Welcome back to The Beat Digest, a twice-weekly round-up of the biggest comics-related news stories we’ve missed every Tuesday and Friday. Is there a story out there you think we should cover? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
§ Dark Horse‘s announcements this week included Nemesis: Forever, a five-issue sequel by Mark Millar and Matteo Scalera, starting August 27; Resident Alien: The Book of Changes, a four-part family reunion by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse, kicking off August 20; and Quick Stops Vol. 3, a new four-issue anthology for Kevin Smith‘s View Askewniverse starting August 13, featuring art by John Sprengelmeyer, Ryan Gajda, Mark Reihill, and Ahmed Rafaat.
Furthermore, they revealed Red & Blue: Monster Hunters, a middle-grade fantasy OGN by Sara Soler (Season of the Bruja), which will follow two monster hunters on December 9. The publisher also launched a Willy Wonka-inspired t-shirt competition for the trade paperback of Josh Gad et al.’s The Writer, the details for which you can read here.
§ The War, Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan‘s story in BOOM! Studios‘ horror anthology Hello Darkness, is expanding into its own series. A dystopian thriller, The War follows a group of friends in New York City during the breakout of a nuclear war. The oversized first issue, collecting all three chapters of the original story, will be released on July 30. BOOM! also revealed Dune: Edge of a Crysknife: Hiding Among the Harkonnens, by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Simone Ragazzoni. The one-shot, starring a young Shadout Mapes, releases July 2.
§ Per The Hollywood Reporter, Abrams ComicArts will publish Francis Ford Coppola‘s Megalopolis: An Original Graphic Novel in October. The adaptation, scripted by Chris Ryall with art by Jacob Phillips, was originally intended for release from Ryall’s Image imprint Syzygy when it was announced in March 2023. The movie Megalopolis, a sci-fi drama set in an alternate New York, was released last year to mixed reviews and poor box office, amidst controversy over alleged sexual misconduct by Coppola during filming.
§ Via ComicBook.com, Mad Cave unveiled Look Into My Eyes, a psychological horror series by writer/artist Rubine (The Expanse). Debuting July 23, the comic follows a teen investigating the connection between a student’s disappearance, and a new, popular social media app. Each issue will have QR codes offering more insight into the mystery.
Meanwhile, children’s imprint Papercutz revealed Chase Speedington and the Last Dragon’s Breath, the first volume of an adventure series reuniting writer Franco Aureliani and artist Mike Hartigan (Deadman Tells the Spooky Tales). As the title suggests, the book (due out November 4) follows a globe-trotting kid, who discovers evidence that dragons did exist.
§ At Nerdist, IDW announced Monster High: World’s Scare, a five-issue series by writer Jacque Aye and artist Caroline Shuda. It will see Frankie Stein and friends compete in the World’s Scare exhibition, with a new invention intended to honor the memory of Frankie’s late father, Headmaster Frankenstein. The doublesized first issue will be released in July.
§ In reprint news, Image will release Letter 44 Compendium, a complete paperback collection of Charles Soule and Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque‘s sci-fi satire, in comics stores on June 18, and everywhere else on July 1. The series originally ran at Oni Press from 2013 to 2017.
Meanwhile, Marvel announced Wolverine: Revenge – Red Band Raw: Black & White Edition, a black-and-white rerelease of each issue of Jonathan Hickman and Greg Capullo‘s series; issue #1 (of 5) releases July 16.
§ In awards news, the National Cartoonist Society announced the nominees for the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year: they consist of Dave Blazek, Tauhid Bondia, Will Henry, Mark Parisi, Dana Simpson, and Mark Tatulli. The winner will be announced on August 15.
Finally, over in Japan, the 29th annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize was awarded to director Rintaro (Metropolis) for his semi-autobiographical manga 1-Byo 24-Koma no Boku no Jinsei (My Life at 24 Frames per Second). He will be presented with the award on June 5. For the full list of this year’s winners, head to Crunchyroll.
