The Gosh! Authority 30.03.22

Hi folks, we were deeply saddened to hear that our old colleague Steven Walsh passed away last Wednesday. Steve had been battling terminal cancer for the past year or so with his typical mix of humour and down to earth resolve, so we knew this was coming, but nevertheless it's a sad loss.

Steve worked with us from early 2011, joining shortly before our move to Berwick St. Once we arrived here, he quickly established himself as the face of the store, staffing the till on a permanent basis, where his knowledge, enthusiasm and warm, welcoming nature quickly established him as a favourite with customers. He worked tirelessly to help build not just one, but several communities in the London comics scene, and nurtured and encouraged new talent as a buyer for the small press. Indeed, in the many beautiful remembrances of him that have been shared over the past week, more than one creator has mentioned that they wouldn't have perservered with comics if it hadn't been for Steve's encouragement. As a bookseller he was second to none, with a natural gift for customer service and an infectious passion for the product. Indeed, shortly before he left he made the shortlist for Individual Bookseller of the Year at the British Book Awards. He left us in September 2017, moving to Ireland in order to spend more time with his family, and I know those years since were very happy ones for him.

The outpouring of love on social media last week is more fitting an obituary than I could ever give here, and I encourage those of you who knew him to seek those words out, as they speak so much to the quality of Steve's character. He was a wonderful colleague and friend, and we will miss him very much. His funeral service will be held on Tuesday the 29th March, and his family have requested in lieu of flowers a donation to the Mayo Hospice (click this link). 

We received our copies of the charity printing of JLA Avengers last week, and have two copies to raffle off. While the main thrust of the printing was to fund the Hero Initiative (and some portion of the cost of the book still will), we have decided to donate proceeds of this raffle to a charity closer to home: all funds raised will be donated to Centrepoint, the youth homelessness charity. We've decided on a raffle over an auction simply because it gives everyone a chance to win a copy, even if they can only afford the price of a single ticket. This will be run as an online raffle for just £3 per ticket, and you can enter by clicking on this link. The raffle will run through to midday on Friday the 8th April. Good luck! 

Okay, let's talk some comics, shall we?

HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK

• IMMORTAL X-MEN #1 - The new era of X-books begins here with its biggest launch: Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck's Immortal X-Men. The book takes us behind the scenes of the Quiet Council, Krakoa's ruling body. In the wake of Inferno, the Trial of Magneto and the X Lives and Deaths of Wolverine, the council has had something of a shake-up. In this new era of mutantdom, factionism and political maneuverings are the order of the day. The mutant political thriller we didn't know we wanted!

• HULK GRAND DESIGN MONSTER #1 - Jim Rugg follows fellow Cartoonist Kayfabe contributors Ed Piskor and Tom Scioli down the Grand Design path, recapping the history of ol' Jade Jaws from his earliest days over the course of two oversized issues. These trips back through Marvel history are a fun, engaging read, with the artist's own interpretation of events making for a lively, fresh read.

• ASTRO CITY THAT WAS THEN SPECIAL - Astro City returns with a one-shot that acts as a perfect jumping-on point for new readers, and sets up a mystery for the next story arc. It's been nearly 4 years since the last issue of Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson's superhero saga, and I, for one, am really looking forward to digging back in (especially given the Metrobook collection that shipped last week). This issue takes us back to 1969 as a group of teen sidekicks hit the road looking for answers to questions that are so myserious I can't get a decent handle on what they are from solicitation materials. Anyway: new Astro City! Top of my personal reading pile this week. 

• OROCHI HC - A lovely new hardcover edition of legendary horror mangaka Kuzuo Umezz's tales of a mysterious young woman who connects tales of murder and madness as she drifts into people's lives as they fall apart. Though she tries to do good, she often only ends up making things worse in these 9 short stories that were a massive influence on the likes of Junji Ito. While it's not quite up to his masterwork Drifting Classroom, there's plenty to enjoy here even if you don't think of manga as being your thing.

• BATMAN BEYOND THE WHITE KNIGHT #1 - Sean Murphy returns to his White Knight world in this new mini as a new Batman stalks the streets, and Bruce Wayne works from behind bars to end the Bat-mantle once and for all, with assistance of Jason Todd. Murphy is on art duties (with Dave Stewart colors), so expect the kind of luch, dynamic visuals the White Knight titles are known for.

• X-MEN UNLIMITED LATITUDE #1 - Originally serialized online, this Wolverine tale by Jonathan Hickman and Declan Shalvey is in print at last. After three mutants are kidnapped in an assualt on the S.W.O.R.D. station, Wolvie embarks on a rescue mission in a story that I will absolutely take as one last drink at the Hickman X-well.

• SHADOW WAR ALPHA #1 - The kick-off to a Batman/Robin/Deathstroke Inc crossover that sees Deathstroke on the run from the League of Shadows following the assasination of Ra's al Ghul. Batman & Robin are also on the case, and must capture Slade before the League ends him. Joshua Williamson and Viktor Bogdanovic kick things off.

• ALICE IN BORDERLAND VOL 01 - The manga that inspired the hit show (as seen on Netflix) comes to print in English at last! Teen slacker Ryohei is transported to a parallel Earth, where those unfortunate enough to have been selected must take part in a series of twisted games in order to survive. I know it sounds a bit Squid Game, but there enough other stuff going on here to make it worth your while!

And that's it for this week. See you next time!

Andrew.