Posted in: Comics, Thank FOC It's Friday | Tagged: FOC, kevin smith, Quick Stops

Kevin Smith Thanks FOC It's Sunday, the 2nd of October

Published Sun, 02 Oct 2022 08:55:11 -0500

Last updated Sun, 02 Oct 2022 10:05:17 -0500

Thank FOC It's Friday – 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?

Adam Cesare and David Stoll's Dead Mall #1 launches from Dark Horse. "The Penn Mills Galleria is about to be demolished. Five teens sneak into the mall to take a last look around before it's gone. However, while Penn Mills has been closed for years, the mall is far from abandoned. A night of exploration becomes a shopping spree from hell. The teens must contend with the sprawling, transformative cosmic horror of Penn Mills or be trapped forever within the Dead Mall. Adam Cesare is a critically acclaimed horror author and is a leading voice in the emerging genre of contemporary YA horror. Clown in a Cornfield, earned a 2020 Bram Stoker Award nomination, multiple starred reviews, and has been optioned for film." Returnable to comic shops to those who order ten copies or more.

Brian Michael Bendis and Jacob Edgar's The Ones #1 is a new series from Dark Horse with 1:10, 1:25 and this 1:50 Yanick Paquette foil tiered cover. "Every single person in every mythology that was told they were THE ONE are brought together for the first time to defeat . . . THE ONE. The actual one. The real actual one. This amazing new vision is brought to life by wunderkind artist and cocreator Jacob Edgar (Batman, Army of Darkness). Watch as he brings explosive comics splendor to this big new world! Think Good Omens meets Ghostbusters meets The Adam Project meets The Goonies meets Everything Everywhere All at Once meets, um, anything else you've ever liked!"

Kevin Smith and Jeremy Simser launch a new series, Quick Stops #1 from Dark Horse, ties into the View Askewniverse in an anthology of stores. "In this premiere issue, Chronic-Con guest of honor Holden McNeil tells Alyssa Jones and a packed podcast audience his story of going green with legendary loiterers Jay and Silent Bob in the Quick Stop cooler, and how it directly led to the birth of his Bluntman and Chronic comic books! Black-and-white comics like the Clerks films. More misadventures with Jay and Silent Bob! Contains references to Kevin Smith's films like Clerks, Dogma, Chasing Amy, Mallrats, and Jay and Silent Bob: Reboot."

Megan Brown and Jenna Ayoub create My Little Pony: Classics Reimagined: Little Fillies #1 from IDW. "Little Women meets My Little Pony in this new series about love, life, and sisterhood. Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, and Rarity appear as the March sisters, who dream of life beyond Broncord, Massahoofetts. In issue #1, Rainbow Dash yearns for excitement-something to write about. So when Applejack, the Marches' neighbor, arrives home with tales of eel-wrangling and apple-eating, Rainbow Dash and her sisters dare to hope for more."

TMNT Armageddon Game Alliance #1 launches from Erik Burnham and Roi Mercado with a 1:10 variant by Mateus Santolouco. "KARAI! Tasked by her estranged grandfather, the Shredder, to protect New York City, Oroku Karai faces her first true test as master of the Foot Clan when four mysterious mutant ninja turtles unleash seemingly random acts of violence against the city. The Armageddon Game has begun, and the rules have changed. Will Karai have what it takes to play her part and lead her forces against these strange new threats, especially when some of her own mutant allies are questioning what side the Foot Clan should be playing for in the first place? Official tie-in to TMNT: The Armageddon Game! Written by Erik Burnham (TMNT: Karai's Path) and illustrated by Roi Mercado (Heavy Metal)."

Long awaited trilogy conclusion American Jesus: Revelation #1 comes from Mark Millar, Peter Gross, Tom Coker ahead of the Netflix adaptation, from Image Comics. "The apocalypse is upon us: Satan is in the White House, and the returned Christ is all that stands between humanity and their enslavement in the New World Order."

Lovesick #1 by Luana Vecchio and Jim Mahfood launches from Image Comics. "The LOVESICK CLUB is an exclusive, subscribers-only site on the dark web that offers the best in erotic and ultra-violent entertainment. There, matriarch Domino and her fellow dominatrixes punish and torture none other than their own loyal subscribers, many of whom pay good money to meet their end by her hand in front of a large, anonymous audience. But in the eyes of her rage-filled haters, Domino is the MOTHER DEMON, a deranged succubus who oppresses men by turning them into her slaves. For this crime against men, she must be hunted down and PUNISHED. After BOLERO and GOSPEL FOR A NEW CENTURY, LUANA VECCHIO invites you to explore the furthest limits of consent, idolatry, hate, and love in this modern, blood and neon-soaked horror saga that's not for the faint of heart."

Crossgen Tales #1 is Marvel Comics' trademark-maintainer title, reprinting CrossGen titles now owned by Disney. "In RUSE (2001) #1, Detective Simon Archer and his assistant Emma Bishop face magic and mystery on the Victorian-esque planet Arcadia! In MYSTIC (2000) #1, meet sisters Genevieve and Giselle – one is a sorceress, one is a socialite, but their destinies are about to be transformed! In SIGIL (2000) #1, a planetary union is locked in a centuries-long war with the starfaring Saurians! And in SOJOURN (2001) #1, the archer Arwyn and her allies fight for survival in the shadow of the undead dictator Mordath! But who are the Sigil-Bearers who unite these four stories?" With this 1:50 tiered variant.

Nobody's Girl #1 by Damian Connelly and Matias San Juan launches from Sumerian Comics. "FROM THE CREATOR OF "YOU PROMISED ME DARKNESS": Emmet lives a very normal life until he finds a strange video that leads him on a peculiar search for a missing girl. A story about sex, violence, loneliness and disappointment."

Alyssa Wong and Martin Coccolo relaunch Deadpool #1 with 1:25, 1:50 and 1:100 tiered variants. "We all know Wade Wilson is one of the top mercenary/assassins in the Marvel Universe, even if he is simultaneously the most annoying one… but he's pushing to make that recognition official as he auditions for the elite group known as the Atelier. Now, he has 48 hours to kill one of the world's most famous supervillains. Only problem? He's been kidnapped, and something…strange…is GROWING INSIDE HIM. Things are going to get gross as writer Alyssa Wong (DOCTOR APHRA, IRON FIST) and artist Martin Coccolo (BANNER OF WAR) take out their pent up aggression on everyone's pizza-faced, jabber-mouthed, misguided, hate-to-love, love-to-hate fave… Deadpool!"

A Guardian #1 by Eastin DeVerna and Kay Baird launches from Source Point Press. "'High up in the Windy Mountains, there is a tomb. And there are rumors
about this tomb.' Aylward is the ancient guardian of The Tomb of Livia. When the Northern, Middle, and Southern kingdoms of the Great Sphere plunge into a threewar once again, events are set in motion that will trigger the beginning of the End Times, and Aylward will soon find that the fate of the realm is a heavy weight to bear, indeed.

Secret Invasion #1 returns as a comic ahead of the TV show, by Ryan North and Francesco Mobili with 1:25 and 1:100 variants. "THE SKRULLS ARE BACK in a giant-sized issue kicking off an all-new five-part miniseries! When Maria Hill detects the merest HINT of Skrulls, she acts quickly to put her defensive plans into action. And when Nick Fury is sent to investigate a Skrull sighting in Iowa, he finds the LAST thing he was expecting! Our pale blue dot is in their sights, and this time, Earth's old defenses won't work… Find out who you REALLY trust: The invasion begins NOW."

Argus #1 by Mark Bertolini and Darryl Knickrehm launches from Source Point Press. "Time travel is real! Scientific prodigy Randall Patton has had a breakthrough that allows travel through the timestream, which immediately led to the creation of The Argus, the temporal law enforcement organization that polices
the time/space continuum. After an accident renders one of the members of The Argus insane, he begins killing off the others – except they are all versions of Randall Patton from various points in his own life! Who can stop Randall but himself?"

Marvel launches Tiger Division by Emily Kim and Creees Lee. "The defenders of South Korea take center stage! In their first ever solo series, you'll learn more about TAEGUKGI, a powerhouse with a heart of gold; LADY BRIGHT, a card-wielding sorceress; MR. ENIGMA, a street-brawling demigod; THE GENERAL, a living totem; and GUN-R II, an android with an attitude. They're joined by fan-favorites WHITE FOX and LUNA SNOW to form an unstoppable team. Created by our own unstoppable team, writer EMILY KIM (SILK) and artist CREEES LEE (MARVEL VOICES), this is one epic series you won't want to miss!" With 1:10, 1:50 and 1:100 tiered covers.

Category Zero Conflict #1 launches from Scout Comics from Adem Kiamil and Ton Limae. "Tensions heat up as rioters take to the streets in protest against Sanaxus and their brutality towards One Percenters. The truth behind STRIX's origin is uncovered and Jade shows that she has a much darker side to her!

Batman: Gotham Knights: Gilded City #1 by Evan Cagle and Abel launches from DC Comics with 1:25 and 1:50 tiered covers. "A mysterious virus has infected Gotham City–turning its victims into rabid, yellow-irised maniacs driven to looting, theft, and bursts of anger. Batman and his Gotham Knights struggle to keep this strange virus contained while investigating its origins. But this is not the first time this unusual illness has overtaken the city. Take a trip to Gotham in the mid-1800s and meet the city's first masked vigilante–the mysterious hero known only as the Runaway–as they, too, find themselves mired in the mystery of this infection! This thrilling and horrific tale, split between modern-day Gotham and the Gotham of 1847, leads directly into the upcoming video game Gotham Knights! Each issue will also offer a code for readers to redeem in the Gotham Knights game for an exclusive item. For issue 1, readers will receive a code for an exclusive skin variant for the Batcycle! Readers who redeem the codes for all 6 issues will receive a special 7th item!"

Punchline: The Gotham Game #1 launches from Tini Howard, Blake Howard and Gleb Melnikov with 1:25, 1:50 and 1:100 tiered covers. "Punchline is out of jail and back on the streets of Gotham City. She's not coming back for some of what Gotham has to offer, she's coming back for all of it. She wants to be the queen of crime, and with the help of her Royal Flush Gang no one will stand in her way. But Punchline created a lot of angry enemies in Gotham before she was incarcerated, and they all want payback. Presenting a miniseries that will redefine the criminal landscape of Gotham City from the superstar creative team of Tini Howard (Catwoman, Knights of X), Blake Howard (Batman: Urban Legends), and Gleb Melnikov (Robin, Wonder Woman)!"

Beyondtopia Legends #1 by Bryan Valenza, Henry Barajas, Sami Basri & Various launches from Fairsquare. "When the past is the future. Where unknown myths and legends are discovered. Witness the birth of the Mystic Universe! here comes BEYONDTOPIA: LEGENDS From the mind of Indonesian visual artist Bryan Valenza (Marvel, Image,…) BEYONDTOPIA: LEGENDS is an anthology series blending a variety of folklores, heroes and legends all reimagined for American and international audiences with a unique flavor. Co-spearheaded by Award-Winning LatinX author Henry Barajas (HELM GREYCASTLE, LA VOZ DE M.A.Y.O.: TATA RAMBO, BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS), the bi-monthly series brings together the best artists from Indonesia and the world, including Sami Basri (HARLEY QUINN, GREEN LANTERN), Garrie Gastonny (ODYSSEY) and many more! Featuring stunning exclusive covers from STEPHEN SEGOVIA, PHILIP TAN & KAREN S. DARBOE, BEYONDTOPIA: LEGENDS embodies the values of FairSquare Comics, bringing "Comics From the Rest of Us" to every comic book fan in the World! It is presented in our square bound DELUXE FORMAT, similar to the CLASSIFIED hit collection."

Purple Oblivion #1 launched from Sumerian Comics, from E&E Plissken and Diego Simone with limited and unlockable covers. "From the creators of Heavy Metal Drummer. Jessica Knot: Dominatrix, Disciplinarian, Fetishist, Sadist, Goddess… or at least that's what her business card says. Enter Peter, a young man whose just found this card and is about to let his curiosity get himself into a situation with that begins with a cult, but ends with something much more sinister."