The Gosh! Authority 30/09/09

One of our top picks this week is Gilbert Shelton’s Fat Freddy’s Cat Omnibus which collects all the strips about that other famous, non-lasagne eating ginger tom. Like many things he began as a footnote to something else and soon became deservedly famous in his own right. In this latest omnibus (which fits perfectly with the Freak Brothers Omnibus design-wise) the orange Cat can be found sleeping on Fat Freddy’s head, battling endless armies of roaches, travelling to Mexico, saving the world from an alien invasion and (of course) the Hee Hee Hee drug. If you were one of the many people who asked for more Freak Brothers you’ll need to swing by the shop tout de suite.

In other news, Alan Moore has some thoughts on pornography that will probably sit very well on the bookshelf next to that well-thumbed copy of Lost Girls. If you managed to grab a copy of the long sold out issue of Arthur magazine you’ll have read them before in that brilliantly titled essay of his, Bog Venus Versus Nazi Cock-Ring: Some Thoughts Concerning Pornography. This book I’m foisting on you is called 25, 000 Years of Erotic Freedom HC and it’s an extended version of that very essay now beefed up with relevant illustrations, photographs, and frontbottoms. In a 1000 word excerpt on CbR Moore argues that “Sexually progressive cultures gave us literature, philosophy, civilisation and the rest, while sexually restrictive cultures gave us the Dark Ages and the Holocaust.” And he’s probably right. The big hairy one tends to be terribly convincing, anyway. At his Gosh! signing he almost had me agreeing that custard creams are the lesser, anaemic cousin to bourbons.

Mike Mignola’s Hellboy Library Ed HC Volume 3 collects three classic stories in a big black book including the award-winning Conqueror Worm in which Hellboy has his first run-in with fan-favourite Lobster Johnson. And just to make sure you get your £37.50’s worth, there’s an extra thirty pages of never-before-seen sketchbook stuff. Preview!

Lords of Misrule HC reprints classic (word of the day, obviously) stuff by Dan Abnett, John Tomlinson, Steve White, Gary Erskine, and Peter Snejbjerg for the first time in full colour with a bunch of other previously uncollected pages – so it’s not just for those of you who missed it the first time round. If you did, here’s what happens: After two friends are horribly murdered near a rural English town the survivors discover a longstanding history of grim doings in the village. Sure to appeal to the 10 or so fans who loved Abnett and Tomlinson’s original Knights of Pendragon. It feels like it exists in the same universe as that fondly remembered series, although of course it doesn’t as that was set in Marvel Universe (sort of), but eagle eyed fans might notice that Lords of Misrule is actually set in the same universe as the popular Aussie soap Neighbours. Answers on a postcard….

Another big hardcover that arrived midweek is Masterpiece Comics by R. Sikyorak (The New Yorker, The Onion, Mad), a Drawn & Quarterly collection of parodies of classic literature full of the superfluous exclamation marks, cartoon colours and the general nuttiness of old comics. See good ol’ Charlie Brown become Gregor Samsa in Kafka’s Metemorphosis whose social unease is probably just right for the miserable cockroach hiding in his bedroom. In the meantime, see a preview.

Ed Brubaker (Criminal) and Sean Phillips’ (Incognito) final collection of Sleeper is out this week collecting the full second year of the acclaimed series plus a never-before-collected prequel. There’s also the second block of Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba’s Umbrella Academy to look forward to in a trade collection of Dallas. Alternatively, there’s always the lovely big hardcover edition that came out last week if you prefer that.

Superman: Kryptonite TP collects the amazing Superman-meets-Kryptonite–for-the-first-time story by Gosh! Favourites Darwyn Cooke (Parker: The Hunter, DC: The New Frontier) and Tim Sale (Batman: The Long Halloween) in their first project together. Everything these guys do is brill and we always say so, ipso facto there’s really no need for me to harp on about it. I’ll let this man do it. He says it’s glorious. In fact, he says the word glorious several times.

If you’re a fan of Hergé’s Tin Tin there’s a new book on the shelf by Garen Ewing that’s likely to catch your eye. The Adventures of Julius Chancer: The Rainbow Orchid Volume 1 is drawn in much the style with a pink-cheeked hero on an international adventure. There’s no shortage of mystery and intrigue here so check out the artwork in this ‘ere preview if it sounds like your cup of tea.

That’s it for another week. Don’t forget we’ve got the Joe Sacco signing today from 5pm until 7pm!

-- Hayley