Been following along with the forums and blog for a while, and I am making this my first post. Not because I want the book (I don’t know anything about Phantom Starkiller), but a chance to be silly is more than enough of an excuse to post! Hi! I’m Andrew 
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Here’s the list for the week. It’s a heady one. Er, it’s a toothy one. You like fangs? We got em. You like the 80’s? We got that too.
Batman White Knight Presents Harley Quinn #1. This one is weird, because it’s a secret Disney crossover with…. DC?!? Notice those two “dogs”? Nah, those are hyenas (“Mufasa, Mufasa, Mufasa”). Harvey Dent is revealed to be Scar from The Lion King. Batman, in a shocking twist is Skipper the Penguin from Madagascar. The Penguin himself is actually a lemur, and Robin, well, in a throwback to that trashiest of Batman Movies, the one you keep trying to forget existed with George Clooney is Mort, the idiot sidekick.
Nah, you’re buying these for the stone cold gorgeous covers. And Harley. But those covers are classic, they have a modern take on Hopper’s Nighthawks feel. You can hear the AM radio in the background yelling out the latest serialized story when you look at this. Unlike those Hickman 2nd print covers that look like printer test pages. Get the classic stuff before Hickman gets to everything.
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X-Men #12 XoS 2nd print. Thus starts our three-issue entwined set on the spec and drec. See the dog in the lower right? Same dog as the cover of Werewolf (see next issue). Not only is this the first cover appearance of Target’s new mascot (X-Men #2 has his first appearance), but it hinted at the Werewolf series. Also, Expect More Pay Less dude has two spiders on his arm. Probably a good time to mention that one of them might be Miles, so buy this book because Target is sponsoring the new Miles game. It’s all right there. Tune in next month to Department of Truth #3 to find out more.
Werewolf by Night #1 Veregge Variant. People liked those negative space variants. A lot. A lot a lot. This is basically that, but with Wakandan colors. Book sells itself. Can’t verify, but it might glow in the dark and the phosphorus paint alone is worth the price of admission on this one. Get it and flip it before it runs out of juice. I think if you stick it in the freezer it last longer. But uh, slab it before you do that.
Venom #29. Venom literally prints money for Marvel. I mean, it’s really Cates writing venom that prints money, but just know that regardless of who is writing this book you’re being subliminally guided into buying as many of these as you can. You can tell by the title. Read it backwards. M O N E… and that looks like a V but your brain knows it’s a Y. That’s why you buy these, and the 2nd print, and the 3rd print, and the 4th print. Doesn’t matter what’s on the cover, it says MONEY. Also, Cates is big league. M O N E Y.
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The Scumbag #1. Remender is great, and you’re buying this for the story alone anyway, so let me just approve of your choice. Doesn’t hurt, of course, that it’s a story about a guy who is the not-squid version of the Squidbillies Early Cuyler. Grab the book, but don’t touch the trim.
Phantom Starkiller #1. This one’s a nostalgia pick. All the people who currently have the substantive disposable income to spec on books are old enough to have owned a Castle Greyskull… or at least were jealous of a friend who did. Notice Skeletor on the cover here holding the Soul Sword and walking over the dead humans from Planet of the Apes? Yeah…. not only does this book have a smoking good story behind it, the cover is a Kay Bee Toy Store from the 80’s. You want it because every “Comic Book Guy” wants it and if you get it first you can sell it to him at a mark-up.
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And then there’s Spider-Woman #5. We just went over how to do nostalgia right. This… does not do that. Marvel renumbers for cash grab, but then worries that no one cares, so adds spooky DNA-looking spider webs for Halloween. But then still worries no one will care. So, what else has 8 legs that (er, renumber that to 6) besides a spider. An octopus? “What about the Hydra logo?” someone says. Close enough! Ship it. Make people think there’s a connection to the future of the MCU. Why does it have to look like a cheaply done self-pressed rap album cover with some girls and a bunch of coins on it? Who knows! It’s not Cates, so it’s not like this is going to work anyway. Pick it up in from the shelves at Goodwill in 6 weeks, but don’t pay cover.
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That’s it for this week. Happy hunting, and good luck on your FOCs.
