FOC PICKS FOR 3/23/2026
Hey CHU! Time to take a break from all the March Madness and make some FOC picks for the week! Several cool covers…a few potential firsts…maybe a sleeper Indy or two. And some new Absolute Universe characters are coming. Let’s check it out!
COVERS
NEW SECRETS OF GALAXY’S EDGE REVEALED! LUKE SKYWALKER, PRINCESS LEIA and CHEWBACCA head to BATUU in search of important intel and stumble upon a dangerous relic – one that puts them on a collision course with the EMPIRE! Galaxy’s Edge writer Ethan Sacks and artists Jethro Morales & Roi Mercado tell an all-new story inspired by Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Haven’t mentioned Gist’s name in quite a while. He’s still putting out good work, but this week he has a nice Grogu cover for what I believe is a one shot. Giving him the honor of Dirty D Cover-of-the-Week!
Revisit the event that unleashed shockwaves across the Marvel Universe! In this five-issue miniseries, follow the unseen stories of IRON MAN, SPIDER-MAN, GOLIATH, TIGRA, and CAPTAIN AMERICA before, during and after the events of CIVIL WAR! • An urgent mission from BISHOP takes TONY STARK into the DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, where the revelation of the apocalyptic future changes everything Tony thought he knew about the consequences of the SUPERHUMAN REGISTRATION ACT.
I like these Magic the Gathering variants, but would prefer if they came polybagged with the card. Issue #2 looks to have a magic variant too.
After discovering how far Salvation’s TRUE LATVERIA insurgency is willing to go for power, Captain America goes rogue, throwing in with the LATVERIAN LIBERATORS to take down Salvation before he can become the next Doctor Doom. But Salvation is prepared for Steve’s next attack, and his new ploy has heartbreaking consequences for the team…
Cool Tambling cover. First appeared in Issue #6.
The battle rages on, and the final reveal will have Spawn fans talking for years to come. Scorched #50 leaves the Spawn Universe forever changed!
Anniversary issue with a Todd McFarlane cover. May reveal something big.
All the Super Creepshows in this run will have homage variants of various covers. Issue #3 is going to be an Action Comics #1. Issue #1 was Amazing Fantasy #15.
NUMBER ONES
A new series set in the world of LOST FANTASY! Aaron Hillburg was just another rich-kid failson—ghosting his responsibilities, hopping rooftops, and hating his billionaire father in peace… until a mysterious floating dragon egg bonds to him and ignites a hidden lineage of ancient magic inside his body. Now every violent outlaw wizard, biker cultist, and supernatural warlord between New York City and The World Beneath is hunting him—and they’ll burn the world down to pry the egg from his corpse. A high octane fusion of fantasy and superheroes.
Lost Fantasy hasn’t really taken off, so not sure how this will do. There are a few interesting homage variants, including Invincible and Absolute Batman…if that’s your thing.
POTENTIAL FIRSTS
DEATH SPIRAL – CONCLUSION! Torment will get away with murder. Unless SPIDER-MAN does the UNTHINKABLE…
Cover A kinda spoils it…Looking like Carnage and Peter will be bonding. I believe this is a first for 616 Peter Parker and Carnage on it’s own. This has occurred in other universes/media.
INTRODUCING THE HELLBUSTER ARMOR! When Infernal Hulk pushes Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to the brink, IRON MAN leads an overpowered strike force to level the Living City and end the Age of Monsters forever. Will Tony’s new HELLBUSTER ARMOR and the spear of the ONE ABOVE ALL be enough to keep him alive against the INFERNAL HULK? Or will he be corrupted like all the others?
First Hellbuster Armor. Because we demanded it!
POTENTIAL SLEEPERS
Johnny Mansfield is struggling. No work, no motivation and within arm’s reach of rock bottom. But when he inherits his family’s abandoned martial arts studio, his problems may be solved. The only catch is, it’s in a mysterious and decaying neighborhood known as the Brownfield. And his dysfunctional family is the last thing he wants to deal with. But then, can you ever really escape your family? Brownfield Action Family is a brand new 8-issue indie comics series written and drawn by Eisner-nominated author Ted May (Injury Comics, Men’s Feelings) and published by Revival House Press.
From Uncivilized Books. $9.99 cover price. No variants or incentives, much less hype. I’m expecting this to be low ordered.
D’ORC of the WEEK
As war ravages France, a young girl named Foy lives in relative peace with her father… until tragedy strikes. As Foy struggles to fend for herself, she’s granted a miracle—her father returns from the dead to protect her. Now, they embark on a sacred quest, confronting murderers, wild animals, wandering armies, and black magic plaguing the countryside. As Foy comes face to face with the dark side of miracles and the secrets of the Corpse Knight, she must question if the man by her side has always been a monster…A haunting new horror series where family is family, whether they’re alive or undead…
Probably won’t catch too many off guard, but concept is original enough and covers cool enough it could garner some attention pre-release. There are 1:25 and 1:100 incentive variants.
PICK OF THE WEEK
ABSOLUTE SCARECROW EMERGES FROM THE SHADOWS OF ARK M AS A NEW STORY ARC BEGINS… Poison Ivy proved to be just one of the many horrors within the bowels of the ARK M facility, and as Joker sets his sights on Absolute Batman, he decides to enlist the help of one of the center’s most terrifying doctors, Dr. Jonathan Crane. While Bruce Wayne tries to align himself with Barbara Gordon, there’s more than one alliance formed in this issue. New debuts, new villains, new arc starts here.
First Absolute Scarecrow plus first Robin (maybe). Maybe more! But they are on the cover, which checks a few boxes. Yes, this will be heavily ordered…300k I hear? But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t grab a copy (or two). Dirty D Pick-of-the-Week.
DREK of the WEEK
Why is DC (and Marvel, for that matter) wasting their time with these facsimile reprints that no one asked for? I feel bad for shops suckered into putting these on shelves, only to lose money because no one buys them. You can find the original in NM for less than the cover price of the facsimile…
Just stop it DC/Mavel. Stop it.
Parting Thoughts.
Not much else to say this week. Happy spring!