The Gosh! Authority 25/09/08

Gosh Blog! You don’t have to put on the red light. Those days are over, you don’t have to sell comics to the night!

Welcome back comic fans to the last blog of September. Evidently 2008 has been slowly eaten by Skrulls and Parademons, as it barely feels like there’s been a year.

But enough of my lamentations, to the funnybooks!

Image have a trifecta of goodness this week, winning the coveted Company of the Week crown with two new series and a collection. Their first missile of comics delight is Back to Brooklyn, the new miniseries from Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti, with art by Mihailio Vukelic. The comic follows Bob Saetta, who takes sibling rivalry to a whole new level when he goes to war with his brother: a crime boss who makes the Kingpin look like a member of Power Pack. It’s Ennis and Palmiotti, so expect violence to the nth degree, with a fair splattering of swears.

The second assault comes with another new series, Dead Ahead. This EC style mini by Clark Castillo & Mel Smith (with art by Alex Nino & Moose Baumann) is a survival tale about a fishing trip gone bad. Imagine this: you and your buddies have taken a little expedition in your Jaws style clipper, when a zombie plague hits. You’re stuck at sea, with provisions getting low. When all seems lost, a luxury liner sails into view. Seems like a dream come true, or is it…..A NIGHTMARE! (BUM BUM BUM!) Looks like Castillo, Smith, Nino and Baumann, are taking the tired zombie formula and are mixing it up a little.

Last and by no means least Image are taking a Mike Allred classic, and repackaging it into a beautiful 7 by 7 trade. For those of you who haven’t read Red Rocket 7, it’s a history of rock and roll, from its birth in the ‘50s right through to the new millennium, all told through the eyes of the seventh clone of a man from a distant world. This collection marks the tenth anniversary of this fantastic series, and it’s full of special features, including many rare illustrations. If you’re an Allred aficionado, or even a rock and roll fan, this is the book for you.

Previews of all the Image books here

Those of you who cried FUDGE or SHOOT at the pulping of All Star Batman #10 can now cry FUNK YEAH, as it ships on Thursday. See Batgirl pummel bad-guys, (but not grab them by their privates) and get called naughty names (that we will never see.) This is possibly the most insane Batman series ever created. Who’d have thought that we’d ever get treated to Frank Miller’s mixing of Batman and Sin City. So enjoy it kiddies, because one day Frank will be too big to treat us to his verbose Batness and swearwords.

I’ve often thought to myself, “I wish there were more female versions of my favourite Marvel Villains.” But never have we had a Kangrette, Doomra, or Venomgail. Thank god for Ed Brubaker, who this week introduces us to Lady Bullseye in the pages of Daredevil (I’d have called her Bullsarah, but what do I know?) Information on our new monochrome villainess is slim, but she’s a ninja, and might just have a link to the Hand. If you’ve not been reading Brubaker’s run on Daredevil, you are really missing out. His writing, along with Michael Lark’s dark and gritty art, have managed to outdo the fantastic Bendis run. I’d advise you to run and pick up the trades, so you can enjoy this new feminine fury (at least before Galactara appears.)

I’m sure it’s common knowledge, but Thursday is an international holiday: World Jeph Loeb Late Book Day. That’s right my lovelies (too personal?) both Hulk #6 and Ultimates Volume 3 #5 appear and finish their respective runs. In Hulk, we’ll hopefully find out who the mysterious Red Hulk is before the Green Hulk turns him into Black & Blue Hulk. In Ultimates, we’ll finally find out who murdered the Scarlet Witch as the scene is set for the coming Ultimatum. For fans of chunky superheroes with big chins and muscles, with Hulk art by Ed Mcguiness and Ultimates by Joe Maduriera.


Pop quiz, what do Avengers Initiative #17, Black Panther #41, New Avengers #45, Nova #17, Deadpool #2, Secret Invasion Amazing Spider-Man #2, She-Hulk 2 #33, Thunderbolts #124 all have in common? That’s right, they’re all Secret Invasion books! Ten points. Highlights include, Ant-Man against the Skrull Spider-Woman (Avengers Initiative), Jason Aaron and Jefte Palo making the coolest ever invasion story (Black Panther) and Brian Michael Bendis and Jimmy Cheung showing us how the House of M affected the Skrulls (New Avengers.) We’re heading into the home stretch of the Skrull incursion, so enjoy your bumpy green chins while you still can!

Dark Horse extend two of their best licences this week, with My Name is Bruce and a new Robert E Howard mini (Solomon Kane). MNIB is the story of my hero Bruce Campbell, as he’s mistaken for one of his heroic movie protagonists when a small town is plagued by a Chinese demon. This is the adaptation of Bruce’s cinematic directorial debut, and judging from the trailer it’s going to be a hoot! Hopefully one day I can go drinking with Bruce Campbell. That’s nothing to do with the comic, I just felt like dreaming. Preview here.

Solomon Kane (preview here) adapts Howard's "The Castle of the Devil." The story follows the vengeance filled puritan as he goes after the man responsible for a boy’s hanging: a baron with a cursed castle. Comedy and japes ensue, or dark and brooding tales of death and supernatural thrills; it’s all down to perspective. This series is written by Scott Allie, who was the original editor on Conan, with art by art by Mario Guevara and Dave “best colourist in the business” Stewart. If Conan is any benchmark, then this series could be fantastic.

Talking of everyone’s favourite loin clothed Cimmerian, Dark Horse collect the fantastic Hand of Nergal run from the ongoing series by Timothy Truman and Tomàs Giorello. Watch Conan battle a cursed supernatural horde, as he attempts to head back to his homelands. Our hero battles an ancient evil, as well as dealing with some unfinished business from his past. Dark Horse have done a great job on these Conan collections, and I beseech you to go back and read them all, by Crom!

If trades are your thing, then we’ve got even more amazing trades slotting into your bookshelves this week. First up we’ve managed to procure some copies of Absolute League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier. This oversized slipcased edition of the incredible original graphic novel by Messrs Moore and O’Neill, will look a treat next to your other Absolute Leagues. We’ve only got limited quantities, so jump on your airship now!

100 Bullets’ latest trade hits this week. Collecting issues 84-88 of the series, we see more members of the shadowy Trust fall as one old timer heads out of retirement to stem the flow of blood.

From Dark Horse, Abe Sapien’s first solo miniseries gets the collection treatment. Written by Mike Mignola, and featuring the art by Jason Shawn Alexander (Damn Nation, The Secret, The Escapists), the story features Abe’s first solo adventure for the BPRD, as he’s sent to collect the remains of an evil warlock. It being a Mignolaverse book, expect some nice extras.

The Papercutz Classics Illustrated line reprints the gorgeous Kyle Baker adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking Glass. It’s a beautiful hardcover package, a steal at only £6.50.

And lastly, DC bring us the last collection of Darwyn Cooke’s stellar Spirit run. This volume is designed to sit perfectly next to your last Spirit Hardcover, and features the Sand Seref issue (which Frank Miller has adapted for the Spirit movie.) If you love your Cooke or Eisner, then this is the book for you!

News time!

It’s the fourth and final week of the Siegel House auctions, and you’d be silly not to take a look. Judging from last week there’s some bargains to be had, and best of all you’ll be helping to preserve a piece of comics history.

Paul Gravett, the author of the NEO award-winning book Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics, invites you to discover secrets behind the most dazzling Manga creators and characters on 23rd October (7pm to 9.30pm) at the St Albans Centre, Leigh Place, Baldwin Gardens, London, EC1N 7AB.


Paul will ruminate on all aspects of Manga, from the best book to get started with, how the genre has become so popular, and how you can enjoy the books to their fullest. Tickets at £10 and available in advance from http://www.paulgravett.com/events/talks/talks.htm.

We at Gosh have been sent news on our friend Dan McDaid. You may remember Dan’s fantastic strip in Doctor Who magazine. Well, Dan informs us that not only is he writing the ongoing strip for the long haul at DWM, but he also has two pages in the next Popgun anthology. They're preview pages for his and Glen Brunswick's "Jersey Gods" (which is out February of next year.) You heard it here first!

That’s all folks!
Matt.