Well, it’s FOC time…again, which means I wandered into the comic-book mulch pile and started digging around to see what I could find.
Fortunately, this week I actually found some gems.
We’ve got a classic barbarian mendicant, a resurrected Cenobite, and a symbiote situation that apparently requires a flowchart to explain.
So let’s get to it.
📖 GROO: THE PROPHECY #3
Dark Horse Comics
FOC Date: 8/17/2026
Release Date: 9/23/2026
Price: $4.99
Writer: Sergio Aragonés, Mark Evanier
Artist: Sergio Aragonés
Pages: 32
From the Publisher:
With so many of priestess Sybilia’s prophecies of doom not turning out quite right, Sybilia and her townspeople have to wonder: Is Groo to blame?
Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier deliver another stupendously hilarious Groo adventure, with Eisner Award-winning lettering by Stan Sakai and dazzling colors by Carrie Strachan!
Four-issue series.
My Take:
I have been a Sergio Aragonés fan since I bought my first Mad Magazine when I was ten years old.
I'm old.
I collected Groo from the beginning, back when Marvel/Epic was publishing the series, and it was one of those comics that could reliably make me laugh every single month.
And decades later, I'm still excited whenever a new Groo miniseries shows up.
That’s because Groo is one of those rare characters that somehow manages to be both completely nostalgic and completely timeless. You can take the character out of the era when you first discovered him and he still works.
This pick is personal.
If you want a comic that will hit your funny bone like a satirical sword that keeps chopping at it until the very end, grab a copy of Groo: The Prophecy #3.
And if you don't like Groo...
Well, maybe we can't be friends.
Top Pick:
Cover A — No other variants.
📖 Read Pick
📖 HELLRAISER: RESURRECTIONS – HELL'S COUNCIL #1
BOOM! Entertainment
FOC Date: 8/17/2026
Release Date: 9/23/2026
Price: $4.99
Writer: Nero Villagallos O'Reilly
Artist: Francesca Ciregia
Cover Artist: Suspiria Vilchez
Pages: 32
From the Publisher:
Butterball was believed to be dead.
But that was just the beginning...
A new era of ecstasy and agony begins here for Hellraiser! The long-awaited return of Hellraiser to comics is finally upon us, starting with Hellraiser: Resurrections, a series of five one-shots setting up the launch of a new Hellraiserongoing series coming to shelves this winter.
We saw the fall of Butterball at the end of Hellbound: Hellraiser II. Now we’ll witness his rise as the wounded Cenobite is taken in by a mysterious do-gooder who slowly nurses him back to health, all while worming her way into his brain...and maybe even his heart?
The horrors come fast and hard as writer Nero Villagallos O’Reilly and artist Francesca Ciregia weave a terror tale that revisits the classic Cenobite and fills in the gaps between Hellbound and now.
But is Butterball the hero of this story, or is the woman he’s falling for?
My Take:
Another interesting Hellraiser: Resurrections one-shot featuring another classic Cenobite.
This series of one-shots is basically laying the groundwork for the new Hellraiser ongoing series scheduled to launch near the end of the year, and I’m curious to see how everything comes together.
The setup here definitely has my attention.
Butterball is wounded, presumed dead, and then gets taken in by a mysterious woman who nurses him back to health.
Because when someone offers to nurse a Cenobite back to health, I'm sure nothing could possibly go wrong.
Right?
I'm particularly curious about this mysterious woman and what exactly she wants from Butterball. With Hellraiser, "help" is generally one of those words that deserves a pretty big asterisk.
This should be a fun—and probably disturbing—read.
Top Pick:
Cover G — FOC Reveal Variant by Suspiria Vilchez
📖 Read Pick
🎨 THE AMAZING VENOM #1
Marvel
FOC Date: 8/17/2026
Release Date: 9/30/2026
Price: $4.99
Writer: Jordan Morris
Artist: Luke Ross
Cover Artist: Erik Larsen
Pages: 32
From the Publisher:
When last we left the red-and-blue be-symbioted Fred Myers—formerly BOOMERANG, now COMEBACK—he was trying to keep his life uncomplicated.
The last thing he wanted was to get caught up with the symbiote nonsense of Hela and Knull's war over Earth...but the best-laid plans of saps and symbiotes often go awry.
Now, in the fallout, Fred and his symbiote, Passenger, find themselves on a mission way, way, WAY more complicated than your average Venorang can handle!
My Take:
I read The Amazing Spider-Man regularly in the '90s.
Yes, I'm old.
So the original Eddie Brock Venom is the Venom I know best.
I haven't kept up with the revolving door of symbiotes and hosts in a very long time, so when I read that Fred Myers—formerly Boomerang, now Comeback—is running around with a symbiote named Passenger, my first thought was:
Wait...what?
Isn't Fred Myers the name of a store?
I have to admit, I was a little lost reading the description for this new five-issue series by Jordan Morris and Luke Ross.
But here's the thing:
I'm willing to give it a shot.
Because this book has some serious potential in the cover department.
I'm really liking the old-school Erik Larsen cover. It’s an homage of his own artwork from Amazing Spider-Man #347.
There are still six covers that haven't been revealed, including covers by Ito, Matteo Lolli, and Mike Del Mundo. And at least three more artists haven't even been announced yet.
Who are they?
That's the fun part.
They could be anybody.
One of those "TBD Artist" covers could come from a hot new artist nobody is talking about yet.
Or it could be somebody we've been waiting to see draw Venom for years.
And then there's a TBD Artist Foil and a TBD Artist Homage.
I am a sucker for both foil covers and homage covers.
So naturally, now I'm sitting here thinking:
What if it's a Spider-Man homage by Todd McFarlane?
Probably not.
But wouldn't that be awesome?
Top Pick:
Pending — There simply isn't enough information yet.
🎨 Cover Pick
🏆 WRATH'S FOC PICK OF THE WEEK
If I could only preorder one comic from this week's Final Order Cutoff, it would be:
THE AMAZING VENOM #1 — Cover Pending
Yes, I realize how ridiculous that sounds.
My Weekly Top Pick is a comic where I haven't even seen the cover I'm picking and it’s a cover pick.
But hear me out.
If there were no covers left to be revealed, I would pick the Erik Larsen cover. I really like it.
So technically, this is still a cover pick either way.
But there are six mystery covers sitting out there waiting to ruin my decision.
We already know that Ito, Matteo Lolli, and Mike Del Mundo are involved, and any of those could produce something fantastic.
But the three TBD Artist covers are what really have me curious.
Those could be anybody.
A rising star.
A superstar.
A legend.
And then we've got the TBD Artist Foil and TBD Artist Homage.
I'm a sucker for both. But, my curiosity says “pick the homage”.
So if those covers still haven't been revealed by the 8/17 FOC deadline, I'm probably going with the TBD Artist Homage.
Because what if we get something completely unexpected?
What if it’s a Spider-Man homage by Todd McFarlane?
It probably won't be.
But comics have surprised me before.
And that's why I'm going to keep digging through the mulch.
You never know what you're going to find.
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
💰 Spec Picks: 0
📖 Read Picks: 2
🎨 Cover Picks: 1
🏆 Pick of the Week: The Amazing Venom #1
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