Click the full post link below for a tentative list of titles due to ship next week.
Agents Of Atlas TP
Amazing Spider-Man #582
American Splendor Another Dollar TP
Authority #6
Betty & Veronica Double Digest #167
Birds Of Prey Kids Club TP
Black Lightning Year One #1 (Of 6)
Blue Monday Thieves Like Us #1 (Of 5)
Boys #26
Broken Trinity Angelus (One Shot)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #21
Cable #10
Daredevil By Frank Miller TP Vol 03
Dead Of Night Featuring Werewolf By Night #1 (Of 4)
Death Defying Devil #2 (C: 0-1-0)
Detective Comics #852 (Faces Of Evil)
El Diablo #5 (Of 6)
Eternals #7
Faces Of Evil Grundy #1 (Faces Of Evil)
Green Lantern Wanted Hal Jordan TP
Haunted Tank #2 (Of 5)
Hellboy Wild Hunt #2 (Of 8)
Hi Fructose Magazine Quarterly #10
House Of Mystery #9
Infinity Crusade TP Vol 02
Invincible Iron Man #9 Dark Reign
Jonah Hex #39
Justice TP Vol 03
Kull #3 (Of 6)
Marvel Illustrated Kidnapped #3 (Of 5)
Marvel Spotlight Dark Reign
Marvel Super Hero Squad Hero Up
Marvel Zombies 3 #4 (Of 4)
Marvel Zombies TP Dead Days
Mirrors Edge #3 (Of 6)
NYX No Way Home #5 (Of 6)
Official Index To Marvel Universe #1
Phantom Annual #2
Punisher #1 Dark Reign
Rest #2
Sandman Dream Hunters #3 (Of 4)
Secret Invasion TP
Secret Invasion War Of Kings One Shot
Secret Six #5 (Faces Of Evil)
Sgt Rock The Lost Battalion #3 (Of 6)
Showcase Presents Strange Adventures TP Vol 01
Shrugged #8
Spider-Man Fear Itself #1
Sub-Mariner Depths #4 (Of 5)
Supergirl Cosmic Adventures In The 8th Grade #2
Superman Supergirl Maelstrom #5 (Of 5)
Sword #14
Terror Titans #4 (Of 6)
Trinity #32
Veronica #192
Vixen Return Of The Lion #4 (Of 5)
Walking Dead #57
Witchblade #123
Wolverine Power Pack #3 (Of 4)
Wolverine Switchback
Xena Vs Army Of Darkness What Again #3
X-Men Manifest Destiny #5 (Of 5)
X-Men Noir #2 (Of 4)
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Due to Arrive 08/01/09
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.
In Store 24/12/08 - 31/12/08
Click the full post link below for a list of items in store this week.
Archie Digest #250
Avengers Initiative #20 Dark Reign
Avengers Invaders #7 (Of 12)
New Avengers HC Vol 09 Secret Invasion
Back To Brooklyn #3 (Of 5) (G. Ennis)
Baloney GN (Pascal Blanchet)
Batman #681 RIP 2nd Ptg
Batman #684
Batman Cacophony #2 (Of 3) (Smith)
Blue Beetle #34
Captain America #45 (Ed Brubaker)
Cinema Retro #13
Cyblade #2 (Rick Mays)
Fall Of Cthulhu Apocalypse #1 (Of 4)
Fantastic Four Worlds Greatest Premiere HC (Millar/Hitch)
Fantastic Four #562 (Millar/Hitch)
Fantastic Four Cosmic Special
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #43
Final Crisis Secret Files #1
Goon #31
Green Lantern #36
Green Lantern Corps #31
Groo Hell On Earth TP
Guardians Of Galaxy #8
Hulk Giant-Size HC Direct Market Ed
Ultimate Hulk Annual #1 (J. Loeb)
Incognito #1 (Brubaker/Phillips)
Incredible Hercules #124
Infinity Inc TP Vol 02 The Bogeyman
Jack Of Fables #29
Justice League Of America #28
Justice Society Of America #22
Kick Ass #5 (M Millar/J Romita Jr)
Legion Of Super Heroes #49
Lone Ranger TP Vol 02 Lines Not Crossed
Looking For Group TP Vol 01
Madame Xanadu #7
Marvels Eye Of Camera #2 (Of 6) & Black and White Variant
Nightmare Before Christmas Series 1 Action Figures
Northlanders #13
Proof #15
Essential Punisher TP Vol 03
Punisher War Journal #26
Punisher War Zone #4 (Of 6) (Ennis)
Runaways Prem HC Pride & Joy
Runaways TP Dead End Kids
Scalped #24 (Jason Aaron)
SFX #178
Spider-Man Prem HC Blue (T. Sale)
Stand Captain Trips #4 (Of 5)
Star Wars Legacy #31 Vector Part 12
Superman #683 New Krypton
Superman Batman Vs Vampires Werewolves #6
Teen Titans #66
Teen Titans Spotlight Raven TP
Trinity #31
Ultimate X-Men #99
Venom Dark Origin #5 (Of 5)
Vinyl Underground TP Vol 02 Pretty Dead Things
War Machine #1 Dark Reign (G Pak)
War That Time Forgot #8 (Of 12)
What If Secret Wars
Wintermen Winter Special #1
Wolverine #70
Wolverine Manifest Destiny #3 (Of 4) (Jason Aaron)
World Of Warcraft #14
World Of Warcraft Ashbringer #3 (Of 4)
Cable TP Vol 01 Messiah War
New Exiles Annual #1
X-Force #10
X-Men Magneto Testament #4 (Of 5)
X-Men Worlds Apart #3 (Of 4)
Youll All Be Sorry MMPB
Young X-Men #9 Manifest Destiny
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Due To Arrive 31/12/08
Click the full post link below for a tentative list of titles due to ship next week.
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!
Avengers Initiative #20 DKR
Avengers Invaders #7 (Of 12)
Back To Brooklyn #3 (Of 5)
Batman #684
Batman Cacophony #2 (Of 3)
Blue Beetle #34
Boys #26
Captain America #45
Death Defying Devil #2
Essential Punisher TP Vol 03
Eternals #7
Fantastic Four #562
Fantastic Four Cosmic Special
Final Crisis Secret Files #1
Goon #31
Green Lantern #36
Guardians Of Galaxy #8
Incognito #1
Incredible Hercules #124
Infinity Inc TP Vol 02 The Bogeyman
Jack Of Fables #29
Justice Society Of America #22
Kick Ass #5
Legion Of Super Heroes #49
Madame Xanadu #7
Marvel Illustrated Kidnapped #3 (Of 5)
Marvel Spotlight Dark Reign DKR
Marvel Super Hero Squad Hero Up
Northlanders #13
Official Index To Marvel Universe #1
Proof #15
Punisher War Journal #26
Punisher War Zone #4 (Of 6)
Rest #2
Scalped #24
Stand Captain Trips #4 (Of 5)
Star Wars Legacy #31 Vector Part 12 Of 12
Superman #683 New Krypton
Superman Batman Vs Vampires Werewolves #6 (Of 6)
Teen Titans #66
Teen Titans Spotlight Raven TP
Thor Visionaries Walt Simonson TP Vol 01 New Ptg
Trinity #31
Ultimate Hulk Annual #1
Ultimate X-Men #99
Venom Dark Origin #5 (Of 5)
Vinyl Underground TP Vol 02 Pretty Dead Things
War Machine #1 DKR
War That Time Forgot #8 (Of 12)
Wintermen Winter Special #1
Wizard Magazine #208
Wolverine #70
Wolverine Manifest Destiny #3 (Of 4) MD
Wolverine Power Pack #3 (Of 4)
Wolverine Switchback
World Of Warcraft #14
World Of Warcraft Ashbringer #3 (Of 4)
Xena Vs Army Of Darkness What Again #3
X-Force #10
X-Men Magneto Testament #4 (Of 5)
X-Men Noir #2 (Of 4)
Young X-Men #9 MD
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!
In Store 19/12/08 - 23/12/08
Click the full post link below for a list of items in store this week. 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!
Betty & Veronica Digest #190
Jughead's Double Digest #146
All New Atom TP Vol 04 Small Wonder
Army Of Darkness Ash’s Christmas Horror
Astounding Wolf-Man #11
Atomic Robo Dogs Of War #5 (Of 5)
New Avengers #48 Dark Reign
Batman #683 (Grant Morrison)
Batman Gotham After Midnight #8 (Of 12) (Kelley Jones)
Billy Batson And The Magic Of Shazam #3 (Mike Kunkel)
Brave And The Bold #20
Captain America Theater Of War:America First (Howard Chaykin)
Daredevil #114(Ed Brubaker)
Dark Tower Treachery #4 (Of 6)
Darkness #73
Ferryman #4 (Of 5)
Flash #247
Gears Of War #3
Ghost Rider Danny Ketch #3 (Of 5)
Gigantic #2 (Of 5)
Greatest Hits #4 (Of 6)
Guerillas #3 (Of 9)
Hedge Knight II TP Sworn Sword
Hulk #9
Immortal Iron Fist #21
Indiana Jones & Tomb Of The Gods #3 (Of 4)
Invincible #57
Lords Of Avalon Knights Of Darkness #2
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man TP Vol 11
Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #6
Marvel Previews January 2009
Midnighter TP Vol 03 Assassin8
Mister X Condemned #1 (Of 4)
Ms Marvel #34 Dark Reign
New Warriors #19
Nova #20
Official Handbook Marvel Universe A To Z Premiere HC Vol 6
Onslaught Reborn TP (Jeph Loeb)
Patsy Walker Hellcat #4 (Of 5)
Previews #244 January 2009
Punisher War Zone #3 (Of 6)
Push #3 (Of 6)
Rann Thanagar Holy War #8 (Of 8)
Red Sonja #40
Reign In Hell #6 (Of 8)
Runaways 3 #5
Savage Dragon #143
Secret Invasion Requiem #1 DKR
She-Hulk 2 #36
Bart Simpson Comics #45
Skaar Son Of Hulk #6
Spawn #187
Star Wars Knights Of Old Republic #36
Street Fighter II Turbo #3
Superman Supergirl Maelstrom #4 (Of 5)
Thor #12
Top 10 Season Two #3 (Of 4)
Trinity #30
Ultimate Spider-Man #129
Ultimates 3 Premiere HC Who Killed Scarlet Witch?
Ultimatum #2 (Of 5) (Jeph Loeb)
Umbrella Academy Dallas #2
Unknown Soldier #3
Usagi Yojimbo #116
Vigilante #1 (Rick Leonardi)
What If Classic TP Vol 05
What If Spider-Man Back In Black
Wildcats #6
Wolverine First Class #10
Wolverine Origins #31
Wonder Woman #27
Worlds Of Dungeons & Dragons #7
X-Men Complete Onslaught Epic TP Book 4
X-Men TP Angel Revelations
Young Liars TP Vol 01 Daydream Believer (Lapham)
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Due To Arrive 23/12/08
Click the full post link below for a tentative list of titles due to ship next week.
All New Atom TP Vol 04 Small Wonder
American Flagg Definitive Coll TP Vol 01
Army Of Darkness Ashs Christmas Horror (One Shot)
Astounding Wolf-Man #11
Bart Simpson Comics #45
Batman #683
Batman Gotham After Midnight #8 (Of 12)
Billy Batson And The Magic Of Shazam #3
Brave And The Bold #20
Captain America Theater Of War America First
Cyblade #2
Daredevil #114
Dark Tower Treachery #4 (Of 6)
Ferryman #4 (Of 5)
Flash #247
Gears Of War #3
Ghost Rider Danny Ketch #3 (Of 5)
Gigantic #2 (Of 5)
Greatest Hits #4 (Of 6)
Guerillas #3 (Of 9)
Hulk #9
Immortal Iron Fist #21
Indiana Jones & Tomb Of The Gods #3 (Of 4)
Invincible #57
Lords Of Avalon Knights Of Darkness #2
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man TP Vol 11 Digest
Midnighter TP Vol 03 Assassin8
Mister X Condemned #1 (Of 4)
Ms Marvel #34 DKR
New Avengers #48 DKR
New Warriors #19
Nova #20
Onslaught Reborn TP
Patsy Walker Hellcat #4 (Of 5)
Previews #244 January 2009
Punisher War Zone #3 (Of 6)
Push #3 (Of 6)
Rann Thanagar Holy War #8 (Of 8)
Red Sonja #40
Reign In Hell #6 (Of 8)
Runaways 3 #5
Savage #3 (Of 4)
Savage Dragon #143
Scooby Doo #139
Secret Invasion Requiem #1 DKR
She-Hulk 2 #36
Skaar Son Of Hulk #6
Spawn #187
Spider-Man Brand New Day Yearbook
Star Wars Knights Of Old Republic #36 Prophet Motive Part 1
Superman Supergirl Maelstrom #4 (Of 5)
Ted Mckeever Library HC Vol 02 Eddy Current
Thor #12
Top 10 Season Two #3 (Of 4)
Trinity #30
Ultimate Spider-Man #129
Ultimates 3 Prem HC Who Killed Scarlet Witch
Ultimatum #2 (Of 5)
Umbrella Academy Dallas #2
Unknown Soldier #3
Usagi Yojimbo #116
Vigilante #1
What If Classic TP Vol 05
What If Spider-Man Back In Black
Wildcats #6
Wolverine First Class #10
Wolverine Origins #31
Wonder Woman #27
X-Men TP Angel Revelations
Young Liars TP Vol 01 Daydream Believer
The Gosh! Authority 17/12/08
Hello folks!
Wee Hayley Campbell’s a bit crook this week, so it’s Andrew here, stepping in for an intimate little (and I mean little) How Late tête à tête.
First up, in case you’re unaware, we’ve got that whole Christmas / New Year donnybrook starting next week! As usual, shipping days will be going slightly awry, particularly given the big days fall on a Thursday this year. So, without further ado, our Christmas hours and new comics days will be as follows:
Christmas Deliveries and Hours
Wednesday 24th 10am - 2pm Early Closing
Thursday 25th Closed
Friday 26th Closed
Saturday 27th 10am - 6pm
Sunday 28th 10am - 6pm
Monday 29th 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 30th 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 31st 10am - 4pm New Comics Day. Early Closing.
Thursday 1st Closed. Nursing sore heads.
Friday 2nd 10am - 6pm Normal Hours Resume
Please note that on the new comics days, we will only be receiving the delivery at some point that morning, so if you’re planning on coming in before lunch, please ring ahead to check.
On to the comics!
Remember Beanworld? Running from the mid-Eighties through to the early Nineties, Larry Marder’s Tales of the Beanworld was one of the best titles to come out of the black and white explosion of the time. Mixing a simple, iconic art style with layered, complex storytelling, the Beanworld still has devoted (and sometimes mildly scary) fans the world over. Fans who will no doubt be ever so slightly excited that this week sees the release of the Beanworld Holiday Special. Mr Spook, Professor Garbanzo and all your other favourite eco-friendly nutballs are back! Nice! Read about Larry Marder’s excitement over on his blog. Not sure what it is? Wiki those mothers!
Too weird? How about Dark Reign New Nation? A one-shot which introduces the major players for a raft of upcoming series. Nick Fury chimes in with his Secret Warriors, it’s the welcome return of Jeff Parker’s Agents of Atlas, War Machine has another chance to get it right, Clint Barton and Bobbi..err..whatsername are reunited as Ronin & Mockingbird and (phew) it’s the return of the Skrull Kill Krew (who presumably are now retired)! Get it while it’s hot!
Speaking of hot, or at least things which should be hot, why don’t you take this pre-Christmas opportunity to pick up the first paperback of Rick Remender’s excellent End League (as drawn by Matt Broome)? Fresh this week, Ballad of Big Nothing feels like a Justice League Elseworlds pitch that was a little too dark for editorial. The last group of super-heroes struggles to survive in a dystopian world ruled by villains. DC hero analogies abound, with a few other familiar archetypes for good measure. Highly recommended, folks!
Read any good crime fiction lately? The rebirth of David Lapham (he of the much lamented Stray Bullets) continues with the release of Silverfish in softcover. Feeling for all the world like a Stray Bullets two-parter, this original graphic novel features betrayal, psychosis and murder. Perfect for a Christmas afternoon then!
Marvel’s supes-meet-scum miniseries continue with the first issue of Spider-Man: Noir. Young Petey Parker is a rabble-rouser in depression-era Noo Yawk, fighting against the corruption of gang boss The Goblin (catchy). It’s Spider-iffic pulp fiction as you like it! Written by David Hine and Fabrice Saplosky, with art by the excellent Carmine Di Giandomenico.
Hellblazer hits the 250-issue mark this week, which when you think about it is quite the milestone! The Little Vertigo Title That Could features an all-star line-up of creators to help celebrate, including (deep breath) Brian Azzarello, China Mieville (!), Dave Gibbons, Jamie Delano (and well it should), Peter Milligan, David Lloyd, Eddie “Dad” Campbell, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Rafael Grampa (who did an excellent book the other week called Mesmo Delivery) and the mysterious “others”. Looks good!
Tales to Suffice? Tales to Suffice! The first issue of a new humour series from Mort Finkleman via Slave Labor Graphics looks quite promising, and might be just the thing to break up your reading this week. I don’t know about you, but I sure need a good laugh at the moment. Ray Gunn: Space Sleuth? Corporate Zombie? I’m there. Check it out.
How do you like your Thor? King-Sized? Giant-Sized? How about GOD SIZED? Yes, this week sees the conclusion of Matt Fraction’s myth-tastic Thor tales in Thor: GOD SIZED Special #1. Featuring Thor! Loki! The Executioner! Liberace! Doug Braithwaite! Dan Brereton! Marko Djurdjevic! What more could you want? Seriously, Fraction’s one-shots have been great reads, so I’m expecting this to be one of the picks of the week. You know you want it: Thor, GOD SIZED!
Final word on new stuff from an ill Hayley, then it's back to Andrew:
Good job Andrew wrote the blog while I coughed pathetically on my sickbed. I don’t think anyone would have accepted ‘Hayley Campbell is unwell’ as a post. Anyhoo, here's my bit.
Andy Riley of Bunny Suicides fame dropped in this week to give us a pile of his incredibly rare and very funny mini-comic Lucky Heather! Gosh exclusive, innit. I think there’s about 23 in existence, or something, probably due to the fact that he printed them off his computer then ran out of ink. And the pages are double-sided which means he would have cried at least twice while trying to work out which way to put the bastard pages in. Here’s a couple of cartoons from the wee book which you can own for a measly two quid:
In case you missed it, here’s a mid-week post about Dan McDaid and what we think of him. And with that, I’ll slink back to the shadows. Adios! And if I don’t see you before then, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
(And I hope all you indentured servants have a lovely Boxing Day)
Andrew. xx
In Store 12/12/08 - 18/12/088
Click the full post link below for a list of items in store this week.
Archies Greatest Hits TP Vol 01
Tales From Riverdale Digest #31
2000 AD Prog 2009
Age Of Sentry #4 (Of 6)
Air #5
Alex Toth Edge Of Genius TP Vol 02
Angel After The Fall #15
Anita Blake VH Guilty Pleasures TP Vol 2
Avengers Initiative #19 SI
Marvel Adventures Avengers #31
Mighty Avengers #20 DKR
Mighty Avengers Prem HC Vol 03 Secret Invasion
MMW Avengers HC & Var Vol 08
Batgirl #6 (Of 6)
Batman And The Outsiders #14
Beanworld Holiday Special One Shot (!!)
Birds Of Prey #125
Black Terror #2
Boys Definitive Ed (Ennis)
Showcase Presents Brave & Bold Batman Team-Ups Vol 3
Brit #11
Brush With Passion Art Of Dave Stevens HC
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #20
Cavalcade Of Boys TP Vol 04
Chap Magazine #42
Compleat Next Men TP Vol 02
Conan The Cimmerian #6 (Corben)
Cthulhu Tales #9
Dark Reign New Nation
DCU Holiday Special 2008
Dead Of Night Devil Slayer #4
Dead She Said HC (Niles & Wrightson)
Doktor Sleepless #10 (Ellis)
Dr Who Magazine #403
End League TP Vol 01 Ballad Of Big Nothing
Ex Machina #40
Fables #79
Fall Of Cthulhu Godwar #4
Fallen Angel IDW #32
Ultimate Fantastic Four #59
Fear Agent #25 1 Against 1 (Pt 4 Of 6)
Ghost Rider #30 (Aaron)
Hellblazer #250 (More Creators Than You Can Shake A Stick At)
Impaler #1
Invincible Iron Man #8 DKR
Jim Butchers Dresden Files Storm Front #2
Jungle Girl HC Vol 01
Lone Ranger HC Vol 02 Lines Not Crossed
Lucky Heather (Andy Riley)
Madman Atomic Comics #12
Manhunter #37
Moon Knight #25
Noble Causes TP Vol 08 Star Crossed
Programme TP Vol 02 (Milligan)
Punisher Max #65 (Campbell)
Punisher War Journal Prem HC Vol 04
Punisher War Zone #2 (Of 6) (Ennis & Dillon)
Robin #181
Rocky GN Vol 02 Strictly Business
Roy Rogers Archives HC Vol 01
Secret Wars Omnibus HC
Silverfish TP (Lapham)
Simpsons Comics #149
Soulfire Shadow Magic #1
Amazing Spider-Man #581
Amazing Spider-Man Family #3
Spider-Man Noir #1 (Of 4)
Spider-Man TP Vol 02 Brand New Day
Spirit #24
Squadron Supreme 2 #6
Star Trek Last Generation #2
Stormwatch PHD #17
Super Friends #10
Supergirl #36 New Krypton
Superman Past And Future TP
Swallow Book 05
Tales To Suffice #1
Tangent Supermans Reign #10
Terra #4 (Of 4)
Thor God Sized #1 (Fraction)
Thunderbolts #127 (Diggle)
Tiny Titans #11
Transformers Revenge Fallen Movie Preq Alliance #1
Trinity #29
Walking Dead #56
Walt Disney Animation Studios Story HC
Warhammer 40K Exterminatus TP Vol 01
Welcome To Dingburg GN Vol 01 Zippy
What If Newer Fantastic Four
Wormwood Gentleman Corpse Down Pub (One Shot)
X-Files #2 (Of 6)
Deadpool #5
New Exiles #16
Uncanny X-Men #505 MD
Wolverine Origins TP Vol 05 Deadpool
X-Factor #38
X-Factor TP Vol 05 Only Game In Town
X-Men Kingbreaker #1 (Of 4)
X-Men Legacy #219
Zorro #9
MANGA
Monster GN Vol 18
MPD Psycho TP Vol 07
Negima GN Vol 20
Monday, December 15, 2008
Gosh Recommends... Dan McDaid
We here at Gosh Towers are big fans of the British cartoonist Dan McDaid. We first spotted Dan writing and drawing the comic strip for an issue of Doctor Who Magazine a few months ago. His art seemed very fully formed and really stood out from the regular artists. His style was somewhere between Jack Kirby, Darwyn Cooke and early José Ladrönn, whereas his writing was quintessentially British, giving the whole thing a strangely Anglo-American feel. British Sci-Fi meets 60s Marvel Comics, two of my favourite things.
Dan is currently writing the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip, as well as providing the artwork for an exciting looking new Image superhero series called Jersey Gods. Jersey Gods is written by Killing Girl and The Gray Area’s Glen Brunswick and features covers by Darwyn Cooke (that man again), Mike Allred and Paul Pope.
Dan was good enough to draw us this lovely Thor sketch so we thought we’d like to share it with you good people. Be sure to check out Dan’s Blog where amongst lots of lovely sketches you can find previews of all his upcoming projects. Best of all it will also give you the opportunity to smugly claim that you liked him before his was big.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Due To Arrive 18/12/08
Click the full post link below for a tentative list of titles due to ship next week.
Age Of Sentry #4 (Of 6)
Air #5
Armageddon Now WWIII HC
Avengers Initiative #19 SI
Marvel Adventures Avengers #31
Mighty Avengers #20 DKR
Batgirl #6 (Of 6)
Batman And The Outsiders #14
Robin #181
Beanworld Holiday Special One-Shot
Birds Of Prey #125
Black Terror #2
Brave And The Bold #20
Brit #11
Buffy The Vampire Slayer #20
Conan The Cimmerian #6
Dark Reign New Nation
DCU Holiday Special 2008
Dead Of Night Devil Slayer #4 (Of 4)
Ex Machina #40
Fables #79
Fear Agent #25 1 Against 1 (Pt 4 Of 6)
Ghost Rider #30
Guerillas #3 (Of 9)
Hellblazer #250
Impaler #1
Invincible Iron Man #8 DKR
Madman Atomic Comics #12
Manhunter #37
Marvel Adventures Two-In-One #18
Moon Child Vol 12
Moon Knight #25
MPD Psycho TP Vol 7
New Exiles #16
Noble Causes TP Vol 8 Star Crossed
Programme TP Vol 2
Punisher Max #65
Punisher War Zone #2 (Of 6)
Rex Mundi #15
Samurai Legend #4 (Of 4)
Showcase Presents Brave & Bold Batman Team-Ups Vol 3
Silverfish TP
Simpsons Comics #149
Amazing Spider-Man #581
Amazing Spider-Man Family #3
Spider-Man Noir #1 (Of 4)
Spirit #24
Squadron Supreme 2 #6
Stormwatch PHD #17
Super Friends #10
Supergirl #36 New Krypton
Superman Past And Future TP
Tangent Supermans Reign #10 (Of 12)
Terminator Revolution #1
Terra #4 (Of 4)
Thor God Sized #1
Thunderbolts #127
Tiny Titans #11
Trinity #29
Ultimate Fantastic Four #59
Uncanny X-Men #505 MD
Walking Dead #56
What If? Newer Fantastic Four
X-Factor #38
X-Files #2 (Of 6)
Deadpool #5
X-Men Kingbreaker #1 (Of 4)
X-Men Legacy #219
The Gosh! Authority 10/12/08
I’ve misjudged the timing and have prematurely reached Quality Street saturation point. Soon I’ll have my usual chubby Christmas cheeks and will look even more like a Jack Kirby’s Big Barda, says Will Kane. But there are other things to look forward to other than rapid expansion - some of which are in this very post! But before we get on to that, here's a feast for your EYES, not yer big face. *
David B. (Epileptic) takes a risk with his new book Nocturnal Conspiracies: Nineteen Dreams in which he illustrates dreams he had between December 1979 and September 1994. Usually I’d rather scoop my own eyeballs out with a plastic spoon than hear about someone else’s dreams, but this looks quite interesting. He says in an interview for the Comics Journal…
"Upon awakening, before jumping out of bed, I rerun the dream in my head like a movie, and then I write it down. The drawing part is tricky, because there's nothing more imprecise than a dream. As soon as you try to nail down one element, it slips away. What I mean is, like for instance the Eiffel Tower or my father or a friend, the places or the people that emerge from my subconscious can only be evoked by the drawing. I re-create them, based on the impression that I came away with, but I don't add any conscious elements. There is no re-writing of the dream, just graphic embodiment."
It’s all drawn in his heavy-lined style with blue spot-colour like his work in Mome. There’s a preview for you over here.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1 (of 8) does what it says on the tin, but retells the story of Dorothy like never before. Eisner Award-winning writer/artist Eric Shanower (Age of Bronze) and fan-favourite artist Skottie Young (New X-Men) did the work on this one, and Marvel were so impressed with the art that they’ve released a preview sketchbook for free! But you’ll have to jump through a few annoying hoops to get there. Alternatively, you might want to give up on that entirely and go straight to the preview of #1.
The second Previews Exclusive hardcover edition of Gosh-favourite Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack finally puts in an appearance this week, and includes a bonus story that hasn’t even been included in Japanese reprints. 
This volume has all the stuff that was in Vertical’s second softcover edition, but the extra pages are well worth the few extra quid. Here, have a sample story!
Another nice-looking hardcover is Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Dailies, collecting over 900 of the original science-fiction dailies based on the creation of Philip Francis Nowlan and initially drawn by Dick Calkins. Beginning on the 7th of January 1929, these strips were a precursor to Star Trek, Star Wars, and just about everything else you see walking about at conventions eating hotdogs. They’re reprinted here in 9’x12’ landscape, two to a page, and the Sundays are here too. Comics historian Ron Goulart has written an essay on the strip that’s presented here in a 16-page colour section with a load of documentary materials and unseen artwork.
Hardcovers abound! King Arthur, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table are reincarnated in Mike W. Barr (JLA Classified) and Brian Bolland’s (Judge Dredd) 1980s classic Camelot 3000, now collected in a deluxe oversized hardcover edition. All twelve issues of the series are here, as well as the expected supplements we like in a big collection – a brand-spanking new cover and unseen preliminary artwork by Bolland, as well as developmental ideas from Barr.
Trade-paperback Batman: Joker’s Asylum collects all five one-shots – Joker, Penguin, Two-Face, Scarecrow and Poison Ivy – narrated by the Asylum’s leading homicidal maniac, all written by top creators like Gosh-favourite Jason Aaron (Scalped), Joe Harris, David Hine (Civil War: X-Men), and illustrated by Jason Pearson (Body Bags), Andy Clarke and Juan Doe. Five tales of insanity and evil in one handy volume.
If you fancy a bit of Viking mayhem on an epic scale, then The Darkness: Lodbrok’s Hand one-shot is for you. Phil Hester and Michael Avon Oeming (Powers, Mice Templar) dunnit, and there’s an interview with Hester along with some preview pages over at Comic Book Resources.
And if you’ve been enjoying Alex Ross’ Project Superpowers keep an eye out for Death-Defying ‘Devil #1 this week, written by Joe Casey and illustrated by Edgar Salazar! It bridges the gap between Project Superpowers Chapters One and Two, and sees the apostrophe’d ‘Devil go after a terrorist organisation known as The Claw. Salazar wants to tell you all about it on CBR.
Brit-pop fans will be excited to see the second series of Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie’s magical musical mind-bender, Phonogram. Expect mystic goings-on wrapped in more musical reference than you can shake a stick at. A good week, too, for Ennis-ites with outrageous horror series Crossed hitting its second issue while Punisher War Zone sees the Ennis/Dillon team reunite for the kind of black-humoured tale that characterised their Marvel Knights run. I wonder if they’ll blow up any more polar bears.
You want more? How about a David Lapham penned 30 Days of Night mini-series? Or Secret Invasion Dark Reign by Bendis and Maleev? It’s a one-shot, sequel and prequel all wrapped into one. If you ask it nicely it may - just may - also be able to wash your dishes and fix you a good cup of coffee.
Holy moly! It’s Final Crisis #5! Be sure and tune in to Grant Morrison’s wavelength as we inch ever closer to the climax of DC’s 2008-defining epic.
Back to reality and even in the name of charity, last of all there’s the Hulk 100 Project trade-paperback, which is a bit like last year’s Ultimate Spider-Man 100 Project, but green. If you didn’t win any of the auctions for The Hero Initiative’s original Hulk #1 covers, don’t cry – now you can have ‘em all. We’re told there’ll only be one printing of this collection so you’d better get in quick! Everyone’s in this - J. Scott Campbell (Amazing Spider-Man), John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men), Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows), Terry Dodson (Uncanny X-Men), Dale Keown (The Incredible Hulk), Joe Quesada (Amazing Spider-Man: One More Day), John Romita Sr. (Spider-Man) and Jr. (Kick Ass) and more.
Tally-ho,
-- Hayley
* Which is my nice way of saying feel free to help yourself to complementary Christmas choccies at the end of the counter from this Thursday. Please, take them before we scoff the lot.
In Store 05/12/08 - 11/12/088
Click the full post link below for a list of items in store this week.
Archie Double Digest #194
2000 AD #1616
Judge Dredd Megazine #279
The VCs GN
Adam Legend Of Blue Marvel #2 (Of 5)
Ambush Bug Year None #5 (Of 6)
Army Of Darkness #15
Avengers Prem HC First To Last
Battlestar Galactica Ghosts #3 (Of 4)
Batman Confidential #24
Batman Joker's Asylum TP (J. Aaron)
Detective Comics #851
Big Hero 6 #4 (Of 5)
Booster Gold #15
BPRD War On Frogs #2 (M. Mignola)
Brave And The Bold Lords Of Luck TP
Buck Rogers In 25th Century Dailies HC
Buckaroo Banzai The Prequel #2 (Of 2)
Camelot 3000 HC Deluxe Edition
Captain America TP Chosen
Captain Britain And MI 13 #8
Civil War House Of M #4 (Of 5)
Complete Green Lama Featuring Art Of Mac Raboy HC Vol 2
Courtney Crumrin And Prince Of Nowhere One-Shot
Crime And Punishment GN
Crossed #2 (Of 9) (G. Ennis)
Daredevil Man Without Fear Prem HC
Darkness Lodbrok's Hand One-Shot
Death-Defying Devil #1 (A. Ross)
Uncle Scrooge #383
Walt Disney's Comics & Stories #698
DMZ #37 (B. Wood)
Elephantmen #14
Epilogue #3
Exit Wounds SC (R. Modan)
Jack Of Fables TP Vol 4 Americana
Fall Of Cthulhu TP Vol 3 Gray Man
Fathom #4
Final Crisis #5 (Of 7) (G. Morrison)
Final Crisis Revelations #4 (Of 5)
Gen 13 #25
Gold Digger #101
Green Arrow Black Canary #15
Green Lantern Secret Origin HC
Guardians Of The Galaxy Prem HC Vol 1
Herbie Archives HC Vol 2
House Of Mystery #8
Hulk 100 Project SC
Hulk Chronicles WWH #6
I Kill Giants #6 (Of 7)
Invincible #56
James Bond: History Of The Illustrated 007 SC
JSA HC Vol 3 Thy Kingdom Come Part 2 (G. Johns)
Justice League Of America #27 Sightings
Jack Kiby Quarterly #15
Legion Of Super-Heroes The More Things Change TP
Lone Ranger #16
Mad Magazine #497
Man With No Name #6
Marvel Apes #0
Marvel Illustrated Odyssey #4 (Of 8)
Mirror’s Edge #2 (Of 6)
Modern Masters SC Vol 19 Mike Ploog
Nightwing #151
Ninja High School #165
Nocturnal Conspiracies: Nineteen Dreams (David B.)
Nova Annihilation HC
100 Bullets #98 (B. Azzarello)
Overspray: Riding High With The Kings Of California Airbrush Art HC
Phonogram 2 #1 (Of 7) Singles Club
Punisher War Zone #1 (Of 6)
Queen & Country Definitive Ed TP Vol 3
Red Sonja HC Vol 5 World On Fire
Savage Dragon #142
Secret Invasion Dark Reign One-Shot
Secret Six #4
Simon Dark #15
Spawn Neo Noir TP
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #46
Spider-Man Brand New Day #3
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Season 2 #5
Amazing Spider-Girl #27
Amazing Spider-Girl TP Vol 4 Brand New Day
Amazing Spider-Man #580
Star Wars Clone Wars #3 (Of 6)
Sulk Vol 2 Deadly Awesome (J. Brown)
Action Comics #872 New Krypton
Superman Batman #54
Superman Batman Vs Vampires Werewolves #4 (Of 6)
30 Days Of Night: 30 Days Til Death #1 (D. Lapham)
Titans #8
Toyfare #138
Tranformers Timelines Fall Special Shattered Glass
Transformers Maximum Dinobots #1
Trinity #28
Warhammer 40k Fire & Honor #4 (Of 4)
Watchmen #1 New Ptg
What If? Captain America: Fallen Son
Witchblade #122
Wizard Magazine 2009 Platinum
Wonderful Wizard Of Oz #1 (Of 8)
Astonishing X-Men Ghost Boxes #2 (Of 2)
Wolverine Dangerous Games Prem HC
Wolverine: Flies To A Spider One-Shot
X-Men Spider-Man #2 (Of 4)
Young Liars #10
MANGA
Princess Ai GN Vol 1 (Of 3)
Tezuka's Black Jack PX HC Vol 2
Battle Angel Alita Vol 10
Black Lagoon Vol 3
Zatch Bell! Vol 22
Blade Of The Immortal TP Vol 20 Demons Lair
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Another Feast for your eyes! Exclusive to Gosh!
Following our recent acquisition of art books ‘Fleet Street Scandal’ &‘Bookplate Betties’, UK exclusives both, GOSH! is proud to present two new beautiful bookplate editions.
London-born, but Barbados-based, Illustrator/designer Barnaby Ward’s first book Sixteen Miles to Merricks features a 110 page graphic novel, plus three short stories and a large selection of Barnaby’s illustration work.
Chock-full of willowy young women in surreal scenarios and dream-like landscapes, Sixteen Miles to Merricks reveals Ward as a rare talent.
Combining European and Japanese influences, Barnaby’s work will have great appeal for fans of Egon Schiele, James Jean, Moebius and Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkon Kinkreet).
I thoroughly recommend you view this online preview.
As a generous gesture, Barnaby has kindly supplied GOSH! with a signed bookplate, limited to 50 copies.
Some of the wonderful words of praise ‘Merricks’ has merited:
"Beautiful drawings, beautiful women, I couldn't stop turning the pages."
- Jeff Smith (Bone, RASL)
"Barnaby Ward mixes the class and glamour of european illustration, with the flair and originality of Japanese manga to create wonderfully compelling and stunning pieces of art!"
- Ashley Wood (Popbot, Metal Gear Solid)
"Barnaby Ward has the design sense and color palette that I would kill for, and If I ever meet him in person I'll probably do just that."
-Dave Johnson (100 Bullets, Batman)
Secondly, but not leastly, GOSH! presents Cream & Sugar, the first collection from U.S. animation designer and all-round illustration wünderkind Justin Coffee; features saucy pin-ups in the tradition of the great pin-up artists of early Playboy magazine such as Erich Sokol, Eldon Dedini and Edmond Kirazian.
Justin’s work should also prove popular with admirers of more recent delinators of the female form Bill Presing and Shane Glines.
Justin has also provided GOSH! with this beautiful initialed bookplate, exclusive to GOSH! and limited to 50 copies.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Due To Arrive 11/12/08
Click the full post link below for a tentative list of titles due to ship next week.
100 Bullets #98
Action Comics #872 New Krypton
Adam Legend Of Blue Marvel #2 (Of 4)
Amazing Spider-Girl #27
Amazing Spider-Man #580
Army Of Darkness #15
Astonishing X-Men Ghost Boxes #2 (Of 2)
Batman Confidential #24
Batman Joker's Asylum TP
Big Hero 6 #4 (Of 5)
Blade Of The Immortal TP Vol 20 Demons Lair
Booster Gold #15
BPRD War On Frogs #2
Brave And The Bold Lords Of Luck TP
Captain Britain And MI 13 #8
Cartoon Network Action Pack #32
Civil War House Of M #4 (Of 5)
Darkness Lodbrok's Hand One-Shot
Death Defying Devil #1
Detective Comics #851
DMZ #37
Elephantmen #14
Final Crisis #5 (Of 7)
Final Crisis Revelations #4 (Of 5)
Gen 13 #25
Green Arrow Black Canary #15
Green Lantern Corps #31
House Of Mystery #8
Hulk Chronicles WWH #6
I Kill Giants #6 (Of 7)
Invincible #56
Jack Of Fables TP Vol 4 Americana
Justice League Of America #27 Sightings
Legion Of Super-Heroes The More Things Change TP
Lone Ranger #16
Man With No Name #6
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #46
Marvel Apes #0
Marvel Illustrated Odyssey #4 (Of 8)
Mirrors Edge #2 (Of 6)
New Battlestar Galactica Ghosts #3 (Of 4)
Nightwing #151
Phonogram 2 #1 (Of 7) Singles Club
Punisher War Zone #1 (Of 6)
Savage Dragon #142
Secret Invasion Dark Reign One-Shot
Secret Six #4
Simon Dark #15
Spider-Man Brand New Day #3
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Season 2 #5 (Of 5)
Star Wars Clone Wars #3 (Of 6)
Superman Batman #54
Superman Batman Vs Vampires Werewolves #5 (Of 6)
Titans #8
Trinity #28
What If? Captain America: Fallen Son
Witchblade #122
Wolverine: Flies To A Spider One-Shot
Wonderful Wizard Of Oz #1 (Of 8)
X-Men Spider-Man #2 (Of 4)
Young Liars #10
The Gosh! Authority 03/12/08
Fantagraphics have been telling porkies, but it’s just as well. They said they’d never reprint these limited edition deluxe Krazy & Ignatz hardcovers – but what’s this? Obviously enough bricks wrapped in demanding letters were lobbed through their windows because this week they’re hitting the shelves. Designed by Chris Ware (Jimmy Corrigan), these two essential books are heavy enough to stun a burglar. This second printing (limited to just 600 copies) of Second Sundays (1924-1934) collects the first five softcover collections, and Third Sundays (1931-1944) collects the five after that. They’ve promised to go back and reprint the strips prior to 1925 after they’ve collected everything else, but you’ll have to wait for that. Console yourself with some of these. This Christmas I predict the lucky ones amongst us will excuse ourselves from family festivities and read about Krazy Kat and his abusive li’l ainjil. But not before watching It’s a Wonderful Life. It would be wrong to miss that.
Another hardcover collection you should be keen to get your mitts on is Creepy Archives Volume 2 – raising classic horror stories from the dead after twenty-five years! The first popular volume featured the phenomenal work of young artists Bernie Wrightson (Swamp Thing) and Neal Adams (Batman), and this one’s got Alex Toth (Super Friends), Gray Morrow, Reed Crandall (Blackhawk), John Severin (Two-Fisted Tales) and loads of others on the bill. It collects issues #6-10 of the mag; usually there were up to eight short stories in each issue so you’re getting your moneys worth here.
Ancient giants are rising from their graves in Hellboy: Wild Hunt #1, which seems appropriate enough to follow the Creepy Archives. Mike Mignola and Duncan Fegredo reunite in this first issue of eight, which follows up events that began in their 2007 miniseries, Darkness Calls. Dark Horse has a preview here.
Another miniseries begins this week with Marvels: Eye of the Camera #1 (of 6), the long-awaited sequel to the thing wot made Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross famous! Get the man-on-the-street’s perspective on the Marvel Universe through the eyes of news photographer Phil Sheldon, with the help of artist Jay Anacleto’s brilliant photorealistic drawings. Busiek talks about it over on Newsarama, Wizard has a short Q&A with Marvel editor Tom Brevoort, and there’s a preview here, so that should keep you entertained for a bit.
Last week saw the end of Batman, this week it’s the massive conclusion to Secret Invasion! One of the biggest comics events this year will change the Marvel Universe forever in this eighth and final issue, thanks to Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man) and artist Leinil Francis Yu (New Avengers). Brian Reed and Marco Castiello’s Secret Invasion: Front Line is also coming to an end with #5. It’s the final hours of the Skrull invasion – what will be left for the people of Manhattan?
Lewis Trondheim (A.L.I.E.E.E.N) is one of the most inventive and funniest creators around. He’s dealt with everything from aliens going incognito in the empty skin of their dead friends, to Seinfeld-style character studies and autobiographical comics. Now it’s time for pirates, slaves, hidden treasure and a dodo in Bourbon Island 1730 with Appollo. It promises to be an epic adventure in the tradition of Watership Down; a unique and vaguely historical drama about things that never happened to people who never existed. But the island exists. It’s just called something else these days. Trondheim’s art features his signature anthropomorphic characters in black and white, and preview pages can be seen on First Second’s website.
Darwyn Cooke (Batman: Ego & Other Tales) and Jeph Loeb’s (Smallville) award-winning Spirit is out in softcover this Thursday, collecting the 48-page one-shot Batman/The Spirit and the first six issues of the monthly series starring Denny Colt’s two-fisted alter-ego! Cooke always managed to maintain the spirit (oh dear) of Eisner’s character, and his artwork is a Gosh-favourite. He stopped working on the series around #12, and fans were heartbroken. If you’ve missed out so far you should definitely have a peek at this.
The Trigan Empire was, along with Dan Dare, one of the most popular adventure comic strips ever produced in Britain. This week sees the release of Art of the Trigan Empire, a catalogue of original art for sale. The art was one of the reasons this series was so successful, so this one’s a must for fans. It’s full of brilliantly reproduced illustrations by Don Lawrence, rarely seen stuff by Ron Embleton, as well as Miguel Quesada, Oliver Frey, Philip Corke, and Gerry Wood.
On the small-press front, John Porcellino’s been producing his King Kat Comics zine since 1989 which means he’s probably had a few fights with photocopiers by now. Issue #69 is out now, and features a mix of funny and sad stuff - The Skweezil Cat Chronicles, Moon, Clouds, Heavy Metal Memories, and loads more.
A strange novelty kids book came in this week: Remarkable Animals – 1000 Amalgamations.
It’s one of those flip-book things you had when you were wee, where you put a different head on the baker’s body, butcher’s body etc – but it’s almost like it was created by a deranged 16th century explorer, or perhaps even Steve Zissou (but was actually done by Tony Meeuwissen – who kindly signed them – a London-based artist who has illustrated everything from postage stamps to award-winning books). It’s incredibly colourful and all the creatures you create get their own Latin names. Have a look next time you’re in!
And lastly, a Christmas round-up: Moon Knight Silent Knight #1 sees the psychotic vigilante go after a pair of hitmen who picked the wrong Santa to whack. Did they set their sights on him because he asked a granny to his on his lap? Possibly, but Peter Milligan (Hellblazer) and Laurence Campbell (2000AD) have probably come up with a better plot than setting Moon Knight loose in Selfridges.
Jason Aaron (Scalped) and Roland Boschi provide the Punisher Max X-Mas Special this year, and it’s definitely not fer kiddies. Aaron’s got preview pages over on his blog which shows at least five people getting their brains splattered all over the walls in the first three pages. Which, I think, is a cheery note to end on.
-- Hayley