The Gosh! Authority 28.08.24

Hello!

Kicking off with some admin this week. Wheee!

- A reminder that due to the bank holiday, new comics will be arriving to go out on the shelves on Wednesday. We're not sure what time they'll get here, and we'll take a bit of time to process them, so don't expect them on the shelves at opening. We generally have them out for lunchtime (touch wood), so best to leave it until then at least. Feel free to give us a call before heading in.

- And in not-so-good news, due to an undisclosed shipping SNAFU there have been allocations and shortages on this week's shipped new comics. So it may well be that you don't see titles you were expecting this week, or we sell out of some things unusually fast. Hopefully it will all even out in the next week or two.

What we're not short on this week is events! This Wednesday evening we have the lovely Luke Healy in store, 6-7pm, to sign copies of Self Esteem and the End of the World. Luke had to bow out of our original launch event for this due to illness, so we're thrilled to have him at last! Details here.

And then on Saturday, 1-2pm, we've got a brilliant line-up of cartoonists in the form of Patrick Keck, Josh Simmons & Scott Travis, whose work with Mansion Press and Fantagraphics are firm faves of ours. It's a rare opportunity to catch these guys on our shores, so get on it! Details here.

"But Andrew, this is all well and good for my Saturday afternoon, but what the hell am I supposed to do with Saturday evening? Specifically between the hours of 7pm and 9pm?" Hey, no problem, because you'll be coming along to the 10th Anniversary celebration of the mighty Broken Frontier's "Six Creators to Watch" initiative! BF head honcho Andy Oliver will be there, along with nearly 30 former BF6TW recipients! Get the details here. 

Phew...let's talk this week's comics!

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• ALIENS VS AVENGERS #1 - I expect many things of an Aliens comic. Movie fan service. Colonists. Colonial marines. Maybe the occasional Predator. What I don't expect is an A-list team like Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic. Or the Avengers for the matter. But here we are, and I for one am perfectly okay with it. Also, as a completely out of continuity story, we can assume all gloves are off with regards to who might meet a sticky end. Oh! And does an alien gestating inside a superhero create a super-xenomorph? Anything goes (pending Disney IP legal approval)!

• ARCHIE THE DECISION #1 - I expect many things of an Archie comic. Face-palming jokes. Romantic triangles. Jughead binging burgers. What I don't expect is Tom King & Dan Parent! Well...okay, maybe I do expect Dan Parent. The two have been united to tell the story we've all been waiting for (since the last time they did this): who will Archie choose, Betty or Veronica?

• ALL NEW COLLECTORS EDITION SUPERMAN VS MUHAMMAD ALI FACSIMILE EDITION - Speaking of thing people probably didn't expect, an oversized one-shot created by Denny O'Neill and Neal Adams where Superman has a punch-up with Muhammad Ali probably wasn't on people's predictions for 1978. But sure enough, that was the content of All New Collector's Edition C-56, a treasury-sized showcase for Adams' art that became an all-time pop culture classic. Now you can relive the prize fight in a full-sized facsimile edition, or even get a little bling with a shiny foil cover variant!

• LIFE #1 - Do you prefer prison break stories or heist stories? Brian Azzarello, Stephanie Phillips and Daniel Zezelj have got you covered with a bit of both. Each issue of Life is a flip-book, with the story told from two different perspectives: a group of thieves looking to get a score from what they think is an abandoned mine; and a group of genetically altered, long-lived prisoners who have been forgotten by those who imprisoned them centuries ago and see this new arrival as a chance for escape.

• DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #1 - Announced as Rob Liefeld's retirement from the character, this mini is your last chance to get some new Deadpool from the man who knows him best. And what better way to go out than a quick team-up tour through some of his favourite Marvel characters: Major X (of course), Hulk, Wolverine, and CRYSTAR THE CRYSTAL WARRIOR! I don't know about you, but big fan of Crystar here. Or at least I was back in 1983! I'm sure it holds up just fine...

• CONVERT #1 - A new book from John Arcudi is always worth your attention, teaming up here with artist Savannah Finley. A starship crashes on an unknown world, the only survivor its science officer. With supplies dwindling and his mind unravelling, he finds that perhaps he's not as alone on the planet as he initially thought.

• MARVEL 85TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 - Take a tour back through Marvel history as seen from the far-distant future in a special anniversary one-shot. This has the likes of Alan Davis, Steve Skroce, Christopher Priest, Ryan North, and Ms Marvel herself, Iman Vellani!

• ZERO HOUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 - Ron Marz and Dan Jurgens revisit the classic Zero Hour event with this new one-shot epilogue featuring art from Paul Pelletier, Tom Grummett, Norm Rapmund, Jerry Ordway, Howard Porter, Kelley Jones, Brett Breeding & Darryl Banks.

• PHASES OF THE MOON KNIGHT #1 - It's a tour back through the Moon Knights of old! This issue we get a Marc Spector story, as well as a Moon Knight from the Crusades. Erica Schultz, Manuel Garcia, Benjamin Percy and Rod Reis handle the duties on this issue.

• EYE LIE POPEYE #1 - You may have spotted this curiousity in the preview they did for Free Comic Book Day. The elevator pitch? Popeye...but manga! It's actually a remarkably good fit, as the muscular action of Popeye really does suit the kinetic storytelling of manga. As we learn the secret of Popeye's lost eye, the tales of the spinach-eating sailor become something akin to One Piece. That might send both Popeye and manga purists screaming, but I recommend giving it a look. 

• SESAME STREET #1 - Sunny Day, sweepin' the clouds away. On my way to where the air is sweet. Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street? Come and play. Everything's A-OK. Friendly neighbors there, that's where we meet. Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street? Joey Esposito and Austin Baechle can!

• VENOM WAR ZOMBIOTES #1 - So, turns out there are actually some kind of symbiotes slinking about NYC raising the dead as flesh-eating zombies. Because why the hell not? I imagine Cavan Scott and Juan Jose Ryp will make something rather fun of it.

• CHASM CURSE OF KAINE #1 - Steve Foxe and Andrea Broccardo give some love to the clones, as Kaine and Chasm have a little playdate. Man, leave Ben alone! Hasn't the poor guy suffered enough?

And that's it for this week, friends. Until next time!

Andrew.