The Gosh! Authority 18.11.20

Hello!

How's your lockdown going? We're keeping busy behind closed doors with deliveries, mail orders and intense, shredding workouts. It's been a much less stressful affair at the shop this time around, more like slipping into a really awful old jumper and less like being pushed out of a plane at 30,000 feet. Plenty to do though, so I'm running a little behind with our Best of 2020 list, though I'm hoping to get it announced later this week.

We're also in the works of getting on board with uk.bookshop.org, the new independent bookshop initiative that has been launched to help small stores in the face of the likes of Amazon as so many of us take the bulk of our shopping online. More news on that soon. Not that it will replace our own online store of course, which you are welcome to do the vast majority of your Christmas shopping on. No, please, don't let me stop you.

And lastly, just a reminder that we are able to mail out your standing order on request, or we can arrange click and collect if you're able to travel safely into town. For the latter, we've fired up the iZettle (sanitized between each use), so we can take card payments at the door, or can invoice you in advance to reduce contact even further. Just email or call us in advance to give us an eta, and we'll get everything ready  for you. We're generally here Monday - Friday, 9.30am - 5pm (though may occasionally have to finish a little early due to family commitments).

(Did I say workouts? I meant snacking.)

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT #1 - The long-out-of-print/barely-ever-in-print adaptation (and expansion) of Ana Lily Amirpour's remarkable debut film is back at last! Written by Amirpour with art by Michael DeWeese, the comics not only tells the central tale of the "first Iranian vampire Western" (as Amirpour puts it), but also delves more into the backstory of the titular girl. Don't snooze on this one, as who knows how long it will be available.
  

• SNEEZE GN - A beautiful collection of short pieces by Naoki Urasawa, author of Pluto, 20th Century Boys, Monster and other such stone cold manga classics. It's an eclectic mix of stories, from funny animals to reflections on musical performances to sci-fi antics, and I think (correct me if I'm wrong) it's the first English-language collection of Uarasawa shorts!
  

• MIGHTY WORLD OF MCCREA SC - Fresh from Kickstarter, it's the first in an intended 4-volume library of work spanning John McCrea's 30 year career. Each volume will have a selection of work from across three decades, with comics pieces that are out of print, have never been collected, and in some cases have never even been seen! This volume features collaborations with Phil Hester, Nick Abadzis, Gerry Duggan and McCrea's very first work with some fresh-faced kid named Garth Ennis.
  

• PLUNGE HC - The undisputed highlight of the Hill House line of comics spearheaded by Joe Hill (though we also loved Dollhouse Family and Basketful of Heads), elevated in no small part by the amazing work of Stuart Immonen. A salvage crew discover the crew of a ship that went missing 40 years ago, eyeless and apparently un-aged. But older, deeper horrors await them in the depths of the arctic. It's Hill's love letter to John Carpenter, and we're on board with that.
  

• BATMAN THREE JOKERS HC - Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok's three issue mini gets fast-tracked to hardcover as we finally learn the secret of the Joker's identities as revealed to Batman by the Mobius chair.
  

• STRONTIUM DOG SEARCH & DESTROY HC STARLORD YEARS - A lovely hardcover chunk of John Wagner & Carlos Ezquerra gold, reprinted with its colour spreads in all their chromatic glory. Look at that cover...argh, so good!
  

• AVENGERS MARVELS SNAPSHOT #1 - Barbara Randall Kesel & Staz Johnson take us back to the Michelinie / Byrne / Perez era of the Avengers. Two emergency workers meet amidst the destruction caused by a battle between the Avengers and a giant robot.
  

• DARK INTERLUDE #1 - The sequel to parodic, post-modern gem Fearscape, by the returning team of Ryan O'Sullivan and Andrea Mutti. We were big fans of Fearscape, so looking forward to seeing what's next!
  

• SEA OF SORROWS #1 (OF 5) - From Rich Douek & Alex Cormack, the team responsible for the excellent Road of Bones, comes a new horror tale. In the aftermath of the Great War, a salvage crew (somebody needs to tell these salvage crews to get another job) attempt to loot gold from a sunken U-boat. But something down in the depths is waiting for them (if they don't kill each other first). Bloody great cover, right?
  

• WIDOWMAKERS RED GUARDIAN & YELENA BELOVA #1 - No doubt releasing now to tie in to the smash hit Black Widow fil...what? Ahh, right.

• WIDOWMAKERS RED GUARDIAN & YELENA BELOVA #1 - For no particular reason, a one-shot starring former Widow Yelena Belova and the Red Guardian, written by Yelena's co-creator Devin Grayson and drawn by Michele Bandini!
  

• BARBALIEN RED PLANET #1 (OF 5) - The always amazing Gabriel Hernández Walta dips his toes into the Black Hammer universe with this flashback tale of Barbalien, co-written by Jeff Lemire and Tate Brombal.

And that's me done. Catch you next time!

Andrew.