Hello CHU. Pretty decent size week this FOC. I think this whole Diamond bankruptcy and Image moving to Lunar is messing up a few shops. Also TFAW seems to have closed their FOC window early this week. So sorry about not having some links to books. Anyway, let’s see whats inters this week.

COVERS

Star Wars Ahsoka #8 (Takashi Okazaki Variant)

You may remember Okazaki’s work on Star Wars Visions comic and cartoon series. Episode 1 of the cartoon introduced a character named Ronin, a wandering Jedi/Samurai who also appeared in his Visions comics.

Anyway, Ahsoka probably resembles a samurai as much as any Jedi. So having Okazaki draw a cover of her is a natural fit. For that reason this is Dirty D’s Cover-of-the-Week!!

 

 

Another sexy cover by Szerdy.

 

NOTABLE REPRINTS

 

Think this will be our last printing of this book? I’m not so sure.

 

 

Some may be getting bored of all the facsimiles coming out of not-so-hard-to-find or common keys, or even foil variants of classics (I don’t count myself as one of those). But here is one that has an open order variant that’s interesting. This issue is the first appearance of John Constantine. But he’s not featured on the cover of the original book. So this variant “fixes” that with an action figure variant of old Hell Blazer himself!

I think that’s pretty cool. Something different, anyway.

 

NEW ONES

 

The Strange Academy is back for a second year, but Doom is taking over the world, and moving this school from New Orleans (“Nah Lins”) to Latveria. What could go wrong?

 

Star Wars High Republic Fear of Jedi #1

It’s the final arc of Star Wars: The High Republic.

As fighting within the Nihil Occlusion Zone intensifies, Jedi Master Keeve Trennis is set upon a path that will change her life forever. Guest-starring The Acolyte’s Wookiee Jedi Master Kelnacca alongside fan-favorite characters from Star Wars: The High Republic novels, audio dramas and comics.

Also, the Black History Month variant(shown) features the first cover of the twins from the Acolyte Disney+ series we’ve all already forgotten about.

 

 

Mason Shaw is no one. A worker bee. All that changes when he crosses paths with a few stragglers trying to stay one step ahead of a queen with immense powers who is determined to control her hive no matter who she has to kill. Welcome to THE HIVE .

New book from image. Keeps it just simple enough to peak my interest…

 

FIRST APPEARANCES

 

This issues solicitation promises the debut of an “all new character.” Note that I did not say all new “transformer.”

If the character is cool, I’m sure it’ll get a nice 2nd print cover by Jason Howard

 

 

New series set in the prequel era, focusing on the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. Featuring QUI-GON JINN, OBI-WAN KENOBI, YODA and MACE WINDU alongside BRAND-NEW JEDI, as well as a mysterious new villain targeting Qui-Gon Jinn.

 

INDY SPOTLIGHT

 

Slade Slaymaker is a kid from Alabama suddenly lost in a vicious world beyond his imagining, a world of marauding ant armies, spellcasting spider witches, and beetle-riding barbarians. A kingdom of tiny but deadly warriors hidden in his own backyard. The same world that saw his father eaten alive by insects now plunges young Slade into the middle of a brutal Bug War to decide the fate of his family.

What grabbed my attention was that Jason Aaron is writing this, and this arc is “Book One”, the first adventure in a new dark fantasy epic. So could get a cult following, similar to Canto.

 

PICK-of-the-WEEK

 

Now this might be a first. The Pick-of-the-Week going to a reprint…and an independent publisher book that’s not a #1 issue?? Have I lost my mind? Well, I’ll let you decide after hearing me out.

Issue #10 introduced the Glowing Woman, Ashley “Ash” Arden. She purported has a cure for the same radioactive condition ravaging Geiger’s body. The introduction of this character is going to have a profound effect on Geiger’s post-nuclear-war world going forward, according to Geoff Johns.

Recall the introduction of Junkyard Joe back in issue 6 of the mini-series. That book also got a reprint with Joe on the cover…and snuck under the radar and sells for a good penny now.

With Image switching over to Lunar along with Diamonds bankruptcy…this feels like it may happen again here. I’ve looked and it’s hard to find an online retailer offering this book (MCS is current). We’ll see what happens. It also wouldn’t surprise me if this character eventually gets her own mini-series and/or has a role in the Geiger TV series that’s in development by Paramount Televisions Studios(remember that?).

But for all those reasons that makes this the Dirty D Pick-of-the-Week!

I’m in for a few. And I grabbed a first print the day it came out as well…so keep an eye out for that book as well going forward.

 

That’s all for now folks. See you next week!!