The Gosh! Authority 04.08.21

Hello!

Have to start with a Free Comic Book Day update (again)! We've been informed that UK accounts will not be receiving the full range of FCBD titles in time for the official date of the 14th. It's the old shipping capacity issue again, something which has been affecting even the regular deliveries of late, let alone the massive quantity of stock that constitutes FCBD. We've been told that we'll have all titles by the 25th August, so we will be moving our FCBD offering to Saturday the 28th August. Expect more updates as the big day approaches.

Another slightly late blog this week, again just wanting to make sure I had a fully correct list of titles! Let's get on with it, eh?

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• QUEEN OF THE RING HC - A beautiful collection of Jaime Hernandez art, celebrating his women of wrestling. Jaime's work, both within the Locas stories and in other assorted spin-offs, has always expressed his love of 60's and 70's women's wrestling. In Queen of the Ring he has collected together his favourite personal drawings of his expansive cast of wrestlers, spanning his 40 year career. Colourful characters such as Bettie Rey, Pantera Negra, Miss Kitty Perez and more literally leap off the page. And as a bonus there's an interview with Katie Skelly where he talks about the work.

• NO 5 VOL 01 - Master mangaka Taiyo Matsumoto's post-apocalyptic tale of a genetically engineered super-soldier gone rogue (which is in no way as simple or straightforward as that sounds) is back in English at last, and hopefully this time we'll see the end of it! Viz started collecting this way back in the early 2000's but cancelled it after two volumes due to low sales. Turns out an international manga boom is the perfect time to give it another chance! Which I'm thankful for, because I'm always in the market for Matsumoto!

• SUICIDE SQUAD GET JOKER #1 - In time for what sounds like an actually good Suicide Squad movie comes a Black Label (swears!) mini-series by the top-drawer team of Brian Azzarello and Alex Maleev. Support a movie release with comics by popular creators? Crazy! Anyway, Amanda Waller decides it's time to sort out the Joker once and for all. And who has more of an axe to grind than the Red Hood? Jason Todd leads the team againt the Crown Prince of Crime!

• JOKER PRESENTS A PUZZLEBOX #1 - That not enough Joker for you? Then imagine if you will an anthology mini-series where the Joker narrates a series of stories about Gotham's most dangerous criminals. The reason? He's the only one who can give testimony to help Commissioner Gordon solve one of the strangest crimes he's ever seen. Sounds very sensible, I'm sure you'll agree. Matthew Rosenberg and Jesús Merino handle the framing story, with a host of different artists joining Rosenberg for the Joker's tales.

• ME YOU LOVE IN THE DARK #1 (OF 5) - The Middlewest team of Skottie Young and Jorge Corona re-team for an all new horror story that looks to be drecnhed in atmosphere. An artist seeking her muse gets more than she bargained for when she moves into an old house in small-town America. Knowing the house is apparently haunted, Ro actively tries to make contact to find the inspiration she's looking for. It works out really well for her, I'm guessing.

• NOT ALL ROBOTS #1 - Mark Russell and Mike Deodato present a sci-fi satire where the human labour has been replaced by an AI robot workforce. Each family is assigned a robot for their home, including the Walters. But what is their robot helper - the ominously-named Razorball - building out in their garage? Nothing good, from the sound of it...

• MIRKA ANDOLFO SWEET PAPRIKA #1 - Italian comics superstar Mirka Andolfo is back with a new series, a romantic comedy about an introverted, guarded, career-driven woman who meets a guy who is her polar opposite. She should hate him, and yet....

• LAST BOOK YOULL EVER READ #1 - A controversial novelist who's latest work is seemingly tearing away the veneer of civilisation for those who read it embarks on a book tour. Her safety in danger she hires a bodyguard to protect her who is under strict instructions not to read her work. What is going on with this book? Only Cullen Bunn and Leila Leiz know the answer.

• DEADPOOL BLACK WHITE BLOOD #1 (OF 5) - I probably don't need to tell you this, but: an anthology of short stories by a range of talent using only a black, white and spot red palette to tell tales of the Merc With a Mouth. This issue: Tom Taylor, Ed Brisson, Whilce Portacio, Phil Noto, and - what tipped me into including this - JAMES STOKOE!

• GOLEM WALKS AMONG US #1 (OF 2) - The latest Tales from the Outerverse title sees Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden and Peter Bergting take on the history of Joe Golem as he battles witches in Eastern Europe.

And that's it! See you next time!

Andrew.