The Gosh! Authority 27.11.24

Hello!

Not one, but two great events happening this Saturday! First up, from 1-2pm, we'll have a bumper crop of 2000AD contributors here to sign the 2025 2000AD Annual! Jake Lynch, Alex Paknadel, Si Spurrier and Phil Winslade will be in-store to sign your copies, and we'll also have a very limited number of the 2000AD webshop exclusive Brian Bolland cover available on the day! Details here.

And then from 2-3pm we'll have Luke Pearson here signing copies of the latest Hilda graphic novel, Hilda & Twig Hide From the Rain! A perfect Christmas present for any young comics fan in your life (or any grown up one, for that matter). Details here.

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #1 - The return of the Justice League after nearly three years without them! Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman (and Mark Waid and Dan Mora) have reformed the League, forming a broad coalition of heroes that can be brought to bear on the world's super-problems as best fits their abilities. It is basically the Justice League Unlimited cartoon concept writ large on the DCU, which was a great idea then and is a great idea now. Expect to see your favourite heroes, your least favourite heroes (who you'll come to love after an arc which showcases how good they were all along), and your "I forgot they even existed" heroes all in one book!

• BLACK CANARY: BEST OF THE BEST #1 - Tom King is at it again: grab an excellent artist and a fan-favourite character and spin an out-of-continuity story which gives them an excellent self-contained showcase. And maybe throw in a few storytelling tips of the hat to Watchmen. I'm a sucker for it, and I'm also a sucker for Ryan Sook, who is the excellent artist in question here. The 6-issue mini is a look at what makes Dinah Lance tick, all framed by a fight with her mentor Lady Shiva to determine who is the greater martial artist.

• 2000AD ANNUAL 2025 HC - The return of the 2000AD annual! 112 pages of Christmas stocking-ready thrillpower, mixing new strips with some evergreen classics. Expect the likes of John Wagner, Alan Grant, Ian Gibson, Mike McMahon, Gerry Finley-Day, Chris Condon, Si Spurrier , Alex Paknadel, Dan Abnett, Fernando Blanco, Jake Lynch, Hayden Sherman and Phil Winslade. And don't miss our signing!

• WEST COAST AVENGERS #1 - The return of the West Coast Avengers! Man, everyone is returning this week. Gerry Duggan and Danny Kim form a new team consisting of Iron Man, War Machine, Spider-Woman, Firestar and...err...Ultron? We'll see how long that lasts, but at least if they do implode, they can do it in the sunshine!

• WELCOME TO THE MAYNARD #1 - James Robinson returns! Along with J. Bone, who's no slouch in his own right. This looks like a good hit of fun, as new hotel bellhop Pip deals with the unusual inhabitants of the Maynard Hotel. You see, the Maynard's guests are all of the magical inclination, and so are inclined towards some seriously kooky (and sometimes villainous) behaviour. Getting some serious Leave It To Chance vibes off this, and that's no bad thing.

• PRINTOPIA HC - A brand new graphic novel from the one and only Bob Fingerman, who, yes, returns! Looks like Minimum Wage with a dollop of acid as a group of NYC creatives "unleash their creativity on the world". Quite literally, by the look of it. Knowing Fingerman, often overlooked as one of the funniest cartoonists of the 90s scene, it'll be a mix of sharp, shameless character study married to a healthy dose of satire.

• SIX TREASURES OF SPIRAL COMICS FORMED UNDER PRESSURE SC - And speaking of often overlooked creators, Matt Madden returns for a new collection of experimental shorts. One of the most influential educators in the field of comics, Madden, let's face it, is just showing off with this series of six shorts that are each produced under a strict condition: a visual palindrome, for example, or a haikyu structure. Clever sausage, isn't he?  

• SERPENT IN THE GARDEN: ED GREY AND THE LAST BATTLE FOR ENGLAND #1 - The return of Edward Grey! Summoned from his rest by the Queen of the last realm on Earth to defend his precious England, Ed Grey fights one last battle in this 3-issue mini by Mike Mignola and Ben Stenbeck.

• BATMAN SANTA CLAUS: SILENT KNIGHT RETURNS #1 - Santa Klaus returns! Batman returns! Writer Jeff Parker returns! Not artists Lukas Ketner and Michele Bandini, though, they're new for this 5-issue weekly festive punch-up. 

And that's that!

Andrew.