FOC PICKS FOR 10/19/26
I’m back from NYCC! And it was a wild weekend. Ups and downs. Successes and failures. So wild I’m only now recovering, despite having an extra day off on Monday.
So convention season is pretty much over. A random show here are there (Rhode Island Comic Con) but nothing super big.
Halloween is around the corner…and before you know it Winter will be here. So it’s time to start planning to nestle up with our comic book reads for those long dark cold nights. And that’s why I’m here, to help highlight a few books that you might want to put a flyer out for early.
As always, use code CHU 2026 at checkout to save 15% at Third Eye Comics
COVERS
Sometimes these Marvel Studios variants do ok. Usually they are the photo covers, though.
NOTABLE REPRINTS
Not sure why some places aren’t showing cover art…but could be underordered as a result. Also a 4th print is just naturally shorter ordered.
POTENTIAL FIRSTS
WHO OR WHAT HAS EMERGED FROM MEGATRON’S COCOON? Sorry, Autobots. You’re not gonna like it.
Image actually spoiled this at their Energon Universe panel at NYCC (which I was in attendance). It’s Megtronus Rex. Seems like a combination of Tank Megatron and the Beast Wars Megatron, maybe? Also appears to setup the rumored 2027 Transformers Megatron Rising series that is said to match, mix, and combine the many Megatrons from the past and the future. So this issue could get some interested when that series comes out.
The FOC solicitations still show the character in shadow. There’s also a foil variant cover as well. I’ll be ordering that!
NEW ONES
SERIES PREMIERE Luma is a chainsaw-wielding warrior queen seeking out an unknown power in the vastness of space. All she wants is to find peace… but violence and terror chase her through every black hole. Princess Mononoke meets Warhammer 40k in this high octane, sci-fi adventure poised to be the biggest launch of the year! It all begins with forty pages of story with no ads for the regular price of just $3.99!
Not sure why, but a lot of online shops seem to be excited about this.
The sequel to last year’s acclaimed Christmas horror story, I SAW SANTA! Writers CHRIS KILLIAN & ANDREW SANDERS take readers back to the twisted world of serial killers, Santa, and of course Spawn. The North Pole is shaken by a gruesome massacre that bears the signature of serial killer, Charlie Kohl. As Santa Claus investigates, dark forces begin to corrupt Santa’s workshop from within, and it’s clear Spawn is the only one who might be able to put a stop to this terribly twisted Christmas. The tale unfolds with the glorious art of TODOR HRISTOV. Truly a new Holiday tradition not to be missed!
2 issue mini-series.
From Eisner-nominated and New York Times bestselling writer Tim Seeley and writer, director, and actress Inanna Sarkis, comes a modern reimagining of the ancient Assyrian goddess of love and war. Once the home of the love and peace movement, San Francisco is now a city at war with itself. Mayor and presidential hopeful Tim Teller promises to fix the problems, but he has a new issue. On a brisk September evening, Inanna emerges from the Bay, wearing nothing but a lapis necklace. She remembers little save her name…and that she’s pissed. Possessed of immense strength and unwavering charisma, Inanna becomes a champion of the people. But her immortal life as a goddess of love and war is coming back to haunt her. Ancient enemies and modern monsters collide as love and war clash in a battle for the soul of humanity—and Inanna herself.
BURNING ON RE-ENTRY IN THE AFTERMATH OF DNX! The PHOENIX is headed to Earth. JEAN GREY is aflame within. When she touches down, will she consume all she touches, or will she maintain control of the life-giving, life-taking power coursing through her? Hot on the heels of DNX – a new chapter for Jean Grey and the X-MEN begins HERE AND NOW!
There’s an Ito cover too, but not his best work, IMO.
In a world where the fears of children manifest into living, breathing monsters, this crossover brings one of horror’s most iconic characters straight into the Slaughterverse!
James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera , the superstar team behind the smash hit Something is Killing the Children , push the boundaries for the very first crossover story ever told in the fan-favorite Slaughterverse.
Two siblings who are life-long comics fans find their way to horror comics, in spite of the fears they inspire.
As the terrifying visions from the pages of the comics start to come to life, Erica Slaughter will have to hunt down one of horror’s most recognizable figures—Swamp Thing himself!
As tempting as this would be to place a pick of the week, there were plenty of copies at NYCC at the Boom! table for me to think this is going to be a good spec book. Or, those exclusive copies are the ones to get, and there already out there. Plenty of homage covers for this one. This could be the read of the week, though. So still worth a look.
This never happened, yet it’s all true. In a Britain forged in blood, mud, magic, and monsters, the legendary King Arthur is a brutal warlord surrounded by his knights who are every bit as savage, strange, and legendary as the world they inhabit. When the young knight Culhwch arrives at Arthur’s fortress pleading for help in completing 39 impossible tasks assigned him by the giant Ysbaddaden to win the hand of his beautiful daughter Olwen, he and Arthur’s warriors embark on an incredible quest of giant slaying, monstrous boar hunting, and magical treasure theft, as they battle their way through a dying age of myth. But beneath the bloodshed and barbarism, something isn’t right. Because every great legend has a story beneath the story and King Arthur was never meant to be this kind of hero. From Si Spurrier (Minotaur, The Flash) and Christopher Mitten (Hellboy, The Autumn Kingdom), comes a savage and subversive reimagining of an Arthurian legend, a brutal five-issue fantasy epic in the tradition of Conan the Barbarian, where the heroes are dangerous, the monsters are real, and the age of wonder is coming to an end.
KISS MY ASHCAN
For every 5 copies of Rampant Swine #1 ordered, retailers will be eligible to order a pack of 20 ashcans promoting the upcoming series We Cannot Remain.
We Cannot Remain is an all-new series from Cullen Bunn and Marika Cresta reuniting after Deluge to tell a haunted house tale centered on the lives and ghosts of the unhoused.
I don’t think you can pre-order these anywhere, but generally shops are pretty good about putting these out when/if they get them.
PICK OF THE WEEK
From the twisted mind of Eisner Award-winning writer GARTH ENNIS (creator of The Boys and Preacher) and long-time artist collaborator JOHN McCREA (Hitman, The Demon, DEAD EYES) comes this disturbing, psychedelic tale of lust, greed, power, and possession. When you are offered your heart’s desire, what (and who) are you willing to sacrifice to achieve it? And should you really be making that deal with a… talking snail? An all-new, standalone horror tale from the top talent brought to fans by the Ninth Circle line of comics.
$6 cover price, but it’s a one shot. No variants that I can see. Could be short ordered. And it’s got some decent creator talent. Looking like a sleeper…maybe not hot out of the gate, but we’ve seen some one-shots recently do well a few year out. Little buzz on this one too.