It is a slushy wet Sunday where I am…Super Bowl is over (as of the first quarter…sorry (not sorry) Mahomes fans and Swifties). March Madness and spring training is still a few weeks out…not much incentive to go out, so that just means spending a little time going through what’s on FOC this week.
This week is really reprint/fax heavy. I won’t hit them all, but pick out the ones I feel are worth mentioning and why. Otherwise it’s covers and a few stories this week. Pick of the week shouldn’t surprise anyone who follows the CHU forums, but we might see our first Drek pick in a long while…
COVERS
Spawn #362 (Jeff Monk Variant)
No one really talks about Jeff Monk’s work. But every so often one of his covers just subtly separates itself from the pack. That’s this week’s Spawn book. And for $2.99, how can you pass a good cover up. There is also a B&W virgin variant (well…it has green eyes) which is just as good. I personally prefer trade dress, however I see the B&W as a great book for getting a signature (i suggest gold or red pen…unless you can match the green eyes…that would be killer!).
Spawn #362 (Jeff Monk Virgin Variant)
For $2.99…why not grab both?! These are a tie for Dirty D’s cover of the week!!!
SPOILER ALERT
Transformers #18 (Cover F - Johnson & Spicer Variant)
Just about every cover for TF 18 has “spoiler” associated with it…but only one seems to spoil anything…and it’s no longer spoiled because the character debuted in issue #17. But of all these covers, this one is the one worth grabbing as it’s the first cover for Shredhead. I’m guessing the name is a nod to Death’s Head, who also debuted in Transformers UK comic magazine issue #113.
Anyway, here’s a quick background which ties into a another pick later on here…
Cliffjumper, left behind on Cybertron, meets up with the ragtag Autobot resistance, and is carrying the sparks from his fallen clan. There is enough left over to create an entirely new Transformer to join the Autobot ranks. And wants to take them to the Well of Sparks, a place where new Transformers are born. They fight their way behind enemy lines to the Well, and when the Well requests a secondary form, Cliffjumper provides the wreckage of human ally Carly’s damaged van. The Well of Sparks then creates a new Transformer from these pieces, and as
he emerges through the smoke proclaimed his name as Shredhead.
Anyway, if you want to know more, I suggest checking out the Screen Rant article. Very few Transformers 1st appearances command a premium, but this could be a sleeper hit down the road given this series has been popular with the fans so far.
NETEASE VARIANTS
Here’s this week’s Marvel Rivals variants.
Avengers #24 (Netease Marvel Rivals Variant)
One World Under Doom #2 (of 9) (Netease Marvel Rivals Variant)
Psylocke #5 (Netease Marvel Rivals Variant)
JUST THE FAX
Batman Adventures #12 (Facsimile Edition - Foil Variant)
I’m a little surprised this got a foil variant, because there was already a foil of this as a NYCC “exclusive” in 2023…I would be curious how they compare…but I would think this kills the value of that book…
Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 (Facsimile Edition - Foil Variant)
This one has me a bit confused…I thought it was solicited a few weeks ago…but shows up again. It has a foil variant (above) but also a Mondo variant (below) which is like an homage (?) as well as an action figure variant of John Constantine…it is his first appearance so that’s kinda cool. Well, do what you wish with that information…
Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 (Facsimile Edition - Mondo Variant)
Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 (Facsimile Edition - Super Powers Variant)
NOTABLE REPRINTS
Lots of reprints this week. Won’t cover them all, but here are some highlights.
Transformers #12 ((2nd Printing) Cover A - Vortex)
I will never get tired of these Jason Howard covers. This one is the Combaticon Vortex.
Transformers #12 ((2nd Printing) Cover B - Carly & Shredhead Van)
This one is the sneaky one. This is the human/artist Carly and her stylin’ van that becomes the body of the new character Shredhead. If the new transformer becomes a favorite, this cover could be sought after…and because it’s not a classic transformer cover I can see it not being heavily ordered….
Transformers #14 ((2nd Printing) Cover A - Hiss-Scream)
I don’t know what you call this. It’s literally a mashup of a Hiss tank and Starscream. So I’m calling it “Hiss-Scream”…(kinda has a ring to it). But it’s not the first cover of this monstrosity….so don’t get too excited.
Transformers #14 ((2nd Printing) Cover B - Swindle Variant)
Ah, the Combaticon Swindle. The only decepticon who was a bigger backstabber than Starscream himself. One of my favorite characters as he always made plans a bit interesting…
Void Rivals #1 (11h Printing)
Sometimes you just have to LOL…didn’t we just have a 10th printing with 10 variant covers?! Well, it’s still going…and it may not ever end…but I actually do like this cover. Maybe this is it….(yes, we’ll be talking about the 12th printing in about 6 weeks…)
Geiger #11 (2nd Printing)
So nothing in particular about this other than the book seems to be picking up more of a following lately. So some of the reprints could be sought after later. I like this cover better than the 1st print, so grabbing it for the read-n-stash myself.
READS
Geiger #12
Speaking of reading Geiger, this cover was a spoiler cover until issue 10 came out. It features the new Glowing Woman, Ash Arden.
Per Geoff John’s & Gary Frank:
“The response to Ashley Arden’s debut has been phenomenal. We can’t wait to share more of her story in the rest of this arc.”
“This story only gets more explosive with each issue. If you thought #10 and #11 were big, it’s just the beginning.”
Batman and Robin #19
A heart-to-heart between Damian and Jason Todd, and Jason’s subsequent demystifying of what it means to be Robin, has left the son of Batman questioning his place and his future. Now, with Memento close to delivering a killing blow on Batman, the Dark Knight needs his son more than ever…but will Robin answer the call?
Love the Javier Fernandez covers in this arc, featuring Memento. Also curious on Jason’s take on what being Robin means…Damian has always been on that slippery slope like his predecessor…
NEW ONES
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe III #1 (April Pool’s Day “Blank” Variant)
THE TRILOGY CONCLUDES! First, Deadpool killed every hero in the Marvel Universe… Then he killed every hero in another Marvel Universe… This time he’s going after the worst of the worst, a whole Multiverse of Marvel’s greatest gone bad!
This probably is more for the cover…it’d make a cool book to get sketches and signatures on. Not your typical blank variant.
PICK OF THE WEEK
Assorted Crisis Events #1
Time is having a crisis. Mingling in the red-light district, you can find actual cavemen, medieval knights, and cyborg soldiers on leave from World War IV. Victorian debutantes amble their way into cell phone stores, confused and bewildered (what is a data plan?). On their way to work, bleary-eyed commuters get trapped in time-loops, assaulted by alternate-reality versions of themselves, and try to avoid post-apocalyptic wastelands. And LOOK: the 3:15 bus just took a wrong turn… into the neolithic era.
An ongoing, zig-zagging anthology series about the compromised clicks of our clocks-full of one-shot stories both beautiful and ugly, tragic and redemptive, surreal and somehow all too familiar.
Gives off some Ice Cream Man vibes. Looking forward to the wackiness and chaos this one promises. Some buzz around this one…and for those reasons this is the Dirty D Pick-of-the-Week!
Drek of the Week
Geiger #10 (3rd Printing)
The book to get was the second print…maybe the first print cover A. But there is really nothing special here…typical Geiger skull head…it’ll probably have a higher print run than the second print as well. So don’t expect much. Not feeling it here.
Parting thoughts
This is going to be a rough week on my wallet. Enjoy!
