It’s Turkey week. Hope everyone is all stocked up on stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce! Any great Black Friday sales coming up? Is Black Friday even a thing anymore? Seems like the sales start in the first week of November. I know I keep getting “countdown” emails from TFAW to promote theirs.
Anyway, running short on time to get this FOC article out, so here we go!
Judge These Books By Their Covers
Superman #9 (Cover E – Santa Variant)
This cover is pure awesome! Santa has had enough of winey little kids and their demands for presents and his elves demanding higher wages…It’s just too much! Even Santa has his limits!
In all seriousness, this is a unique and great homage to one of the most, if not the most, famous comic book covers of all time. And for that reason it is the Dirty D Cover-of-the-Week!
No, the copy/paste button didn’t get stuck. That is the title of this variant according to Previews. Too funny not to include it. And there are a lot of Wolverine costume variations…a very interesting homage to Captain America 100.
Doctor Strange #11 (Wolverine / Ghost RIder Variant)
This isn’t Hellverine, but more Wolverine stealing Danny’s bike for a joy ride. It’s not a great cover, but more of an homage to Ghost Rider #1 (1991 series). Now why this is on a Doctor Strange book…? That I can’t answer. It is a “strange” decision, though…
Star Wars Mandalorian Season 2 #7 (Stephanie Hans Variant)
No new characters that I’m aware of. Not Han’s best work (the helmets/faces look off), but it does feature Mando, Boba and Fennec, which is cool. This is the episode where Mando teams up with Migs Mayfield to infiltrate an imperial base to find Grogu.
Marvel Zombies Black White Blood #4 (Joshua Cassara Variant)
Two words – Zombie Dinosaurs. And if that doesn’t hook you, how about them going into battle with Shanna, the She-Devil in the Savage Land? Liking this cover for this story.
Miles Morales Spider-Man #14 (Inhyuk Lee Variant)
Just a cool Hobgoblin cover. Might be tough to find in 9.8 given the black background.
Harley Quinn Black White Redder #6 (of 6) (Cover B – Tedesco Variant)
I’m a fan of how Tedesco draws Harley. Love the expressions on the Hyena’s faces!
Joker Harley Quinn Uncovered #1 (Alex Ross Foil Variant)
FanExpo in Toronto (2019) did a nice virgin foil of this cover, but it will cost you more than $10 to acquire one. So this is a nice less expensive alternative, although it’ll likely have the trade dress on the cover.
Just The Fax
Continuing with the Batman: Year One facsimiles.
Giant-Size Super-Stars #1 Facsimile Edition
This is one of those head scratchers. Why is this book “facsimile worthy?” You can get a decent reader copy for about the price of this book. Anyway, it’s classic Thing vs. Hulk in a double sized story.
First Appearances
Star Wars Darth Vader #42 (Rebels 10th Anniversary Variant)
This book states this is the first comic appearance of Enric Pryde, who was an Allegiant General in the Rise of Skywalker. But I haven’t looked into any of the comic adaptations to know if it’s legit. So be careful with this one if you’re thinking “spec”. It looks to be a younger version of himself, and he may actually be on cover A. But Rebels 10th anniversary variant is the better cover, IMO.
Miguel Ohara Spider-Man 2099 #1 (David Baldeon Variant)
I believe this is the first appearance of Marvel Zombie (or Zombies) of 2099. They appear on Cover A, but I think the Baldeon variant is “killer”…
Ghost Rider #21 (Cully Hamner Foreshadow Variant)
This issue eludes to “the end of an era”, and we know a new Ghost Rider is coming in March of next year (Ghost Rider #1). So is this foreshadow variant a new ghost rider, or Johnny transitioning into something new? Might want to also grab Cover A if you’re a Barends fan. He has been the best GR cover artist since Saltares (IMO), and we may not see too many more going forward if this series is ending.
I was created by mistake: a mind of minds, spread out across the vast swath of humanity, unseen but strong, stronger still every day…The Fantastic Four tried to kill me…showed me they were a threat…I needed to defend myself. They showed me that the Fantastic Four needed to die.
I’m not sure if this is actually a first…as it seems like this entity may have encountered the FF prior, but maybe in a different form. The cover is freaky, so that alone got my attention. Worth flipping through on the day of release to see what’s up, if anything.
If At First You Don’t Succeed…Reprint
Image does it right with reprints featuring characters in dramatic poses on white backgrounds. The only thing better would be if the background matched the original G1 red/purple backgrounds like the 80’s toys had. Either way, I don’t even buy first prints anymore as I know to wait it out for these books!
Transformers #2 (2nd Ptg Cover A – Duke)
Transformers #2 (2nd Ptg Cover C – Cliffjumper)
Dirty D’s Pick-Of-The-Week
It’s time for another edition of Timeless! This year’s issue promises the debut of two new characters, which must be the two on Cover A.
Moon Knight, The Unbending. – a nightmare born of StarkTech, the Eternal Machine and the God of the Moon – and now all of Earth bows before his overwhelming power! The only one who stands in his way is…
Power Man, the Marvel Universe’s final living super hero, who wields the unstable powers of the Sentry, the Hulk and the Iron Fist! So, like, quadruple mashup of characters…sort of like a Super Skrull.
But that’s not all…a SHOCKING glimpse into the next year of Marvel stories…which likely leads into there being a spoiler cover.
Speaking of which,
Timeless #1 (Felipe Massafera Spoiler Variant)
I mean…is it really a “spoiler variant” if the cover is revealed prior to FOC??? I guess that’s what “spoiling” really is…anyway, cool Doom cover! (Dr. Doom, Sorcerer Supreme, perhaps?)
Parting Thoughts
Once again, no drek this week. Enjoy your Turkey, Football, drive safe and don’t get too crazy on Black Friday!