The Gosh! Authority 13.03.24

Hello!

It's Reads, the graphic novel reading group, this Wednesday, 7-9pm, and have we got a doozy for you! The group will be discussing Monica, by Dan Clowes, acclaimed by many (including us) as one of the best graphic novels published last year. Everyone is welcome to the discussion! Get the details here.

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• HELEN OF WYNDHORN #1 - Probably my most anticipated book this year so far, and almost certainly one of the best-looking we'll see in 2024. Tom King and Bilquis Evely, the Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow team, reunite for a creator-owned fantasy series set in the 1920's. Following the death of her father, a famous writer of fantastical pulp tales, Helen is forced to return to his mansion, Wyndhorn House. She's desperately in need of sorting her life out, and within the grounds of the sprawling estate she discovers a world of fantasy and adventure that might just help her do so. Or DESTROY her! Sorry, couldn't resist the drama.

• BATMAN DYLAN DOG #1 - About a year ago, pages surfaced from Italy of a Bonelli-produced crossover between the Dark Knight Detective and Italy's favourite London-based paranormal investigator. It looked stunning, and we were bombarded with questions about when it might appear in English. Well, that time is now! Bats is in London on the trail of the Joker, who has formed an alliance with Dylan Dog's necromantic nemesis Professor Xabaras. Time for Bruce Wayne to visit to 7 Craven Road! (Dylan Dog's address, for you DD neophytes.) Roberto Recchioni, Werther Dell'Edera and Gigi Cavenago conjure up some superheroic horror hijnks.

• NAPALM LULLABY #1 - The Death or Glory team of Rick Remender and Bengal are back together for a new series set in a future ruled by an oppressive theocracy. Worshippers of the new Messiah, "The Mgnificent Leader," live in domed cities under totalitarian rule, while the rest of the population struggle for survival on the outskirts in bleak shanty towns. Want clean air and running water? Just pledge fealty. But as you might expect, not everyone is happy with the situation... 

• VENGEANCE IS FOR THE LIVING #1 - A four issue mini-series by Keenan Marshall Keller and Alex Delaney, capturing the raw thrill of late 70's/early 80's exploitation cinema. After being left for dead in an attack that left her children dead and her husband missing, Sheila Knox has only one thing left to live for: bloody, bloody revenge.

• SUICIDE SQUAD DREAM TEAM #1 - The lead-in to this summer's big DC event Absolute Power starts here. Amanda Waller is using the precognitive powers of Dreamer to see the future of the DCU, and shape it in her power-hungry image using the most powerfuly tools at her disposal: the Suicide Squad. Nicole Maines & Eddy Barrows handle this four issue mini.

• BLACK WIDOW & HAWKEYE #1 - Hawkeye and the Black Widow turn 60 this year, and Stephanie Phillips and Paolo Villanelli celebrate with this new series! Hawkeye is accused of an assasination attempt, causing a diplomatic snarl-up between the USA and Madripoor. Natasha comes to the aid of her ex, with her recently acquired symbiote in tow. 

• LAST MERMAID #1 - A new series from Derek Kirk Kim that asks the question "What if mermaid, but Mad Max?" In a post-environment-apocalypse, the last mermaid pilots a mech suit looking for water and battling cybernetic cannibals and such.

• LITTLE BLACK BOOK #1 - A crime thriller by Jeff McComsey and Felipe Cunha about the sins of the father being passed on to his children. Cole is an ordinary guy, a handyman with a steady marriage and a baby on the way. But when his father dies, he inherits a little black book that sheds a light on his father's secret life, and puts him smack in the sights of a major crime syndicate.

• GHOST RIDER FINAL VENGEANCE #1 - Johnny Blaze has given up the Ghost Rider, but who will take his place? Benjamin Percy and Danny Kim bring us the bold new future of vengeace spiriting.

• SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN 2099 #1 - Peter David not only revisits the untold tales of the Spidey symbiote, but jumps back into one of his most beloved runs to boot! It's 2099, and Miguel O'Hara has a black costume problem! Rogê Antônio provides the interiors, but I'm loving that Leinil Francis Yu / Sunny Gho cover.

And that's it for another week. See you next time!

Andrew.