I can’t believe it’s August. And I can’t believe there are no J. Scott Campbell covers this week. Did the guy quit? Loser.

Anyway, kind of an exciting week. Needed one of these after about a month of ‘meh’, don’t you think? Let’s dive in!

COVERS

I could highlight other Spears covers for this issue, but this one is my favorite. Dirty D Cover of the Week!

I’ll talk about this book more below, but going to highlight a couple of its covers here.

The two most adorable “pets” in the Marvel & DC universes on the same cover? Cuteness overload!!!

Homage to The Godfather.

JUST THE FAX

Action Comics #23 – Facsimile Edition (Foil Variant)

Some covers probably aren’t the best foil-ized. I’m not sure this one should be, but there it is. Still a cool book.

New ONES

Some highlights of new series/mini-series on FOC this week.

I’m excited about this. I’m a huge Matt Fraction fan (from his Immortal Iron Fist, Daredevil and Hawkeye runs). And Jimenez’s art for Batman has grown on me. So looking for to a change. Starting with a reboot wasn’t necessary, but I’m in for the read most definitely.

KYLE HIGGINS AND MAT GROOM KICK-START A NEW SCI-FI BATMAN EPIC! Humanity broke the barrier between our universe and our universe’s shadow. From the void came horrific apparitions that craved nothing but destruction. But from this terror…a legend was born. A warrior who found a way to access the energy that binds our universe and the shadow universe, transforming him into a cosmic dark knight. This immortal legend was named Batman. He fought to keep us safe but then one day abandoned the war. Though he didn’t disappear entirely. Now they say he hunts a rouges gallery of monsters…born from the shadows!

Just when you thought it was safe not to spec on a new Batman again…here comes Cosmic Batman! I’m sure this will be heavily ordered, with people expecting an Absolute Batman type response. And we’ll probably see some NYCC exclusives and such. Anyway, we should get a nice dose of villains like Cosmic Joker and Cosmic, Cosmic Penguin and Cosmic Riddler, etc, etc… It does feature a Dan Mora Cover A…

DEADPOOL and BATMAN cross swords and batarangs as MARVEL and DC unite for the first time in decades! WADE WILSON has been hired for a job in GOTHAM CITY, but will the WORLD’S GREATEST DETECTIVE help him or destroy him? The main story starring Deadpool and Batman will be written by Zeb Wells and drawn by industry superstar Greg Capullo. The one-shot will also feature additional backup stories spotlighting other exciting Marvel and DC team-ups from a lineup of all-star talent, including Daredevil and Green Arrow by Kevin Smith and Adam Kubert, Captain America and Wonder Woman by Chip Zdarsky and Terry Dodson, and Jeff the Land Shark and Krypto by Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru.

They should have made some of the variant covers “DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool”. Does Deadpool really outsell Batman? I find it hard to believe that to be true…

You just know there will be a Jeff/Krypto team-up someday on the big screen. It has to happen!!

(BTW, one of the variants is a JSC cover…and it’s a Psylocke cover, of course. So I lied when I said he didn’t have any this week…sneaky bastage.)

THE HIT ’90s ANIMATED SERIES RETURNS! After searching to the ends of the Multiverse, PETER PARKER – the AMAZING, the SPECTACULAR, the RADIOACTIVE Web-Head himself – A.K.A. SPIDER-MAN, swings back into the streets of New York City with his beloved Mary Jane WATSON in tow! But what’s this? One of these villains is not like the others: Witness this universe’s debut of not one, but TWO of Spider-Man’s greatest villains from the comics! Legendary Spider-Scribe J.M. DeMATTEIS and rising star artist JIM TOWE bring you the return you’ve all been waiting thirty years for! And you’re never going to expect the twists and turns ahead for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! Break out your action figures, and post up in front of the TV as we bring you back to the greatest era of animated super-hero television in history!

So this is like X-Men ’97, but with no Disney+ series to pump it. Not sure how this will fair, but it does debut old characters in a new format.

On Ryloth, Twi’leks whisper about the Nightlands, the realm where their spirits retire after death. Legend says that on nights when the veil is thinnest, you can speak with the shades who reside there. On one such night, Anakin Skywalker and his Twi’lek friend Daesha try to summon the ghost of a much-loved relative for a final goodbye. But when Anakin makes contact with the Nightlands, the answer is anything but friendly…Enter: The Nightlander, a Star Wars boogeyman that seeks to possess a living host and bring chaos to the galaxy!• Written by Cavan Scott, the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Tales from Vader’s Castle and a story architect of The High Republic initiative. Introducing the Nightlander, a Star Wars boogeyman designed by legendary artist Iain McCaig!

New Dark Horse Star Wars mini-series. Cover B actually features the villain with art by Iain McCaig.

All human art and creativity comes from an ancient power source, amplified by magical gateways all over the world, but now a sentient AI is closing the gateways in order to control all of the world’s creative arts. As humanity loses the ability to create art, the last gateway brings the Mona Lisa to life so she can form a team of artists to steal the gateway of creativity back from the AI. Three artists are given magical abilities that transform their art into weapons: a graffiti artist, a film FX artist, and a comic book artist. Together they plan an elaborate heist to save the last gateway of creativity.

This one kind of lost me at Mona Lisa coming to life…and it’s a $7.99 price tag.

On the eve of his death, elderly Dale DeSouza is sent back in time to the Silver Age period where he was the speedster superhero, BULLET. De-aged via the time travel, he faces off against one of his earliest adversaries and searches for a way to return to his own time. Bullet vs. Leopard Gecko cover.

How can you pass up a Leopard Gecko cover?

PICK OF THE WEEK

SPIDEY GOES COSMIC! A tale of two Spider-Men…One Spider-Man swings around New York City meting out justice in an unfriendly matter. Another Spider-Man is found in a distant solar system running with strange companions. One such companion? A stranger named SYMBIE making his FIRST APPEARANCE! The next major chapter in Spider-Man’s life begins here!

We’ve seen a lot spiders and venoms in the “verse” titles and cross overs…and even clones. So this one is more of a grab and stash for another day. Long term hold. But basically Peter is going to “split” into two entities…one looks to be like a cross over with the Ben Reily and Cosmic Spider-Man. Potentially a new character that could get its own spin-off series down the road.

But that’s not all. A new symbiote also makes a debute, Symbie! Cute little Symbie. Who can resist?! Also, looks like a character named “Wretched” will also debut, as there is a “first appearance” variant cover for that character. I have nothing else to go on for intel on her.

But I’m featuring the Promo variant as it has both the new cosmic spidey and Symbie on the cover. Cover A is ok as well. And the “new costume” gets its own cover as well.

If anything, all these variants may confuse speculators, but at a $7.99 price tag, these variants may not be as highly ordered as you think. So best to pre-order one or two and get a discount, if you’re going to take a speculative chance. Anyway, the other variant covers of note are below.