The Gosh! Authority 03.11.21

Hello!

We'd like to kick off this week with a little tribute to a store that has closed its doors for good in recent days. It's never great to see any store shutter, and for many people the loss of Orbital Comics from the London scene will be a real blow. Orbital in its heyday was a comics hub in London, with a vibrant customer community created through the efforts of manager Karl and his staff (not a few of whom we have also employed over the years). They'll be sorely missed from the mix of London comic shops, and I hope all those who did work there over the years take pride in what they were so instrumental in building.

On a more positive note, it's another decent sized week, with some fairly big titles! Let's get into it, shall we?

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• HUMAN TARGET #1- Tom King is at it again for DC (who seem to have just given him carte blanche to do whatever the heck he wants with DC properties), and once again has an excellent artist in tow in the form of Greg Smallwood. Given the general quality of his minis I'm happy to go along for the ride, this time in the company of Christopher Chance: the Human Target! Once again Chance must don a disguise to act as a stand-in for someone against the threat of assassination. His client: Lex Luthor! Smallwood's art on this is incredible, and King is getting his noir on in the must-buy of the week.

• MAGIC ORDER 2 #1 - The return of one of Mark Millar's best-loved properties (and another forthcoming Netflix show), but replacing Oliver Coipel with Stuart Immonen on the art duties (no complaints here). This time we join the London chapter of the Magic Order as they try nto broker peace with Eastern European warlocks who are moving onto their turf. 

• NEWBURN #1 - Great concept for this new series that'll be sure to hit with fans of hard-bitten crime stories. Chip Zdarsky and Jacob Phillips have created a compelling new character in Easton Newburn, a private detective who investigates disputes between rival crime families. This issue also contains a back-up story by on-the-rise creators Nadia Shammas and Ziyed Yusuf Ayoub. 

• BATMAN SUPERMAN: THE AUTHORITY SPECIAL #1 - Faced with the aftermath of Mongul's attack on Earth, Superman has reformed The Authority to assist in the liberation of Warworld, taking the fight to Mongul himself. But for one crucial mission he needs the skills of ol' grim-chops himself: the Batman! Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson is joined by a trio of artists: Jonathan Glapion, Trevor Hairsine and Ben Templesmith.

• DARK KNIGHTS OF STEEL #1 - Speaking of DC writers up to old tricks, Tom Taylor gets medieval in this Elseworlds-style joint along with artist Yasmin Putri. When a spaceship crashlands in a medieval kingdom, it's sole passenger grows into a figure who will change the face of the world. 

• RUSH #1 - Simon Spurrier joins artist Nathan Gooden for a new series from publisher Vault Comics. It's a horror-western set in the Yukon territory in 1899 as a mother comes seeking her lost child. There are cursed valleys, spidery menaces and ghostly gunshots in what I'm personally expecting to be a very entertaining read.

• DEATH OF DOCTOR STRANGE AVENGERS #1 - You know the drill: a one-shot tie-in to a mini-event that isn't essential to the main story but might feature some characters you like. But what's notable with this one are the inclusion of rising star writer Alex Paknadel and the unique artistic vision of Ryan Bodenheim, both of whom are sure to elevate this above the usual tie-in fare.

• HELLBOY BONES OF GIANTS #1 - A comics adaptation of the classic illustrated Hellboy novel by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden, with the original writers along with artist Matt Smith. Hellboy wades into the pantheon of Norse mythology, guns blazing and fists punching as he takes on the menace of the frost giants.

• CHILLING ADVENTURES IN SORCERY #1 - A one-shot kick-start to the return of the Archie horror-verse! Madam Satan is escaping the layers of Hell, meeting lost souls along the way who tell their tales of woe. It's an anthology special in the Amicus tradition with a murderers row of Archie talent.  

• HEATHENS #1 - Speaking of escaping from Hell, when the soul of a notorious killer breaks free from the infernal realm to wreak havoc on earth, the Heathens are dispatched to bring him back. The Pirate Queen Lady Shih leads Lucky Luciano, Bumpy Johnson, Sofia the Golden Hand, and Billy the Kid on a mission from Hell thanks to Cullen Bunn and Heath Amodio.

And that's it for this week! See you next time, when I'll have some exciting Best of the Year news!

Andrew.