Month: January 2026

Slugfest | Discover the secret history of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in a new comic miniseries this April

Plus: Marvel’s April solicitations bring a Jubilee one-shot, a new Alien miniseries, more Doom 2099 and … April Pool’s Day!

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. This edition focuses on Marvel’s April 2026 titles. Hit the links for more info.

Disney’s Galaxy’s Edge, or as we call it at my house, “Star Wars Land,” will get an update at Disneyland this spring, as they add Darth Vader, Han Solo and other characters from the original trilogy to the area. Until now, Galaxy’s Edge’s story has revolved around the most recent trilogy, with Kylo Ren, Rey and the First Order making appearances, but that’ll change in April. And the new “story” that connects the first Star Wars films to the area will come in the form of a comic this April.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – Echoes of the Empire #1 kicks off a new five-issue miniseries set on Batuu, expanding the story of the Black Spire Outpost during the era of the original trilogy. Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Chewbacca arrive on the remote world searching for critical intelligence, only to uncover a relic that draws the attention of the Empire. Their mission quickly escalates, placing Batuu at the center of a conflict that has been unfolding just out of sight of the films.

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Chris Condon + Stefano Caselli carry on the Ultimate Universe’s legacy in ‘Reborn: Ultimate Impact’

The story of the Ultimate Universe’s Origin Boxes continues in the 616 this May.

The end of the Ultimate Universe is just the beginning for a new set of heroes that’ll appear in the regular Marvel Universe.

Today Marvel announced Reborn: Ultimate Impact, a five-issue miniseries by Ultimate Wolverine writer Chris Condon and Ultimate Black Panther artist Stefano Caselli.

The miniseries spins out of Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion, which saw Miles Morales and his baby sister arrive in the Ultimate Universe for a madcap game of “get the baby before the Maker’s cronies do.” Their adventure ended with them back in the regular Marvel Universe, a.k.a. the 616, but they brought home some souvenirs — several of the “Origin Boxes” the Maker used to collect the powers of various heroes before they could experience their secret origins. (You might remember seeing them distributed by Tony Stark and company to many of the heroes in the Ultimate titles).

Miles ended up with a whole bunch of unused ones, and someone’s after them, of course. The series will show the boxes “giving birth to new heroes and villains with familiar powers, but very different journeys.”

“I am so excited to be a part of this book and to be working with this fantastic team,” Condon said. “To be able to play with the idea of these universes colliding in a truly unique and interesting way like this, and to have the opportunity to create new and lasting creations within them – both characters and settings – is a dream for any creator in this industry. I’m having so much fun working on this book with artist Stefano Caselli and Editor Tom Groneman. I hope that shines through when readers pick up their copies of what I think will be an exciting new piece of the Marvel Universe.”

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ALA announces first-ever Outstanding Comics for Young Adults Awards

‘The Boy Wonder,’ ‘Raised by Ghosts’ and more were recognized by the ALA’s Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table.

Adult comics aren’t the only ones getting a new awards program from the American Library Association. The ALA also announced this week the first winners of the Outstanding Comics for Young Adults Awards.

Like the adult awards, the YA-centered awards have three categories — fiction, non-fiction and series — with a winner and one or two honor books, or runners up.

“In this inaugural year for the award, the selection process was extremely competitive. The committee felt it was essential to choose titles that were truly outstanding to set a high precedent for the future. The entire Young Adult selection committee is honored to be a part of this milestone year. As comics librarians, our primary goal is to connect deserving creators and their amazing stories with readers from any age or background,” said committee chair Micki Waldrop.

Check out the inaugural winners below.

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ALA’s Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table announces the first Outstanding Comics for Adults Awards

‘The Night Eaters,’ ‘Insectopolis,’ ‘Tongues’ and more were recognized by the ALA.

The American Library Association’s Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table announced plans to launch an awards program in 2026, and this week they revealed the winners of the first-ever Outstanding Comics for Adults Awards.

“In libraries, we see how comics bring people together, new readers, lifelong fans, and everyone in between,” said the round table’s president, Shauntee Burns-Simpson. “The Outstanding Comics Award honors works that expand our understanding of what stories can look like and ensure that there is something on the shelf for everyone.”

The awards launch with three categories — fiction, non-fiction and series, and for each category they chose one winner and one or two “honor books,” or runners up. Check out the winners below.

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Picture + Panel | Robert Mgrdich Apelian + Shaina Lu talk about the intersection of food, family and comics

Check out our interview in advance of a live question-and-answer session between the two creators in Boston next week.

Today we continue our interview series with creators speaking at the monthly Picture + Panel event in Boston, which brings together two comic creators to talk about a specific topic. Robert Mgrdich Apelian and Shaina Lu, whose graphic novels explore “the intersections of culture, community and comestibles,” talk to us about food and comics. You can find more details on the Feb. 2 event here.

Picture + Panel is a monthly conversation series produced in partnership by the Boston Comic Arts Foundation, Porter Square Books and the Boston Figurative Arts Center, Picture + Panel provides thought-provoking discussions for the unique form of expression that is the comics medium.

Robert Mgrdich Apelian (he/him) is an Armenian American author-illustrator based in Everett, Massachusetts. He’s an avid reader of seinen manga and is especially passionate about making the most of comics as a storytelling medium. A primary goal of his work is to celebrate the diversity and cultural excellence of the Middle East and to portray it as something other than tragic and war-torn.​

Shaina Lu (she/her) is a queer Taiwanese American community artist exploring the intersection of art, education, and activism. She graduated from Wellesley College and Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she studied arts in education. When she’s not creating community art, she works with young artists and makers in Boston’s Chinatown. Most important, she drinks juice every day, and she is full of sugar.

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Hourly Comic Day gets a new organizer, moves to Feb. 8

The annual event that encourages artists to draw a comic every hour celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Hourly Comics Day, the annual challenge where creators commit to making and posting a comic every hour for an entire day, has a new organizer and a new date, beginning this year.

The Cartoonist Cooperative has taken over the event and its website, following its lapse by the event’s founder, Simone Veil. Veil founded the event in 2006, making this year the event’s 20th anniversary.

Traditionally the day has been held on Feb. 1, but the Coop has decided to move it to Feb. 8 to avoid conflicts with the start of the U.S.’s Black History Month, which marks its 100th anniversary in the United States this year.

“In prior years, Black cartoonists have noted that when social media and blogs are saturated with posts from non-Black cartoonists focusing on their daily lives, it can make the first day of this important month feel like an afterthought,” the announcement on the site read. “As Feb 1st was an arbitrarily chosen date, there is no reason it cannot be changed, particularly given the anniversary.”

It’s a fun day to follow on social media, so be sure to check your favorite platform on Feb. 8 using the hashtag #HourlyComicsDay. You can see some of my favorites from 2025 here. For more information, visit the event’s website.

Rest in peace, Sal Buscema

The Marvel legend passed away this month at the age of 89.

Sal Buscema, a classic Marvel artist whose work spanned decades for the publisher, passed away Jan. 23 at the age of 89, just a few days shy of his 90th birthday.

Buscema pencilled and inked a number of comics for Marvel throughout the years, including Avengers, Fantastic Four, Thor, Marvel Team-Up, Sub-Mariner, Daredevil, Nova, Eternals, Marvel Two-In-One, New Mutants, Iron Man, Ghost Rider, Ms. Marvel, Howard The Duck, Master Of Kung Fu, and three major Spider-Man series — Amazing, Web of and Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man. He pencilled key runs on Captain America, ROM: Spaceknight and The Defenders, and a 10-year run on Incredible Hulk.

His death was reported by artist Sterling Clark on Facebook, who worked with Buscema on a project. “When I think back on my childhood and all of the comic books that I read, Sal’s name seems to have appeared in just about all of them,” Clark said. “I didn’t just read the books that he illustrated, I studied them. Every nuance in his pencils and his inks I saw and tried to mimic. He was definitely one of the greats during those years at Marvel, when handling more than three titles a month was not just a requirement but a necessity.”

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Can’t Wait for Wednesday | Joshua Williamson + Carmen Carnero’s ‘Iron Man’ takes flight

Check out new comics and graphic novels arriving this week by Joshua Williamson, Mari Costa, Carmen Carnero, Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar, Justin Jordan, John Bivens, Felipe Sobreiro, Nick Cagnetti and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, your guide to what’s coming to your local comic shop this week. It’s a really, really cold week for man in the United States, and a winter storm has wrecked havoc on a good portion of us. I would not be surprised if that has an impact on comic deliveries this week, so be sure to check with your retailer to see if they experience any delays.

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. Always check with your individual retailer to see what’s arriving at their shop this week.

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‘Supergirl: The World’ will feature stories by creators from 15 countries

The anthology graphic novel will arrive in June ahead of the Supergirl film.

Ahead of the theatrical debut of the Supergirl film, DC will release Supergirl: The World, an anthology graphic novel featuring stories by international creative teams.

Like the previous volumes featuring Batman, The Joker and Superman, Supergirl: The World will be published simultaneously by DC and their global publishing partners on the same day, June 2. The creative teams contributing stories include:

  • United States: Mariko Tamaki (writer), Skylar Patridge (artist), and Joëlle Jones (cover)
  • Spain: Aneke (writer, artist, cover)
  • Italy: Francesca Michielin (writer) and Federica Croci (artist, cover)
  • Serbia: Uroš Dimitrijević (writer) and Stevan Subic (artist, cover)
  • Cameroon: Njoka Suyru (writer), Coeurtys Ulrich Minko (thumbnails), and Ejob Nathanael Ejob (artist, cover)
  • Finland: Johanna Sinisalo (writer) and Rosi Kämpe (artist, cover)
  • Argentina: Tomás Wortley (writer) and Rocío Zucchi (artist, cover)
  • Turkey: Mahmud Asrar (writer, artist, cover)
  • France: Kid Toussaint (writer) and Joël Jurion (artist, cover)
  • Brazil: Fernanda Chiella (writer, artist, cover)
  • Poland: Anna Krztoń (writer) and Kasia Nie (artist, cover)
  • Mexico: Mariana Moreno (writer, artist, cover)
  • Germany: Yann Krehl (writer) and Marie Sann (artist, cover)
  • Colombia: Sara Rodríguez (writer, artist, cover)
  • Japan: Satoshi Miyagawa (writer) and Kai Kitago (artist, cover)

Each country’s edition will feature a different cover by a local artist, some of which you can check out below:

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18 inductees announced for the Will Eisner Hall of Fame class of 2026

Don Heck, Denys Cowan, Carol Tyler and more will be inducted this summer.

Comic-Con International has announced 18 inductees for the Will Eisner Hall of Fame for this year.

The list ranges from legendary pros like Don Heck (who, like me, may have you wondering “Is he not already in the Hall of Fame?) to longtime pros who are still producing new work, like Denys Cowan, Carol Tyler and Rick Veitch. One that no doubt will prove controversial is Cerebus the Aardvark creator Dave Sim, a longtime lightning rod for controversy in the comics field.

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Sugar, We’re Goin’ Cosmic: Patrick Stump writes ‘Eternals’ for Marvel

The Fall Out Boy singer joins Phil Noto, Dale Eaglesham, Ralph Macchio, Michael Cho and more on ‘Eternals 50th Anniversary.’

When you’re in a band named after a superhero sidekick, it’s not surprising to find out you’re also a comic fan. Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump joins his bandmates Pete Wentz and Joe Trohman in leaving his mark on comics, as he contributes to the upcoming Eternals 50th Anniversary #1.

The one-shot marks five decades since Jack Kirby’s Eternals debuted. First introduced in 1976, the Eternals embodied the King of Comics at his most ambitious, with ancient gods, science-fiction divinity and grand ideas about humanity’s place in the cosmos. This oversized issue will serve as a tribute to that legacy with stories from Stump and several other creators.

“It’s fitting that Marvel’s version of God, its One-Above-All, was drawn in the likeness of Jack Kirby,” Stump said. “Through his cosmic work on titles like Tales of Suspense, Fantastic Four, Thor and climaxing with his mythologically inspired space opera The Eternals, he created the center of gravity all of Marvel’s galaxy is still orbiting. So when I was tasked with the responsibility of introducing a Lost Eternal, I turned to the same sci-fi and mythology that got his mighty imagination spinning to begin with. I’m beyond honored to be part of celebrating 50 years of the Eternals, and while I can’t imagine some rock singer like me doing a titan like Kirby justice, I can promise you this has definitely been as much of a passion project as any album I’ve ever made or film I’ve scored.”

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‘Swamp Thing 1989’ will debut in April

Rick Veitch and Michael Zulli’s cancelled Swamp Thing run will finally be completed this year.

As announced at last year’s New York Comic Con, DC will finally publish Rick Veitch, Michael Zulli and Vince Locke’s work on Swamp Thing #88 from 1989. The first of four issues of the DC Black Label title will arrive in April, featuring a cover by Veitch and a variant by Zulli.

Veitch’s run on Swamp Thing in the late 1980s was cut short when issue #88, which featured a time-displaced Swamp Thing arriving in time to meet Jesus Christ, was cancelled by the publisher. While this book was solicited to be published in May of 1989, it never was released. Instead Swamp Thing #88 featured a story by Doug Wheeler and Tom Yeates. 

Veitch credits years — or decades, even — of fan campaigns for convincing DC to finally finish the story Veitch intended to tell.

“The response from readers was immediate and overwhelming,” said Veitch. “It helped make the final decision to publish these issues. I am grateful to the fans for stepping up, and to DC’s team, especially editor Alex Galer and Editor-in-Chief Marie Javins, for pulling off the impossible.”

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