The Gosh! Authority 31/12/08

Again?

Hey folks, Andrew here again, one last time before Hayley returns like the dawning of a fresh new year! And speaking of New Year, needless to say that the comic delivery will be a bit skee-whiff again this week. We will be receiving the delivery on Wednesday 31st January. As with last week, the comics will not actually be arriving here until Wednesday, so if last week was any indication, allowing time for us to unpack and get things out, I wouldn’t recommend coming down to the store until at least 1pm. Keep in mind also that we will be closing at 4pm so we can make ourselves pretty for the evening.

And while you’re asking yourself that all-important question “Why Andrew, how could you possibly make yourself any prettier?” let’s move on to the other important topic of the week: our SALE! Yes, we’ve set up a blow-out sale section at the front of the shop where you can pick up some great comics for low, low prices. It’s a great mix of mainstream, indie, art books and kids books, all going for at least 50% off and much of it for a whole lot less. So do yourself a favour and have a fossick. You’ll be glad you did.

Onto the comics! It’s a pretty small week again, but we’ve got some real goodies in there this time around. Pick of the bunch? It has to be Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips’ super-villain-in-witness-protection mini Incognito. Taking a 5-month break from Gosh fave Criminal, the boys have gone all super-powered with something more in the vein of the criminally overlooked Sleeper. Interview with teaser preview here.

Mark Millar has burst of productivity this week with not one, not two, but three issues out! The aftermath of the FF’s battle with the New Defenders plays out in Fantastic Four #562; Judge Dre…err….Wolverine continues his road trip across the Cursed Ea…err…America in Wolverine #70; and ultraviolence presumably reigns supreme in the always entertaining Kickass #5 (coming at length to a cinema near you).

Over in Batman #684, Denny O’Neil, the man who literally wrote the book on writing comics the DC way, concludes his short crossover tale with Detective Comics. Nightwing and Commissioner Gordon both struggle to cope in a Gotham City with no Batman, where crime runs rampant and Two-Face is on the loose.

If, like many, you’ve been scratching your head throughout Final Crisis, then scratch no more! Final Crisis Secret Files ships this week, written by Grant Morrison and Peter J Tomasi, with art by numerous folk, including the mighty Frank Quitely. This one-shot promises to shed some light on how we got to where we are as well as show the impact of this Crisis on the DC multiverse. For the record, I’m thoroughly enjoying FC, obscure DC continuity and all. It’s big, crazy and completely unpredictable, and that’s just fine by me.

Speaking of things I like, Green Lantern #36 continues the build-up to the Blackest Night event, following on from the blood-spewing cat-ery of Rage of the Red Lanterns. Geoff Johns is on a roll with GL and I can’t help but get caught up in it, despite my distaste for his occasional gorehounding. Fans will also be pleased to hear that the much-delayed Green Lantern Corps #31 finally ships in the UK this week.

Plenty more goodies this week, including the conclusion to the Kingdom Come semi-sequel in Justice Society of America #22, including several painted pages by Alex Ross. Vertigo pops out a couple of its stalwart new generation in the form of Scalped and Northlanders, while Jason Aaron rears his head up once again with some Wolvie-fu over in Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #3. Those of you with a Twist-ian desire for more will also be pleased to know that not only do we have a new War Machine series kicking off this week, but we finally see the final episode of Soviet super story The Wintermen. If you haven’t kept up with this latter series, I highly recommend the TPB when it eventually surfaces.

In other news, we’d like to give a quick heads-up to the latest work of Friend Of Ol’ Gosh Paul Peart-Smith. Paul is a long-time fixture of the UK comics scene, working extensively for 2000AD and the Megazine before moving away into other fields. We’re pleased to say that Paul has returned to comics with his new webcomic One Plus One, featured on the excellent Act-i-vate site. It’s dark, psychological stuff, perfect for 2009: “Year of the Dark & Psychological”.

Finally, wish Stan well if you happen to be in this Wednesday, as he leaves our Gosh shores this week for pastures more Antipodean. Haere ra, Stan!

And dat’s dat! Happy New Year!

Andrew.