The Gosh! Authority 23/12/08

She’s what? She’s off again? Oh £$%.

Hey folks! Hayley’s off on holidays this week, so it’s Andrew here again, delivering a (very) quick hit of comics blabbing. It’s a speedy one this week, so hang on tight and watch for any spelling bumps in the road!

(We're having some problems with our clever little summary hack at the moment, so if the link below doesn't work, click on the post title!)

First up, a reminder about the next couple of deliveries. This week’s delivery will be arriving today, Tuesday December 23rd! As of time of writing, we’re not sure exactly when the comics will be showing up, but it’s a fair bet they’ll be here for lunchtime, so if you fancy getting some reading material for the break, pop on in. Equally, everything will be out for certain and all standing orders will be filed by tomorrow, when we’re open until 2pm, so feel free to swing by then.

Next week will also get a bit freaky (but not in a good way, as described to me by popular music television), with the delivery arriving on Wednesday December 31st. Again, everything should be out on the shelves for lunchtime, and we’ll be closing at 4pm that day. We’re closed New Year’s day, but will be open again on the 2nd.

Okay, enough admin! Let’s get to the comics, quiet week though it may be!

It’s a good week to be a Robert Kirkman fan, as he has two issues shipping this week as a part of his on-time for 2009 campaign! Astounding Wolf-Man and Invincible are both great showcases of Kirkman’s style: a seamless blend of soap, comedy and action. Neither are particularly good jumping-on points this week, but trades are available for both and it seemed like a good opportunity to give some brownie points to a couple of titles I have a lot of time for!

Grant Morrison delivers the second part of his RIP follow-up, and his last regular issue for the moment. The last issue was something of a mind-twister, but I did enjoy it. Here’s hoping it all sticks together with this chapter. Top tip to those who were underwhelmed by the RIP storyline, by the way: word has it from a number of reliable sources that the story bears a re-read. Haven’t tried it myself yet, but I’m going to give it a crack.

Mister X, like mullets and the hula-hoop, is back! What, you hadn’t heard about the mullet and hula-hoop revival? Get with the program, daddy-o! Dean Motter retakes the reigns of his seminal character, handling both the writing and art chores. MX (as the kids call him) walks through the mix of noir and German expressionism that characterises his beloved, dystopian city of Somnopolis: the City of Nightmares. But then, don’t we all?

It’s nice to see David Lapham back in the driving seat. Young Liars, his new Vertigo series, is a refreshing slice of crazy, peopled with a diverse cast led by Danny and his brain-damaged, bullet-proof, sort-of girlfriend Sadie. Who has visions of an invading race of spider-people from outer space. Anyway, the first collection is out this week and it’s a whole heap of fun. Cool beans!

Rick Leonardi is perhaps one of the most underrated artists working today. Coupled with the right inker, there’s no other artist – in my ever-so humble opinion – who has his grasp of dynamic anatomy. So it would be remiss of me to overlook this week’s release of Vigilante #1, written by DC stalwart Marv Wolfman and drawn by the man himself. Spinning out of the pages of Nightwing, the new Vigilante is something of a mystery so far. It all sounds a bit “In a world where the law has gone mad, one man will stand up and fight for justice”, but I’m sure it will look gorgeous.

Hey, did you check out Gigantic last month? Rick Remender is a real high-concept man, and this doesn’t disappoint. The story: a huge robotic being appears on planet Earth and wrecks havoc while being attacked by hostile aliens. The twist? He has been dumped there against his will and attacked for the purposes of alien reality television. It’s a fun concept with a good strong start and I’m looking forward to seeing where he goes with it.

I’m so happy that Zander Cannon and Gene Ha have managed to seamlessly pick up the Top Ten ball from ol’ Uncle Al. I loved Cannon’s work on Replacement God way back when, so I knew he could write, but I wasn’t expecting quite so able a job. My only regret is that this is only four issues long. I hope they do a Season Three!

Not sure if you caught it last week, but Swallow Vol 5 came out, including new work from Gosh favourite Barnaby Jones (whose Sixteen Miles to Merricks is still available in a limited bookplated edition) and the more-elusive-than-sasquatch genius of Al Columbia!

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention the upcoming Drawing For the Graphic Novel course, run by Birkbeck University in conjunction with the fine folks at the Cartoon Museum. The course runs on Thursdays from 8th January – 19th March, 6.30-8.30pm at the Cartoon Museum, 35 Little Russell St (just around the corner from us). It’s £150 to enrol, or £75 for concession-eligible folk. Budding graphic novelists can enquire about places on 0207 631 6651, or online at www.bbk.ac.uk.

And with that, I’d better 23 skidoo!


Merry Christmas everybody!

Love and cuddles,
Andrew, Hayley, JD, Josh, Nat, Stan & Will!