The Gosh! Authority 18.10.23

Hello! Another October newsletter, another little hit of pre-code goodness for you all...

This Friday, 7-9pm, sees our old pal Owen D. Pomery here to celebrate the release of his brand new Avery Hill graphic novel, The Hard Switch. It's a beaut of a book, and we'll have an exclusive bookplate for it and all! Get the details here.

Then on Saturday, 1-2pm, we'll have Shazleen Khan in store to sign her YA collaboration with writer Saadia Faruqi, Saving Sunshine! Shazleen just goes from strength to strength, so be sure to check this one out, and why not get a signed copy while you're at it? Details here.

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• MONICA HC - One of the undisputed kings of independent comics, Daniel Clowes, returns with an all-new graphic novel that's been 7 years in the making, and is probably the release highlight of the year. Skimming across genres in a way both knowing and respectful, Clowes tells the story of Monica, a woman trying to find the truth about what happened to her mother. At least that's the elevator pitch: as you might expect, Clowes has a lot more going on, veering from biting satire to creeping dread with the kind of aplomb we're come to expect. Get it! 

• JUSTICE LEAGUE VS GODZILLA VS KONG #1 - Brian Buccellato writes it, Christian Duce draws it, and you probably know already if you're going to buy it. So really, just congrats to whomever at DC managed to get this pushed through the door. The Justice League fighting Godzilla and King Kong? That's the stuff that 70s crossovers were made of, and I'm into it. And if that's not gimmick enough for you, they've even made sound chip variants for the thing (shipping in November!). Truly, we live in a golden age.

• MAN FROM MAYBE #1 - What? Artistic integrity you say? Oh fine, how about this: Weird Work collaborators Jordan Thomas and Shaky Kane reteam for this post-apocalyptic western. Needless to say, it's going to be weird, psychedelic, unlike anything else you're reading, and all presented with the crisp, clean line that only the legend that is Shaky Kane can bring.

• HACK SLASH BACK TO SCHOOL #1 - I'm not going to lie: Hack/Slash, Tim Seeley's long-running meta-horror, has never really done much for us. A clever, ahead-of-it's-time title, the continuing saga of Cassie Hack and her hulking sidekick Vlad hunting down undead killers has long ago settled into a pattern of a couple of copies for the shelf and that's it. So why is it here? Well, because Seeley has enlisted none other than Eisner award winner Zoe Thorogood to write and draw (and letter and colour) a mini set in Cassie and Vlad's earliest days. Apparently a fan of the series in her younger years, Thorogood pitched the idea to Seeley. Lucky us. Looking forward to see what she does with this kind of genre material!

• SUBGENRE #1 - A new mind-bending sci-fi thriller from Matt Kindt, joined by artist Wilfredo Torres. A man tries to solve a crime while split between two very real-seeming lives: one a cyberpunk private detective, the other a barbarian in a fantasy wilderness. Can he unify these lives in order to solve a triple murder? Maybe, probably? I dunno, anything can happen in these Kindt books!

• JAY GARRICK FLASH #1 - It's a family reunion as Jay Garrick finds his long-lost daughter, previously thought to be lost in time. But can he get back into the groove of raising a teenage daughter? Much-loved Flash writer Jeremy Adams gets to work some of that Flash family magic that made his run on the main title so much fun, along with artist Diego Olortegui.

• SPINE-TINGLING SPIDER-MAN #1 - The popular digital series gets a print follow-up with this mini-series, retaining the creative crew of Saladin Ahmed and Juan Ferreyra. Billed as the "scariest Spider-Man story ever", it made me wonder what that really is. I guess Kraven's Last Hunt still qualifies as it was so damn unexpected. Any thoughts? Hell, maybe it will be Spine-Tingling Spider-Man!

• HEADLESS HORSEMAN HALLOWEEN ANNUAL #1 - Dark Horse roll out their spooky season anthology for the year, with stories by Angela Slatter, Valeria Burzo, Lukas Ketner, Phillip Sevy, Olivia Stephens, Tyler Crook and "Oh, it's THAT guy" actor of his generation, David Dastmalchian (who already has comics crted with his Count Crowley series).

• SENSATIONAL SHE-HULK #1 - Rainbow Rowell relaunches her She-Hulk run with artist Andrés Genolet and an all-new, all-nostalgic adjective!

• CRYPT OF SHADOWS #1 - Marvel gets in on the Halloween anthology with this one-shot featuring shorts from the likes of Al Ewing, Declan Shalvey, Steve Orlando and more!

And that's it for this week, pals!

Andrew.