The Gosh! Authority 01.12.21

Hello, and welcome to December!

Yep, Christmas is just around the corner and with covid variant / worst Transformer Omicron arriving at our shores, that means a couple of things:

1. Masks are once again mandatory in the shop, unless you have a clinical exemption. We have spare masks at the counter, so if you forget to bring one in, just ask.
2. Might be wise to get that Christmas shopping in early.

With that in mind, don't forget us in your gift-buying considerations! Our Best of 2021 lists are prime gift suggestions, as are our online gift cards. We also have lovely physical gift cards available in-store if you'd prefer. Or you can get advice from our back issue crew on some vintage comics - we've recently bought in some great collections of stuff. Or you could peruse our small press selection, which is brimming with incredible 

Happy news on the Diamond front: they're slowly recovering their full functionality, so we should be seeing less delays in new comics releases and faster stock replenishment as the month goes on. (Touch wood.)

For anyone requesting to have their standing orders mailed out this week, just to warn you there may be a slight delay. I'm stuck at home with self-isolating kids, so won't be back in the store until Friday. Apologies!

Okay, on with the comics!

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• SIR EDWARD GREY ACHERON #1 - Well here's a treat! Set in the aftermath of BPRD The Devil You Know, Acheron follows Sir Edward Grey, the paranormal investigator cursed with eternal life, as he returns to Hell. He must face an old foe in a battle that will determine the final fate of the Earth. The real kicker? This one-shot is written and entirely drawn by Mike Mignola, his first full comic interiors in nearly a decade! 

• WONDER WOMAN HISTORIA THE AMAZONS #1 - Quite some time in the making, Kelly Sue Deconnick's definitive history of the Amazons kicks off at last this week. Each issue will feature the work of a different artist, with Phil Jiminez on the first chapter turning out some of the best work he's ever done. Seriously, Kelly Sue was in town recently and showed us some interiors, and they look incredible, all delivered in an oversized Black Label format.

• HAWKEYE KATE BISHOP #1 - Arriving to us a week late, but still tied nicely to the launch of the Disney+ series, Kate Bishop is back in an all new miniseries by bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp and artist Enid Balám. Kate is heading back to New York, but finds herself waylaid by a jewel heist at a resort (which is almost definitely a trap).

• KING OF SPIES #1 - Imagine James Bond found out he had six months to live, and decided to take down the corrupt system he helped to prop up? That's the basic thrust of King of Spies (sans actual Bond of course), a new series by Mark Millar and Matteo Scalera (coming to a Netflix service near you soon, no doubt!). Millar can be a divisive writer, but he always has an eye for great artistic talent and his most enjoyable series are often these kind of high concept pitches. Worth a look, for sure.

• JUSTICE LEAGUE INCARNATE #1 - Spinning directly out of Infinite Frontier, this new limited series sees the multiversal Justice League (including new character Dr Multiverse) battling against Darkseid for the fate of the entire Multiverse. That's a whole lotta Multiverse. Each issue is set in the different reality, with a different art team, all written by Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver. This issue we've got Brandon Peterson picking up the pencil (or, more likely, stylus). 

• X-FORCE KILLSHOT ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 - Let's be honest: it's Rob Liefeld. You already know if you're picking this up or not. Me, I'm totally team Liefeld (after a long time in the Rob-hating wilderness). Yes, it's kinda terrible, but I can't help loving that sweet, sweet 90s energy in all its daft, OTT glory. So join the Robster for a 30th anniversary celebration of the first issue of X-Force (4 months late, but who's counting) that sees Cable assemble an all-new X-Force to take out Stryfe once and for all. Also, I'll take this chance to recommend Liefeld's Robservations podcast for anyone who loves bronze age comics, or wants to hear all the (very one-sided) goss from the tumultuous 90s. It's an enthusiastic, knowledgeable, entertaining, occasionally very self-congratulatory show. Just be sure to go back to the start.

• GOTHAM CITY VILLAINS ANNIVERSARY ONE-SHOT - A bumper collection of short stories starring the various villains of Batman's rogue's gallery. Of particular note here is an anniversary celebration of the Penguin written by none other than Danny DeVito!

• DARKHOLD BLACK BOLT #1 - Mark Russell and David Cutler give us a tale of the king of the Inhumans, who is enlisted by the Avengers to read from the Darkhold, dragging him into battle with the power of the dark god Cthon.

• DEATH OF DOCTOR STRANGE ONE-SHOTS #1 - Spider-Man (along with Black Cat) and White Fox get their own Death of Doctor Strange specials this week, each dealing with the consequences of Earth's mystical protector being absent. Jed MacKay and Marcelo Ferreira handle Spidey, while Alyssa Wong and Andie Tong take care of White Fox.

And that's it for this week! See you next time!

Andrew.