FOC PICKS (9/7/25)
FOOTBALL!!!
Now that that’s out of the way. Let’s talk comics. Particular Final Order Cut-off Comics.
COVERS
The most unexpected new comic book of the year! The Greatest Band Ever Reunites to Rock and Rule the World. Discover the true (well, kinda) story of what happened to Cold Slither through the eyes of the band themselves (who were, of course, not the Dreadnoks on an undercover mission). But as Cobra is topping the charts and dominating the world, can G.I. Joe find a way to change the tune?
Highlighting this variant because it’s an homage to I think a Beatles cover, which has been homaged many times over. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a NYCC exclusive of this book as well by Big Clutch Comics or Midtown Comics.
NOTABLE REPRINTS
First appearance of Clay Face.
POTENTIAL FIRST APPEARANCES
Without heroes…without protection…without restraint…there is only ABSOLUTE EVIL. The emergence of superheroes has caught the attention of the world…and its certainly caught the attention of the people who run it. Ras al Ghul, Veronica Cale, Elenore Thawne, Hector Hammond, and the mysterious Joker have worked at cross-purposes until now, but this growing threat requires new ways of thinking…and new partnerships. An insidious betrayal from within their ranks is imminent, and if they don’t take action, they’ll lose control of a planet that was built to be their playground! Several shocking new character reveals, and one big unmissable twist!
Celebrating one year of the Absolute DC Universe.
TOO SOON…?
Is acetate making a come back?
X YEARS LATER (Age of Revelation)
X YEARS LATER, on the run after a deadly clash with Revelation’s chief assassin, the shattered X-Men desperately gamble everything on one last mission. With help from an unexpected ally, they venture into the haunted ruins of Graymalkin. What they find there may change everything if they survive.
X YEARS LATER, in the ashes of the old world, to survive she is reborn – a cosmic force channeling the Phoenix itself. With the universe crumbling, BINARY returns to save what’s left. But power this great always comes with a price and the end of everything might begin with her.
X YEARS LATER, she’s taken the name of once-bitter enemy SABRETOOTH – and fights beside Revelation himself. Why did Laura Kinney abandon her legacy? What secrets does she keep from the mutant world? When loyalty changes, blood means everything.
X YEARS LATER, and Mojo’s got a new game for Wonder Man, Hellcat, Bishop, Rhino and Kraven to play. There are no rules. One survivor wins. The others die. Mojo promises you can vote for the winner with your dollars – but you probably can’t. Mojo cannot promise that any of this is true or that you can even vote, as all decisions will be made by Mojo and Mojo alone, in his Mojo dojo, it’s fame or fatality in the wildest X-book of the year!
X YEARS LATER, what happened to the Fantastic Four? And what horrors plague the East Coast? How does the rest of the world survive the rise of Revelation? And far above, on Arakko, what does Apocalypse think of his heir’s new empire? Discover the far-reaching impact of AGE OF REVELATION across the Marvel Universe.
X YEARS LATER, after the assassination of one of his prized Choristers, Revelation welcomes a new mutant to his capital city of Philadelphia. But the capital of the Revelation Territories hides many dangers, not the least of which are her rival Choristers – and Fabian Cortez will allow no one to challenge him for Revelation’s favor. But this new mutant has a secret ally – the Ghost of Philadelphia!
NEW ONES
Hector Ramirez is a failed writer who gets the opportunity of a lifetime: to help reboot the fantasy book series that defined his childhood. But when he discovers the original author has mysteriously vanished into his fictional world, Hector is pulled into a realm where stories are alive, and some are willing to kill to stay in control. A literary fantasy for fans of Locke & Key, The Magicians, and Saga with an oversized 40-page debut issue. The Author Immortal is a bold new ongoing series about legacy, imagination, and reclaiming the power of storytelling.
Kind of like the Neverending Story…but in a horror setting.
Brace yourself for a thrill ride of action and antics that’s being hailed as G.I. JOE meets THE BOYS as the legends of yesteryear collide with the realities of today in THE DISAVOWED! Matthew Howzer never knew his father, a decorated soldier who died in combat. But family stories say he wasn’t part of any ordinary unit. He served in The United Five, a poorly kept government secret and the stuff of mid-90s internet conspiracy lore. Their mission: stop Komodo, a grandiose cult turned terrorist faction claiming to wield knowledge from another realm, power capable of reshaping the world. That secret war ended in 1989, with heavy losses on both sides, including Matthew’s father. Driven by a relentless obsession to learn more about his father’s fate, Matthew enlists in the military and uncovers a truth far more brutal, bizarre, and debaucherous than any conspiracy theory could have imagined. Now, after decades in the shadows, The United Five have returned, not as the worlds hidden protectors, but to stop the very heroes it once called its own. Because the greatest threat isn’t Komodo anymore. It’s The Disavowed.
There’s even a “The Boys” Homage variant cover.
From Nick Dragotta and David Brothers comes three tales that hit like a truck. Who will rule the roost in the post-apocalypse? Will the greatest boxer alive actually live up to his self-proclaimed legend? And just who will survive in America? Extra-length, Perfect Bound issue.
I’m curious what qualifies as “perfect bound.”
(on eBay)
Huck and Marley help people for money. Well, in theory anyway… For some reason, their “help” always seems to involve massive amounts of property damage, a somehow guaranteed collision with the supernatural, and if Marley has his way, a huge body count. The’yre the Gunpowder Prophets, and a simple job rescuing a girl from a backwoods cult turns weird when the super groovy leader’s supernatural powers turn out to be very, very real. Its seventies-style horror mixed with grindhouse action in Gunpowder Prophets.
Debut issue of the brand-new Sci-Fi Superhero adventure series, HAZCON. Bodi Bacca volunteers for a suicide mission to take the fight to a nefarious warring alien society, but all isn’t what he was told. Following several wars with an alien race, the convening leadership decided to be proactive and with the assistance of captured alien tech they were able to make humans into living weapons. HAZCON is such a weapon.
IT’S ALL BEEN LEADING TO THIS! A special oversize prologue to DCs biggest event of the year. Everything since DC All In Special #1 has been building to this moment! Time Trapper is on the run from Darkseid’s Legion. Racing through time to learn how to stop Darkseid’s conquest, he witnesses how the future is already lost and the only hope of survival lies with the Justice League! The Time Trapper has a plan to save the DCU, but it means making an impossible offer to the League…
THE WORLD TO COME EXPANDS! One of the other pillars of MARVEL KNIGHTS enters the fray with THE PUNISHER! How did Frank get from the killer of killers you know to the man you met in THE WORLD TO COME?! Marvel Knights co-founder Jimmy Palmiotti and artist extraordinaire Dan Panosian treat you to one of the most savage comics ever!
Dan Panosian is doing the interiors of this book.
New tales of the TMNT based on the newest Ninja Turtles animated series!
DEJA VU…ALL OVER AGAIN
I’m beginning to wonder if this will be the last time we see this on FOC…poor Ronald.
PICK OF THE WEEK
Continuing their exploration into just what a comic can BE, the award-nominated team responsible for ICE CREAM MAN—one of the most enduring comics of the last decade—have pushed the envelope so far it’s fallen right off the table.
“The Mortal Coil Shuffle” is a one-time-only, one-of-a-kind ICE CREAM MAN story…told via a deck of 55 “playing” cards, rather than within the periodical pages of a traditional floppy comic book.
ICE CREAM MAN “The Mortal Coil Shuffle” is a beautiful, custom-designed deck of cards (featuring custom backs and a custom box, too!). All art is, as ever, by Ice Cream Man stalwarts Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran, and Good Old Neon. Some cards will tell part of the story; while other cards cast inscrutable spells on unwitting characters; and some must be joined with other cards to form a complete piece of art (the card deck’s version of a “spread.”). It’s a first-of-its-kind comic experiment, and also, perhaps, the last…
It’s a first-of-its-kind comic experiment, and also, perhaps, the last…
The Mortal Coil Shuffle will be printed once and once only—no second printings, no new runs, and never collected in a trade of any kind. It will exist—and then, like magic—it won’t.
So get ready to Go Fish, Draw Four, Declare War, and (probably) Fold Your Hand in this exciting comic book delivery style—told, of course, in the creepy, strange voice readers have come to expect from Ice Cream Man yarns.
Good luck, and watch out for those Wild Cards!
There’s not really much to get excited about this week, so I’m going to highlight something that’s just different than the typical gimmick cover or blind bag of the month. Gotta give credit here…although this likely can’t be slabbed, it’s a unique way of telling a comic book story. And for that reason this “comic” is the Dirty D Pick-of-the-Week!
Parting Thoughts
A LOT of #1’s this week…Kind of exhausting. Not sure why all these X years later books had to all be on FOC this week…oh well, hope it doesn’t hit people’s wallets too hard. Laters!