FRANCO’S FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAYS! By FRANCO It’s one of my favorite times of year! It’s WWE Royal Rumble time! On the road to Wrestlemania! I like wrestling. It’s a great mix of soap opera storytelling and it’s got that superhero feel to it that I find very entertaining. Is it fake? Absolutely! But it’s also real. Raw, if you will. These people put on a show and sometimes things don’t go as planned and they get hurt. But again, it’s entertaining and I watch almost every week. It’s a time when I can just sit in the studio, turn on the action and draw. There’s a small dividing line between wrestling and comic books. Heck, I’ve even had my interaction with the wrestling world. Good friends and professional wrestlers Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kasarian have appeared in our comic-book stores, signed with us at conventions and we even made a couple of comic books together. I get asked “Who’s your favorite?” and there are a bunch. But if forced to pick top choices aside from Kaz and Daniels, it would have to be CM Punk and Becky Lynch. I watch AEW and TNA and, of course, WWE. The Royal Rumble, which is Saturday, has become my all-time favorite event. Something about wrestling’s version of the big superhero brawl where all the best come out and pile into the ring and only the best of the best comes out on top! What does all this mean? Nothing. I just like wrestling. And sometimes I’m asked to do artwork that crosses both those streams. So here’s my take on Bat Punk. A commission cross between Batman and CM Punk! Happy Friday! — Want more FRANCO’S FREE-FOR-ALL FRIDAYS? Come back next week! — MORE — What’s the Coolest SPACESHIP of Them All? Click here. — THE QUESTION: DC or Not DC? Click here. — Franco and his forehead have traveled the world and he writes and draws stuff. Franco is the creator, artist and writer of Patrick the Wolf Boy and Aw Yeah Comics! Franco has worked on books/comics, including Tiny Titans and Superman Family Adventures. Franco was also a high-school teacher and is one of the principal owners of Aw Yeah Comics retail stores. Dan made Franco add that he has won three...
SNEAK PEEK — Coming in February… The first-rate The Batman: Second Knight, by Dan Jurgens, Mike Perkins and Mike Spicer, wraps in February and we’re finally getting a look at both variant covers, each of which leans into the noir atmosphere of the DC Black Label miniseries. There’s the previously released Stephanie Hans cover, which spotlights sexy Bruce Wayne… … and one by Marc Aspinall, which captures a very old-school looking Superman. This one has only been released to retailers so far: As a reminder, here’s the solicitation info, along with the main, previously released Perkins cover, plus the newly revealed back cover of the main edition. THE BAT-MAN SECOND KNIGHT #3 (OF 3) CVR A MIKE PERKINS (MR) (W) Dan Jurgens (A/CA) Mike Perkins DAN JURGENS AND MIKE PERKINS RACE TOWARD THE ENDGAME FOR GOTHAM CITY! A cloud of fear has settled over the city, and the Scarecrow has the people of Gotham right where he wants them. Jim Gordon will take the fight right to Scarecrow’s seat of power…City Hall! But will Gordon have to challenge him on his own? Where’s the Bat-Man? The Dark Knight has found himself staring down a power unlike any he’s ever seen: a man of unlimited strength. A superman. And he has a lot of questions for the Caped Crusader. Will these two find common ground in time to thwart the Scarecrow and Hangman’s endgame? 48 Pages Retail: $6.99 (The card-stock variants are $7.99) In-Store Date: 2/25/2026 — MORE — FIRST LOOK: The BAT-MAN Meets SUPERMAN in February’s SECOND KNIGHT Finale. Click here. — BATMAN: DC Sets Dates for April DARK KNIGHT and YEAR TWO Facsimiles. Click...
