El Torres did that exorcism at the Vatican comic, I think. It was a hoot.
El Torres is a beast when it comes to horror @davidbitterbaum is talking about Roman Ritual which was fantastic, he also did Suicide Forest and others.
Anybody able to find the T.A.M.A 1 cover B still for sale?
FOC Picks for 7/6/25
Hey everyone.
Going to make this short this week (again). Just when I think I have a long weekend, everything starts to break down in my house and my free time evaporates. But still found some time to put together a few books of note this week. No outright picks or drek. Just some nice covers and interesting reads.
Happy 4th to my American friends, and I hope everyone had a great weekend!
JSC OVERLOAD
If you’re a die-hard JSC fan, this is going to hurt your wallet. But not all these covers release the same week, so at least that might help ease the pain on the bank account.Hellverine still hasn’t been published that I could tell. I’ll keep an eye out and update later if it shows up.
REPRINTS
Superman #1 has been given the facsimile treatment before, as well as foil. But I believe this rendition is like the recent Detective #27 (Batman Day) and Action #1 (Superman Day) which were actually Golden Age size. At least I hope it is.
Beach Head’s first appearance is in the Marvel series #47. But for those who are fans of the character this is a cool cover.
NEW SERIES
Your phone buzzes. A message awaits. Someone you love - your spouse, your parents, your child - is in danger. And the only way to save them is to kill. Not only that, but you need to livestream it so everyone can see what you’ve done. He’s known as the Friendship Killer and this is his twisted game. But when one of his victims decides to fight back and expose the killer, it leads him into the dark underbelly of the tech industry and social media in this near-future illustrated prose thriller from acclaimed novelist Peter Tieryas (Mecha Samurai Empire) and visionary artist Mike Choi (Moths, U & I).Interesting plot. It’s also a one shot, which makes it easier to take a chance on.
New York Times bestselling writer and master of the macabre, Mike Carey (LUCIFER, X-MEN) makes his long-awaited return to comic books, combining his powers with groundbreaking fine art illustrator Jonathan Wayshak (SPAWN: VIOLATOR) to deliver a nightmarish new vision for the horror genre. What lurking evil lies hidden at the end of the cul-de-sac? Nestled in a tucked-away corner of sleepy suburbia, the Kingsley, Herriman and Ortega families seemed like any other close-knit neighbors. So nothing seems amiss when Mrs. Kingsley piles all the neighborhood kids into the family RV for their annual summer camp-out. But in the dark of the woods, she unleashes a grisly, bloodcurdling display, revealing their families’ shocking secret—their parents are vampires and they’re eager to pass on their legacy. Now the children must choose—to join them and revel in their awesome dark powers or live out their lives as mortals. But when they return home, they confront a gruesome scene—their parents dead on the floor, brutally murdered by an elite squad of vampire hunters. And the hunters? They’re looking to finish the job. Now the kids are on the run, chased by vampire hunters, the police, and even a shadowy cabal of their fellow vampires as they search for answers to unlock the secret of what they really are before their fates are sealed forever.This is from Bad Idea. So I’m expecting some type of drama or word surrounding the release.
An all-new interpretation of Tatsuo Yoshida’s classic manga/anime, MachGoGoGo, known to Western audiences as Speed Racer! Speed Racer lives for the thrill of the race, but on the underground circuit, the rules are anything goes. Dodging bullets, explosions, and dirty tricks, he’s got one goal: to prove he’s the best. But when a dangerous syndicate targets his family, Speed’s greatest challenge won’t be on the track…it’ll be on the streets. With the police closing in and a masked racer lurking in the shadows, Speed is about to learn that some races can’t be won with horsepower alone. Award-winning writer DAVID PEPOSE (Space Ghost, Captain Planet, Savage Avengers) and superstar artist DAVIDE TINTO (Ultraman: The Mystery of the Ultraseven, Star Wars: Bounty Hunters) co-pilot an action-packed reboot of the classic franchise. Start your engines!Go Speed Racer! Go Speed Racer! Go Speed Racer! Goooooooo!
Speed Racer returns!! Can’t help but have that theme get stuck in my head from the 80s cartoon. And now it’s stuck in yours!!! Mwaaaa hahahahaha!!!
Parting Thoughts
Yup. That’s pretty much it. Laters!Sorry, would have posted this sooner, but was waiting for Marvel to release more of the JSC covers. JSC doesn’t have any on his instagram either…just keeps posting Rogue covers…guy is obsessed with Rogue.
Dirty D’s FOC - 7/13/25
Ok, CHU Believers. It’s time again for your favorite article of the week! And boy we have a doozey this week!
More like a doozey of a dud. If it wasn’t for J. Scott Campbell, I may have taken an even longer VaCa from this article. But hey, it’s all about JSC this summer any his bonanza of variant covers on all Marvel books, it seems. So let’s start with those and get them out of the way…
JSC OVERLOAD
Matt Murdock doing his best “Stupid Sexy Flanders” impression.
I don’t know about everyone else, but Marvel needs to rethink this whole JSC cover blast if they’re not going to have these covers ready at FOC. So annoying.
Yup…so, so annoying…
So, so, so very annoying…
Magik #8
Wow! Another cover! Everything’s comining up Milhouse now!
Aaaaaaaand we’re back.
Look at that. The Thor, who was immortal, dies…and now there’s a new volume, starting with a #1! Man, that Marvel is slick!
And there you have it. 8 JSC covers, and only 2 of them have art released at FOC. Great job there, Marvel/JSC.
SPEAR ME
Thundercats #17 (Spears Variants)There are blue, green, red variants, plus foils and virgins and other combinations Dynamite is known for. Take your pick.
JUST THE FAX
Batman: Harley Quinn Facsimile Edition (Foil Variant)Fan Expo 2019 Had a Virgin Foil exclusive of this cover. Now you can get it with the trade dress (which I prefer). Hopefully the UPC is on the back.
What’s most interesting is the original comic was $6, and the regular facsimile is $5. So I assume it’s not going to be “deluxe format”.
Detective Comics #880 Facsimile Edition (Foil Variant)
What cracks me up about this one is that there’s a blank variant…isn’t this facsimile all about the cover?? I guess someone could have either Jock or another artist draw an homage to this cover on the blank cover…
And even more bizzare is a Superpowers “toy” variant…and it’s of batman, not the Joker…Does DC know what makes this book worthy of a facsimile?
NEW CHARACTERS
Ultimates #15THE MONK, THE DRAGON AND THE FIST: SHANG-CHI! The Ultimates return to the site of their untimely deaths at the hands of the Hulk and encounter a young boy who has been starting his own insurgency!Ultimate Shang-chi is coming.
IND SPOTLIGHT
Fortress #1A soldier wakes with his bionic limbs missing and finds that he’s the target of a manhunt. Fortress #1 is the beginning of a new, ongoing action sci-fi series self-published by Joel van der Knaap. Genre mayhem at it’s finest!$8 price tag may scare aware some retailers. If it’s a hit, may be hard to find a copy. Self-published is interesting.
Orla #1 (of 5)
Love is a monster. Orla Bard is an antique restorer, romance novel enjoyer and keen birder. She also believes in true love, continuing to navigate Seattle’s singles scene despite repeated disappointment. But Orla has a secret. She is afflicted with The Ick, a man-eating monstrous entity dwelling inside her, who violently emerges whenever she gets too angry or afraid. Unable to rid herself of this curse, Orla uses The Ick to save other women by removing the scummiest men from the dating pool…permanently. Hearts (and bodies) will be broken in this offbeat romcom/creature-feature mashup!There’s probably a lot of comic book nerds that give ladies the Ick…
Romanis Magicae #1 (of 4)
In the slums and gutters of ancient Rome a broken ex legionary named Marcus wanders in a drunken stupor, haunted by the shame of loss and failure of duty. Suddenly, he stumbles across a young girl being chased by strange, hooded demons, and in his attempt to help he is plunged into a deadly conspiracy that threatens to destroy the Empire. Step into a vision of ancient Rome that moves away from the temples of marble and clean white togas and into the dirty underbelly of one of history’s greatest empires. Combining magic, myth, violence, and intrigue into a story that is equal parts HELLBOY, BPRD, and a little bit of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.Cool cover. May be interesting for those history buffs of the Roman Empire.
Drek of the Week
Batman #1 (Blind Bag Variant)Fans will find inside randomly inserted foil variants featuring superstar artists such as ARTGERM, JIM LEE, and more!!!Ooooooohh. So close, DC. But a swing and a miss, for sure. Battle Beasts did it right. But some more scarce variants in, mixed with some foil covers, but charge the same price as the regular copies.
Foils are more expensive I get that…but there really is no reasonable incentive here to spend double the regular cover. It’s random, but the same art as the regular covers. There’s a possibility of getting a 1:500 or 1:1000 incentive variant, but you’d have to think that is going to be pretty rare…unless they’re not truly 1:500 and 1:1000 ratios.
These are on FOC early because it must take longer to wrap a plastic bag around them…I’m sticking with Cover A when it comes out. Maybe grab one of these for the fun and mystery of it, but don’t go crazy at $10 each.
“Blind as a Bat”…geesh. Robbing your customer’s blind, is more like it.
Do better next time, DC.
now…if there were JSC Batgirl, Poison Ivy or Harley variants…
Parting Thoughts
Not much else to report this week. Hopefully some of these JSC covers get release…really annoying, but what can you do? See you all next week!So many, “Cover coming soon,” yeesh.
I’m with you on the polybag being expensive and how that is a turn-off.
I’m going to wait for the “Cover coming soon” foil variant…
We were given the worst info ever on that cover
Be really nice if he could get the art out a bit earlier…can tell some of these are dialed in. Umm…how about do a few less perhaps…or spread them out?
(And I’m a fan typically)
They’re all meh. Probably got more orders
Keeping them secret than revealing earlier. Might be part of the strategy.
It’s like intentionally being crappy. Ugh.