The Gosh! Authority 13.12.23

Hello!

A quick note regarding the latest Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips release, Where the Body Was. Shipments have been delayed to the UK, and are expected next week, so don't panic if you see reviews popping up from US websites this week!

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• UNDERHEIST #1 - A new crime horror series by David and Maria Lapham? Merry Christmas to me! An ex-subway worker at his lowest point learns of an audacious heist using a secret network of tunnels beneath NYC. This might just be his chance to do one thing right, but the stakes are far higher and more terrible than he could have imagined. The Laphams have been working away on (difficult to source) Bad Idea projects for a few years, so we haven't seen them in a while. Very exciting!

• MASTERPIECE #1 - Speaking of creative teams we haven't seen in a while, Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev are back on something non-Scarlet related! Orphan Emma is a 16 year old prodigy. An inventor and online sensation, one day her world cracks apart when a man appears claiming she is the child of two master criminals who once took him for a billion. He wants payback, but gives her an out: form a crew to take down his corporate nemesis by way of a daring heist.

• BATMAN FAUX-SIMILE EDITION #428 - Way back in '88, readers infamously voted on the fate of Jason Todd, the second Robin. The result? Death! But DC actually had two versions of the issue made by the creative team of Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo: the published one where Jason dies, and another where he lives, which got filed in the archives. Now, for the first time in print in a fun spin on the Facsimile Edition, Robin Lives!

• BLOODY DOZEN A TALE OF THE SHROUDED COLLEGE #1 - The next series in Charles Soule and Will Sliney's Shrouded College series of interconnected stories. This time: Space Vampires! Three astronauts are tasked with the ultimate prison-break: a vampire penitentiary orbiting the sun.

• DCS TWAS THE MITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS #1 - AKA The DC Christmas Special, with a sackful of festive tales starring Batmite, Batmwoman, Harley Quinn and more! Not sure what else to tell you, really. You know the score: big squarebound thing; bunch of different creators including Natalie Abrams, Michael W. Conrad, Josh Trujillo, Ethan Sacks, Zipporah Smith, Rob Levin, Sholly Fisch, Jillian Grant, Marcus Smith, Gavin Guidry, Andrew Drilon, Soo Lee and Juan Bobillo; probably an appearance by Santa.

• DAREDEVIL GANG WAR #1 - Erica Schultz & Sergio Fernandez Dávila (and Spider-Man) bring Elektra Natchios into the Gang War as she faces down a new gang called The Heat. Expect four issues of sai-wielding action!

• SPIDER-GWEN SMASH #1 - Gwen Stacy is back for a new mini courtesy of Melissa Flores & Enid Balam. We're leaning into the rock this time as the Mary Janes go on tour in support of one of the world's biggest bands. But when the lead singer of that band is targeted in an attempted hit, Gwen throws down the drumsticks and throws on the spandex!

• TITANS BEST WORLD TOUR GOTHAM #1 - For those curious about what's going down with the shapeshifting spores in Gotham, good news! This anthology features stories from the likes of Chip Zdarsky and Grace Ellis, following the denizens of the DCU's grimmest city.

• SPACE USAGI DEATH & HONOR #1 - Well, I for one was a little disappointed by the recent "Space Usagi" one-shot. Oh, it was a good issue of course, but it was really a standard Usagi issue with a Space Usagi framing story. But I'll happily take this instead: a coloured version of the classic Space Usagi series. Dip in if you've never tried it!

And that's it! See you next week, all!

Andrew.