The Gosh! Authority 09.12.20

Hello!

Nice to see so many of you again this past week. Just a reminder in case you missed it: we are once again open every day from 10.30am - 6pm. It's lovely to see people in the store again, even if it does involve the usual precautions to reduce the spread of COVID. If you are thinking of coming down, rest assured we're doing all we can to keep customers and staff safe. Masks are compulsory (unless you have a valid exemption) and we are only allowing a maximum of 13 people in the store at any given time. The latter obviously means that queuing might be necessary, especially this month, and we appreciate your patience with that.

Not much else to announce this week: maybe a quick reminder that we are now registered with bookshop.org, so while buying direct from us is always preferred, if there's something we don't have in stock, or even if you're buying any non-comics material, head to https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/goshlondon, and then search for whatever books you're after. Anything you buy while having us as an affiliate shop (basically, going to our page first then shopping) nets us a revenue share, so you can help support us while shopping online!   

Otherwise, let's talk comics!

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• HOME SICK PILOTS #1 - Dan Watters & Caspar Wijngaard, the team behind Gosh fave Limbo (and independently many other great projects since) reunite for this big new release from Image. Pitched as "Power Rangers meets The Shining", it's a story of a young woman who heads a mid-90's punk band and the connection she forms with a local house which has a notorious haunted reputation. It's a compelling start, juggling strong character work with effective horror, that also looks fantastic. And Dan & Caspar have also very generously given us a number of signed bookplates to give away with the first issue! First come, first served, so if you'd like a copy of issue #1 with the signed plate, drop us an email ASAP.

• BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE #1 (OF 6) - Batman Black and White was an initiative started originally by ex-DC art director Mark Chiarello. It has always been one of the best showcases for Batman stories, enlisting a lot of talent we probably wouldn't see committing to a regular book (or even a full issue). It's been much-imitated, but there's something about Batman that really lends itself to the concept. This new six-issue prestige format series kicks off with stories by James Tynion IV, Tradd Moore, J.H. Williams III, Emma Rios, Paul Dini, Andy Kubert, G. Willow Wilson and Greg Smallwood.

• BOOK TOUR GN - As much as we've loved to see Andi Watson's success in the realm of kids GNs, we're evebn more excited to see him produce a new book for adults. It's a Kafkaesque comedy about a writer who embarks on a doomed book tour, barely keeping things together while the consequences of each stroke of bad luck grow ever higher. Looks like a smart, funny read.

• S.W.O.R.D. #1 - Spinning out of X of Swords, the latest X-book launches courtesy of Al Ewing and Valerio Schitti. The Sentient World Observation & Response Directorate relaunches thanks to the merry mutants of Krakoa, taking up its old mantle as the protector of the Earth from all things extraterrestrial. We're always up for giving any new Al Ewing book a go!

• LOCKE & KEY SANDMAN HELL & GONE #0 - It's the kick-off to the big Sandman / Locke & Key crossover by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez! This zero issue reprints classic stories from both series which are the launch points for the crossover.

• MISTY WINTER SPECIAL 2020 ONESHOT - A second Misty special for the year, this time not sharing the spotlight with Scream! There's just two stories in this one by Anna Savory & Vv Glass and Lizzy Boyle & David Roach.

• DARK NIGHTS DEATH METAL LAST STORIES OF THE DC UNIVERSE #1 - The latest one-shot Death Metal tie-in is a collection of shorts recounting the last moments of your DC faves before they set off for the big final battle, knowing they might never come back. Not the most exciting setups for 80 pages of story, but the creative teams involved make it sound a lot more attractive: Joshua Williamson, James Tynion IV, Scott Snyder,Travis Moore, Tamra Bonvillain, Jeff Lemire, Rafael Albuquerque, Ivan Plascencia, Mariko Tamaki, Daniel Sampere, Adriano Lucas, Gail Simone, Meghan Hetrick, Marissa Louise, Christopher Sebela, Christopher Mooneyham, Enrica Eren Angiolini, Cecil Castelluci, Mirka Andolfo, Andrew Dalhouse, Mark Waid & Francis Manapul.

• TALES FROM THE DARK MULTIVERSE FLASHPOINT #1 - It's another twisted spin on a classic DC event, this time the influential Flash crossover Flashpoint (itself a multiverse-spawning tale). Bryan Hitch writes and draws this tale of a world where the Flashpoint reality was never undone.

• DCS VERY MERRY MULTIVERSE #1 - It's the DC Christmas special, with a roster of stories so big I thought this time I'd just put up the contents page rather than the cover followed by a massive list of names. Good line-up, with President Superman in "Bizarro Love Holiday" looking to be our fave.

• HEROES AT HOME #1 - Reprinting the digital series of comedy strips by Zeb Wells and Gurihiru which poses the question: What do Marvel's heroes do during self-isolation? It's a good bit of fun, and a snapshot of a time that hopefully you'll be able to drag out of a longbox in the not-too distant future and think "Wow, remember THAT?"

• KING IN BLACK NAMOR #1 (OF 5) - A King in Black crossover mini that we'd probably just breeze past if it weren't for the fact that it's by Kurt Busiek and Benjamin Dewey (who we wish were able to make Autumnlands a working concern again). It's a flashback story featuring the heroes and villains of Atalantis as teens, witnessing the birth of something terrible beneath the waves.

And that's your lot for this week! See you next time, when I'll say "Oh my god, it's Christmas next week!"

Andrew.