The Gosh! Authority 08/10/08

As the second Gosh! Blog post of October heaves gasping into view we find ourselves living in Bizarro World, where banks have no money and people who work in comic shops are lauded for their fashion sense. By “people” I mean our very own cardigan-clad Will Kane. Hoodathunkit. Fame at last.

If you’ve been in the store over the last week you’ll have noticed the new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen pages gracing our colourful walls. Volume 1 of Part 3 will be with us in the Spring of 2009 but for those of you who can’t wait, be sure to check the Gosh! Blog next week when we’ll be putting up the first of a four-part interview we’ve done with artist Kevin O’Neill!

This week sees the release of Action Comics #870, which features the last part of Geoff Johns’ Brainiac story. This one’s bound to be eventful and leads right into the New Krypton storyline that spans across Action Comics, Superman and Supergirl. Miss this one and there’ll be tantrum-inducing repercussions!

Another story comes to an end in the Punisher Max Volume 10 trade-paperback which concludes Garth Ennis’ seminal potty-mouthed run. It’s all about a Vietnam War vendetta, which sees the fearsome vigilante meet his stiffest competition to date. Ennis fans should also pick up Crossed #1 which promises to be the most twisted series of his career. It’s a truly horrifyingly visceral exploration of the pure evil that humans are capable of, brought to gut-wrenching life by Jacen Burrows (Chronicles of Wormwood). Readers beware - these two feature copious amounts of violence and naughty words!

More violence abounds in Marvel Zombies 3 #1! There’s a new scream team taking the reigns and it looks like it’s going to be good. Kev Walker (Judge Dredd, Annihilation: Nova) pairs up with Fred Van Lente (The Incredible Hercules, Marvel Adventures) for this four-issue gorefest. There’s an 11-page preview over at Newsarama which is definitely worth a look, as is the interview with Van Lente himself . Board up the Avengers Tower!

Speaking of whom, the second act of the hit maxi-series begins in Avengers Invaders #5! Our three teams - the Avengers vs. the Avengers vs. the Invaders - face off in an all-out battle aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, while Dr Strange attempts to solve a World War II mystery. Can they stop cross-time devastation?

The world seems equally doomed in Enders Game Battle School #1, also out this week. The same aliens who almost destroyed Earth once before are coming back to do it properly – and 8-year-old Ender Wiggin is the finest military mind we’ve got to protect us. The legendary sci-fi epic by New York Times Bestseller Orson Scott Card comes to comics thanks to Christopher Yost (X-Force) and Pasqual Ferry (Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate Iron Man)!

More evil forces are out to get us in Mike Mignola’s Hellboy Library Edition Volume 2, the second of Dark Horse’s deluxe hardcovers collecting the comics that started it all! This one features trade-length storylines ‘The Chained Coffin’ and ‘The Right Hand of Doom’, plus a dozen others - all presented for the first time in chronological order. There’s also a wealth of supplemental stuff including 30 pages of previously unreleased sketches and designs.

Another big hardcover we’re making space for is Frank Miller’s Abolute Ronin! The disgraced 13th century samurai gets the Absolute treatment and finds himself slip-cased and united with a bunch of rarely-seen promotional art, fold-out pages and loads of special features. I wonder what he’d think of them apples.

And now, my droogs, it’s time for a quick break from the old ultra-violence to mention Jeffrey Brown’s Sulk Volume 1: Bighead & Friends. This pocket-sized graphic novel series showcases a variety of Jeffrey’s all-new experimental comics – and they’re not just about girls! There’s science fiction and fantasy as well as meditation on the comics form, and more! Have a sneak preview here.
X-Men Original Sin #1 sees the beginning of the Autumn cross-over event in this one-shot! For years, Logan has been a man without a past, whose memories existed only as conflicting fragments – but that’s all about to change. What begins here continues in the pages of X-Men Legacy and Wolverine: Origins this month and next. I said Origins, not Oranges. I’m articulate, me.

And finally, it’s the highly anticipated release of Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard Book in hardcover. We’ve got the Dave McKean illustrated version. Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place - he's the only living resident of a graveyard. It’s Gaiman’s version of Kipling’s Jungle Book, but instead of panthers and bears this orphan is raised from infancy by ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? Neil has been reading a chapter at every stop he makes on his current tour, and recordings can be seen over at his blog. Incidentally, don’t forget about our Jill Thompson signing on October 25th from 2-4pm. Bring your Sandman comics for her to scribble on!
Comics news! Brad Meltzer says thanks to everyone who donated dosh to save the house in which Superman was created. A staggering $101, 000 was raised and Jerry Siegel’s boyhood home is going to be just fine.

In other news, the Ignatz awards were announced this week! Have a look at the winners here and give us a shout if you're missing any of 'em. ZIP!

Paul Gravett’s Comica festival kicks off in November and this talk’s worth a mention: Great British Comics – Past, Present & Future. Boyfriend, Battle, Rick Random, Roy of the Rovers! Steve Holland, David Leach and David Roach re-live childhood favourites with surprise guests, while John and Patricia Aggs, Gary Northfield and Sarah McIntyre look at The DFC, Derek the Sheep and the new worlds of kids' comics. It’s happening on Sunday, 23rd November from 2pm. They’ll be signing afterwards so pop along and wave hello. Head over to Paul’s site for details.

Lastly, The Joyful Bewilderment is a new art exhibition taking place at Rough Trade East in Brick Lane (until 27th October) featuring a huge number of like-minded image makers. These include such talented folk as cartoonist Ron Rege Jr (whose brand new book Against Pain has just been released!), Maxwell Paternoster (of the much-missed Power Hand comic), Jason Gormley and many, many others. For more details check out their blog:
http://joyfulbewilderment.blogspot.com/

And it’s goodnight from me.
-- Hayley