Frankenstein’s Monster becomes a detective in ‘Prometheus Graft’

George Northy and Caitlin Yarsky are on the case in December.

Frankenstein’s Monster gets a new life as a supernatural detective in Prometheus Graft: The Slayings at Death’s End, a new series by writer George Northy and artist Caitlin Yarsky that launches in December from Oni Press .

The series reimagines Mary Shelley’s iconic creation as Prometheus Graft, a brilliant investigator who has spent decades reinventing himself after his creation. His scars have faded and his once-hulking form has been tamed, but as we all know, you can’t take the monster out of the monster.

“I’ve always adored an Agatha Christie-style whodunnit and wanted to create a classic detective tale with a supernatural twist,” said Northy. “But who to cast as the Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes or Benoit Blanc of this monster mash-up mystery? Then it came to me: The Creature in Mary Shelley’s iconic Frankenstein was brilliant, tortured and a ‘living puzzle’ himself. What if he set out to try to solve the mystery of what he really is—and who exactly makes up his disparate, grafted-together pieces—and, along the way, discovered a talent for solving all manner of occult mysteries? That became our hero detective, Prometheus Graft. In his debut mystery, Graft is invited to Death’s End Castle to observe a peace treaty renewal between clans of vampyrs, witches and werewolves—but instead must solve a series of brutal slayings to avert all-out paranormal war.”

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Smash Pages Q&A | Zack Quaintance on ‘Death of Comics Bookcase: Reign of the Comics Bookcases’

Quaintance talks to us about his latest project, which is currently up on Kickstarter, as well as writing comics about comics and the enduring legacy of an aspiring actor-turned-furniture.

Death of Comics Bookcase started with a pretty simple question: What if a comics bookcase could tell stories?

Two years after the first volume, Zack Quaintance is back with Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 2: Reign of the Comics Bookcases, a 48-page anthology that uses its titular piece of furniture as a framing device for stories that range from superheroics and science fiction to fantasy and comics-industry satire.

Quaintance, a writer and editor at The Beat, brings his own experience as a comics journalist to the project, recruiting artists whose work he’s encountered through his reviewing and reporting. Reign of the Comics Bookcases features stories illustrated by Nick Cagnetti, John P. Golden, Luke Horsman, Ryan Lee, Jeremy Hyler and Jim Lavery.

The second volume is currently up on Kickstarter, following the first book’s successful 2024 campaign. I talked with Quaintance about the secret origin of the Comics Bookcase, finding the right artists for each story and what comes next for the Bookcase.

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | The X-Men + Fantastic Four team up in ‘DNX’

See what’s arriving at your local comic shop this week from creators like Jed MacKay, Federico Vicentini, Che Grayson, Matías Bergara, David Pepose, Jonathan Lau, Adam Gorham, Guillem March, Derf Backderf, Leah Hayes and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what’s coming to your local comic shop this week.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights for this week below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So check with your retailer to see what’s arriving at their shop this week.

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Smash Pages Q&A | Craig Hurd-McKenney on ‘Best Friend Show’

Craig Hurd-McKenney talks with us about ‘Best Friend Show,’ youth dog shows and finding the right story for a young-adult audience.

Craig Hurd-McKenney and I go way back, far enough that our connection to comics probably isn’t the most interesting part of the story. But I’ve had the pleasure of watching him create stories and comics from the beginning, and I’ve talked with Craig about his comics work for Smash Pages a couple of times over the years, most recently in 2025.

Now he’s taking on something a little different with Best Friend Show, a Young Adult graphic novel coming Mad Cave Studios’ Nakama Press imprint on Oct. 13. After a family illness and a breakup, the main character, Landon, spends the summer with his aunt at her dog rescue. There, he discovers an unexpected talent for working with dogs and finds himself drawn into the world of competitive youth dog shows.

Illustrated by Melisa Jones with colors by Jok, Best Friend Show is a story about dogs and competition on the surface, but Craig says his fascination with youth dog shows came from something deeper: the confidence and agency they can give young people. As Landon finds his way back into the world, his relationships with the dogs and the group of young handlers he meets become an important part of that journey.

I spoke with Craig about the real-life inspiration behind Best Friend Show, what he learned about youth dog shows, working with artist Melisa Jones and his longtime collaborator Jok, and the challenge of writing his first YA graphic novel.

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Carol Tyler, Lee Lai, Jesse Lonergan + more win at the 2026 Ignatz Awards

The annual awards were given out at the Small Press Expo in Maryland this weekend.

The 2026 Ignatz Awards, recognizing the best in small press comics, were presented last night during the Small Press Expo. The event featured a keynote by cartoonist Lisa Hannawalt, which you can watch in the replay of their livestream. I’d also recommend checking out Carol Tyler’s heart-felt acceptance speech at the end as well.

The winners list includes some (now) multiple Ignatz Award winners, including Lee Lai, Jesse Lonergan and Michael DeForge. While many of the winners were self-published, Drawn + Quarterly took home two awards, the most of any publisher.

The Ignatz Awards have been presented since 1997 and celebrate the outstanding achievements of independent comics, graphic novels and minicomics. They are named for the brick-throwing mouse that appeared in the Krazy Kat comics by George Herriman.

Congratulations to this year’s winners:

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Marvel’s ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #1000 line-up now includes WWE’s Triple H

The publisher reveals the creative line-up for the milestone issue and shares a preview.

Marvel has already pulled out some pretty big names for Amazing Spider-Man #1000, but the landmark issue has one more surprise in store: WWE Hall of Famer and Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque is among the writers contributing to the oversized anniversary issue.

I believe this will actually be his comic writing debut — although he’s certainly appeared in a number of them, as publishers like BOOM! have held the WWE license in the past. He’ll be teaming with artist Ed McGuinness on a story titled “The Big Night,” which is probably safe to guess will be a wrestling-themed story. And it all makes sense, given Peter Parker tried his luck in the squared circle before he became a superhero. In another life, he could have led Degeneration X.

Here’s the rest of the creative line-up for the issue, which will have many stories:

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Clover Press reveals Marvel Masterworks plans, including four new volumes and a Jim Lee puzzle

The publisher will launch its new era of Marvel’s iconic archival series with restored editions of X-Men, Thor, Super-Villain Team-Up and Tomb of Dracula, and we have an exclusive look at one of the Kickstarter rewards.

The return of Marvel Masterworks under Clover Press was one of the more well-received announcements to emerge from San Diego Comic-Con this summer, especially from fans of the line. Now, the publisher is revealing exactly what that new era will look like as they prepare to launch the first Kickstarter for it.

Clover Press has announced the first four volumes of its ambitious plan to continue Marvel’s long-running archival hardcover series, with new editions devoted to The Uncanny X-Men, Super-Villain Team-Up, The Mighty Thor and The Tomb of Dracula. The books will feature extensive new restoration work, including hundreds of pages sourced directly from original art, as well as three distinct cover treatments, including a new trade dress designed by Clover Press co-founder and art director Robbie Robbins.

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Smash Pages Q&A | Zeronis on the art of character design

The ‘League of Legends’ artist looks back at the games, anime and personal artwork that shaped his distinctive style in ‘Reminiscent: Art of Zeronis.’

Paul “Zeronis” Kwon has spent much of his career creating characters for some of the biggest games in the world, including League of Legends, where he helped design fan-favorite champions such as Ahri, Vi and Gwen. He also worked on the Star Guardian universe and K/DA, bringing familiar characters into different visual worlds.

But Zeronis’ path to the video game industry began much earlier, with Final Fantasy VII and a young artist trying to make friends after moving from Korea to the United States. Unable to speak English, he drew Cloud Strife from memory and gave the drawings to his classmates.

That early connection between games and art eventually became a career, but Zeronis says his artistic identity is still evolving. His new book, Reminiscent: Art of Zeronis, collects 152 pages of professional work, fan art and, most importantly, personal pieces that show the experimentation happening outside the constraints of game development. The deluxe hardcover is currently being crowdfunded through Kickstarter by Clover Press.

I spoke with Zeronis about finding his artistic voice, the difference between designing characters for games and for himself, the lessons he learned creating League of Legends champions and skins, and the games and anime that continue to inspire him.

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DC extends ‘The Fury of Firestorm’ to 15 Issues

Jeff Lemire and Rafael de Latorre’s Firestorm series gets a second extension, adding six more issues and continuing into 2027.

Here’s some good news for fans of The Fury of Firestorm: DC is giving Jeff Lemire and Rafael de Latorre’s take on the Nuclear Man more room to burn.

With The Fury of Firestorm #6 arriving in comic shops today, DC has announced that the DC Next Level series has been extended to 15 issues. This follows the previous extension that Lemire mentioned on Substack back in May, when it expanded to nine issues.

Heck, at this rate, let’s just make it an ongoing series. I mean, the current Poison Ivy started out as a miniseries, and now it’s anchoring a big Batman event.

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Exclusive | Archie’s Christmas party takes a mysterious turn in this year’s ‘Archie’s Christmas Spectacular’

Bob Phantom knows something is amiss in this exclusive preview of Archie Comics’ double-sized holiday mystery from Ian Flynn and Dan Parent.

Christmas has arrived in Riverdale, and the whole Archie Comics universe is invited to the party! But when characters start disappearing during the Secret Santa gift exchange, the holiday festivities quickly turn into a mystery.

Courtesy of Archie Comics, we have an exclusive preview of Archie’s Christmas Spectacular, which will feature two brand-new stories that bring together a veritable who’s who from across the Archie universe, including the heroic Bob Phantom, who recruits fellow crimefighter Blackjack to help track down the missing guests. Can the heroes solve the mystery before Christmas is ruined?

Check out a first look at the 48-page, double-sized holiday spectacular, written by Ian Flynn, penciled by Dan Parent, inked by Bob Smith, colored by Glenn Whitmore and lettered by Jack Morelli. Archie’s Christmas Spectacular hits comic shops Oct. 7. Check out the preview below.

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Christian Ward + Sami Kivelä open the doors to ‘The Forever Home’

See what’s arriving at your local comic shop this week from Stephanie Phillips, Tom King, Gabriel Hernández Walta, Jordie Bellaire, Christopher Cantwell, Jacob Phillips, Darcy Van Poelgeest, Ian Bertram, Todd McFarlane, Box Brown and more.

Happy Labor Day and welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what’s coming to your local comic shop this week.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights for this week below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So check with your retailer to see what’s arriving at their shop this week.

Continue reading “Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Christian Ward + Sami Kivelä open the doors to ‘The Forever Home’”

Lawsuit filed against Ed Brubaker, Amazon + others alleging harassment on the set of the ‘Criminal’ TV show

A former production assistant has filed a lawsuit this week alleging harassment, discrimination and retaliation on the set of the show based on the Eisner-winning comics series.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter and other outlets, Ed Brubaker, the Eisner Award-winning comic book writer and showrunner of Amazon MGM’s upcoming Criminal series, is being sued by a former production assistant who alleges he was subjected to sexual, racial and religious harassment while working on the series, among other allegations.

Ijaaz Noohu filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Brubaker, fellow executive producer Phillip Barnett, Big Indie Pictures, Big Indie Gemini, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Amazon.com Services. The complaint, filed Wednesday, contains 12 causes of action, including claims of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, assault and defamation. Noohu is requesting a jury trial as part of the suit.

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