Turnaround is bringing back its beloved blog series called “Ask A Bookseller”, where we interview various booksellers across the UK and Europe!
Many people around the world will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on February 14th, but for a “mean little comic shop in the heart of London”, it will be celebrating its 40th anniversary — an impressive feat for any independent business, but even more so for a specialist comic shop.
Gosh! Comics has been a staple of comic culture since it first opened its doors in 1986; whether that’s for hunting down back issues, the latest superhero comic book, a heart wrenching graphic novel, the next up-and-coming small press artist, or collecting some quirky, illustrated art prints to feature in your home. Turnaround has a longstanding relationship with Gosh!, so for the relaunch of this series, we wanted to get in contact with the partners of the business, Joshua Palmano and Andrew Salmond, to ask them how they’re feeling in the lead up to Gosh! Comics’ 40th birthday.
How does it feel for Gosh! Comics to hit the 40th anniversary mark?
JOSH: In short; Old. When we opened, in Great Russell Street, back in ‘86, there was still a void on the next block over, left from the bombing during WW2. A ghastly moment in history that was as distant then as the opening of Gosh! is to the present day.
I signed the lease in October 1985, when I was a month into my 19th year, and Gosh! opened its doors the following February. I’d started the business with a bank loan and was too young and naïve to fully appreciate the financial hill there was to climb. Thankfully I had the zeal of youthful energy, a decent work ethic, and a heap of luck to balance that lack of knowledge.
The business has been on quite a journey since then, with plenty of shifts in the market, and in customers tastes, and we’ve done our best to both ride the wave and enjoy the ride.
We’re still a stand-alone, single entity, but I’m happy with what we’ve achieved in the last four decades, and what we represent in the marketplace.
Can you tell us how the comic book industry has changed since Gosh! first opened?
JOSH: Gosh! threw open its doors with a stock focus predominantly on back issues. The monthly wholesale solicitation for new comics at that time could be listed on four sheets of A4 paper, and Marvel had started its graphic novel line only a few years prior. English language manga was limited to Barefoot Gen (originally published by New Society Publishers, now published by Last Gasp) and a very, very small number of other translated books or stories. Fantagraphics Books had been publishing outstanding comics, such as Love and Rockets for a handful of years, but it was a company still in its infancy. If you wanted to stock up a comic shop at that time, you needed a whole lot of (mainly superhero) back issues.
The industry saw a pivotal shift in 1986, the year we opened, with publications that helped enormously in redefining how a wider UK audience perceived the comics medium. Not only was the collected edition of Art Spiegelman’s Maus (later to win a Pulitzer) released, but both Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore’s Watchmen series arrived in comic shops that year. It’s astonishing to think back on what impact these three publications had on the public acceptance of comics as a respected artform, and how much press attention they garnered.
Towards the end of the 80’s Eclipse comics launched a line of translated manga aimed at the youth market, and as we moved into the early 90’s, more respected publishers of ‘alternative’ comics such as Drawn & Quarterly emerged. The first issue of Joe Sacco’s Palestine was released in 1993, and by then the industry had made a big shift towards that which we are familiar with today.
How does the current comic book industry keep you on your toes?
ANDREW: Well, since the pandemic there’s scarcely been a moment where it hasn’t. 2020 saw a temporary shut-down of most direct market (comic shop) distribution alongside the first splintering of new comics distribution since the late 90s. Since then it’s been a succession of crises: restricted freight channels; spiralling shipping costs; further distribution breaks; Diamond bankruptcy. It’s been quite the ride! Happily, customers have stuck with us over turbulent times, and the UK branch of Diamond has smoothed a lot of the cracks for those of us on this side of the Atlantic. Book trade distribution has had its own upheavals, of course, but that side of things has been pretty steady in comparison.
What is the one comic book series or graphic novel from the last 40 years you wish you could sell to everyone who walks in your shop? Out of print titles count!
ANDREW: Bit of a trick question! No such thing as one book everyone should read, but rather everyone has one book they should read. Good bookselling is about interpreting a customer’s requests to tailor a recommendation to them, allowing your taste and knowledge to inform that decision, but never to define it. If a customer loves eggs but you hate eggs, you should still know that a really good book for egg lovers is “Blow Me Down, I Really Love Eggs”, even though you can’t stand to look at it. I’d sell everyone From Hell (Knockabout), but everyone definitely doesn’t need to read From Hell. Even if they should.
Do you have a favourite publisher from over the years? If so, why are they your favourite?
JOSH: There are many publishers who I have a huge amount of respect for, but Fantagraphics holds a special place in my heart. I became aware of their publication, Love and Rockets in the early 80’s as I approached my mid-teens, and the book captivated me. I’d spent a childhood immersed in War Picture Library comics, graduating on to American superhero books. For me, Love and Rockets arrived as childhood departed. I thought it was SO cool, and for a number of years, Jaime’s characters defined my dress sense.
A decade on, when my politics were more defined, Fantagraphics published Joe Sacco’s Palestine, and persevered in releasing the full nine issue series, despite declining orders. For bringing these two creations to the market, and for many other fine books, Fanta has earned my admiration.
Turnaround has a long history of distributing comics to Gosh, what’s been your favourite title/series of ours and why?
ANDREW: Josh would certainly give Love and Rockets a shout here, but for my part I would return to a previous question and say From Hell. Alan Moore’s reputation as one of comics’ most ground-breaking writers is well-documented, but I believe From Hell, his collaboration with artist Eddie Campbell, is his masterpiece. A treatise on class, power, history and magic through the lens of the Ripper murders, illustrated in a beautiful, scratchy black and white that brilliantly evokes the era.
What’s a comic series/graphic novel you’re excited to sell to customers in 2026?
ANDREW: I’m excited for the return of Vertigo, DC’s creator-led mature readers imprint. Unlike previous attempts to resurrect it, they have dispensed with the old staples and the Sandman-adjacent. Instead the initial offerings are an interesting mix of experiments where creators have obviously been given freedom to follow their instincts. It’s the kind of environment that has given us the likes of 100 Bullets, Preacher, The Invisibles, Scalped, and more. It’s that possibility that excites me: the idea that another classic might be brewing.
What kind of comics would you like to see more of, and what kind do you wish publishers would stop publishing?
ANDREW: If there’s readers for it, I’m happy to see it. Gatekeeping and elitism have never helped the industry and never will. Gosh! has on occasion been coloured with a kind of elitist brush, but the fact is if you’re reading something and enjoying it, then it’s doing something right, even if I can’t see it, and we’ll stock it with open arms. If I must choose something, let’s say speculation-breeding variant covers where investment is the motivation over enjoyment. But heck, even variant covers are fine by me if it’s just about people wanting to have the choice.
What’s the weirdest question you’ve ever been asked by a customer at work?
ANDREW: Being based in the West End is a recipe for odd happenings, and we’ve certainly had our fair share over the years. From punch-ups happening outside the window as a backdrop to a Jim Broadbent talk, to a brothel madam shouting at us for putting customers off with an Alan Moore signing queue that started at 7am (“We normally have all our expenses covered by nine!”) Soho is not your ordinary work environment, and for that matter neither was Bloomsbury before it. Less like a box of chocolates and more like a lucky dip run by a ragged, hungover Santa Claus: you never know what you’re going to get.
And finally… how is Gosh! Comics intending to celebrate its 40th anniversary?
ANDREW: We have plans extending throughout the year, beginning with our co-publication (with Knockabout) of Silent Pictures, the final work by the legendary Kevin O’Neill. We’ve also begun a monthly programme of print releases, beginning with Alessandra Criseo’s depiction of Fletcher Hanks’ classic 1940s “hero” Fantomah (as seen in the superb Fantagraphics collection Turn Loose Our Death Rays And Kill Them All). But we’re not stopping there: the year ahead holds more publications and events intended to celebrate having gone the distance for 40 years, and signal out direction for the next… well, maybe not 40, but let’s see how we go!
You can follow Gosh! Comics on Instagram and Bluesky for more updates on its 40th anniversary.
If you are a bookseller and would like to answer some of our questions, please contact us or get in touch with your sales rep!
