The Gosh! Authority 07.08.24

Hello!

We're very excited to be hosting writer Colleen Douglas here this Wednesday, 6-7pm, for a signing to celebrate the release of Silk Cotton! Published by Rosarium with art by Jesus C. Gan and colours by Lorenzo Palombo, Silk Cotton is a superb horror tale infused with the myths and legends of the Caribbean. Come get your copy signed! Details here.

And then on Saturday. from 1-2pm, the fabulous Lize Meddings will be here to sign copies of the 4th volume of her hit series The Sad Ghost Club! It's one of the best YA series going right now, a love letter to those who feel out of place or alone, and the complexity of connection. Get the details here!

Despite what I said last week, it's Andrew here writing to you from the distant past of last Thursday. Bryn gets a break this time around. Looking into my crystal ball (aka the League of Comic Geeks shipping list) I am able predict the best books for your future era of next Wednesday...

Slight addendum from Greg of the Present - For those expecting #1 of The Power Fantasy from Kieron Gillen, it looks like it'll be coming out in the UK next Wednesday instead. Apologies! 

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• UNCANNY X-MEN #1 - Of all the new wave of X-books coming under the From the Ashes branding, this is the one we're most excited for. Gail Simone on the X-Men? Home run, Marvel. Rogue leads a New Orleans-based team consisting of Gambit, Wolverine, Jubilee and Nightcrawler, battling threats to mutantdom and humankind. That's three of my favourite X-Men right there (and one of my most hated - sorry Gambit fans), so I'm actually rather excited.

• CRUEL UNIVERSE #1 - The EC rebirth continues, this time in the vein of Weird Science as Oni dish out some strange tales of science fiction! This first issue is a 40-page bumper edition featuring Ben H. Winters, Chris Condon, Corinna Bechko, Matt Kindt, Artyom Topilin, Caitlin Yarsky, Jonathan Case & Kano. Expect twist-in-the-tale stories on a cosmic canvas.

• GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #1 - The much-loved bad-girls-gone-good (kinda) book returns for a weekly mini-series, as Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Catwoman reunite to take down an illegal urban hunting competition on the streets of Gotham City. The criminal (kinda) trio are in the good hands of Leah Williams & Matteo Lolli

• ORE A STARHENGE GRAPHIC NOVELLA TP - Liam Sharp returns to the Arthurian sci-fantasy of Starhenge with this follow up story that expands this universe. The Ur-Queen has been resurrected into many avatars, and the one named Ore now battles with the vicious AI known as the CAST. Sharp really throws everything into the Starhenge stuff, a measure of how much the book means to him. Nice to see that kind of passion on the page!

• SPIDER-MAN BLACK SUIT & BLOOD #1 - It's the 40th anniversary of the black suit, would you beieve it. And to celebrate, Spidey gets the black and white anthology treatment with quite the impressive line-up of creators. We've got Dustin Nguyen, J. M. Straczynski, Sumit Kumar, and most excitingly for me, J. M. DeMatteis and Elena Casagrande telling an untold tale from Kraven's Last Hunt!

• ARKHAM HORROR THE TERROR AT THE END OF TIME #1 - A new mini-series based on the incredibly popular Fantasy Flight Games collection of Lovecraftian board games and card games. That's not just blowing smoke: I have two of their games and they're bloody great. No need for any knowledge of them though: Cullen Bunn and Andrea Mutti bring a little unknowable terror to newcomers and veterans alike.

• PRODIGY SLAVES OF MARS #1 - The return of Edison Crane, the world's smartest man. But for all his smarts, he couldn't stop his father being killed, nor did he know about his father's role in a top-secret NASA program. Mark Millar and Stefano Landini keep the Millarworld train rolling in its new Dark Horse home.

• GARFIELD #1 - I hate Mondays. Lasagne. Odie. Jon. Garfield. I don't know what to tell ya here, folks. Ryan Estrada, Sarah Graley and Axur Eneas do a fun-looking tie-in to the new movie.

• VENOM WAR #1 - So many teeth! So many tongues! The goopiest, most dysfunctional super-family in comics have it out as Eddie and Dylan work out their father / son issues through ALL OUT WAR! Al Ewing and Iban Coello presumably workshopped this by trying out dialogue while throwing tubs of black slime at the wall.

• RED BEFORE BLACK #1 - Stephanie Phillips and Goran Suduka kick off a fun-looking story of an ex-military FBI agent and her drug runner target joining forces when an even greater menace presents itself. Expect some sweaty Floridian vibes. I'm hoping someone rides in one of those swamp boats with the big propeller on the back like they used to in 80s TV shows. Those things were the coolest.

• PEDESTRIAN #1 - Joey Esposito and Sean Von Gorman introduce us to the world of The Pedestrian, a speedwalking superhero whose quiet heroism impacts those whose lives he touches. But the ancient street sign battles are brewing again, and he'll be pressed to his walking limits if he wants to save Summer City. Sounds like one for the Mark Russell fans.

• BLOOD HUNTERS #1 - Did you enjoy the Blood Hunters mini that came with the Blood Hunt event? Good news! The vamp-hunting team of Elsa Bloodstone, White Widow, Dagger and Hallow's Eve are still mopping up the aftermath of the attempted vampiric takeover, courtesy of Erica Schultz and Robert Gill.

And that's it for this week! From the distant past, I bid you adieu!

Andrew.