Nick's Picks 176

✅ Recent news articles have drawn attention to an unusual connection between artificial intelligence models like ChatGPT and Claude and the name Elias Thorne

A study of 20,000 stories from four large language models revealed that the name Elias Thorne appeared in 26% of them, leading experts to suggest a phenomenon called “model collapse,” also referred to as “AI inbreeding.” Either way, the connection to comics (and trading cards) exists, and it is a strange one

✅ DC has revealed a connection between the now deceased Alfred and a new butler appearing in Batman #12 this August, with speculation that it may be his niece Daphne introduced here or, alternatively, an entirely new character

✅ Not discussed very often, this issue could be considered the first appearance of the Absolute Universe, as main architect Scott Snyder planted the initial seeds of what would later grow into a revitalized era of DC storytelling

✅ If you’re a huge fan of Absolute Batman, Scott Snyder first cut his teeth on the Dark Knight in this issue.

✅ Image/Skybound surprised fans with an original ROM comic in their MASK blind bag offering, raising questions about what the future holds for the characters that comprise the shared Energon Universe currently occupied by G.I. Joe, Transformers, MASK and Void Rivals

Taking it a step further, speculation around other Hasbro properties suggests Micronauts would be a strong fit within the sci-fi-heavy patchwork of the Energon Universe

✅ Spawn traces back to 1977 when Todd McFarlane was just sixteen years old and first developed the original concept for the character, with early designs reflecting a version of Spawn that closely resembles the imagery seen on this cover

This September, McFarlane continues to expand the Spawn mythos with a three-issue miniseries, featuring fully painted interiors by Mark Spears, further wringing out every last drop of potential Spawn spin-offs

✅ A black and white edition of this cover also exists

✅This might be one of the scarcest Spawn variants out there with only two copies listed and sold over the past three years

✅ Gearing up to see Supergirl? You won’t need to circle the globe at the speed of light to turn back time like Superman did in the 1978 film. Just check out this adaptation of the first Supergirl movie, which has now turned 40 years old

✅ Supergirl first meets Lobo, making now as good a time as any to feature this issue

✅ Early reports from the Annecy Festival describe Duncan Jones’ Rogue Trooper adaptation as a fast, funny, visually mind-blowing, old-school war film

✅An overlooked issue and one that has potential if Speed Racer is revived. There is a second printing of this issue that has Speed Racer on the cover but it went on-sale after Speed Racer #1

✅This fun take on old school Nintendo video game packaging jumped in price by approximately 2x but even so, there has only been one ungraded copy that was listed and sold in the past three years

✅ With Chew reportedly being developed as a live-action TV series according to co-creator Rob Guillory’s Facebook page, his similarly gifted sister could also be introduced

✅ If you’re craving Clay ahead of the October movie premiere, this oversized issue explores the origins of Clayface I–III, and if you still haven’t had your fill, Detective Comics #604 continues with Clayface IV

✅ Not sure what he’s getting at, but Tyler Kirkham took to Facebook saying, “I recommend snagging up copies of Final Boss! A massive announcement is coming soon!”

✅ While variants were not really a thing in 1987, it was a clever strategy to boost sales on a higher-priced issue by offering a second cover featuring Peter Parker in his Spider-Man suit instead of the tuxedo shown on the direct edition cover, which was sold exclusively in comic shops

✅ This is a strong candidate for a future indie adaptation and could very well end up starring the writer

✅ This was recently brought to my attention and thought it would be interesting to highlight in this edition of Nick's Picks, if for no other reason than to request any other similar candidates to be sent to [email protected] for our Famous Fan Letters category

There is a separate category now live called Letters from Todd which includes 23 comics featuring fan letters written by a young Todd McFarlane

✅ Have you heard of the recent DC Blackout initiative launched by fans protesting more than 1,000 days of publishing without a title centered on a Black character

The boycott was short-lived, but a recent Heroes Con panel featuring Absolute Batman scribe Scott Snyder and Stephanie Williams has fueled speculation that DC’s Next Level initiative could break that stretch with a new Vixen series, which Williams previously teased years ago in a social post

✅ The animated Dynamic Duo movie is set to hit theaters in June 2028 and will follow Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, two orphaned street kids who take separate paths on the streets of Gotham

✅ Welcome to the age of UFO disclosure, which arrives roughly 10 years after multiple X-Files 1:25 ratio variants by Joe Corroney were published and now sell for $100+, including X-Files Conspiracy #2 and #5 (1:25), the latter of which can reach $300+

✅ A fun concept, nicely executed by Bruno Redondo, that would make for a bad ass piece of original art if the full issue ever became available to purchase for someone with a large wall

✅Invincible is confirmed for a season 6 on Amazon Prime so it might not be a bad idea to keep a lookout for other titles associated with the franchise like Guarding the Globe, Capes and Tech Jacket

✅ And since anything Robert Kirkman brings from page to screen tends to catch fire (no pun intended but really, the pun was intended), this pandemic-hampered series ran for 30 issues in the main title