, amirite? While I would recommend Secret Invasion even to the event-skeptical given its strong and deeply teasing first issue, I would also recommend that you pick up last week’s New Avengers #40. This skipped straight past my radar at first, but on second look, it’s quite the issue! It gives you just about all of the Skrull political back-story, explains how the Skrull sleeper agents are undetectable, and even drops a huge Skrull unmasking on the end, all drawn absolutely beautifully by Jim Cheung.
DC parries with a slew of new titles reinvigorating old licenses! Tor #1 stands out as being written and drawn by Joe Kubert – a rarity in this day and age, I’m sure you’ll agree. However, it’s a welcome and pleasantly old-school return as Kubert straps us in for more prehistoric adventure with the primitive human who, in the company of his chimpanzee buddy Chee-Chee, searches for meaning in a wild world where everybody’s got something to hide, except for him and his monkey. Also releasing is an in-Vertigo rebirth named House of Mystery #1, repainting the House as a haven for stories reminiscent of Spider Robinson’s Callahan’s series (and anybody who gets that reference deserves a biscuit). Jack of Fables writers Bill Willingham and Matt Sturges are the perfect subjects to handle such a premise, so this title should be one worth keeping an eye on.
Another book worth mentioning is the collection at long last of JLA Presents Aztek The Ultimate Man. This is a gem from back in the day of Grant Morrison’s tenure JLA, co-written by Mark Millar – a character who lived, was briefly beloved, and then instantly disappeared without a trace. Perhaps he’ll find a place in Morrison’s post-Final Crisis DC Universe. Who can say?
For anybody interested in the Centre For Recent Drawing is hosting an exhibition and panel discussion on diary comics from the 8th-23rd May, Wednesday-Friday, 12-6pm. Both the exhibition and panel will have the input of such luminaries as Gabrielle Bell, Ariel Schrag and Rutu Modan. The panel discussion will take place on the first day of the exhibition, from 6:15-7pm and will be hosted by comics historian Paul Gravett. More information can be found at www.c4rd.org.uk
It’s come a bit late, but there’s still time for Previews watch – remember, this is one way we determine how much of something comes in, so if you want it – speak up! Firstly: next to Scary-Go-Round and The Perry Bible Fellowship, Chris Onstad’s Achewood is one of the most consistently entertaining webcomics around, and it’s finally getting its mainstream publishing debut in the Great Outdoor Fight hardcover. Collecting a pivotal storyline of what was declared Time magazine’s Greatest Graphic Novel of 2007, this book will appeal hugely to fans of Tony Millionaire, Chris Ware, Sam and Max and just any comics that are funny.
Embracing the fact that one of the best things by far about Batman is his villains, DC’s releasing a series of one-shots, all in July, each telling a story epitomising a villain’s particular brand of wickedness, under the banner The Joker’s Asylum. For my money, the most fun edition should prove to be The Penguin, drawn by DC’s talented go-to cartoonist Jason Pearson and written by Gosh favourite Jason Aaron! Also covered are Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Two-Face and The Joker himself. Worth noting as well is Jonah Hex #33, a special one-off issue drawn by Darwyn Cooke and set in his own backyard of sunny Canada.
The new Wildstorm universe makes its debut in the pages of WildCATS World’s End #1, written by Christos Gage and with appealing art by Neil Googe, bringing back such favourites as Zealot, Grifter, and my own personal favourite metal-jawed rocker, Ladytron.
Image Comics’ oddest solicitation of the month must be for Tori Amos’ Comic Book Tattoo, which runs to a full 480 pages of Amos-inspired short stories by the likes of Jonathan Hickman, Eric Canete, Colleen Doran and Jock! First in the ‘cool’ stakes is Liberty Comics, a one-shot benefit book produced for the promotion of the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund. However, your patronage of Liberty Comics won’t be without its rewards, containing as it does brand new The Boys and Criminal stories, as well as original work by Darwyn Cooke, John Paul Leon and Sergio Aragonés!
Marvel’s industry ads answer a question as old as time, namely: whatever happened to Newuniversal? That answer comes in the form of two new titles: Newuniversal: Shockfront and Newuniversal: 1959. While the former is written by Ellis as you’d expect, the latter is written by Phonogram scribe Kieron Gillen in his first mainstream Marvel writing gig. Coolest ad of the month, however, is the unexpected return of Kathryn Immonen’s interpretation of Patsy Walker: Hellcat. It was cool in Marvel Comics Presents, it’ll be cool now! Sadly, her husband Stuart Immonen is not signed on for art duties, but Spanish cartoonist David Lafuente should provide ample compensation in his stead.
And now for this week’s competition! To coincide with Marvel’s current Alan Davis fever, with a new Clandestine on the shelves and X-Men covers aplenty, we’re giving away three copies of the premiere hardcover of his recent Killraven series for Marvel. And since it’s a Secret Invasion week, the killer question is:
Which tragically memorable moment in Skrull history was rendered by Alan Davis in X-Men #90?
If you think you know the correct answer, just comment on this post on our blog. If you can’t sign in to a personal account, you can comment anonymously – but don’t forget to leave your name in the comment itself! The first three people to comment with the correct answer win a copy of the book. Please note that the judge’s decision is final and that it is the responsibility of prize winners to arrange collection of the prize within a period of 14 days, after which any non-collected prizes will be offered to the runner-up.
Best of luck, and see you next week!
- Tom
In Store 09/05/08
Click the full post link below for a list of items in-store this week:
Archie Double Digest #188
Tales From Riverdale Digest #28
2000 AD #1585 & 1586
2000 AD Extreme Ed #29
Abe Sapien The Drowning #4 (Of 5)
Abject Expressionism SC Art Of Ron English
Adam Strange Archives HC Vol 03
Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters #3
All New Atom #23
American Dream #1 (Of 5)
American Splendor Season Two #2 (Of 4)
Angel After The Fall #7
Atomic Robo #6 (Of 6)
Avengers Invaders #1 (Of 12)
Mighty Avengers #13 SI
New Avengers Illuminati TP
Batman Death Mask #2 (Of 4)
Batman Vs The Scarecrow
Detective Comics #844
Battlestar Galactica Origins #5
Best Of Draw Magazine TP Vol 03
Big Badz #1 (Of 4)
Bizarre New World Population Explosion GN
Black Magic 2nd Ed TP
Black Summer #6 (Warren Ellis)
Boys #18 (Garth Ennis)
Buck Godot Psmith HC & SC
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #14
Caliber #1
Captain America Prem HC Vol 02 Death Of Captain America
Cavewoman Reloaded #5 & Sp Ed
Color Of Rage TP Vol 01
Comic Art Now
Conan #50
Countdown To Mystery #7 (Of 8)
Crossing Midnight #18 (M. Carey)
Dark Tower Long Road Home #3
DC Special Raven #3 (Of 5)
DC Universe Special JLA
Dead Space #3 (Of 6)
Deadworld TP Bits & Pieces
Delayed Replays GN
Uncle Scrooge #375
Disney’s Comics & Stories #690
Dummys Guide To Danger Lost At Sea #2
Dynamo 5 Annual #1
Exterminators #29
Exterminators TP Vol 04
Fantastic Four TP New FF
Flash Symbol New Frontier T/S By Darwyn Cooke
Foolkiller #5 (Of 5)
Forgotten Realms The Legacy #2
Foundation #5 (Of 5)
Franklin Richards Not So Secret Invasion
Gary Panter HC Slip Case
Gemini #1 (Of 5)
George R R Martin’s Wild Cards #2
Hercules #1
House Of Mystery #1
Hulk TP World War Hulk (JRJR)
Infinity Inc #9 (Peter Milligan)
Invincible Iron Man #1 (Fraction)
Iron Man TP Enter The Mandarin
Iron Man Viva Las Vegas #1 (Of 4)
Iron Man War Machine TP
Jack Staff #16 (Paul Grist)
JLA New Frontier By Cooke T/S
JLA Presents Aztek TP (M Millar)
Jonah Hex #31
Justice League Unlimited #45
Local #11 (Of 12) (Brian Wood)
Lonesome Puppy HC (Y. Nara)
Lords Of Avalon SOD #4 (Of 6)
Love On The Racks HC
Lucha Libre #4
Madman Atomic Comics #8
Magic Pickle GN (Scott Morse)
Man With No Name #1
Metal Men #8 (Of 8) (D. Rouleau)
Midnighter #19
Moon Knight #18
New Dynamix #3 (Of 5)
Nightwing #144
Nova #13
Omega Unknown #8 (Of 10)
Otto’s Orange Day HC
Punisher War Journal #19
Question TP Vol 02
Rann Thanagar Holy War #1 (Of 8)
Robin Hood (Frank Bellamy)
Rogue Angel Teller Of Tales #3
Savage Tales #7
Scud Disposable Assassin #24
Secret Invasion #2 (Of 8) SI
She-Hulk Premiere HC Jaded
Silent Hill Sinners Reward #3
Smallville Series 2 Action Figures
Amazing Spider-Man #558
Marvel Adv Spider-Man #39
Star Wars Legacy #23
Suburban Glamour TP Vol 01
Supergirl #29
Action Comics Annual #11
Superman Classic Symbol 2008 T-Shirt
Tales From The Crypt Vol 3 HC & SC
Thunderbolts Reason In Madness
Tor #1 (Of 6) (Joe Kubert)
Transformers Best Of The UK Dinobots TP
Transformers Movie Sequel #1
Trigan Empire: Red Death
Ultimate X-Men #93
Vinyl Underground #8
War That Time Forgot #1 (Of 12)
Where Madness Reigns Art Of Chris Grimly SC
Wizard Magazine #200 Platinum
X Omnibus TP Vol 01
Cable #3 Divided We Stand
Logan #3 (Of 3) (BKV /Risso)
X-Factor Quick And Dead (David)
Young X-Men #2 Divided We Stand
MANGA
Absolute Boyfriend Vol 6
Black Cat Vol 14
Crimson Hero Vol 8
D Gray Man Vol 9
Dr Slump Vol 15
Gin Tama Vol 6
Hunter X Hunter Vol 20
Kaze Hikaru Vol 9
Kurohime Vol 5
Naruto Vol 29
Nodame Cantabile GN Vol 13
Sa Vol 4
Shaman King Vol 16
Skip Beat Vol 12
Whistle Vol 19