Click the full post link below for a tentative list of titles due to ship next week:
Abe Sapien The Drowning #2 (Of 5)
All New Atom #21
Alter Ego Best Of Legendary Comics Fanzine SC
Amazing Spider-Man #552
Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Guilty Pleasures #9 (Of 12)
Army Of Darkness #7 Long Road Home
Betty & Veronica Digest #182
Boys #16
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #12
Cable #1 Divided We Stand
Cable Classic TP Vol 01
Clandestine #2 (Of 5)
Countdown Lord Havok And The Extremists #5
Countdown To Adventure #7 (Of 8)
Countdown To Final Crisis 8
DC Special Raven #1 (Of 5)
Dead Space #1 (Of 6)
Detective Comics #842
Dynamo 5 #11
End League #2
Exterminators #27
Fables 1001 Nights Of Snowfall SC
Green Lantern #28
Hawkgirl Hath Set TP
Highwaymen TP
Infinity Inc #7
Invincible Presents Atom Eve #2 (Of 2)
Jonah Hex #29
Jughead's Double Digest #138
Justice League International HC
Justice League The New Frontier Special
Justice League Unlimited #43
Logan #1 (Of 3)
Lords Of Avalon SOD #2 (Of 6)
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #37
Marvel Spotlight Hamilton Martin
Midnighter #17
Moon Knight #16
New Battlestar Galactica Season Zero #6
Nightwing #142
Northlanders #4
Omega Unknown #6 (Of 10)
Painkiller Jane #5
Pax Romana #2 (Of 4)
Penance Relentless #5 (Of 5)
Powers #28
Punisher War Journal #17
Resurrection #3
Ride Die Valkyrie #3 (Of 3)
Savage Tales #6
Scalped #15
Scud The Disposable Assassin #22
Sheena #5
Sheena Trail Of The Mapinguari One Shot
Spider-Man Peter Parker TP Back In Black
Supergirl #27
Superman The Man Of Steel Vol 6 TP
Teen Titans Year One #3 (Of 6)
Twelve #3 (Of 12)
Uncanny X-Men #496 Divided We Stand
Vampirella Quarterly Winter 2008
Vinyl Underground #6
X-Force #2 Divided We Stand
X-Men Vs Apocalypse TP Vol 01 The Twelve
Young Liars #1
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Due 05/03/08
The Gosh! Authority 28/02/08
Hello! This one’s a week for creator-owned titles from far and wide, as well as returns for some much-loved creative teams, so let’s dive straight in:
DC delivers the goods this week with the latest issue of what’s been an impressive run for writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank with this week’s Action Comics #862. Johns’ love for the Legion of Super Heroes has paid off for devoted Supes fans, as he flashes forwards to a dystopian Earth ruled over by a Legion-hating, xenophobic Justice League. The background is littered with teasing in-jokes alluding to the events of this year’s Final Crisis, and the story has thus far maintained its pace excellently. What’s more, new artist and former Hulk mainstay Gary Frank has really shown his clout with this incredibly expressive, dynamic and design-conscious turn. If you’ve missed out so far, this is worth giving a try.
Marvel does one better with their biggest mainstream title this week, Thor #6. Despite the delays this issue has suffered, Straczynski and Coipel throw the reader straight back into the action with the accessible and intelligent spin they've put on the new regular Thor title. I big the issues up each time they arrive, but with good reason, believe me. When Thor isn’t action-packed, it’s witty and likeable. When it’s not being funny, it’s heart-warming. Each issue has approached the set-up in a wonderfully unique manner, and the two creators responsible have achieved something very tricky – successfully creating a consistently entertaining self-contained title within Marvel continuity. Give it a shot just for Coipel’s consistently lustrous artwork, this issue in particular is a winner.
Marvel also brings us two of the aforementioned creator-owned comics through their Icon imprint, with one re-launched title and one brand new offering. Criminal 2 #1 starts a new era and a new format for the title. If you’ve any interest in noir comics or Brubaker’s writing, you’ll already know it’s good. Very good, in fact. However, you might not know what the new issue format represents for the title. So what’s different? Well, to start with, there’s a bigger page count, allowing for both a larger chunk of story each month and an expanded magazine section in the back. If you need any reason to buy the issues over the trades, the latter’s the factor to consider – each Criminal has thus far been packed full of interesting appraisals, reviews and articles about detective fiction, film noir and comics by a wide variety of folks from the relevant industries. The new format also brings with it a three-issue run of one-shot stories, fleshing out the background of Criminal’s world and its denizens.
Second from Icon is Kick-Ass, the much-awaited new outing for fan favourite writer Mark Millar and evergreen artist John Romita Jr, fresh from his triumphal job on World War Hulk. Kick-Ass is yet another attempt at the genre of ‘what if superheroes, only in real life, yah?’, but even closer to the bone. Going for thrills as well as laughs, it looks like quite the entertaining romp, assuming Millar stays well clear of Wanted territory. And besides – John Romita Jr! What a fellow.
However, perhaps the most exciting new release of the week is celebrated writer/artist Jeff Smith (creator of indie comic Bone)’s brand new series, Rasl. Rumoured for months, the plot deals with an inter-dimensional art thief, who hops between the planes stealing multiple parallel Mona Lisas for sale on the black market. Cool, right? Smith’s art is gorgeous to look at, and Bone showed that not only could he sustain the plot and character development of a long-running title, he could also infuse it at every turn with a flawless design sensibility, storytelling versatility and pure fun. This one’s my Pick of the Week, and I recommend that everybody add it to their “buy pile”.
If you’ve been enjoying these columns, then you’ll be pleased to know that the whole damned business has expanded yet again! All of these email How Late columns are now being reproduced in a much prettier format on the new Gosh Comics blog, as designed and maintained by Mssrs. Andrew Salmond and Josh Palmano. The blog can be found at: http://goshlondon.blogspot.com , but hey, you might be reading it there anyway! While a bit shy of content at the moment, it’ll soon be bursting with staff reviews and recommendations, announcements and release listings from myself and other members of staff.
The news this week ends on a sad note, as we regret to inform you of the loss of British comics industry legend and former Gosh employee Steve Whitaker. Whitaker who died of a stroke on the morning of Friday 22nd February, in a taxi on the way to his doctor’s office. By all accounts Whitaker was one of the friendliest, most encouraging and most dedicated people you could ever hope to meet in comics. Testament to this is the comments system for Matt Brooker (better known as Disraeli)’s blog post about Whitaker’s death, which has been flooded with tributes: http://disraeli-demon.blogspot.com/2008/02/steve-whitaker-rip.html
Among these is a memorial by comic artist and current Gosh person Will Kane, which follows:
“This is very sad news.
I haven't seen Steve for quite some years, but he was one of the first friends I made in the UK comics biz when I moved to London in the late 80s.
He was always very encouraging to me, enthusiastic about my work, always available to look over my portfolio and always ready with helpful criticism.
A fine tutor, I have fond memories of Steve attempting to explain to (the colour-blind) me the finer points of colour theory when I landed my first colouring job at Dark Horse UK.
Possessor of quite the vast comic and LP collection, he lent his me entire run of Mike Sekowsky 'Mod' Wonder Woman comics when I expressed an interest.
A great draughtsman and a lovely bloke all round, he will be missed.”
- Tom
In Store 22/02/08 - 28/02/08
Click the full post link below for a list of items in-store this week:
Archie Double Digest #186
2000 AD #1575
Abyss #3 (Of 4)
All Action Classics Tom Sawyer GN
Angel After The Fall #4
Army @ Love #12
Atheist Vol 2 TP
Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Heroes Vol 2 HC
Authority Prime #5 (Of 6)
Young Avengers Presents #2 (Of 6)
Barks & Rosa Collected Vol 2 Donald’s Atom Bomb TP
Batman #674
All Star Batman And Robin The Boy Wonder #9
Birds Of Prey Dead Of Winter TP
Black Panther Annual #1
Blue Beetle #24
Blue Beetle Vol 3 Reach For The Stars TP
Captain America #35
Casanova #12
Chip Kidd The Learners HC
Circle #4
Classics Illustrated Jr
#505 Sleeping Beauty
#506 Three Little Pig
#507 Jack & The Beans
Classics Illustrated
Frankenstein
Gulliver’s Travels
Huckleberry Finn
Tale Of Two Cities
Clockwork Girl #3 (Of 4)
Countdown To Final Crisis 9
Crime Bible The Five Lessons Of Blood #5
Criminal 2 #1 (Brubaker/Phillips)
Crossing Midnight #16
Dan Dare #4 (Of 7) (Ennis)
Daredevil #105
Deadrider #2 (Of 4)
Deathblow #9
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #688
Uncle Scrooge #373
Dragonlance Chronicles Vol 3 #8
Draw #15 (Guy Davis)
Dreams
Elephantmen War Toys #2 (Of 3)
Fables #70
Fall Of Cthulhu #10
Fallen Angel IDW #24
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #33
Ultimate Fantastic Four #51
Fearless #4 (Of 4)
Franklin Richards Collected Chaos Digest TP
Freddy Vs Jason Vs Ash #5 (Of 6)
Hellblazer #241
Hellblazer Joy Ride TP
Highlander Way O/T Sword #3
House Of M Avengers #5 (Of 5)
India Authentic #10 Parashuram
Infinite Crisis TP
Marvel Adventures Iron Man #10
Jack Of Fables #20
JLA Classified #53
John Woo Seven Brothers Vol 2 TP
JSA Classified #35
Justice Society Of America #13
Juxtapoz Vol 15 #3 March 2008
Kick Ass #1 (Millar/Romita Jr)
Krash Bastards GN
Lazarus #3 (Of 3)
Legion Of Super Heroes #39
Locke & Key #1
Lou Fine Reader Vol 2 TP
Maakies With Wrinkled Knees HC
Marvel Illustrated Picture Of Dorian Gray #3
Marvel Previews March 2008 Marvel Zombies 2 #5 (Of 5)
More Old Jewish Comedians HC
Mouse Guard Winter 1152 #3 (Of 6)
New Warriors #9
Official Handbook Marvel Universe A-to-Z Premiere HC
Onslaught Reborn HC
Orson Scott Card’s Wyrms TP
Previews Vol XVIII #3
Project Superpowers #1 Of(6)
Proof #5
PS238 #29
Punisher Max Vol 4 HC
Rasl #1 (Jeff Smith)
Redeath #1
Rogue Angel Teller Of Tales #1
Ropeburn #1
Sadhu The Silent Ones #5
Savage Sword Of Conan Vol 2 TP
Shark-Man #2
She-Hulk 2 #26
Silent Hill Sinners Reward #1
Bart Simpson Comics #40
Spider-Man With Great Power #2
Ultimate Spider-Man #119
Star Trek Aliens Spotlight Romulans (John Byrne)
Star Wars Legacy #20
Stranded #2
Action Comics #862 (G. Frank)
Superman Camelot Falls Vol 2 HC
Showcase Presents Superman Family Vol 2 TP
Teen Titans #56
Teen Titans Go #52
Thor #6 (Straczynski/Coipel)
Thunderbolts International Incident
Transformers Devastation #6
Transformers Spotlight Arcee
Transformers Spotlight Vol 2 TP
Classic Transformers TP Vol 01
Uncle Sam And The Freedom Fighters #6
Urban Monsters #1
Witchblade Vol 2 TP
Wizard Magazine #198
World War Hulk Aftersmash Damage Control #2
Wormwood Calamari Rising #2
X-Men First Class Vol 2 #9
X-Men Legacy #208
X-Men Supernovas TP
Zombie Simon Garth #4 (Of 4)
MANGA:
Drifting Classroom Vol 10
Monster Vol 13
Reborn Vols 5 & 6 GN
Shaman Warrior Vol 6 TP
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Gosh! Recommends... The Escapists HC
Story: Brian K Vaughan
Art: Philip Bond, Steve Rolston, Jason Shawn Alexander, Eduardo Barreto
Dark Horse Comics
The deceptively brief history of The Escapist to date is nonetheless complicated – it all started with Michael Chabon’s novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, about a pair of Siegel-and-Schuster-a-likes who came up with a confinement averse character that knocks the socks off the 1930s comic book, uh, stocks. There was also an anthology series from Dark Horse fleshing out the publishing history of the character which was rather nice, but this series, The Escapists, is the only proper sequel to the book. To shorthand it, the novel's wonderfully-written, lengthy and rewarding, and very much deserves your time, but the Pulitzer Prize probably clued you into that. However, The Escapists has not as yet won a Pulitzer Prize, so I'll tell you a little about it.
The story follows Max Roth, a weedy elevator repairman from Cleveland with ambitions of writerdom. His father dies when he's a child, and he inherits The Key To The Basement. When the young Roth first ventures down there, he's faced with something he never expected - boxes and boxes of comic book ephemera, all to do with Kavalier and Clay's Escapist character. His mother dies after he takes up his job as elevator repairman, and he inherits $150,000. He immediately spends it on the unwanted, long-outdated license for the Escapist and all spin-off characters created for the franchise. He finds an artist in a girl he rescues from a stuck elevator, and a letterer in the thoughtful jock he atypically befriended during high school. The Escapists chronicles their attempts to create in an industry that gives untested talent no footholds whatsoever, and it does it brilliantly.
Now, Steve Rolston is no slouch. He delivers great layouts and expression here and his action work for Queen and Country's early volumes is also sterling. But to have him take over after an introductory chapter by Philip Bond, whose art moves me on a profound level, is a bit of a tease. But there's a reason - this chapter appeared as a kind of pilot for the main series, in the pages of The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist comic, and the rest of the main series was all Rolston.
As I say, however, Rolston never drops the ball, and the talking-head stuff and visual gizmos are brilliantly realised. He's assisted by Jason Shawn Alexander, who ghost-draws for elevator-girl Case Weaver within the pages of the comic, and Eduardo Baretto, who mimicks the depression-era action comic style with line-perfect respect. It's a really convincing blend of styles, and works just as an experiment in having several totally-different artists work together on a single story.
The Escapists fills the reader with the heady ambition of youth, just as the early chapters of Kavalier and Clay managed to do, and it does so in its own idiomatic way. It's not just a retread, it's a whole new chapter to the saga, and a moving evocation of the new generation's attempts at stardom and creative respect. It does contain a few callbacks to the novel, however, including a character dressing as the Escapist himself to publicise his cause. There aren't the usual showdowns with stern corporate types, nor, in fact, many other characters at all bar the three protagonists. It's somewhat of a stripped-down narrative, but by design, and it pays off.
The Escapists doesn't, in synopsis, do anything that a prose novel couldn't, but it's the execution that shows comics' potential as a literary medium, with dream sequences, broken narratives and the aforementioned art style shifts that justify the characters' determination and the form of the story itself. In other words, it's in that rare category of 'good alternative comics' - it's a book that neither leans on nor shamefully rejects comics' legacy as a disposable art form. This is yet another triumph for Vaughan that singles him out as one of comics' greatest genre-hoppers and most capable talents, and acts as the new generation's equivalent of Will Eisner's classic The Dreamer for both inspiring and evoking the pure enthusiasm of artistic endeavour. Highly recommended.
Recommended by Tom.
Gosh! Recommends... Planet Hulk TP
Story: Greg Pak
Art: Carlo Pagualayan, Aaron Lopresti and others
Marvel Comics
This is the story of the Hulk, and how he finally came home, as the blurb goes. While most Marvel fans were griping about the ineffectual writing, limp character development and extensive tie-ins that plagued the main event of two years ago, Civil War, the smart money was on Greg Pak's not-always-excellent, but consistently entertaining single-title year-long epic - Planet Hulk.
The run-up to the series ran thus: after fleeing to peaceful mountainous fishing country to escape causing trouble with his big green alter-ego (who now sports a big green Hulk-beard, facial-hair-fans), Bruce Banner lives in peace until Nick Fury, Director Of SHIELD, tracks him down and enlists him to sort out a phony satellite problem, with the ultimate goal of shooting him into space. You see, Fury, along with Mister Fantastic, Iron Man and numerous others, decided that the Hulk was just too dangerous to have around, and planned to send him to a tranquil, wild planet, where he wouldn't be any hazard to sentient life. However, something goes screwy and the Hulk ends up on a very arch sci-fi planet with gladiatorial battles, elemental demigods and a downtrodden insect slave-race. The old clock on the wall tells us that it is rock o' clock.
And rock it does. The Hulk, as Strongest One There Is, flourishes Conan-like and wades through seas of imperialists, monsters and robots, making alliances and enemies with gusto as he goes. It's a real shot in the arm, and a refreshing take on an old character. Also, given the length and breadth of the story, reading it in one volume has the feel of a big proper nerdy fantasy epic, with the wonderfully anarchic twist of having a disaffected Hulk shrugging off talk of foretold destinies and prodigal saviours in favour of More Smashing.
But it's a sensitively-handled Hulk, one compellingly faced for the first time with the idea of his wild, brutal strength being something admirable. So: if you want big nasty monsters, some of the best Hulk writing ever, a wonderful stinger for the soon-to-be-collected World War Hulk and some of the most gorgeous Ladronn covers you'll ever see, pick this one up. You won't be disappointed.
Recommended by Tom.
Gosh! Recommends... Dr Strange - The Oath TP
Story: Brian K. Vaughan
Art: Marcos Martin
Marvel Comics
Doctor Strange? Isn't he just that dude they drag in whenever they need another Avenger to fill out the ranks? Yes, it is. But once upon a time, when Steve Ditko and Stan Lee came up with him, he had a backstory and themes and motivations. Nowadays he's just there for somebody to say 'why can't you sort this Skrull business out, Steven' to him, so he can reply 'oh because the ancient ones and the scrolls and such and I'm just tired, okay?'
But since he's been drafted in to do that so often, Marvel's senior editorial staff realised 'oh crap, we haven't given the guy his own solo series in like five years', and got one of comics' greatest current writers (or 'The BKV' as he's known) to throw together a quick five-issue miniseries to give the readers some idea of what Doctor Strange is about. The result: pure gold.
The good thing about Strange not having his own series for so long is that Vaughan can throw everything cool about the character into this one project in a big wonderful slurry of magical medical drama. The pacing's excellent, the characters are well-written, and the intro involves Strange being dragged, unconscious and gut-shot, into a secret superhero doctor's surgery. The charater of Strange is brilliantly conveyed, portraying him as a conflicted servant of humanity, rather than the more typical frowning mystic role he seems to take on. Instantly gripping, and beautifully rendered by Marcos 'Why The Hell Aren't I Drawing A Protracted Run On Batman By Now I Mean For God's Sake Batgirl Year One Was Bloody Transcendent' Martin. We can only hope Vaughan and Martin team up again, because in addition to all the rest, this series stands as a testament to the absolute synergy (hnnng) of their creative talents.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Due 28/02/08
Click the full post link below for a tentative list of titles due to ship next week:
Action Comics #862
All Star Batman And Robin The Boy Wonder #9
Army @ Love #12
Authority Prime #5 (Of 6)
Bart Simpson Comics #40
Batman #674
Birds Of Prey Dead Of Winter TP
Black Panther Annual #1
Blue Beetle #24
Blue Beetle Vol 3 Reach For The Stars TP
Captain America #35
Cartoon Network Block Party #42
Circle #4
Clockwork Girl #3 (Of 4)
Countdown To Final Crisis 9
Crime Bible The Five Lessons Of Blood #5 (Of 5)
Criminal 2 #1
Crossing Midnight #16
Dan Dare #4 (Of 7)
Daredevil #105
Deadrider #2 (Of 4)
Deathblow #9
Dragonlance Chronicles Vol 3 #8 (Of 12)
Drain #6
Draw #15
Dynamo 5 #11
Elephantmen War Toys #2 (Of 3)
Fables #70
Fearless #4 (Of 4)
Forgotten Realms TP Vol 06 Halfling’s Gem
Franklin Richards TP 2008 Digest
Freddy Vs Jason Vs Ash #5 (Of 6)
Hellblazer #241
Hellblazer Joy Ride TP
Highlander Way O/T Sword #3
House Of M Avengers #5 (Of 5)
Infinite Horizon #3 (Of 6)
Jack Of Fables #20
JLA Classified #53
John Woos Seven Brothers Vol 1 TP
Jughead And Friends Digest #27
Justice Society Of America #13
Kade Shiva’s Sun #2 (Of 4)
Kick Ass #1
Lazarus #3 (Of 3)
Legion Of Super Heroes #39
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #33
Marvel Adventures Iron Man #10
Marvel Illustrated Picture Dorian Gray #3 (Of 6)
Marvel Previews March 2008 Extras
Marvel Zombies 2 #5 (Of 5)
Megas #1 (Of 4)
Dark Tower Long Road Home #1 (Of 7)
New Exiles #0
New Warriors #9
Orson SCott Cards Wyrms TP
Pals N Gals Double Digest #119
Previews Vol XVIII #3
Project Superpowers #1 Of(6)
Proof #5
PS238 #29
Ropeburn #1
Sadhu The Silent Ones #5
Shaman Warrior TP Vol 06
Shanna Survival Of The Fittest TP
Shark-Man #2
Sheena #5
Sheena Trail Of The Mapinguari One Shot
She-Hulk 2 #26
Showcase Presents Superman Family Vol 2 TP
Spider-Man With Great Power #2 (Of 5)
Star Wars Legacy #20
Stranded #3
Teen Titans #56
Teen Titans Go #52
Thor #6
Thunderbolts International Incident
Ultimate Fantastic Four #51
Ultimate Spider-Man #119
Uncle Sam And The Freedom Fighters #6 (Of 8)
Uncle Scrooge #373
Urban Monsters #1
Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories #688
Wizard Magazine #198
World War Hulk Aftersmash Damage Control #2
X-Men First Class Vol 2 #9
X-Men Legacy #208 Divided We Stand
Young Avengers Presents #2 (Of 6)
Zombie Simon Garth #4 (Of 4)
The Gosh! Authority 21/02/08
Welcome, Gosh patrons, to a week that has the rare honour of being noteworthy as ‘Talbottastic’. More on that later.
First the highlights from DC! Well, ‘highlight’ singular, as it’s another thin week from the distinguished competition. However, it’s a punchy highlight with a punchy Jordi Bernet cover! See, that would work if you were looking at the cover of the comic I’m talking about, because it’s a picture of the Spirit punching a man’s face. And now I’ve blown the reveal that the comic I’m talking about is, in fact, The Spirit #14. I’ve been going on for a couple of weeks about the upcoming creative team, but that’s largely through genuine excitement.
Darwyn Cooke did such great work with his run on The Spirit that I was sure the follow-up creators, whoever they may be, would be a disappointment. However, DC’s choice of Groo creators Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés was genuinely out of left field, and made me raise an eyebrow in an intrigued fashion. Aragonés has really been showing a penchant for pulpy fun with his work on Bat Lash, so throw in art by former Eisner protégé Mike Ploog, and you’ve got a title worth a look!
Marvel’s Most-Likely-Missed title of the week is Immortal Iron Fist Presents Orson Randall and the Green Mist Of Death, a title that’s not only fun to say, but that also increases a column’s word count dramatically when used more than once. Immortal Iron Fist Presents Orson Randall and the Green Mist Of Death is another bit of fun pulp featuring the golden age’s very own Iron Fist, divided up into four distinct acts with four distinct artistic teams working on them. The first is pencilled by Nick Dragotta and inked and coloured by the Allreds, with later acts taken on by artists such as Russ Heath, Lewis LaRosa and Mitch Breitweiser. So pick up a copy today and see for yourself!
We’re now very near to talking about this week’s aforementioned Talbottasmagoria, but first I’d like to tell you about this week’s single most exciting arrival, which is the first new printing in over ten years of Steve Purcell’s hilarious Sam and Max: Surfin’ The Highway. If you’re now wondering ‘who are Sam and Max?’, this means you’ve missed out on 20-odd years of top-drawer comic books, video games and TV cartoons. Purcell (now working as an inter-department creative type at Pixar, fact fans) over the years has developed a gorgeous comic book style, perfectly communicating his anarchic and somewhat deranged sense of humour. And who are Sam and Max? Why, they’re the Freelance Police – an anthropomorphic team-up tearing a hole straight through crime like a scissoring scooter through succotash on a sweltering-hot Sunday. Pick it up now before it goes back out of print for another ten years!
And now at last to the matter of Bryan Talbot. Since Alice in Sunderland, people have cried out for more Talbot comic action, and have been devastated to find very little available. However, all that changes with two brand new slices of Talbot action in this week’s delivery – first a brand new original graphic novel called Cherubs: Paradise Lost, with art by the eternally inventive and undersung cartoonist Mark Stafford. It’s a funny romp dealing with the first ever murder in heaven – the suspected cherubim are booted straight out of paradise and have to deal with modern life on the tough streets of New York. Secondly, another long-overdue new printing, that being Heart of Empire: The Legacy Of Luther Arkwright from Dark Horse. This is a collection of the second original Luther Arkwright story, set in the same alternate present, where a fascist British Empire reigns supreme. But from his sickbed, the ageing Pope is determined to bring Britain under Roman control…
Two bits of news this week, and in fact two blasts from the past: firstly: remember VHS, that archaic video tape medium? Cheap players chewing up your copy of Robocop? Well, Richard Sandling does, and does so with near-fanatical affection in his much-acclaimed show VHS 2: Planet of the Tapes. Sandling’s a garrulous bear of a stand-up comic, wearing his geekdom on his sleeve and covering topics from his utter love for comic books to his hatred for movie remakes and DVD. Having seen this show last year, I can tell you it’s deeply chuckleworthy and therapeutic viewing for any comic fan. He’s doing another run of the show for a limited three-night run at The Old Coffee House, 49 Beak St. in Soho from the 27th-29th February starting at 8pm with a different support act each night. Tickets are only £5 on the door, so take my advice – you won’t see a better or geekier stand-up this year!
Secondly, there’s the return of a much-loved old creative team-up – that of Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka. Writing together for the first time since their celebrated run on Gotham Central, the two will this time be tackling Brubaker’s Daredevil, starting in issue #107 for the plot arc entitled Other People’s Problems.
That’s your lot – happy reading!
- Tom
In Store 15/02/08 - 21/02/08
Click the full post link below for a list of items in-store this week:
Tales From Riverdale Digest #27
2000 AD #1574
Aliens Omnibus Vol 3 TP
Marvel Masterworks Ant-Man Giant Man Vol 2 HC
Aspen Showcase Grace #1
Assembled! Five Decades Of Earth’s Mightiest TP
Atomic Robo #5 (Of 6)
Marvel Adventures Avengers #21
Mighty Avengers #9
Avengers Classic #9
Batman And The Outsiders #4
Batman Confidential #13
Battlestar Galactica Origins #3
Battlestar Galactica Vol 3 TP
Birds Of Prey #115
Black & White Images Fourth Annual Collection TP
Boneyard Color Ed Vol 3 TP
Brave And The Bold #10
Cable Deadpool #50
Catwoman #76
Catwoman Catwoman’s Dead TP
Checkmate #23
Cherubs Paradise Lost GN(Talbot/Stafford)
Classics Illustrated Vol 1 Great Expectations HC
Conan #49
Countdown To Final Crisis 10
Death Of The New Gods #6 (Of 8)
Drafted #5
Ex Machina #34
Fablewood Anthology Vol 1 GN
Fear Agent Last Goodbye TP
Flash #237
Forgotten Realms The Legacy #1
Garfield Vol 45 Large & In Charge TP
Gen 13 Vol 2 Road Trip TP
Godland #21
Gold Digger #93
Gold Digger Sourcebook #14
Green Lantern The Sinestro Corps War Vol 1 HC
Grendel Behold The Devil #4 (Of 8)
Hack Slash Series #9
Hawaiian Dick #3
Hulk #2
Hunter Killer Vol 1 TP
Immortal Iron Fist Orson Randall Green Mist Of Death
Incredible Hercules #114
Invincible #48
Iron Man #26
Justice League Of America #18
Knights Of The Dinner Table #136
Kong King Of Skull Island #3
Lions Tigers & Bears Vol 2 TP
Little Lulu Vol 18 The Expert TP
Loaded Bible 3 Communion
Loners Vol 1 Secret Lives Of Super Heroes TP
Loveless #22
Heart Of Empire The Legacy Of Luther Arkwright TP
Mad Magazine #487
Madame Mirage #5
Marvel Adventures Two-In-One #8
Marvel Illustrated Iliad #3 (Of 8)
Myth Adventure Collection Another Fine Myth TP
Order #8
Order Vol 1 Next Right Thing TP
Paul Goes Fishing GN
Perhapanauts Annual #1
Programme #8 (Of 12)
PVP #38
Red Sonja #30
Rex Mundi Dh Ed #10
Robin #171
Runaways #29
Sam & Max Surfin’ The Highway TP
Scooby Doo #129
Scream #4 (Of 4)
SFX #167
Shadowpact #22
Simpsons Comics #139
Sojourn Vol 6 A Berserker’s Tale TP
Amazing Spider-Man #551
Spirit #14 (Aragones/Evanier)
Star Wars Dark Times #9
Superman Batman #46
Superman Confidential #12
Terror Inc #5 (Of 5)
Turtle Guitar
Ultimate Human #2 (Of 4)
Ultimates 3 #3 (Of 5)
Umbrella Academy Apocalypse Suite #6 (Of 6)
Un-Men #7
Vicious Intent HC
Walt Disney Treasures Uncle Scrooge Vol 2 TP
Wildstorm Revelations #4 (Of 6)
Witchblade Takeru Manga #12
Wonder Girl #6 (Of 6)
World Of Warcraft #4
World War Hulk Warbound #3
Wolverine Origins #22
Wolverine Evolution TP
Ultimate X-Men #91
Marvel Masterworks Uncanny X-Men Vol 2 New Ed HC
Marvel Masterworks Uncanny X-Men Vol 6 HC
Youngblood #2
Zorro #1 (Matt Wagner)
MANGA
Death Note Vol 13 How To Read GN
Fruits Basket Ultimate Ed Vol 2
Hack//GU+ Vol 1 GN
Kare Kano Vols 1-3 Coll SC
Path Of The Assassin Vol 9 TP
School Rumble Vol 8 TP
Shojo Beat Mar 08
Monday, February 18, 2008
Due 21/02/07
Click the full post link below for a tentative list of titles due to ship next week:
Amazing Spider-Man #551 BND
Archie Double Digest #186
Avengers Classic #9
Batman And The Outsiders #4
Batman Confidential #13
Battlestar Galactica Origins #3
Birds Of Prey #115
Boys Vol 2 Get Some TP
Brave And The Bold #10
Cable Deadpool #50
Casanova #12
Catwoman #76
Catwoman Catwoman’s Dead TP
Checkmate #23
Conan #49
Countdown To Final Crisis 10
Death Of The New Gods #6 (Of 8)
Ex Machina #34
Flash #237
Forgotten Realms The Legacy #1 (Of 3)
Gen 13 TP Vol 02 Road Trip
Godland #21
Grendel Behold The Devil #4 (Of 8)
Hack Slash Series #9
Hawaiian Dick #3
Hellblazer The Gift TP
Hulk #2
Hunter Killer Vol 1 TP
Immortal Iron Fist The Green Mist Of Death
Incredible Hercules #114
India Authentic #10 Parashuram
Invincible #48
Iron Man #26
Justice League Of America #18
Lions Tigers & Bears TP Vol 02
Loaded Bible 3 Communion (One Shot)
Loners Secret Lives Of Super Heroes Vol 1 TP
Loveless #22
Madame Mirage #5
Marvel Adventures Avengers #21
Marvel Adventures Two-In-One #8
Marvel Illustrated Iliad #3 (Of 8)
Mighty Avengers #9
Order #8
Order Vol 1 Next Right Thing TP
Perhapanauts Annual #1
Programme #8 (Of 12)
PVP #38
Red Sonja #30
Rex Mundi DH Ed #10
Robin #171
Runaways #29
Scream #4 (Of 4)
Shadowpact #22
Spirit #14
Star Wars Dark Times #9
Superman Batman #46
Superman Confidential #12
Superman Camelot Falls Vol 2 HC
Terror Inc #5 (Of 5)
Ultimate Human #2 (Of 4)
Ultimate X-Men #91
Ultimates 3 #3 (Of 5)
Umbrella Academy Apocalypse Suite #6 (Of 6)
Un-Men #7
Wildstorm Revelations #4 (Of 6)
Witchblade Takeru Manga #12
Wolverine Origins #22
Wonder Girl #6 (Of 6)
World Of Warcraft #4
World War Hulk Aftersmash Warbound #3 (Of 5)
Youngblood #2
Zorro #1
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The Gosh! Authority 14/02/08
Happy Valentine’s Day, Gosh types! At the risk of sounding insincere and perhaps even inexcusably mercenary, I would like to take this opportunity to state that we here at Gosh Comics love each and every one of you. And clearly you love us, as this shop has been on this very spot here for 22 years today. Happy birthday, Gosh Comics, and long may you reign!
But how much do we love DC Comics this week? Not very much at all, as they have provided us with a somewhat uninspiring handful of releases while every other company seems to be dealing a royal flush. Still, there is the odd gem to take in, like Bat Lash #3. No, wait, come back! Writers Sergio Aragonés (soon to take over The Spirit) and Peter Brandvold have crafted a delightfully upbeat and action-packed western romp in Bat Lash, with nostalgia-tinged artwork in a classical vein from John Severin. If you’ve enjoyed Jonah Hex or The Lone Ranger of late, or if you just yearn to return to the prairie where John Wayne doles out justice and one-liners, give Bat Lash a go.
Marvel this week attempts to win our hearts with that rarest of items – a new Jack Kirby comic! Well, of sorts. There’s plenty of Kirby to be had herein, but there’s also work by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott filling in the blanks of this ‘lost Beatles track’ of a comic. The story herein was originally planned as a full 103rd Stan Lee/Jack Kirby story, but was never finished before Kirby’s departure, and the fragments of completed material were later released as a flashback sequence in Fantastic Four #108 (the entirety of which is reprinted herein). Believe the hype, this is a whole new FF adventure in the truest sense possible.
Far from carrying an exclusive torch for its former champions, however, Marvel this week also celebrates one of its newest and greatest talents in writer Jason Aaron. Since his Vertigo titles Scalped and The Other Side debuted, Aaron has provided work of a quality that provokes genuine double-takes, and his reward has been big comics money, manifested this week in the start of runs on two mainstream Marvel titles: Ghost Rider and Wolverine. Of particular note is this week’s Wolverine #62, as not only is the excellent Ron Garney supplying the artwork, but the one-shot story in Wolverine #56 showed us all that Aaron’s the best at what he does, even if what he does isn’t very nice.
However, this week Image wins our unreserved love with not only the first of Paul Grist’s supposed monthly appearances with Jack Staff #14, but also the first issue of the deeply desirable Next Issue Project. Who is this mysterious beauty who woos men and women alike at every turn? Why, it’s a brand new anthology book that takes long-extinct comic titles and puts them in the hands of today’s most innovative creators! There’s Fletcher Hanks’ Stardust as written and drawn by none other than Mike Allred! There’s Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca (artist and writer respectively of Street Angel) taking on Captain Kidd! And there’s more! Howard Chaykin, Erik Larsen, Joe Casey… the list goes on, but any more excitement would probably kill you. All that and a new Walking Dead. I love you, Image Comics, and I’ll love you forever. Wait, BPRD 1946 and The Goon from Dark Horse? Hm…
It’s a sad batch of news this week, starting with the word that one of comics’ all-time greats, Steve Gerber, passed away last Sunday at the age of 60, after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis. For those unaware, Gerber was the creator of such characters as Omega the Unknown and Howard the Duck. His most recent mainstream comics work was the Dr Fate story contained in Countdown to Mystery, though he was best known for his work writing for animation and for his advocacy of the new wave of independent comics in the 80s.
In addition to Gerber, comics also lost artist and colourist Stéphane Peru, best known to the English-speaking comics market as the colourist on such diverse titles as Marvel’s Annihilation and The Incredible Hercules and most recently Teen Titans Year One. Peru died of what appeared to be a heart attack, despite being only 26. His work to date has been of a superlative quality, and the world of comics has unanimously come out in tribute, acknowledging Peru’s work and agreeing that he had years of excellent work ahead of him.
In lighter news, songwriter comedian MJ Hibbett of Hey Hey 16k fame has seen fit to turn his comedic stylings towards the beloved subject of comics, and in particular an event taking place in Gosh itself! The song is here and is very amusing indeed.
- Tom
In-Store 08/02/08 - 14/02/08
Click the full post link below for a list of items in-store this week:
Archie Digest #241
Betty & Veronica Double Digest #158
2000 AD #1573
30 Days Of Night Beyond Barrow #3
76 #2 (Of 8)
Alex Raymond His Life And Art HC
American Virgin #23
Anita Blake VH HC First Death
Astro City The Dark Age Special #2
New Avengers #38 Secret Invasion
Bat Lash #3 (Of 6)
Batman Strikes #42
Gotham Underground #5 (Of 9)
Black Panther #34
Booster Gold #0
BPRD 1946 #2 (Of 5)
Brit #4
C’est Bon Anthology GN Vol 04
Captain Marvel #3 (Of 5) (Weeks)
City Of Others TP (B. Wrightson)
Civil War Chronicles #8
Clandestine Classic Prem HC
Connor Hawke Dragon’s Blood TP
Cory Doctorow’s Futuristic Tales Of The Here And Now #5
Countdown To Final Crisis 11
Crossing Midnight Vol 2 A Map Of Midnight TP
Dead Of Night Featuring Man Thing #1
Disney’s Comics & Stories #687
Uncle Scrooge #372
DMZ #28 (Brian Wood)
Dominion Conflict Vol 1 No More Noise TP
Doom Patrol Archives Vol 4 HC
Dr Who Magazine #392
Showcase Presents Enemy Ace Vol 1 TP
Evil Dead #2 (Of 4) (John Bolton)
Fall Of Cthulhu Vol 1 Fugue TP
Fantastic Four #554 (Millar)
Fantastic Four Lost Adventure
Foundation #2 (Of 5)
Friday The 13th Bad Land #2
Gen 13 #17
Ghost Rider #20 (Jason Aaron)
Goon #21
Green Arrow Black Canary #5
Green Lantern Corps #21
Gutwrencher #1 (Of 3)
Heavy Metal Magazine Spring 2008
Hellboy Emerald Hell Novel
Hero By Night Ongoing #2
Marvel Adventures Hulk #8
World War Hulk UK TP
Invention Of Hugo Cabret GN
Iron Man Enter Mandarin #5
Iron Man Power Pack #4 (Of 4)
Ultimate Iron Man II #3 (Of 4)
Jack Staff #14
Jeff Hawke Overlord HC
Jellaby Vol 1 HC
John Woo’s Seven Brothers Series 2 #5
JLA Classified #52 (John Byrne)
Justice League Of America Vol 2 HC
Legion Of Super Heroes In The 31st Century #11
Little Nothings Vol 1 Curse Of The Umbrella TP
Magic Pickle (Scott Morse):
& The Planet Of The Grapes
Vs Egg Poacher
Marvel Comics Presents #6
Mavis #5
Necessary Evil #4
Next Issue Project #1 (Fantastic Comics) (Allred, Larsen...)
Nova Annual #1
100 Bullets #88
Punisher Force Of Nature
Punisher War Journal #16
Ramayan 3392 AD Reloaded #4
Salvation Run #4 (Of 7)
Shatner Show HC
Simon Dark #5
Snaked #3 (Of 5) (Rufus Dayglo)
Sparrow Rick Berry HC
Amazing Spider-Girl #17
Amazing Spider-Man #550 BND
Spider Man Back In Black TP
Spider-Man Family #7
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #36
Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 9 HC
Star Trek Next Generation Intelligence Gathering #2
Sub-Mariner Revolution TP
Suicide Squad Raise The Flag #6
Superman #673
Sword #5
Tall Tales Of Vishnu Sharma Panchatantra #2
Terminator Omnibus Vol 1 TP
Time Masters TP
Tiny Titans #1
Toyfare #128
Transformers Animated Vol 2 TP
Transformers Beast Wars Ascending TP
Walking Dead #46
Warhammer 40K Blood & Thunder #3
Witchblade Vol 1 Witch Hunt Digest TP
Wonder Woman #17
New Exiles #2
Exiles TP Vol 16 Starting Over
Wolverine #62 Divided We Stand (Jason Aaron)
Wolverine Origins Vol 4 Prem HC
X-Factor #28 Divided We Stand
X-Force #1 Divided We Stand
MANGA
Aqua Vol 2 GN
Basara Vol 26 GN
Blade Of The Immortal Vol 18 GN
Boys Be Vol 16 GN
Boys Over Flowers Vol 28 GN
GTO The Early Years Vol 6 GN
Gyakushu Vol 2 GN
Hayate Combat Butler Vol 6 GN
Initial D Vol 29 GN
Inuyasha Animanga Vol 25 GN
Law Of Ueki Vol 10 GN
O Parts Hunter Vol 8 GN
Uzumaki Vol 3 New Ed TP
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Alan Moore at Gosh!
On the 2nd February 2008, Gosh! Comics were thrilled to host a signing with perhaps the greatest comic writer ever to have lived – Alan Moore. Though it was originally billed as a three-hour signing with both Moore and his wife and artistic collaborator Melinda Gebbie, what occurred was a five-hour signing with Alan bravely facing the crowds alone, fuelled only by cup upon cup of black tea and a plethora of digestive treats.
Despite running into heavy overtime, Alan got to meet, greet and sign for every fan in the queue. Not having done a comic shop signing of this magnitude for 17 years, he retained an admirable enthusiasm throughout as regular customers and Gosh newcomers alike produced obscure collections, original issues and even 7” records for Alan to render unique.
Although unfortunately Melinda wasn’t able to make it on the day due to illness, she stopped in another day and was sorry to have missed the big occasion. She still did her part to promote the book, however, signing the shop’s remaining stock of Lost Girls alongside Moore. In terms of customer satisfaction, creator enjoyment and the promotion of the landmark graphic novel, the event was a great success.