Between the original books, the beloved RPG series, and the hit Netflix show, Geralt of Rivia is by now a multimedia superstar, and his journeys in the world of comics aren't stopping anytime soon, either. A new, four-issue miniseries called The Witcher: Blood Stone is set to kick off in 2026, sending Geralt into that most dank and deadly of dark fantasy locales: a deadly dwarven mine.

"Ancient dwarven mines have attracted treasure hunters," the official plot description goes, "and local legend has it that a horned beast is killing them. With no signs of an attack, Geralt surveys the land, but the mountains are deadly, and the mines even deadlier. And in the labyrinth of the dwarven caves, what remains is best left untouched."

Blood Stone is written by Daniel Freedman, who previously wrote dark fantasy series Birdking and the post apocalyptic tale of Kali. Pius Bak is on art duty, coming from work on the fantasy adventure Slightly Exaggerated and supernatural crime series Godfather of Hell. Colorist Roman Titov (who previously worked on Cyberpunk 2077: Big City Dreams) and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (who worked on the similarly related The Witcher: The Bear and the Butterfly) round out the creative team.

"I am thrilled to leave my mark on the legendary long-running fantasy The Witcher," Freedman says in a statement. "Geralt and I share a lot of the same sensibilities and getting to weave a blood soaked tale about the true monster of man is always an opportunity I relish."

The series kicks off when Blood Stone #1 launches on January 28, 2026. The series will feature cover art from Bak, and variant covers for #1 will be provided by Gigi Cavenago, Gigi Cavenago, and Patrycja Podkościelny. You can see a gallery of those covers above.

"Daniel Freedman has written one of the best dark fantasy comic books ever, Birdking," CD Projekt Red's franchise creative editor/writer Marcin Zwierzchowski says in a statement. "So inviting him to tell his own story in the world of The Witcher felt like a perfect match. Together with Pius Bak and Roman Titov they formed a dream team that crafted a wonderful story about greed and wounds that do not heal."

The Witcher 4 is just one of many upcoming CD Projekt Red games.

CD Projekt Red CEO Michał Nowakowski wants us all to know about a new English release of the original Witcher comic books. He says they're for "true collectors."

First released between 1992 and 1993, Nowakowski tweets: "This is the first ever English release of the original comic books authored by two artists I had [the] pleasure to know who are sadly no longer with us (Boguslaw Polch - art, and Maciej Parowski - writing)."

The art on the cover doesn't look like any version of Geralt I've ever seen in the modern day, but Nowakowski reminds us that it's "retro" because it was made in the '90s. That version of Geralt has certainly seen some things though, I can tell that much.

The English edition comes with all six comics and only costs $30, which is a much lower price than I thought they'd be selling for. If you want to buy it you can find all the information on Dark Horse's website, right here.

This comic is clearly important to Nowakowski, as he writes, "I remember buying the original Polish release issue in the newsagent kiosks. Something for true collectors." It's easy to forget that The Witcher started out as a series of books long before it became a video game. To me it all began with The Witcher 3, but I've never claimed to be a die-hard fan of the franchise.

If you're hungry for more monster-hunting RPG action, check out our list of games like The Witcher 3 that you can play right now.

The Umbrella Academy is returning to comics in July with its first full series in six years. As revealed by Variety yesterday, The Umbrella Academy: Plan B is the fourth full run of the hit book and will reunite the original creative team of co-writers Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, with Bá also illustrating the comic which will be colored by Dave Stewart and lettered by Nate Piekos.

"After the mass release of The City's greatest foes and the chaos that followed in Hotel Oblivion, the Umbrella Academy faces their most fearsome challenge to date – their other brothers and sisters," reads the official synopsis for the new book. "Known only as The Sparrows, they share a different connection to Sir Reginald Hargreeves and Mom. No one knows how to hurt each other more than family, and this powerful, ruthless brood will spare no brutality in favor of their sole objective – control and the obedient glare that comes with it."

The first issue of the new series will come with a whole host of cover options, which you can check out in the gallery below. These are (from left to right) by Gabriel Bá, followed by variants from Bá, Duncan Fegredo, Mike Del Mundo, Fábio Moon, David Aja, Jill Thompson, Dustin Nguyen, and Tula Lotay.

"Telling this story with Gabriel would become, as it is today, such a special part of my life," Way told Variety. "This is not only because we would evolve as artists – but because we had the opportunity to grow up over a pretty crazy adventure together. Each chapter of this story seems to form and coalesce into its own organism – sometimes as a screaming baby on a subway car, other times a bird kicked out of its nest – and it's because of this I am just as excited for Plan B as I was when we went on this trip together with Apocalypse Suite."

This new run of the comic is not entirely unexpected. In fact, it was first announced way back in 2020, then going under the working title Sparrow Academy (as seen on Gabriel Bá's variant cover). "We never actually stopped working on the new material," explained Bá, "but the pandemics were a blow we were not expecting. It took us some time to get back on our feet and work on the new scripts."

The Plan B storyline sounds like it will share some similarities with the third season of the TV show, which also featured the Sparrows, but Bá confirms that this won't simply be a retread. "They [Netflix] used ideas we haven't done yet, but differently than we originally intended for the comics. And that's the fun of the show, in my opinion. It began very similar, but it grew to become a completely different thing, even though it has some elements that are the same. So we might see things in the comics that have appeared on the show, like the Sparrows, but the reader will soon be reminded what makes our comics so unique and why we love this medium so much."

The Umbrella Academy Plan B is published by Dark Horse Comics on June 11.

Gerard Way recently published a new series, Paranoid Gardens, with artist Chris Weston.

Mike Mignola has been telling fantasy and horror stories in comics for more than 40 years now. In 1993 he launched Hellboy, which quickly spawned an entire entire universe of supporting characters and comics. His latest project, however, is something quite different – though still unmistakably Mignola. 

Lands Unknown is a new shared universe created by Mignola and Our Bones Dust creator Ben Stenbeck that will tell stories heavily inspired by folklore – and the first instalment is in comic shops today! Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown is a collection of short stories inspired by folklore. The 114-page anthology (presented as a handsome hardcover book from Dark Horse) is written and drawn by Mignola, with coloring from Dave Stewart and lettering by Clem Robins – and it's as visually stunning and eerily evocative as you would expect from that creative team.

Newsarama caught up with Mignola to find out more about the new book and his hopes for the Lands Unknown universe...

Newsarama: Mike, you've said that the starting point for Bowling With Corpses was an old Italian folk tale. What was it about that story that spoke to you and how did you make it your own?

Mike Mignola: How can you NOT love a story where a kid runs into some walking corpses who invite him to go bowling? It's just everything I love about old folktales. It's been years now since I read the original story but the biggest change I remember making was the ending – what I did with the mayor's daughter [you'll have to read the book to find out what Mike is referring to here! - Ed.]. 

Yeb is the protagonist in the opening story, and almost the key to the Lands Unknown universe. What can you tell our readers about him and the world he inhabits?

Yeb is very much the classic folklore character – the simple guy who goes out to make his fortune and sort of stumbles into an adventure. I didn't want to over complicate his story, tried to keep the simple charm of it, but did want to at least establish the FEEL of the world. The beauty of doing the story as the lead in a collection was that I was able to build on the world we introduce in 'Bowling.' The entire collection is very much just a teaser for the world. I just wanted to establish a few new characters, bring them to life and see where they go from here.

Which of your tales from the new comic is your favorite, and why?

Hard for me to say as I look at the book so much as a BOOK, rather than individual stories. I love the simple charm of 'Bowling' and want to do more with Yeb – I love the pirate girl turned vampire, Una, and have big plans for her. And I LOVE the whole underground world of the Kobolds and Oblins whatever the hell else is down there. Overall It was just so much fun to create these characters and frustrating as I've just hinted at this whole world that they inhabit. 

This comic is the start of the new shared Lands Unknown universe created with Ben Stenbeck. What do you admire about Ben's work?

Ben is great – great artist, great imagination and enthusiasm. He is fairly new to writing but clearly just needs a place to cut loose and run wild. We have worked together for so long now – he was just the perfect guy to bounce ideas back and forth with. It's such a big new world – I'm so excited to have somebody like Ben to play in it with. 

How does your collaboration on this project work?

As Ben has been busy with other things, so far I've done most of the world building – but all my actual stories have focused on a couple locations. When Ben jumps in he will be concentrating on a location that I've done almost nothing with. Everything I've come up with so far I've run past Ben for his approval and as we go forward the idea will be for us to play with the world and expand on it without stepping on each other's toes. There is a lot of world – more than enough room for the two of us. 

What is the core idea of the Lands Unknown universe? What sort of stories will you be telling there?

My original idea was a place where I could do very loose adaptations of folktales from all over the world – and I would still like to do some of that but so far, other than Bowling, all the stories have been original – but the fantasy world of old folktales and legends is still the main inspiration – to take inspiration from old stories and make them our own – and use them to create a whole world.

Folklore and mythology is at the heart of so much of your work. What is it about this sort of storytelling that still appeals to you?

Hard question to answer – or an easy one – basically EVERYTHING about those old stories inspires me – the strange logic of the stories – the magic and the fantastic creatures. A weird combination of horror and humor which is just my favorite sort of thing. I feel very at home in this kind of world and feel like THIS is the perfect place for me. 40 years of doing comics was preparation for creating this world.

Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown is out now from Dark Horse Comics.

Artist Duncan Fegredo tells us about the first series of Giant Robot Hellboy.

Well, it's certainly been a minute, but Mark Millar and Rafael Albuquerque's big-hearted superhero Huck is set to return in 2025 – 10 years after the character's first and only comic series to date. 

Huck: Big Bad World is a new six-issue limited series from Millar and Albuquerque, plus colorist Dave McCaig, and letterer Clem Robins. It revisits the titular small town gas station worker, an autistic man with superpowers who lives his life by the rule of doing one good deed every day. 

"After being exposed as a super-powered person and hunting down the doctor who gave him – and his mother – their powers, it would seem like Huck could finally get back to the simple life he'd come to love, making folks in his small town feel safe and cared for by doing one good deed a day and being the real change anyone would want to see in the world," reads Dark Horse's synopsis for the new series. "But then a mysterious man tells him he and his mother aren't the ONLY super-people out in the world; many are hiding, just like them."

Albuquerque will illustrate each cover, with the first issue also offering a black and white variant (see above), and a variant by Jae Lee.

"Stoked to team up again with Mark on the sequel of our very first collaboration," said Albuquerque in a statement about the new series. "I missed these characters so much, and about 10 years later, returning to them still feels fresh and exciting."

The well-received original series of Huck ran between November 2015 and April 2016 and was, in part, inspired by Millar having a visceral reaction to watching Man of Steel, as the writer explained to us all those years ago...

Huck: Big Bad World #1 is published by Dark Horse Comics on May 14.

Mark Millar and Frank Quitely discuss globe-trotting sci-fi adventure The Ambassadors in our interview here.

Dark Horse is partnering with Ubisoft once again to publish the latest instalment in the Assassin's Creed comics franchise. The new three-issue limited series, titled Assassin's Creed Mirage: A Soar of Eagles, acts as a prequel to the most recent game in the franchise. It's written by Michael Avon Oeming, illustrated by artist Mirko Colak, with colors by Lauren Affe, and lettering by Jimmy Bettancourt.

Plot details for the new comic are, so far, a little bit sparse. "Years before the events of Assassin's Creed Mirage, a young Fuladh must return to his homeland to investigate political unrest that could point to a secret Order of the Ancients stronghold," reads the synopsis for the first issue. "But in order to discover what's behind the chaos and violence in Adulis, Fuladh, and Roshan will have to confront a more immediate danger."

Here's Julie Dillon's cover art for the first issue.

Assassin's Creed has had a long and storied history in comics, one which has straddled many different publishers including the likes of IDW, DC, Titan, Massive Publishing, and more. Dark Horse began releasing comics and art books set in the world in 2020 with the Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory limited series, a prequel to the game of the same title. That was followed up with the Forgotten Myths limited series in 2022.

Assassin's Creed Mirage: A Soar of Eagles #1 is published by Dark Horse Comics on March 12.

There are a lot of Assassin's Creed games – but which are the best? We've ranked the series here.

Geralt of Rivia continues his adventures in Dark Horse's Witcher comics with The Witcher: The Bear and the Butterfly, which enlists writer Si Spurrier, known for his work on Marvel's X-Men line as well as his current run on The Flash ongoing series for an adventure in which Geralt faces off with a Witcher from the school of the Bear.

Spurrier is joined by artist Stephen Green, who provides the main covers for the four issue limited series as well as the interior art, as well as colorist José Villarrubia and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou who are both no strangers to The Witcher comics.

Here's a gallery of covers by Green, Mattia De Iulis, Aaron Campbell, and Tim Von Rueden:

"In The Witcher: The Bear and the Butterfly, Geralt travels to a remote town where a vampire is rumored to be killing the townspeople," reads Dark Horse's official description of The Witcher: The Bear and the Butterfly. "The bounty has amassed all manner of monster hunters - and among them is another witcher, from the school of the Bear, a fierce competitor for the reward."

Geralt is, of course, a Witcher of the school of the Wolf, so he'll have some different training and skills from his new rival, who will provide an interesting challenge along with having to hunt down the bloodthirsty vampires plaguing the town.

Meanwhile, in the world of video games, CD Projekt Red recently revealed details about the long-awaited Witcher 4, which will feature Ciri as the new Witcher protagonist.

The Witcher: The Bear and the Butterfly #1 goes on sale April 23.

Here's everything we know so far about The Witcher 4.

Cullen Bunn remains one of the most prolific writers in comics – and he's showing no signs of slowing down! The Harrow County creator is back in April 2025 with a new four-issue limited series illustrated by Shadow Roads artist Zamudio, colored by Bill Crabtree, and lettered by Josh Reed. 

In Arcana Royale, Hudson Tremaine is a high-stakes gambler who has won big in her career, but made a lot of enemies along the way. When she gets embroiled in a new, and mysterious tournament named the Arcanos Mysterinos, however, she realizes that she may have bitten off far more than she can chew: her rival players are demons and demigods – and she's playing to save the world!

Here's the cover for the first issue, followed by a couple of unlettered interior pages which give a hint at the supernatural flavor of the new comic...

"Arcana Royale has been in the works for a while now and I'm excited for people to get to read it," said Bunn in a statement about the new comic. "This is a story about controlling your own fate (even if you have to cheat a little) in the face of overwhelming odds. There's a little bit of Hudson Tremaine... or at least there should be... in each and everyone of us."

"It's my pleasure to escort you through the world of Cullen's imagination in Arcana Royale where we get to play with the sublime alchemy that connects the glamor of Las Vegas and the darkness of the arcane," added Zamudio. "I'm also elated to present my first full collaboration with Bill. He and I both jumped into this project with a shared vision and some bold new techniques to bring it to life."

Arcana Royale #1 is published by Dark Horse Comics in April 23, 2025. 

Cullen Bunn has written some of the best horror comics of all time.

It's a pretty big week in comics. Absolute Superman is taking flight (no spoilers, but it's good and we'll have a full explainer tomorrow), as does Batgirl. There are also new issues of The Ultimates, Batman, Aliens vs. Avengers and a whole bunch of other cool books. There's also FML, the brand new creator-owned comic from Kelly Sue DeConnick and David López published by Dark Horse. A new DeConnick comic is always worth paying attention to, and this one doesn't disappoint.

FML is a tricky book to sum up. Part of the pleasure of reading this terrific first issue is the sense of never being quite sure in what direction it's going to go in next. We'll keep things spoiler free, as the issue isn't out yet, but suffice to say it's a witty, personal, and heart-wrenching coming of age tale with a Portland punk rock twist.

At first glance, FML looks simply to be a comic about a group of outsider teens. There's the furious, green-haired Savvy (real name: Savage Slaughter); Glory, who wears a witch's hat and is very much not to be messed with, and super-smart Lydia. Then there's Riley, the issue's narrator, who dreams of his band STFU (of which the other characters are also members) making it big, but who is also riddled with anxiety. There's a sparky energy to the opening pages and you immediately want to hang out with this scrappy gang of underdogs, even if the issue doesn't give us much of a sense of what the rest of their school life is like. 

FML isn't just about the youngsters, though. We quickly learn that Riley's mother used to be Patty Cake – a famous punk musician. She's immediately the most compelling character in the comic, an enigmatic figure "doing the best she can" in difficult circumstances. In this first issue her past remains a little mysterious – "She's Mom now," says Riley simply at one point, and there's a melancholy in the way that complicated word shows both familial love while glossing over her own history and identity. The relationship between these two characters looks set to be the heart of the comic and that's a really refreshing dynamic.

In terms of plot, STFU ("Our s**t is so heavy we're a black f**king hole!") wangle their way into getting a spot playing at the local HeavyFest. Riley gets into trouble at school, and then the band discover something strange that changes the course of the story in a fun and unexpected way – we'll leave that for you to discover when you read the issue.

David López's art blurs the lines between the everyday reality of the comic and fantasy, with Riley's doodles breaking out of his sketchbook and into the narrative. It's a visually inventive book, cartoony and fun, but with a gloomy and appropriately goth tinge thanks to colorist Cris Peter's palette of reds, purples, and blues.

It's also a comic that's absolutely thrumming with anxiety. This is a world of COVID masks, omnipresent true crime podcasts, and active shooter drills at school. Our world, then, or one close to it – and isn't that all just a lot to be constantly thinking about? Although the first issue of FML takes a turn for the supernatural in its final pages, this is one of the most grounded and recognizable comic book depictions of what it feels like to live in our present moment that I've seen in a while.

FML is set to run for eight issues, with each one also containing bonus material. Based on this first chapter it's a hard recommend, especially for anyone who was/is in a band, as well as for fans of Stranger Things, Paper Girls, Donnie Darko, and Buffy. In a week full of big name superhero books that will no doubt hog the comics media headlines (including ours!), this very personal, very charming book is the one I'll be thinking about the longest.  

FML #1 is published by Dark Horse Comics on November 6.

These are the best teen superhero teams of all time.

Everyone's favorite guitar-shredding, dungeon-mastering big brother Eddie Munson is getting his own comic title from Dark Horse, flashing back to before Stranger Things season 4 to tell the story of how Eddie got started playing D&D and how he came to form the Hellfire Club.

Appropriately titled Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire, the four issue limited series will premiere in winter 2025, in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons. 

Jody Houser, who co-wrote the previous Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons limited series, returns for The Rise of Hellfire, alongside new co-writer Eric Campbell, who has his own D&D pedigree in the story collection Dungeons & Dragons Worlds & Realms. They'll be joined by artist Diego Galindo, who also returns from the preceding Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons limited series. Colorist Diana Sousa and letterer Nate Piekos round out the creative team.

Here's a gallery of covers for Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire #1 by Magali Villanueve, Rebecca Pueblar, Jeremy Wilson, Nimit Malavia, and Kyle Lambert, designer and illustrator of Stranger Things series key art:

"Spell slinging, sword swinging, and the luck of the dice shaped the lives of the Stranger Things boys well before they had real-life monsters to face," reads Dark Horse's official description for Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire. "This crossover comic features Eddie Munson’s rise to de facto leader of the Hellfire Club, flashbacks to the legendary campaign that got him hooked on D&D, his recruitment of Lucas, Dustin, and Mike, and glimpses into the fantasy worlds they conquered together."

"As soon as I saw Stranger Things season 4, I knew the story of Eddie Munson and the Hellfire Club would be a perfect sequel to our Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons miniseries," adds Jody Houser in a statement. "Both Eric and I are very familiar with how D&D forges friendships and storytellers, and it's been wonderful exploring Hawkins through that lens."

Dark Horse is framing the story as a "heartfelt send-off" for Eddie, who quickly became one of the most popular Stranger Things characters ever thanks to his iconic scene playing the solo from Metallica's Master of Puppets on guitar, as well as his overall coolest-big-brother-ever energy and ongoing friendship with the show's main characters.

We'll have to wait till winter 2025 to get more time with Eddie, though Dark Horse hasn't announced a specific release date yet.

Check out our picks for the best horror comics of all time.

Mark Millar and Matteo Scalera's secret agent series King of Spies comes back to print next year in a lavish new Library Edition from Dark Horse.

In the four-issue series, Sir Roland King – a retired super-spy in the mode of James Bond – discovers that he only has six months to live. With that in mind, and a lifetime's worth of guilt at being part of a corrupt regime, he sets his sights on a list of targets to root out before he dies. The only person who can stop him is his estranged son who has a score to settle with his deadly dad.

The new Library Edition of the series is a 152-page 8" x 12.1875" format hardcover that contains the full story, plus a wealth of bonus material including never-before-seen pencils and character design work, with more still to be announced.

Along with Millar and Scalera's involvement, King of Spies was colored by Giovanna Niro and lettered by Clem Robins. "I love stories about an old gun-fighter back for one last job and this is the granddaddy of them all," said Millar at the time. "It's so incredibly violent and emotional, but really fun too."

King of Spies was originally published by Image Comics in 2021. Dark Horse picked up the full portfolio of Millarworld titles earlier this year, including the likes of Huck, The Ambassadors, and the currently ongoing Nemesis: Rogue's Gallery.

King of Spies Library Edition is published by Dark Horse in bookstores on July 14 and will be available in comic shops the following day.

Mark Millar and Frank Quitely discuss globe-trotting sci-fi adventure The Ambassadors in our interview here.

Star Wars animated show The Bad Batch may have wrapped up its third and final season earlier this year, but the missions of Clone Force 99 are not quite over just yet. A new five-issue series from Dark Horse will bring the squad to the fore once again with their first ever solo comic.

Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories: The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents – and yes that is far too many colons for one title – will be written by Michael Moreci, illustrated by Reese Hannigan, inked by Elisabetta D’Amico, colored by Michael Atiyeh, and lettered by Comicraft. The new series finds the clones "on a mission to hunt down the mysterious Separatist ghost agent who executed a daring heist on Coruscant," according to Dark Horse's official synopsis for the first issue. "The thief's trail leads Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Tech to the seediest corners of the galaxy, a place where kingpins and thugs threaten the clones' mission – and their lives!"

Above you can see the main cover for #1 by Valeria "Lux" Favoccia, who is drawing the covers for each issue. Variants from French Carlomagno will also be available for every issue.

"I think everyone who knows my Star Wars work knows I love the Clone Wars," said Moreci in a statement about the new book. "And the Bad Batch is probably my favorite part of that. They're just so cool and unique; they're like 1980s action heroes dropped into the Star Wars universe, and I love that. I'm after that look and feel – it's going to be a lot of fun, and I'm just thrilled to bring more Bad Batch stories to life!"

The comic with all the colons, Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories: The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents #1, is published by Dark Horse Comics on January 15.

Here are 10 iconic Star Wars characters who started out in comics.

The Space Usagi comeback is in full effect! The sci-fi spin-off of Stan Sakai's beloved rabbit ronin Usagi Yojimbo launched in 1992 at Mirage Studios (the original home of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and ran for three limited series, consisting of three issues each plus a couple of short stories. The character has cropped up elsewhere over the years, even sometimes crossing over with the TMNT, and Dark Horse started printing brand new Space Usagi material recently with last year's Yokai Hunter one-shot, as well as a lavish series of reprints that collect the classic tales, now in full color.

The second volume in the reprint series, covering the White Star Rising arc, will be published as both a series of three single issues starting this October, and as a collected edition in May 2025, where it will be available in both trade paperback and limited edition hardcover formats. We've got a preview of the book for you right here which shows off several of Emi Fujii's newly-colored pages in the gallery below...

Also included in the book is a new short story by Stan and Julie Sakai that expands the Space Usagi universe. "'Akemi and the Secret Invasion' is the first full length story featuring the daughter of the current Space Usagi," said Sakai in a statement to Newsarama. "It has a lot of excitement, but sprinkled with whimsy and cuteness. I'm sure people will enjoy this first look at a new, unlikely action hero." 

You can check out the first page of the new tale below.

Both the trade paperback and hardcover collections of Space Usagi: White Star Rising run to 88-pages, with the hardcover also including a numbered tip-in sheet signed by Stan Sakai.

Here's Dark Horse's official solicitation info for the new volume:

"The rabbit ronin's classic adventures in space continue – now in color! Taking place directly after the Space Usagi: Death and Honor arc, Stan Sakai's second Space Usagi series sees Miyamoto Usagi continuing to defend the Shirohoshi clan in the far future from scheming rivals, the Kajitori. New friends, like space pirate Rhogen, and new enemies, led by Empress Amateh, are introduced in this miniseries now colored by longtime collaborator Emi Fujii! This collection also includes new stories by Julie Sakai and Stan Sakai, featuring Space Usagi’s Akemi character! Collects Space Usagi: White Star Rising #1–#3."

Writers: Stan Sakai, Julie Sakai
Artist: Stan Sakai
Colorist: Emi Fujii
Cover Artist: Stan Sakai
Format: Trade paperback ($17.99), hardcover ($59.99)

The collected Space Usagi: White Star Rising is published by Dark Horse Comics on May 20, 2025.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are one of the best teen superhero teams ever.

It's a busy few months for Hellboy fans, with a new (and Mike Mignola approved) movie on the way. Now, Newsarama can exclusively reveal that a two-issue sequel to one of the best Hellboy comics of recent years is also incoming.

Giant Robot Hellboy Returns is the follow up to last year's limited series, which saw Big Red become a Big Mech. Giant Robot Hellboy Returns will once again by written by Mike Mignola himself and drawn by Duncan Fegredo, colorist Dave Stewart, and letterer Clem Robins. Fegredo will also be handling the series' main covers. A variant cover by Our Bones Dust artist Ben Stenbeck (pictured in the gallery below) will be available for #1, with #2 receiving a variant from James Harren.

"What started as a funny drawing – A joke – has taken on a life of its own," said Mignola in a statement about the new comic. "And watching Duncan breathe life into this thing is pure joy."

Dark Horse's official synopsis for the first issue gives us a hint of the story – and it sounds like Hellboy will be embarking on an undersea odyssey in the new comic: 

"After Hellboy is kidnapped and connected to a massive mecha-Hellboy for a mission on a mysterious, faraway island, Giant Robot Hellboy disappears. Scientists comb the sea looking for him but find more than they bargained for when an interdimensional portal threatens to pull them in – or let monsters of unknown origin out."

Giant Robot Hellboy Returns #1 will be published by Dark Horse Comics sometime in 2025.

Artist Duncan Fegredo tells us about the first series of Giant Robot Hellboy in our exclusive interview.

One of our most anticipated new comics for the fall is Summer Shadows from Dark Horse. This four-issue mystery thriller is set on the fictional Greek island of Avraxos, where Nick Landry has come searching for his ex Anthony who has vanished in sinister circumstances. Little does Nick know that his investigations will put him directly in the path of a group of blood-sucking vampires.

Written by John Harris Dunning, drawn by Ricardo Cabral, colored by Brad Simpson, and lettered by Jim Campbell, Summer Shadows looks like a compelling and evocative new crime thriller with a gruesome horror twist and perhaps just a hint of social satire about the predatory nature of the super-rich. 

The monthly series launches in September, but Newsarama can also exclusively reveal that the whole story will be collected into a single trade paperback to be released in April 2025. Here's Ricardo Cabral's cover for the collection.

Dark Horse has described the series as, "A unique and moody LGBTQIA+ vampire horror." Dunning told the Comic Book Couples Counseling podcast and blog that he was inspired to tell a story about these creatures of the night because of their innate connection to human desire, stating: "They summon up the big themes of attraction: sex, eternity, desire, danger, obsession, and our fear of being dominated by our animal selves. They're a way we can examine these hopes and fears safely in a mythic form. Monsters are a useful way of examining our deepest selves and anxieties while keeping them at a safe distance."

Below, you can see a selection of Ricardo Cabral's work-in-progress pages. 

Summer Shadows #1 is published by Dark Horse Comics on September 11, with the complete trade paperback hitting bookstores on April 15 and comic shops the following day.

Here's our guide to the 10 greatest horror comic artists of all time.

Dark Horse Comics has joined forces with Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast for a line of comics and graphic novels based on iconic tabletop franchises Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. Although no firm details have been released yet, it's known that the publishing program will kick off in summer 2025 and will consist of new stories set in the worlds of the roleplaying and collectible card games.

"If you'd told my 12-year-old self I'd get to work with incredible writers and artists to craft comics for Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, alongside such thoughtful and creative stewards of these licenses, I wouldn't have believed you," said Spencer Cushing, the range's senior editor, in a statement about the new project. "The opportunity to work with Wizards of the Coast is a dream come true."

"Having the opportunity to work with the Wizards of the Coast team on both Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering is one of the most exciting opportunities I've had professionally," added editor Brett Israel. "As an avid player and fan of the various stories and planes of these two iconic games, I cannot wait to work with many highly-skilled creators on growing these universes."

This is not the first time that Dark Horse has collaborated with Wizards of the Coast on Magic comics. The publisher released the four-issue Magic: The Gathering: Gerrard's Quest limited series in 1998, written by Mike Grell and illustrated by Pop Mahn and Mark Harrison. BOOM! Studios also published an ongoing comic, simply titled Magic, between 2021 and 2023.

D&D, meanwhile, has a very long history in comics, with everyone from DC, TSR, Devil's Due, and more, getting in on the spell-casting action. Most notably, IDW held the license for 14 years from 2010 to early 2024.

"Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering are two legendary games with incredibly strong fandoms and world-building gameplay," said Hasbro's senior vice president of licensed consumer products, Marianne James. "We are dedicated to expanding these universes through unique brand-offerings and world-class partnerships, ultimately bringing players and fans alike new, exciting ways to engage with these iconic franchise brands. From this licensed publishing program with Dark Horse Comics, we anticipate a lot of excitement to come with new artwork and creative storytelling."

Cullen Bunn tells us about Deepest Catacombs, his webcomic inspired by Dungeons & Dragons.

My Chemical Romance bassist Mikey Way has been developing his comics-writing career over the last few years, working on various titles for DC, and recently penning a story for IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White, & Green #2, which he talked to us about here. Now Way is penning a "bizarre feel-good" festive story in the form of limited series Christmas 365.

The four-issue series is co-written by Way and Jonathan Rivera, and drawn by Piotr Kowalski. It will be published by Dark Horse Comics in early December and is described by Rivera as "a satirical comedy about finding balance." It follows the life of Peter Rockwell and his family who are struggling to recover from a recent tragedy. When Peter encounters a Santa at a local mall, however, he "hatches a plan to give his family the best year ever, one Christmas at a time!"

"Like most kids growing up, I never wanted Christmas to end," said Way in a statement. "When it's over, you're left having to wait an entire year for that magical feeling to return. I would often fantasize…what if it never had to end? That very thought was what sparked this story. But as the saying goes, is too much of a good thing not so good?"

"It's about pursuing your dreams without giving in to the temptation of a world that wants more and more of us each day, and learning the difference between what we want and what we need," added Rivera. "This book is also our love letter to all of the surreal suburban comedies we loved as kids like Better Off Dead and The 'Burbs."

Christmas 365 #1 is published by Dark Horse Comics on December 4.

Did you know that Santa Claus is real in the Marvel universe? And that he's a mutant...

The Witcher was a popular franchise long before the games and TV show transformed it into a major global franchise. It began as a series of novels by writer Andrzej Sapkowski which debuted in 1990 and quickly found a firm fan following. Three years later a comic book series, written by Maciej Parowski and illustrated by Bogusław Polch, was published in the pages of Polish magazine Komiks. Those stories have never been translated into English – until now.

As first reported by GameSpot, a new collection from Dark Horse Comics, who also publish the modern Witcher comics, will be released in March, 2025. The Witcher: Classic Collection is a 296-page trade paperback that will include all six of the original story arcs with their original full-color art, and a new English translation.

The stories included in the new volume are: 'A Road with No Return,' 'The Betrayal,' 'Geralt,' 'The Lesser Evil,' 'The Last Wish,' and 'The Bounds of Reason.' These stories are largely based on Sapkowski's early Witcher short stories, except for 'The Betrayal,' which was adapted from one of Sapkowski's unused ideas. Above you can see Boguslaw Polch's cover for the new volume.

Dark Horse first picked up the license to produce new Witcher comics in 2014. Unlike the earlier Polish series, those comics are, for the most part, new tales, largely inspired by CD Projekt Red's hit video game franchise, though they have occasionally also looked back to Sapkowski's work for inspiration, as with the 'Fox Children' arc. 

The Witcher: Classic Collection is published by Dark Horse Comics on March 18, 2025.

Check out our picks of the best video game comics of all time.

12 years after it launched, Mark Millar's superhero saga Jupiter's Legacy is drawing to a close with a new five-issue series from Dark Horse Comics. The aptly-named Jupiter's Legacy: Finale will see the world's heroes trapped on an alien world, just as Earth faces the threat of invasion. 

Finale will be written by Millar with Tommy Lee Edwards handling the art duties as he did in the saga's previous chapter, 2021's Jupiter's Legacy: Requiem. Edwards will provide a main cover for the first issue alongside variants from Jupiter's Legacy co-creator Frank Quitely, Julian Totino Tedesco, and Skottie Young. You can check them all out in the gallery below.

"We started this book in 2012," Millar said in a statement. "When Barack Obama was still in his first term and now we're finally finishing it, 12 years older and hopefully wiser. It's been the longest story I've written in my career and an honor to work with some of the greatest artists in the modern industry. I had this plotted on my board a couple of years before and it's so satisfying to see it all come together at last. I'm so proud of this book and want to thank everyone for their patience. I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it. What other book out there can promise: The secret of the universe contained within?"

Jupiter's Legacy started life at Image Comics, but moved to Dark Horse with the rest of the Millarworld catalog last year. The publisher's synopsis for the final chapter of this sprawling saga reads:

"The lineage of America's superheroes is on the brink. They've grappled with internal scandals, personal demons, and the constant threat of raising children in a world teetering on the edge of destruction. The struggle to understand the origins of their powers and the looming threat of heroes and villains to humanity has been a constant battle. Now, the superheroes find themselves trapped and murdered on an alien world, while the enemies of Earth, who have long envied our planet, seize the opportunity to launch their invasion."

Jupiter's Legacy: Finale #1 is published by Dark Horse Comics on October 16.

Last year Mark Millar talked to us about The Ambassadors, calling it the "most ambitious comic book of all time."

Writer/artist Sylvain Repos' cyber-samurai adventure Yojimbot will be published in English for the first time this December. The series, which first launched back in 2021, will be collected into a new 160-page trade paperback by Dark Horse with coloring by Noiry and translation by Matt Maden.

Yojimbot is set in a post-apocalyptic future Japan overrun by robots that re-enact old samurai rituals. A father and son are fleeing some murderous fellow humans when they encounter one such robo-ronin - a "Yojimbot" who breaks his programming to defend them. 

Yep, if you're a fan of the likes of Usagi Yojimbo or Lone Wolf and Cub then it sounds like this one is for you! Here's Repos' cover for the collection, subtitled Metal Silence.

Dark Horse's official synopsis for the book has this to say:

"While attempting to flee a robot-inhabited island, Hideo and his son Hiro are attacked by a troop of armored humans. When Hideo sacrifices himself to save his son, a lone robot-samurai, called a Yojimbot, stands between Hiro and his death. Throughout their journey to escape the island, the robot-and-child duo are joined by other Yojimbots willing to protect Hiro against the hazards of the ruined island to find the mysterious "rights holder" who may hold the key to Hiro's safety. But more dangerous foes lie between Hiro and his freedom…"

A manga-influenced bandes dessinées, Yojimbot was originally published in French. The new collected edition is published by Dark Horse Comics in bookstores on December 3 and lands in comic shops the following day.

Osamu Tezuka's samurai manga classic Dororo is getting a cyberpunk makeover with Fantagraphics' new series, Search & Destroy.

The Witcher has become an incredibly popular video game and live action streaming series, but it all started way back with author Andrzej Sapkowski's original collection of short stories. And now, continuing with its series of Witcher related comics, Dark Horse Books is adapting another of those original short stories in The Witcher: The Edge of the World, a hardcover original graphic novel.

The Edge of the World will be adapted to comics by writer Magdalena Salik, artist Tommaso Bennato, colorist Chris O'Halloran, and letter Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, who will dig into a tale of Geralt of Rivia's earliest adventures, in which he learns some surprising truths about the nature of demons. 

"Work is hard to come by for Geralt. And for his bardic traveling companion, Dandelion, the doldrum of the road is not a worthy subject for his rhymes or ballads," reads Dark Horse's description of The Witcher: The Edge of the World. 

"As they travel to the edge of the known world, townsfolk speak of many stories, but it seems that's all they are-recitals of monsters and superstition-until a man follows Geralt with news of a devil scavenging the local fields. Get rid of the beast, but under no circumstances is it to be killed. Only how can Geralt hunt the creature, when there are no such things as devils?"

The Edge of the World is the third of Dark Horse's Witcher short story adaptations taken from Andrzej Sapkowski's collection The Last Wish.

"The Edge of the World is one of my favorite Witcher stories. Why? Because of its characters who are diverse and counter-intuitive. Everyone has some ideas about devils or pixies - say farewell to them. In this story Sapkowski plays with your established notions about heroes and villains; and plot twists as well," explains writer Magdalena Salik. 

"For me it's one of the wisest short stories ever, going far beyond typical fantasy quest versions of this scenario. There is all we love about The Witcher: jokes, quest, a lot of action, captivating characters. But apart from that there is also a strong message which leaves you both amused and pondering. In other words - enjoy and expect the unexpected."

Dark Horse's comic adaptations of The Witcher are created hand-in-hand with CD Projekt Red, the developers of all three Witcher video games. The Witcher 4, currently codenamed Polaris, is set to enter full production later this year.

"For me, who loves the Fantasy genre, working on a story of 'The Witcher' was a great pleasure and I hope that the fans appreciate the commitment and the passion that I put in trying to bring out the emotions of the characters and, in the case of the Sylvan, enrich his design with leaves, springs and mushrooms," adds artist Tommaso Bennato. "Enjoy this incredible adaptation! I've done it, and I had fun drawing it!"

The Witcher: The Edge of the World goes on sale December 18 with a cover painted by Kai Carpenter, seen above.

Check out the best video game comics of all time.

Fans of Critical Role can never seem to get enough of the beloved RPG podcast, and this December, they'll be able to dig in even deeper to the popular Critical Role comics with a deluxe hardcover edition of the latest CR tale, Critical Role: The Tales of Exandria - Artagan that includes some extra goodies.

The story itself focuses on Artagan the Archfey as he confronts his own reputation in the courts of the fey. Critical Role: The Tales of Exandria - Artagan is written by Sam Maggs with art by Aviv Or, colorist Cris Peter, and letterer Ariana Maher, all of whom have plenty of experience working on previous comics in the series.

Here's a gallery of images with a look at both versions of the collection:

"The powerful and mischievous Archfey Artagan, also known as the Traveler, finally gets his day in court - which is the LAST thing he wanted," reads Dark Horse Comics' official description of Critical Role: The Tales of Exandria - Artagan. "But since he's here, he's happy to tell the Seelie and Unseelie courts how he's graced the material realms with his knowledge and mentorship. But there are witnesses who may have a different take, and the consequences could be dire."

Along with all four issues of the main story, the softcover edition of Critical Role: The Tales of Exandria - Artagan also includes a behind-the-scenes sketchbook and cover gallery. The deluxe hardcover edition includes all of that, plus it comes in foil-stamped slipcase and cover as well as a lithograph art print. 

Both versions of the collected edition of Critical Role: The Tales of Exandria - Artagan go on sale December 4.

Critical Role is releasing its own tabletop RPG, Daggerheart.

Brian Michael Bendis remains one of the most legendary names working in comics today. The multi-talented writer/artist found major cult success in the '90s with the superhero noir thriller Powers, which he co-created with Michael Avon Oeming. He followed that up with a move to Marvel and a string of mainstream hits including the iconic first run of Ultimate Spider-Man in 2000 and later Daredevil, one of many collaborations with artist Alex Maleev.

In 2018, Bendis founded the Jinxworld imprint as a home for his creator-owned work, including titles like Pearl, Scarlet, and Cover. Initially at DC, Jinxworld moved publishers to Dark Horse Comics in 2021, and since then has released cyberpunk saga Joy Operations, co-created with Stephen Byrne, and crime thriller Masterpiece, again with Maleev. 

In an exclusive new interview with Newsarama, the writer discusses the second volume of Joy Operations, the end of Masterpiece, and the upcoming Amazon Prime adaptations of his comics.

Newsarama: Brian, we're primarily here to talk about the second run of Joy Operations, which publishes soon, so let's start there. How does it feel returning to these characters and this world?

Brian Michael Bendis: I couldn't wait to get back. I love Joy Corrigan and Hampton, our leads. I love everything Stephen [Byrne] does. I love the world we built together. With every page of the first volume, we were discovering new things about our characters and our world. The story takes place 55 years in the future, where large cities around the world have been taken over by corporations. They're called trusts. Stephen built all these amazing worlds and characters. Now, we get to build on what we built.

The first series ended on an upbeat note, but I'm guessing that trouble is on the way... Can you tease the story for Volume 2?

Well, in the first volume our lead character, Joy, who is an amazingly talented security officer (En.Voi) for one of the more sinister trusts, wakes up to find her consciousness is being shared within another PERSON from another trust. A woman named Hampton. This is the operation. An operation so dangerous that they risk putting one person inside another person to convince them that they needed to happen. Joy and Hampton learned to work together and were very successful.

Now, they seem forever linked. These two now live together which complicates Joy's marriage, her relationship with her children, and what her future is now that she is one of the most famous fighters/revolutionaries in the entire world.

How are Joy and Hampton dealing with being in the same body at this point? Has their relationship developed?

This is one of the big reasons I couldn't wait to get back to the book. Joy and Hampton now share the same consciousness. They were strangers before this happened and now they have grown to like and trust each other. But what else can they do? The fallout begins and it's quite unusual and enormous. Imagine if someone you love came up to you and said: hey just so you know there's someone else inside here and we're both talking to you at the same time.

You're collaborating again with Stephen Byrne on the series. How has that been? What qualities does he bring to the series?

He is one of the best [artists] working today. I have enjoyed his work on so many titles. I enjoyed him as a fan of art, but now having worked with him and seen how he builds his worlds and how pleasant he is to work with… I'm an even bigger fan. This was not an easy book to create. It takes place in the future. Everything gets built anew. All of it designed very intricately by Stephen. He would take the gentle prompts from me and create the most magnificent places to live.

Are there plans for a third series - or beyond?

Oh, I love all of these characters and could keep going. Fingers crossed that our schedules allow that to happen. This is a wonderful collaboration in my life. Both volumes mean the world to me. 

We're also currently halfway through Masterpiece, which you co-created with Alex Maleev. How has it been working with Alex once again?

Absolutely the best. We're creating this new crime series just as it seems a whole bunch of new people are discovering our work on Daredevil. So, it's been quite nice to share both experiences with people at the same time. Masterpiece is one of my most favorite projects. Alex and I have done a lot of my favorite comics together and the whole point of this book for us was to create an experience - behind-the-scenes and on the page - that we thought matched how all that felt. Fun and exciting comics full of new and dangerous characters. 

Is there anything you can tease about where the series is going as we reach the last couple of issues?

Masterpiece is about a young woman named Emma, who is discovering her family and found family history of criminals. She has been sucked into a world that she has now decided she wants to be part of and made the choice to gather a team from many generations to target the person that killed her parents. Now, we get to find out if and how Emma gets her revenge. It's gorgeous.

We heard back in February that Amazon shows based on Jinx, Murder Inc. and Pearl are coming along. How involved are you with those on a day-to-day level?

All in! Very involved. And I am writing the pilot to Jinx right now. I feel so very good about the teams we have put together for all three adaptations. These are incredibly talented people. So far, the process has been really exciting. 

Do you have a sense yet of which series might hit the screen first?

Yes, but it rotates in my head.

What's next from Jinxworld?

As you said, we're wrapping up Masterpiece for the next couple of months, then comes the debut of Joy Operations Volume 2. I am happy to report it is completely written and drawn and lettered, and ready to go. So, no delays. Pre-order with confidence.

After that Mike Oeming, Taki Soma, and I have been working on a VERY large sci-fi project for Dark Horse that will be debuting later in the year. And then we have The Ones sequel in the works. Also, Fortune and Glory: The Musical has been collected in print for the first time, and that is headed to store soon as well. All that and we just launched the second volume of Phenomena, a fantastical new series of graphic novels that I do with André Lima Araújo at Abrams.

Finally - what comics are you reading at the moment?

So many. It's an amazing time for the medium. Over at my website Jinxworld, we've opened up a book club and we've had some outstanding choices lately. We recently read and LOVED Once Upon a Time at the End of the World by Jason Aaron and company. We just read the complete The Killer to compare and contrast it to the movie adaptation. Coming up next, we're going to do Wonder Woman Historia, the book I absolutely adore and think everyone should have in their library. The complete Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky is another must for the bookshelf. Minor Threats is a Dark Horse sensation. I love it!

Joy Operations Volume 2 #1 is published by Dark Horse Comics on June 19.

Brian Michael Bendis has written some of the best Daredevil stories of all time.

Free Comic Book Day is almost upon us! Yep, this Saturday, May 4, participating comic shops around the world will have a vast number of titles that you can pick up and take home entirely for free. It's a great chance to discover new comics, preview upcoming story events, and support your local comic shop all at the same time. And hey, if you can, why not help them out even further by buying a couple of regular titles or a graphic novel while you're there too?

As ever, there are a lot of new releases this year. Rather than simply list them all, we've rounded up 10 of the FCBD special issues that we're most looking forward to...

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Absolute Power Special Edition #1

DC's big summer event this year sees a "trinity of evil" comprising Amanda Waller, Braniac, and Failsafe unite in an attempt to destroy the world's superheroes once and for all - you can find out more about it here. Along with Marvel's Blood Hunt, this is going to be one of the year's biggest comic events and this 32-page one-shot, which includes a brand new 12-page story by Mark Waid and Mikel Janín, as well as a recap of some of the important recent events, looks like a great place to start.

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt / X-Men #1

Here's that other big event... Marvel's absolutely massive Blood Hunt crossover begins today - and believe us, it gets off to a genuinely surprising start! You can get a preview of some of the action from the event in this special teaser issue, written by Jed MacKay, drawn by artist Sara Pichelli, and colored by Federico Blee. But that's not all... The X-Men line is undergoing a lot of changes right now and you can get a taste of the new From the Ashes era with a new Jubilee tale also included.

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Energon Universe 2024 Special #1

We're big fans of Skybound's Energon Universe books and this special issue looks like an essential grab. It features three brand new stories from the EU's three main pillars - Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Void Rivals - by series writers Robert Kirkman, Daniel Warren Johnson, and Joshua Williamsonm, with art from Lorenzo De Felici, Ryan Ottley, and more. Ryan Ottley is also the artist on the FCBD exclusive cover, which features Decepticon Megatron. This one will go fast, but don't worry too much if you miss out on the big day - the same stories will be repackaged the following week as the Energon Universe special. You'll have to pay for that one though.

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Marvel Voices #1

Marvel's Voices imprint launched a year ago, dedicated to celebrating creators and characters from marginalized backgrounds. This FCBD special includes a brand new adventure for Pavitr Prabhakar - the star of Spider-Man: India - by writer Nikesh Shukla, alongside a chance to "discover the legacy of the last Black Panther! Join Web-Weaver in hot pursuit of a thief in NYC! Jam out with Spider-Gwen! And see the world of the X-Men through a whole new lens."

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

IDW's long-running TMNT title recently hit its 150th issue, which also marked the departure of writer Sophie Campbell - we talked to her about it here. Fans need not fear a long wait for new adventures, however: fan-favorite writer Jason Aaron is taking over the series, which launches with a new #1 in July. This FCBD issue provides two new stories, the first a unique prelude to the new series written by Juni Ba and drawn by Fero Peniche, followed up by a classic TMNT tale from writer Paul Allor and artist Andy Kuhn.

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Doctor Who #1

Beloved British sci-fi institution Doctor Who is about to launch its hotly-anticipated new season on Disney Plus and the BBC - the first starring Ncuti Gatwa as the time-travelling hero. Titan Comics are joining in the excitement with a new series starring Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor and companion Ruby Sunday which starts with this 24-page FCBD special written by Dan Watters and drawn by Kelsey Ramsay, who are also the creative team on the main comic. Plot details are scant, but this should be a lot of timey-wimey (sorry) fun.

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Ultimate Universe / Spider-Man #1

Amazing Spider-Man is swinging towards its 50th issue and the long-heralded return of the Goblin, with a new Goblin also on the way soon. You can get a sneak peak at what's to come with a preview of #50 by writer Zeb Wells and artist Ryan Stegman in the first half of this split FCBD issue, which also features an Ultimate Universe story featuring the debut of "a powerful new hero" in a story by Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri.

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Hellboy / Stranger Things #1

Sadly this isn't a crossover between the two horror franchises - though wouldn't that be great? It is, however, an issue that includes two brand new stories. The Hellboy adventure, titled 'The Fortune Teller', is written by series-creator Mike Mignola, and illustrated by Márk László. In it, Hellboy investigates a mysterious fortune teller who seems to know a lot about his history - making this the ideal chance for new readers to learn more about his lore. Meanwhile the Stranger Things story 'Deliver Me From Evil', by Derek Fridolfs and Jonathan Case, sees Argyle and Jonathan swapping scary stories as they make a pizza delivery.

Free Comic Book Day 2024: The Worlds of James Tynion IV #1

James Tynion IV is one of our most prolific current writers and his work in horror comics is particularly acclaimed. To celebrate five years of his hit series, Something is Killing the Children and the 10-year anniversary of both The Woods and Memetic, Boom! Studios have put together this specially-curated issue of some of his most frightening stories, as well as including some teasers for what's soon to come from the award-winning writer.

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars/Darth Vader #1

It's time to ignite your lightsabers because this year's Free Comic Book Day also lands on Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you, etc.), so of course Marvel are capitalizing on that by putting out a Force-themed special. As with their superhero FCBD issues, this contains two stories. In the main Star Wars story by Charles Soule, Ibraim Roberson, and Rachelle Rosenberg, the rebels embark on a rescue mission to Echo Base. In the Darth Vader tale by Greg Pak, Ramón Rosanas, and Guru-eFX, the Dark Lord of the Sith turns to a familiar face in his hunt for Luke Skywalker.

To find out more about the comics being released this month, check out Marvel and DC's solicitations.

Mike Mignola's signature creation Hellboy hit the scene 30 years ago, in 1994. And now, in 2024, the beloved cartoonist is creating a whole new "shared universe" of comic stories alongside writer/artist Ben Stenbeck, a frequent contributor to Mignola's BPRD Universe.

Their new universe will debut in an anthology comic published through Dark Horse, titled Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown, featuring a whole slate of new stories written and drawn by Mignola, along with his longtime collaborators colorist Dave Stewart and letterer Clem Robins.

The new venture, dubbed 'Curious Objects,' will expand down the road with another title from Stenbeck. The first comic in the line, Bowling for Corpses, seems to take all the creepy-crawly, humorously ghoulish elements Mignola is known for in a specifically folklore-inspired direction, offering a preview of what the expanded line will be about.

"In Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown, the stories are fantastical, odd and charming — from a search for the beating heart of a long-dead sorcerer, to a pirate girl who makes a deal with the devil, to the titular boy who wins a grim prize in a game with undead interlopers," reads Dark Horse's announcement.

Many Hellboy stories have incorporated elements of folklore into the BPRD Universe over the years, showing a modern, somewhat superhero-ized version of characters from myth and legend. But Curious Objects seems to go from the other angle, focusing more directly on the folkloric elements in what Dark Horse calls its "weird, wicked, and whimsical stories."

"It all started with an Italian Folktale about a boy who goes bowling with corpses," Mignola explains in a statement. "I fell in love with the story as soon as I discovered it but I wanted to play fast and loose when adapting it, so I created a whole new world."

"Not TOO different than our world a few centuries ago, but with a lot more gods and monsters. Once I created that world new characters and stories just started pouring out of it. There is a whole lot to play with here and I expect to be at it for a very long time."

Mignola has gone beyond Hellboy before, creating other properties both in comics and elsewhere, such as the so-called Outerverse Universe, which he created alongside novelist Christopher Golden, which has also included contributions from Curious Objects co-creator Ben Stenbeck.

"For a few years now Mike has been emailing me designs and pages and ideas and maps and lists of place names for this world, and his enthusiasm for this project is indomitable and infectious," says Stenbeck. "So often my reaction to these emails is 'That's great Mike! But I still have two books to draw before I can even move on to this work!' and then I find myself taking three days off to write a new story. Luckily Mike likes my stories. My first project is set far off in a distant corner of this world. That way I can't bump into anything Mike is doing and make a mess. Spoiler...it will have monsters in it."

Bowling With Corpses and Other Strange Tales From Lands Unknown is a 112-page hardcover anthology, releasing on December 4.

Hellboy is one of the best supernatural superheroes of all time.

Mark Millar's long-running Millarworld line moved from Image to Dark Horse Comics at the end of 2023. Since then, we've been promised a host of new series to come in 2024. Nemesis: Rogues' Gallery is first out of the gate in July and now we know two of the comics that will follow it up in August: Prodigy: Slaves of Mars and Night Club 2.

"We kicked this range of Dark Horse books off with Nemesis: Rogues' Gallery and now we're ramping up a gear with TWO big launches this month," Millar explained in a statement. "Prodigy is my favorite character I've ever created. A combo of Sherlock Holmes, Bruce Wayne and Indiana Jones just lets me tell a million different stories and we're all really excited about this one. The first Night Club series went down great last year and I'm keen to see what people make of the sequel. The whole run of books from Dark Horse is something we think is really special and it’s off to a great start."

Let's take a look at those books in a little more detail.

Prodigy: Slaves of Mars

Prodigy: Slaves of Mars is described as an "action-filled story of the smartest man in any room" as the multi-talented genius Edison Crane investigates the murder of his father, who has uncovered "the world's greatest secret" and links to a top secret space program at NASA. The series is written by Millar and drawn by Stefano Landini. You can check out the main cover by Landini and a black and white variant in the gallery above. Prodigy: Slaves of Mars #1 publishes on August 7.

Night Club 2

Night Club 2 picks up the story of Danny Garcia, a high school kid who, when bitten by a vampire, decides to use his new powers to become a superhero. The second series sees dissent in the ranks of his budding super-team, however, as Sam and Danny fall out over their mutual love, Amy. The series is written by Millar, drawn by Juanan Ramirez, and colored by Fabiana Mascolo. You can see Ramirez's cover, as well as a black and white variant, plus a variant by Jae Lee and colorist June Chung above. Night Club 2 #1 publishes on August 21. 

Mark Millar and Frank Quitely discuss globe-trotting sci-fi adventure The Ambassadors in our interview here.

As we noted at the time in our review, the world of Cyberpunk 2077 is undoubtedly one of the game's best features. Night City feels like a real place, one with a rich history and a palpable air of menace. It's a location that comics have been exploring in the years since the game's release and now those stories are being collected together into a chunky new paperback omnibus from Dark Horse Comics and CD Projekt Red. 

"This first Omnibus shows why Cyberpunk 2077 is a very diverse universe," said Bartosz Sztybor, who has written for both the comics and the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners animated series. "Perfect for writers, where you can create an action packed story about trauma, vengeance tale about family and trust or a heist narrative about addictions. All these stories mix a popular genre with a deeper meaning, it's always brutal, fun, exciting but it also tells you something about today's world. That's why I love Cyberpunk 2077 and that Omnibus - it's a wild science-fiction ride that will leave you both excited and thinking about yourself and the world."

Here's Mattia De Iulis's cover.

The book collects the first three Cyberpunk 2077 comic arcs, which are:

Trauma Team (by writer Cullen Bunn, artist Miguel Valderrama, colorist Jason Wordie, and letterer Frank Cvetkovic) follows Nadia, an EMT working for militarized healthcare company Trauma Team International, who survives a terrible attack only to find herself pulled into an even more deadly situation.

You Have My Word (by writer Bartosz Sztybor, artist Jesus Hervas, and letterer Frank Cvetkovic) delves into the world of corrupt business in Night City. A team of three cyberpunks are recruited to try and halt an urban development proposal, with disastrous consequences.

Finally, Blackout (by writer Bartosz Sztybor, artist Roberto Ricci, colorist Fabiana Mascolo, and letteret Frank Cvetkovic) is about a depressed Braindance repairman who plans a heist in order to pay off his debts.

As well as the three stories, the 300+ page book also contains a cover gallery and sketchbook section. 

Cyberpunk 2077 Omnibus Volume 1 is published by Dark Horse Comics in collaboration with CD Projekt Red on October 15.

Need a little help to survive in Night City? Here's our in-depth guide and walkthrough for the Cyberpunk 2077 game.

Murder Inc. is back! From the acclaimed writer of Alias and Jinx, Brian Michael Bendis, and the artist behind The Victories and B.P.R.D., Michael Avon Oeming, comes a new chapter in their acclaimed and Eisner-award winning series that began with The United States of Murder Inc. A collaborative effort between publisher Dark Horse and Bendis’s own Jinxworld imprint, Murder Inc.: Jagger Rose brings readers back into a world of much-beloved world of desperation and depravity.

The Murder Inc. saga is an alternate history in which organized crime never waned in power in the United States. Five crime families have turned most of the country into a gangster’s paradise, with clan loyalty the only virtue to speak of. Thievery, addiction, and of course, murder are the norms of the day, and the only law is the law of survival.

You can check out the cover for Murder Inc.: Jagger Rose #1 below:

Announced in a recent Dark Horse press release, Murder Inc.: Jagger Rose follows Valentine Gallo and the titular Jagger Rose, two enterprising criminals and members of the Bonavese family who seek to elevate their status in the haven of vice that is the modern US. Their ambitions will take them on an emotional and physical journey, from the gutters of urban America to the Vatican itself.

Along with Bendis and Oeming, Murder Inc.: Jagger Rose will feature Hugo-nominated colorist Taki Soma, known for comics like Rapture and Bitch Planet. The first of six issues sneaks into comic stores May 10, 2023, and is available to preorder now.

With Murder Inc. headed back to comic shops, crime comics continue their march into a new Golden Age, with titles like Reckless and The Good Asian scoring critical praise and sales numbers alike. For all the latest news on what’s good (and evil) in crime comics, keep an eye on Newsarama.

Speaking of good comics, you might be interested in checking out the best comics of 2022.

Many people are afraid of spiders - they are weird, eight-legged creepy-crawlers after all. But with Dark Horse's new horror limited series All Eight Eyes, that terror will ramp up in a big way - literally - in a story that invades post 9/11 New York City with giant monster spiders.

Set in the time after the 9/11 attacks on the United States in which New York City, the site of the 2001 attack, was already in disarray, All Eight Eyes stars a "college dropout" named Vin Spencer who is caught up in "a drifter's reckless war against the giant eight-legged horrors stalking the city's most vulnerable residents."

All Eight Eyes is written by Steve Foxe with art from Piotr Kowalski, fresh off their creative collaboration on a story in Razorblades: The Horror Magazine, along with colorist Brad Simpson and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

"I've been obsessed with giant-animal horror stories ever since seeing Them! and Gila! as a kid," Foxe states in the announcement. 

"All Eight Eyes is both an ode to the thrills of watching oversized predators chow down on humans and a reckoning with how much NYC has changed—not always for good—since the turn of the century, drawing on my own time in the East Village and Alphabet City," he continues. 

"I'm so thrilled to be making this arachnid gross-out alongside Piotr, Brad, and Hass. The detail Piotr brings to not just the creepy-crawly aspects of the book, but to every chipped brick and sticky sidewalk of NYC, is unmatched, and Brad and Hass match his skill page for page."

All Eight Eyes #1 goes on sale April 19, 2023, and is scheduled for four issues, with a trade paperback collection planned for release on November 8.

Check out the best horror comics of all time.

Dark Horse Books and game developer Ubisoft are teaming up for March's "Deluxe Edition" of The World of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North—Logs and Files of a Hidden One, a 208-page hardcover art book that provides "a detailed overview of the lore and history that inspired Assassin's Creed Valhalla."

The deluxe edition features extras not found in the standard edition, including a "leather-like" protective slipcase, a matching folio containing two gallery-quality prints, and an exclusive cover "appointed with realistic Viking decoration."

"Discover the history and culture of the Raven Clan Vikings as they struggle against the Order of the Ancients," reads Dark Horse's description. 

The $99.99 volume, on sale March 14 in bookstores and March 15 in comic shops, provides an in-depth view of the game's setting, depictions and descriptions of in-game characters and locals as the Vikings move from Norway to England, Ireland, and Francia.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the most recent entry in the long-running Assassin's Creed franchise, sees players take on the role of Viking raider Eivor hundreds of years in the past as they establish a foothold in England and become involved with the eponymous assassins - and their fight with the Templars. Multiple DLC expansions have been released that further expand the base game's story.

Last year, Dark Horse published the three-issue limited series Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Forgotten Myths, which featured three other figures from Norse mythology - Thor, Baldr, and Heimdall - come together to battle a fire giant from Muspelheim and learn that an entire Muspel army is amassing ahead of an invasion - and they must try to find peace before a war breaks out across the Nine Realms.

Head over to our upcoming Assassin's Creed games guide for a full list of Ubisoft's recent announcements for the series. 

When you've been reporting comic book news for as long as Newsarama has, publisher announcements become very familiar.

Then one day you see something you've never seen before. December 15 was one of those days...

"Timed to National Cat Lover's Month..." begins Dark Horse Comics' announcement of a new horror limited series titled Hairball.

Well, okay then!

Hairball is a supernatural thriller by the creative power trio of writer Matt Kindt, artist Tyler Jenkins, and colorist by Hilary Jenkins (Fear Case, Apache Delivery Service). The four-issue series launches in April and is described as "Junji Ito meets Hayao Miyazaki meets Stephen King."

The series is a co-production of Flux House, Kindt's new boutique imprint that Dark Horse says will feature the writing (and sometimes) art of Kindt, with crime, science fiction, and humor stories, "all told and presented in startling and untraditional ways."

In Hairball a young girl named Anna begins to suspect that all her dysfunctional family's mounting problems - including her parents' fighting and the strange whispering in her ear at night - may or may not be caused by an unlikely culprit: the family's black cat Bestie.

"As she tries her best to rid herself of this creature, she finds that it's not so easy to kill," reads DHC's description. "But just maybe, the cat is the only thing standing between her and an even greater evil that threatens to destroy her life."

"I've written stories of international intrigue and locked room murder mysteries, but in twenty years of making comics, I've rarely been compelled to create a horror story," says Kindt. "And for good reason. I was actually sick to my stomach when I finished writing the end of issue #1. I grossed myself out. I knew that I'd need someone fearless to draw it. (There was no way I was going to.) I knew that Tyler was the perfect artist and co-creator for the story. And when Tyler and Hilary started sending his pages in, it was just as horrible as I'd imagined —in the very best way."

"The best horror stories peel back and slowly reveal the horrors of everyday life," adds Jenkins. "At its heart, Hairball is a story about a family, one that treats each other horribly. Is there a reason for their terrible behavior? Could the cause of all their problems really be Bestie?"

Hairball #1 goes on sale in April with a cover by Kindt and a variant cover by Martin Simmonds. National Cat Lover's Month is being celebrated right now. Though Hairball doesn't sound like it's in love with cats... we're just saying. 

Hairball will try to claw its way into Newsarama's list of the best horror comics of all time.

Veteran creators Jim Starlin (as in the creator of Thanos) and Rags Morales (artist of Identity Crisis) are teaming up for an epic new ongoing sci-fi comic series coming from Dark Horse Comics titled Order and Outrage.

Order and Outrage focuses on a world in the grip of a totalitarian government that weeds out human beings it finds inferior, including the use of gene manipulation attainable only for the most wealthy people in the system. But there's a resistance movement brewing against the totalitarian system.

Along with colorist Hailey Brown and letterer Michael Heisler, Starlin and Morales will dig into that resistance in Order and Outrage, which will run for four issues.

"I'm super excited to work with the man who taught me how to draw space gauntlets, while perusing my copies of Captain Marvel back in the '70s," states Morales in the announcement. "That, and if anyone knows me, knows how much of a political pain in the xxx I am.  So Order and Outrage is my kinda story. Lookout Order, here comes the rebellion!"

Starlin is well known as the creator of Thanos, one of Marvel's top supervillains, as well as the writer of Infinity Gauntlet and its sequels, which partially formed the basis of the Marvel Studios films Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In other words, he's got his sci-fi bona fides.

As for Morales, he's best known as the penciler of the story Identity Crisis and the New 52-era reboot of Action Comics #1.

Order and Outrage #1 goes on sale March 24, with covers from Morales and Starlin, seen here.

Dark Horse Comics' flagship character Hellboy is getting a video game that looks just like a comic book.

Dark Horse continues its exploration of the world of Netflix's Stranger Things in Stranger Things: Tales From Hawkins, a four-issue anthology series of "vibrant new stories woven into the larger tapestry" of the streaming series 

The comics series will be written by Jody Houser (Star Wars: Thrawn) and drawn by artists including Caio Filipe, Sunando C, and Giorgia Gio Esposito, along with colorist Dan Jackson and letterer Nate Piekos.

Hawkins, Indiana, the streaming series' hometown, seems ordinary on the surface, but as fans of Stranger Things know, in the fall of 1983, it's anything but. While the main Stranger Things narrative focuses on Eleven and her friends, the stories told in Tales From Hawkins will seemingly branch out into the wider - and perhaps even stranger - parts of the world of the series.

And from the description of the first installment of the anthology limited series, it looks like that expansion includes adding even more monsters lurking in the town that is connected to the psychic realm of the Upside Down.

In Stranger Things: Tales From Hawkins #1, "two friends head out into the woods with their rifles and a six-pack. These would-be hunters find themselves the prey of a nightmarish beast who has claimed the wilderness around town and everything inside it, including them."

Stranger Things: Tales From Hawkins #1 (of 4) goes on sale February 8 with variant covers by Kyle Lambert, Diego Galindo, and Danny Luckert, seen in the gallery below:

Check out 19 shows like Stranger Things that will turn your world upside down.

He-Man and the world of the Masters of the Universe return to the pages of comic books in February courtesy of Dark Horse Comics by way of Mattel in Masters of the Universe: Masterverse, a new four-issue anthology limited series set in the universe of the Netflix animated series Revelation executive produced by Kevin Smith.

Dark Horse previously published a four-issue Revelation prequel comic book series co-written by Smith.

Revelation is a spiritual sequel to the classic He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and was released in two parts in 2021. A follow-up series Revolution is currently in production.

The first issue of Masters of the Universe: Masterverse is written by Tim Seely, who wrote the Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe crossover between the two franchises and Masters of the Multiverse when the MotU license was with DC, who published comics from 2012 to 2020.

The first issue will feature art by Eddie Nuñez (who illustrates a framing story), Sergio Aragonés, and Kelley Jones, and color by Rico Renzi and Brennan Wagner. Subsequent issues will feature art by E.J. Su, Victor Santos, David Rubín, Claudia Balboni, Daniel Lopez, and Fico Ossio.

"In the depths of Castle Grayskull, The Sorceress and Zodac debate the value of He-Man," reads Dark Horse's description of the first issue. "To save the life of her champion, the Sorceress must take the Cosmic Enforcer on a tour of the multiverse."

In a story illustrated by the iconic Sergio Aragonés, "a dim, barbaric He-Man bumbles through a world of annoying warrior goddesses and bored demons as he's pursued by a hungry green tiger."

Kelley Jones then draws a "'horrific ghost story" set on Eternia "where the power of Grayskull summons an entirely different warrior."

Masters of the Universe: Masterverse #1 (of 4) with a variant cover by brand name comic book artists Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart goes on sale February 15, 2023.

Check out the best non-Marvel or DC superhero universes.

Writer James Tynion IV will bring several comic stories he created for his Substack newsletter to print through Dark Horse Comics, with new print-first stories to follow down the road, announced through Tynion's newsletter Empire of the Tiny Onion and The Hollywood Reporter.

Tynion's Tiny Onion Studios (the name given to his line of Substack comments) will come to Dark Horse as its own line, curated by Tynion himself. The first two titles planned for release through Dark Horse will be physical releases of comics previously published on Tynion's Substack.

First up is Blue Book, created by Tynion alongside artist Michael Avon Oeming and letterer Aditya Bidikar, which releases starting in February. Blue Book recounts famous (or infamous?) tales of alien encounters, starting with the story of the supposed abduction of married couple Betty and Barney Hill.

Blue Book will also feature a series of 'True Weird' backup tales, starting with the story 'Coney Island' by Tynion and artist Klaus Janson.

Then there's The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos, coming in June 2023, created by Tynion and written by Tate Brombal, with art by Isaac Goodhart, colors by Kurt Michael Russell, and letters by Aditya Bidikar. The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos stars the eponymous Christopher Chaos, a teen mad scientist who gets wrapped up with a monster-hunting cult.

Following the release of Blue Book and The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos, Tiny Onion will release new, print-first material through Dark Horse, though no new titles have been announced yet.

"Blue Book and Christopher Chaos are just the beginning. There's a whole universe of characters and concepts around the Christopher Chaos title I'm hoping that Tate, Isaac and I get to explore in our time there," Tynion tells THR. 

"Beyond that, there are so many stories in the 'True Weird' genre that I think are ripe to be told in the comics form."

"And that's not counting all of the fun we've got in store for readers in the pages of Blue Book itself," he continues. "We’ll be deciding title by title what makes sense to debut first in print, and what will make a fun addition to the comics I debut in my Substack newsletter."

James Tynion IV has written some of the best horror comics of all time.

Dark Horse Comics has announced a new four-issue limited series, Space Job, slated for debut in February 2023 per CBR. The sci-fi comedy will be written by David A. Goodman, illustrated by Álvaro Sarraseca, colored by Jordi Escuin Llorach, and lettered by Mauro Mantella.

Space Job will follow the motley crew of the S.S. Bush as they head out on a simple cargo run that follows Murphy's Law almost to a T: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

According to the description from Dark Horse, the Captain of the S.S. Bush "is every terrible, self-centered boss you've ever had," the Communications Officer prioritizes personal calls over anything business-related, and the Chief Engineer prefers hitting on his coworkers to fixing things around the ship. And then there's the Operations Manager, who's updating his resume rather than keeping everything together. From what we can tell, Space Job will feel a lot like The Office - in space.

"Most of the people in the world work in jobs they hate, and I don’t think that will be any different in the future," Goodman says in the announcement. "The human adventure is figuring out how you’re going to get through the day without getting fired. I think we will relate to the crew of this ship, and enjoy their travels because it’s not happening to us."

Space Job #1 will go on sale February 8, 2023. Stay tuned to Newsarama for more information about upcoming comics in 2023 and beyond.

In the meantime, check out the 30 best sci-fi movies of all time.

BioWare general manager Gary McKay announced yesterday that the highly-anticipated Dragon Age: Dreadwolf has hit the Alpha development milestone - allowing its team to play the entire game from start to finish. And now, Dark Horse Comics has announced a comic book prequel series that will debut in January.

Dragon Age: The Missing will be a four-issue limited series that leads directly into the events of Dreadwolf, in which the returning antagonist Solas is the ultimate boss. Unlike the video game, in which players will visit the magically built and fueled Tevinter capital Minrathous, The Missing will follow returning companion Varric Tethras and Inquisition scout Lace Harding into the abandoned Deep Roads beneath Marnas Pell.

Varric and Lace are seeking a former friend, but what they find along the way is that the corruption of the blight - a recurring problem throughout the Dragon Age series - has infected the walls. That means darkspawn could be around any and every corner, making an already high-stakes mission even more intense.

Dragon Age: The Missing is written by George Mann, drawn by Kieran McKeown, and colored by Mike Atiyeh. Issue #1 features a cover by Matt Taylor, which depicts Varric holding his beloved crossbow Bianca while a demon looms large behind him.

The Missing is the eighth Dragon Age tie-in comic book series published by Dark Horse since The Silent Grove was released in 2012, just two years before the third video game in the franchise, Dragon Age: Inquisition was released.

Dragon Age: The Missing #1 will be available January 25, 2023.

Here's everything you need to know about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.

Read any history book and you’ll be glad the past is in the past, to have avoided things like the Black Plague, the Ice Age, or pre-plumbing restrooms. But what if history decided to come back? What if the issues humanity faced in the distant past came leaping through time to scour us today? What would you do?

That’s the basic premise of Dark Horse’s upcoming original graphic novel Fragmentation, which is set in a world where time is warping and attracting different eras to our own like disease-ridden moths to a flame. Major historical events are reoccurring and even overlapping.

The story is created and written by Marc Guggenheim, whose sci-fi and time travel chops include the Young X-Men comics and Legends of Tomorrow TV show, drawn by Avatar: Adapt or Die artist Ben R. Lobel and colored by Christopher Sotomayor.

Fragmentation is a self-contained story focusing on one family whose past traumas are coming back to haunt them the way that all of humanity’s traumas are coming back to haunt the globe. It’ll be up to them to confront the demons of the past and, hopefully, fix the historical rift in time to save… well, time.

Newsarama readers can get a first look at pages from the graphic novel in the gallery below.

Fragmentation will be available in comic shops January 25, 2023, and in bookstores February 7, 2023.

Until the new year, check out Newsarama's list of 20 graphic novels that can help keep you warm throughout the fall, which includes even more sci-fi must-reads.

Dark Horse Comics and Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) are expanding their relationship. Dark Horse has announced that starting June 1, 2023, PRHPS will be its exclusive single-issue distributor for the Direct Market (comic book specialty shops), which expands the companies' current relationship significantly.

PRHPS has distributed Dark Horse graphic novels and manga since 2013, and now it will also distribute Dark Horse single-issue comics, graphic novels, and manga to the Direct Market. Under this new, multi-year agreement, retailers can order new and backlist single-issue Dark Horse titles directly from PRHPS, or order them wholesale through Diamond Comics Distributors.

"It's an exciting time for the industry, and our move to Penguin Random House for Direct Market distribution comes after our successful partnership in bookstore distribution. Random House will help us expand our reach to retailers and fans around the globe," says Dark Horse founder and CEO Mike Richardson in the announcement.

He adds," Diamond Distribution has been a key partner for Dark Horse for nearly 30 years. As we move on to this next stage in our company’s growth, we want to say thanks to Steve Geppi, Chuck Parker, and the Diamond team, and while we will be moving our comics distribution to Penguin Random House, it is important to note that our products will still be available through Diamond as well."

PRHPS president Jeff Abraham says, "We are incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership with Dark Horse, and are excited to reach new heights with this expansion. We’ve grown together in an ever-evolving retail landscape for graphic storytelling, and we see this next step as further commitment to supporting Dark Horse, and our retail partners, well into the future."

Penguin Random House has long been the book market distributor for several comic book publishers, including Marvel Comics, DC, and IDW Publishing. Marvel and now Dark Horse have both entered Direct Market agreements with the company as well, as the landscape of comics distribution continues to change following Diamond's shutdown in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to Dark Horse's announcement, Diamond founder Steve Geppi issued a statement that reads: "Dark Horse has been our valued partner for close to 30 years and we are pleased that Diamond remains a key source for Dark Horse comics and graphic novels to the Direct Market domestically and internationally. We are also pleased to maintain our role as distributor of Dark Horse merchandise worldwide. 

"It is important to note that while Dark Horse is an established name in the industry, the expected impact of this change to Diamond's Dark Horse direct market sales represents only approximately 1 percent of Diamond’s top line sales inclusive of comics, games, merchandise, and pop culture items. We are so much more than just comic book distribution! Diamond and all the Geppi Family Enterprises companies have worked strategically and successfully to diversify over the years, with our most recent example being the launch of Overstreet Access, an online subscription comic collection management platform and price guide.

"I remain proud of the role Diamond plays in the industry and steadfast in my commitment to the Direct Market. I look forward to our continued service of the Direct and book markets as well as the continued growth of the GFE portfolio of companies."

Geppi's comments are positive, but Diamond has slowly been losing its near-quarter-century monopoly on Direct Market comics distribution since DC broke ties with the company in 2020 and began using a multi-distributor sales model. Penguin Random House Publisher Services is concurrently expanding its reach in the Direct Market, which may or may not continue to be the case if more publishers choose to make the switch from Diamond to another distributor.

Dark Horse Comics is home to one of the best non-Marvel/DC superhero universes of all time.

The Hellboy Universe continues to expand with Castle Full of Blackbirds, a four-issue limited series co-written by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and award-winning novelist Angela (A.G.) Slatter, drawn by Valeria Burzo, colored by Michelle Madsen, and lettered by Clem Robins. The series is a direct sequel to Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Return of Effie Kolb, and this time, Sara May Blackburn is in the narrative spotlight.

Castle Full of Blackbirds follows Sara May to New York as she attempts to track down Miss Brook at the Linton School for Girls. She quickly discovers that the questions she has for Miss Brook about her burgeoning magical powers don't have simple answers, and her education at the school will involve more than "reading, writing, and 'rithmetic."

Dark Horse Comics will release Castle Full of Blackbirds on a monthly schedule starting in September. Ahead of the first issue, Newsarama spoke with Slatter via e-mail about her comic book writing debut, her particular love for the Hellboy Universe, and what readers can expect for Sara May Blackburn. 

Newsarama readers also get to see new pages from issue #1 below.

Samantha Puc for Newsarama: What's your personal history with Hellboy?

Angela Slatter: I've always loved comics, and for a while (a really long while) it was all 2000 AD. I'd probably stopped reading them so much when I started writing myself but then gradually got back into them. 

I've been reading Hellboy for about 10 years now (which, yeah, makes me a baby in Hellboy Universe years), but I've been madly catching up and running out of shelf space as the collection grows. Mike and I have known each other on social media since about 2009 and ended up chatting about storytelling and fairy and folk tales. I love what he does with these old tales, how he embeds them in a modern world and makes the barriers between the past, present and the otherworldly just disappear. 

The Hellboy comics make it feel like you can step from the real world into another realm, have tea with Alice now she's inherited Mab's crown, or that a path to Hell could open up in your living room floor. 

Nrama: For you, how is writing a comic different from writing prose?

Slatter: I'm a very visual writer, so it's been a kind of a dream realizing that the artwork can do a lot of the heavy lifting for your storytelling, but then it also meant that I had to think a lot more clearly about how I described things for Valeria so that I wasn't just rambling. I had to think about where things sit in the frame, how many panels I could reasonably expect to go on the page, working out whether what I was asking was unreasonable or not. 

I'm lucky in that I was a short story writer before I became a novelist, and that taught me a lot about using an economy of words to get my tales across, and I'm also an editor, so I'm pretty good at being ruthless about what to cut. Plus, dialogue is one of my favorite things to write, and that helps a lot in being able to make sure dialogue shows character and conflict and moves the plot along.

Nrama: What do readers need to know going into this four-issue limited series? Is it "beginner friendly" for new Hellboy readers?

Slatter: Castle Full of Blackbirds follows Sara May Blackburn who helped Hellboy out in The Return of Effie Kolb. There are some of Hellboy's old nemeses in here in a slightly different role because it's Sara’s story and she's got a different arc. She's headed off to New York to find the Linton School for Girls and hopefully a place to belong. 

Ideally, a reader will have read The Return of Effie Kolb to get the gist of Sara May's beginnings, but I really wanted new readers to be able to come to this story and feel they knew what was going on for Sara – and then to go and read the rest of the Hellboy Universe because they wanted to!

Nrama: Without giving away too much, what has been your favorite moment in writing this series so far?

Slatter: Oh, man! Unfair question! BUT: There's a moment in issue #3 where one of Hellboy's major antagonists turns up in Sara's quest as part of one of her 'special lessons' and I was so stoked to write that scene, and then to bring in two other old 'pals' to help Sara out of a jam. 

They've all got their own agenda, of course, but it was so much fun getting them all together. You know when someone says, 'So, which characters would you invite to a dream dinner party?' This is probably mine – but held in a cemetery.

Nrama: Who are your biggest fantasy and horror influences?

Slatter: It's kind of a really broad church, from the old school stuff by Mary Shelley and Ann Radcliffe, Bram Stoker, Sheridan Le Fanu, and M.R. James to Stephen King, Tanith Lee, Anne Rice, Shirley Jackson, Sarah Langan, Linda Addison, Jeffrey Ford, Neil Gaiman, Kaaron Warren, Richard Laymon, Clive Barker, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Marjorie Liu, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Angela Carter, Margo Lanagan, Dean Koontz, Stephen Graham Jones, and Josh Malerman. Not a complete list, obviously! But I think you learn something from everyone you read.

Nrama: What do you hope readers take away from Castle Full of Blackbirds?

Slatter: Well, firstly I really just want them to enjoy the story and Sara's arc – watching her come into her own as a person and as a fledgling witch. But also hopefully they'll relate to some of the ideas about the value of found families and self-reliance. And have a fair bit of curiosity about the witches of the Hellboy Universe and where they – and Sara – might go in future.

Nrama: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Slatter: Just that I've had such a ball playing in the Hellboy Universe and I hope readers love the story as much as I’ve loved writing it!

Castle Full of Blackbirds #1 will be available September 14.

The Hellboy 'Mignolaverse' is one of the best non-Marvel/DC superhero universes of all time.

Cullen Bunn got into comic books like most of us did. 

"When I was a kid," says the Broken Frontier Award-winning author, "I was, like most children, really into superhero comics."

But even as Bunn read the adventures of do-gooders in brightly colored spandex, his younger self was aware of comics’ darker side.

"I had a big collection of horror comics, too," Bunn tells Newsarama, "thanks to yard sales. Whenever my dad went to the creek to go fishing, I would gather up big armloads of horror comics and bring them with me. [...] Among those comics were loads of DC's House of Mystery."

Bunn would eventually create "armloads" of comics himself, and though the writer has tackled plenty of superhero tales, the argument could be made that Bunn is predominantly a horror comics writer, with macabre titles like Harrow County and The Empty Man (the basis for the 2020 horror film of the same name) being some of his best-received work.

Now, Bunn has reteamed with Harrow County publisher Dark Horse to pay homage to the horror comics of his youth, with the creepy anthology Shock Shop.

Like House of Mystery, Shock Shop will feature a variety of unrelated tales to thrill and horrify, all narrated by an in-comic storyteller or "horror host." In the case of House of Mystery, that horror host was Cain, an impishly evil headmaster-type with pointed ears and a taste for murder.

In the pages of Shock Shop, we'll have comic shop owner Desdaemona Nimue Moreau (designed by Haunted artist Danny Luckert) as our grizzly guide. And though Desdaemona and Cain are polar opposites in appearance, the two share a dark sense of humor, an appetite for evil, and, intriguingly, a bit more backstory than the average horror host.

Watchers of Sandman know something about Cain's story, and readers of the comic know even more. Desdaemona's backstory is a little more complicated.

"Desdaemona is a bit of a mystery – a mystery that will be explored in small bits and pieces as more issues of Shock Shop are released," Bunn explains. "We know she owns the Shock Shop. Rumor has it that before she opened the shop, she worked in a graveyard and a fast food joint at the same time. She often brought one job into the other, so to speak. But those jobs ended in tragedy and catastrophe.

"Now, she sells comics in a shop that is more haunted than Hill House. Her clientele is a little strange, but they all maintain pull-and-hold services and they all pre-order upcoming Cullen Bunn books, so they're not so bad."

That sense of humor is integral to Bunn's creation of Desdaemona. In fact, it's central to the creation of Shock Shop.

Bunn cites the horror host format as something that "gives me the chance to be a little weird, silly, and quirky." Bunn points out that with stories that are "pretty serious and dark," it's important to have the chance to break up the grim nature of the book, or "play in a lot of different arenas," as he puts it.

The first two entries into the anthology title are indeed pretty dark. 'Something in the Woods, in the Dark,' centers on a group of friends trying desperately to help a couple on the brink of separation. To do so, they take a group camping trip and encounter more things in the woods than marital strife.

In the second story, 'Familiars,' a recently divorced father discovers his new home is haunted, much to the delight of his visiting children. But what appears to be friendly spirits might have something other than friendliness in mind.

'Something in the Woods, in the Dark' is drawn and colored by Danny Luckert and lettered by Nate Piekos; 'Familiars' is drawn by Leila Leiz, colored by Bill Crabtree, and lettered by Piekos.

Shock Shop #1 is the first in a three-part miniseries. But issue #1, and even the limited series as a whole, might only be the beginning for Bunn.

"I could tell Shock Shop stories until the end of my days," he says, "and then the erector set robot I've built to be implanted into my corpse will continue to tell even more Shock Shop stories until long after I'm gone."

Horror hosting humor aside, Bunn does believe Shock Shop will endure "the test of time," even beyond his writing of the series, that the title can stand "proudly alongside the classics." As a parting note, Bunn reminds fans who want more horror anthologies that reader response is critical and pre-orders matter.

Shock Shop #1 will be available September 7.

In the meantime, check out the best horror comics of all time.

Hellboy's childhood is nothing new to comic readers. Stories like The Midnight Circus fleshed out his history before Dark Horse decided to feature his kid self in his own series, Young Hellboy. The first arc of the installment, The Hidden Land, came out in 2021, and now, Young Hellboy is back for another adventure in Assault on Castle Death.

Issue #1 of the limited series is written by Thomas Sniegoski and Mike Mignola, drawn by Craig Rousseau, and colored by Dave Stewart. Before the book hits shelves July 20, Newsarama got the chance to ask writer Sniegoski about returning to Hellboy's childhood - read on to hear what he had to say.

Grant DeArmitt for Newsarama: Tom, catch us up on Young Hellboy. What are he and the BPRD up to at the beginning of Assault on Castle Death?

Thomas Sniegoski: Well, let's see… it's a few weeks after the Prof and Hellboy's rescue from the middle of the ocean after their plane crash (and their adventure in the Hidden Land). The big thing going on is that the B.P.R.D. is moving their base of operations from New Mexico to Connecticut. Hellboy is not in the least bit happy!

Nrama: Something you've brought back from the first Young Hellboy story, The Hidden Land, are the Brothers of Desolation. Can you tell us what their aim is, and how you came up with them?

Sniegoski: These guys are pretty creepy. They're an entire religious order of monks who have based their beliefs on the visions of a monk named Arnot De Falvy, who had apocalyptic visions of a red-skinned beast that would bring about the end of the world. They of course believe this is Hellboy, and they are trying to end his life before he can bring about the Apocalypse. These guys were cooked up by the genius of Mike Mignola, and I've just added some details here and there to make them a bit more spiffy. 

Nrama: It's in this book that we see the BPRD headquarters established in Connecticut, where it is for most of the adult Hellboy series. Are there other "origins" we can look forward to seeing in Assault on Castle Death?

Sniegoski: Hmmm. We learn that the B.P.R.D. headquarters used to belong to a movie production company that's since gone out of business. And we get to spend a whole lot more time with Hellboy's dog, Mac. That's pretty darn awesome.

Nrama: In the same vein, how do you avoid writing anything that would contradict something that comes later in Hellboy's series? What's the process for keeping all that canon straight?

Sniegoski: I've got a pretty good memory for stuff, seeing as Hellboy is one of my all-time favorite comics… plus we've got Mike paying attention, on top of an amazing editorial team. We're being pretty careful to make sure that all this stuff fits in nicely and doesn't contradict established continuity. 

Nrama: Speaking of processes, can you touch briefly on your collaboration in writing this book? What does writing with Mike Mignola look like? 

Sniegoski: Mike and I bang out the basic idea first. I then take the idea and start the process of laying out the story, layering in all the details that will be the beats that take us through each of the issues. Mike reviews these, adds his two cents, and then when that's done he sets me loose to write out the actual scripts. From there, the scripts are reviewed by Mike and the editorial team (and writer Christopher Golden!), I make any revisions, and then it moves on to the amazing Craig Rousseau!

Nrama: I'm glad you brought up Craig Rousseau, who is returning to the world of Young Hellboy with you. How do you find yourself writing for his art style? What strengths of his do you use in storytelling?

Sniegoski: Craig's style is perfect for how Mike and I envision young Hellboy. There appears to be a misleading simplicity to his style, but then, at the same time incredible depth and detail. He's just an amazing artist, and we're really lucky to have him on the book. His take on Young Hellboy is just spot on. There's a real sense of fun to his art that lends itself perfectly to our scripts. 

Nrama: There's a pulpy feel to both Rousseau's art and Young Hellboy in general. Are you a fan of old pulps? And if so, do you use anything from them in these comics?

Sniegoski: Anybody who really knows me knows that I absolutely adore the pulps. I have a great affinity for Lobster Johnson. I actually wrote a Lobster Johnson novel for Mike and Dark Horse a few years back! With the pulps, there's this real sense that anything goes… the crazier and more over-the-top, the better. This is something that I embrace with the Young Hellboy stuff, as well as quite a bit of the other writing that I do, actually. 

Nrama: What about other Hellboy comics? Which of the Mignolaverse entries do you take the most DNA from to create Young Hellboy?

Sniegoski: Hmmm. It's probably a combination of the Lobster Johnson pulpy material and the regular Hellboy issues, though there's quite a bit of pulpy goodness in regular Hellboy as well. But yeah, those two things are what I'm thinking about when I'm plotting and writing the Young Hellboy scripts. 

Nrama: The last time we spoke, I asked you how the events of The Hidden Land informed Hellboy's grown-up personality. Could I ask the same question, but this time for Assault on Castle Death?

Sniegoski: Like with Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land, these adventures are shaping Hellboy into the type of person he will become. I think with Assault on Castle Death Hellboy is being brought into a new phase of his life with the B.P.R.D. moving to Connecticut. He's no longer being hidden away in the desert of New Mexico. He's growing up. 

Nrama: Finally, how much more of the Young Hellboy series is planned out beyond this story? Do you have an "ending" in mind?

Sniegoski: That's hard to say. We work so hard on each of these adventures that we're not really thinking about the next one. Ask me that question again in a few weeks, and maybe I'll have some more info. 

Hellboy is one of the best supernatural superheroes of all time.

Moving can be hard on anyone – even demons. And for young Hellboy, leaving New Mexico to live in Connecticut is especially tough.

That's the basic premise of Young Hellboy: Assault on Castle Death #1, which kicks off the second Young Hellboy series this month. After returning from a secret island, Hellboy and the Professor head to New England, where Hellboy struggles with what might be homesickness or a sign that his mind has been invaded by scrambled memories from the island.

Meanwhile, a mysterious enemy who's already failed to kill Hellboy once is determined to take him down this time.

Young Hellboy: Assault on Castle Death #1 is the first of four issues in a limited series. It is co-written by Mike Mignola and Thomas Sniegoski, illustrated by Craig Rousseau, and colored by Dave Stewart. The main cover is by Matt Smith. The series picks up shortly after the conclusion of its predecessor, The Hidden Land. 

Check out a six-page preview below.

Previously in Young Hellboy: The Hidden Land, Hellboy and the Professor washed up on a strange island and had to face an ancient evil to escape back to the mainland. This four-issue limited series was released in 2021 and is currently available as a hardcover collection from Dark Horse.

Now, Hellboy and the Professor are facing a new danger in yet another new place, but Connecticut can't be that bad… right?

Young Hellboy: Assault on Castle Death #1 will hit shelves July 20.

The Hellboy 'Mignolaverse' is one of the best superhero universes outside of Marvel and DC.

In 2017, artist Miguel Valderrama and writer Carlos Perez Valderrama introduced comic readers to a world of terror, trust, and titans in Giants, the Valderramas’ first American comic. Giants takes place in a kaiju-ridden, post-apocalyptic world, in which much of humanity has retreated underground. 

Now, Dark Horse Comics is set to return readers to the treacherous depths and monster-infested surface of the Valderramas' world with Giants Vol. 2: Ghosts of Winter.

Dark Horse describes Giants Vol. 2 as "a post-apocalyptic kaiju story like no other" that's focused on found family. Living in a world ruled by monsters isn't easy – especially when human emotions and a lack of resources directly conflict with the ability to survive as a community.

Dark Horse's official description reads, "After the loss of their leader--and father figure--the apocalyptic found family "the Forsaken" struggle to survive. When a fight among monsters forces them to move farther beyond the limits of the unknown--and with the way back blocked--they're faced with more change as they encounter a group of monster hunters. When they learn that killing monsters has unintended consequences, tensions rise, loyalties are tested, and new beasts enter the fray!"

Newsarama has a first look at the book, which you can view below. 

Giants Vol. 2: Ghosts of Winter will hit comic shelves and digital platforms everywhere as one collected trade paperback on August 22, with a cover by artist Miguel Valderrama.

On the hunt for more kaijus in comics but don’t know where to start? Try checking out Newsarama’s coverage of Marvel’s Ultraman series by artists Davide Tinto, David Lopez, and Gurihiru, and writers Kyle Higgins, and Mat Groom.

Dark Horse Comics will produce an official, in canon comic book follow up for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which will bridge the gap between the film and its upcoming just-announced film sequel which has been nicknamed 'Firehouse.'

The still untitled comic book was announced during Sony's Ghostbusters Day festivities, which take place annually on June 8, the day in 1984 on which the original Ghostbusters was released to theaters.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife director Jason Reitman and co-writer Gil Kenan will work with Dark Horse to create the comic book, though no actual creative team for the title has been announced. During the course of the Ghostbusters Day announcements, the official Ghostbusters Twitter account tweeted that the comic book will be released at the end of 2023. Dark Horse Comics followed this up by tweeting there are "more details to come."

Ghostbusters: Afterlife functions as a direct sequel to Ghostbusters 2, following the family of original Ghostbuster Egon Spengler as they attempt to unpack Egon's legacy and find their own place as Ghostbusters.

The just-announced sequel, codenamed 'Firehouse,' will move the action from the family farm setting of Ghostbusters: Afterlife back to New York City, and, as the working title implies, to the iconic firehouse that was the Ghostbusters' headquarters in the original films.

Unspoken in the announcement of the Ghostbusters: Afterlife comic book sequel, but notable nonetheless, is the apparent move of at least part of the Ghostbusters comic book license to Dark Horse Comics. It was announced in January that longtime Ghostbusters comic book license holders IDW Publishing were set to lose the license. Now it seems Dark Horse has taken up the baton for the Afterlife comic book sequel.

Ghostbusters may be a bit more fun than scary, but the new title may find a place among the best horror comics of all time.

Howard's family told him he was a champion against dark magic. They lied. Now, Howard has spent a century staying as far away from magic as he can. However, his downstairs neighbor Lupe has just been thrown into a magical horrorshow, and only Howard can help. Together, the two of them become an Odd Couple of mages in The Lonesome Hunters by Tyler Crook.

Known for his watercolor depictions of strange Americana in books like B.P.R.D., Colonel Weird: Cosmagog, and Harrow County, Crook is doing double duty as both writer and artist on The Lonesome Hunters, which will be published by Dark Horse Comics on July 22. 

Ahead of the series release, Newsarama caught up with him to talk about the comic, his favorite horror, and a couple weird birds. Read on for more, and make sure to tell your local comic book shop to order the Lonesome Hunters now - FOC is Monday, May 30.

Grant DeArmitt for Newsarama: Starting off Tyler, talk to me about the magpies. They were so creepy in this book. Where did they come from?

Tyler Crook: That's really hard because I started working on The Lonesome Hunters a long time ago, just before I did that Witchfinder book. I want to say that was nine years ago now maybe. Magpies were there from the beginning, but I don't remember where they came from. It's funny; I've gotten into birds recently but I don't know what the connection is. I think birds are weird and cool. We got chickens a couple years back, and that was actually probably one of the things that got picking this project back up and working on it.

 The thing about the magpies that I've always liked is the notion that they collect shiny things. I've always wanted to know what that might be about. In doing research for this book, I learned that's not actually true. It's a folklore thing. Magpies don't collect [shiny things] more than any other bird. 

Nrama: I definitely had that as something that I accepted as fact.

Crook: Well, in The Lonesome Hunters, they definitely care about shiny objects.

Nrama: Do you have a source from which you're, pulling folklore-wise? There's an occult aspect of this book that feels really grounded in folk horror. Is that what you're pulling from?

Crook: Honestly, I'm trying to pull from as many folklore and occult sources I can find. There's some Freemason stuff at the very beginning of the book. The magpies are sort of inspired by largely European folklore, but also some Native American beliefs and stories about animals taking the forms of humans. There are going to be a lot of ancient beliefs as the comic progresses. We're just going to barely touch on it at this part of the series.

Nrama: This part of the series? Does that mean that there will be more Lonesome Hunters after these four issues?

Crook: Knock on wood. I'm hoping I can keep it going for a while. There's a lot of story to tell with these two characters.

Nrama: So is this comic more of a Hellboy thing? Like, were you thinking you'd create these characters and then put them in a world full of infinite adventures?

Crook: I don't think there's an infinite amount of possibilities. But I think I have had this notion that I wanted to tell a story about how these characters meet up and start adventuring. You know, I see people talk about this book and say that they're excited for a classic "monster hunter" kind of story. But I think once people read it, they're going to see that it's not quite that. At least, not in the way that they expected to be. These characters are a little bit different than what people are used to.

Nrama: Right, like the character of Howard. He might have started out as a traditional monster hunter, but that changes quickly.

Crook: Yeah, it's pretty clear in the first four pages that he is not the person that other people in the story expect him to be. I don't know if I should say more. This is the first series I'm doing as a writer, so it's hard to navigate knowing what is a spoiler and what is not. I did a couple of backup stories in Harrow County, but yes this is my first full series.

Nrama: Are you approaching it differently at all as both artist and writer? Did you still end up writing a traditional script?

Crook: I did not write a script in a traditional sense. I'm new to writing, so my process is still sort of in development, but the way I approach this was to outline and outline and outline. I probably did five or six different drafts of the outline before I got it where I wanted it. Then I did really rough thumbnails with dialogue just written right on top to get my first pass of the dialogue. Then I penciled, then I typed out the dialogue a little bit more, and then I colored it.

The thing that's really nice about writing and drawing it is that [the story] does feel more malleable. Normally, once I get a script from a writer, we don't want to do a lot of changing things up. But there's a lot of things, story things, that I don't find until later. I pinpoint them and I'm like, "oh crap, I've got to fix this." Because I'm also the writer, I can just do it. I don't have to do a whole email thread or anything like that. Which is nice.

Nrama: Would you say then that it's a smoother process?

Crook: No. Absolutely not. It's just as hard. There's always that discussion on Twitter about who does what, a writer versus an artist. It's true that both the writing and drawing the story are both very hard to do. So basically I just made it twice as hard by writing it myself.

Nrama: How much did your work on Harrow County influence the Lonesome Hunters?

Crook: Harrow County is such a fun project, mostly because [writer] Cullen [Bunn] and I are really on the same wavelength when it comes to telling stories. Especially telling spooky stories. We both really like spookiness. It's a much better thing to do with comics than gory horror or shock horror stuff because that little bit of spooky is a lot more emotional, I think, than trying to do other types of horror. So we both lean towards that. 

Now that I'm writing this one, I'm able to do that as much as possible. I think the horror stuff that resonates with me is stuff that is rooted in human experiences. I'm way more scared of that than, "oh, here's that special kind of monster that has eight legs instead of six." The thing that is scary to me is the human reaction.

Nrama: Can you give me an example of that? What's a horror-based in human experience?

Crook: I think a really classic example is that Buffy the Vampire Vampire Slayer episode where Buffy's mother is dead and no one can speak to them. All these people are trying to deal with the trauma and they can't talk about it, but then there is also actually a monster chasing them around. Still, the fighting and the running around stuff is really secondary to that metaphor for the real-life drama that the characters are going through.

Also, one of my favorite things we ever did in Harrow County was this story arc where some hunters come to Harrow County. They have all these hunting dogs, and when they interact with our character called The Abandoned, they do this thing where they raise their heads up like they're going to howl… but then they don't actually make any noise. They're just doing this weird thing.

I love that because, if my dog was doing something like that, it would freak me the hell out. It's just weird enough to be like, "that's not right," but also, "that could actually happen."

Of course, I like other stuff. I love pure magic to happen and I like that sort of thing, but I do like it once things are based in a reality so that we can break that reality and have an impact and meaning. 

Nrama: Speaking of creating reality, I wanted to talk about your color palette in this book. You use these muted brown, kind of parchment colors. Why?

Crook: My process of getting to the color palette was a little weird. A lot of it comes from just liking yellows. That might sound very strange, but I think yellow in general is one of those colors that is the basis of so much. If you want to brighten red, you just add a yellow to it. The chroma of the yellow makes it glow. The same is true for green, if you want your green to be bright and glowing you add it and it brings that chroma level up. 

So I was attracted to doing things in a very warm color because I was just enjoying using a lot of yellows, the physical process of painting those. But I wanted it to feel rooted in reality like I keep saying, and also feel a little bit soft, a little bit dreamy. There are kind of a lot of things in the book that are kind of vignetted. There's a little dark around the corners of the panel, sort of like you're looking at an old photo of something. But I didn't want it to be a fully limited palette, so I'm sort of reserving that for flashbacks and stuff like that.

Nrama: Speaking of flashbacks, in the first couple pages we learned that Howard is this character who was brought up believing himself to be a monster hunter, but then that the people who told him that are kind of monsters themselves. Would you say there's clear good and evil in this story? Or is everyone just kind of gray?

Crook: I don't think the world of Lonesome Hunters has good guys and bad guys in the sense of white hats and black hats. They‘re basically people who are really struggling and trying to figure out what to do, how to live a good moral life in this world. You know, they don't have clear answers for that all the time. But I also don't feel like the story is making any sort of nihilist argument like we can't know the difference between good and evil. It's sort of just saying that everyone is just trying to be trying to deal with complex situations as much as they can. 

Nrama: Understood. How is Howard going to deal with this complex situation after Issue One? He's been running from magic for a while, and now it's back in his life. How will he react?

Crook: One of the things I was telling this to somebody else, the crux of the story really is what it says on the cover, The Lonesome Hunters. It's about these really lonely people, Howard and Lupe. They find each other in this sort of shared dilemma, and they have to try to deal with it in a way that is going to take them both out of their comfort zone. 

Howard decides to help this woman, despite the fact that maybe it's not the safest choice for him to make. In spite of his standard rule of operating. He decides to help her and it just opens up a can of worms. I can't say much about that or it would spoil it. 

You know, that's sort of rooted in current times. That's where we're at. A good thing that can still happen is people finding each other and finding support in dark times. 

Will The Lonesome Hunters become one of the greatest horror comics of all time? It's got some tough competition.

The world of Mike Mignola's Hellboy came to an end - literally - in the limited series BPRD: The Devil You Know, with all of humanity dying out and being replaced with a new race of frog people. But now, the franchise will be resurrected through one of the first sci-fi characters ever, who is known for returning to life: Frankenstein's monster.

The world of BPRD has had its own version of the classic creature for some time, but now he's returning, and he's bringing a new look at the Hellboy franchise with him for the four-part limited series Frankenstein: New World from creator Mike Mignola, writers Christopher Golden and Thomas Sniegoski, artist Peter Bergting, colorist Michelle Madsen, and letterer Clem Robbins.

When last readers saw the BPRD version of Frankenstein, he was retreating into the center of the Earth to live underground - with one last glimpse of his subterranean life appearing in the finale of The Devil You Know. 

In Frankenstein: New World, he'll emerge from his underground sanctuary 1000 years in the future to a surface world that has never known humans for a story that co-writer Christopher Golden compares to Jack Kirby's classic dystopian sci-fi comic Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth.

"When Chris and Tom came to me with the idea of having Frankenstein’s adventures in Frog World, I think it took me about ten seconds to say YES," states Hellboy creator Mike Mignola in the announcement. "And then two minutes later I think we were on the phone talking about all the possibilities. I just don’t seem to be able to put a lid on this thing - which I guess is a good thing."

"This is the kind of weird-ass Frankenstein story that I’ve always wanted to read, and now I get to help write it!" adds co-writer Thomas Sniegoski.

"Frankenstein: New World is the weirdest comic either of us has ever done, quiet and creepy and - we hope - a nice balance of dread and wonder," Golden concludes. 

Frankenstein: New World #1 goes on sale August 3.

The BPRD franchise all started with Hellboy, one of the best supernatural superheroes ever.

The epic medieval fantasy comic Winds of Numa Sera is finally being released to the general public, as the creators behind the successful crowdfunding campaign for the book have partnered with Dark Horse Comics for a collected edition of the series previously only available to its Kickstarter backers.

Sent in the fantasy world of Ethera, this graphic novel centers around the empire of Numa Sera after its long-reigning emperor dies unexpectedly, leaving the crown up for grabs. His only child Lelia has a claim to the throne, but her inheritance of it comes with uncertainty for an untested, let alone young, leader. And in that uncertainty, forces inside Numa Sera - and nations on the outside - see an opportunity to take over the empire for themselves.

"Winds of Numa Sera is the biggest creative endeavor that we have taken on as creators to date," co-creator/writer Morgan Rosenblum tells Newsarama. "The level of detail that went into the world-building and character development for this story is on the level of The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. And yes, we fully realize the gravity of that statement."

Winds of Sera is created by Rosenblum and co-writer Jonny Handler, with art by Eduard Petrovich, Filipe Andrade, Eduardo Mello, and Alessio Moroni. Valentine Taddeo colored the series, joined with lettering by Ismail Nihad. 

"We didn't write this book to be average or just okay. We're going for an Eisner with this one. And we really believe this book will be in consideration for one once it's out," Rosenblum continues. "We've crafted these characters to be flawed and relatable - familiar but also unique."

Winds of Numa Sera follows the child empress Lelia, as well as three others - a warrior named Sjorsja, A baron's daughter named Kelesandra, and lastly, Krill - a stable boy on the run from the law due to a crime he didn't commit.

"It's all in the planning. We mapped out an extensive series bible that spans four volumes, before we ever started writing a script. We imagined new races, and even created a new religion with its own bible," says Rosenblum. "We went all in for this series, including deep into our own pockets. We hired the top concept artists to design all of the castles, environments, characters, and house sigils. Every single person that worked on this book (and there are a lot) brought their A game, and it shows."

Dark Horse's Winds of Numa Sera collection goes on sale June 7 in bookstores, and on June 4 in comic shops and digital platforms.

Find the comic shop that's right for you with our comic store guide.

Writer Scott Snyder's slate of upcoming Comixology original titles is shaping up to launch in October with three books kicking off throughout the month. Now, Comixology has released a teaser trailer showing off some of what fans can expect during what the publisher has dubbed 'Scottober.'

The three titles kicking off in October are We Have Demons #1 by Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo on October 5th, then Clear #1 by Snyder and artist Frances Manapul on October 12, and finally Night of the Ghoul #1 by Snyder and artist Francesco Francavilla on October 19. Comixology will then take their October Scott Snyder releases weekly with a sampler of the other titles Snyder and company have planned, to release on October 26.

Original story follows

Scott Snyder has signed what could be an eight-book deal with Amazon subsidiary Comixology and Dark Horse Books. This deal covers seven upcoming comic book series and one illustrated prose book Snyder has written with his recently-launched production company, Best Jackett Press.

"Massive in scope and creative range, these comics embrace all the things you love about Scott Snyder as a writer, while offering stories that are unexpected and new," says Comixology's head of content Chip Mosher. "Teamed with the best artists in the business, these creator-owned comics range from horror and sci-fi to historical fiction, there's truly something for everyone."

The eight books in this deal see Snyder teaming up with many of his most popular artistic collaborators from his time at DC. Here is a breakdown of each book, along with covers and other art:

We Have Demons

Scott Snyder reunites with penciler Greg Capullo and inker Jonathan Glapion for a series he compares to "Spawn meets Batman meets metal." The "out of control horror" series follows a teenage kid who discovers a clandestine between good and evil involving secret societies and monsters. 

Dave McCaig will be coloring this series.

Barnstormers 

Artist Lula Lotay re-teams with her AllStar Batman #7 writer Scott Snyder for what Comixology describes as "a high flying adventure romance set just after the First World War."

Dee Cunniffe will be coloring the series with Lotay.

The Book of Evil

Snyder is returning to prose in The Book of Evil for a story about a Stephen King-esque coming of age story following four adolescents living in a near-future where most of humanity are born psychopaths.

Snyder's 'Black Mirror' and Wytches partner Jock is drawing illustrations for the series.

Canary

Artistic powerhouse Dan Panosian is teaming up with Snyder for a late 19th century western. In this horror series, a mine collapses onto itself - and it's somehow tied into a dark substance found 666 feet - exactly 666 feet - underground.

Clear

Scott Snyder and his Justice League: No Justice artistic partner Francis Manapul are back together with a sci-fi mystery set in a strange future where everyone has a constant neurological internet connection. As you can imagine, there'd be problems.

Duck and Cover

The team behind American Vampire is creating a new creator-owned series, once again delving into history and America. This manga-influenced series is a throwback post-apocalyptic story set in 1955 America. 

Dudley Datson and the Forever Machine

Snyder is diving headlong into the Young Adult section with this new series with artists Jamal Igle and Juan Castro. In what could be a great companion to Igle's own Molly Danger series, Dudley Datson and the Forever Machine is about a boy, his dog, and a time machine.

The series will be colored by Chris Sotomayor. 

Night of the Ghoul

Previously teased online and at conventions, Night of the Ghoul is Snyder and artist Francesco Francavilla's halcyonic Hollywood horror story about a lost film whose reels are said to be haunted.

All eight Best Jackett Press comic book series will debut digital-first on Amazon's Comixology and Kindle platforms and be available free to Amazon Prime, Kindle Unlimited, or Comixology Unlimited accounts. After that, Dark Horse will publish print editions - some as original graphic novels, some as first as serialized issues.

Several of these books will debut in October 2021, with more details to be announced later in the year.

"This historic, multi-title deal with comiXology Originals has enabled us to assemble a murderers' row of artists and together we're challenging ourselves creatively to work outside of our comfort zones and really lean into the possibilities of making comics," Snyder says. "This deal allows me the freedom to explore the kind of storytelling I've wanted to try for a long time, while supporting my need to try something that's not totally comfortable for me."

Last year, Snyder's Best Jackett Press was launched in advance of the Image Comics series Nocterra to act as a shingle for Snyder's various creator-owned projects. As the writer told Newsarama in August 2020, Best Jacket Press is about him "entering a new phase in my career" with creator-owned work after 10 years almost exclusively with DC.

Former DC/Vertigo editor Will Dennis will be the editor for all eight books, after already editing Snyder's Undiscovered Country, Wytches, Nocterra, and the upcoming series Chain.

"One of the things I'm so excited about is experimenting to find new ways to build and nurture a community of readers," says Snyder. "We want each release to be an event and we can't wait for readers to see what we have planned, whether they're reading via Comixology Unlimited, print, or both."

Digital comics continue to grow, so why not check out our recommendations for the best digital comics readers. 

Writer/artist Mike Mignola is coming out of his sort-of comic book artist retirement to draw his first new comic book in five years - and its not a Hellboy comic.

Mignola is in the middle of drawing Sir Edward Grey: Acheron, a one-shot comic set in the world of Hellboy (AKA the 'Mignolaverse' as fans have come to call it) but instead focused on a 19th-century paranormal investigator that is cursed with everlasting life thanks to some time spent in Hell. 

(That's right, the Hell that Hellboy is from.)

This will be Mignola's first time drawing a full comic book since June 2016's Hellboy in Hell #16, the finale of that series, and - according to Mignola - the finale of the Hellboy character.

"Even after Hellboy was finished with Hell, I knew I wasn't," Mignola says in the announcement. "I'd relocated two of my favorite characters there - Edward Grey and Koshchei the Deathless. I figured the two of them were bound to run into each other (and they will), but first I had an unfinished bit of business for Ed to take care of on his own. It was a real pleasure to dive back into that world, and I look forward to getting back there again before too long."

Publisher Dark Horse Comics calls Sir Edward Grey: Acheron "the next chapter in the Hellboy Universe," which happens in the midst of Mignola expanding the universe's cast of characters from being just about Hellboy and the BPRD to Edward Grey, Koschei the Deathless, and more.

Mignola will be joined on Sir Edward Grey: Acheron by his long-time colorist Dave Stewart and letterer Clem Robins. The series will be edited by Katii O'Brien.

Sir Edward Grey: Acheron goes on sale on December 1.

The Mignolaverse is high on our list of the greatest non-DC or Marvel superhero universes in comics.