The Gosh! Authority 10.11.21

Hello!

Get your Christmas buying plans ready: this Friday sees the drop of our Best of 2021 lists for adults and kids. Be sure to check it out for a list of what our staff feel are the best books they've read this year. As ever we've tried to build a mix of titles so that there's something for every taste, be it superheroes, manga, non-fiction or cutting edge contemporary fiction. We'll be announcing on social media and publishing here on the blog.

And it's also Thought Bubble next weekend! I'll be heading up to Harrogate to check out the latest happenings in the UK's vibrant small press scene as well as try my best to meet the likes of James Tynion IV, Joelle Jones and Ronald Wimberley, as well as catch up with old friends I haven't seen since the pre-pandemic days! All the details of the festival can be found here.

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• VENOM #1 - Given that the relaunch of Venom involves two of our favourite writers in the form of Al Ewing and Ram V, with art by none other than Bryan Hitch, we're pretty excited about this new iteration of everyone's favourite symbiote slobber-chops. Following on from the end of Donny Cate's landmark run, there are now two Venoms: Dylan Brock, who takes on the mantle of Venom here on Earth (written by Ram), and Eddie Brock, who has now taken on a cosmic role as the King in Black (written by Al). We're also lucky enough to have Ram V signing all of our copies of #1, so if you'd like a signed copy then let me know, or pre-order on our webstore now!

• WHAT’S THE FURTHEST PLACE FROM HERE #1 - The hotly anticipated new title from 4 Kids Walking Into A Bank collaborators Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss. WTFPFH (as I'll forevermore call it) is a post-apocalyptic tale about friendship, sacrifice and maintaining a decent record collection after the world has ended. A gang of kids go out to the wasteland in search of their friend who went off in search of a better life but has not been heard from since. We're big fans of Rosenberg and Boss around here, and we've got a lot of faith in this series. The first issue (which we had a preview of a while back) is fantastic. You may have also heard there is a limited edition version of this which ships with a 7" vinyl. This will ship at a later date, and while the first printings are expected to be allocated heavily (like one per store heavily), we will be getting copies of the 2nd print when it ships, so if you'd prefer that edition just let us know as copies will be limited.

• THE THING #1 - Acclaimed crime writer Walter Mosely and artist Tom Reilly deliver what is looking like a pretty top-drawer Ben Grimm experience! From the seedy back alleys of Yancy Street to the farthest reaches of the universe, the Thing encounters a whole range of the MU's great, good, and villainous in this 5 issue mini. Reilly's art on this is just beautiful, and Mosely looks to have adapted well to the show-don't-tell dynamic of comics writing (as so many prose authors before him have failed to do).

• ROBIN & BATMAN #1 - The stellar team of Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen tell the story of Dick Grayson's earliest days as Robin. Fresh from the death of his parents young Dick must negotiate life in a brand new city while  learning the ropes as the Dark Knight's sidekick!

• REGARDING THE MATTER OF OSWALD’S BODY #1 - This looks like a solid read, especially for the conspiracy-minded. A crime/heist book filled with quirky, off-kilter Texan characters whose central premise is based around the Second Oswald conspiracy theory. Christopher Cantwell writes, with Luca Casalanguida on art.

• GULLEM MARCH’S LAURA #1 - Some of fan favourite Guillem March's earliest works get translated in this new limited series. The book is headlined by Laura, a story about a heartbroken 20 year old who is trying to understand the pain of unrequited love.