Posted in: Comics, Thank FOC It's Friday | Tagged: Bill Sienkiewicz, FOC, gender queer, hanan Beizer, jae lee, Maia Kobabe, michael allred, nick pitarra, paul pope, shelly bond, Stephen Bissette, vanessa cardinali

Filth, Grammar & Gender Queer, Thank FOC It's 3rd of September 2022

Thank FOC It's Sunday – Planned to coincide and cover the demands of Final Order Cut Off at Diamond Comic Distributors on Monday. And now Lunar Distribution and Penguin Random House on Sunday as well. So here's this week's comics product coming through that may need adjusting as demand slips and slides with the emerging economic bubble. Or some such. Traditionally FOC is the date when retailers have a last chance to amend their advance orders for comic books without penalty. A final opportunity for publishers to promote books while orders can still be added. A time for credits to be amends, new covers to be revealed, and a final push given. This is an attempt to sift through them all and find the most relevant items.

What's FOC-ing this weekend?

Filth & Grammar: The Comic Book Editor's Secret Handbook is Shelly Bond's tour de force with Imogen Mangle, Laura Hole, Mark Buckingham and hubby Philip Bond. "Award-winning DC/Vertigo editor Shelly Bond presents her step-by-step approach to making comics informed by a thirty-year career in mainstream and indie publishing. All-star creatives including Neil Gaiman, Jill Thompson, and Grant Morrison offer pro-tips. Originally funded on Kickstarter, this unprecedented, entertaining handbook is peppered with short comics illustrating Bond's early days as a young editor in New York City. This mass market edition of FILTH & GRAMMAR: THE COMIC BOOK EDITOR'S (SECRET) HANDBOOK includes 8 new pages and an updated cover."

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe gets a new printing for a brand new audience from Oni Press. Thanks Fox News! "In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere."

And it is handily accompanied by a new printing of A Quick & Easy Guide To Queer & Trans Identities by Mady G and Jules Zuckerberg from Oni Press. "In this quick and easy guide to queer and trans identities, cartoonists Mady G and Jules Zuckerberg guide you through the basics of the LGBTQ+ world! Covering essential topics like sexuality, gender identity, coming out, and navigating relationships, this guide explains the spectrum of human experience through informative comics, interviews, worksheets, and imaginative examples. A great starting point for anyone curious about queer and trans life, and helpful for those already on their own journeys!"

Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla are launching the latest Scottober title in print through Dark Horse, Night Of The Ghpool with 1:10, 1:25, 1:50, 1:100, 1:200. 1:500 and 1:1000 tiered covers for FOC. "Shot in 1936, Night of the Ghoul by writer/director T.F. Merritt was meant to sit beside Frankenstein and Dracula as an instant classic . . . But the legendary film never made it to the silver screen. Just before editing was finished, a mysterious studio fire destroyed the footage and killed the cast and crew celebrating at the wrap party. Forest Inman is a horror film obsessive who digitizes old films for the famed Aurora movie studio. When Forest stumbles across a seemingly forgotten canister of footage, he just might have discovered the remnants of the lost classic Night of the Ghoul. This discovery sends Forest on a dark odyssey, where he's warned by a mysterious old man that the film's ghoul is far more than a work of fiction: it's a very real monster who plans to kill him."

Tim Seeley and Fran Galen launches Roadie #1 from Dark Horse without those bells and whistles. "From Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash, Revival) and Fran Galán (Lucky Devil) comes this horror saga about nostalgia, heavy metal music, hell, and redemption. More than thirty-five years after his heyday, a former heavy metal roadie must return to the backroads of America to do a job he thought he'd retired from: exorcist. But this time, he's not saving groupies and drunk bassists. He's trying to save his daughter."

Erik Burnham and Dan Schoening launch Godzilla: Momster & Protectors: All Hail The King from IDW, "It's been a year and, to Cedric's dismay, there have been no more Godzilla sightings. Sure, that means no destruction, but it was also his vlog's most popular series of videos. He needs new content! His views are dropping, and he's running out of ideas. He's being called out for lying by cyberbullies Dragon, who is trying to see if Cedric really has the Godzilla chops, and Karen Higa, who has her own agenda. There's more going on beneath the surface, but will Cedric find out what before something deadlier than Godzilla rears its head?"

Rob Liefeld has got a bunch of friends to redraw Brigade #1 from 1992 as Brigade Remastered #1. "The issue that started it all, BRIGADE #1, remastered by today's top comic book talents! BRIGADE exploded onto the scene as one of Image Comics' launch titles, making its first appearance in August 1992 and electrifying fandom! We celebrate and commemorate the impact and anniversary of this historic occasion with a star-studded roster of illustrators creating all-new magic with fresh new pages for this commemorative 30th-anniversary issue!"

Flawed #1 by Chuck Brown and Prenzy launched from Image Comics. "BITTER ROOT cowriter CHUCK BROWN and superstar artist PRENZY (ON THE STUMP) reunite for this ultra-violent, high-octane limited series that's Frasier meets The Punisher! Gem Ezz is a psychiatrist in the Kafkaesque city of Setham, where corruption and brutality rule the streets. By day, she uses words to solve her patients' problems. By night, she takes a more direct-and sometimes deadly-approach. But when her practice puts her in the sights of an immortal serial killer, Gem finds herself embroiled in a power struggle that threatens everything she's ever known."

Declan Shalvey and Chris Samnee launch Old Dog #1 from Image Comics. with 1:10, 1:25 and 1:250 tiered covers for FOC. "Jack Lynch was a once-promising CIA operative. On the eve of retirement, looking back at a failed career, he is tasked with one final mission…that goes horribly wrong. He wakes years later to a changed world and deeper changes within him. When a shadow group offers Lynch a second chance at a life of adventure, he's paired with the last person he could ever imagine. In order to adjust, this old dog will have to learn some new tricks… OLD DOG is a striking new spy-fi series by DECLAN SHALVEY, the accomplished and innovative creator behind books such as Moon Knight, X-Men Unlimited, INJECTION, and TIME BEFORE TIME. The Winter Soldier meets Mission Impossible in this Bourne-esque action/espionage blowout."

Chris Ryall and Gabriel Rodriguez launch an Onyx #1 one-shot for Ryall's new Image Comics imprint… "the complete, extra-length tale of a cyborg warrior who calls herself Onyx! Onyx arrives in a near-future Nigeria beset by overpopulation and food shortages alongside another alien entity that corrupts all lifeforms in its presence. Is Onyx here to save the planet or, in its final throes, help hasten its destruction?"

Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, filmmakers behind the Spider-Verse movies, contribute to Edge Of Spider-Verse #5 with 1:10 and 1:25 tiered covers for FOC.

Marvel has facsimile editions for Amazing Spider-Man #1 and Tomb Of Dracula #1.

Starfox and X-Men get their AXE Judgment day spinoffs. written by Kieron Gillen. You can apparently ignore the Starfox one if you want but the X-Men one will be essential to reading the event…

Miracleman #0 kicks off from Marvel with new material; and 1:200 tiered cover for FOC from Peach Momoko. "Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham set up this issue and their return to MIRACLEMAN: THE SILVER AGE!"

Hollow is a new graphic novel from Lumberjane co-creator Shannon Watters, as well as Branden Boyer-White and Berenice Nelle from Boom Studios. "Isabel "Izzy" Crane and her family just moved to the infamous Sleepy Hollow, but as a slick skeptic from the city, she's too busy adjusting to the change of scenery for ghost stories-they're not real, after all. Then she meets Vicky Van Tassel (yes, THAT Van Tassel) and the loveable prankster Croc Byun. Vicky's weariness with the legend turns to terror when the Horseman himself shows up, along with a curse set on destroying the Van Tassel line. Now, they have only until Halloween night to break the curse. What an inconvenient time for Izzy to develop a massive crush on Vicky! Can Izzy and her new friends uncover the mystery of the Headless Horseman before it's too late?.. a modern coming of age sequel to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Spider-Man #1 gets a relaunch from Dan Slott and Mark Bagley with a 1:25, 1:50 and a 1:100 tiered cover with art from Steve Ditko for FOC. "The End of the Spider-Verse is here! Morlun is back and he is not alone. Allied with one of the most powerful beings known to the Spider-Verse, the scariest Spider-Villain of all time is making his biggest play and no Spider is safe. Especially not the Chosen Spider himself, Peter Parker. With Peter working for Norman Osborn and using a glider…does he have it coming? Spidey's 60th Anniversary is no joke as two of the most legendary Spider-Creators are working together on Spidey for the first time and you know it's going to be one for the record books!"

Destiny NY gets a Halloween Special #1 by Pat Shand, Jeffrey Moy, R Moy from Black Mask Studio. "Welcome to a world where magic is a real and accepted part of everyday life. Meet Meadow, a teenager attending a prophecy school in New York City to help her deal with her dark future: she has been destined to die. Meanwhile, a lovelorn barista visits a fortune teller and receives his own dark prediction. The fan-favorite slice-of-life fantasy series Destiny, NY returns with two brand-new feature-length stories in time for the spooky season."

Pulp Bytes #1 by Pat Higgins launches from Scout Comics. "Two twisted tales of technological terror! The first, "Junebug Bites Back," is the story of an overbearing pageant mom who gets her just desserts after purchasing supplements from the dark web. In "Terms and Conditions," Jack and Lacey's day of distraction turns to a nightmare when they ignore the fine print."

Briar #1 by Christopher Cantwell and German Garcia launches with a 1:10, 1:25 and 1:50 tiered cover for FOC, and this 1:75 cover by Jenny Frison. "What if Sleeping Beauty never got her happily ever after… and instead had to save herself? Set in a brutal fantasy world that time forgot, this isn't the fairy tale you know! Eisner Award-nominated writer, producer, and director Christopher Cantwell (Iron Man, The United States of Captain America, Halt and Catch Fire) and rising artist Germán García (Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Land) reimagine the classic tale as an epic dark fantasy adventure."

Life Zero launches as a hardcore graphic novel by Stefano Vietti and Marco Checchetto from Ablaze. "From the artist of Marvel Comics' Daredevil, Marco Checchetto, comes a thrilling new adventure! Where were you when the cloud arrived? Where were you when the world changed forever? Where were you when people started dying? Ablaze is proud to present Life Zero by Stefano Vietti (Dragonero) and Marco Checchetto (Daredevil, Avengers, Old Man Hawkeye, Wolverine), with colors by Andres Mossa (Wolverine, Avengers, Secret Wars 2099). At the limits between science fiction, action and horror is LIFE ZERO!"

Killchella #1 by Mario Candelaria and Serg Acuna with this 10-copy unlock cover by Tula Lotay, from Scout Comics. "A group of friends drive up from Los Angeles to attend an ultra-trendy music festival in the Coachella Valley desert. They soon face a bloody night of terror when a reclusive pop star making her big return after five years recruits her most fanatical devotees to assist in a massive human sacrifice ritual."

In The Shadow Of The Throne launches as a graphic novel by Kate Sheridan and Gaia Cardinalli launched from Mad Cave Studios. "When his younger siblings and parents begin to irritate him on vacation, Jordan tries to get some space. But instead of wandering around the museum, he finds himself dropped in a fantasy world of magic where he can finally have some fun and train to become a knight. Except Prince Astel and Sir Griffith are about to uncover a sinister secret kept hidden by the queen that'll thrust Jordan in the middle of a magical battle he never could have anticipated!"

20202020 is a new graphic novel by Farel Dalrymple from Floating World. "A series of watercolor and ink drawings by award winning illustrator Farel Dalrymple (Pop Gun War, Mind MGMT), done one a day for the year of 2020. Each of the over 366 illustrations was created using all traditional materials with no digital manipulation. Different themes in the book include a robot Tod alphabet, a complete tarot deck and a variety of fictional and nonfictional characters."

Acid Nun is a new hardcover graphic novel by Corinne Halbert from Silver Sprocket. "" bad trip leads Annie, our earnest heroine, through a journey of suffering and self-discovery. Caught within the confines of her own mind, Annie struggles against the doubled weight of trauma and despair. In order to crawl her way out, she must grapple with the cruelest parts of her psyche, and make peace with her inner child and suppressed past. Annie argues with her demons and punches her way toward the light, with a little help from her dedicated and loving friends. Lushly illustrated with influences from spiritual iconography and psychedelic imagery, Halbert crafts an unflinching yet compassionate story about pain, rage, and the blessings we can give ourselves.

New York Ninja Super Special by Charles Forsman from Floating World is "the official follow up to Vinegar Syndrome's cult hit! All your favorite characters return in a magazine-sized Super Special by Ignatz award winner Charles Forsman. New York City, 1984 – Crime is at an all time high. John Liu aka the New York Ninja scours the streets night after night, searching for his wife's killer. Meanwhile, the villainous Rattail's new radioactive powers make him deadlier than ever."

Tyler Ham and Firulas Ilustra have a Rest in Peace Halloween Special from Black Caravan/Scout Comics. "have you ever been overwhelmed by houseguests who won't let you rest in peace? Ghoul has! After a long Halloween night, his monster friends start knocking on his door. He reluctantly allows Dracula in. Then the Werewolf. Next the Mummy, followed by Frankenstein'sMonster. Finally when Blob tries to ooze his way through the door Ghoul loses his cool and kicks them all out into the darkness. But was his decision too hasty? Only when his conscience -in the form of the Invisible Man – makes him realize that his friends simply wanted to spend more time together does he see the error of his ways."

The Golem Of Venice Beach Part One by Chanan Beizer, Vanessa Cardinali, Bill Sienkiewicz, Nick Pitarra, Michael Allred, Stephen Bissette, Jae Lee, Paul Pope launches from Clover Press. "Eisner-award-winning artists Michael Allred, Stephen R. Bissette, Jae Lee, Paul Pope, and Bill Sienkiewicz, artist Nick Pitarra (co-creator of The Manhattan Projects), artist Vanessa Cardinali (Image Comics 'Slumber), letterer Clem Robins (Hellboy) and debut comic book writer Chanan Beizer have teamed up to create an all-new graphic novel, The Golem of Venice Beach. This 152-page epic about the adventures of a 400-year-old Golem spans from 16th century Europe to the horrors of World War II to modern-day Venice Beach, where the Golem becomes entangled in a war between a gang and the police. The Golem of Venice Beach is both a riveting narrative and a celebration of Southern California."

What's on your FOC?

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