Grim, Jurassic, Twig in Thank FOC It’s Sunday the 10th of April 2022

Thank FOC It’s Saturday –  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 somesuch. 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?

• Dark Horse returns to Pandora with Avatar: Adapt Or Die by Corinna Bechko and Beni Lobel. “Decades into the advent of the Avatar program on Pandora, pressure to bridge the divide between human and Na’vi has hit a peak. As an ally of the Omatikaya clan, Dr. Grace Augustine begins negotiations to open a school for Na’vi children, but her plans for peace, hope, and unity could trigger an unprecedented disaster-one afflicting the most vulnerable and protected of Na’vi.” Returnable to retailers who order ten copies or more.
• Twelve Percent Dread collects’ Bloodlust & Bonnets and My Life as a Background Slytherin‘s Emily McGovern‘s comic, “While Katie bounces from job to job and obsesses about falling behind in life, Nas has bigger things in mind-waiting endlessly for their visa to come through, while working on a seismic art project that will revolutionize politics and society as we know it. Their friend Emma, meanwhile, seems to have it all figured out-job, mortgage, engagement-yet the long hours working for tech giant Arko and endless wedding admin prove equally dread-inducing. But when Katie’s latest job finds her tutoring the daughter of Arko’s formidable CEO, Michelle, and Emma welcomes the eccentric and enigmatic Alicia to her team at Arko, none of the three women are aware that their lives-and possibly the future of society itself-are about to change forever.
• Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer #1 has 30,000 pre-orders already and may be picking up more byMitch Iverson and Stefano Martino from Opus Comics, with all the possible covers, including 1:5, 1:10, 1:15, 1:20 and 1:30 tiered variants, as Opus Comics joins FOC with its first issue
• The full first appearance of Venus in TMNT #128 from Sophie Campbell is up for FOC, including a 1:10 tiered cover and an unseen Kevin Eastman cover

• Gerry Duggan, Scott Buoncristiano, Tamra Bonvillain launch a new graphic novel, Dark Room, in hardcover from Image Comics. “The hunt for a camera containing an undeveloped photo of the face of true evil threatens to wipe out New York City one chilly autumn evening. Doune Mahoney is the curator of a private collection of extremely dangerous cursed objects, and her night’s about to go to hell. Werewolves, secret societies, blessed animals, cursed objects, and more, in a fantasy horror-comedy from X-Men and Deadpool writer GERRY DUGGAN, your new favorite artist SCOTT BUONCRISTIANO, and color artist extraordinaire TAMRA BONVILLAIN. Take a deep dive into THE DARK ROOM, a world the creators will be returning to for many years. Includes the first appearance of your new favorite characters, including Walt, the dancing bones of Times Square, and his blessed boom box.” Those retailers who order 20 copies can also get 20 signed bookplates.
• Image Comics launch a new round of one dollar tasters to their series, with the Image Firsts line for Image First bundles for twenty for Arrowsmith #1, Astro City #1, Death Or Glory #1, Department Of Truth #1, Descender #1, East Of West #1, Fire Power #1, Hack Slash #1, Home Sick Pilots #1, I Hate Fairyland #1, Kill Of Be Killed #1, Little Bird #1, Middlewest #1, Monstress #1, Nocterra #1, Radiant Black#1, Scumbag #1, Spawn #1, Walking Dead #1, The Wicked And The Divine #1.
• Metal Society #1 by Zack Kaplan, Guilherme Balbi, Marco Lesko launched from Image, and is returnable. “Blade Runner meets Rocky. In an inverted future, evolved robots have resurrected humans for manual labor. When a tribalistic cultural clash breaks out, a fearless human fighter and a frustrated, displaced robot will square off in a public MMA-style sport fight of epic stakes to determine once and for all who reigns supreme: man or machine.” with 1:5, 1:10 and 1:25 covers.

• Twig #1 launches from Image Comics by Skottie Young and Kyle Strahm. “It’s the first day of Twig’s new job as a journeyer on a JEFF SMITH’s Bone-esque quest to save a The Dark Crystal/Labyrinth-style world. Join our hesitant hero for an inspiring and imaginative tale of hope, heartache, and determination to overcome insurmountable odds!” Returnable, with 1:10, 1:25, 1:50, 1:100 variants.
• Captain America: Symbol Of Truth #1 launches from Marvel, by Tochi Onyebuchi and R. B. Silva. “Sam Wilson picks up the shield once more – and enters a world of trouble! Following a lead from Misty Knight, Sam intercepts a mysterious group hijacking what appears to be an empty train. As he digs deeper, he discovers that the plot may be connected to a crucial piece of Captain America history…and, surprisingly, Wakanda. The world is ready for two Captain Americas – but is Sam Wilson ready for what comes next?” With 1:25 and 1:50 covers.
• Gambit #1 gets a new series by Chris Claremont and Sid Kotian. With 1:25 and a 1:100 cover from Peach Momoko.

• Marvel’s Voices: Identity #1 by Pirzada, Sabir, Creees Lee, and more. “THE GREATEST ASIAN SUPER HEROES AND CREATORS RETURN!
  Just in time for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, comes a new spotlight on the best Asian super heroes in comics! Ms. Marvel! Shang-Chi! Wong! Mantis! Plus, more surprises to come from an amazing lineup of new and established AAPI creators!”
• Devil’s Highway by Ben Percy and Brent Schoonover gets a new volume and a new #1 from AWA Studios. “A truck stacked with bodies is discovered along the US/Canada border, and Sharon Harrow and Quentin Skinner are on the case. Their mission: figure out how all of these corpses are connected. And when they uncover the terrifying truth, they will unearth a murder syndicate that has infiltrated the walls of the very institutions meant to protect us. Now our heroes are on the run-hunted by law enforcement and the trucking community-framed for crimes they didn’t commit.” 75% discount to retailers for the launch issue.
• DC Comics launches Jurassic League #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson and Juan Gedeon, the comic book waiting for a toyline, including a 1:25 cover by Walter Simonson.

• Dune gets a new series, The Waters Of Kanly, by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson and Francesco Mortarino from Boom Studios. “Go deeper into the Dune universe with this lore-expanding story set during the events of the Frank Herbert classic! In the aftermath of the battle of Arrakeen, legendary House Atreides warmaster Gurney Halleck takes refuge with spice smugglers, vowing revenge against the Harkonnens no matter the cost.” With 1:10, 1:25, 1:50 tiered covers.
• Grim #1 launches by Stephanie Phillips and Flaviano from Boom Studios. “Jessica Harrow is dead. But her journey has only just begun! Discover the world of the afterlife, where Jessica has been recruited as a Reaper, tasked with ferrying countless souls to their final destination. But unlike the rest of the Reapers, she has no memory of what killed her and put her into this predicament. In order to unravel the mystery of her own demise, she’ll have to solve an even bigger one – where is the actual GRIM REAPER?” With 1:25, 1:50, 1:75 and 1:100 variant covers.
• Belit & Valeria #1 by Max Bemis and Rodney Buchemi from Ablaze, published more trademark busting Conan comics. “Robert E. Howard’s Hyboria UNLEASHED! See its true nature, its unrestrained violence and sexuality! Rising from a watery grave, Belit once again finds herself commanding a ship, sailing the seas in search of adventure…and answers. But when a deal goes wrong, she finds herself teamed up with the woman she was holding prisoner: the equally beautiful and deadly, Valeria. These two iconic characters will find themselves traveling across Hyperborea on a mission to find out how Belit lives once again that will lead them straight into danger…from the gods themselves! Bonus material included: The original Robert E. Howard essay The Hyborian Age” With 1:10, 1:20, 1:25,1:30, 1:40, 1:50 covers.

• Blind Alley #1 by Irra from Behemoth Comics launches, “Jesús returns to the neighborhood where he grew up, La Esquina del Gato, a Sevillian suburban neighborhood where violence and the constant struggle against life’s adversities meet. His goal is to resume his relationship with Irene, his former girlfriend, and start a project together. With the help of Fae, his childhood friend, he tries to escape crime and marginalization, carving a niche for himself in the world of work and in society. But Vargas, the exalted brother of Fae, fans the flame of something that has been cooking for a long time …” with a 1@5 tiered cover.
• Red Sonja: Red Sitha #1 by Mirka Andolfo and Valentina Pinti from Dynamite. “Once possessed by Xamul, the spirit of the flame that possessed her, Sitha The Red has chosen to follow the path of the sword, inspired by the courage of her adopted mother, RED SONJA.  Ten years have gone by, and Sitha is a young bounty hunter, always on the trail of the most dangerous criminals in the kingdom of Aquilonia! Until one day, someone returns from her past to involve her in a mission bordering on suicide…” with more variants than I can count.
• Code 45 #1 by Benjamin Hunting and Joe Ng launches from Scout Comics. “There are dragons lurking in the tunnels beneath Montreal’s city streets – at least that’s the rumor that confronts new metro driver Vanessa. Terrified by these mysterious and horrifying apparitions, the night shift turns to self-medication, losing the ability to tell the difference between reality and fantasy. Pulled in deep by the underground raves that blast through the system’s
• Dogs Of London #1 by Peter Milligan and Artecida launches from AfterShock Comics. “How deep must you bury a body to make sure it doesn’t haunt you Frank and Terry are about to find out. They were once members of The Dogs, a feared gang who ruled much of London’s underworld back in the swinging 60s. They thought they’d escaped their troubled pasts, but the past isn’t dead – it’s just bashed about a bit and very pissed off. Spanning different times and classes, DOGS OF LONDON is a brutal, bloody tale of violence, love, revenge…and sleeping dogs who refuse to roll over and play dead.” with 1:15 variants.
• Archer & Armstrong Forever #1 launches from Valiant Entertainment by Steve Foxe and Marcio Fiorito. “When Armstrong seemingly loses his immortality, Archer refuses to let his best buddy go gentle into that good night. But when you live for millennia, you rack up plenty of enemies who’ll be thrilled to find out you’re no longer indestructible. Archer & Armstrong’s globetrotting quest for (more) immortality begins here!”. And returnable to retailers. With a 1:250 cover.
• Batman #123 replaced rainbow foil with gold foil for Jock‘s 1:50 variant cover.
• Flashpoint Beyond gets a #1 after this week’s #0 by Geoff Johns, Jeremy Adams, Tim Sheridan and Xermanico.

• Nubia has a Coronation Special as the new Queen of the Amazons, by Stephanie Williams, Vita Ayala, Marguerite Sauvage, Darryl Banks, Jill Thompson, Alitha Martinez, Nikolas Draper-Ivey, Becky Cloonan and more with Nubia’s origin revealed.

What’s on your FOC?

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