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!
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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…
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
There are blue, green, red variants, plus foils and virgins and other combinations Dynamite is known for. Take your pick.
JUST THE FAX
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”.
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
THE 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
A 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.
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…
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
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.
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I’m going to wait for the “Cover coming soon” foil variant…
We were given the worst info ever on that cover
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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)
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They’re all meh. Probably got more orders
Keeping them secret than revealing earlier. Might be part of the strategy.
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It’s like intentionally being crappy. Ugh.
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Hello CHU Believers! Another week has past since last FOC, and another slew of "coming soon’ JSC covers…but a few more have art released than last week. So that is good. But otherwise a pretty light week.
COVERS
With the Ninja Turtles on trial for a murder they didn’t commit, Casey Jones fighting for his life in a devastating coma, and the city overrun by Foot Patrol thugs, New York has but one hope to turn the tide: April O’Neil?JSC covers get enough attention, so I’m going to highlight a different book this week. I don’t expect this book to catch any heat on the aftermarket, but it’s just a cool cover. April O’Neil as Casey Jones (well, taking on his role). Why not? Dirty D Cover-of-the-Week!
Another Indy cover. I usually don’t highlight Transformers covers unless it’s a new character or one of the Jason Howard 2nd Prints. But this one I liked when I first saw it. Transformers has been a nice surprise run from Image.
JSC OVERLOAD
Ok, now to dive into JSC covers. Maybe some of these will get revealed before Sunday evening…not holding my breadth.
Bring on the Bad Guys: Dormammu #1
READS
The team behind the critically acclaimed Ice Cream Man comic comes to DC to apply its singular storytelling style to none other than the Man of Steel! Four new Kryptonites have been discovered in deep space, and Superman needs to know just what, exactly, they do to him–lest the colorful rocks of his home planet fall into evil hands! With Batman at Superman’s side, this DC Black Label Superman event explores the consequences of each never-before-seen variety of Kryptonite–all in the formal and boundary-pushing fashion that W. Maxwell Prince, Martín Morazzo, and Chris O’Halloran are celebrated for!This could be interesting, and given it’s the team that writes Ice Cream Man, it could have some interesting plot twists. Worth picking up issue #1.
Parting Words
That’s it for this week. Except for JSC it’s been pretty quiet summary so far. Maybe next week will pick up. TTFN!!
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Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 was a good read. Story was interesting and Im looking forward to see where #2 goes.
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Hello Chu Family! It’s time again for another Dirty D FOC picks! And I have to say it’s slim pickings this week! Not much for reads…not a lot of #1. Even JSC has toned it down a bit. Is this like a 5th Wednesday kinda week? Lets get this over with, and maybe next week will be better.
COVERS
Just a cool subtle cover…almost like a “do you see what I see” or “where’s waldo” type cover. I like the creativity. Cover of the week.
JSC OVERLOAD
JSC is 2 for 3 with getting cover art in pre-FOC this week.
Gimmick Covers
Best to pre-orders these books with playing cards to save a little $$.
NEW NUMBER ONES
Frank Castle is BACK. With no memories, a full clip and a thirst for wrathful vengeance, his violent search for answers could only be chronicled in a Red Band series! Bullets will fly, blood will flow, and the citizens and criminals of New York City alike will fear the name THE PUNISHER! From the superstar HELLVERINE creative team of Benjamin Percy and Julius Ohta!He’s back. And he’s got the red band polybag…so Punisher can unleash.
The Justice League has a new spec-ops team so covert, the founders can’t know it exists. And its leader is the only hero who could keep JLR off its radar…because he is the radar. Red Tornado is the heart and mind of the Watchtower–watching, projecting into the future, and his projections point to apocalypse as a direct result of the concentrated power of the JLU. When your Justice League ID card lights up red, Reddy needs you.
INDY SPOTLIGHT
A few Indy #1’s for ya.
The year is 1901 and our heroine Lumen is a precocious 13-year-old with many questions about her life. Why has her father been gone for years? Why must she learn so many languages and fighting techniques and what’s with all the lessons in seafaring? Then an attack on her home by a horde of steam-punk assassins delivers the first glimmer of an answer, when Lumen’s savior reveals himself as her grandfather, the legendary Captain Nemo, one of the greatest characters in Victorian science fiction literature. A brand-new world of steam-punk adventure and thrills is about to open up for Lumen as she connects with the grandfather she never knew while together they take on a cabal of evil masterminds, intent on world domination . . . a world full of heroes and villains from Victorian adventure and fantasy fiction.
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From the creative team of New York Times bestselling author RICK REMENDER (DEADLY CLASS, Uncanny X-Force) and powerhouse DANIEL ACUÑA (Captain America, Black Panther)—the duo behind Marvel’s Uncanny Avengers—comes a savage, full-throttle wartime thriller where survival isn’t given…it’s taken. Milton Shaw is a battle-hardened bomber pilot, flying missions over a war-torn world ruled by a ruthless empire. But when his plane is shot out of the sky, Milton wakes up behind enemy lines—in the smoldering ruins of a city he helped burn. And in less than 24 hours, his own side is dropping the big one to finish the job. Now, injured, unarmed, and being hunted through enemy streets, Milton’s only shot at escape comes from the unlikeliest place: a grieving father and his son—civilians shattered by the same fascist regime that rules this land with an iron claw. Enemies by blood. Allies by circumstance. Together, they’ll have to fight their way out before the bomb drops and erases everything…and everyone. Set in a brutal, fully painted world of anthropomorphic animals—think Inglourious Basterds meets Blacksad—ESCAPE is a gritty, bullet-riddled journey through war’s scorched aftermath. It’s about the violence we inflict, the souls we try to save, and the courage it takes to crawl out of fire.
PICK OF THE WEEK
INARI and WHITE CAT, two super-thieves with everything to lose, are running wild in Brooklyn - and with SPIDER-MAN still reeling from GOD WAR, the battle against these new foes might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. MISTY KNIGHT’s leading the investigation, but she needs an extra hand. Someone with cat burglary experience perhaps? Don’t miss the comic debuts of INARI and New Champion, WHITE CAT!There’s a Momoko first appearance variant of Inari, but I like Cover A for it’s dynamics. White Cat did already have a cover appearances in ASM #36 (New Champions variant). In a light week with no other first appearances of note, going with Miles.
Parting Thoughts.
Yeah. That’s it. Sorry for the meh week. Later!
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Light FOC this week. Everyone can save up for Mark Spears blind bags next week.
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August 3rd, 2025
I can’t believe it’s August. And I can’t believe there are no J. Scott Campbell covers this week. Did the guy quit? Loser.
BTW, check out the new title graphic @Anthony made. Sweet.
Anyway, kind of an exciting week. Needed one of these after about a month of ‘meh’, don’t you think? Let’s dive in!
COVERS
I could highlight other Spears covers for this issue, but this one is my favorite. Dirty D Cover of the Week!
I’ll talk about this book more below, but going to highlight a couple of its covers here.
The two most adorable “pets” in the Marvel & DC universes on the same cover? Cuteness overload!!!
Homage to The Godfather.
JUST THE FAX
Some covers probably aren’t the best foil-ized. I’m not sure this one should be, but there it is. Still a cool book.
New ONES
Some highlights of new series/mini-series on FOC this week.
A new day dawns for the Dark Knight Detective as Eisner Award-winning writer Matt Fraction (Hawkeye, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen) joins forces with superstar artist Jorge Jimenez (Batman, Summer of Superman Special) for an unforgettable new era of Batman! The best superhero in comics gets a brand-new first issue to kick off this new era that will test Batman and Bruce Wayne like never before!
KYLE HIGGINS AND MAT GROOM KICK-START A NEW SCI-FI BATMAN EPIC! Humanity broke the barrier between our universe and our universe’s shadow. From the void came horrific apparitions that craved nothing but destruction. But from this terror…a legend was born. A warrior who found a way to access the energy that binds our universe and the shadow universe, transforming him into a cosmic dark knight. This immortal legend was named Batman. He fought to keep us safe but then one day abandoned the war. Though he didn’t disappear entirely. Now they say he hunts a rouges gallery of monsters…born from the shadows!Just when you thought it was safe not to spec on a new Batman again…here comes Cosmic Batman! I’m sure this will be heavily ordered, with people expecting an Absolute Batman type response. And we’ll probably see some NYCC exclusives and such. Anyway, we should get a nice dose of villains like Cosmic Joker and Cosmic, Cosmic Penguin and Cosmic Riddler, etc, etc… It does feature a Dan Mora Cover A…
DEADPOOL and BATMAN cross swords and batarangs as MARVEL and DC unite for the first time in decades! WADE WILSON has been hired for a job in GOTHAM CITY, but will the WORLD’S GREATEST DETECTIVE help him or destroy him? The main story starring Deadpool and Batman will be written by Zeb Wells and drawn by industry superstar Greg Capullo. The one-shot will also feature additional backup stories spotlighting other exciting Marvel and DC team-ups from a lineup of all-star talent, including Daredevil and Green Arrow by Kevin Smith and Adam Kubert, Captain America and Wonder Woman by Chip Zdarsky and Terry Dodson, and Jeff the Land Shark and Krypto by Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru.They should have made some of the variant covers “DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool”. Does Deadpool really outsell Batman? I find it hard to believe that to be true…
You just know there will be a Jeff/Krypto team-up someday on the big screen. It has to happen!!
(BTW, one of the variants is a JSC cover…and it’s a Psylocke cover, of course. So I lied when I said he didn’t have any this week…sneaky bastage.)
THE HIT '90s ANIMATED SERIES RETURNS! After searching to the ends of the Multiverse, PETER PARKER - the AMAZING, the SPECTACULAR, the RADIOACTIVE Web-Head himself - A.K.A. SPIDER-MAN, swings back into the streets of New York City with his beloved Mary Jane WATSON in tow! But what’s this? One of these villains is not like the others: Witness this universe’s debut of not one, but TWO of Spider-Man’s greatest villains from the comics! Legendary Spider-Scribe J.M. DeMATTEIS and rising star artist JIM TOWE bring you the return you’ve all been waiting thirty years for! And you’re never going to expect the twists and turns ahead for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! Break out your action figures, and post up in front of the TV as we bring you back to the greatest era of animated super-hero television in history!So this is like X-Men '97, but with no Disney+ series to pump it. Not sure how this will fair, but it does debut old characters in a new format.
On Ryloth, Twi’leks whisper about the Nightlands, the realm where their spirits retire after death. Legend says that on nights when the veil is thinnest, you can speak with the shades who reside there. On one such night, Anakin Skywalker and his Twi’lek friend Daesha try to summon the ghost of a much-loved relative for a final goodbye. But when Anakin makes contact with the Nightlands, the answer is anything but friendly…Enter: The Nightlander, a Star Wars boogeyman that seeks to possess a living host and bring chaos to the galaxy!• Written by Cavan Scott, the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Tales from Vader’s Castle and a story architect of The High Republic initiative. Introducing the Nightlander, a Star Wars boogeyman designed by legendary artist Iain McCaig!New Dark Horse Star Wars mini-series. Cover B actually features the villain with art by Iain McCaig.
All human art and creativity comes from an ancient power source, amplified by magical gateways all over the world, but now a sentient AI is closing the gateways in order to control all of the world’s creative arts. As humanity loses the ability to create art, the last gateway brings the Mona Lisa to life so she can form a team of artists to steal the gateway of creativity back from the AI. Three artists are given magical abilities that transform their art into weapons: a graffiti artist, a film FX artist, and a comic book artist. Together they plan an elaborate heist to save the last gateway of creativity.This one kind of lost me at Mona Lisa coming to life…and it’s a $7.99 price tag.
On the eve of his death, elderly Dale DeSouza is sent back in time to the Silver Age period where he was the speedster superhero, BULLET. De-aged via the time travel, he faces off against one of his earliest adversaries and searches for a way to return to his own time. Bullet vs. Leopard Gecko cover.How can you pass up a Leopard Gecko cover?
PICK OF THE WEEK
SPIDEY GOES COSMIC! A tale of two Spider-Men…One Spider-Man swings around New York City meting out justice in an unfriendly matter. Another Spider-Man is found in a distant solar system running with strange companions. One such companion? A stranger named SYMBIE making his FIRST APPEARANCE! The next major chapter in Spider-Man’s life begins here!We’ve seen a lot spiders and venoms in the “verse” titles and cross overs…and even clones. So this one is more of a grab and stash for another day. Long term hold. But basically Peter is going to “split” into two entities…one looks to be like a cross over with the Ben Reily and Cosmic Spider-Man. Potentially a new character that could get its own spin-off series down the road.
But that’s not all. A new symbiote also makes a debute, Symbie! Cute little Symbie. Who can resist?! Also, looks like a character named “Wretched” will also debut, as there is a “first appearance” variant cover for that character. I have nothing else to go on for intel on her.
But I’m featuring the Promo variant as it has both the new cosmic spidey and Symbie on the cover. Cover A is ok as well. And the “new costume” gets its own cover as well.
If anything, all these variants may confuse speculators, but at a $7.99 price tag, these variants may not be as highly ordered as you think. So best to pre-order one or two and get a discount, if you’re going to take a speculative chance. Anyway, the other variant covers of note are below.
Amazing Spider-Man #11 (Wretched 1st Appearance Variant)
Amazing Spider-Man #11 (New Costume Variant)
Parting Thoughts
That was a long one (that’s what…never mind). Laters!
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Added a bunch of new graphics for reoccurring posts. Makes it look more professional.
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They look slick. Nicely done.