FOC PICKS FOR 10/4/26
Last week’s new comics took us by surprise with several of the $10 cover Amazing Spider-Man #1000commanding a premium on the aftermarket. Also, the Amazing Venom #1 Ito cover caught a few off guard. Wednesday comes the debut of the Midnight Universe (Marvel’s answer to DC’s Absolute Universe) which I think some shops may be staying open until Midnight Tuesday evening as a special event. And then Thursday is Day 1 of New York Comic Con with its 100’s of variants and surprise drops.
Well, not so fast. We still have an FOC to contend with. So before we all start losing our minds, lets run through some picks.
As always, use code CHU 2026 at checkout to save 15% at Third Eye Comics
COVERS
Capes #12 (Sweeney Boo Variant)
Capes has had some nice covers as of late. Some sexy, some Ito magic. This could be another one to keep an eye on.
Catwoman #92 (Dan Quintana – Halloween Glow-in-the-Dark Variant)
Wonder Woman #38 (Dan Quintana – Halloween Glow-in-the-Dark Variant)
Nothing says you’re over extending yourself quite like not getting cover are in by FOC. Plus these are supposed to be Halloween-ish covers, I think…and they’re coming out in November. I also haven’t been impressed by the other glow-in-the-dark covers in this theme across other books.
Green Lantern #40 (Foccillo Variant)
Focillo’s Superman “manga” cover was a super hit. Will this one fly under the radar as well?
Spider-Woman’s 50th Anniversary celebration continues in this new series. Old foes back from the dead! Mysteries around every corner! And a bloodthirsty Carnage just barely kept contained! It’s a recipe for Spider-Woman’s darkest adventure yet. Don’t miss this electrifying first issue!
Ito moving up in the Marvel world, getting the A cover for the new Spider-Woman series.
BEEFCAKE ALERT
Captain America #17 (Simone Di Meo – Workout Variant)
Looks like Marvel wants some of DC’s beefcake pie…and eat it too…or something.
They’ve been unsuccessful with these to date. We’ll see how this goes…
NOTABLE REPRINTS
Reprinting MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL: EMPEROR DOOM (1987).
POTENTIAL FIRSTS
Batman: Bad Seeds – Gotham General #1 (of 2)
WHEN DISASTER STRIKES, NOT ALL OF GOTHAM’S HEROES WEAR CAPES! Welcome to General, Gotham City’s tier one trauma center. Power is out, fires are burning, transpo is shot, and the calls just keep coming. There are more patients than beds, half presenting with respiratory complications, the other half suffering hallucinogenic psychotic episodes. In every other emergency department in the DCU, this would be a catastrophe. For Dr. Ava Dastur and the men and women working at General, it’s a Tuesday. DC Comics is pleased to introduce you to the staff of Gotham General. No capes, no costumes, and don’t call them heroes—this is their job.
Appears to be new characters in the DCU in the form of hospital doctors and staff. Who knows if we’ll see them again in any larger context, but they look to be on the cover as well. So there’s that.
NEW ONES
When the retired members of a controversial police unit in Memphis begin to be viciously murdered by a mysterious serial killer, investigators find a horrifying connection to a decades-old cold case and a woman suffering from dementia.
New limited series from Red 5 Comics / Massive Publishing.
DC All In Saga Darkseid vs. The World #1 (One Shot)
The ultimate anti-life in the universe has been at the heart of the DC All In Saga since its beginning…and while the King Omega battle has been won by the forces of good, the war against Darkseid has only just begun! Comics superstars Scott Snyder and Sanford Greene present the hidden past of the being called Uxus, his descent into Darkseid, and his plans for the fate of all creation!
It’s a cold morning in The City when Valencia Vallez wakes up in an unfamiliar bed with a revolver in her hand and a dead body at her side. She doesn’t remember how she got there. She doesn’t remember much of anything. Just the long list of names buzzing around her head–suspects in the brutal gangland execution of her husband. Lucky for her, Val’s a homicide detective. The only trouble? In the City, so is everyone else. Val’s hunt for answers has painted a target on her back. Caught between the crooked cops hot on her tail and the towering mechanical Judges looming over the City’s rain-soaked streets, every lead Val runs down only raises more questions. What secrets lie hidden in Val’s missing memories? Who is the Mastermind? In The City, the truth doesn’t come easy. And when it does, you’ll wish it hadn’t.
There are also several variant covers that are homages to precise horror classics, including a Glow-In-The-Dark homage to Punch Comics 12.
Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane #1
Spinning out of storylines from MARY JANE: FACE IT, TIGER and QUEEN IN BLACK comes an all-new adventure for one of the most beloved characters in Spider-Man’s world. Mary Jane Watson model, actress, hero – is taking on a new role: PRODUCER! But when CHAMELEON sets his sights on sabotage, Mary Jane will need to use every tool in her arsenal – including a TOP-SECRET gift from Venom – to come out on top.
These is also a Bruce Timm variant.
One Zero Zero One Saves the World #1
Confused and alone, a genetic experiment that quickly adapts to any threat or environment wakes up hundreds of years into Earth’s post-apocalyptic future—only to discover he is being hunted by a pack of vicious creatures. Can his adaptations keep pace with their fury?
New series from Vault comics. A lot of homage variants.
Punisher Showdowns: Wolverine #1
WOLVERINE digs into the criminal underground of New York City as the Yakuza unleash a deadly and violence-inducing drug on the streets! But the PUNISHER already has his sights set on these death-peddling scum! What follows, you’ll have to read to believe! The Punisher’s one-man war on the guilty crosses paths with other denizens of the Marvel Universe with explosive and unexpected results in THE PUNISHER SHOWDOWNS!
A sleepy 1980s town is stalked by a masked slasher at the height of the Satanic Panic, where every heavy metal record, Dungeons & Dragons campaign and teenage outsider is treated as evidence of devil worship. As fear spreads and bodies pile up, three local misfits become the prime suspects in a series of gruesome murders. Join D&D geeks and Ozzy enthusiasts Naz, Sal, and Terry as they race to clear their names, survive an increasingly blood-soaked town and unmask the real killer before paranoia claims more innocent lives. But in a community eager to blame the weird kids, proving their innocence may be deadlier than facing the murderer. A brutal new horror series that blends slasher terror and the paranoia of the Satanic Panic into one unforgettable nightmare.
WHEN IN DOUBT…DAN MORA
Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunrise #1 (Dan Mora Variant)
At sunset, Poison Ivy unleashed an attack that transformed Gotham City into a prehistoric nightmare. If she isn’t stopped by the first light of dawn, the city will be lost forever…along with all who dwell there. With the clock ticking, Batman and his allies will put it all on the line to save the day before everything changes forever at sunrise. The superstar creative team of Matt Fraction, G. Willow Wilson, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Cliff Rathburn proudly presents the Earth-shattering conclusion to Batman: Bad Seeds in an oversize special that shows the only thing more impossible to survive than this night in Gotham…is the day.
Dan Mora has had some nice female covers in recent years…none have really popped like his Nightwing, Teen Titans and World’s Finest. But with the $6.99 price tag maybe this will catch people off guard.
Whoa…as noted above Mora’s female covers haven’t done too much on the aftermarket…he’s put it all out there for this one, could this be the one that bucks the trend? Dirty D Cover-of-the-Week!
Justice League: Dark Realm Special #1 (One Shot)
MASTER STORYTELLER DAN MORA UNVEILS THE DARK REALM OF THE DCU! The Justice League is an Unlimited force across the Earth and the stars…but the dimensions beyond our realm of understanding are now breaking through! Or have they been here this whole time? In his writing debut, visionary artist Dan Mora at last reveals the untold origin of Cadejos–the epic, fire-breathing, wolf-like powerhouse of the Justice League Unlimited–on a journey of redemption, power, and vengeance. From folklore legend to superhero, witness a battle of good vs. evil like you’ve never seen before!
Dan Mora makes his official writing debut (I believe he’s contributed stories here and there, but not a full comic story that I’m aware of.